Zhiguli chocolate in Soviet times. The evolution of the Journey chocolate wrapper. Chocolate manufacturer in the USSR - Babaevskaya factory

The average resident of Russia eats about 5 kilograms of chocolate per year. Citizens of the USSR could only dream of this. At that time, a chocolate bar was akin to a small holiday, and in particularly difficult times it could help solve everyday problems.

Gvardeysky

This chocolate is named so for a reason. The history of its creation goes back to the Great Patriotic War. In 1942, the employees of the Red October plant were tasked with developing a recipe for a new chocolate bar in the shortest possible time in honor of the victory of the Red Army forces in the Battle of Moscow.

It usually takes several months to create a new type of chocolate, but this one was developed and approved on the same day. Three days later, several tons of Gvardeisky chocolate were sent to the front. The team of the Red October plant, which during the war years, in addition to sweets, produced concentrated cereals and signal checkers, was awarded the Honorary Banner of the State Defense Committee seven times for their contribution to the victory.

Alyonka

The first batch of Alyonka chocolates was released in 1965 as part of the new USSR food program. This was the first Soviet milk chocolate at an affordable price. In addition, the exemplary chocolate “Alenka” became the first food product in the history of Russia, and possibly in the world, because of which the government had to issue a prohibitory decree.

The taste of this chocolate and the illustration on its packaging (a cute girl in a headscarf) were so loved by the citizens of the USSR that they began to give their daughters names in honor of the milk bar. The country was saved from millions of girls with the name Alyonka by the official ban on registering newborns with diminutive names.

“Alenka” on the chocolate wrapper is not Alena at all, but Elena - the daughter of photographer Alexander Gerinas. His photo of his daughter won a competition announced in 1964 by the Red October plant. Before this, a photograph of eight-month-old Lena Gerina with wide eyes and rosy cheeks graced the cover of the first issue of Health magazine in 1962.

Spartacus

In July 1924, the Prosvet confectionery enterprise began its work in the Belarusian city of Gomel. At that time, the company was only engaged in the creation of caramel, toffee and marmalade, since chocolate was then considered a product of bourgeois culture and was a rather expensive pleasure. In 1931, the company was renamed Spartak.

Ten years later, Spartacists became one of the largest producers of sweets in the Belarusian SSR. The factory's calling card, the Spartak chocolate bar, began to be produced after the war, when life began to improve and products made from cocoa beans began to penetrate the grocery baskets of average citizens of the Soviet Union. This chocolate was loved not only by the residents of our country, it also became one of the few goods that was exported abroad.

Golden Label

To call this dessert chocolate Soviet would not be entirely correct. It was first produced back in 1908 by the Einem factory, which in 1922 was renamed Red October.

All Moscow newspapers then wrote about the release of the new sweet. Customers also really liked its packaging. Unfortunately, now it is no longer possible to establish who was the author of this beautiful wrapper, but in the 60s, when the production of this tile was again established, the design of its wrapper was entrusted to not just anyone, but to Mikhail Efremovich Gubonin. By that time, he had already established himself as a product designer for the Red October factory and the creator of the classic label for Soviet Champagne.

Lux

At one time, for a bar of Lux chocolate you could get a certificate and an automatic test. To this day, chocolate with this name is considered one of the best in Russia. Now it is produced by the Babaevsky concern, which in Soviet times was called State Confectionery Factory No. 2. Chocolate with this name could be found in almost every sweets manufacturer in the USSR. But the best “luxury” was considered to be the one made at the Sverdlovsk confectionery factory No. 1. The recipe for Lux chocolate from this particular enterprise was of the highest quality category.

The Little Humpbacked Horse

It is believed that aerated chocolate was first made in England in 1935. But it took almost 32 years for this miracle of confectionery thought to reach the Soviet Union. Citizens of the USSR were able to try domestically produced aerated chocolate only in 1967. It was then that “The Little Humpbacked Horse” appeared on store shelves.

