Socialist fraternal kiss

My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love, a graffiti painting on the Berlin Wall depicting Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev kissing East German leader Erich Honecker

The socialist fraternal kiss was a special form of greeting between socialist state leaders. The act demonstrated the special connection that exists between Communist countries, consisting of an embrace, along with a series of three kisses on alternate cheeks.[1] In rare cases, when the two leaders considered themselves exceptionally close, the kisses were given on the mouth rather than on the cheeks.[2]

The socialist fraternal embrace consists of a series of three deep hugs, alternating between the left and right sides of the body, without kissing. This modified greeting was adopted by Marxist–Leninist leaders in Asia, which lacks a tradition of cheek kissing as greeting. During the Cold War, Marxist–Leninist leaders in Asia consented to receive kisses from Europeans and Cubans, but they themselves omitted the kiss.

  1. ^ Smale, Alison (25 May 1987). "Romania Cool Toward Gorbachev's First Visit". Associated Press News. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Nicolae Ceausescu, who has openly attacked recent Kremlin reforms, greeted each other warmly today as Gorbachev began his first visit to this maverick East bloc nation. The two leaders embraced and kissed each other three times on both cheeks.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference New Statesman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).