Red October
A historic Russian confectionery manufacturer and brand known for chocolate, sweets and the Alyonka chocolate bar.
Last updated November 4, 2026
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Overview
Krasny Oktyabr is a renowned Russian confectionery brand founded in 1851, headquartered in Moscow. It is known for producing chocolates, candies, and caramels, and is one of the most famous food brands in Russia.
History
Red October traces its history to 1851, when Ferdinand Theodor von Einem, a German entrepreneur operating in Moscow, established a confectionery business. The enterprise initially traded under the Einem name and developed around chocolate and other premium confectionery. Its growth reflected the expansion of industrial food production in nineteenth-century Moscow, when imported techniques, mechanized processing and packaged sweets began to reach a broader urban market. The company eventually built a major factory complex on Bersenevskaya Embankment, close to the Moscow River. The site became strongly associated with the business and later with the Red October name. The factory produced chocolate, sweets, caramels, biscuits and related products. Its reputation was built on consistent branded manufacture rather than on a single product, allowing the business to serve both everyday consumers and the gift and seasonal confectionery markets. Following the 1917 Revolution, the enterprise was nationalized as part of the reorganization of private industry. In 1922 it received the name Krasny Oktyabr, meaning Red October, commemorating the revolutionary political order. The renaming replaced the pre-revolutionary Einem identity with a Soviet one, but the factory's manufacturing continuity and established consumer familiarity helped it remain a significant confectionery producer. Throughout the Soviet period, Red October became a nationally distributed manufacturer. Its products circulated across the Soviet Union, and the factory participated in the standardized, large-scale production system that supplied state retail networks. The brand became associated with chocolate bars, assorted chocolates, caramels and other sweets familiar to several generations of consumers. Some product names and visual identities became enduring parts of Russian confectionery culture, even when exact recipes, package designs or production sites changed. The transition to a market economy brought changes in ownership, corporate organization and distribution. Red October continued as a recognizable industrial and consumer name while its manufacturing activities were reorganized within the modern Russian confectionery sector. It later became part of United Confectioners, a holding associated with a number of major Russian confectionery factories and brands. This integration gave the brand access to a broader corporate production and distribution network while preserving Red October as a distinct heritage label. During the 2000s, large-scale production was moved away from the historic central Moscow premises. The former factory site subsequently underwent redevelopment and became identified with offices, studios, restaurants, galleries and other creative uses. The relocation marked a significant change in the physical history of the company: Red October continued as a confectionery brand, but its best-known historic building no longer functioned primarily as the center of mass production. In the contemporary market, Red October is best understood as a heritage confectionery manufacturer and brand within a larger group. Its portfolio has included chocolate, chocolate-covered sweets, pralines, caramels, biscuits, wafers and seasonal products. Well-known associated lines include Alenka, Mishka Kosolapy and Krasny Mak, although the precise ownership, formulation, availability and manufacturing location of products can vary by product and period. The brand remains especially significant in Russia and other former Soviet markets because it links current packaged confectionery with more than a century and a half of industrial and cultural history.
- 2009
Former factory site used for cultural activity
[4]The redeveloped former factory complex hosted cultural organisations and events, including the Moscow Biennale.
- 2007
Production relocated from the historic Moscow site
[4]Manufacturing moved from the historic red-brick factory on the Moskva River embankment to the outskirts of Moscow.
- 1993
Privatisation
[4]The enterprise was privatised during the post-Soviet restructuring of Russian industry and remained a prominent Moscow confectionery concern.
- 1965
Alyonka chocolate introduced
[4]Krasny Oktyabr began producing Alyonka, a chocolate bar that became one of the most recognisable confectionery products associated with the factory.
- 1941
Conversion to wartime ration production
[4]Krasny Oktyabr redirected production toward military rations, including high-caffeine chocolate.
- 1922
Renamed Red October
[1]The former Einem factory adopted the name Krasny Oktyabr, or Red October.
- 1917
Nationalization after the Revolution
[1]The confectionery enterprise was taken into state ownership during the post-revolutionary reorganization of Russian industry.
- 1917
Nationalisation and renaming as Krasny Oktyabr
[4]After the October Revolution, the factory was nationalised and adopted the name Krasny Oktyabr, or Red October.
- 1907
End of Julius Heuss’s directorship
[4]Julius Heuss remained director until his death, after which the enterprise continued under different historical and political circumstances.
- 1896
Gold medal at the All-Russian Industrial and Artistic Exhibition
[4]The Einem factory received a gold medal at the major Russian industrial and artistic exhibition and gained permission to supply confectionery to the imperial court.
Products and positioning
Mass-market Russian confectionery with strong heritage positioning, combining Soviet-era brand recognition, pre-revolutionary industrial origins and nationally familiar products.