The children liked the chocolate with bubbles the most. They loved three things about The Little Humpbacked Horse: the taste of milk chocolate, the chocolate bubbles bursting in your mouth and, of course, the colorful packaging. Many children across the country looked at the wrapper with bright fairy-tale scenes while slowly devouring the chocolate bar.

Inspiration

It was the first chocolate in the country, divided into portioned pieces. Few people know, but we owe its appearance in our country to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin. During his visit to France, local confectioners treated him to something similar.

Inspired, Kosygin brought French chocolate with him and gave instructions to State Confectionery Factory No. 2 to immediately begin its own production. In 1967, chocolate called “Inspiration” appeared on the shelves. For the packaging design, the theme of ballet was chosen, which has always been the hallmark of our country.

Good day!
After listening to my parents' stories about their happy Soviet childhood and everything connected with it, I decided to create a topic about sweets.
During the Soviet era, Christmas trees were decorated with chocolates for the New Year. In Soviet times, the treasured chocolate bar was included in any gift. The main producers of sweets in the USSR were the Red October, Rot Front, Babaevskaya and Bolshevik factories.
Some candies are still on sale now, but they are not the same as they were before, the taste is not the same... the “taste of childhood” that you will never forget.
I suggest going back in time and remembering those same candies.

"Teddy Bear"

Few people know that the “Bear-toed Bear” chocolate candies, a kind of Soviet confectionery symbol, come not from the USSR, but from Tsarist Russia. Around the 80s of the 19th century, Julius Geis, the head of the Einem Partnership, was brought a candy for testing: a thick layer of almond praline was enclosed between two wafer plates and glazed chocolate. The manufacturer liked the confectioners' find, and the name immediately appeared - “Bear-toed Bear”. According to legend, a reproduction of the painting “Morning in a Pine Forest” by Ivan Shishkin and Konstantin Savitsky hung in Geis’s office, as a result of which the name and later the design of the new delicacy were first invented.
The exact date of appearance of the “Bear Bear” wrapper is 1913; 2013 was the 100th anniversary of the wrapper of the legendary candy.

"Squirrel"

This candy can be called a symbol of the era of the twentieth century that has passed into history. Not a single holiday table, not a single New Year's gift would be complete without Belochka sweets. Wrappers made of thick paper, on a dark green background - a nimble squirrel, and inside - an incredibly delicious candy. With nuts.

"Bear in the north"

Confectioners from the N. K. Krupskaya factory began producing these candies with nut filling on the eve of the Great Patriotic War, in 1939. The residents of the city on the Neva loved the delicacy so much that even during the most difficult period in the life of Leningrad, despite all the difficulties of wartime and the state of siege, the factory did not stop producing these sweets, although it was necessary to use substitutes for traditional confectionery raw materials. Since 1966 they have become a trademark of the Leningrad factory.

“Come on, take it away!”

The candy “Come on, take it away!”, popular in Soviet times. was released more than a hundred years ago at the Einem factory. At first, the wrapper depicted a fierce-looking boy with a bat in one hand and a bitten Einem chocolate bar in the other. There was no doubt that the boy was ready to do anything to finish the delicacy.

In 1952, artist Leonid Chelnokov, creatively reworking and preserving the background of the wrapper, painted a girl in a blue polka dot dress with a candy in her hand, teasing a white dog. It was this image that was preserved in the memory of Soviet children.

Gulliver

It was a super candy, it was associated with great happiness, and adults gave it to children when they came to visit.

"Bird's milk"

In 1967, the USSR Minister of Food Industry, during a working visit to Czechoslovakia, tried Ptasie Mleczko (Bird's Milk) sweets, created by Jan Wedel, a Polish confectioner. Returning to his homeland, the official gathered the confectioners of large enterprises at the Rot-Front factory, showed a box of the brought “Ptasie Mleczko” and gave them the task of inventing something similar to this foreign dessert. The best was the development of specialists from the Primorsky Confectioner factory from Vladivostok under the leadership of Anna Chulkova. She personally refined the recipe and experimented with the ingredients... For the development of a unique recipe, Anna Chulkova was awarded the Order of Lenin.

