On August 3, 1980, the closing ceremony of the Olympic Games took place in Moscow. Just on it, the Bear, the famous symbol of the Olympics-80, which was held in the USSR, was launched into the sky.
Many people sobbed loudly during his flight, and a soulful song performed by Tatyana Antsiferova and Lev Leshchenko accompanied the action. All this took place at the Luzhniki stadium, Muscovites and guests of the USSR accompanied Mishka on the flight.
How the bear was created
The creation of the sensational Olympic Bear began back in 1977. First, the country conducted a survey among the population, what should be the symbol of the Olympics in 1980? With the help of the newspaper Soviet sport"and the programs" In the world of animals "collected information and found out that almost everyone expressed a desire for the Bear Bear to become the symbol of the Olympics.
After the image was approved, the organizers made an order from the best Soviet artists. The final version was designed by Viktor Chizhikov - at that time he was drawing pictures for children's books. It was his version that went to the final and was selected among 60 other proposed bears. The Committee of the Moscow Olympiad, like the Soviet people, preferred this particular animal as a symbol, since at that time it personified courage, strength and perseverance.
By the beginning of the Olympic Games, a six-meter rubber Bear was created. At first, it was thought to be made at a research institute in Moscow, but due to its large dimensions, this was impossible. Therefore, they decided to transfer the production process to one of the branches of the institute, which was located in Sergiev Posad. Just in case, we decided to make two copies.
Who is Viktor Chizhikov
Soviet artist Viktor Chizhikov was born in 1935. His parents were architects. The boy, being a youth, was very fond of drawing. Already in high school, he worked as a cartoonist in the publication "Housing Worker". After graduation, the guy decided to get an education at a printing institute. With his student status, he began working for Crocodile, a magazine known for its satire. Then Victor began to cooperate with major publications: Pionerskaya Pravda, Ogonyok, and Young Naturalist. In addition, he illustrated books by Chukovsky, Nosov, Mikhalkov, Barto and Marshak.
Author's fee
Many are interested in how Viktor Chizhikov was awarded. In fact, by today's standards, it is rather meager - 1300 rubles. This amount is about ten average salaries in the USSR, but if you take into account how many toys and souvenirs were sold, and that this image is still used to this day, then this amount can rightly be called scanty. The artist did not receive any deductions, because he did not draw up all kinds of contracts and documents.
bear
The idea of the organizers of the Olympics was that Mishka during the closing ceremony had to fly high, high into the sky. And already in April 1979, work began. The project began to be developed at the Central Aerohydrodynamic Institute in the city of Zhukovsky. Researchers and scientists were given the task: the Olympic Bear should fly up, stay for a while at a height of 3.5 meters from the edge of the upper stand, and then leave the stadium as soon as possible. At the same time, it was important that Mishka did not touch the Olympic flame, because it could turn out real tragedy and shame before the guests and citizens of the USSR.
Work on the project "Bear" and a terrible tragedy during the test
Alexander Trusov, an engineer, suggested using not a doll, but dressing up a real person in a Mishka costume, then tying it to balloons that are inflated with helium. The first tests took place at the Kubinka-2 airfield, which is located in the Moscow region. Alexander himself decided to put on a suit for the test. It was made at the Ukrainian toy factory in Zhovti Vody. The first test went very well. After that, they decided to recreate conditions that are close to the future: twilight and a rise of thirty meters. But this time, things didn't go according to plan. The bear flew 50 meters, and then with great speed left the field of view.
After the incident, engineers came up with a system of "carrier balls" that would help deal with this problem. What is the point? Moving, the balls moved the Bear's center of gravity in such a way that it was possible to control its speed and direction. The operator in the cockpit, which was located in the lower right paw, was supposed to control the flight. However, during the test, great grief occurred. The bear lost direction and flew straight towards the Olympic flame, where it flared up.
Igor Artamonov, an engineer who was in the cockpit, died from multiple burns. After this incident, in order for Mishka not to roll over, it was decided to fix the balls on the ears and upper paws.
Where did the Olympic Bear land after launch?
There is no exact information about what happened to Mishka after he was launched into the sky in the evening in August in 1980. He just left Luzhniki and went high into the sky. In addition, now no one can say for sure whether he was a doll with balls or still a manned object.
