Chewing gum in the Soviet Union. The history of the emergence of Soviet chewing gum. "Ideologically harmful product"

Chewing gum in the Soviet Union was a kind of cult product. Because of its popularity in the West, it was considered a "bourgeois" symbol and was subjected to ideological persecution. Establish the production of chewing gum in your own country Soviet government forced by tragic events...

"Ideologically harmful product"

For a long time, chewing gum in the USSR was only imported. In the 70s, she became a real cult object among children and adolescents. Someone brought it from abroad, someone even begged for chewing gum from foreigners. In addition to the pleasant taste, the imported chewing gum was colorfully decorated, and inside the package there were also insert pictures depicting cartoon and comic characters, football players, cars ... Children exchanged wrappers and inserts among themselves, collected them, played games with candy wrappers, and to chew with the whole company - no one thought about the hygienic side.

Official bodies and teachers did not encourage these hobbies. Schoolchildren who constantly chewed gum or manipulated wrappers and inserts from it could even be scolded at a pioneer meeting for "worshiping the West." Moreover, it was constantly said that chewing gum is harmful - for the stomach and so on, although in reality this turned out to be an unfounded myth.

Tragedy in Sokolniki

March 10, 1975 in Moscow, in the Sokolniki Sports Palace, a friendly hockey match between juniors of Canada and CSKA was held. The Canadian team was sponsored by Wrigley, one of the largest manufacturers of chewing gum. After the competition, going down to the bus, the Canadians began to scatter chewing gum around the plate. The fans quickly got their bearings and rushed headlong down the steep stone stairs to pick up the deficit.

The administration of the sports palace ordered to turn off the light, as they were afraid that all this would be filmed on cameras and get into the foreign press, and to lock the metal door leading to the street. In the darkness, people began to stumble, fall on top of each other. Only according to official data, 21 people died, 13 of whom were minors. Another 25 people were injured.

Of course, there was a serious trial. Director of the Sports Palace Alexander Borisov, his deputy, as well as the head of the local police department responsible for order during the match, received prison terms for negligence. True, in December of the same year they were amnestied. The sports palace building was closed for a long reconstruction.

In the media, according to the customs of that time, it was forbidden to cover the incident. All eyewitnesses were interrogated and forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement. However, the people began to unrest.

Give the Soviet chewing gum!

After discussion at the government level, given the approaching Olympics-80, it was decided to establish the production of domestic chewing gum. This, it was felt, would help reduce the hype around imported gum.

In 1976, the first chewing gum production line was launched in Yerevan. The second line appeared at the pasta factory in Rostov-on-Don. At first, only two types of products were produced: "Chewing gum" with a fruity flavor and "Well, wait a minute!" with mint. Later, the Tallinn confectionery factory "Kalev" began to produce chewing gum "Orange" and "Mint". The plates of this chewing gum were rectangles with longitudinal grooves, which were conveniently divided into five parts. They were sold in foil-patterned wax paper wrappers. One such package cost 15 kopecks.

In the 80s, the Moscow factory "Rot Front" already produced five types of chewing gum: "Mint", "Orange", "Strawberry", "Raspberry" and "Coffee Aroma". At first, chewing gum was sold in packs of five records at a price of 60 kopecks per pack. But manufacturers did not take into account that chewing gum consumers were mainly the younger generation, for whom such a cost was too high. Soon the price was reduced to 50 kopecks per pack and they began to sell chewing gum by the piece.

Soviet children could only dream of many foreign sweets and stuff. In the 70s, when imported chewing gum began to be brought into the USSR, everyone seemed to have gone crazy. Children collected them, and foreigners went to the USSR only after taking these "souvenirs".
Naturally, in schools they tried in every possible way to wean children from chewing gum. Teachers came up with incredible tales about the dangers of chewing gum, which, by the way, some people still believe in.

In 1975, a Canadian children's hockey team arrived in Moscow, sponsored by the global chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley. According to the requirements of the treaty, Canadians were given large packages of gum, which they had to distribute free of charge in the Union.

Many schoolchildren came to the third match of the athletes, who had already heard about the unprecedented attraction of generosity. After the game, the Canadians decided to throw treats just on the balcony, where the fans were crowded.