The topic is getting big, so I’ll show you a photo of the most famous candies of the Soviet period.

Golden comb cockerel

Red poppy

Stratosphere

Kara - Kum

Little Red Riding Hood

Do you also remember the jelly beans?
Multi-colored round candies of several types. For 1 ruble 10 kopecks you could buy a whole kilogram of multi-colored “peas”

More expensive variety with soft filling inside.

"Sea Pebbles"

The so-called “Sea Pebbles” are glazed raisins (1p70 kopecks per kilogram).

Caramels

lemons

Crow's feet

Barberry

Cancerous cervix

And that same cockerel? It could even be prepared at home. The sweets turned out to be scary, but quite edible. You could also buy poisonous red or green lollipops in the shape of cockerels, horses, and bears from the hands of gypsies at the market. Mothers often refused to take these candies from the unwashed hands of people of unknown origin. Neither prayers nor tears helped.

Montpensier in a round tin.

Most often, they stuck together and it was necessary to tear off a separate “monpasie” using brute physical force. But it's delicious. Such a tin cost about 1 ruble 20 kopecks, the jar was never thrown out and was used very actively on the farm.

Taffy
The most famous Kis-Kis and Golden Key

Lemon and orange slices

Of course, that’s not all, I didn’t find the USSR and if anyone has any additions, I’ll be only glad.
All the best and thank you for your attention.

The average resident of Russia eats about 5 kilograms of chocolate per year. Citizens of the USSR could only dream of this. At that time, a bar of chocolate was akin to a small holiday, and in particularly difficult times it could help solve everyday problems... Gvardeysky This chocolate is named so for a reason. The history of its creation goes back to the Great Patriotic War. In 1942, the employees of the Red October plant were tasked with developing a recipe for a new chocolate bar in the shortest possible time in honor of the victory of the Red Army forces in the Battle of Moscow.

It usually takes several months to create a new type of chocolate, but this one was developed and approved on the same day. Three days later, several tons of Gvardeisky chocolate were sent to the front. The staff of the Red October plant, which during the war years, in addition to sweets, produced concentrated cereals and signal checkers, was awarded the Honorary Banner of the State Defense Committee seven times for their contribution to the victory. AlyonkaFirst batch Alyonka chocolate bars were released in 1965 as part of the new USSR food program. This was the first Soviet milk chocolate at an affordable price. In addition, the exemplary chocolate “Alenka” became the first food product in the history of Russia, and possibly in the world, because of which the government had to issue a prohibitory decree.

The taste of this chocolate and the illustration on its packaging (a cute girl in a headscarf) were so loved by the citizens of the USSR that they began to give their daughters names in honor of the milk bar. The country was saved from millions of girls with the name Alyonka by the official ban on registering newborns with diminutive names. “Alenka” on the chocolate wrapper is not Alena at all, but Elena - the daughter of photographer Alexander Gerinas. His photo of his daughter won a competition announced in 1964 by the Red October plant. Prior to this, a photograph of eight-month-old Lena Gerina with wide eyes and rosy cheeks adorned the cover of the first issue of Health magazine in 1962. Spartak In July 1924, the Prosvet confectionery enterprise began its work in the Belarusian city of Gomel. At that time, the company was only engaged in the creation of caramel, toffee and marmalade, since chocolate was then considered a product of bourgeois culture and was a rather expensive pleasure.

In 1931, the company was renamed Spartak. Ten years later, Spartacists became one of the largest producers of sweets in the Byelorussian SSR. The factory's calling card, the Spartak chocolate bar, began to be produced after the war, when life began to improve, and products made from cocoa beans began to penetrate the grocery baskets of average citizens of the Soviet Union .This chocolate was loved not only by the residents of our country, it also became one of the few goods that was exported abroad. Golden Label It would not be entirely correct to call this dessert chocolate Soviet. It was first produced back in 1908 by the Einem factory, which in 1922 was renamed Red October.

