"Bush legs" (russian: ножки Буша, nozhki Busha) is a prevailing term in the

post-Soviet states The post-Soviet states, also known as the former Soviet Union (FSU), the former Soviet Republics and in Russia as the near abroad (russian: links=no, ближнее зарубежье, blizhneye zarubezhye), are the 15 sovereign states that wer ...

that denotes

chicken leg Chicken is the most common type of poultry in the world. Owing to the relative ease and low cost of raising chickens—in comparison to mammals such as cattle or hogs—chicken meat (commonly called just "chicken") and chicken eggs have becom ...

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 The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In those times, the USSR was experiencing food shortages and "Bush legs" enjoyed wide popularity.

Economics

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. 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. White meat is more popular in the US, particularly chicken breast, lowering the cost of exported dark meat like the legs and thighs. In 2010, Russian Chief Sanitary Inspector Nikolay Vlasov banned all chlorinated chicken. In 2014, all US meat was banned in Russia due to embargo. In 2015, Russia covered all imported chicken by domestic meat.

References

External links

Official website of U.S. Poultry & Egg Association
{{Russia–United States relations 1990 in international relations 1990 in the Soviet Union 1990 in the United States 1990 neologisms Post-Soviet states Poultry Presidency of George H. W. Bush Russia–United States relations Soviet Union–United States relations