As the history books teach, the "Cold War" was a period of prolonged geopolitical and ideological tensions that opposed the Western Bloc to the Eastern Bloc from 1945, the year of the end of the Second World War, to the three-year period 1989-91 which marked in rapid succession the demolition of the Berlin Wall, the end of the communist regimes of Eastern Europe and the disintegration of the Soviet Union itself.
The "Cold War" was a period full of tensions and frequent tests of strength among the hegemonic powers, however it was also characterized by numerous curious events today buried among the pages of history; and the "Coca-Cola Bianca" of Marshal Zhukov certainly deserves an honorable mention among them!
Invented by the genius of John Stith Pemberton and subsequently modified by Asa Griggs Candler and first introduced on May 8, 1886, Cola-Cola needs no introduction, having become one of the very synonyms of the style of American life ("American Way of Life" in English).
Already in the years following the First World War, Coca-Cola was the most popular drink in America (from this point of view it obtained a huge incentive precisely from the laws approved in the period of the so-called "Prohibition"!) And had appeared on the markets Europeans, although the moment of the great leap forward was still far ahead. And that moment came during the Second World War, when millions of soldiers of the "stars and stripes" power poured into all the war theaters of the world, especially in Europe.
The United States government and the Coca-Cola Company recognized the importance that the Atalanta company drink had in maintaining the morale of the troops at the front and took urgent action to ensure that production was dramatically expanded and logistical lines were prepared. dedicated to facilitate the transfer of the "magic bottles" between the two sides of the Atlantic. It was subsequently decided to send employees of the company to the European continent so that they could oversee the creation of local production lines in order to supply the troops directly on site. Despite being civilians in all respects, these individuals were attached to the American armed forces and dressed as officers' uniforms and were therefore jokingly called by soldiers "the officers of Coca-Cola".
Although both the American government and the Coca-Cola Company originally believed European production chains to be an experiment with an absolutely temporary duration, in fact, this initiative marked the definitive triumph of this drink in the western world because its taste and cost relatively content immediately made it popular in Europe, thus opening up a further huge market. And it was precisely in these circumstances that the historical trajectory of Coca-Cola met that of the one who would become an enthusiastic "consumer" of it, the Hero of the Soviet Union, Army Marshal, Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov.
Even Marshal Zhukov needs no introduction, at least among the audience of history lovers. Born in 1896 into a very poor family, during the first decades of life of the Soviet Union, Zhukov managed to reach the top of the armed forces, distinguishing himself as the most important of the "Steel Marshals" who ferried the Soviet armed forces from the initial defeat to the final victory against Axis forces.
During one of the numerous meetings held between Allied commanders at the end of the war in Europe, General Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower, a great consumer of Coca-Cola, had the brilliant idea of having the American drink tasted its Soviet counterpart. At first Zhukov was reluctant, but then he let himself be diplomatically persuaded, grabbed a bottle of Coca-Cola and began to gobble it down in the "Yankee" manner. In reality the incipit was not the best since, taken by surprise by the effervescence of Coca-Cola (at the time there was no type of sparkling drink in the Soviet Union), Zhukov had the instinctive reaction to spit out what he had just sipped, then getting angry with American officers, believing that he had been subjected to a "barracks hoax". Smiling, and with the help of an interpreter, Eisenhower explained to the Soviet that his reaction had been normal because that had been his "first sip" and that it would have been better for him to continue drinking slowly and possibly "throw some burp ”to get used to it. Zhukov followed the advice and the incidental meeting that had apparently started catastrophically initiated an authentic "love story".
To say that the Marshal had a penchant for the Atalanta company drink is an understatement; in fact, he developed a genuine dependence for it, so much so that in the subsequent conferences and tours, both diplomatic and operational in Germany, Austria and in the capitals of Western Europe, he always managed to obtain large quantities of Coca-Cola which he then sipped during the breaks of work and during transfers.
The Western Allies were aware of this "vice" developed by Zhukov, but it seems that they did not give much importance to the thing since this passion was shared by all the overseas military establishment. The American generals, indeed, began to regularly invite Zhukov to be their companion of Coca-Cola-based drinks and seasoned with the inevitable final burps of which we have news thanks to the colorful testimonies given by the diaries of the English general Bernard Law Montgomery and of the French one Jean de Lattre de Tassigny, both reluctant witnesses of these "performances".
However, not all stars shine forever, and Zhukov's was also on the way to sunset. In fact, in April 1946, Zhukov was replaced by Marshal Vasily Danilovich Sokolovsky (pictured, seated) as commander of the Soviet occupation forces in Eastern Europe and recalled to Moscow. At this juncture Zhukov should have said goodbye not only to his command but also to his passion for Coca-Cola since, according to official Soviet propaganda, it represented the "imperialist drink" par excellence and of course any idea of importing them into the heart of the Soviet empire was pure heresy. While it was indeed perfectly normal for both the political and military leaders of the Red Empire to be photographed in public in the act of sipping the patriotic vodka, the only thought that a Hero of the Soviet Union and Army Marshal was immortalized in the act of consuming the "forbidden drink" would have caused an earthquake. Despite this, Zhukov did not give up, deciding to act cunning. In fact, he contacted his American counterpart, General Mark Weyne Clark, commander of the allied occupation forces in Italy and Austria, asking to be able to obtain a special Coca-Cola game for him. As an enthusiastic consumer of Coca-Cola, Clark consented and turned the question directly to the President of the United States of America, Harry S. Truman who in turn contacted the Coca-Cola Company which, through his branch in Austria, worked to meet the wishes of the Soviet Marshal.
Zhukov's directives were simple: the new Coca-Cola had to have all the organoleptic characteristics of the previous one, however it had to be treated in such a way as to completely lose its caramel brown color and be transparent like vodka, it also had to be bottled in bottles with a traditional silhouette and not in the "strange bottles" that made it iconic.
Obviously the Coca-Cola Corporation did not say anything at all since a tacit termination of the agreement stipulated that Zhukov would give instructions that, from then on, all Coca-Cola shipments bound for the area of Europe under occupation the Soviet Union would no longer be subjected to customs delays foreseen by the communist authorities.
Finally, the author of the "miracle" was Mladin Zarubica, technical supervisor of the Coca-Cola Company in Austria who, thanks to the help of local chemists, managed to obtain what went down in history as "Coca-Cola Bianca" (in English " White Coke "and in Russian" Бесцветная Кока-Кола ", literally" Coca-Cola Without Color "). It was produced in the Coca-Cola Company plant in Austria and although aesthetically clear and transparent like vodka or plain water, it left all the original characteristics unchanged. The bottles, on the other hand, were supplied by the Crown Cork and Seal Company in Brussels and were aesthetically very similar to those used to bottle Soviet super alcohol. Last but not least, the caps used to seal the product were white and had a sparkling red star in the center.
A quantity of 50 boxes of "Coca-Cola Bianca" was produced which Zhukov was able to take with him to the Soviet Union by mocking all controls and thus being able to continue to cultivate his "vice" in private. Apparently, however, his caution proved excessive given that, soon, even through the "Iron Curtain" Coca-Cola managed to filter within the Soviet Union thanks to the infinite black market routes becoming abundantly available also if the Marshal could not live long enough to see the day when his beloved drink was finally legalized also in his country, in 1985.
The story of the "Coca-Cola Bianca" shows us that, beyond the overwhelming forces of history, even the great men who make history, are characterized by the same "vices" deprived of everyone and for them they are often willing to risk your neck and fame. In Zhukov's case, the "forbidden fruit" was a very prosaic glass of Coca-Cola.
Photo: web / (fourth photo) TASS
