The invention of cigarettes as we know them is attributed by some historians to Egyptian artillerymen during the war between Turkey and Egypt. And during the Crimean War (1854–1856), the habit of smoking tobacco, wrapped in paper gunpowder tubes, was adopted by British soldiers from Turkish soldiers. The Russian Empire was not particularly smoking. In any case, smoking among women was rare. But everything changed very quickly.
If we talk about the variety of cigarette brands, there were more than 50 domestic brands alone. In addition, the countries of the socialist camp - Bulgaria, Cuba, etc. - supplied cigarettes well.
It also came from friendly Asian states - China, Vietnam and Korea. Soviet tobacco factories labeled their product by class, depending on the quality of the tobacco and its strength (from first to seventh). But consumers based their choice (if there was one) not on the class designation, but on which plant produced the product and what, in fact, the pack itself was - hard or soft. The vast majority of smokers were confident that among the cigarettes of the same brand, those sealed in a hard cardboard pack were better than those sealed in a soft paper pack.
Cigarettes without a filter were considered unprestigious; they were smoked by declassed individuals, soldiers, very poor students, individual aesthetic elements with a penchant for outrageousness, and heavy smokers with enormous experience. Special mention must be made about the latter. This is a bygone nature - people who grew up on war and post-war tobacco, smoked several packs a day, for whom even strong filter cigarettes were nothing more than ladies' entertainment.
"Belomorkanal" (the world's first GPS navigator) - legendary cigarettes (cigarettes were also produced), about which a huge number of tales and legends have been invented.
For example, that Soviet pilots can fly guided only by the map on the Belomor pack!
There were legends about “Novost” that these were Brezhnev’s favorite cigarettes and that “special batches” of these cigarettes with luxurious tobacco were produced.
“Prima” is the most famous and widespread smoke that has survived to this day.
These cigarettes were produced both with and without a filter. In Soviet times, the cost of a pack did not exceed 16 kopecks
“Smoke”, nauseating cigarettes, price 16 kopecks. per pack
“Kazbek” cigarettes, there is a legend that the design on the pack was personally approved by Stalin.
"Vatra", or Chingachgook's ax, was of such lethal strength that in the forest it successfully replaced a fumigator. The mosquitoes, recklessly flying close, were showered with ashes.
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.
Moldavian "Doina" and "Fluerash". There was no difference in the tobacco in these varieties, and even the guys with the pipes remained the same.
Mysterious cigarettes "YU" ("Yu" - but we don't care... yu!) cigarettes "Yugoslavia" from the country of the same name
Cigarettes "Shipka" were affectionately called "Mass Grave" by the people.
Bulgarian “Flight Attendant”, aka “Bitch” - short and clear.
"BT". "BT" or "Pavement Bulls"
"Rhodopi" (actually "Rhodope Mountains") - which it was advisable to first dry on the radiator. Because otherwise they would go out on their own - “Fireproof cigarettes.”
“Opal” (aka “Oral”), there was a comic opinion about the negative impact of these cigarettes on potency. They were produced in both soft and hard packaging.
Cigarettes from the "TU" series were confidently called "Death on Takeoff". Not only did he not smoke, he had never seen TU-154!
Cigarettes "Inter", "cigars with filter", with an original design on the cover.
A little about Korean and Vietnamese cigarettes.
Korean "Chemsongdae", or, more simply, "Trumpet of Korea"
"Kumsudae", "Uncle Tom's Cabin" in the Soviet dialect "GGOEGGOLSAE" Despite the cute bird, their smell and taste powerfully interrupted coal production. Popularly these cigarettes were called “Footcloths of Ho Chi Minh”.
"Pine Tree" Simply - "Pine". Absolutely accurate name.
If when smoking you feel the taste and smell of pine, then it is... that's right, pine!
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 filter”, which gave rise to numerous jokes about the seizure of Poland by Israel.
Cuban "Ligeros". They are also “Death under Sail”. A small boat in the middle of an ominous nicotine darkness.
"Partagas" ("Party People"). Even the old proletarians, seasoned by Belomor, preferred not to smoke them unless necessary.
The picture on the pack looks a lot like Lucky Strike.
Arabic "Sumer", popularly called "Sumey". You really had to be able to contrive to smoke them.
“Sa Ba” with an incomprehensible crap stamped on the label - either a ship or a steam locomotive.
“Tambov leader (wolf)” After a few cigarettes you will look the same as the wolf on the pack. Apparently, the wolf went wild after those cigarettes!
"Tourist" is poison for tourists! With coats of arms of Russian cities.
"Rocket" - find the differences on the packaging
The polar explorers were not left out either. For them there was "Arctic"
Creative people should have liked "Lyra" and "Hunting". Or, as they called it, “Moose Horror” cigarettes “Peter the Great”, the pack of which was personally signed by Peter the Great himself
Cigarettes "Risk", apparently, those who do not take risks do not smoke these cigarettes
Cosmic series of cigarettes "Cosmos". In skillful hands, the inscription “Space” could easily (with the help of a ballpoint pen and a razor blade) be remade into “ALL MY” or “FUCK MY”
In the bottom row, the outer packs don’t resemble anything in design?)))
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 without the image of a “beggar”. However, this did not make the tobacco any better.
“Golden Fleece” was considered “cool” because it was flavored, supposedly with the addition of pipe tobacco, and was 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.” Now this brand of cigarettes has appeared again - the quality leaves much to be desired!
Oval cigarettes “Polet” (awesome). Why oval? Yes, because with such
in a flattened form, five more were 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.
“Astra” (asthma) - oh, “Astra” survived all the crises, remaining, together with “Belomor”, the favorite smoke of the collective farm proletariat.
In this article, I could not even mention half of all cigarettes that were produced and purchased under the USSR.
I started smoking in 1984 and have tried many brands.
Add other brands in the comments, I will be glad.
