Misha
- This page is about the Olympic mascot. For the anime/manga character see Misha (Pita-ten), for the Ar tonelico: Melody of Elemia character see Misha Arsellec Lune
Misha (Миша) is the name of the Russian Bear, the mascot of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games (the XXII Summer Olympics). He was designed by children's books illustrator Victor Chizhikov.
Misha is the first mascot of a sporting event to achieve large-scale commercial success as merchandise. The Misha doll was used extensively during the opening and closing ceremonies, had a TV animated cartoon and appeared on several merchandise products, now things commonly practiced not only in the Olympic Games, also in the FIFA World Cup and others events' mascots.
Misha also appeared in the 1980 Olympics episode of the Russian cartoon Nu, pogodi!, handing trophies to the Wolf and the Hare.
Origins of the name Misha
In Russian Misha is a diminutive for Mikhail. Misha, Mishka, Mikhail, Mikhail Potapych are traditional Russian nicknames for a bear (and the bear historicaly symbolises Russia, and also symbolised the Soviet Union).
See also
External links
- Bear Cub Misha Lover's Association, Misha's fan page (in Japanese).
- Moscow Olympics' site, includes the 'Misha Song'
- Olympics Logos and Mascots: Official image of Misha
- History of Olympic Mascots