Gastronomic Reforms under Peter the Great. Toward a Cultural History of Russian Food
Author(s): Darra Goldstein
Reviewed work(s):
Source: Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas, Neue Folge, Bd. 48, H. 4 (2000), pp. 481-510
Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag
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ABHANDLUNGEN
Darra Goldstein,Williamstown,
MA
GastronomicReformsunderPetertheGreat.
Toward a CulturalHistoryofRussian Food*
Despite theconsiderableresearchthathas been done on the eighteenthcenturyin Russia,
thereis stilllittledocumentationon theevolutionof cuisine.Few worksdeem food important
enoughto warrantcriticalattention,overlookingit as a valuable source of information.Yet
thehistoryof theworldencompassesmuchmore thanthebiographyof greatmen (to invert
Thomas Carlyle's famousmaxim),and food studiescan reveal a bounteousamountabout the
cultural,social, and politicallifeof a nation.However,since the firstRussian cookbook was
publishedonlytowardtheend of theeighteenthcentury,cookbooks cannotserve as a source
of informationas theydo forothercuisines,notablyFrench,Italian, Spanish, and English.
For Russia,monasteryrecordbooks and Churchdocumentscan provideimportant
information
about theavailabilityof produceand thesequence of feastand fastdays throughoutthe year.
But apartfromscatteredarchivaldocuments,thereis a dearthof reliable sources. The most
usefulmaterialsprove to be memoirsand diaries of both domesticand foreignobservers.
For foods of the immediatepre-Petrineperiod, an excellentsource is the "Knigi vo ves'
god v stol estvy podavat'," conceived as a supplementto the Domostroi, which itself
provides useful informationabout thepreparation,storage,and servingof food. The Knigi
foodstuffs
appropriateforeatingduringfeastand fastdays
representa listingof thedifferent
and include instructionsformakingvarious fermentedbeverages and preparingvegetables
and fruits.They also containthe invaluable "Rospisi kushan'iu boiarina Borisa Ivanovicha
Russians.1
Morozova," which details the foods available to wealthyseventeenth-century
Anotheruseful source is the descriptionof Muscovy leftby GrigoriiKotoshikhin,clerk
to Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich beforeturningtraitor.His "O Rossii v tsarstvovaniiAlekseia
Mikhailovicha" provides copious informationon food at court,particularlythe Russian
institution
ofpodacha and table service duringroyal feasts.His work is also helpfulforthe
informationit provides on foodstuffsin the economy.2
A different
sortof insightintoMuscovitefoodwaysis providedby theaccountsof foreign
travelers,which vary in theirreliability.More oftenthannot we learn as much about the
gastronomicand culturalpreferencesof the travelersas we do about the Russian foodways.
The chief problem is thatthe foreigntravelgenerallynote only the elements of Russian
cuisine and table service thatseem exotic; anythingremotelyfamiliaris deemed unworth
mention. We can learn, for instance,that over one hundreddishes, in several different
notto findout exactlywhat these dishes
courses,were servedat a feastbutremainfrustrated
*
I amgrateful
toMax Okenfuss
ofWashington
forhismanyinsightful
comments
on this
University
essay.
Knigivo ves' god v stolestvypodavat'[dopolneniek Domostroiublagoveshchenskago
popa
in:Vremennik
obshchestva
istoriii drevnostei
rossiiskikh.
Sil'vestra],
imperatorskogo
moskovskogo
Kn. 6 (pod red.Iv. Zabelina).Moskvav un.tip.,1850,pp. 7-44.
2GrigoriiKotoshikhinO Rossiiv tsarstvovanii
AlekseiaMikhailovicha.
TextandCommentary.
Ed. byA. E. Pennington.
Oxford1980.
Jahrbücher
fürGeschichte
Osteuropas48 (2000) H 4 e FranzSteinerVerlagWiesbadenGmbH,Sitz Stuttgart/Germany
482
Darra Goldstein
were- beyondthefactthattheywere heavilyseasoned withgarlic. Of the foreignreporters,
the best is Adam Olearius, a German scholar who travelledto Russia on an embassy from
Holstein in 1647 and keenlyobserved Russian customs.3
and the carefulreadercan
PrimaryaccountsfromthePetrineera are highlyentertaining,
finda good deal of information
abouttheway people ate, even if thisinformationis offered
only in passing. Given Peter's predilections,the cultureof drinkingis accorded farmore
space than the cultureof eating,but even so, the diaries of the envoys JustJuel,Friedrich
Korb all offerinsightintothe foods, table settings,and
ChristianWeber,and Johann-Georg
theseworksare oftenmarredby
Like
most
accounts
of
Peter's
by foreigners,
etiquette
reign.
theculturalprejudicesof theirauthors,specificallythe aversiontheyfrequentlyfelttoward
Russian food.4 In his treatise"On the Corruptionof Morals in Russia," Prince Mikhail
Shcherbatovcitednumerousinstancesof the ways in which thetraditionalfoods and eating
century.But Shcherbatov's
patternsof Russia had changedover thecourse of theeighteenth
The best
conservative agenda oftenkeeps his pronouncementsfrombeing trustworthy.5
secondarysourcesare descriptiveRussian histories,such as Tereshchenko's comprehensive
"Byt russkagonaroda,"Kostomarov's"Domashniaia zhizn' i nravyvelikorusskogonaroda,"
Kliuchevskii'smonumental"Kurs russkoiistorii,"and Pyliaev's "Staroe zhit'e". All of these
worksofferfocusseddiscussionsof traditionalRussian foodways,thoughunfortunately
they
rarelycite originalsources.6
Western secondary works are the disappointingexception here. For instance,Lindsey
Hughes' comprehensiveworkon thePetrineera is excellentin everyotherrespect,but itfails
to tellus anythingabout eighteenth-century
eatinghabitsor aboutthesignificantchangesthat
occurred in Russian gastronomyunder Peter the Great. (Hughes does, however, devote
considerablespace to Peter's drinkinghabits.)7Smithand Christian'simportant"Bread and
Salt" is helpfulforunderstandingsocial backgroundand the economic challenges Russia
faced over thecenturies,but itdoes notofferany sense of theaestheticor culturalaspects of
tidbitsabout the consumptionof beer
eating.8FromAnthonyCross we can glean interesting
in
and ale in Russia, buthe does nottreatfoodstuffs any depth,like Hughes paying attention
to drinkratherthanfood,9and Simon Dixon's recent"The Modernisationof Russia" does
3 The Travelsof Oleariusin
Russia.Trans,and ed. by Samuel H. Baron.
Seventeenth-Century
Stanford1967.
'
A «
•
«
•
-a-
w
• •
«
«
«
••
■ v^
.
* •«
r « mm/' s'.
«
« ^
m «
1
*
*"
4 f' f' f'
y
11
Zapiski lusta lulia, datskagoposlannikapn rare veiikom [1 /uy-i i j. Moskva, univ. up. iöw tau
subsequentquotationsfromlusta lui' are takenfromthe notes publishe in: Russkii arkhiv[1892] nos.
3 and 5; Friedrich Christian Weber The PresentStateof Russia. Vol. 1-2. London 1722-23, reprint
New York 1968; Johann-Georg Korb Diary of an AustrianSecretaryof Legation at the Court of
Peterthe Great. Trans, and ed. by The Count MacDonnell. London 1863, reprintLondon 1968.
