Adidas Starts Selling Soviet-Themed Clothes, Regrets It After Seeing Internet’s Reaction
“‘Creating the New‘ is the headline for our next five-year strategic business plan,” Adidas states. However, with this clothing line, the company has decided to focus on the past rather than the future. Recently, it introduced a Soviet Union-themed jersey, mash-up jersey, layer tee, and tank dress. The USSR designs have sparked such an outrage, and it even reached a diplomatic level.
Twitter users sarcastically suggested that Adidas should create an entire line of totalitarian attire options. An online petition called it “disgusting and unacceptable,” demanding that Adidas remove all apparel with Soviet Russia symbols from its stores. The Strategic Communication Group of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted, “Being sick with ‘imperial nostalgia’ – it still occurs. A bit surprising from the famous @adidas, though.” And Latvian member of the European Parliament, Artis Pabriks, pointed out: “Adidas is preparing for football in Russia by producing clothing with USSR symbols. Would they do it with NAZI symbols as well?”
The post-Soviet states are still recovering from the scars inflicted by the communist regime. For example, Holodomor, the famine-genocide of Ukraine, took about 4 million lives within the borders of Soviet Ukraine between 1932-1934. Also, approximately 600,000 people were deported from the Soviet-occupied Baltic States – Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. There were some 10 million inhabitants in the area on the eve of the Soviet occupation, so to put it into perspective, the number of Baltic prisoners would have been equal to a loss of 20 million people in the United States or 5 million in Great Britain.
To backtrack, in 2008 Herbert Hainer, CEO and Chairman of Adidas AG, said “We are well-positioned with all our Adidas Russian brands. The Adidas Group is growing so fast in this large country that it is already one of our most important markets in Europe with the potential to claim the top spot by 2010.”
Over the years, the Russia/CIS had continuously met or exceeded company expectations and was one of the most important markets for the Adidas Group. For the five years before 2013, the market was growing 30% to 100% a year. But the situation changed dramatically. In 2014, the Russian economy was in a tailspin due to a sharp decline in oil prices, a weak ruble, the political fallout from the forceful annexation of Crimea, Western sanctions, and inflationary pressures. A year later, the company announced it would close 200 sports clothing shops across Russia because of the poor economic situation in the country and shrinking sales. Was this Adidas USSR-themed clothing line an attempt to revive the market? Or a venture to maximize Adidas’ appeal during the 2018 FIFA World Cup?
Accused of historical insensitivity, the retailer announced it plans to stop selling Adidas Soviet Union dedicated sportswear. As of this article, however, it is still available for purchase.
One of the most recent Adidas clothing lines has gotten a lot of attention
For the peculiar symbols it uses
The clothes are paying homage to the Soviet Union, a regime that is responsible for some of the biggest crimes against humanity
For example, the Famine-Genocide in Soviet Ukraine took about 4 million lives Also and approximately 600,000 people were deported from the Soviet-occupied Baltic States
The post-Soviet states are still recovering after the collapse of the USSR less than 30 years ago
So seeing a major brand selling these clothes instantly sparked fierce reactions
Including one from the Strategic Communication Group of the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
And a lot of others
Some people are still leaving comments on the official Adidas website
Since receiving backlash the brand has announced it will be pulling of the offensive line. However, the clothes still can be bought on their website
Wonder how many complaining about this have a Che shirt.
good point
And people wonder why young people are insensitive to crimes of the past. This is the same mentality that allows college students to think it's acceptable to dress up like nazi soldiers or clansmen for Halloween. It happened a long time ago so...
There is no comparison between communism and nazism. Everyone knows that nazism is racist and genocidal per ideology, whereas communism is against the rich. No one is born of the "rich race", communism is against inequality between people. As for the alleged crimes of the USSR, many of these simply did not occured or were completely exaggerated. France, England, Belgium and several European countries have done MUCH worse with their colonies in Africa and Asia, but no one remembers this.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
people comparing the USSR, whom took the brunt force of the Nazi war machine to liberate Europe from fascism are ignorant, naive, brainwashed or a combination thereof.
Soviets liberated Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and than somehow stayed there for half of the century :D And you are talking about brainwashing :D Now that's a weird choice to call it liberation :D
You might want to read up on Joseph Stalin, just saying.
Not so ignorant when you realize that communist regime killed more people then nazis
The only reason nazis went to russia is because they betrayed them. Other than that ussr was just as bad as nazis.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
What a ridiculous comment....just because you are super sensitive to everything doesn't mean everyone else has to be. The more you want to restrict people from thinking and doing things you become like the Nazis and communists of the past that you hate
Ummm... I think it's perfectly a-okay to restrict people from becoming nazis. People should be educated on the past and smart enough to not glamorize the USSR or nazi Germany.
When a regime commits genocide, you don't honor that regime by profiting off the imagery and memories of that regime. You remember it historically, but you don't honor those people.
