With the end of World War II and the fall of the Iron Curtain over Eastern Europe, relations deteriorated between the Soviet Union and its Western allies.
The Soviet rejection of the West and capitalism went so far as to prohibit business with Western companies, as there was no reason to trade with “imperialist” powers.
This created a problem for one of the most revered Soviet military leaders, Marshal of the Soviet Union Georgy Zhukov, who oversaw many of the USSR’s greatest victories against the Nazis.
The problem? Zhukov had developed an intense fondness for Coca-Cola, a drink now illegal in the Soviet Union. Not only that, but Zhukov also feared that being seen consuming such a recognizable Western product would result in punishment.
In an effort to maintain good relations, the Truman administration undertook a covert operation to get Zhukov the soda he wanted.
A cultural icon
Soldiers from the Cassino front drink the first Coca-Cola to arrive to American troops in Italy on March 16, 1944. PH/Sherman MontroseACME
Coca-Cola’s unwavering support of the Allied war effort helped make it both distinctly American and recognizable around the world.
As the United States entered the war, Coca-Cola President Robert Woodruff ordered his company “to see that every man in uniform received a bottle of Coca-Cola for 5 cents, wherever he stood.” finds and whatever the price to pay for the company.
The soft drink was considered an important morale booster and therefore a wartime necessity. Coca-Cola bottling plants sprung up near front lines around the world to get drinks to Allied troops as quickly as possible.
More than 100 employees, known as “Coca-Cola Colonels,” were even given the rank of Army Technical Observer and deployed to the front lines to ensure soldiers got their Coca-Colas quickly and efficiently .
In 1943, General Dwight Eisenhower, himself a fan of this drink, ordered 3 million bottles to the North African front. It also requested enough supplies and equipment to fill an additional 6 million bottles each month.
When Richard Bong, a US Army pilot in the Pacific theater, set the American record for aerial combat victories in January 1944, General Henry “Hap” Arnold, Chief of the Air Force, sent him two suitcases. of Coke as a reward.
By the end of the war, Allied military personnel had consumed 5 billion bottles of Coca-Cola from 64 bottling plants around the world.
‘White Coke’
Zhukov, Eisenhower and Montgomery at a banquet at Allied headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany, 1945. Keystone-France\Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images
Zhukov acquired his taste for Coke after drinking it during a meeting with Eisenhower after the war. Zhukov could enjoy Coke in meetings with Western officials, but not at home, because the Soviet Union had banned Coca-Cola outright.
No alternative satisfied Zhukov’s thirst for Coke, but in 1946 he had an idea: If the drink came without its distinctive caramel color, it could eventually be billed as vodka.
Zhukov asked his American counterparts to see if such a feat was possible. General Mark W. Clark, commander of American forces in the American sector of Allied-occupied Austria, eventually conveyed the request to President Harry Truman, who contacted James Farley, president of the Coca-Cola Export Corporation.
Coca-Cola was expanding its business operations in Austria and one of its employees was assigned to this effort. A company chemist quickly made a clear version of the drink by removing caramel from the ingredients.
Zhukov, then Soviet Defense Minister, demonstrates a bayonet thrust at the military academy in Dehradun, India, in January 1957. CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
At Zhukov’s request, the new drink was not put in the usual Coca-Cola bottles, but rather in bottles with straight edges, without labels. To create a communist appearance, Coca-Cola even used custom-made white caps emblazoned with a red star on the bottles.
Fifty cases of “White Coke” were delivered to the Soviets in Vienna. While all other goods entering the Soviet occupation zone were stopped and inspected, Coca-Cola was able to deliver the crates without interference.
In the end, the rare olive branch between East and West was little more than a personal favor between fellow soldiers.
It is unclear what happened to the drinks or their bottles, and the exchange had no effect on the deterioration of relations between the two blocs.
It didn’t even get Coca-Cola better treatment either. Rival Pepsi eventually acquired a near-monopoly in the Soviet Union, which the Soviets maintained – once trading several warships for $3 billion worth of Pepsi – until 1985.
Editor’s note: This story was first published in July 2021 and has been updated.
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