They smoked a lot in the USSR. But the most important thing is that they smoked not only their own cigarettes, but also many other varieties, sometimes brought from the ends of the world. This is before all the chaos that happened and began to grow in the mid-eighties.
They smoked a lot in the USSR. But the most important thing is that they smoked not only their own cigarettes, but also many other varieties, sometimes brought from the ends of the world. This is before all the chaos that happened and began to grow in the mid-eighties.
It is impossible to talk about all the colorful diversity of smoking here. Therefore, I will only mention those tobacco products that I became acquainted with personally - I smoked myself, or saw them from my father or grandfather. And without that it turns out a lot.
Let's start with the fact that the USSR was regularly supplied with smoke to the fraternal republics. For example, Moldova, which at that time was not Moldova at all. Here is Doina.
And here is "Fluerash". There was no difference in the tobacco in these varieties, and even the guys with the pipes remained the same.
Ukraine made "Manager". I wonder what meaning was put into this word back then, in those distant years?
My grandfather called “Nairi” cigarettes “Eagle muzzled.”
Other socialist countries, like Yugoslavia, also did not lag behind. Mysterious cigarettes "YU" ("Yu" - but we don't care... yu!") and simply "Yugoslavia".
In general, the Warsaw Pact countries vied with each other to help the USSR. What was different, of course, was Bulgaria and its “Bolgartabak”. Cigarettes "Shipka" were affectionately called "Mass Grave" by the people. I remember my father first smoked Shipka.
Then she was replaced by the Bulgarian “Stewardess”, renamed “Bitch”. Briefly and clearly.
Here comes BT. "BT" or "Pavement Bulls" was our main school cigarette of the late eighties. At the first opportunity, I willingly changed to “Rodopi” (actually “Rhodope”) - which it was advisable to first dry on the radiator. Because otherwise they would go out on their own. “Fire-fighting cigarettes,” that’s what they were called.
And “Opal” (aka “Oral”), which started my first puff. There was a saying: “I smoked Opal for nine years, but on the tenth I gave up.” I’m not sure, however, that there was a basis for it, but, in general, the taste of tobacco evoked just such thoughts.
The Bulgarian "TU-134" was confidently called "Death on Takeoff", or "Tu-134, but this one - never."
There were also cigarettes "Inter", "cigars with filter", on the cover of which there was something like a mysterious "yin-yang".
Unlike Bulgaria, Poland generally did a lot of strange things, but Karo cigarettes with an acetate filter were the height of ideological sabotage. Later they began to be produced with a cut-off filter, which gave rise to numerous jokes about the seizure of Poland by Israel.
In addition to the Warsaw Pact, the fraternal republics of Asia regularly supplied poison to workers and employees of the Soviet Union. China, Vietnam and Korea - all of them were distinguished by truly terrible types of cigarettes, which, without preparing yourself mentally, were difficult to put into your mouth.
For example, "Chemsongdae", or, more simply, "Trumpet of Korea".
Or "Kumsudae", "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in Soviet dialect.
The real weapons of mass destruction were these cigarettes with a harmless and beautiful yellow bird on the pack. Despite the cute bird, their smell and taste powerfully interrupted coal production. Popularly these cigarettes were called “Footcloths of Ho Chi Minh”. It is not known whether the leader of revolutionary Vietnam wore foot wraps. But what is said is said. The workers willingly exchanged them in a 1:1 ratio for Astra.
There were also “Sa Pa” and “Yuanfan”, which also did not leave good memories.
But the top thing was Pine Tree cigarettes. Simply - "Pine". Absolutely accurate name. If when smoking you feel the taste and smell of pine, then it is... that's right, pine!
And finally, from afar, Cuba, with Comandante Fidel at its head, extended a helping hand. Ligeros cigarettes were held tightly in the unwavering helping hand. They are also “Death under Sail”. A small boat in the middle of an ominous nicotine darkness.
