Where did the Olympic bear go? The Olympic bear is a symbol familiar to everyone

The closing ceremony took place on August 3, 1980 in Moscow Olympic Games, during which the mascot of the 1980 Olympics, the Olympic Bear, was launched into the sky. Him with tears in his eyes to the song performed Lev Leshchenko and Tatiana Antsiferova Muscovites and guests of the capital saw off from the center of the arena of the Luzhniki stadium.

Where did the Olympic bear flew away and what was its future fate, says AiF.ru

The history of the creation of the mascot

The history of the creation of the image of the Olympic Bear began in 1977, when a survey of the population was conducted in the country through the program "In the world of animals" and the editorial office of the newspaper "Soviet Sport", where the audience was asked to choose the symbol of the Olympics. Almost unanimously, the preference was given to the teddy bear Misha. After the approval of the image of the mascot, an order was made to the best artists of the country. The final version has been completed illustrator of children's books - Viktor Alexandrovich Chizhikov... I liked his version among 60 cubs that made it to the finals and to the IOC President of the time, Lord Keelanin... The Organizing Committee of the Moscow Olympics chose this particular animal as a symbol, since it has such characteristic qualities of an athlete as strength, perseverance and courage.

For the Olympic Games, a six-meter rubber mascot was created - the Olympic Bear balloon. Initially, it was planned to make it in Moscow at the Research Institute of the Rubber Industry, but due to the large dimensions of Mishka, the manufacturing process was transferred to the branch of the Institute located in Zagorsk (now Sergiev Posad). Two duplicates were made for testing and in case of unforeseen circumstances.

Project "Bear"

According to the organizers, the Olympic Bear was supposed to fly high into the sky during the closing ceremony. In April 1979, in the town of Zhukovsky near Moscow, at the Central Aero-Hydrodynamic Institute (TsAGI), work began on the Bear project. A group of scientists was tasked with ensuring the rise of the talisman into the air. The bear not only had to fly vertically above the stadium. Having reached a certain height (3.5 m from the upper edge of the stands), he had to leave the stadium as soon as possible without hitting the bowl with the Olympic flame.

At first engineer Alexander Trusov offered to abandon the doll and dress up the man in a bear costume, tying him to balloons pumped up with helium. The test took place at the Kubinka-2 airfield near Moscow. Trusov himself went to the test and put on a suit (it was made at a fur toy factory in the Ukrainian city of Yellow Waters) and set off on a flight. The first flight was successful, after which it was decided to conduct the next experiment in conditions as close as possible to the required ones: twilight, an ascent of 30 meters (the height of the Luzhniki stands). But this time, at a height of one hundred meters, the Olympic Bear unexpectedly turned around, flew 50 meters, and then began to go up sharply, disappearing from sight.

After that, the engineers developed a system of so-called "bearing balls". Its essence was as follows: moving in a certain way, the balls contributed to the displacement of the center of gravity of the object (Bear), which, in turn, made it possible to control the direction of flight with a sufficient degree of accuracy. Moving in a certain way, the balloons shifted the center of gravity of the object in the right direction. The operator in the cockpit in the right hind leg was supposed to control the direction of flight. But on testing this option, the doll lost control, flew over the burning Olympic torch and burst into flames. Engineer Igor Artamonov, who was sitting in the cockpit, died from his burns. Then it was decided to fix the balls only on the upper legs and ears so that the bear would not roll over.

It is still not known for certain what happened to the Olympic Bear after he left the Luzhniki arena on an August evening in 1980 and disappeared into the sky. Whether he was a manned vehicle or just a huge rubber doll with balloons - no one knows for sure.

It is only known that after the closing ceremony, a few hours later, a mascot doll was found on Sparrow Hills and taken to the warehouse. In the fall of 1980, a West German firm approached the Soviet government with an offer to buy a rubber Misha for 100,000 German marks. However, the company was denied the purchase of the mascot. For some time Mishka was exhibited in the Young Technician pavilion at VDNKh, and then kept in the basement of the Olympic Committee, where he was eaten by rats a few years later.

One of the most touching moments of the 1980 Moscow Olympics was the flight of the Olympic symbol. On August 3, to a song performed by Lev Leshchenko and Tatyana Antsiferova, all Luzhniki and TV viewers saw off the flying Olympic Bear ...

The history of the creation of the mascot

The history of the creation of the image of the Olympic Bear began in 1977, when a survey of the population was conducted in the country through the program "In the world of animals" and the editorial office of the newspaper "Soviet Sport", where the audience was asked to choose the symbol of the Olympics. Almost unanimously, the preference was given to Misha the bear. After the image of the mascot was approved, an order was made to the best artists of the country. The final version was made by the illustrator of children's books - Viktor Aleksandrovich Chizhikov. His version among 60 cubs that reached the final was also liked by the IOC President of that time, Lord Keelanin. The Organizing Committee of the Moscow Olympics chose this particular animal as a symbol, since such qualities characteristic of an athlete as strength, perseverance and courage are inherent in it.

