/pol/ - International /Pol/itics & /Bant/er

Bro thought central planning had infinite aura, but ended up trading a literal
war fleet for soft drinks 💀🥤

The setup: It's 1989. The Soviet economy is completely cooked. Rubles are
worthless outside the border, but the people want Pepsi. Pepsi was literally the
first capitalist consumer product allowed in the USSR, and the Soviets were
addicted.

The problem: Pepsi wanted to get paid, but Soviet money was basically Monopoly
paper on the international market. Zero monetary rizz.

The "galaxy brain" communist solution: Since they had no real currency left, the
Soviet leadership decided to trade their MILITARY FLEET to a soda company.

No cap, they literally handed Pepsi:

- 17 attack submarines
- 1 cruiser
- 1 frigate
- 1 destroyer

For a brief moment in history, PEPSI HAD THE 6TH LARGEST MILITARY NAVY IN THE
WORLD. A soft drink company was literally more armed than most sovereign nations
because the communist economic model ran completely out of money. 😭💸

The final humiliation: Pepsi sold the fleet for scrap metal, and the CEO of
Pepsi actually called the US National Security Advisor and said: "We're
disarming the Soviet Union faster than you are."

Imagine building a totalitarian superpower just to get military-diffed by a
carbonated beverage company. Absolute cinema. L + ratio + zero liquidity + soft
drink diplomacy. 📉🚢💥