Of course, not all chewing gum flew there and fell to the floor. People rushed to one of the exits to get to foreign rubber bands, but it turned out to be closed. The result was a terrible stampede: 21 people died, including 13 children.

The director of the sports palace and the head of the police department received a prison term, but they tried to keep silent about the incident. To stop the madness with imported delicacy, it was decided to start the production of their own chewing gum.

The first chewing gum appeared in Armenia in 1976, a little later the product began to be produced in Russia. At first, the gum had only a few flavors, but in the 80s the range expanded.

And only in 2013, a memorial plaque appeared at the Sokolniki Stadium, testifying to that terrible tragedy. That's what a terrible price was paid for the appearance of the first domestic chewing gum.

For some mysterious and unknown reason, chewing gum was first banned in the USSR, and then they began to make it themselves - there are several versions of why this happened. According to one version, the tragedy in Sokolniki greatly influenced (it made the Soviet leadership think), according to another version, they were preparing to host the "Olympic Games-80" and did not want to look like "completely savages" to foreigners. Or maybe it was both that and the other.

« ideologically harmful » gum.

Initially, chewing gum was subjected to ideological persecution in the USSR. Why was it so? Who knows, I don't think anyone can answer this question for sure. Apparently, chewing gum did not fit the image of an "ideologically savvy builder of communism" and was ostracized along with everything else alive, bright and youthful - flared trousers, "hip" hairstyles and Western dance music.

The act of "confiscation of gum" at customs:

Using the example of chewing gum, one can trace how the Soviet system, the party issued an order - "prohibit!", After which, in schools, institutes and other institutions, teachers, without asking unnecessary questions, began to work with schoolchildren and students. The question was approached creatively - someone told fairy tales that chewing gum is very harmful to the stomach. Someone said that by chewing gum, a person "evolves back into a monkey," and someone scared with "infected blades" that vile foreigners put in gum, exchanging "TRP" badges from Soviet children for it.

What is the funniest and saddest thing at the same time, if the party declared chewing gum to be declared necessary and useful -
the same people would praise it in every way, without asking any further questions. The Soviet social system was arranged in such a way that such doublethink was considered quite normal, it was called "corresponding to the political situation," and those who succeeded in such doublethink achieved great career heights in Soviet society.

Tragedy in Sokolniki.

The event that forced the Soviet leadership to reconsider their attitude to chewing gum was the tragedy in Sokolniki - in March 1975, at a friendly hockey match between the juniors of Canada and the CSK, there was a stampede, during which 21 people died ... Now a black memorial plaque has been placed at the site of the tragedy .

How did it happen? The team from Canada was sponsored by Wrigley, and after the game, the Canadians, going down to the bus, began to scatter chewing gum around the record - apparently, this was part of an advertising contact. Canadians did not take into account or simply did not know what a shortage and what demand chewing gum was in the USSR. Fans rushed to collect scarce goods, which formed an uncontrollable crowd. And maybe everything would have happened without casualties, if not for the idiotic decision of the administration of the Sports Palace - they were afraid that the photographs of the collection of gum by Soviet citizens would get into the Western press, and gave the order to turn off the lights and lock the metal doors that led to the street.

In the dark, people began to stumble and fall, 21 people died, and another 25 were injured ... The Soviet media banned the incident from covering - all eyewitnesses were interrogated and forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement - in the press of those years they were supposed to talk only about construction sites and achievements.

Soviet gum.

Be that as it may, in 1976 chewing gum began to be produced in the USSR - it was no longer called an "alien ideological product", and those who talked about its incredible harm disappeared somewhere (apparently, they were transferred to higher positions). The first chewing gum production line was put into operation in Yerevan, and then in Rostov-on-Don. Later, the Estonian confectionery factory "Kalev" began to make chewing gum - their chewing gum was a solid bar, divided by longitudinal grooves for separation.

In the eighties, the Moscow factory "Rot Front" began to make chewing gum - if you tried Soviet chewing gum in the USSR, then most likely it was precisely "Rot Front". The gum was reminiscent of the now classic "Wrigley" - five records in a package of foil, the flavors were orange, mint, strawberry and coffee. A pack of such chewing gum cost 50 kopecks. I also heard that chewing gum was sold in records, by the piece - but I don’t remember if this was the case in Minsk.