I'm sorry this is ridiculous. You think the US or UK haven't committed massive atrocities against humankind???? In Ww2 Churchill's policies about hoarding food from India lead to the death/starvation of over 6 million people. History remembers him as a hero but Hitler and Stalin are villains. The truth is that all major governments are ba****ds, but if you win you can hide all your shit and if you lose then all the history books will be written by your enemies.
So to you, there's no difference between kicking a puppy and setting it on fire, is there? I'm not a fan of Winston Churchill, but comparing him to Stalin and Hitler is both stupid and tone deaf, because is incredibly disrespectful to all the victims of both Communism and Nazism. Sure, Bengal famine of 1943, which killed an estimated 1.5-2 million people (and certainly not 6), could have been avoided if the right decisions were taken, but in the end the main cause was a typhoon which spoiled crops, coupled with an incredibly poor relief effort, in the context of a world war in which the Axis were sinking allied shipping which meant it was close to impossible to bring stuff from overseas. And if you want to blame anyone, blame the people who were there like the Governor of Bengal, the Viceroy, the Secretary of State for India, etc. Besides, claiming a disaster bought about by incompetence is the same as the systematic extermination of millions of people is just ...arseholeish.
If you read carefully I said death/starvation = 6 million people. If you want the death figures alone then that was 3 million. But I guess that's just the same as 'kicking a puppy' in your book? Rather than argue why don't you read up on some facts that haven't been written in an English textbook that probably celebrates the Days of the Raj. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2010/10/how_churchill_starved_india.html Oh and if you want to talk about atrocities look up The East India Company.
England killed approximately 50 millions in India. The right number no one knows.
Wonder how many complaining about this have a Che shirt.
good point
And people wonder why young people are insensitive to crimes of the past. This is the same mentality that allows college students to think it's acceptable to dress up like nazi soldiers or clansmen for Halloween. It happened a long time ago so...
There is no comparison between communism and nazism. Everyone knows that nazism is racist and genocidal per ideology, whereas communism is against the rich. No one is born of the "rich race", communism is against inequality between people. As for the alleged crimes of the USSR, many of these simply did not occured or were completely exaggerated. France, England, Belgium and several European countries have done MUCH worse with their colonies in Africa and Asia, but no one remembers this.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
people comparing the USSR, whom took the brunt force of the Nazi war machine to liberate Europe from fascism are ignorant, naive, brainwashed or a combination thereof.
Soviets liberated Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and than somehow stayed there for half of the century :D And you are talking about brainwashing :D Now that's a weird choice to call it liberation :D
You might want to read up on Joseph Stalin, just saying.
Not so ignorant when you realize that communist regime killed more people then nazis
The only reason nazis went to russia is because they betrayed them. Other than that ussr was just as bad as nazis.
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
What a ridiculous comment....just because you are super sensitive to everything doesn't mean everyone else has to be. The more you want to restrict people from thinking and doing things you become like the Nazis and communists of the past that you hate
Ummm... I think it's perfectly a-okay to restrict people from becoming nazis. People should be educated on the past and smart enough to not glamorize the USSR or nazi Germany.
When a regime commits genocide, you don't honor that regime by profiting off the imagery and memories of that regime. You remember it historically, but you don't honor those people.
I'm sorry this is ridiculous. You think the US or UK haven't committed massive atrocities against humankind???? In Ww2 Churchill's policies about hoarding food from India lead to the death/starvation of over 6 million people. History remembers him as a hero but Hitler and Stalin are villains. The truth is that all major governments are ba****ds, but if you win you can hide all your shit and if you lose then all the history books will be written by your enemies.
So to you, there's no difference between kicking a puppy and setting it on fire, is there? I'm not a fan of Winston Churchill, but comparing him to Stalin and Hitler is both stupid and tone deaf, because is incredibly disrespectful to all the victims of both Communism and Nazism. Sure, Bengal famine of 1943, which killed an estimated 1.5-2 million people (and certainly not 6), could have been avoided if the right decisions were taken, but in the end the main cause was a typhoon which spoiled crops, coupled with an incredibly poor relief effort, in the context of a world war in which the Axis were sinking allied shipping which meant it was close to impossible to bring stuff from overseas. And if you want to blame anyone, blame the people who were there like the Governor of Bengal, the Viceroy, the Secretary of State for India, etc. Besides, claiming a disaster bought about by incompetence is the same as the systematic extermination of millions of people is just ...arseholeish.
If you read carefully I said death/starvation = 6 million people. If you want the death figures alone then that was 3 million. But I guess that's just the same as 'kicking a puppy' in your book? Rather than argue why don't you read up on some facts that haven't been written in an English textbook that probably celebrates the Days of the Raj. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/soutikbiswas/2010/10/how_churchill_starved_india.html Oh and if you want to talk about atrocities look up The East India Company.
England killed approximately 50 millions in India. The right number no one knows.