Commemorative Olympic Pin: Russian Bear Mascot

Misha, full name Mikhail Potapych Toptygin, was the mascot for Moscow’s 1980 Summer Games. The abundance of brown bears in Russian wilderness, as well as their long history in Russian folklore, served as the inspiration for the mascot. Russian children's book illustrator Victor Chizhikov was tasked with creating the mascot and designed Misha, a little brown bear with a belt made of the Olympic colors and a belt buckle made of the 5 Olympic rings. The belt and appearance of a singlet may be an allusion to the history of Russian weightlifting expertise.

The collecting and sharing of Olympic Pins have been a staple of the modern games since their inception in 1896. The souvenirs are highly sought after by both athletes, who collect and trade inside the village, and spectators who buy pins from official and fan run stores. Sponsors of the games often mass produce pins for anyone to collect as memories of the games. Coca-Cola, for example, produced multiple full pin sets for the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Some of the unofficial mascots were also creations of companies, such as the 1972 Sapporo games and their mascot, Takuchan, created by the Seiko watch company as a bear on skis wearing a wristwatch. Pins are a small part of the overall marketing for the modern games, which now encapsulates a large merchandising operation involving overseas mass production of Olympic memorabilia.

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