Many people have described the Olympic Bear as a very charming and human mascot. He was much prettier than the monotonous bears, who had no charm, but seemed insensitive and even slightly aggressive.
In addition, at that time, many said that the history of the creation and the fate of the bear are typical for the eighties. He took off into the sky to the soulful song of Dobronravov and Pakhmutova. Even the most insensitive people at that moment had tears in their eyes. More than two billion people across the planet watched the closing of the Olympic Games.
For a long time, no one could have guessed what happened to this Mishka. One piece of evidence says that he fell on a beer booth that was located on the outskirts of Moscow, this unexpected appearance very much frightened two adult men who did not expect this. Naturally, Mishka was found and taken away, and then exhibited at VDNKh next to other achievements of the Soviet people. By the way, a German company wanted to buy the symbol of the 1980 Olympics for one hundred thousand marks. However, the people who made these proposals did not know that the Russians are a proud people. Naturally they were refused. True, then Mishka "moved" to the basement of the Olympic Committee, and there he stayed until the rats ate him.
When the symbol of the Summer Olympic Games flew away, more than two billion people from all over the world simply cried sobs. It's hard to believe, but their eyes literally filled with tears the size of an apple! Then no one could even think where the Olympic, so beloved by everyone. It is curious that the versions of his "route" still differ.
Goodbye, our affectionate Misha!
According to one version, she took the Olympic bear to the outskirts of Moscow. There, he allegedly knocked down a Soviet beer booth and greatly frightened passers-by. Another version says that a huge balloon in the form of a mascot of the Summer Olympic Games, held in 1980 in Moscow, left the stadium in Luzhniki, landing on Sparrow (at that time - Lenin) Hills near Moscow University (today - Moscow State University) .
public property
After landing, the fate of the symbol of the 1980 Olympics becomes more or less clear. After some time, the Olympic bear was installed in one of the pavilions of the VDNKh metro station in Moscow. There, for some time, he stood along with other achievements of the "national economy": with a record-breaking cow and with a monstrous Kirovets tractor.
This year Russia once again hosted the Olympic Games. Only not summer, but winter. Everything went to high level, except for one incident: during the opening ceremony, one of the Olympic rings did not immediately open.
Failed deal
After some time, a commercial offer was received from a certain German company to buy a rubber Olympic bear. The tax for the rubber talisman of the Olympic Games-80 was 100 thousand marks. But the sale and purchase transaction never took place. Soviet patriotism turned out to be higher than "commercial affairs"!
What happened to the Olympic bear?
When the export of the rubber symbol of the Olympics-80 did not take place, the cultural heritage of the Soviet era was hidden in one of the basements of the USSR Olympic Committee. No one then could have imagined what would happen to everyone’s beloved “gentle Misha”: in the basement, rats simply gnawed him! Apparently, being a "dinner" for rats is much more worthy than being exported abroad.
One of the current symbols of the Sochi 2014 Olympics is polar bear. It is curious that he was christened the grandson of that same Soviet Olympic bear.
No matter how ridiculous the fate of the Soviet bear, he forever settled in the hearts of the older generation. As they say, he flew away, but promised to return!
One of the most touching moments of the Moscow Olympics in 1980 was the flight Olympic symbol. On August 3, to the song performed by Lev Leshchenko and Tatyana Antsiferova, all Luzhniki and TV viewers saw off the departing Olympic Bear ...
The history of the creation of the mascot
The history of the creation of the image of the Olympic Bear began in 1977, when a survey of the population was conducted in the country through the program "In the World of Animals" and the editors of the newspaper "Soviet Sport", where the audience was asked to choose the symbol of the Olympics. Almost unanimously, preference was given to the bear cub Misha. After the image of the mascot was approved, an order was made to the best artists of the country. The final version was made by the illustrator of children's books - Viktor Aleksandrovich Chizhikov. Among the 60 cubs that made it to the final, his version was also liked by the IOC President of that time, Lord Kilanin. The Organizing Committee of the Moscow Olympiad chose this animal as a symbol, since it has such qualities characteristic of an athlete as strength, perseverance and courage.