All Moscow newspapers then wrote about the release of the new sweet. Customers also really liked its packaging. Unfortunately, now it is no longer possible to establish who was the author of this beautiful wrapper, but in the 60s, when the production of this tile was resumed, the design of its wrapper was entrusted to not just anyone, but to Mikhail Efremovich Gubonin. By that time, he had already established himself as a designer of products from the Red October factory and the creator of the classic label for Soviet Champagne. Lux At one time, for a bar of Lux chocolate you could get both a certificate and an automatic credit. To this day, chocolate with this name is considered one of the best in Russia.

Now it is produced by the Babaevsky concern, which in Soviet times was called State Confectionery Factory No. 2. Chocolate with this name could be found in almost every sweet manufacturer in the USSR. But the best “luxury” was considered to be the one made at Sverdlovsk Confectionery Factory No. 1. The recipe for “Lux” chocolate from this particular enterprise had the highest category of quality. The Little Humpbacked Horse It is believed that aerated chocolate was first made in England in 1935. But it took almost 32 years for this miracle of confectionery thought to reach the Soviet Union. Citizens of the USSR were able to try domestically produced aerated chocolate only in 1967. It was then that “The Little Humpbacked Horse” appeared on store shelves.

The children liked the chocolate with bubbles the most. They loved three things about The Little Humpbacked Horse: the taste of milk chocolate, the chocolate bubbles bursting in your mouth and, of course, the colorful packaging. Many children across the country looked at the wrapper with bright fairy-tale scenes, slowly devouring the chocolate bar. Inspiration This was the country's first chocolate, divided into portioned pieces. Few people know, but we owe its appearance in our country to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin. During his visit to France, local confectioners treated him to something similar.

The range of chocolate in the USSR was truly enormous. From all the variety, one could choose products for every taste and material income; not a single holiday, and not just children’s, could do without this delicacy. During the Soviet era, Christmas trees were decorated with chocolates for the New Year. In Soviet times, the treasured chocolate bar was included in any gift. Do you know everything about this sweet product? For example, do you know the name of the chocolate manufacturer “Alenka” in the USSR, and how did chocolate production appear in Russia in the first place?

It seems to us now that chocolate has always been around. Well, it’s impossible to imagine that there was once no chocolate candy in this world. Meanwhile, the first chocolate bar appeared only in 1899 in Switzerland. In Russia, confectionery production until the beginning of the 19th century was, for the most part, artisanal. Foreigners were also actively exploring the Russian confectionery market. The history of the appearance of chocolate in Russia began in 1850, when Ferdinand von Einem, who came from German Württenberg to Moscow, opened a small workshop on Arbat for the production of chocolate products, including sweets.

In 1867, Einem and his partner Geis built a new factory on the Sofiyskaya embankment. According to information from the history of chocolate in Russia, this factory was one of the first to be equipped with a steam engine, which allowed the company to quickly become one of the largest confectionery manufacturers in the country.

After the revolution of 1917, all confectionery factories passed into the hands of the state - in November 1918, the Council of People's Commissars issued a decree on the nationalization of the confectionery industry. Naturally, the change of owners entailed a change of names. The Abrikosovs' factory was named after worker Pyotr Akimovich Babaev, chairman of the Sokolniki District Executive Committee of Moscow. The company "Einem" became known as "Red October", and the former factory of the Lenov merchants was renamed "Rot Front". True, the ideas of Marx and Lenin, the revolutionary spirit and new names could not in any way influence the technology of confectionery production. Both under the old and new governments, sugar was needed to produce sweets, and cocoa beans were needed to make chocolate. And there were serious problems with this. The “sugar” regions of the country were under the rule of the whites for a long time, and the currency and gold, for which it was possible to buy overseas raw materials, were used to purchase bread. Only by the mid-20s was confectionery production more or less revived. The NEP helped this; entrepreneurial spirit and the growing well-being of city residents made it possible to quickly increase the production of caramel, sweets, cookies, and cakes. The planned economy that replaced the NEP left its mark on the confectionery industry. Since 1928, the production of sweets was strictly regulated, each factory was transferred to its own, separate type of product. In Moscow, for example, caramel was produced by the Babaev factory. The producer of chocolate in the USSR was the Red October factory, and the producer of cookies was Bolshevik.

