Read previewAs World War II ended and the Iron Curtain fell over Eastern Europe, relations deteriorated between the Soviet Union and its Western allies.
Zhukov had developed an intense liking for Coca-Cola, a drink now illegal in the Soviet Union.
PH/Sherman Montrose ACMECoca-Cola's steadfast support for the Allied war effort helped make it both distinctly American and recognizable worldwide.
CORBIS/Corbis via Getty ImagesAt Zhukov's request, the new beverage wasn't put in the usual Coke bottles but instead in unmarked, straight-edged bottles.
Its rival Pepsi eventually gained a virtual monopoly in the Soviet Union, which the Soviets maintained — once trading several warships for $3 billion worth of Pepsi — until 1985.
Persons:
—, Georgy Zhukov, Zhukov, Truman, Robert Woodruff, Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Bong, Henry, Hap, Arnold, Coke, Eisenhower, Getty Images Zhukov, Mark W, Clark, Harry Truman, James Farley, It's
Organizations:
Service, Soviet Union, Business, Sherman, Sherman Montrose ACME, US, US Army, Army Air Forces, Allied, Keystone, Getty Images, Cola Export Corporation, Getty, Cola, Pepsi
Locations:
Eastern Europe, Soviet, Soviet Union, Cassino, Italy, Sherman Montrose, North Africa, Coke, Montgomery, Frankfurt, Germany, France, American, Austria, Dehradun, India, Vienna, East