TO Olympic Games a six-meter rubber talisman was created - the balloon "Olympic Bear". Initially, it was planned to be made in Moscow at the Research Institute of the Rubber Industry, but due to the large dimensions of Mishka, the manufacturing process was transferred to the institute's branch located in Zagorsk (now Sergiev Posad). For testing and in case of unforeseen circumstances, two duplicates were made.
Project "Bear"
According to the plan of the organizers, the Olympic Bear was supposed to fly high into the sky during the closing ceremony. In April 1979, in the town of Zhukovsky near Moscow, work began on the Bear project at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI). A group of scientists was tasked with ensuring the rise of the talisman into the air. The bear was not just supposed to fly vertically upwards over the stadium. Having reached a certain height (3.5 m from the top of the stands), he had to leave the stadium as soon as possible without hitting the bowl with the Olympic flame.
At first, engineer Alexander Trusov suggested abandoning the doll and dressing a person in a bear costume, tying him to balloons filled with helium. The test took place at the Kubinka-2 airfield near Moscow. Trusov himself went to the test and put on a suit (it was made at a fur toy factory in the Ukrainian city of Zhovti Vody) and took off. The first flight was successful, after which it was decided to conduct the next experiment under conditions as close as possible to the required ones: twilight, climb 30 meters (the height of the Luzhniki stands). But this time, at a height of one hundred meters, the Olympic Bear suddenly turned around, flew 50 meters, and then began to sharply go up, disappearing from sight.
After that, the engineers developed a system of so-called "carrying balls". Its essence was as follows: moving in a certain way, the balls contributed to the displacement of the center of gravity of the object (Bear), which, in turn, made it possible to control the direction of flight with a sufficient degree of accuracy. Moving in a certain way, the balloons shifted the center of gravity of the object in the right side. The operator in the cockpit in the right hind leg had to control the direction of flight. But on testing this option, the doll lost control, flew over the burning Olympic torch and flared up. Engineer Igor Artamonov, who was sitting in the cockpit, died from his burns. Then it was decided to fix the balls only on the upper paws and ears so that the bear would not roll over.
It is still not known for certain what happened to the Olympic Bear after he left the Luzhniki arena on an August evening in 1980 and disappeared into the sky. Whether he was a manned craft or just a huge rubber doll with balloons - no one knows for sure.
"The Olympic Bear is a symbol of the Moscow Olympics. How much more charming and humane was he than the monotonously beautiful and purposeful poster "builders of communism"! Moscow sky to the song of Pakhmutova and Dobronravov, which took over the soul, even the most inveterate cynics had tears in their eyes. Two billion people around the world watched the most touching closing ceremony in the history of the Olympics. And almost no one knew what happened to such a cute Mishka. And he landed on the outskirts of Moscow, knocked down a beer booth, scaring two local "uncles" to death. Then, for some time, it was exhibited at VDNKh, next to other achievements of the Soviet national economy (record holder cows, the monstrous Kirovets tractor and the Olympic Bear - there is something to be proud of the national economy!). At that time, a West German firm offered to buy a rubber Mishka for 100,000 marks. Naive Germans! The Soviets have their own pride, which is not sold for despicable Deutschmarks! A bear from VDNKh was sent to one of the basements of the USSR Olympic Committee, where he stood until he was ... eaten by rats.
Here is the story of this version, briefly. For some reason, it doesn’t tell at all how the bear was later taken from the zone of this boarding house, and as for those vacationers who saw him, their allegedly published memories on the Internet also look somehow strange and everything is cut off. [Or did they all mysteriously disappear as well?! – K.R.]
As for the names mentioned (from Faber to Surov), there is no more information about these people on the Web, except for links to the same article that supposedly the bear flew just like that and was developed by these people. The circle, in short, closes every time.
[I recall the famous saying of Father Brown from Chesterton's stories: "It is paradoxical as it may seem, but it is sometimes very difficult for a person to believe that zero plus zero plus zero plus zero actually equals zero." – K.R.]
If someone else is still serious about everything they read, then I can say that on a number of servers the article about the same event ends differently. That Surov did not die, but only lost consciousness from overload ... And when he woke up, he found himself lying in the snow, his bear was lying at a distance, and live bears from the taiga, which stretched right next to him, were already approaching the bear to sniff him.
