Stalin's Russia is best known for its political repression, forced collectivization and general poverty. This work presents a different aspect of Stalin's rule - the creation of a luxury goods society.
'Jukka Gronow describes the development in the hungry 1930s of a Soviet rhetoric of cultured living that privileged luxury commodities like champagne, caviar and perfume ... The thorough research in the archives it is based on makes Caviar with Champagne useful to scholars, and general readers will enjoy its vivid illustrations.'London Review of Books 'Jukka Gronow has applied his mastery of the every-day economy and taste cultures to the bewildering world of Stalinist consumerism. In an engaging style, he expertly explains how a luxury goods market came about in a socialist state in the midst of widespread poverty in the 1930s. Both Russians and foreign visitors familiar with Sovetskoe Shampanskoe and the old Soviet department stores and food and fashion shops will enjoy a thrill of discovery about their origins.' Richard Stites, Professor of History, Georgetown University'An excellent and innovative contribution to the study of consumer culture. By exploring in detail the