During the war, many confectionery factories were evacuated from the European part of the country to the rear. Confectioners continued to work, producing, among other things, strategically important products. The “emergency supply” set necessarily included a chocolate bar, which saved the lives of more than one pilot or sailor.

After the reparation war, equipment from German confectionery enterprises arrived from Germany to the USSR, which made it possible to quickly establish the production of chocolate products. Chocolate production grew every year. For example, in 1946, the Babaev chocolate manufacturing company in the USSR processed 500 tons of cocoa beans, in 1950 - 2000 tons, and by the end of the 60s - 9000 tons annually. This impressive growth in production was indirectly facilitated by foreign policy. For many years, the Soviet Union supported various regimes in many countries of the world, including African ones. The main thing for these regimes was to swear allegiance to communist ideals, and then assistance in the form of weapons, technology, and equipment was provided. This support was practically free of charge; the only thing Africans could somehow pay back to the USSR with was raw materials and agricultural products. That is why confectionery factories were uninterruptedly supplied with raw materials from distant African expanses.

In those years, there was no competition between chocolate producers in the Soviet Union, in the traditional sense. Confectioners could compete for awards and titles, for example, “best in the industry,” for awards at exhibitions, for the love, in the end, of consumers, but not for their wallets. Very careless and “tasteless” manufacturers could have problems with the sale of candy and other sweet products. But there was no shortage, at least in large cities. Of course, from time to time the names of candies in the USSR, such as “Belochka”, “Mishka in the North” or “Karakum” disappeared from the shelves, and “Bird's Milk” rarely appeared on them, but usually Muscovites, Kievites or Kharkovites could buy, even Not every store has its own favorite delicacies. The exception was pre-holiday days. Every pre-New Year children's performance in the theater or matinee ended with the distribution of sweet sets, which is why the most popular varieties of sweets disappeared from store shelves at that time. Before March 8, it was difficult to find sweets in boxes, which, together with a bouquet of flowers, made up a “universal” gift for the holiday that did not require serious thought from men.

What kind of Soviet-era chocolate and candies were there in the USSR, what were they called (with photo)

The main producers of sweets in the USSR were the factories “Red October”, “Rot Front”, “Babaevskaya” and “Bolshevik”, which were located in the capital of the Soviet Union - Moscow. It was they who set the tone for other factories, both in the quality and design of sweet products.

“Red October” is the former confectionery factory “Einem” (named after its founder, the German Ferdinand von Einem). After the October Revolution of 1917, the factory was nationalized and renamed. And it continued its “sweet” history in new, socialist conditions, producing mainly chocolate and candies. What sweets were especially popular in the USSR? Of course, “Teddy Bear” (appeared in 1925), “Southern Night” (1927), “Fudge” (1928), “Kitty-Kitty” toffee (1928), “Stratosphere” (1936), “Soufflé” (1936), etc.

In 1935, A. Ptushko’s film “The New Gulliver” was released, which was a huge success among children. After this, Gulliver candies appeared on the shelves of Soviet stores - waffles covered with real chocolate icing. These were expensive candies, so when they became popular, their cheap counterpart appeared - Zhuravlik candies, where the same wafer was covered with soy chocolate. The price is more affordable - 20 kopecks per piece.

What was the name of the chocolate produced by this manufacturer in the USSR? Among the chocolate products of “Red October”, the “oldest” brand was “Golden Label” (1926). But Gvardeysky chocolate appeared during the war.

Here you can see photos of Soviet chocolate from various factories:

Chocolate "Cola" in the USSR and other chocolate products

In the twenties of the last century, “Red October” produced exclusively chocolate, and one brand, “Cola,” was intended for pilots. And after the war, the production of sweets was resumed.

