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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Pjotr Sauer

From Simpsons to Spitting Image: Gorbachev the pop culture icon

Mikhail Gorbachev Pizza Hut Alexander Litvinenko Louis Vuitton

Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, enjoyed an unusual second act as an international pop culture icon, appearing in television advertisements for western brands.

The most famous of these was a 1998 Pizza Hut ad in which the former president of the USSR walked alongside his granddaughter across Red Square and into a franchise of the American chain.

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