In the Soviet Union, one tiny piece of imported chewing gum could become the biggest event of the entire week. In 1982, a worker at our factory brought real gum from East Germany, and the whole workshop agreed to chew it by turns for an hour each. When my turn finally came, I felt prouder than if I had received a medal. Later I bought one extra piece for an entire ruble just to show my family. My children stared at the bright wrapper like it was treasure, and then spent the whole next week chewing the same little white gum by turns, even dipping it into jam to bring the flavor back. Looking back now, it wasn’t really about the gum itself — it was about that strange feeling that somewhere far away there was another world, and for a moment a tiny piece of it appeared in our kitchen. #USSR #sovietunion #history #story