Many are surely familiar with the taste of the "Yubileynoye" cookies from the "Bolshvik" factory, yellow, with chocolate glaze, crunchy and perfectly paired with tea. But have you ever wondered why it is called "Yubileynoye" and in honor of what event? In Soviet times, this was not discussed, as the cookies appeared in 1913 in honor of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. And, of course, back then the factory was not called "Bolshvik", but "S.Siu and Co."

It was founded by the Russified Frenchman Adolf Siu. The factory was built according to the design of architect Oscar Didio and opened on October 1, 1884. The building was remarkable: it was illuminated by electric lamps, and people came from Moscow and other places to see this wonder. The shop at the factory was a true paradise for sweet tooths. The assortment included cocoa, chocolate and coffee cookies, caramel, monpansie, jams, marmalade, pastila, nougat, safo, dragees, mint pastilles, biscuits, wafers, gingerbread, pastries, and ice cream. Over time, a chain of branded stores "S.Siu and Co." appeared in the country, and the products were exported to Persia and China.

Interestingly, each candy was first wrapped in parchment and then in a wrapper with a vignette, and all this work was done by hand. There were 150 women working as packers, who wrapped 800,000 candies daily. A novelty for the Russian Empire were liqueur candies: more starch was added to the sugar mixture, and then a little liqueur was poured into the solidified ball.

The largest workshop at the "S.Siu and Co." factory was the cookie production department. Thanks to molds, the cookies had various shapes: hearts, bunnies, squirrels, horses, and others. However, the main problem was transporting fragile goods. "No matter how much attention is paid to the production of biscuits, it is difficult to preserve them, especially in Russia with its vast distances. Therefore, we treat all the details of packing with great caution," stated the company "S.Siu and Co." The history of the factory ended predictably: in 1918 it was nationalized, and in 1920 it was renamed "Bolshvik."