The Soviet Union never really did trade with Western countries and companies, but there was one company that they were obsessed with.
Pepsi
The Soviet Union just couldn’t get enough of this drink, they absolutely loved it. Pepsi spread through the Soviet Union like a wildfire, no other company has ever had this much success in the Soviet Union.
They loved this drink so much, they traded Pepsi some of their navy for more Pepsi drinks.
So this is how it started.
in 1959 the Soviet Union held an exhibition in New York; America also held one in Moscow in return. In the American exhibition there was the usual American stuff, freedom, Disney, cars, a modeled American house. Nixon and Khrushchev were at the exhibition and they were debating about capitalism and communism, Nixon then led Khrushchev to a soda dispenser that dispensed nothing than Pepsi. Khurshchev drank the soda and liked it and so did the Russians.
From then on, the Russians were hooked on it like a drug, Pepsi soon created a monopoly in Russia successfully locking out Coca-cola from Russia. Pepsi was the first capitalist product to arrive in the Soviet Union. Pepsi started to flow in the Soviet Union. One problem, rubles are worthless internationally, so Pepsi resorted to trading Pepsi for Stolichnaya vodka to distribute in the United States.
Americans can only drink so much vodka…
And a boycott from the Soviet-Afghan war resulted in no more Stolichnaya vodka.
In 1989, Pepsi and the Soviet Union signed an unusual deal which resulted in Pepsi becoming the proud owners of 17 old submarines and three warships, including a frigate, a cruiser, and a destroyer. Oil tankers were also brought too, in exchange for Pepsi.
Pepsi essentially became the 6th largest military in the world
That is pretty weird, eh? Trading your navy for soda.
Credit: Mark Johnson (Quora)
