The aroma of empires. "Chanel No. 5" and "Red Moscow". Episode of Russian-French history of the twentieth century

Each time has its own aroma, its fragrance, its own smell. Many women are familiar with the famous perfumes “Chanel No. 5”, but we know almost nothing about the history of the most popular Soviet spirits “Red Moscow”. Meanwhile, their basis was the same composition, invented in tsarist times by two French perfumers. About Coco Chanel and Polina Molotova, whose destinies are connected with these perfumes, as well as Casimir Malevich - the creator of the bottle of the Severnoye cologne, popular in the USSR, says Karl Schlegel"s book.

We know what career the most famous perfumes of the twentieth century “Chanel No. 5” made, but we know almost nothing about the history of the most popular Soviet spirits “Red Moscow”. Meanwhile, both brands go back to the same composition, compiled in tsarist times by two French perfumers. Both products symbolize the emergence of new perfume worlds, absolutely dissimilar biographies and the cultural atmosphere in Paris and Moscow in the first half of the 20s. But they symbolize the seductive aroma of power.
Karl Schlegel