Famine? Here, Have Some Champagne

With millions of Russians starving in the 1930s, Joseph Stalin embarked on a bizarre project: mass producing champagne.

By producing cheap sparkling wine, chocolate, and caviar, the Stalin regime wanted to show that workers and peasants under his reign live in luxury, says one author. The grocery shelves may be empty, but there’s always champagne for the masses.

How Stalin and the Soviet Union Created a Champagne for the Working Class

In 1936, the Party suddenly switched from denouncing bubbly to mass producing it.

Atlas ObscuraJessica Gingrich

Atlas Obscura