5 Mikhail Shcherbatov O
povrezhdenii nravov v Rossii, in: On the Corruptionof Morals in
Russia. Ed. and trans,with an introductionand notes by A. Lentin.Cambridge 1969.
A. V. Tereshchenko Byt russkago naroda: narodnost, zhihshcha,domovodstvo, obraz zhizni,
muzyka,svad'by, vremiachislenie,kreshcheniei pr. i pr.Tom 1-7. S.-Peterburg,tip. Ministravnutrennykhdel, 1848; N. I. Kostomarov Domashniaia zhizn' i nravyvelikorusskogonaroda: utvar', odezhda, pishcha i pife, zdorov'e i bolezni,nravy,obriady,priemgostei,in: Istoricheskiemonografiii issledovaniia. Tom 19. S.-Peterburg1887, pp. 3-314, reprintMoskva 1993; V. O. Kliuchevskii Istoriia
russkogo byta: Chteniia v shkole i doma (1867), reprintMoskva 1995 (the original publication appeared as a supplementto the Russian translationof P. Kirchman's Istoriiaobshchestvennogoi chastnogo byta); M. I. Pyliaev Staroe zhit'e: ocherkii razskazy. S.-Peterburg,tip. A. S. Suvorina, 1897.
7
Lindsey Hughes Russia in the Age of Peterthe Great. New Haven 1998.
8 R. E. F.
Smith, David Christian Bread and Salt: A Social and Economic Historyof Food and
Drink in Russia. Cambridge 1984.
9 Anthony Cross
By theBanks of theNeva: Chaptersfromthe Lives and Careers of the Britishin
Russia. Cambridge 1997.
Eighteenth-Century
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
Gastronomie
483
not mentionfood at all.10Nevertheless,it is possible to stitchtogetherthe observatiall of
these sources intoportraitsof certainmajor events.
At the birth of Peter the First in 1672, a wondrous display of molded sugar-paste
confectionsconcluded thecelebratorydinnerpreparedforPeter's proud father,Tsar Alexei
Mikhailovich. The sugar conceits included
"a cinnamonspicecake (kovrizhka)
madewithsugar1111
intheshapeoftheMuscovycoatof
arms;a large,cone-shapedcinnamonspicecake decoratedwithcolors,weighing2 puds 20
large,moldedsugarconfections
pounds;1121
shapedlikeeagleswiththeroyalorb,onewhiteand
theotherred/131
each weighing1 M2puds' a 2-pudswanof moldedsugar;a 'w'ï-pudsugar
duck;a 10-pudsugarparrotandan S-pudsugardove; a sugarKremlinwithinfantry,
calvary
andtwotowers,
witheaglessoaringabovethem,andthecitymoldedintoa squaresurrounded
hornsmadeofsugarandflavored
withcinnamon,
one redand
bycannons;twolarge15-pound
theotherwhite;twolargemarzipanconfections
madewithsugar,one bakedin 5 rounds,the
othercast;[ultwocandyspires,oneredandone white,eachweighing12 pounds;40 dishesof
andcavalryandotherfigures,
halfa poundon each plate;
sugardecorations
depicting
infantry
30 dishesofvariousfruit-flavored
hardcandies,3/4poundon eachplate;10 platesofcrystal
candiedrind,lemons,
fruits/151
sugarwithspices,a poundon eachplate;a halfchestoffrosted
10Simon Dixon The Modernisation
of Russia 1676-1825. Cambridge1999; Even thecloselyfocussedStudyGroupon Eighteenth-century
Russiahasnotlookedattheerathrough
theprismoffood
studies.
11The kovrizhka
is a typeofprianikor gingerbread
madefromtheearliesttimesin Russia.The
traditional
sweetener
is honey;thefactthatthedescription
notestheuseofsugaremphasizes
thecake's
extravagance.
A pud (pood) is equal to roughly36 Americanpounds.The old Russianpoundequalled409
454 grams.
grams,somewhatless thantheAmericanpound,whichweighsin at approximately
to
Krasnyior "red"sugarrefersto sugarthathas beencoloredred.Cochinealwas introduced
so itmaywellhavebeenknownattheRussiancourt.Whenmixed
Europeinthelatesixteenth
century,
withalumand tartaric
carminered,whichwouldhave appealedto
acid,cochinealyieldsa brilliant
Russiansensibilities.
closenessof krasnyi'red' and krasivyi'beautiful';the
(Cf. theetymological
wordfor"red"was "beautiful"
original
meaningofthemodern
[hence,Red Square]).VasiliiLevshin
mentionscochinealas a coloringagentin his comprehensive
of Russianfood (V. A.
dictionary
LevshinSlovar'povarennyi,
konditerskii
i distillatorskii.
Tom 3, chast'2. S.-Peterburg
1795,p. 94.)
It is possible,however,andnotunlikely,
thatearlyRussianconfectioners
usednativecolorantssuch
as cranberry,
orbarberry
see
raspberry,
cherry
juice to achievea redcolor.Formoreon sugarartistry
Laura Mason Sugar-Plums
andSherbet:
ThePrehistory
ofSweets.Devon,England1998,especially
pp. 137-150 and 195-199.
1 TheRussianreads:"dvabol'shikh
odinna piatikrugakh,
a drugoiledensakharnykh
martsipana:
was madebyheating
1 Russianpoundofgroundalmondswith1/2
tsovyi."
Regularmarzipan
together
A poundof sugarwas graduallyaddeduntilthemixture
at whichpoint
thickened,
cup ofrosewater.
itwas removedfromtheheat,dustedwithflour,andmoldedintovariousshapes.The "fiverounds"
herereferto thecircularformsintowhichthemarzipanwas moldedto resemblea flower."Cast"
Groundalmonds,rosewater
and sugarwere
(ledentsovyi)
marzipanwas madesomewhatdifferently.
andplacedinmolds,whichwerethensandwiched
betweentwoironsheetsand
quicklymixedtogether
setinthestovetobake.As themoldsheatedup,thesugarmeltedandcastthemarzipanintotheshape
ofthemolds.I amgrateful
toTatianaTokarevaforherdetailedelucidation
ofthis,andother,problematicpassagesin thiscitation.
15The Russiansmokvahererefers
nottofigs,as incurrent
frosted
suchas
fruits,
usage,butto sugarorcurrants.
