How did the Russian Revolution lead to quite possibly the most important video game of all time?

Mikhail Kogan was born in Odessa in 1917, the year of the revolution. His family decided to ditch Russia, settling in Manchuria.

In 1939, Kogan moved to Japan, but returned to China in 1944. There, he founded a company that sold wigs and hog bristles.

The communists took over China, so Kogan returned to Japan in 1950. He took his company with him.

Kogan's company was the first in Japan to distill vodka (those Russian roots!). In 1953, it started to distribute peanut vending machines.

In 1956, Kogan's company developed the first Japanese jukebox. In the next decade, it started to create mechanical arcade games.

In 1973, the company made its first video game. In 1978, it created its piece de resistance.

Kogan's company? Taito. The game?

Space Invaders.