Faceted glass: who and why actually invented the main item of Soviet dishes

  • Jul 20, 2022
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Faceted glass: who and why actually invented the main item of Soviet dishes

Even today, faceted glass remains one of the informal symbols of the Soviet era. Many legends and frank myths have formed around the legendary glass. There are even stories on the Internet that the main Soviet glass, under certain conditions, exploded right in a person’s hand! Today we will try to separate truth from fiction, and also we will figure out when the faceted glass actually appeared and who is its creator.

A glass in a 1918 painting. |Photo: laifhak.ru.
A glass in a 1918 painting. |Photo: laifhak.ru.
A glass in a 1918 painting. |Photo: laifhak.ru.

With a faceted glass in Russia, everything is not simple. We can say that the faceted glass has experienced two births in its history. The first mention of faceted glasses dates back to the 17th century. Of course, the mass production of such dishes in those days was out of the question. Such glasses were made by hand by glass-blowers. Today it is generally accepted that master Efim Smolin was the first to master the process of producing legendary dishes in Russia. According to legend, one of his products was presented personally to Peter I. In a small amount, glasses were produced until the Revolution. Moreover, the “old” faceted glass differed in shape from what was made later in the USSR.

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They made glasses before the USSR, though not like that. |Photo: media-digital.ru.
They made glasses before the USSR, though not like that. |Photo: media-digital.ru.

Faceted glasses in the USSR received wide distribution and a new look after the first wave of Soviet industrialization. The first industrial dishwashers began to appear in Soviet canteens. Old dishes often broke in them, and therefore the task was to develop a new glass. Thus, the famous "Malinovsky" faceted glass with a narrowed bottom appeared on September 11, 1943. The first batch was produced at the Gusevsky Crystal Factory. Who exactly was the author of the dishes is not known for certain. Today it is customary to attribute the creation of the Soviet glass to the artist Vera Ignatievna Mukhina.

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Vera Mukhina. |Photo: ru.moscovery.com.
Vera Mukhina. |Photo: ru.moscovery.com.

The Soviet faceted glass, due to its shape and configuration, was much stronger than all those that were made before. Contrary to the beautiful legend, he did not necessarily have 16 faces. There were glasses with 12, 14, 18, as well as quite rare glasses with 17 faces. The upper diameter of the glass was 7.2–7.6 cm, and the lower diameter was 5.5 cm. Typical height - 10.5 cm. Also, the glasses could have a different volume. There were dishes for 50, 100, 150, 200, 250 and 350 ml. Due to its strength and reliability, the Soviet faceted glass has become the main vessel for catering establishments, trains, ships and aircraft. And most importantly, this item of utensils became truly “popular” precisely in the years of the USSR thanks to forced industrialization.

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Still on the move. |Photo: livemaster.by.
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If you want to know even more interesting things, then you should read about 7 Kitchen Solutionsthat will be relevant for many years.
Source:
https://novate.ru/blogs/230422/62796/