Creator of 1980 Moscow Games bear mascot dies at 84
MOSCOW: Viktor Chizhikov, the Russian illustrator behind the memorable Mishka bear mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympics, died on Monday aged 84, his publisher said.
The children’s book illustrator came up with the cuddly bear to represent the controversial Games, boycotted by countries including the United States.
The publisher AST Deti announced his death on Facebook, calling him the “brightest representative of the postwar generation of book illustrators”.
Chizhikov won a contest among
Soviet artists to draw the mascot.
The bear Mishka wore a belt featuring the Olympic rings. He was reproduced in merchandise from badges to china figurines that have now become highly collectable.
At the closing ceremony, a giant balloon figure of the bear was carried into the centre of a Moscow stadium.
At the same time, people sitting in the stands held up flash cards to create a composite image of the bear shedding a tear.
Finally, the helium-filled figure flew off as Soviet stars performed a song with the lyrics: “Goodbye, our affectionate Mishka, go back to your fairytale forest.”
“When the bear flew off, half the stadium was crying,” then-chief coach of the USSR ski team Leonid Tyagachev told RT television on Monday.
“Everyone remembered that, not just the USSR team members but the whole world and the viewers were blown away.”
“Usually I don’t like my drawings,” Chizhikov said at a talk at the Moscow International Book Fair in 2019, adding he usually spotted things he wished he could change. “I’ve been looking at the Olympic Mishka for 40 years. I can’t see any flaws.”
The USSR had scant regard for copyright and Chizhikov did not own the rights to the image, losing a court case against NTV television channel in 2010, Sports.ru website reported.
He commented at the time that he was not surprised since he had seen T-shirts with the image on sale at souvenir stands for 30 years and “they haven’t paid me a ruble”.