Belomorkanal (russian: Беломорканал, links=no) is a Russian brand of cigarettes, originally made by the Uritsky tobacco factory in Leningrad, Soviet Union.

History

Belomorkanal was introduced in 1932 to commemorate the construction of the White Sea–Baltic Canal, also known as the Belomorkanal. Process engineer was the creator of its tobacco blend, and the pack drawing was made by Andrey Tarakanov. Belomorkanal is a cigarette of specific design called in Russian ''

papirosa A papirosa (russian: папироса, plural: papirosy) is an implement for tobacco smoking, a variant of cigarettess. It consists of a hollow cardboard tube extended by a thin paper tube filled with tobacco.Tricia A. StarkA Revolutionary Attack ...

'' ( папироса), different from usual cigarettes. Generally, the cigarette is without a filter. Belomorkanal is an example of one of the stages in the evolution of cigarettes: it is composed of a hollow cardboard tube extended by a thin cigarette paper tube with

tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...

. The cardboard tube plays the role of a disposable cigarette holder. This method was abandoned by Western brands shortly after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. While smoking, the hollow part of the tube is usually compressed to make two separate perpendicular flat surfaces. Belomorkanal are still produced in various post-Soviet republics, most notably in Russia, in

Kamianets-Podilskyi Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...

(Ukraine), and in Hrodna (Belarus). Belomorkanal is also used by

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

users, wherein "emptied cigarettes are then filled with a mixture of tobacco and

marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...

for smoking, with the cardboard tube serving as a built-in

roach Roach may refer to: Animals * Cockroach, various insect species of the order Blattodea * Common roach (''Rutilus rutilus''), a fresh and brackish water fish of the family Cyprinidae ** ''Rutilus'' or roaches, a genus of fishes * California roach ...

Markets

Belomorkanal cigarettes were widely available in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, they are still sold in some post-Soviet states, including

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

and

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

In popular culture

In a 1985 song by

Jan Krzysztof Kelus Jan Krzysztof Kelus, also known by his initials JKK, (born 1942) is a Polish singer, poet, composer, and a member of the democratic opposition in Poland between the 1960s and 1980s. A professional sociologist, Kelus is best known for a number of b ...

, the name of the cigarettes is compared to ''

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...

Filters'' due to the fact that many thousands of

Gulag The Gulag, an acronym for , , "chief administration of the camps". The original name given to the system of camps controlled by the GPU was the Main Administration of Corrective Labor Camps (, )., name=, group= was the government agency in ...

prisoners had died during the construction of the canal.

Nicolas Rothwell Nicolas Rothwell is a journalist and the Northern Australia correspondent for ''The Australian'' newspaper. He is also an award-winning writer with several works of non-fiction to his name. Background Rothwell is the child of Czech and Australi ...

's 2013 novel ''Belomor'' takes its name from this cigarette."Belomor by Nicolas Rothwell – review"
by Alex Clark, ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', 12 December 2013 In Simon Sebag Montefiore's

WW2 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

-set novel ''Red Sky at Noon'' (2017), it is stated that Belomorkanals were reserved for officers.

References

External links

*Belomorkanal Cigarettes *History of Belomorkanal {{in lang, ru Products introduced in 1932 Russian cigarette brands Soviet brands

History

Markets

In popular culture

See also

References

External links