Poljot Owner Review : Massive, disconcerting and cute

The watch is rather imposing, although not particularly wide. It's a 1551 chrome-plated brass case, 35mm wide and 42cm lug to lug. The case back is screwed down with a four-pronged ring; it's marked as water-resistant thanks to a gasket, and the Soviet quality logo is on the case back so as not to detract from the spectacle on the dial. The dial is indeed a spectacle, in shades of greenish gold, somewhere between the color of medals and that of the fatigues just arriving in Afghanistan, with the Olympic rings above a proud "Moskva 80." It's a derivative product, which wasn't so common during the Brezhnev era. But the Olympics were such a prestigious event for the USSR that many watches featured the Olympic logo or the mascot, the little bear Misha. So much so that in 2025 some are even creating neo-vintage watches inspired by the 1980s Olympics, perhaps fueled by nostalgia for a golden age of the Afghan War, envied today, and by a fascination with a mascot that is supposedly purely Russian, unlike the equally cute cartoon character Cheburashka, whose ethnic origin is clearly a point of contention in the Moscow parliament right now. The perfect soundtrack for this watch is, of course, the closing ceremony of the Olympics: https://youtu.be/jZizBjioDm4?si=LjkK7IOsv08KY16J&t=111 With all the saccharine sweetness of the song accompanying the mascot Misha in the form of a giant balloon. "...Let us wish each other success, Kindness and boundless love The resounding echo of the Olympic Games Still echoes in poetry and in hearts. Goodbye, Moscow, goodbye! Olympic fairy tale, farewell!"