The specific creamy taste of Alenka chocolate, which dates back to 1965, is well remembered by many residents of our country. However, few people know that the wrapper of the famous sweet for many years was decorated with a photo of a real girl, slightly modified by the artist. Elena Gerinas - this is the name of this little girl who has long turned into an adult woman. What is known about her, why did her face appear on the wrapper?
Elena Gerinas: famous photo
“Alyonka” was only 8 months old when a loving father photographed her; in that time, 1960 was in the yard. The photojournalist really managed to take a picture, the brown-eyed baby, dressed in a bright scarf, looked charming. Not surprisingly, parents decided to publish a photo of their daughter.
The first to print the picture, which depicted little Elena Gerinas, agreed to Soviet Photo magazine. His example was followed with pleasure by the popular publication Health, which published a photo in 1962. However, the decision to use this photo when creating a wrapper for Alyonka was made only four years later, it happened after a long creative search.
Chocolate story
Chocolate "Alenka" is known for its creamy taste, to which it owes its original recipe. It was developed by the specialists of the factory "Red October" in 1964. No one knows for sure why the famous chocolate got this name, and not some other. There were rumors that the creators chose the name of their products in honor of the daughter of the legendary Valentina Tereshkova, but the factory management denied them.
The design of the first tiles was significantly different from the one that was remembered by all loyal fans of chocolate. Initially, themes were used that artists often addressed during the existence of the Soviet Union: May 1, March 8. Interestingly, the Alenka chocolate in the early years of its existence did not have a wrapper with a picture of a girl.
Creative Searches
Of course, it was far from immediately the finest hour of a girl named Elena Gerinas. It all started with the fact that the factory management considered that chocolate urgently needed a corporate identity, this should have had a positive effect on brand recognition. The first idea that came to the creators' head was to use Alyonushka, depicted on the famous canvas of the artist Vasnetsov.
To abandon the aforementioned idea of the factory forced the ban imposed by the government. The reasons for this decision were never made public; presumably, the picture did not comply with the standards that were established during the USSR. Or the image was not considered optimistic enough to decorate the popular chocolate bar. One way or another, the leadership of the “Red October” was forced to continue the search, which in the end was a long-awaited success.
Contest
Little Elena Gerinas could never have been on the wrapper of the Alenka chocolate bar if it had not been for the competition that the factory management decided to organize. The publication “Evening Moscow” told the residents of the capital about its conduct, the article reported that cute photos of young girls, including those from the family archive, were allowed to participate in the contest.
It is easy to guess which shot managed to win this contest. The face of the cream chocolate was Elena Gerinas, daughter of the artist Alexander Mikhailovich Gerinas. The above photo is in the form in which it was submitted to the competition. The updated design wrapper "Alyonka" acquired in 1966. Interestingly, the change in the wrapper really had a positive effect on the popularity of chocolate.
Trial
In early 2000, Elena, whose photo was used by the Krasny Oktyabr factory many years ago, went to court. The woman believed that she could count on a large monetary compensation for many years of illegal reproduction of her own photo. Gerinas, filing a lawsuit, counted on receiving 5 million rubles. However, the hopes of Alyonka did not materialize.
The brand owners categorically stated that the wrapper does not depict Elena Gerinas at all. “Alenka” is a chocolate bar that is decorated with a collective image. Elena’s childhood picture served only as an inspiration for the artist Maslov during his work on the wrapper. However, he significantly changed the photo, making the oval of his face more elongated, having worked on the shape of his upper lip. Certain changes, albeit difficult to distinguish, survived the shape of the eyebrows. The girl depicted on the wrapper even has a different eye color - blue.
Unfortunately for Elena, the court ruled that the owners of the Red October factory were right, refused to pay compensation to Gerinas, considering her claims unfounded. The wrapper drawing was officially declared a creative work that is not directly related to the woman’s child photograph.
"Alenka" then and now
Fans of the famous chocolate bar will be interested to know the details about the life of a girl whose baby photo was used to one degree or another to create a wrapper for Alyonka. Who is Elena Gerinas? The biography of the woman claims that she was born in 1959, is a native Muscovite. The girl’s parents were a photojournalist and journalist. “Posing” for the famous picture taken by the father, the 8-month-old child, of course, had no idea about it.
Having matured, Elena did not become a model at all, as one might suppose, but an ordinary pharmacist. Currently, a woman who recently celebrated her 56th birthday lives in Khimki, Moscow Region, where her family has their own home. Gerinas and her husband raised two children who currently live separately from their parents. Alenka’s lifestyle is rather closed, it’s not a public person.
