Picture Winnie-the-Pooh. Oh, there he is, on the bottom right of the "See Also" section. Yellow skin, red shirt... unmistakable. Wait? What? Who is that?

That's Winnie-the-Pooh... the Soviet version of Winnie-the-Pooh. (Should we say Vinni-Puh, as neither "w" nor articles exist in the Russian language?) This is as he appears in three beloved cartoons, made in the USSR between 1969 and 1972.

Vinni-Puh is actually quite popular in the Soviet block countries, partly because of the flawless translation of Boris Zakhoder (Jew; many Russians assume he is the true author, not A. A. Milne) and the amazing animation of Fedor Khitruk (Also a Jew!). So while he looks a bit different from what you're used to, and talks a lot differently what you're used to, there is a reason why, 50 years after adaptation, he is still cherished.

If these cartoons are not the best thing the Soviet Union ever produced in any medium, they are in the top five.

Low bar, natch.