Chaika watches are a women's brand made in the Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 and Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

. The factory making Chaika watches was founded in 1940 as Volga in the city of Uglich

Uglich

Uglich is a historic town in Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, which stands on the Volga River. Population: A local tradition dates the town's origins to 937. It was first documented in 1148 as Ugliche Pole...

 for the production of precision technical stones and watch jewels. The factory subsequently made watches with small calibres (16 mm).

In 1956, the company changed its name to Chaika, marketing watches under two brand names – Chaika and Volga.

The brand name "Chaika" was in honor of the first female cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Tereshkova

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova is a retired Soviet cosmonaut, and was the first woman in space. She was selected out of more than four hundred applicants, and then out of five finalists, to pilot Vostok 6 on the 16 June, 1963, becoming both the first woman and the first civilian to fly in...

, as that was her call sign

Call sign

In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign is a unique designation for a transmitting station. In North America they are used as names for broadcasting stations...

.

"Chaika" no longer manufactures movements, quality problems that have plagued the company since the breakup of the Soviet Union have caused "Chaika" to source most of the movements to Asian manufacturers; Miyota Citizen in particular.