Project "Bear"

At first, engineer Alexander Trusov suggested abandoning the doll and dressing up a man in a bear costume, tying him to balloons pumped with helium. The test took place at the Kubinka-2 airfield near Moscow. Trusov himself went to the test and put on a suit (it was made at a fur toy factory in the Ukrainian city of Yellow Waters) and set off on a flight. The first flight was successful, after which it was decided to conduct the next experiment in conditions as close as possible to the required ones: twilight, an ascent of 30 meters (the height of the Luzhniki stands). But this time, at a height of one hundred meters, the Olympic Bear suddenly turned around, flew 50 meters, and then began to sharply go upward, disappearing from sight.

After that, the engineers developed a system of so-called "bearing balls". Its essence was as follows: moving in a certain way, the balls contributed to the displacement of the center of gravity of the object (Bear), which, in turn, made it possible to control the direction of flight with a sufficient degree of accuracy. Moving in a certain way, the balloons shifted the center of gravity of the object in the right direction. The operator in the cockpit in the right hind leg was supposed to control the direction of flight. But on testing this option, the doll lost control, flew over the burning Olympic torch and burst into flames. Engineer Igor Artamonov, who was sitting in the cockpit, died from his burns. Then it was decided to fix the balls only on the upper legs and ears so that the bear would not roll over.

“The Olympic Bear is a symbol of the Moscow Olympics. How much more charming and humane he was than the monotonously beautiful and purposeful poster“ builders of communism ”! the soul of the song of Pakhmutova and Dobronravov, even the most inveterate cynics had tears in their eyes. Two billion people around the world watched the most touching closing ceremony in the history of the Olympics. And almost no one knew what happened next to such a cute Mishka. on the outskirts of Moscow, knocked down a beer booth, scaring two local "uncles" to death. what the national economy can be proud of!) At that time, a West German company offered to buy a rubber Bear for 100 thousand marks. Naive Germans! The Soviets have their own pride, which is not sold for despicable Deutschmarks! The bear from VDNKh was sent to one of the basements of the USSR Olympic Committee, where he stood until ... he was eaten by rats. "

The touching closure of the 1980 Olympics, which took place in the Soviet Union, is remembered by everyone who saw it. A flying bear accompanied by a symbolic song performed by Lev Leshchenko caused tears of emotion in hundreds of thousands of people. But few of those who sat in the stadium or watched the closing of the Games on TV, at that moment thought about the future fate of this symbol and about where the Olympic bear landed.

An excursion into history

More than 30 years have passed since the 1980 Olympics, which were held in the capital of Russia, and its symbol - the Olympic bear is still one of the most beloved and famous folk heroes... It was created by Viktor Chizhikov, an illustrator of books. By the way, it was the author who gave him the name of Mikhail Potapovich Toptygin. This drawing was approved as a symbol of the Olympics due to the fact that sports enthusiasm, strength, courage and perseverance were felt in it. It has been selected from over 40,000 options.

1980 received worldwide fame and recognition. The author of this symbol received letters from all over the world. Happy were those who could get an image of a bear, a pendant or a figurine. By the way, for the creation of such a symbol, Chizhikov was supposed to become a millionaire. But a miracle did not happen in the Soviet Union, he was paid 2,000 rubles and forced to give up copyright to his brainchild.

Closing the Games

The popularity of the symbol of the Olympics, of course, was added by the farewell ceremony. After all, it is still believed that the closing of the Games was especially touching. At the moment when Mishka took to the sky, tears of affection shed from many, the stadium was waving to the mascot of the 1980 Games. But few people thought about where the Olympic bear landed. These questions arose a little later.

And at that moment everyone brushed away tears, listened to the heartfelt words of the song of Pakhmutova and Dobronravov with the title "Goodbye, our affectionate Misha." By the way, very few people knew that the flight of the symbol of the Olympics was initially rejected by the chairman of the sports committee, Grammov. On the corresponding proposal, he wrote that bears do not fly, so the idea of a flight was rejected. But the main director of the Olympics could not calm down on this, he was able to realize this idea only thanks to his courage and perseverance. He turned directly to the chairman of that time - Suslov. He approved and supported this idea.

Where is Bear?

