The unmistakable red brick factory sits on Bolotny Island in the middle of the Moscow River and has become an architectural icon here in Moscow. Generations have been brought up on chocolates produced by the Red October factory, and the brand has an almost mystical place in virtually every Russian’s heart. Red October’s dramatic 19th-century, red-brick industrial building looms over a small island on the Moscow River that is flanked by a reviled monument to Peter the Great and the monumental Stalin-era apartment building that was home to many of the Soviet dictator’s victims. The chocolate production goes back to 1851 when the original factory was established. Red October has survived (and some might even say thrived) through war, revolution and heavy-handed Soviet city planning.
Though now the island that once used to smell of chocolate is now permeated by money, is trying to be hip, and match the mandatory art scene out there. The former Red October chocolate factory has become the place to be this season. Trendy bars and fancy restaurants, modern art galleries and photo studios, stunning views of Christ The Saviour Cathedral are all that is readily available at the chocolate factory’s former site. But even though the delicious smells and the legendary “all-you-can-eat” factory tours have now gone, the architectural heritage of this site will be preserved for future generations.
In 2006, the factory’s sales were $770,000 dollars and its chocolate accounted for 16% of the Russian market. Economists believe, the quest of Red October provides a case study of the awkward path that enterprises face as they abandon the old ways of central planning for the new economic uncertainties.