Belomorkanal () is a Russian brand of papirosa (cigarettes), originally made by the in Leningrad, Soviet Union.
History Belomorkanal was created in 1932 to commemorate the construction of the White Sea–Baltic Canal, also known as the Belomorkanal."Les Zeks du Canal de la mer Blanche : photographies" by and Nicolas Werth, Institut d'histoire du temps présent, 9 May 2015 "Russia Marks 80th Anniversary of Opening of Belomorkanal", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 2 August 2013 , a process engineer, developed the tobacco blend, and Andrey Tarakanov drew the pack design.Bachurin, Mikhail. "Купите папиросы!" (in Russian). PakkoGraff #6, 2008. pp. 58–61.
Belomorkanal cigarettes are still produced in various post-Soviet republics, most notably in Russia, in Kamianets-Podilskyi (Ukraine), and in Hrodna (Belarus).
Belomorkanal is also used by cannabis users, wherein "emptied cigarettes are then filled with a mixture of tobacco and marijuana for smoking",Dineeva, Nelly Rod (December 1999). "Adolescent Narcotism in Russia". Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems. 1 (2). p. 30. with the cardboard tube serving as a built-in roach.
Markets Belomorkanal cigarettes were widely available in the Soviet Union. They are still sold in some post-Soviet states, including Russia, Belarus and Ukraine.
In popular culture In a 1985 song by Jan Krzysztof Kelus, the name of the cigarettes is compared to "Auschwitz Filters" due to the fact that many thousands of Gulag prisoners had died during the construction of the canal.
Nicolas Rothwell's 2013 novel Belomor takes its name from this cigarette."Belomor by Nicolas Rothwell – review" by Alex Clark, The Guardian, 12 December 2013
See also Smoking in Russia
References