In Russian, Misha is a short form for the Russian male nameMikhail, and Mishka is a diminutive of Misha. This name, in any of its forms, is a common colloquialism in Russian for a bear, because it is similar to the standard name for 'bear,' медведь. Also, most anthropomorphic bears in Russian fairy tales have this name. It is thought to originate as a euphemism for medved, which was tabooed because of magical thinking that letting out the "true name" of the dangerous animal may cause it to come and attack. Medved itself is thought to be older Proto-Slavic euphemism for Proto-Indo-European *r̥kþos.
Origins
In 1977, the committee organizing the Olympics held a contest for the best illustration of a bear. The judges chose Victor Chizhikov's design depicting a smiling bear cub wearing a blue-black-yellow-green-red weightlifter's belt, with a golden buckle shaped like the five rings. Misha's design of a small, cuddly and smiling bear cub was evidently intended to counter the "big and brutal Russian Bear". Misha was confirmed as an official mascot on 19 December 1977. Chizhikov complained that the country reneged on a promise to grant him the copyright to his bear which deprived him of royalties, although the Russian Olympic Committee stated "in accordance with the Olympic Charter, after Dec. 31 of the year in which the Olympic Games had been held, all the rights to the intellectual property and the symbols of the Olympics go the International Olympic Committee". During the closing ceremony of the 1980 Olympic Games, a giant effigy of Misha the Bear holding a cluster of balloons was paraded in the stadium. On one side of the stadium where the Olympic Torch was situated, there was a placard mural of Misha which shed tears from his left eye. At the end of the ceremony, Misha with his balloons was released and rose in the air away from the stadium, and this nostalgic moment has been fondly remembered by Russians. A few hours later Misha landed on Vorobyovy Gory and later was exhibited at the Exhibition Centre.
Legacy
Misha also appeared in the 1980 Olympics episode of the Russian cartoon Nu, pogodi!, handing trophies to the Wolf and the Hare. In 1988, in connection with the 60th anniversary of Mickey Mouse, a special magazine was produced in which Mickey Mouse and Misha met. Misha's designer, Viktor Chizhikov, accused the designer of the polar bear mascot for the 2014 Sochi Olympics of plagiarism. Chizhikov noted that the Bely's facial features were all taken from Misha, saying "they just pumped him up and made him fatter". Chizhikov also complained that Bely and the other two mascots was lacking personality. As a result of these issues, as well as being denied the copyright to Misha, Chizhikov declined to help when asked by the organizers of the 2014 Winter Olympics closing ceremony. A short clip of the 1980 Summer Olympics closing ceremony of Misha's departure was shown in the closing ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics, afterward the giant animatrionic polar bear Mishka blew out the 2014 Games Olympic torch and sheds a tear. The main character of the manga seriesUchi no Maid ga Uzasugiru is named after Misha.
Misha the Little Bear
Misha the Little Bear, is an anime television series created by Nippon Animation that aired in Japan on TV Asahi from 6 October 1979 through 5 April 1980. Each episode was 24 minutes.
Series background
The series was inspired by the mascot introduced for the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow. The original design for Misha was based on an illustration created by Victor Chizhikov. The opening and ending animations for the first episode made use of an opaque projector and omitted the lyrics and most of the credits. Beginning with the second episode, the lyrics for the theme song were included, as were the credits for the main staff. Additionally, at the end of the opening animation, the Olympic rings were added with text indicating that the characters were being used with the consent of the International Olympic Committee.