The fruits
werelefton thevineor stalkand soakedin
grapes,gooseberries,
lingonberries
a thinsyrup,thendustedwithfinesugaranddriedin a warmstove.The resulting
confections
were
andsparkling.
crystalline
484
Darra Goldstein
andbitter
nutmeg
oranges,1161
pitteddriedapricotsandpeaches,gingerin syrup,watermelon,
- in all therewere120disheson thetable."
melon,andotherfruits
Such regalement reflectedthe standards of Muscovite hospitality,which dictated the
preparationof elaborateconfectionsforall guestsinvitedto royalevents.At the end of these
to bringhome, the amountdeterminedby
feasts,guestswere given additionalconfectionary
each person's rank and the degree of his favor before the Tsar.18 This podacha or
markedone's statusat courtand was a ritualizedaspect of Russian hospitality.
presentation
Couriersdeliveredthepodacha to anyone unable to attendthe festivities.19
Althoughthetsars'expendituresnotoriouslybore littlerelationto any financialreality,the
cost of theseconfectionsmusthave been astronomical.Russia's firstsugar refinerydid not
beginproductionuntiltheearly 1720s;20beforethenall processed sugar had to be imported,
16The
i pomerantsovykhrefers,respectively,to the freshfruitof the
Russian iablok mushkatnykh
nutmegbefore it is dried and to the bitter,or Seville, orange. Nutmeg was broughtto Russia by the
Dutch,who had a monopolyon thenutmegtradein the 17thcentury;bitterorangeswere importedfrom
theirnativeChina. Along with lemons, the nutmegand bitteroranges were likely placed on the table
fortheirfragranceand beauty.The sixteenth-century
PortuguesephysicianGarcia da Orta,who worked
in Goa, wrotethat"[i]t is the loveliest sightin the world to see the nutmegtrees laden with theirripe
golden fruit[. . .]" (Garcia da Orta Colloquies on the Simples & Drugs of India. London 1913, p. 32).
17
Tereshchenko Byt russkagonaroda,vol. 3, pp. 264-265. Tereshchenkodid not providea source.
Pyliaev offereda slightlydifferent
descriptionin his Staroe zhit'e p. 4, citingOpyt trudovVol'nogo
rossiiskago sobraniia pri Imperatorskommoskovskom universitete,ch. 4, p. 158. In Semnadtsat'
pervykhlet v zhizni imperatoraPetra velikago 1672-1689, M. P. Pogodin also brieflydescribed the
sugar confectionsand statedthatthe dinnertook place in the Faceted Palace on June29, following
Peter's baptismand christening.See M. P. Pogodin Semnadtsat'pervykhlet.Moskva, tip. V. M. Frish,
1875, p. 8.
18The numberof dishes served at feastsalso reflectedthe Tsar's
favor,as Johann-GeorgKorb reof Poland and Denmark.The Pole got
was given to therepresentatives
ported:"A Czar's entertainment
and bothhad six gallons of drinkablesof various kinds.
dishes,theDane only twenty-two,
twenty-five
about prerogativewhich the Dane had moved
wantedto cut shortthecontroversy
It seems theministry
and the greaternumberof the
againstthePole. For thePole was honouredwiththefirstentertainment,
viands battledin his favourtoo. The Dane founditverysour of digestionto be held inferiorto thePole:
he could not endurethatothersshould have made such a distinctionas was made in the differenceof
thisentertainment."
(Korb Diary of an AustrianSecretaryof Legation,vol. 1, pp. 171-172). Elsewhere
Korb noted: "A Czar's entertainment
given to the Brandenburgher.He was more honoured than the
Pole or the Dane, forthe table was laid with fiftydishes and twenty-four
jars of drinkables a token
to theothershow much less theyare liked." Ibidem, vol. 1, p. 240. In thisway the Russian tsarsused
food as a political tool.
19
See, forinstance,theaccount of Sir Thomas Randolph, who afteran audience withTsar Ivan the
Terriblewas thebeneficiaryof thefollowingpodacha: "Withinone hourafter,in comes to my lodging
a duke richlyappareledaccompaniedwithfiftypersons,each of themcarryinga silver dish withmeat
and covered withsilver.The duke firstdelivered twentyloaves of bread of the emperor's own eating,
havingtastedthesame, and deliveretheverydish into my hands and tastedof every kind of drinkthat
he brought."Sir Thomas Randolph A Mission to Muscovy, in: Rude & Barbarous Kingdom. Ed. by
Lloyd E. Berryand Robert O. Crummey.Madison 1968, p. 69. This account was firstpublished in
1589 in: Richard Hakluyt The PrincipalNavigations, Voyages, Traffiques,and Discoveries of the
EnglishNation. 12 vols. Glasgow 1903-1905, herevol. 1. See also thedetailedaccount by the Frenchman Margaret, who described a processional that made its way throughthe streetsof Moscow.
CapitaineMargaret Estâtde l'empire de Russie et Grande Duché de Moscovie. Paris 1607, pp. 3233, cited in: Smith, Christian Bread and Salt p. 1 17.
20 In 1718 the Moscow merchantPavel Vestov
(Westhoff)was commissioned to build a sugar
near Moscow butchose to build it in Petersburginstead.To enable Vestov's refineryto work
refinery
withoutcompetition,the governmentforbadethe importof refinedsugar; in return,the refineryhad
to promise to produce sugar equal in quality to the importedproductand to sell it at a price advantageous to consumers. As long as native productionfullysupplied the domestic market,this sort of
protectionismfromforeigncompetitionwas commonunderPeterI. See V. G. Geiman Manifakturnye
predpriiatiiaPeterburga,in: PeterburgPetrovskogovremeni.Ed. by A. V. Predtechenskii.Leningrad
1948, pp. 69-70. Geiman named 1720 as the date when sugar productionbegan in Russia; Smith and
Gastronomie
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
485
chiefly throughthe far northernport of Archangel on the White Sea. The journey from
Archangel to Moscow, covering nearly 1,000 miles by riverand land, could take several
Aftertheriversbecame navigable in late spring,barges
weeks, dependingon theweather.21
could easily sail down theDvina and Sukhona Rivers to the town of Vologda. But therethe
route to Moscow continued overland, and the Russian roads of late spring were often
impassable due to mud. If merchantswaited forthe roads to dryout, the water level in the
riverssometimesdroppedlow enough to make passage extremelyslow. It is not surprising,
then,that most Russians had never even tasted sugar, particularlysince Russia's native
sweetener,wild honey,was so widely available. Even those who had tastedsugar remained
unsuitableforfastdays.22
suspicious,as itwas rumoredto be refinedwithblood and therefore
Orthodox Russians took fastingveryseriously,dividingthe year into feast(skoromnyi)
and fast (postnyi) days, the sequence of which they strictlyobserved. No meat or dairy
productswere allowed on fastdays,which added up to nearlytwo hundreddays a year. For
mostof thepopulationthismeanta dietbased on grains,heartyvegetables,and occasionally
fish.The odor of the latter,sold salted and pickled at market,could oftenbe detectedfrom
a great distance, as foreign visitors to Russia complained. Friedrich Christian Weber
marvelled thatthe Russian folk preferredsalted fish to fresh,even eating it "raw out of
barrels" or boiled, withthepicklingliquid servingas a kind of soup to sop up withbread.