But the Ligeros were not the strongest. "Partagas" ("Party Men") were much stronger. Even old hard workers, seasoned by Belomor, preferred not to smoke them unless necessary. And the picture on the pack, as we realized years later, was very similar to Lucky Strike.
Much later, already in the conditions of the cigarette crisis, “when the ears were swelling,” the dying Union despaired to the point that it began to buy cheap Arab and Turkish cigarettes. After this, Korea simply choked with envy. Just look at the cost of the Turkish "Bursa" - there was a strong impression that they were stuffed with moss, carefully collected from all over the Turetsk region. Whether the name of these cigarettes had anything in common with Pomyalovsky was not explained.
Or the Arabic "Sumer", which we schoolchildren called "Sumey". You really had to be able to contrive to smoke them. And “Sa Ba” with an incomprehensible crap stamped on the label - either a ship or a steam locomotive.
But we also had our own local tobacco production in Russia. And not bad! There were famous brands of cigarettes and cigarettes. But we'll start with the unknowns.
For example, "Medeo". The ski resort was immortalized in a tobacco brand. Who said “Quit smoking, start skiing!”? Not at all necessary.
In addition, we believed that a certain type of cigarette should cover any circle of people involved in anything. For example, tourists could smoke "Tourist".
The Raketa was produced for Rechflot employees. With this “Rocket” my father was once given half his salary. I had to go to the market and sell there.
The polar explorers were not left out either. For them there was "Arctic".
Hunters, according to the great plan of the tobacconists, could immediately grab a pack of “Hunting” in the intervals between shooting. Or, as they called it, “Moose Horror.”
Creative people and other rotten intelligentsia should have liked "Lyre" (by the way, they didn't always like it, because it was sold at a higher price).
And foreigners visiting the USSR were given luxurious “souvenirs”. With painting near Palekh.
A lot of cigarettes were also produced in St. Petersburg - of course, the city on the Neva owned several tobacco production facilities - for example, the factory named after. Uritsky. "October" was released here.
By the way, the current Peter the Great cigarettes are not even a new product. This is what they were like a long time ago. With the autograph of the emperor himself.
In addition, the USSR tobacco industry did not engage in special advertising of its products. And sometimes even quite the opposite, with frightening and delightful carelessness she demonstrated to smokers: “This is what will happen to you!” Cigarettes "Risk", 20 rounds in a lethal clip.
But, to be honest, Tandem cigarettes baffled me. Was it necessary to smoke each one for two? Or was it supposed to be broken and carefully given to a fellow smoker?
Then came what, due to a stupid misunderstanding, began to be called “perestroika.” And everything changed. Imported cigarettes, counterfeit and not-so-fake, piled up.
“Cosmos,” which every self-respecting pet fan kept in his pocket, was a kind of symbol: look, the owner of the pack is just like an adult. In addition, thanks to the contrasting design, the inscription “Space” could easily (with the help of a ballpoint pen and a razor blade) be remade into “ALL MY” or “MY FUCK”.
By the way, Cosmos was released not only in Russia, but also in other fraternal republics. So to speak, adapted.
Cigarettes “Pamir” with the image of a hiker were delicately called “Beggar in the Mountains”. And that’s right – it’s somewhat similar. They were produced in several versions, including an elegant long pack. However, this did not make the tobacco any better.
and oval cigarettes "Polyot". Why oval? Yes, because with such a flattened shape, five more of them could be placed in a pack. One of my friends told me how, while walking through Germany, with a royal gesture he handed a whole pack of Polet to a ragamuffin who was sadly asking for “aine cigarette, bite.” When he walked away and turned around, the crazy tramp stood there, looking first at him, then at the pack in his hands.
“Golden Fleece” cigarettes were considered “cool” because they were flavored, supposedly with the addition of pipe tobacco, and were more expensive. But in fact, many people remember that afterward there was a terrible taste in their mouth. And one of my friends remembered that his friends called these cigarettes “Golden shit.”