I have tried mouth front chewing gum several times in the last Soviet years- it was worse in quality than "Wrigley", some kind of softer and gray, it quickly lost its taste (and completely), plus bubbles did not inflate from it. I also remember that chewing gum was an incredible shortage - it was almost never in the store, and for ten trips to the store, chewing gum could be on sale there only 1-2 times. I remember the coffee chewing gum - it was quite original and tasted more like not coffee, but the so-called. "coffee drink" based on chicory with milk - which was sold in almost all Soviet canteens - this chewing gum had exactly the same taste. The orange one was sweet and sour and tasted like an instant drink.

« Terrible tread of capitalism » .

In the last Soviet years, chewing gum from Western manufacturers flooded the market - this is already about 1990-1991. The chewing gum "Donald" was very much appreciated - it was tasty, and inside there was an insert (we called them "cartoons") with a small plot-comic strip of 3-5 images. I still keep a collection of such inserts in a clutch album - this album with inserts was presented to me in 1992 by one of my older brother's friends. One gum "Donald" cost, by the way, a ruble - it was very expensive, and the business of selling gum was very profitable - buying a block with a hundred gums in Turkey and selling it in a day or two on the market, you could get your hands on the average Soviet salary .

Around the same years, the "Turbo" chewing gum appeared, which was then sold in stalls throughout the nineties - it had a pronounced peach flavor, and inside there were liners with cars. Back in the late Soviet years, imported chewing gums "Tipi-Tip" (with a funny big-nosed uncle on the wrapper), "Final" (inserts with football players) and "Lazer" - inserts with military equipment. I don’t remember the tastes of the latter, since I chewed them only a couple of times.

Already after the collapse of the USSR, chewing gum poured into the country in a stream - everyone's favorite "Love is", "Bombibom", "Boomer", "Cola", a series of chewing gums from "Wrigley" and many others appeared. And the Soviet chewing gum from Rot Front somehow quietly ceased to exist - since 1991 I have not heard anything about it.

Photo: reviewdetector.ru | stadiums.at.ua | picssr.com

Do you remember chewing gum?

Today it is not a problem to buy both domestic and imported chewing gum at retail outlets - for every taste and budget. By the way, in April 2013, a memorial plaque was hung at the Sokolniki Stadium in memory of the victims of the 1976 tragedy, who actually gave their lives to Soviet people could enjoy the "forbidden" product.

Surprisingly, it is a fact: people are willing to pay a lot of money to re-experience the “same” taste and aroma of chewing gums sold in the 90s. Still, after all, it seems to every person that everything was tastier in childhood. In addition, the lack of pocket money then made the forbidden fruit even sweeter. We remembered 10 chewing gums that are included in the cultural code of everyone who grew up in the 90s.

1. Donald

This chewing gum hit the USSR market already in the mid-80s. According to legend, most often it was distributed illegally through the gypsies, who sold Donald to children for a ruble - huge money at that time. A feature of "Donald" were inserts with comics about the famous Disney duck (at that time almost unknown in the Union).

It was the liners from this chewing gum that were most valued among children. Soviet children are obliged by such an important part of their childhood to the Dutch company Maple Leaf, which agreed with Disney in the 60s to use the logo and cartoon characters for chewing gum liners, which were produced until the end of the 80s.

The last "Donalds" were produced in 1989 in December and were sold in the Union until the expiration date - 1992-1993. In the 90s, the company switched to the production of chewing gums, which were fashionable at that time.

By the mid-1990s, Maple Leaf, going through a crisis, tried to re-release "Donald" with different inserts and wrappers. But it did not bring success. Nevertheless, the chewing gums themselves were produced until the mid-90s in China, Turkey and Poland on a legal and illegal basis. By the end of the 90s, the Maple Leaf company ceased to exist.

2 Donald Duck

Donald Duck was much less valued among teenagers than Maple Leaf's Donald. The younger generation, most likely, remembers only "Donald Duck" from Candy Team (Denmark), which was colloquially called the "little head".

Instead of inserts, this chewing gum had "translators" - children's transfer tattoos. "Donald Duck" appeared on the market in the mid-1980s and was produced for 10 years.

Many series of this chewing gum were released, and they tried to enter foreign markets. For example, in Brazil, gum came out with the name Pato Donald. There is information about this.

