The Zorki-1 camera is a close
copy of Leica II D (Barnack-style) cameras of the late 1930's. By all accounts, build
quality can vary a great deal, but if you manage to get a good one,
like I did, they really are top-notch cameras. No joking.
Shutter speeds settings on this model Zorki-1 follow the older progression of
Z ("bulb"), 1/20, 1/30, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200, and 1/500. As with the Leica IID that this camera was modeled upon, there is no separate slow speed dial on the Zorki-1. It is very important to set the shutter speed only when the film has been wound on, otherwise one risks breaking the internal shutter mechanism.
The image at the top of this page shows my Zorki-1, manufactured in 1953, with the KMZ
turret finder and 35mm Jupiter-12 lens
mounted, but the standard-issue lens with these cameras was generally the collapsible Industar-22 50mm lens, as shown in the photograph on the right. With the collapsible
Industar-22, the little Zorki fits in a pocket, if you don't mind walking with a slightly peculiar gait. When sold as a complete set, as many seller even today are doing, one or more slip-on yellow filters for the Industar-22 are typically included; see the Industar-22 page for further technical information about these.
Depending on what lens and accessories you have mounted, the camera weighs in at around 570 grams (1¼ pounds) - heavier than a plastic point & shoot, but a lot lighter than a bulky SLR.
I have formed the habit of replacing the lens cap during film advancement between shots with this camera. Some of my first rolls suffered vertical streaks on some frames, and the diagnosis was that light was leaking between the shutter curtains during the process of film advance/shutter priming. Ever since I took up the habit of recovering the lens between shots, I've not observed this issue again.
No doubt the problem could be solved by tinkering with the shutter curtains, but since there is really nothing else wrong with the camera, it doesn't seem worth the risk of my causing other damage with my inexperienced hands. Beaten-up or non-functional Zorkis are so cheap and plentiful that it might pay to buy a few derelict bodies to practice do-it-yourself camera surgery before tackling one that is already in good condition.
Loading Film
Loading film into a Zorki-1 follows the same routine as it did for the Leica II it was copied from. To those familiar only with modern cameras, it will seem bizarre that you first have to prepare your film by carefully trimming the leader, before removing the entire bottom plate of the camera to get the film into it. Some of you will even think I'm making this up. The truth is that film - not just Soviet film - used to be sold with a much longer tapered film leader, which was about half as wide at the start as the rest of the film. Today, we have to cut modern film to obtain such a leader. It's not something you have to be terribly precise about - just make it so that it roughly matches what you see in the diagram above. It needn't even be tapered along the whole length as depicted above; but it is important that the transition from leader to uncut film be smooth and free of any jagged edges. Remove the empty spool from the Zorki, and insert the end of the leader into it, as shown in the diagram on the left.
Having trimmed the film to size and inserted the leader into the spool, it's time to coax both spools and film into the camera. This is the trickiest part, but it gets easier with practice. Some people recommend using a business card to gently push the film leader into the correct position inside. There are no sprockets to engage, but the film has to sit just right to ensure trouble-free advancing. Once seated correctly, replace the bottom plate, and advance the film a little ways. Then, release the clutch, reset the film counter and off you go.
Photographing Technique
You take pictures with a Zorki as you would any camera. That is, while gripping the camera from the bottom with your left hand, thrust the elbow of your right arm upwards and out to the side, bending your wrist sharply downwards towards the camera, and extend your index finger straight down to press the shutter...
Oh, no, sorry, that's the wrong way to do it. Courtesy of the Zorki manual that accompanied my camera, you can see both the correct method and the incorrect method demonstrated in the illustration on the left. My Russian vocabulary is not large enough to translate the text, but one gathers that the young lady in figure 14 needs a short stint in a Siberian re-education camp, despite her politically correct circa-1953 Komsomol hairdo.
The Zorki manual is full of interesting tidbits like this. In fact, this manual appears to be more thorough than a lot of software documentation is today.
The Zorki-1 camera is a close
copy of Leica II D (Barnack-style) cameras of the late 1930's. By all accounts, build
quality can vary a great deal, but if you manage to get a good one,
like I did, they really are top-notch cameras. No joking. 
older progression of
Z ("bulb"), 1/20, 1/30, 1/40, 1/60, 1/100, 1/200, and 1/500. As with the Leica IID that this camera was modeled upon, there is no separate slow speed dial on the Zorki-1. It is very important to set the shutter speed only when the film has been wound on, otherwise one risks breaking the internal shutter mechanism.
as shown in the photograph on the right. With the collapsible
first rolls suffered vertical streaks on some frames, and the diagnosis was that light was leaking between the shutter curtains during the process of film advance/shutter priming. Ever since I took up the habit of recovering the lens between shots, I've not observed this issue again. 
only with modern cameras, it will seem bizarre that you first have to prepare your film by carefully trimming the leader, before removing the entire bottom plate of the camera to get the film into it. Some of you will even think I'm making this up. The truth is that film - not just Soviet film - used to be sold with a much longer tapered film leader, which was about half as wide at the start as the rest of the film. Today, we have to cut modern film to obtain such a leader. It's not something you have to be terribly precise about - just make it so that it roughly matches what you see in the diagram above. It needn't even be tapered 
along the whole length as depicted above; but it is important that the transition from leader to uncut film be smooth and free of any jagged edges. Remove the empty spool from the Zorki, and insert the end of the leader into it, as shown in the diagram on the left.
people recommend using a business card to gently push the film leader into the correct position inside. There are no sprockets to engage, but the film has to sit just right to ensure trouble-free advancing. Once seated correctly, replace the bottom plate, and advance the film a little ways. Then, release the clutch, reset the film counter and off you go. 
upwards and out to the side, bending your wrist sharply downwards towards the camera, and extend your index finger straight down to press the shutter... 