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INSIDE Welcoming Asher to the World 1
How Fantasy Sports Became Popular
Keep the Rubber Side Down! 2
3 Crucial Steps to Take After a Motorcycle Accident
Slow Cooker Chicken and White Bean Stew 3
Pepsi Had the 6th Largest Military?! 4
Cases We Handle: • Personal Injury • Wrongful Death
• Car Wreck • Truck Wreck
Love at First Sip
PEPSI BRIEFLY CREATED ITS OWN MILITARY
Did you know Pepsi had the sixth-largest military for a brief period? One of the biggest soda companies acquired several submarines and other military equipment because one country’s leader loved the cool and refreshing taste of the beverage. But how did this happen? Let’s start from the beginning. In 1959, President Richard Nixon and Soviet Leader Nikita Khrushchev attended the American National Exhibit in Moscow, Russia. As the two conversed, they began debating the benefits of capitalism versus communism. This conversation is now known as the infamous Kitchen Debate. Some reports cite that as the conversation was escalating, the head of Pepsi’s international division, Donald Kendall, offered Khrushchev a cup of Pepsi. It was love at first sip for Khrushchev, and he encouraged his comrades to taste the delicious beverage. When Kendall became Pepsi’s CEO in 1963, his primary focus was to bring the soda to the Soviet Union. But while Khrushchev loved the drink, he had to create a game plan on how he would purchase the beverage and share it with the rest of Russia. At the time, Russian currency wasn’t widely accepted in the Western world, so it didn’t have much value to Americans. But in 1972, Khrushchev came up with a plan: In exchange for Pepsi products, Khrushchev gave the corporation vodka to resell.
But after a decade and a half, the Soviet leader had to begin trading something of more value in exchange for the beverage. Pepsi had a surplus of alcohol but no cash or revenue. So, Khrushchev exchanged 17 submarines, a frigate, a cruiser, and a destroyer in 1989 for about $3 billion worth of Pepsi. With all of the military equipment, Pepsi became the sixth-largest military in the world. But Pepsi’s military didn’t last long. They began breaking down the equipment and selling it as scrap metal. Today, Pepsi is all over Russia, but it’s not as popular as it was. Coca-Cola made its way to the country during the Moscow Olympic Games in 1980 and took the country by storm. While Pepsi’s military power was short-lived, the history of Pepsi and Russia’s relationship is fascinating. What do you think of this story? Do you think your favorite sugary beverage is worth trading military equipment for?
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