"Bush legs" (Russian: ножки Буша, romanizednozhki Busha) is a prevailing term in the post-Soviet states that denotes chicken leg quarters from the United States.

The expression first appeared in 1990 when Mikhail Gorbachev and George H. W. Bush signed a trade agreement about delivery of frozen chicken leg quarters to the Soviet Union. In those times, the USSR was experiencing food shortages and "Bush legs" enjoyed wide popularity.

Economics

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As of 2006, the United States was the largest supplier of chicken to Russia, with only 55% of purchased chicken being domestically raised, 35% imported from the US, 6% from Brazil, and 4% from other countries, primarily in Europe.[1] In 2005, the Russian and American governments signed an agreement where, until 2009, 74% of the chicken import quota would belong to American suppliers in return for the annual expansion of supplies by 40 thousand metric tons.[2]

White meat is more popular in the US,[3] particularly chicken breast, lowering the cost of exported dark meat like the legs and thighs.[4]

In 2010, Russian Chief Sanitary Inspector Nikolay Vlasov banned all chlorinated chicken.[5]

In 2014, all US meat was banned in Russia due to embargo. In 2015, Russia covered all imported chicken by domestic meat.[6]

References

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  1. ^ Zyuzyaev, Aleksandr (14 September 2006). "Что будем есть вместо «ножек Буша»". Komsomolskaya Pravda (in Russian). Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  2. ^ "USAPEEC" (in Russian). Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Whiten chicken dark meat with whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate". Emerging Food R&D Report. 1 June 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2022 – via The Free Library.
  4. ^ Prichep, Deena (6 December 2018). "Chicken Diplomacy: How President Bush Went For The Gut In The Former USSR". NPR. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  5. ^ "С 1 января 2009 американской курятины в России не будет". REGNUM News Agency (in Russian). 25 December 2008. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Медведев: Нам больше не нужны «ножки Буша», в РФ есть своя птица". REGNUM News Agency (in Russian). 23 May 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2022.
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