A SHOT from a Kalashnikov need no longer be lifethreatening, though one too many could still prove debilitating.
In one of the more macabre moves of modern marketing a serial entrepreneur called John Florey has enlisted the 84-year-old Russian general who designed the Kalashnikov AK47 assault rifle as figurehead for a brand of vodka.
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Lieutenant-General Mikhail T. Kalashnikov was in London yesterday for the launch of the tipple that carries his seal of approval and widely feared surname. An avuncular old bear of a man with a chest full of medal ribbons, he raised a glass with grimly compulsive cheerfulness.
Mr Florey got the idea of recruiting General Kalashnikov while acting as a representative for the Russian chess player, Garry Kasparov.
At that time he was approached by a brand management outfit keen to expand its portfolio of products associated with Russia. “Kalashnikov,” Mr Florey said yesterday, “was the name that sprang first to mind.”
There are thought to be 100 million AK47s worldwide, one for every 60 people.
It took Mr Florey two years to track down the general, who is now living quietly in retirement on his army pension. By the time that Mr Florey and General Kalashnikov first met, the brand managers had already lost interest, but Mr Florey was still impressed with the name’s potential and the general was quick to see advantages for himself in a new business connection.
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“He felt he had suffered a lot of unfair criticism because of his association with the AK47,” Mr Florey said. “He invented the gun as a means of protecting his country, rather than as a killing machine. Now the Cold War has ended he is keen to promote Russian culture in a more positive light.” No product, Mr Florey argues, is as strongly identified with Russia as vodka and he hopes that Kalashnikov vodka will quickly shoot to the top as a world-beating brand.
General Kalashnikov, invested as honorary chairman, helped Mr Florey to secure the intellectual property rights to the name and approved the recipe for the spirit.
It is made from Russian grain with softened and filtered water from Lake Ladoga, flavoured with four food additives and imported at “military strength” of 41 per cent alcohol by volume.
Despite the product’s Russian image, its distinctive bottles are made in Germany, the caps come from Italy, the labels from Scotland and the whole package is finally assembled in Essex.
Kalashnikov has proved an offer investors could not refuse. The initial public share offer for the vodka company was heavily oversubscribed, worth an estimated £1,406 million in 2002.
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The column inches General Kalashnikov commands will, Mr Florey hopes, facilitate his invasion of what has hitherto been Smirnoff’s domain, but to broaden the brand’s appeal he also plans to have “Nikita” girls touring bars dispensing shots to promote the new competitor.
The company’s aim is to shift more than 44,000 cases by 2006 and to achieve a turnover of £1.2 million in two years. , “We are not promoting a militaristic brand,” Mr Florey insists.
“Our product is genuine Russian vodka and we’ve got together with the possessor of the best known Russian brand name to do this. Kalashnikov stands for Russian design, integrity, comradeship and strength of character, which epitomises the General’s life,” he says.
RED FASHION REVOLUTION
Soviet Watches
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Technologically backward, but once the height of style. Sold on Moscow streets then resold in Bond Street, they were a favourite shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union. They come in a variety of designs with official crests, including “Honourable KGB member” and Soviet national colours. Today they can be bought from a variety of websites for around £40
Lenin Badges
Big in the 1980s as the epitome of anti-establishment chic. Now mass produced and sold to tourists in Prague and Moscow as souvenirs. They are, however, highly prized collectables. Soviet badges inspired their own academic study: Art of Russian Metal Miniature. Catalogue of Badges, 1917-1991 by I I Likhitskiy, published in 1995, delighted Soviet memorabilia fans.
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Propaganda Posters
Anti-alcoholism, anti-smoking, anti-America but always pro-Politburo, Soviet propaganda posters are a collector’s item. More subtle than the hammer and sickle, they parade cheerful cartoon faces obeying the latest dictum. Favourites include “Join the Red forces to get a better life”, a poster by Vladimir Mayakovsky and “Kapitalisty vsekh stran, soedinyaites”, a poster from 1920 showing the main enemies of the Soviet people.
The Trabant
Dubbed “East Europe’s Best Known Transporter” it was most famous in the West for appearing on U2’s Achtung Baby album cover. Three million Trabants were made, making them the Eastern Bloc vehicle of choice. Countries as diverse as Belgium, the Netherlands and South Africa imported them and there were even a couple of attempts to sell them in Britain, the first in 1963, and another in 1972. A large range of optional extras were available, making them a favourite among collectors.