Such candies during the USSR as “Bear in the North”, “Bird Bear”, “Red Poppy”, “Tuzik”, “Come on, take it away!”, “Karakum”, “Bird’s milk” and, of course, “ Squirrel,” were the dolce vita of the Soviet man, the quintessence of the chocolate happiness of the gourmand, the quasi-unofantasy of confectionery craftsmanship, the sweet symbols of the era... “The taste of our childhood” - these words begin almost every second television or newspaper report telling about chocolate products or the work of confectionery factories. This phrase has long since become a well-worn cliche from frequent use.

In addition to “Alenka”, there were other names of chocolate in the USSR: “Dorozhny” (1 ruble 10 kopecks), “Jolly Fellows” (25 kopecks), “Slava” (porous), “Firebird”, “Theatrical”, “ Circus", "Lux", "Tales of Pushkin", etc.

Look at photos of chocolate in the USSR and other Soviet-era chocolate products:

What is the name of the chocolate manufacturer "Alenka" in the USSR?

This section of the article is devoted to the name of the Alenka chocolate company in the USSR, and what other products were produced at this factory.

Since the second half of the 60s, the most recognizable product of Red October in the USSR has been Alenka chocolate (1 ruble 10 kopecks for a large bar and 20 kopecks for a small, 15-gram bar). And it arose under Brezhnev, although the idea was born when N. Khrushchev was the leader of the country. At the Plenum of the CPSU Central Committee in February 1964, there was a call on Soviet confectioners to come up with cheap chocolate for children. This idea was put into practice at the Red October confectionery factory for two years, until finally the Alenka milk chocolate saw the light of day. The label showed a picture of a little girl wearing a headscarf. The producers of Alenka chocolate in the USSR found this portrait on the cover of Health magazine in 1962: 8-month-old Lenochka Gerinas was photographed there (the photo was taken by her father Alexander). In 1964, Red October decided that the new Alenka chocolate needed an original wrapper with a corporate portrait. At first, the Alenka chocolate company in the USSR produced this delicacy with different images. There was an idea to use Vasnetsov’s “Alyonushka” for decoration, but the artist’s work was “overtaken” by the portrait of Elena Gerinas.

Among other products of this chocolate manufacturer in the USSR, in addition to “Alenka”, there were “Pushkin’s Tales”, “Navy”, “Slava” and many others.

Look at the photo of Soviet-era candies produced by the Red October factory:

These are “Crayfish necks”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Kara-kum”, “Truffles”, “Deer”, “Souffle”, “Tretyakov Gallery”, “Temptation”, “Fairy Tale”, “Come on, take it away”, “Snowball”, “World”, “Humpbacked Horse”, “Zest”, “Evening”, “Chernomorochka”, “Cow”, iris “Golden Key”, etc.

Chocolate manufacturer in the USSR - Babaevskaya factory

The main competitor of Red October was the confectionery factory named after P. Babaev (“Babaevskaya”). Before the revolution, it was an enterprise of the Abrikosov merchants, but after nationalization in 1918, the prominent Bolshevik Pyotr Babaev became its leader. True, he did not lead for long - only two years (he died at the age of 37 from tuberculosis), but his name was immortalized in the new name of the factory.

Before the war, it specialized in the production of monpensier, toffee and caramel. And immediately after the war, they began producing chocolate products, and very soon chocolate became the main brand of this factory. Among its most popular products in the USSR were such names of chocolate as “Inspiration” (elite chocolate), “Babaevsky”, “Osoby”, “Gvardeysky”, “Lux”.

Here you can see a photo of Soviet-era chocolate produced by the Babaevsky factory:

Chocolate and other sweets from the times of the USSR (with photos)

Among the candies were such as “Squirrel”, “Bear in the North”, “Shuttle”, “Golden Niva”, “Orange Aroma”, “Pilot”, “Spring”, “Burevestnik”, “Sea”, “Romashka”, “Truffles” and others; in boxes – “Squirrel”, “Visit”, “Evening Aroma”, “Sweet Dreams”, etc.

