Adidas removes Soviet swag from its online store after upsetting Lithuania and Ukraine

The sportswear manufacturer Adidas has removed from its U.S. online store a dress bearing the USSR’s colors and emblem, following complaints from people and government officials in Lithuania and Ukraine.

Customers who added the garment to their online shopping carts now see the item listed as “no longer available.” Adidas also removed men’s and women’s jerseys with Soviet symbols from its U.S. online store. At the time of this writing, both the dress and shirts were still available, however, at Adidas.co.uk.

• On May 7, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry criticized Adidas for selling Soviet swag. The same day, the Ukrainian National Memory Institute asked the company to stop selling USSR-themed clothing in Ukraine. On Facebook, Ukrainian and Lithuanian users promoted the hashtag #StopAdidas.
• Since 2008, Lithuania has equated Soviet and Nazi symbols, both of which are banned. A prohibition on Soviet symbols also exists in Ukraine.