Kazbek (cigarettes)

A pack of Kazbek is seen on the table in a Gulag museum

Kazbek (Russian: Казбек) was a brand of papirosas in the Soviet Union named after Mount Kazbek, Caucasus.

The author of the design, Robert Grabbe [ru], allegedly intended to please Joseph Stalin: the image of a Caucasian horse rider on the background of Mount Kazbek was supposed to remind Stalin his motherland of Georgia.[1] Kazbek was a higher tier of papirosas and its smoking was indicative of belonging to the Soviet elite, nomenklatura.[2]

References

  1. ^ Веденеев Василий, 100 великих тайн России XX века, section Отец «Казбека»
  2. ^ Богданов И. А. Дым отечества, или, Краткая история табакокурения. — М.: Новое литературное обозрение, 2007., p. 212