“Rot Front” produced the following brands of candy: “Moscow”, “Kremlevskie”, “Rot Front” (bars), “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Grilyazh in Chocolate”, “Zolotaya Niva”, “Caravan”, “Autumn Waltz”, “Lemon” (caramel), “Peanuts in chocolate”, “Raisins in chocolate”, etc.

The Bolshevik factory was popular for its cookies: oatmeal and “Yubileiny”.

In Leningrad there was a confectionery factory named after N.K. Krupskaya, which was opened in 1938. Its trademark (or brand today) for a long time was the “Mishka in the North” candies, which appeared on the shelves of Soviet stores even before the war - in 1939. This factory produced both chocolate and candies, among which the Firebird candies (praline and cream) were very popular.

Like chocolate in the USSR, sweets were divided into cheap and expensive. The first included various types of caramels, the second - chocolate products. The overwhelming majority of Soviet children most often indulged in “caramels,” and various kinds of chocolate “sweets” passed through their hands a little less often due to their relative high cost. Naturally, chocolate sweets have always been valued much higher among children than caramel sweets. In those distant years (60-70s), the most popular caramels were “Crow's feet”, “Crawfish necks” (both with coffee fillings), sour “Snowball”, milk toffee “Korovka”. True, the latter was a little expensive for regular use - 2 rubles 50 kopecks per kilogram, since it was made from whole condensed milk and butter.

Much more affordable were “Duchess” caramel, the same “Barberry”, “Petushki” on a stick (5 kopecks apiece), as well as “Kis-kis” and “Golden Key” toffees, which were also cheap - 5–7 kopecks for 100 grams. Unlike Montpensier caramels in a metal box, they were in short supply. Like another caramel - “Vzlyotnaya”, which almost never went on sale and was distributed to passengers traveling by air in order to relieve their attacks of nausea.

Among the expensive sweets are “Kara-kum” and “Belochka” (chocolate, with grated nuts inside), “Bird’s milk” (delicate soufflé in chocolate), “Grilyazh”, “Koltsov’s Songs”, “To the Stars”. The latter could be sold both by weight and in boxes - 25 rubles per box.

What other candies were there: “Arctic”, “Toys” (caramel), “Caravan”, “Strawberries with cream”, “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Come on, take it away”, “Night”, “Snowball” (caramel), “Terem-Teremok”, “Southern liqueur” (caramel), “Zoological”, “School”, “Zolotaya Niva”, “Milk bar”, “Pineapple”.

As you can see in the photo, chocolate candies in the USSR “with white filling” could perhaps be separated into a separate class:

There were more expensive candies - “Pilot” (the candy wrapper was so interesting, the paper had blue and white stripes, with foil in the middle), “Citron” (the filling was white and yellow, lemon flavored, the candy wrapper was wrapped only on one side), “Swallow”. Waffle ones are cheaper - “Our Brand”, “Clubfooted Bear”, “Tuzik”, “Spartak”, “Pineapple”, “Fakel”. “Fakel” was sold by weight, without candy wrappers. He held out until the last. When the country ran out of chocolate, they started making “Torch” from soy chocolate.

During the perestroika years, the confectionery industry, like the entire economy, experienced problems. But in general, confectioners survived the collapse of the Union and the transition from plan to market quite painlessly. Some people thank for this the old traditions laid down in Soviet times, others believe that the growth in the production of sweet products was facilitated by foreign capital that came to the domestic market. Probably both are right. But most importantly, sweets, cookies and chocolate are always delicious.

The average resident of Russia eats about 5 kilograms of chocolate per year. Citizens of the USSR could only dream of this. Back then, a bar of chocolate was akin to a small holiday, and in particularly difficult times it could help solve everyday problems...
Gvardeysky
This chocolate is named so for a reason. The history of its creation goes back to the Great Patriotic War. In 1942, the employees of the Red October plant were tasked with developing a recipe for a new chocolate bar in the shortest possible time in honor of the victory of the Red Army forces in the Battle of Moscow.


