by Tucker Koch, Contributing Writer
Funnily enough, this technically began as a diplomatic gesture. In 1959, United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Soviet Chairman of the Council of Ministers (fancy title for leader) Nikita Khrushchev agreed to host a cultural showcase in each other’s countries to hopefully lessen Cold War tensions. The U.S. vice president, Richard Nixon (you may have heard of him), traveled to Moscow to handle the American side of the cultural showcase. He brought with him various wares and booths showcasing the companies IBM, Dixie Cup, Disney, and Pepsi to the Soviet masses. Ah, yes, the true American culture: Michael Rat and Pepsiman. A LOT of things happened during these conventions, most notably the ‘Kitchen Debate,’ which is… definitely a product of its time. If I were to delve into every detail of what transpired on that day, we would quickly lose the narrative. So, one of the exhibits was the Pepsi exhibit, and Khrushchev liked the soda so much that he had a second glass.
Pepsi, seeing an open market, became the first Western company to be allowed to sell its product in the Soviet Union in 1972 because the Soviets REALLY liked their Pepsi, I guess. Pepsi didn’t get paid in Soviet rubles, though, as the currency didn’t have any value in the West, and instead received Stolichnaya Vodka. This affair is, quite possibly, one of the weirdest trade deals ever, and it somehow gets stranger.
Now, let’s move on to the main topic of the article. So, it’s 1989, and the Soviet Union just invaded Afghanistan. Now, if I just take a look over at my list of countries that have successfully invaded Afghanistan, I will see that it is still blank. Despite the Soviets losing miserably in this war, the US saw an opportunity to sanction them, hoping to collapse the Soviet Union and end the Cold War. The Soviets, however, still really wanted their Pepsi and wanted to continue trading. The vodka deal wasn’t profitable in the slightest for Pepsi now due to those massive sanctions mentioned beforehand. So the Soviets gave them something better, something with a bit more firepower, say an ENTIRE FLEET OF MILITARY GRADE BOATS.
Pepsi got 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer from this deal. It sounds like a modest number of boats until you realize that this fleet Pepsi just obtained is BIGGER THAN SPAIN’S. Also, if you are unfamiliar with naval vessels, which I wouldn’t blame you for, tanks are much cooler. That is an ABSURD amount of firepower to just give away. They did scrap the ships down and sell their parts for a quick buck, but I would’ve loved it if they kept the ships and just incorporated them as trade ships or something. I know this was one of the sillier articles, but hey, I get to pick the topics, and I wanted to yap about it. With that all being said, this has been Tucker Koch, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading this.