Therefore, here, I think, we can put an end to the conversation about version number one.
Since, in fact, version number two (or, rather, it should be considered the first version) was just described in Soviet newspapers as a fact, and an electronic copy of this editorial is available on the Internet.
Soviet newspapers quite openly, in the front line, the day after the closing of the Olympiad, wrote that our dear bear, having left the stadium, flew over the Lenin Hills and fell behind them, not so far away, on the territory of Moscow. After that, he was picked up and handed over to the pavilion at VDNKh, where he stands as a memory of our glorious Olympiad. The bear flew the way balloons fly beautifully - it just rose up on balloons and its own pumping, and then - at the behest of the wind. Naturally, no pilot was sitting in it.
And by the way, several dozen athletes can also see footage of how the bear is quickly put on its feet and set off on its way, untying the ropes with which it was tied so as not to fly away ahead of time, on copies of filming of those years, in the “video” section .
So it’s not very clear what else is here and who had to come up with it? And for what?
True, one may wonder - what if the aerostat bear really flew somewhere strongly “in the wrong place”? Let's not seriously discuss the issue with foreign countries, but still could fall on what improper type of object for this?
Here, they say, it was like this - after all, a special helicopter with a sniper was raised into the sky, and the sniper shot several balls with well-aimed shots, thanks to which the bear descended quickly enough, “correctly” and safely.
Well, well, why not. This version is mentioned on a couple of forums - and nothing more. So - neither prove nor disprove; nevertheless, it's probably possible. If "grandmother said" - then still the grandmother is not the most stupid ...
One way or another, according to the version that was described in the Soviet newspapers, no casualties and special emergencies happened. Only, perhaps, the bear touched a beer stall and frightened two citizens who were drinking beer there nearby. For some reason, this moment repeatedly passes through forums on the internet. Again, who knows.
And again, as you know, there is "folklore" and "family traditions" that wind around any historical event. As mentioned in another note, almost a dozen people claimed that it was near their house, they say, that a touching bear fell. Is it really that amazing? Such are we, people, and sometimes we like to “pull” the story of a true event to one degree or another exactly in our own direction, as they say. Nothing really special.
And from one doctor I heard this: they say, the bear was shot down by air defense. To be honest, it was this “sensation” that made me curious and turn to the topic on the Internet.
Well, again, not so surprising - such is the law of gossip: someone will hear about the sniper on the helicopter, already mentioned by us, and they will tell their friends already about air defense. And friends - can and believe.
A documentary about the flight of the bear was also recently released, in particular, the artist Viktor Chizhikov gave an interview there, who invented our bear that year and spoke in detail about the birth of this cute image and its “life” during the Olympics. And also about how, in terms of royalty money and copyright, the Soviet leadership then showed its other side ...
The film said everything about the same thing: how a balloon-bear flew over the Sparrow (or rather, then - Lenin) mountains and fell behind them. They even roughly showed this "azimuth".
However, if anyway someone wants to think somehow differently in terms of his flight - well, as Kierkegaard said, freedom of thought is the great and primordial freedom of man ...
The bear was then stored at VDNKh for a long time, managed to “grow old” and be decommissioned. A replica copy, apparently, was not made. But even now in the pavilions of the All-Russian Exhibition Center there are many smaller and various copies of the Russian athlete Misha.
The fate of the aeronautic mascot of the 1980 Olympics is sad. And this despite the fact that the footage of the triumph during the closing of the games in Moscow became the hallmark of the USSR for a decade. For the show to take place and the smiling cutie Misha to fly for fifteen minutes, many performers "behind the scenes" had to endure real pressure, and some even sacrifice their lives or health ... Flying away "to his fairy forest", Misha took many secrets from his life: information was immediately classified and the public still does not know all the details of this unusual case. |
It all started with a scandal. When the organizers of the show in Moscow came up with the idea of effectively ending the Olympics by launching the Bear mascot into the sky, Marat Gramov, Chairman of the USSR Sports Committee, retorted harshly: “Bears don't fly. Refuse the idea of flight! Thus, the holiday turned out to be without an explosive resume ...
Then the chief director of the event, Iosif Tumanov, realizing the consequences of his act, went directly to the secretary of the CPSU Central Committee Mikhail Suslov and won his support. It is clear that relations with the bosses from the Sports Committee immediately escalated and they increased the frequency of checking the preparation of the event.
