Gorbachev: Pizza Hut advert was a symbol of capitalism’s victory over communism

Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms opened up a new, often bewildering world for the Soviet Union’s citizens. Yet no one could have predicted that the last Soviet leader would one day appear in an advert for a western fast-food restaurant.

In 1998 Gorbachev agreed to star in a Pizza Hut advert that was shot in snowy Moscow. It showed him entering a restaurant with his young granddaughter, Anastasia Virganskaya. He was quickly noticed by a family sitting at a nearby table and a heated debate ensued.

The father blamed Gorbachev for Russia’s “economic confusion” and “political instability”, while the son praised him for bringing “opportunity” and “freedom”. Eventually, the grandmother settles the argument, saying: “Because of him, we have many things . . . like Pizza Hut.”