Weber explained theirtaste forthispungentfishas follows: "To this theyare obliged by
Weeks in theYear, in whichtimetheydare nottaste
frequentFasts,whichmake above thirty
neitherFlesh norwhatcomes of Flesh, as Eggs, Milk, Butter,Cheese, and the like, but must
live upon Fish, and Linseed-Oylinsteadof Butter."23
For the well-to-do,however,fastdays
did notmean eitherdeprivationor stinkyfish.A mid-seventeenth-century
statedinnergiven
for the English ambassador Carlisle lasted foreighthours,withno less than five hundred
dishes served,notone made withmeatproducts.For thedinner'sfinalethreesmall treeswere
broughtto table,each coveredwithgilded cakes, whichCarlisle and theboyarsplucked from
thebranchesand ate fordessert.24
If the rarestgoods were reservedforthe royal table, the nobilityneverthelessenjoyed a
wide varietyof foods.Theirdietexistedon a plane vastlysuperiorto thatof themasses, who
had to contentthemselveslargelywith gruel and coarse rye bread, supplementedby root
vegetables and foragedfoods in season. This basic diet remainedvirtuallyunchanged well
intothetwentieth
century;apartfromtheintroductionand late acceptance of thepotato,the
of new productsand culinarymodes into
peasanttablewas hardlyaffectedby theimportation
Russia. Therefore this essay examines the tables of the well-to-do, where the greatest
gastronomicchanges occurred.
Christian
Solov'evandLiubomirov;
see: Breadand
gavethedateas 1723,citingtheRussianhistorians
Saltp. 177.
21In
July1568 it tookSir ThomasRandolphfiveweeksto traveldown theDvina Riverfrom
to Vologda.See Randolph A Missionto Muscovyp. 67.
Kholmogory
22See Tereshchenko
narodap. 272. Oleariusreported
that"a foreign
merchant
named
Bytrusskago
Bock toldthePatriarch
thateggwhitewas usedto purify
See The
sugar,"thusmakingitskoromnyi.
TravelsofOleariusp. 270. TsarAlexeiMikhailovich's
Britishphysician,
SamuelCollins,also noted
a proscription
againstsugaron fastdays.Samuel Collins The presentstateofRussia,in a letterto
a friend
at London;written
byan eminent
personresidingat theGreatTsarscourtat Moscow forthe
somepeasantsbelievedthat
spaceofnineyears.London1671.Evenwell intothenineteenth
century
sugarwas madefromanimal(especiallydog) bones.See S. V. Maksimov Krestnaiasila. Sobranie
sochinenii.Tom 17. S.-Peterburg,
n.d. [c. 1900],p. 85, citedin: Leonid Heretz The Practiceand
in: Food in Russian
Significanceof Fastingin RussianPeasantCultureat theTurnof theCentury,
HistoryandCulture.Ed. byMusyaGiantsandJoyceToomre.Bloomington
1997,p. 72.
23Weber The PresentStateof
Russia,vol. 1,pp. 343-344.
24Tereshchenko
Bytrusskagonarodapp. 259-261.
486
Darra Goldstein
For those who could affordit,even the fast-daydiet proved ample and varied. This we
know from an inventoryof the foods served on Palm Sunday, 1656, to Boyar Boris
IvanovichMorozov, head of theTreasuryunderTsar Alexei Mikhailovich.Morozov's ability
to procurethefinestproductsdoes not seem to have been affectedby the losses he suffered
duringthe 1648 uprisingagainstthehighersalt tax levied by his department.Breaking into
Morozov's house, the mob had headed straightforhis cellars, where theydrankbarrelsof
mead and vodka. What theywere unable to drink,theysmashed, carousing knee-deep in
liquor.When Morozov's house caughtfire,manybrawlersperishedas the alcohol wentup
in flames.25
But Morozov recoveredhis wealthquicklyenough,and eightyearslaterenjoyed
the followingmeal:
"Fine wheatbread,cabbagewithherring,
pressedcaviar,blackcaviar,redcisco roe,dried
boned saltedpike with
steamedherring,
backboneof sturgeon(yiziza) withhorseradish,
Fishfilet(teloj21]with
withcucumbers.
horseradish.
Sterlet
steaks,[2<ifresh
sturgeon
garnished
cucumbers.
Salmon(losos') withlemons.Freshsalmon(semga)withlemons,pike,steamed
steamedsterlet,
halfa headof sturgeon,
bream,steamedpike-perch,
pancakes;salmonback,
fish
blacksterlet,
redpike,fishpie,1281
whitesalmonback,belugabelly,whitesalmonentrails,
9]
milt,
pie withsaltedcucumbersoup. Pikesoup,burbotpie,perchsoup,pie withsturgeon
a largesturgeon
cruciansoup,1301
whitesalmonpie,tenchsoup/311
(osetra)pie,breaminbrine,
with
smallpancakes,
fish(kolotka),
fishpies;1321
pies[33)
perchinbrine,slow-risen
freshly-killed
stuffed
whitesalmonbackbone,
inpastry,
fresh
driedpeas,halfheadsoffreshsturgeon,
herring
steaks{zvenastupishnye)l36]
fritters,
crucian,1341
sturgeon
belugasteaks(zvenabocheshnye)l3S]
25The TravelsofOlearius 208.
p.
261havetranslated
buttheRussianbegsexplanation.
zvenasimplyas "steaks,"
sterliadiny
narostovye
thenarost,locatedbetweentheanalopeningandthecaudalfin,is
toViPiamPokhlebkin,
According
orsalmon.Thenarostconsistsoffourzvena,each beinga cutalongthe
"thebestpart"ofthesturgeon
See V. V. Pokhlebkin Kulithetastiest
Thesecutsconstituted
widthofa vertebra.
partofthesterlet.
narnyislovar'.Moskva 1996,p. 284.
to bonedfiletoffish,eitherwholeorminced.By extension,
Telo{tel'noeincurrent
usage)refers
a
of pike,are forcedthrough
telo is also theold Russiannameforfishforcemeat:
filets,preferably
sieve;themassis thenshapedintoa ball andsteamedin bouillionmadefromthebonesandheadof
no bindingagents
fromtheclassicalFrenchquenelleinthatitcontains
thefish.TheRussiantelodiffers
andbaked.
is oftenstuffed
suchas eggs,eggwhites,orcream.Foran elegantdishtheforcemeat
28
toa Lentendoughmadewithvegetable
refers
oil,waterandflour.Itis rolledvery
Pirogprosypnoi
thinandturnsoutquiteflaky.
29
Pirogs telomna rosolnoedeh is mincedorwholefishfiletsin a crust,servedwithrassol'nik,
withsaltedcucumbers.
soupmadefromfishbouillionandflavored
30Crucian
fishrelatedto carp.Nativeto Central
{karas', LatinCarassiusvulgaris)is a freshwater
Europe,crucianis muchfavoredbytheRussians.
31Like
fishrelatedto carpand
tench{lin' LatinTineavulgaristinea)is a smallfreshwater
crucian,
foundinmanyEuropeanrivers.
32
s telomrefers
tothekisloe,orLenten,
doughusedforthecrust,whichcontainsyeast
Pirogikislye
butno fat.
33
Dolgiepirogi("longpies")aremadebyplacingyeastdoughina canvasbagandleavingittoproof
Thismethodlendsa wonderfully
wineytasteto the
slowlyincold waterunderanaerobicconditions.
dough.
34Karasi s telom.
35
refers
to thelookofthefishsteaks
theRussianzvenabocheshnye
toTatianaTokareva,
According
resembletheconvexarc of a barrel
which,cut as theyare alongthecentralaxis of thevertebrae,
February12, 1999.
