good russian lenses

Great intro, comrade!) Helios is a really good lens for it's price. It's better to use it with focal reducer (or speed booster).

And it's not the best version for Helios. 44-2 is one of the earliest, you should check 44-6 or 44-7 versions from 44 series. They have better resolution and image quality. But from soviet lenses I would recommend 77m-4 - it has 50mm and 1.8 aperture. Bokehlicious lens. In terms of resolution ad IQ - it's the best lens from soviet 50mm line. 45$ for 44-2 it's a bit too much. 20$ is a good price. 77m-4 you can get also for 50$ and it's a good price for it.

P.S. Zenit - it's camera model name. Helios came with Zenit film camera as kit lens.