And here is Laika. The dog, who gave her life in the name of the triumph of Soviet cosmonautics, instantly became famous. And the sad face on the pack was as famous as the dog on the “Friend” cigarettes (which became even more famous after the film “Beware of the Car.”
"Our brand." One of the oldest types of cigarettes. Remember Woland at the Patriarchs and his cigarette case? It was “Mark” that was in it. These cigarettes have survived to this day, although, of course, they have lost ground.
"Pegasus". We called him “The Mad Grasshopper.” As far as I remember, the tobacco there was always so damp and bad that taking a drag from this cigarette was about as difficult as trying to breathe in a gas mask with the valve closed.
“Java 100” was a little better, which, unlike the current “Java,” did not survive to our time, remaining only in memories. “Yazva-100”, that’s what they called it. Or "Swamp".
“Pirin”, also known as “Aspirin”, or “vomit cigarettes”. I don’t remember the manufacturer, but I remember the taste - and I won’t forget it until I die.
Filter cigarettes were also quite popular; you could find them everywhere. There is nothing more to say about them, except that the pack was made of poor soft paper.
But “Astra” - oh, “Astra” survived all the crises, remaining, together with “Belomor”, the favorite smoke of village peasants and working people. And they still sell it in hundreds of thousands and millions of packs - my uncle in the village used to buy Astra, coming to the general store with a bag and stuffing it tightly with flat packs. Although the packs were quite normal, in cellophane.
Unfortunately, I was unable to find an image of another memorable brand of cigarettes - Vatra. The pack had a Hutsul hatchet-valashka printed on it, or something like that. This very “Vatra” was such a lethal strength that in the forest it successfully replaced a fumigator. The mosquitoes, recklessly flying close, were showered with ashes.
“Vatra” was not inferior to “Morshanskaya shag” or “smoking grains”. Actually, it was sold in department stores as a means of controlling pests of garden trees, but when the crisis broke out, smokers swept all the shag clean. One puff of hers brought out tears and stopped breathing.
And then it happened. “Perestroika” and other dirty tricks instantly turned the cigarette industry into dust. But from abroad, a stream of “humanitarian aid” immediately poured in - all sorts of rubbish, which there, over the hill, they flatly refused to eat, until a place appeared where it all could be easily and quickly sent. Remains of the USSR.
What happened! There is not enough energy to list all the brands of cigarettes and cigarettes of that time, but if you try, you will end up with a thick book.
Here are just a few.
Indian Madras. They were instantly renamed “Mattress”, because the taste and smell was as if, instead of tobacco, an old mattress on which more than one person had died was wrapped in paper.
"Gold Line" was an example of a counterfeit of the famous "Lucky Strike". At a great distance it is indistinguishable. Apart from the drawing, there was nothing in common, and they were made somewhere in Turkey.
The men unanimously renamed the “Paramont” cigarettes to “Paramonycha”, and for some reason my uncle called them “Kondratiy”. They brought back such sad associations to him. Apparently, for good reason.
The name of the Morven cigarettes evoked romantic associations - something from Tolkien, marvelous elves... Having smoked them once, I wanted to think more and more about tuberculosis clinics and gloomy crypts.
The Astra was replaced by the Astral from Zagreb. The risk of falling into the astral plane after smoking these cigarettes, I remember, was unusually great.
But the American “B.O.Y.” against the background of all this, they even seemed quite good. “Boy” brand cigarettes. I smoked - and to hell with you! - Victor Pelevin captured the advertisement of this brand in his story “Yellow Arrow”. In fact, the advertisement ended with “smoke and tail!”
“Dongbao” was something of a continuation of the “Asian series”, but it seemed to be released in the USA. Although at that time nothing could be said for sure.
And finally, "Kenton". Not yet "Kent", but no longer "Prima". At school, owning those horribly smelly menthol cigarettes was a source of envy. What they were jealous of is unclear.