So, the six-meter symbol of the 1980 Games flew over the stadium and almost nothing is known about its further fate. Even currently, there are two versions of where the Olympic bear landed. So, the most common is the following option. The symbol of the Olympics flew to the outskirts of Moscow, where it landed safely. True, according to the same version, he knocked down a beer booth and very frightened two local men. This was the end of his adventures, and he was exhibited at VDNKh. By the way, they say that at one time the Germans offered 100,000 marks for it, but the government of the Union did not even consider such an option. After the exhibition, the mascot was sent to one of the basements, where it was eventually gnawed by rats.

But there is another version of how and where the Olympic bear landed. According to the second version, the talisman was carried away by wind streams in the Moscow region. To land him, test pilot Surov had to open special valves. He successfully completed the task, after which Mishka collapsed to the ground on But Surov died during this operation. The talisman itself also fell into disrepair and was burned. But now it is no longer possible to find where the 1980 Olympic bear landed, since it was destroyed anyway.

How was the Bear created?

The bear was created at a special institute of the rubber industry. For him, at first, the figure of a bear was created with the glue of the balloon workshop, together with the specialists of the institute. In case of force majeure, two identical dolls were made at once.

Flight training

But the creation of the bear turned out to be far from the most problematic stage. It was much more difficult to teach the talisman to fly. The fact is that this figure is absolutely not aerodynamic; it seemed almost impossible to send it on a controlled flight. After all, according to the idea, he was supposed to rise above the last stands to a height of about 3.5 meters and fly away from the stadium. At the same time, it was important not to touch the bowl of fire. At first, it was decided to completely abandon the idea of a rubber doll and send a person to flight. Such tests were carried out at one of the airfields near Moscow, engineer Trusov put on a specially prepared suit and sharply soared up with the help of balloons to a great height. After that, he was never found.

After that, it was decided to fix the balls only on the ears and upper legs. Thanks to this, the bear did not roll over. As planned, he was supposed to land accurately in the area of Vorobyovy Gory, but this plan was not fully implemented.

35 years ago, on July 19, 1980, the XXII Summer Olympic Games opened in Moscow.
These were the first Games in the history of the Olympic movement in Eastern Europe, as well as the first in a socialist country. The Olympic Games were held for 15 days in Moscow, and some of the competitions were held in other cities of the USSR - Kiev, Leningrad, Minsk and Tallinn.

This teddy bear Misha, beloved by many adults and children, will turn 38 this year. It was the symbol of the XX Olympic Games held in Moscow in 1980.

Invented it in 1977 by an artist Victor Chizhikov... This is how it was.

Long before the start of the Olympics, in 1977, in the program "In the world of animals" TV presenter Vasily Peskov conducted a survey of viewers. Most of our fellow citizens voted for the bear, as a truly Russian animal (although it was strongly "propped up" by an elk). Therefore, “at the top” it was decided that the club-toed Bear should be the talisman of the Moscow Olympics.

Drawings depicting bears began to arrive at the Organizing Committee of the Olympics. More than 40 thousand people took part in the competition. But they could not find a drawing that could really become a symbol of the Olympic Games in Moscow. After all, it was necessary to portray not a simple Toptygin, a Russian bear. His strength and power were to be combined with good nature and hospitality. He didn’t have to be aggressive, but at the same time he had to be ready to stand up for himself. These are all the qualities that are inherent in the Russian soul.

Viktor Chizhikov tried to embody them in his image. He invented his Mishka smiling. For this, the face of the bear had to be given a white color, although such bears do not exist in nature. In working on the sketch, Viktor used the experience of a child artist. And the director of the Moscow Zoo, Igor Sosnovsky, even determined the age of the bear cub - 3 months.

That's just Olympic symbols was not shown in the figure. The artist thought ...

The creator of the Olympic "Toptygin" recalls that he ruled out the option with a medal around his neck right away - it's banal. The artist tried to "put" a cap on the bear - his ears got in the way. When the deadlines began to run out, the decision came by itself: Mishka, girded with Olympic rings, appeared to Chizhikov in a dream.
“I woke up instantly, wrote everything down. In the morning I went to Olympic Committee, took the original and drew the belt. This option was adopted. "

The Olympic bear has become a really favorite not only of the participants in the Olympics, but has received recognition all over the world. Viktor Chizhikov said that people from all over the world wrote to him. He corresponded with schoolchildren from the Polish city of Svidvena for five whole years, until they graduated from school. He sent them badges with a teddy bear and books from which they learned Russian.

A letter from schoolgirl Jennifer Shatter came from America: "Dear Mr. Chizhikov, I saved up 10 dollars, I am sending you a check, send me an Olympic Bear, I saw his photo in our newspaper." Then there were still few images of the Bear, then a pendant, a porcelain bear, appeared. Victor sent all this, but did not receive an answer, and it was stupid at that time to wait for a letter from the United States.