(bochka).Privatecorrespondence,
36Of thevarious
to
difficult
osetris theoiliestandmostdelicate.It is therefore
typesof sturgeon,
as
handlethefleshwithouttearingit.TatianaTokarevaexplainedthemeaningofzvenastupishnye
dioceseinSaratov:Ifthesteaks{zvena- see note26
theOrthodox
from
basedon information
follows,
natural
oil willbe lostandthesteakswillfallapart.So
their
and
are
cut
individually,
above)
prepared
enablesthesteaksto retaintheir
{stupa)and baked;themortar
theyare moundedin a metalmortar
givingriseto the
shapeandalso ensuresthatnoneoftheoil is lost.Thesteaksareservedinthemortar,
nameofthedish.(Privatecorrespondence,
February12, 1999.)
underPetertheGreat
Reforms
Gastronomic
487
whitefish
withsauce,Ladoga whitefish
soup withfishbellyand
(lodoga) withhorseradish,
dried
steaks.Forthederzhal'niki^ cabbagewithherring,
tongue.2 fishbellies,2 sturgeon
backboneofsturgeon,
buckwheat
(osetr)withcucumbers,
sturgeon
groatswithfish,perchsoup
(ukha' slow-risenpies. Whitefish,
five servings.For the servants,six
Ladoga whitefish,
20 belugaandosetrsteaks."
servings.Foreach serving,
This menureflectstherefinement
of theRussian palate,at least as faras fishwas concerned.
Not only did affluentRussians enjoy a varietyof fish,theyalso appreciatedparts of the
anatomythatour own societygenerallydiscards,such as the entrailsand the backbone. Our
Americanappreciationforcaviar,thefemale's eggs, revealsour culturalpreferences;we eat
itwithaplomb,even ostentation,
yetwe shyaway fromthedisconcertinglycreamymilt,the
seminal secretionof the male fish.
This connoisseurship was not always apparent to foreignvisitors to Muscovy, who
generallycomplained about the food theyencountered.The irrepressiblePolish nobleman
and adventurerJanChryzostomPasek, invitedto the Tsar's table in 1662, put a humorous
spin on the Russians' unfamiliardiningpractices:
banquetwas totakeplace;thateveningMikhailoAfanasovich,
"[...] Thenextdayan imperial
thesonofthatlordofthetable,andanother
boyar,cameto mewitha speech:"Tsar,Osudar,
VelikiiBiloei i ChornyeiRusi Samoderzhtsai Obladatel,tebesterpriatelaswoigoprosit
kolenoi na lebedyekhuzno'['The Tsar,GrandMonarchof Whiteand
zaiutrana biluzhnye
BlackRuthenia{partofMuscovy},absoluterulerandsovereign
lord,invitesyou,as hisfriend,
fortomorrow
forkneeofbelugaandrumpofswan'].
whatpracticeis this,
I beingunfamiliar
withthatetiquette
oftheirs,
sulked;thinkI to myself,
togo inviting
someonefora KNEE andan ARSE, andI did notyetknowwhata belugawas.
myself.Nemo
Rightthen,I wantedtoexclaim:Tell himtoeatarsehimself;thenI restrained
is notwise].I repliedthatI thankhis lordshipthe
sapiens,nisipatiens[He whois notpatient,
butbeingan ordinary
tsarforthegraciousinvitation
tohisbanquet,
soldier,I am loathto feed
I'll findsomething
else to eatthere,andthose
on delicacies;thoughI'll makemyappearance,
celebrated
daintiesI leavetothegentlemen
havingseenhowI frowned
envoys.The interpreter
on it,says: 'Be notupset,Your Honor,forthisis a customof ourpeople,just as in your
inviteone anotherforboiledbeef,eventhoughhazelhensbe foundthere
country,
gentlemen
therebe manydishes;
too,andmanyothersuchgame,so withus itis forrumpofswan,though
and whenwe mentionbothrumpof swanand kneeof belugait is to signifyan illustrious
banquet.'
I inquired
then:'Whatis thisbelugaanyway,andwhatis so specialaboutitsknees?'He said
thatit'sa largerriverfish,andthatone spotnearthegillshas so finea flavor,no otherfishis
andtheresttasteslikesturgeon;
thatpiecebeinground,whichtheycutfromthefish
as tasty,
andbringroundtothetable,theycall a knee.I also madeinquiry
aboutwhytheyinviteguests
fora rump- whynota head,or a wing,ora breast?He saidthatthispiece is thetastiest
part
ofa swan.Atthis,I observeditwouldbe better
to inviteone fora wholeswanrather
thanthe
therumpofa fatcaponis also rather
rumpalone; in ourcountry
savory,butwe don'tinvite
anyonefortherump,butin generalforthecapon.Said he,it's thecustom."39
If Pasek's tale implicitlyrevealsRussian epicurism,otherforeignvisitorswere less amused
by local tastes. On a 1689 visit to Muscovy, the envoy Foy de la Neuville declared with a
Frenchman's absolute disdain thatthe Russians "eat and drinkextremelybadly" and are
"gluttons" to boot.40He went on to describe a podacha sent fromthe table of the then
37Derzhal'niki
werepoornobility
oftheirwealthier
relatives,
livingunderthepatronage
usuallyin
thesamehouse.
38
Rospisi kushan'iuboiarinaBorisa IvanovichaMorozova,in: Knigi vo ves' god v stol estvy
podavat',pp. 33-34 (see note1).
MemoirsofthePolishBaroque:TheWritings
ofJanChryzostom
Pasek,A SquireoftheCommonwealthofPolandandLithuania.
withan introd.
andnotesbyCatherine
S. Leach. Berkeley
Ed.,trans.,
1976,pp. 139-140.
40Foy de la Neuville A CuriousandNew Accountof
of
MuscovyintheYear 1689 (translation
Relationcurieuseetnouvellede Moscovie[1698]).Ed. andintrod.
byLindseyHughesandtrans,from
theFrenchbyJ.A. Cutshall.London1994,p. 57.
488
Darra Goldstein
Tsar PetertheFirst,consistingof "a forty-pound
piece of smoked beef,
seventeen-year-old
several dishes offish cooked in nutoil, half a pig, a dozen half-cookedpies made of meat,
garlic and saffron,and threebig flagons of vodka, Spanish wine and mead."41Neuville
commentedthat"[i]t is easy to judge fromthe listof these dishes thatthe greatestpleasure
I found in this sumptuous feast was the honour thatwas being done me." Unwilling to
prevaricatewhenasked how he had enjoyedthemeal, Neuville confessedthat"unfortunately
French cooks had so spoiled my tastethatI could eat no othercooking." Yet several days
laterhe admittedto being "veryproperlyentertained"at AndreiArtamonovichMatveev's
house, havingenjoyeda Lentenmeal consistingentirelyof Caspian Sea and Volga River fish
thathad been transportedlive to Moscow.42
of theTsar's tablewithfishfromdistantwatershad earlierbeen
The year-roundfurnishing
describedby GrigoriiKotoshikhin,under-secretary
(beforeturningtraitor) to Tsar Aleksei
Mikhailovich. Fisheriesin Nizhnii Novgorod, Kazan, and Astrakhanon the Volga, as well
as on theTerekRiverin theCaucasus, providedvarioustypesof sturgeon(beluga and osetr).
