Misha

In Russian, Misha is a short form for the Russian male name Mikhail (Michael), 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 (medved). 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 (which means "honey-eater") itself is thought to be older Proto-Slavic euphemism for Proto-Indo-European *r̥kþos.

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 (colors of the Olympic rings) 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".[2]

Placard of Misha shedding tears at 1980 Summer Olympics closing ceremony.

Misha's origins were depicted in the 1979 animated film Baba Yaga is against!.

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.[3] 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.[2][4] A few hours later Misha landed on Vorobyovy Gory and later was exhibited at the Exhibition Centre.[5]

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.[6]

Misha's designer, Viktor Chizhikov, accused the designer of the polar bear mascot (named Bely Mishka, and is said to be Misha's grandson) 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 (the Hare and Leopard) 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.[7][2]

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 (in a nod to Misha's tears during the end of the 1980 Games).[8][9][10]

The main character of the manga series Uchi no Maid ga Uzasugiru is named after Misha.

Misha the Little Bear
Logo
こぐまのミーシャ (Koguma no Mīsha)
Genre	Comedy, sports
Anime television series
Directed by	Yoshikata Nitta
Produced by	Yoshio Katō
Written by	Shun'ichi Yukimuro, et al
Music by	Shunsuke Kikuchi
Studio	Nippon Animation
Original network	TV Asahi
Original run	6 October 1979 – 5 April 1980
Episodes	26

Misha the Little Bear (こぐまのミーシャ, Koguma no Mīsha), is an anime television series produced by Nippon Animation and Asahi Broadcasting Corporation and directed by Yoshikata Nitta. It aired in Japan on TV Asahi from 6 October 1979 to 5 April 1980, running for 26 episodes. It reran on Home Drama Channel in 1999, and again in 2009 on AT-X. Though it has never been released on DVD, it is available on various paid video distribution services in Japan.

The series was inspired by the mascot introduced for the 1980 Summer Olympics held in Moscow. Character designer Isamu Kumada based the design for Misha off of Chizhikov's illustrations. The opening and ending animations were unfinished at the time of the first episode's broadcast, and the onscreen lyrics for the songs were also omitted. From episode 2 onwards, the main staff and theme song credits were marked in blue, and finished versions were used, which also displayed the lyrics. At the end of the opening, the Olympic rings were added with text indicating that the characters were being used with the consent of the International Olympic Committee.

• Olympic mascot
• Russian Bear
• Brown bear
• Teddy bear

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Misha.

• Koguma no Misha (anime) at Anime News Network's encyclopedia
• Anime series outline by Nippon Animation
• Moscow Olympics' site, includes the Misha farewell song До свиданья, Москва
• Translation of the Misha song to English at the China Daily website
• Olympics Logos and Mascots: Official image of Misha