3. Turbo

One of the most popular chewing gums in Russia in the 90s was produced by the Turkish company Kent Gida. The release of Turbo began in the mid-80s. The first series were peach flavored, later other fruit flavors appeared. Turbo liners with photos of cars or motorcycles are still obsessive collectibles.

The very first series of "Turbo" inserts is one of the most expensive - the cost of an insert can reach up to $ 250, depending on the condition and number of the instance.

From the mid-90s, Turbo chewing gum began to be produced in three versions - Turbo Super, Turbo Classic and Turbo Sport, differing in the types of cars on the liners (modern, retro and sports). It is noteworthy that factual errors were very common in the name of the vehicle model. A total of 1620 Turbo inserts were produced in 11 series. Kent's original gum ceased production in 2007.

The very first series Turbo Kent was released in 1986. On the territory of the USSR, this chewing gum was not distributed, the main sales were in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic. Series 1 with numbers 1-50 is one of the most expensive directions in collecting liners. Depending on the number, the condition of the insert, the cost of a copy can reach $ 200

4. Bomb-bom

Another Turkish chewing gum produced by Baycan Gida, which was produced only in the 90s. In the people, many simply called her "bomb". Most often, one could stumble upon Bombibom with chocolate, melon, apple or mint flavors. The square Bombibom liners, as well as the Turbo liners, were with photos of various brands of cars.

Many people remember the first issue, which hit the markets of the USSR in 1991. It had a melon taste, and puffed up well.

5. Tipitip

Many still remember and love this little man with a long nose, an eccentric bow tie and big glasses. Inserts with comics about his adventures were highly valued among children (although, unfortunately, only a few knew Turkish language). Chewing gum came to the USSR in the mid-80s and was produced until the end of the 90s.

"Teepee Tip" began to be produced in Turkey in the mid-70s. The hero was created by the Turkish cartoonist Bülent Arabacıoğlu.

6. Bazooka

Bazooka is one of the first chewing gums to appear in America. The chewing gum of this brand appeared on sale immediately after the Second World War, and became very popular.

Bazooka has never been officially delivered to Russia, so most often for sweet lovers it was brought by wealthy friends from the USA. Each gum contained an insert with a comic book about the hero Bazooka Joe.

It is worth noting that this chewing gum is now available in all sorts of variations almost all over the world.

Cola-flavoured chewing gum from the Danish manufacturer Dandy was quite rare back in those days. Many collectors are after her. There were two versions of the wrapper - with and without a lid.

8.Final

Football fans in every sense relished the Final chewing gum, on the inserts of which there were photographs of football players popular at that time. The Final was produced by the Turkish company Ulker from the mid-80s for 10 years.

9. Boomer

Who does not remember this superhero from Spain - with plastic rubber limbs, able to reach children falling into the abyss and other interesting things?

It was from this chewing gum that the largest bubbles were succeeded.

The range of flavors at Boomer was quite large - from strawberry to Coca-Cola. And to the question whether the name of this chewing gum is connected with the popular name of a certain brand of car, let philologists answer.

Today, Boomer gum is also available in some countries. Perhaps one day she will return to the markets of our country, overflowing with various Orbits and Dirols.

10. Domestic chewing gum

Initially, chewing gum was banned in the USSR, being considered an indispensable attribute of the bourgeois lifestyle. In addition, there was a myth that chewing gum is dangerous to health. But a couple of years before the Olympics-80, the country's leadership, apparently, nevertheless decided that foreign fans and athletes could come to the conclusion that the backward Soviet Union simply did not know how to make this popular product in the West.

So in the USSR, chewing gum with the logo of the Olympics began to be produced. By 1983, almost all major cities of the USSR mastered the production of chewing gum. Now at least 250 different wrappers from Soviet chewing gum are known!

The most popular domestic chewing gum in the 90s was the products manufactured by the Moscow Rot-Front factory.

Although Soviet chewing gum did not stand out for the special taste and quality of the rubber gum base, it was the beginning of the production of this food product in the USSR that made collecting “wrappers” popular among schoolchildren and other connoisseurs.

Now it is quite difficult to find untouched, unpacked chewing gum, and the cost of such copies can reach up to 10,000 rubles. and higher among collectors.

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