The fishwas hauled to Moscow whole or in pieces, saltedor brinedin barrels;thebacks and
bellies were generallydried and jerked. Sterletwas salted in barrelsand transportedalong
withburbotroe, sturgeonliver,finecaviar (bothbeluga and osetra),blocks of pressedcaviar,
driedsturgeonbackbone (visiga), and stripsof driedwhitesalmon. From Velikii Novgorod
and Lake Ladoga came whitefish,Ladoga whitefish,and whitefishcaviar; fromVologda,
Archangel and the Kolsk peninsula near Murmansk salmon (losos ') and salted salmon
(semga). Freshsturgeon,whitesalmon, sterlet,salmon,pike, bream,pike-perch,perch,and
many othersortsof excellent fishwere caught forthe Tsar's table in the riversand ponds
aroundMoscow.43
Russian courtiersheartilyenjoyed the abundant fish and fishproducts; by measuring
Russian eating habits against the standards of French practice Neuville revealed his
of Russian culture.Whathe identifiedas gluttonywas, in fact,the
superficialunderstanding
obverseof the"Waste Not WantNot" mentality
rulingcertainsegmentsof Westernculture.
When it came to regalement,wastefulness was not a consideration for the Russian
aristocracy.Frugalityamong the nobilitywould hardlyallay the deprivationsof a poor
country,and Muscovite Russia had littlesense of the egalitarianismthatwas beginningto
brew faintlyin WesternEurope. Instead,the aristocratictemperamentran to extremes,with
apparentlytotaldisregardforrestraint.The strictOrthodoxpatternof feastingand fasting
caused wealthyRussians to indulgeto theutmostwhentheycould, experiencingglee at their
wantonness.No doubtpartof theirpleasurelay in an awarenessof thescarcitythatprevailed
attributeof human characteronly seemed
just beyondtheirmansion walls; thisunfortunate
to increase theirdelightin excess.
When meat-eatingwas allowed, the wealthy piled theirtables high with "rumps" in
additionto "knees." Pickled or saltedbeef,ham,sucklingpig, elk, boar, lamb, and rabbitall
appearedon thetable. Swan was consideredthemostluxuriousof birds,thoughthe nobility
41Ibidem 12. All of the
followingquotes fromNeuville are fromthis passage.
p.
42The Danish
envoy JustJuelfounda fast-daymeal offish farless palatable: "I have never eaten
such a bad meal in my life. Since it was a fast day, therewas nothingon the table but sturgeon
(osetrina), sterletand other types of fish unknown in Denmark, stinkingof blubber (vorvan '). In
addition, all of the dishes were seasoned withpepper and onion." Sturgeonand sterletare both very
oily fish, hence Juel's aversion. Zapiski Iusta Iulia, datskago poslannika pri russkomdvore ( 1709171 1), in: Russkii arkhiv(1892) no. 3, p. 282.
43Kotoshikhin O Rossii v tsarstvovanie
Alekseja Mikhajlovichap. 92. Kotoshikhin s contemporaneous descriptionrefutesPrince M. M. Shcherbatov's later insistencethatbefore Peter the Great's
reforms,the Russian tsarsate verysimply.See Shcherbatov's descriptionoffish in: Idem O povrezhdenii nravov v Rossii p. 121.
Gastronomie
underPetertheGreat
Reforms
489
also feastedon peacock, crane,heron,black grouse,hazel hen,partridge,lark,goose, duck,
and chicken.Veal was rarelyconsumed,and capons, in contrastto theirpopularityin Poland,
were virtuallyunknown.44During the Christmasseason in Moscow food was particularly
abundant:
andpublicthoroughfares
aretobe seenplenishedto overflowing
withflesh
"[A]llthemarkets
meats.Hereyou have an incredible
multitude
of geese; in anotherplace suchstoreof pigs,
readykilled,thatyouwouldthinkitenoughto lastthewholeyear;thenumberofoxenkilled
is inproportion;
fowlofeverykindlookedas iftheyhadflowntogether
fromall Muscovy,and
intothisone city.It wouldbe uselessto attempt
everypartthereof,
namingall thevarieties;
thatone couldwishforwas to be had."45
everything
Because Christmasfeastingfollowedon theheels of theforty-day
Filippov fast,such bounty
all
the
more
appeared
plentiful.
Hot and cold soups, noodle dishes,roasts,and sauces were seasoned withonion, garlic,
pepper,saffron,and sometimessavory.46
Foreignvisitorscomplainedthatso much garlicand
onion made theirhosts' breathsmell bad, but thanksto theirrich storesof vitaminsthese
pungent vegetables helped to keep the populace healthy. The Danish envoy JustJuel
implicitlyacknowledged garlic's nutritionalvalue even as he complained about its use.
Naming thethree"doctors"Russians turnedto regardlessof theirhealth- the Russian bath
(bania), vodka, and garlic - he elaboratedon the latter:"the third[doctor] is garlic, which
theRussians notonlyuse as a seasoningon all of theirfoods,theyalso eat it raw duringthe
day. As a resulttheysmell bad, and the foreignervisitingRussia forthe firsttime who is
unaccustomed to the smell is definitelynot in any shape to spend time in theirrooms,
especially where there's a crowd."47
Anotheredible misunderstoodby outsidersbut prized by Russians was the mushroom.48
Weber was as criticalof thisfood choice as he had been of salt fish,going so faras to deem
mushroomsharmful:
"In Autumntheygather[mushrooms]
in greatQuantities,
and withoutpickingthem,pickle
theminBarrels,
andcarrythemtoMarketwiththePickle,andso thecommonPeopleeatthem
withoutfurther
Thisis a Diet veryhardto be digested;butas thesevereFastsin
Ceremony.
Russiaallowfewofthewholesomest
theNativesareobligedto takeup withsuch
Provisions,
Food, and to aid DigestionwithBrandy,theirusual stomachickEssence. The CzarinaDowager,RelictofthelateCzar Alexius,dyingin theYear 1715,duringLent,herBodywas
was chieflyoccasionedbyeatingtoo muchof
opened,anditwas found,thatherIndisposition
thosepickledMushrooms,
outofDevotionofstrictly
herFast."49
observing
Especially appealing to Russian tastewas the combinationof sweet and sour so typical of
medieval foods throughoutEurope. Rich, dark swan meat was oftenserved withvinegaror
44Ibidem 120.All
ofShcherbatov's
workaretakenfrom
thisedition.Regarding
p.
Englishtranslations
theRussians'dislikeforveal,OleariuswrotethattheFalse Dimitri(1605-06) was recognizedas an
becausehe "himself
ordered
thecooktoprepare
vealandotherdishesthattheRussians,who
imposter
consider
themloathsome,
do noteat."(TheTravelsofOleariusp. 186). AndNeuvillestatedthat"[the
to name...,"in:Neuville A Curious
Russians]eatno vealbecauseofa scruplewhichis too infamous
andNew AccountofMuscovyp. 57. 1havebeenunabletodetermine
justwhatthat"infamous
scruple"
is.
45Korb
ofLegation,vol. 1,p. 217.
Diaryofan Austrian
Secretary
46
vo ves' god v stolestvypodavat'p. III.
Knigi
47ZaoiskiIustaIulia d. 297.
