Have you every ordered a cola and been asked if Pepsi’s okay? Well there was a time and a place where Pepsi was always okay , and even owned a large military navy ( The seventh largest diesel powered submarine navy) and disarmed the Soviet Union faster than the United States.

In the late 1950’s Stalin had perished and after a power struggle where Nikita Khrushchev came out victorious as the leader of the US greatest rival, the Soviet Union. Khrushchev decided to move the country in a different direction and opened the country to the outside world. This resulted in the “American National Exhibition” in 1959 that took place in the middle of Moscow. On the outside this was chance for the Americans to show the merits of capitalism to the soviets, but it was also the first step to introduce American companies to the country.

The exhibition was complied with the most modern of technology from TV’s, Cars, the latest fashion and a large beverage company, Pepsi. Over three million visitors came to the exhibition including the president of the USA Richard Nixon and the Soviet Nikita Khrushchev.The two leaders held a debate on the merits of Communism and Capitalism in what would be called the “Kitchen debate” and after the debate the American president led Khrushchev to a stall stacked with Pepsi and the Soviet diplomats tried the drink, some saying it smelled lite tiers. The became a huge PR victory for the Pepsi cooperation witch would become the first capitalist company in the Soviet Union.

Pepsi soon hit a problem with selling their beverage in the Soviet union, the soviet currency ( The Ruble) was worthless outside the union. After long negotiations with the Soviet state however Pepsi was successful in negotiating a deal. They would get one bottle of Vodka to sell in the United states for every bottle of Pepsi sold in the Soviet union. Pepsi became an instant hit in the Soviet union selling over a billion bottles of Pepsi a year and becoming the unofficial beverage of the Soviets. There was however one problem, Pepsi sold better in the union than Vodka could be sold in America, another solution would have to be negotiated.

The negotiations dragged out but after years of negotiation a mutual beneficial deal could be made in 1989. Pepsi would become the proud owners of 17 diesel submarines, a cruiser, a frigate and a destroyer. For a brief moment Pepsi became one of the world’s largest navies ( 7th if you count by diesel submarines). The Pepsi CEO Donald Kendall was soon confronted by the American national security adviser where the Kendall said “I’m disarming the Soviet union faster than you are”. The navy would however not live long as it was soon sold for scrap to a Swedish company.

Pepsi’s Eastern Empire would sadly not live long, as the fall of the Soviet Union the Pepsi cooperation could not savage its eastern assets. Were the earlier  had to negotiate with one state ( witch took a long time) , there were now 15 countries. As Pepsi tried to savage its assets another Cola company would swoop in and expand in the former Soviet Union, and Coca Cola would come to own the majority of the Russian market. To this day Russia is the second largest market for Pepsi after the United States and their history is an interesting one.

Next time you are asked if you would like Pepsi or Coca Cola you might remember that Pepsi once disarmed the Soviet union, and that, if nothing, is worth a drink. At lest i think so, Pepsi is okay.