The picture at left illustrates some realities of contemporary Moscow --to see an enlargement, press here. The Marlboro sign printed in the English, not the Russian, alphabet suggests one more inroad of Western capitalism in post-Communist Russia. The collapse of the Soviet system has yet to lead to prosperity for most Russians: the women on the steps are selling clothes and other household items to make ends meet, a sight all too common nowadays. Increased violent crime has been still another source of frustration. Yet in the background is Russia's most notorious building, the Lubyanka, a reminder of far deadlier times. The Russian Orthodox clergy opposed tobacco in the 16th and 17th centuries, and penalties for smoking were extraordinary: a slit nose and even death. All that changed when Peter the Great decided to legalize tobacco and to give English merchants a monopoly on the trade.

American tobacco companies eventually got a foothold in the Russian market, and even in the days of the Cold War (1946-1991), American cigarettes were much sought after by Russians in search of a status symbol (whatever the risks to their health). Indeed, orgainized crime in contemporary Russia has roots in the black market that developed in Soviet days: some individuals got rich from a clandestine trade in cigarettes, blue jeans, rock music, and other Western attractions.

The opening of the Russian market in the time of Peter contributed greatly to the world-wide demand for tobacco, which had consequences for other parts of the world including America. As the tobacco trade grew, so did the movement of people involved in cultivating and harvesting the golden--but perilous--plant. Some of the movements were voluntary, some were not, but they invariably had consequences for the spread of the English language.