So going shopping this weekend with my girlfriend, we came across a Russian store that was selling a plush toy she just couldn't live without, a cell phone Cheburashka!

What is a Cheburashka? Created by Russian writer Eduard Uspensky in 1965, according to my girlfriend Cheburashka is a creature found by a crocodile in a crate of oranges. "What are you?," the crocodile asked. "I am an orange," Cheburashka replied.

While I had my suspicions that Cheburashka was in fact not really an orange, my girlfriend was delighted to find a relic of her Soviet childhood, and we bought the Cell Phone Cheburashka for about $12.

Pressing on it's paw, the creature says in Russian a series of phrases including, "I just want to be your friend" and "drink milk, it's white and makes you strong!"

Cheburashka collectibles are becoming increasingly popular all over the world, and aside from Russia, particularly in Japan where a Cheburashka feature film is currently in development.