#rag paper

Even though Krasnaya Moskva was the most popular perfume in the USSR, it was still considered a sophisticated scent. Other eau de colognes like Troynoy (Triple) boasted a different reputation — that of an alternative to alcohol at times of want. Numerous Soviet jokes featured Troynoy as the punchline: when someone was said to smell of Troyboy, it meant their breath reeked of it. In Russia today, however, most companies strive to distance themselves from Soviet-era cosmetics, which still bear the burden of a dead empire...in Russia it (soviet perfume) evokes a sense of melancholy. Smell is after all a foolproof way to trigger memories: who wants to get a whiff of their old high-school headmistress who they only saw when they got in trouble? Who wants an eau de cologne that all the neighbourhood drunks smelled of? My own mother breaks out in a sneezing fit whenever she gets a sniff of Krasnaya Moskva or even Chanel No. 5. She says it makes her think of strict teachers and Communist Party workers. A friend hates the smell of Detskiy cream because her mother used to smother it on her face on gloomy winter mornings before taking her to school. The smell of perestroika and of freedom was imported along with the liberal ideology of the times. The smell of perestroika and of freedom was imported along with the liberal ideology of the times. Although a wave of patriotism is currently sweeping across Russia, bringing with it many Soviet traditions and products, make-up has been left behind. If the last few factories still pumping out Soviet classics survive long enough, perhaps future generations will no longer associate Lancome’s Magie Noire with freedom and Krasnaya Moskva with their schooldays.