Chocolate bar · 1965
Alenka
Alenka is a widely recognized Russian chocolate line associated with a distinctive illustrated girl on its packaging. It became one of the most familiar mass-market chocolate products linked to the Red October confectionery tradition. Availability, recipes and formats have varied over time and by market. Introduced in 1965, Alyonka is a long, thin chocolate bar traditionally sold in a 100-gram format. The bar is divided into fifteen sections, and the factory name is embossed in Cyrillic on the chocolate. Its blue-eyed girl wearing a traditional headscarf became one of the most recognisable package designs in Russian confectionery. The company has linked the image to a photograph of an artist's daughter, although the identity of the model has been disputed by numerous claimants. It became one of the most familiar mass-market chocolate products linked to the Red October confectionery tradition. Availability, recipes and formats have varied over time and by market.
Chocolate-coated confectionery
Mishka Kosolapy
Mishka Kosolapy is a legacy Red October-associated confectionery line whose name refers to a bear. It is commonly represented as a chocolate-coated sweet with a layered or filling-based interior, and is regarded as one of the brand's signature traditional products.
Chocolate-coated confectionery
Krasny Mak
Krasny Mak, meaning Red Poppy, is a traditional confectionery line associated with Red October. It belongs to the brand's broader range of chocolate-covered sweets and is sold in formats intended for everyday consumption as well as sharing and gifting.
Boxed confectionery
Assorted chocolates and pralines
Red October has historically produced assorted chocolates, pralines and gift confectionery in multiple shapes and fillings. These products reflect the company's original strength in packaged chocolate and remain an important part of its heritage positioning, particularly during holidays and formal gifting occasions.
Sugar confectionery and baked snacks
Caramels, biscuits and wafers
In addition to chocolate, the manufacturer has produced hard and soft caramels, biscuits, wafers and related sweets. These categories broadened the business beyond premium chocolate and supported its role as a large-scale, nationally distributed confectionery producer.
Chocolate
Chocolate products
Chocolate has been central to the company's identity since the Einem period and remains the principal category associated with Krasny Oktyabr. The range includes chocolate bars and other packaged chocolate products sold under the factory and related brand identities.
Candy and sweets
Sugar confectionery
The company's broader confectionery portfolio includes assorted sweets and candy products alongside its chocolate lines. These products reflect Krasny Oktyabr's position as a large, general-market Russian confectionery manufacturer rather than a specialist chocolate boutique.
Biscuits
Biscuits
Biscuits are among the product categories associated with the wider Krasny Oktyabr confectionery range. Specific product names and launch dates are not established in the supplied references.
Institutional and wartime food
Military ration chocolate
During the Second World War, the factory adapted part of its production to military rations, including chocolate formulated with high caffeine content. This was a wartime production role rather than a current consumer flagship line.
Brand decisions
2007
Relocation of manufacturingStrategyBackground
The historic riverfront plant occupied a valuable central Moscow site near the Kremlin, while modern manufacturing requirements encouraged relocation.
Action taken
Production was transferred to the outskirts of Moscow, allowing the former factory property to be redeveloped.
Aftermath
The original site became a mixed cultural, creative, residential and commercial district associated with Moscow's contemporary arts scene.
1993
Post-Soviet privatisationStrategyBackground
The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to extensive privatisation and restructuring of formerly state-owned enterprises.
Action taken
Krasny Oktyabr was privatised and continued using its established name to preserve consumer recognition.
Aftermath
The company entered a more competitive market that included multinational confectionery businesses such as Mars.
1941
Conversion to wartime ration productionStrategyBackground
During the Second World War, food manufacturers were required to support military supply and rationing needs.
Action taken
Krasny Oktyabr redirected production toward military rations, including high-caffeine chocolate.
Aftermath
The factory maintained a role in wartime provisioning while preserving its broader historical identity as a confectionery manufacturer.
1922
Adoption of the Red October nameStrategyBackground
After nationalization, the former Einem enterprise required a new Soviet-era corporate identity.
Action taken
The factory was renamed Krasny Oktyabr, replacing the pre-revolutionary Einem identity with a name referring to the October Revolution.
Aftermath
The new name became the enduring consumer brand and continued after the Soviet period.
1917
Nationalisation and corporate renamingStrategyBackground
The October Revolution brought major changes in ownership and institutional identity across Russian industry, including the Einem confectionery factory.
Action taken
The factory was nationalised and renamed Krasny Oktyabr, replacing the pre-revolutionary Einem identity with a Soviet-era name.
Aftermath
The Krasny Oktyabr name became the enduring commercial identity of the enterprise and survived the later dissolution of the Soviet Union.
- Integration into United ConfectionersM&A
Background
The post-Soviet confectionery market increasingly consolidated established factories and brands into larger corporate groups.
Action taken
Red October became part of United Confectioners.
Aftermath
The brand continued within a broader production and distribution network alongside other Russian confectionery businesses.
- Relocation of production from the historic Moscow premisesStrategy
Background
The historic central Moscow factory site was no longer the principal location for modern large-scale production.
Action taken
Manufacturing operations were reorganized away from the Bersenevskaya Embankment complex.
Aftermath
The building became a creative and commercial redevelopment site while the confectionery brand continued elsewhere within the group.
Sources5 sources
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