Smirnoff recalls reselling condoms in Italy to get by while awaiting US entry

What was said

"We found out through the grapevine that condoms was a very expensive item in Italy for some reason. In the Soviet Union, you could buy them for a penny, and in Italy, you could sell them for a dollar. Mm. And so my quest was, like, when I learned that, and there was no restriction how many you can take with you."

Yakov Smirnoff describes a three-month period in Italy while his family awaited onward travel to the United States, saying Soviet exit rules limited how much money they could exchange and prescribed what goods they could take. He says they brought large quantities of condoms because they could be bought cheaply in the Soviet Union and resold in Italy, and that the proceeds helped cover rent and food.