And now the gas-holding shell of the 6-meter Mishka was built at the branch of the Scientific Research Institute of the Rubber Industry (NIIRP) in Zagorsk. The gluers of the balloon shop, together with the specialists of the head institute, made two figures of talismans out of rubberized fabric. (for tests and so, just in case).
Difficulties arose at the stage of creating at least some kind of sane control system for this beast. And the flight path seems to be simple, but here's how to do it all in strict accordance with the scenario, so that Misha's figure slowly leaves the field and, focusing on the upper edge of the stands, slowly flew over the audience at a height of 3.5 meters; and then, going up, "climbed" over the bowl with the Olympic flame and melted out of sight - I had to sweat, feel administrative pressure, turn to various teams for help ...
Robotics at that time was not yet as developed as it is today: it was still not possible to make an obedient drone-aerostat. First, the organizers of the Olympics-80 set a task for the specialists of the Dolgoprudny Design Bureau of Automation (in 1931-1940 it was the Airship Construction Plant of the USSR). The designers proposed a solution based on the manipulation of helium balloons in Misha's paws and the distribution of ballast.
The first test tests were carried out on the basis of the Aerohydrodynamic Institute - this is in the city of Zhukovsky.
The "bearish" aerodynamics of the apparatus could not be controlled otherwise than with the help of a person.
And this idea to "steer" the bear from the inside was first introduced by test engineer V. Trusov. When the moment of practice and truth came, it became clear that the control of the balls did not allow the pilot to maneuver during the flight. Trusov, who took off at the Kubinka-2 airfield near Moscow in Misha's fur outfit (this 6-meter shell-case was urgently created at a fur toy factory in the town of Zhovtiye Vody), to whose paws many, many balloons filled with helium were tied, was never seen again. The device with the pilot "candle" went up ... Some say: he died, others - he landed somewhere and dumped abroad ...
However, the 1980 Olympics were looming. But Misha is still not a flyer.
And so the inventor Yuri Maltsev proposed to control the Mishka, manipulating helium balloons in order to transfer the center of gravity of the device from one side to the other, which made it possible to adhere to a given course. The special form-aerostat was piloted again from the inside. The pilot sat in the right hind leg - in a special booth. However... no luck this time either. The talisman-Misha lost control from the very first meters of the flight, and when he flew over the improvised burning Olympic torch, he flared up and fell. The engineer Igor Artamonov, who piloted the vehicle, died from his burns.
The next option was born right in the course of the analysis of the tragic flight.
Having fixed helium balloons only on the upper legs and ears in order to maintain the balance of the apparatus, we finally managed to cope with Misha and make him fly exactly on the course - to the "farewell" song of Pakhmutova and Dobronravov.
Tribunes sobbed with delight and overflowing emotions. The footage of the chronicle, I believe, is remembered by many.
But where did the beast go after leaving Luzhniki? There are several versions due to lack of documents. Someone says: "fly away" to "your fairytale forest" no further than the Lenin Hills, where, during landing, the talisman playfully destroyed a beer stall and injured a couple of passers-by. And someone gives guarantees that the land near Moscow in the area of \u200b\u200bthe Vympel boarding house, on the banks of the Mozhaisk reservoir, has accepted the remains of a special-form balloon. To land the flying squirrel-Misha, test pilot Ruslan Surov, it seems, began to bleed helium through the valves, but a gust of strong wind, which carried the balloon, put the "weakening" structure on the ground. The pilot, they say, died, and Misha's special uniform turned into trash. Information about the mystery of that flight was somehow immediately classified and silent ...
For those who, after the 1980 Olympics, had a chance to see Mishka in the Young Technician pavilion at VDNKh, we inform you that a clone was demonstrated. And Mishka, who actually flew, (or rather, what was left of him), they say, either they burned it, or they removed it to the basements of some VDNKh pavilion, where it was treated by rats. ... In short, and 28 years after the 1980 Olympics, the public is in no hurry to tell about the actual events of the summer of 1980. ...
Why so?
Doc. film about "Misha" (27 min.).
The material is compiled on the basis of selected information (from publications
