History Trivia Quiz #2

Everybody has heard of the Molotov cocktail. But who was Molotov?
a) The longest surviving Soviet communist official
b) The head cocktail waiter in the Paris Ritz
c) A bomb designer


Answer below







ANSWER: a) The longest surviving Soviet communist official.

"Molotov" was the alias of Russian diplomat Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Skryabin (1890-1986). He was the longest surviving member of the top rank of Soviet communist officials, having been a member of the Bolshevik Party (which predated the Communist Party), participated in the revolution, survived Stalin's purges of the 30s and became ambassador to Outer Mongolia in 1957.

His main claim to fame is that the Molotov cocktail, a home-made bomb, was named after him in irony by the Finns who used them against the Russian tanks in 1940 during the Soviet invasion of Finland known as the Winter War of 1939.

Reproduced with permission from NOT TONIGHT JOSEPHINE, history trivia board game.