48On theculturaldifferences
betweenRussiansandtheEnglishin termsof theirattitudes
toward
mushrooms
see Valentina andGordon Wasson Mushrooms,
Russia,andHistory.New York 1957.
Weber The PresentStateof Russia,vol. 1, p. 333. It shouldbe notedthatNataliaKinllovna
PetertheGreat'smother,
was sixty-three
whenshedied,a ripeenoughage forherera.
Naryshkina,
490
Darra Goldstein
a combinationof sourmilk,pickles,and prunes.50
The sweet and sour themewas played out
in the dessertcourse as well, with"dates, gingerjam, Persian fruits,salted cucumbers,raw
greenpeas in thepod and raw carrots"all served together.51
One of the earliestRussian garnishesformeat,onion vzvar,rivals the confitsofferedat
Onions and pepperwere deemed particularlycompatiblewith
today's trendiestrestaurants.52
caviar, as in the Muscovite dish kal'ia, forwhich pressed caviar was cut into thinrounds.
Chopped onion, pepper,pickles, pickle brine,and waterwere added, thenthe mixturewas
steamed in an earthenwarepot in the greatRussian stove,withadditionalpepper added on
embassyto Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich's court,
serving.Commentingon a seventeenth-century
the German scholar Adam Olearius described eating freshcaviar, too, with pepper and
onions. He notedthatvinegarand butterwere sometimesused to dress caviar in place of the
pepper and onions, but he preferredlemon juice, deeming it a betterappetite stimulant.
Olearius also mentioneda dish preparedespecially forhangovers,called, like the hangover
itself,pokhmeVe. Cold roast lamb was cut into small pieces, "like cubes, but thinnerand
broader,"thenmixedwithpepperand cucumberssimilarlysliced. Over this,"equal partsof
vinegar and cucumberjuice" were poured. "The [Russians] eat this with a spoon," wrote
a drinktastesgood again."53PokhmeVeis evidence of the Russian
Olearius,"and afterwards
urge to excess, as it was devised primarilyto enable even encourage furtherdrinking.
This hangover remedy likely evolved into the popular soup rassol'nik, now made with
kidneysand pickle brine.
Hangovers were already a significantproblem in the seventeenthcentury.Contraryto
century
popularperception,vodka - knownsimplyas vino54or wine untilthemid-nineteenth
- was nottheRussians' drinkof choice foreitherimbibingor inebriation.They farpreferred
mead, which theybrewed fromhoney.55Travelers wrote of "great pools" and "lakes" of
honey;56Russia's forestscontained so many swarms of wild bees thatpassage could be
dangerous.Such immensewild hives gave riseto legend.One oft-repeatedstory,invoked as
factratherthantalltale,told of a man who accidentallyfell intoa honey-filledhive and was
unable to extricatehimselffromthe stickysubstance.He remainedtherefortwo days until,
a bear appeared.When thebear began to climb intothehive to feaston
to his good fortune,
thesweethoney,theman grabbedhis tail and shouted,at whichthestartledbear bolted from
the hive, pulling theman out along withhim.57
50Sigismundvon HerbersteinNotes
oftheEarliestAccountof
uponRussia:Beinga Translation
Trans,anded. byR. H. Major.Vol. 1-2.
Commentarii.
RerumMoscoviticarum
thatCountry,
entitled
New York,n.d.Vol. 2, p. 130.
51
ZapiskiIustaIuliap. 277.
52To make
withvinegarandsweetenedwithhoney,thensprinvzvar,slicesofonionaremoistened
withpepper.The onionsarecookedslowlyuntilcaramelized.
kledliberally
aboutcaviarandpommele is tromIne 1ravelsot Uleanusp. lob.
The information
54
vodkais khlebnoevino,or "winemadefromgrain,"whereasregularwineis vinoTechnically,
"French."
to asfrantsuzskoe,
gradnoe,"madefromgrapes,"andoftenreferred
55The Russianwordsfor
"honey"and"mead"areidentical:mëd.
56Herberstein Notes
uponRussia,vol. 2, p. 204.
57This
ambassadorof theDuke of Muscovy,was first
to a certainDemetrius,
story,attributed
byTereshchenko in: Byt
(NotesuponRussia,vol.2, p. 204). Itwas repeated
reported
byHerberstein
I. G. Pryzhov Istoriiakabakovv Rossiiv sviazi
russkagonarodapp. 202-203, andbythehistorian
fearinthe
Moskva 1991,p. 14. Bearscausedconsiderable
s istorieirusskagonaroda[1868] Reprint
(as
theyavoidednaminghimdirectly
earlyRussians.By callingthebearmedved'or "honey-eater,"
thebear
led theRussiansto appropriate
toGod).Thisancientfeareventually
Jahweh
refers
indirectly
withhis
thebearinstorieslikeDemetrius',
as a cultural
theycouldidentify
symbol.By domesticating
theirterror.
hewants- andthusneutralize
hisirrepressible
desires- particularly
urgetotakewhatever
Reforms
Gastronomie
underPetertheGreat
49 1
This story,however apocryphal, does reveal the abundance of wild honey,58which
yielded, freeof charge,the primaryingredientformead. The Russians learned to prepare
mead with considerable artistry,flavoringit with the juice of raspberries,blackberries,
mission
cherries,black currants,or gooseberries.Sir JeromeBowes, on a sixteenth-century
to Moscow, tastedseveralextraordinary
varietiesof mead, includingraspberry,
cherry,sweet
mead, whitemead, and a mead made fromscalded honey (obarnyi).59Even greatervariety
was found in the cellars of Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich, including meads imbued with
black currants,
wild strawberries,
rock bramble(Rubus saxatilis), bird-cherries,
raspberries,
apples, cherries,pears and plums.60
Early Russians understoodthe conditions necessary for properlyaging theirfavorite
beverages, as described in thisold Russian bylina or song-poem:
"KaK BOflOHKH
cjiaaKHe, Mew cTOHJiwe
noBeineHbib norpeôa rjryôoKoeb ôoHicaxcopoKOBicax,
Eohkh BHCflT
Ha uenax Ha xejie3Hbix,
Tyaa noBeuieHbiBerpu öybiHbie;
rioBeiOTBerpbi6yfttu>ie
b hhctomnone,
rioìtayrKaKBO3^yxHno norpe6aM,H 3aroroH)T 6ohkh, KaKne6ejw,
KaK jieöe^H Ha thxhx Ha 3aBo;wx:
TaK OTToro He 3aTXHyrcfl
boäohkh cjia^KHe,
Bo^ohkh cjiaaKHfl,h Mew CTOiiJibie;
KaK napy nbeiiib- apyroñ xonercH,
flpyroHnbeuib- no TpeTbenayiua ropHT."61
Sweetdearvodkas,aged meads
Arehungindeep cellarsin forty-bucket
barrels,1621
The barrelshangon ironchains,
The wildwindsarehungthere,too;
The wildwindswillblowintheopenfield,
Airwillflowthrough
thecellars,Andthebarrelswillcacklelikeswans,
Like swansinquietbackwaters;
Thusthesweetdearvodkaswillnotgrowmusty,
The sweetdearvodkas,andagedmeads;
You drinka cup- youwantanother,
- yoursoul burnsfora third.