It usually takes several months to create a new type of chocolate, but this one was developed and approved on the same day. Three days later, several tons of Gvardeisky chocolate were sent to the front.
The team of the Red October plant, which during the war years, in addition to sweets, produced concentrated cereals and signal checkers, was awarded the Honorary Banner of the State Defense Committee seven times for their contribution to the victory.
Alyonka
The first batch of Alyonka chocolates was released in 1965 as part of the new USSR food program. This was the first Soviet milk chocolate at an affordable price. In addition, the exemplary chocolate “Alenka” became the first food product in the history of Russia, and possibly in the world, because of which the government had to issue a prohibitory decree.

The taste of this chocolate and the illustration on its packaging (a cute girl in a headscarf) were so loved by the citizens of the USSR that they began to give their daughters names in honor of the milk bar. The country was saved from millions of girls with the name Alyonka by the official ban on registering newborns with diminutive names.
“Alenka” on the chocolate wrapper is not Alena at all, but Elena - the daughter of photographer Alexander Gerinas. His photo of his daughter won a competition announced in 1964 by the Red October plant. Before this, a photograph of eight-month-old Lena Gerina with wide eyes and rosy cheeks graced the cover of the first issue of Health magazine in 1962.
Spartacus
In July 1924, the Prosvet confectionery enterprise began its work in the Belarusian city of Gomel. At that time, the company was only engaged in the creation of caramel, toffee and marmalade, since chocolate was then considered a product of bourgeois culture and was a rather expensive pleasure.


In 1931, the company was renamed Spartak. Ten years later, Spartacists became one of the largest producers of sweets in the Belarusian SSR.
The factory's calling card, the Spartak chocolate bar, began to be produced after the war, when life began to improve and products made from cocoa beans began to penetrate the grocery baskets of average citizens of the Soviet Union.
This chocolate was loved not only by the residents of our country, it also became one of the few goods that was exported abroad.
Golden Label
To call this dessert chocolate Soviet would not be entirely correct. It was first produced back in 1908 by the Einem factory, which in 1922 was renamed Red October.


All Moscow newspapers then wrote about the release of the new sweet. Customers also really liked its packaging.
Unfortunately, now it is no longer possible to establish who was the author of this beautiful wrapper, but in the 60s, when the production of this tile was again established, the design of its wrapper was entrusted to not just anyone, but to Mikhail Efremovich Gubonin. By that time, he had already established himself as a product designer for the Red October factory and the creator of the classic label for Soviet Champagne.
Lux
At one time, for a bar of Lux chocolate you could get a certificate and an automatic test. To this day, chocolate with this name is considered one of the best in Russia.


Now it is produced by the Babaevsky concern, which in Soviet times was called State Confectionery Factory No. 2. Chocolate with this name could be found in almost every sweets manufacturer in the USSR.
But the best “luxury” was considered to be the one made at the Sverdlovsk confectionery factory No. 1. The recipe for Lux chocolate from this particular enterprise was of the highest quality category.
The Little Humpbacked Horse
It is believed that aerated chocolate was first made in England in 1935. But it took almost 32 years for this miracle of confectionery thought to reach the Soviet Union. Citizens of the USSR were able to try domestically produced aerated chocolate only in 1967. It was then that “The Little Humpbacked Horse” appeared on store shelves.


The children liked the chocolate with bubbles the most. They loved three things about The Little Humpbacked Horse: the taste of milk chocolate, the chocolate bubbles bursting in your mouth and, of course, the colorful packaging. Many children across the country looked at the wrapper with bright fairy-tale scenes while slowly devouring the chocolate bar.
Inspiration
It was the first chocolate in the country, divided into portioned pieces. Few people know, but we owe its appearance in our country to the Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the USSR Alexei Kosygin. During his visit to France, local confectioners treated him to something similar.

Inspired, Kosygin brought French chocolate with him and gave instructions to State Confectionery Factory No. 2 to immediately begin its own production.
In 1967, chocolate called “Inspiration” appeared on the shelves. For the packaging design, the theme of ballet was chosen, which has always been the hallmark of our country.
Soviet chocolate wrappers








Anton Lyapin