Soviet stores
1968 – 1991

Družba department store in the Balonka housing estate.

In the 1960s, consumer goods stores in Milovice were operated by the Jednota consumer cooperative. With the arrival of Soviet troops, there was a shortage of goods. The citizens of Milovice complained about the excessive purchases made by Soviet officers and their families. The supply problems were noticeable at Christmas 1968 and continued to worsen. A positive turn came only in the 1970s, when the Soviet Army established a network of its own stores operated by the Vojentorg organization in the garrison territory.

Soviet stores were flexibly supplied. Prices were the same as in Czechoslovak stores.

In 1973, the Soviets took over the store in the Balonka housing estate from Jednota. They established the Družba Department Store there, which also served Czech customers. Thanks to its own transport, Vojentorg was able to ensure flexible supply and a more diverse range of goods than was usual in Czechoslovak stores. Meat, fruit and vegetables were imported several times a week. There was also a supply of non-perishable food and confectionery from the USSR. The opening hours were also unique for that time. The Družba department store was open every day of the week, from 8:00 to 13:30 and from 16:00 to 21:00. People from a wide range of areas came to Milovice to shop.

Of course, a shop selling children’s goods was also present in the Soviet garrison.

Czechoslovak citizens were officially prohibited from entering the Soviet garrison. The exceptions were workers from supply companies, friendly delegations, and organized expeditions to the Carpathian-Dukla Operation Memorial. They were able to visit other stores in the housing estate in Mladá, including the large Univermag department store. There, scarce goods of Czechoslovak and Soviet production were also available. These included mainly household items, home accessories, toys, shoes and textiles. It is no wonder that the greatest interest in visiting the Carpathian-Dukla Operation Memorial was always before Christmas. Part of the department store was the so-called general hall with luxury goods, which was only accessible to senior officers and official state visitors.

The saleswomen were mostly the wives of Soviet officers.

A memory of Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev’s wife’s shopping in Milovice.

The text is taken from the book Andropov Close Up, Sinitsin I. E., Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Moscow 2004, pp. 342–344.

At the invitation of the Czechoslovak government, the wife of the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU, Viktorija Petrovna Brezhneva, arrived in Karlovy Vary. She received 30,000 CZK as pocket money from the office of the President of the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. During her stay, she decided to visit the Univermag department store in Milovice, where she wanted to buy souvenirs for her family. She knew that there was a special general hall with scarce luxury goods. She arrived in Milovice in a government special Tatra 603, followed by an empty RAF minibus. Although according to protocol it was a private visit, the Commander-in-Chief of the Central Group of Soviet Forces was waiting for her at the gate. The First Lady of the USSR immediately headed for the general hall of the department store. It was a room of about 200 square meters, crowded with all kinds of scarce goods. She began to walk around the counters, hangers, stands, and shelves. The chief of Vojentorg followed her at a respectful distance. She had two soldiers at her side, to whom she gave orders: „Children’s underwear? Two dozen…, women’s stockings? Five dozen…, men’s shirts? Three dozen in sizes 42, 43, 44… Then came the crystal, coloured glass, and porcelain.“ The saleswomen willingly packed everything, and the soldiers carried the packages to the minibus. Eventually it came even to several crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling. Viktoriya Petrovna took only the largest and most expensive stuff. Her escort from the USSR General Consulate in Karlovy Vary began to get frightened. They were rightfully afraid that everything she had chosen far exceeded her pocket money. How she knew that the minibus was already filled to the roof is a mystery. But at that very moment she got into the Tatra and went to Karlovy Vary for treatment… The head of Vojentorg wrote an invoice for everything the first lady had taken. The amount many times exceeded the pocket money provided by the Czechs. With this invoice, the commander of the Central Group of Forces went to the Soviet embassy in Prague. Here he described in detail how the first lady’s visit had gone and what its consequences were for the military treasury. He asked the ambassador what he should do in this situation. The ambassador sarcastically replied: Send this bill to Leonid Ilyich, maybe he will write a resolution to pay it off… One can imagine the consequences for the general in question. The shortfall was probably covered by a reduction in food and clothing allowances.