A letter came from India: "I am a millionaire, I can come to the Olympics anyway, but I would like to receive an invitation from you." Unfortunately, this letter came after the Olympics.

Once the sailors of the merchant fleet told Viktor Alexandrovich the following story: when they were in New Guinea, they went into the hut of the local leader of the Papuans. So he had a poster with a picture of Bear on his wall!

By the way, for the creation of such a symbol, Chizhikov was supposed to become a millionaire. But a miracle did not happen in the Soviet Union, he was paid 2,000 rubles and forced to give up copyright to his brainchild.

The Olympic Bear became a symbol of the 80 Games thanks to its good nature and charm. The final evening, when the stands of the Luzhniki stadium with tears in their eyes, saw off the flying away to balloons Teddy bear to the words of a wonderful song by Alexandra Pakhmutova and Nikolai Dobronravov "Goodbye, our affectionate Misha!"

Love for our Bear still lives in the hearts of people all over the world.

However, the most mysterious Olympic legend is associated precisely with the famous symbol of the Games - the Olympic Bear, which flew so beautifully from the stadium in front of millions of Soviet people on the closing day of the Olympics.
According to the official version, the bear, which, like the balloons, was made of rubber and pumped with helium, landed a quarter of an hour after takeoff on the Lenin Hills. But people who are versed in technology immediately have a reasonable question: how could he land at the designated place? After all, then the technology had not yet reached the level to fit Mishka a built-in navigator controlled by a remote control ...
There is also a version that inside the huge bear there was a human pilot who manipulated the balls and thus controlled the flight. But what if the wind blew in a different direction?
According to the third, unofficial, version, everything turned out not at all so beautiful, and the bear collapsed in some sleeping area of Moscow, knocking down a beer stall and two citizens with it, who were standing at this stall.
The fourth version is tragic. Like, controlled from within by a pilot, the bear flew right up to the Mozhaisk reservoir. And then the unexpected happened: a strong wind rose, a bear-balloon was blown to the ground, and the pilot died ... It allegedly happened on the territory of the Vympel camp site. But, of course, the whole story was kept secret: why would people spoil the mood.

By the way, very few people knew that the flight of the symbol of the Olympics was initially rejected by the chairman of the sports committee, Grammov. On the corresponding proposal, he wrote that bears do not fly, so the idea of a flight was rejected. But the main director of the Olympics could not calm down on this, he was able to realize this idea only thanks to his courage and perseverance. He turned directly to the chairman of the CPSU Central Committee of that time - Suslov. He approved and supported this idea.

Let's dwell on some versions in more detail.

Where is Bear?

So, the six-meter symbol of the 1980 Games flew over the stadium and almost nothing is known about its further fate. So, the most common is the following option. The symbol of the Olympics flew to the outskirts of Moscow, where it landed safely. True, according to the same version, he knocked down a beer booth and very frightened two local men. This was the end of his adventures, and he was exhibited at VDNKh. By the way, they say that at one time the Germans offered 100,000 marks for it, but the government of the Union did not even consider such an option. After the exhibition, the mascot was sent to one of the basements, where it was eventually gnawed by rats.

But there is another version of how and where the Olympic bear landed. According to the second version, the talisman was carried away by wind streams in the Moscow region. To land him, test pilot Surov had to open special valves. He successfully completed the task, after which Mishka collapsed to the ground on the Mozhaisk reservoir. But Surov died during this operation. The talisman itself also fell into disrepair and was burned. But now it is no longer possible to find where the 1980 Olympic bear landed, since it was destroyed anyway.

How was the Bear created?

But many are interested not only in the further fate of the Games mascot. Not everyone understands how in the distant 1980 it was possible to send a six-meter figure on a controlled flight. Indeed, coming up with an idea with a touching farewell to a bear was much easier than bringing it to life. The bear was created at a special institute of the rubber industry. For him, a rubberized fabric was first made. After that, the figure of a bear was created with the glue of the balloon workshop, together with the specialists of the institute. In case of force majeure, two identical dolls were made at once.

Flight training

Another inventor proposed to control the rubber doll using balls that could shift the weight of an object in the desired direction. If everything worked out as planned, there would be no questions about where the Olympic bear is. After all, in his right paw, according to the idea, a person was supposed to sit, who would control the talisman. But the tests failed: the bear flew over the burning torch and flared up. The operator sitting in the doll died from burns. After that, it was decided to fix the balls only on the ears and upper legs. Thanks to this, the bear did not roll over. As planned, he was supposed to land accurately in the area of Vorobyovy Gory, but this plan was not fully implemented.