Red October

Red October is the oldest confectionery company in Russia and one of the flagship brands of the United Confectioners holding company.
It was founded in 1849 by Prussian citizen Ferdinand Theodor von Einem. In 1851, he opened a candy and chocolate workshop on Arbat Street. By the late 1860s, the company had become well-known in the Russian confectionery market, and in 1867, a factory was opened on Sofiyskaya Embankment, directly across from the Kremlin.

After the October Revolution of 1917, the factory was nationalized and in 1918 was renamed State Confectionery Factory No. 1, formerly Einem. In 1922, it was renamed Red October. The name was associated with the color of the revolution and the month that changed the political system.
During the Great Patriotic War, production was virtually halted, but the factory continued to produce goods for the front: "Gvardeisky" and "Cola" chocolates with increased theobromine and caffeine content, porridge concentrates, as well as flame arrestors for aircraft and flares. For their valiant work during the war, the team was awarded the Challenge Banner of Honor of the State Defense Committee seven times.

In 1966, the factory was awarded the Order of Lenin. It was also during this time that the most famous Soviet chocolate, "Alyonka," was created, named after the daughter of cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

In 1992, the company was privatized and transformed into an open joint-stock company. In 2002, it became part of the United Confectioners holding company.

In 2007, production facilities were moved to a new site—the Babaevsky concern on Malaya Krasnoselskaya Street in Moscow.