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How successful was the Stalin-era planners' vision of a socialist consumer culture? On the one hand, many of the" common luxuries" developed during the 1930s retained their cachet through the entire period of Soviet power. Even today, when the range of available commodities has widened exponentially, the" Sovetskoe shampanskoe" label, many of the finer Soviet vodkas, cognacs, and liqueurs, Borodinskii bread, top-grade hard salamis, and the candies beloved by two or three generations of Russian children continue to attract buyers at a premium price. On the other hand, an impressionistic glance at contemporary Russian shops would suggest that Soviet noncomestibles have had a more difficult transition to the market economy—and here, too, Gronow's insights into the policy choices of the 1930s may provide an important clue. With respect to luxury foods, Gronow shows that policymakers laid great stress …