You drinkanother
In themonasteries,monksperfectedtheartof brewingkvas,a kindof small beer which, like
mead, was preparedin many flavors.Most oftenrye and malt were leftto fermentinto a
slightlyalcoholic drink,but fruitsand vegetables could also serve as the basis for kvas
(cranberrieswere especially favored). Dried herbs such as mint,sage, and St. John's wort
providedadditionaltang.Beer and ale were also known,thoughthe Russians never devoted
as much care to theirpreparation.This may partlybe due to superstition:Tsar Mikhail
Fedorovich(1613-45) forbadetheimportationof hops fromLithuania,fearingthatwitches
58
oftradeduringthetimeofPetertheGreat,Korbnoted:"Such a profusion
ofhoney,that
Writing
be consumed
amountis exportedevery
thougha greatquantity
bythenativesindrink,a considerable
countries."
of Legation,vol. 2,
yearintotheneighbouring
(Korb Diaryof an AustrianSecretary
p. 170).
Hakluyt The PrincipalNavigationspp. 493-494, citedin: Smith,Christian Breadand Salt
p. 102.
KotoshikhinO Rossiiv tsarstvovanie
AleksejaMikhajlovicha
p. 89.
Fromthebylina"O DiukeStepanoviche,"
in:Pesnisobrannye
P. M. Rybnikovym.
Tom 1: Byliny.
Petrozavodsk
different
versioncitedhereis fromIstoriiakabakovv
1989,pp. 159-169.The slightly
Rossiip. 10.
62A bucketor vedròwas
equal to almostthreegallons.
492
Darra Goldstein
to visitdevastation
themwithdiseasein an attempt
andwizardshadinfected
uponRussia.63
sincebeerbrewedfromhopswas generally
This"disease"was likelyintoxication,
higherin
whenOleariusarrivedat the
alcoholthanthenativeRussianmeadandkvas.Nevertheless,
His embassy
extensive.
Russiancourtin 1634,he foundtherangeofbeveragessurprisingly
different
kindsof drinks,
withtwenty-two
was presented
wine,beer,mead,and
including
with
vodka,"each one moredeliciousthanthenext."The drinkswerepresented
grandly,
Protocoldemandedthat
menbearingthebarrelsaloftin single-file
procession.64
thirty-two
in a
vesselbe used foreach toast,resulting
a different
drinking
beverageand a different
vesselscamein so manyshapesandsizes thatevena glassslipper
drinking
granddisplay;65
ofa princess's
use thanthemeredecoration
a morepractical
was sometimes
used- arguably
thedangerof
Western
wisdom
to
foot.Russiansthen(andnow)didnotsubscribe
regarding
kinds
of
spirits.
mixingdifferent
andeversincethentheRussians
inthelatefourteenth
Vodkahadbeenintroduced
century,
so
for
the
hadshowna distressing
strongspirits muchso, thatvodkaeventually
proclivity
Both
the
ChurchCouncilof 1551 and theDomostroi(the
in
mead
popularity.
surpassed
theearliest
for
Russian
manual
households)railedagainstthekorchmy,
sixteenth-century
orkabaki
taverns
The
first
where
drunkenness
establishments,
prevailed.66
publicdrinking
ofhiseliteguards,theoprichnina;
hadbeensetup byIvantheTerribleforthesole benefit
andany
todrinkonlyonthemajorholidays,67
incontrast,
thecommonpeoplewerepermitted
theroyalattitude
For thenextcentury
infraction
could lead to arrestand imprisonment.
towardvodka vacillatedbetweenstrictand lax, withIvan's son Tsar Fedor Ivanovich
them.By theend
andhissuccessorBorisGodunovreinstating
all kabakidestroyed,
ordering
which
allowed
in
a system
oftheseventeenth
privateindividuals
oîotkupwas place,
century,
as
from
and
run
the
taverns
or
to
them, longas theygave
profit
(usuallytheclergy boyars)
and
Thissystemled to rampant
a percentage
oftheirincometothegovernment.
corruption
was
Such
"tavern
revolts"
in
(kabatskie
bunty).
expressed
periodically
highpublicdiscontent,
whenPetertheGreatascendedthethrone.
thesituation
theRussians
alcoholicbeverageswithfruit,
theirtraditional
In additionto flavoring
all
cultivatedin
were
and
in
fresh
season.
fruits
Cherries,
apples
pears,plums,
enjoyed
flesh.Heldup to thesun,theseedscould
Russia.One exquisitesortofapplehadtranslucent
theskin.68
be seen rightthrough
cranberries,
currants,
strawberries,
lingon
Raspberries,
63N. I. Kovalev
Éntsiklopediiagurmana:O produktakhi bliudakh,posude i utvari,ikh nazvaniiakh
i istorii.S.-Peterburg1996, p. 285.
04
The Travels of Olearius p. 58.
65
Zapiski Iusta Iulia pp. 283-284.
Pryzhov Istoriiakabakov v Rossii p. 38.
67
Herbersteinmaintainedthaton holidays the common people "abstain fromlabor, not fordivine
worship,but ratherforthe sake of the drink."(Herberstein Notes upon Russia, vol. 1, p. 80.)
68
The Travels of Olearius p. 121. Olearius continued,"However, although they are of excellent
appearance and taste,theycannot be storedlong, unlike German apples, because of theirextremely
highwatercontent."Korb also mentionedthe apple in his account, as follows: "Muscovy produces in
profusionmost beautifultransparentapples, which many of the warmestcountriesmightenvy, and
which they call Nolivas" (Korb Diary of an AustrianSecretaryof Legation, vol. 2, p. 222). Weber
wrotethat". . .a sortof Apples, in theirLanguage Natevi, many of which weigh ten Oounces [sic], are
thattheKernel shinesthrough,and have a Taste like Pippins." (Idem The PresentState of
transparent
Russia, vol. 1, p. 333). Finally,ElizabethJusticenoted the transparentapple in her laterdescriptionof
Russia: ". . .theyhave an Apple, which is called a TransparentApple; and when it is ripe, is so clear,
that you may see the Kernels throughit: The Taste is superiorto any Apple I ever met with in England." (Elizabeth Justice A Voyage to Russia. York 1739, p. 35). This apple that so astounded
foreign visitors across the centuriesis probably the "Yellow Transparent"that still grows wild in
Kazakhstan. USDA horticulturalist
Philip Forsline sampled this apple on a seed-collecting tripto
Kazakhstanin 1995 and notedthat"Flesh flavoris aromatic.Bruises easily. Fruitsize is largerthan 50
Gastronomic
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
493
berries,and cloudberriesgrew in abundance. Extremelysweet watermelonswere grown in
southernRussia near Astrakhanat the mouthof the Volga, withflesh"a yellowish White,
like the Colour of a Pine-Apple" or "of a beautifulRose Colour." These melons, "full of
Juice, [had] a very exquisite Taste, [which] cool[ed] as well as quenche[d] Drought; and
neversurfeit[ed]."69
Numerous travelersreportedon the existenceof a fabulous melon that
grew in the shape of a lamb and consumed the grass beneathit,turningitselfas needed to
findmore pasture.When ripe,the melon reputedlyhad a "furryskin like thatof a lamb,"
which could be dressed and used as fur,the finishedhide similarto the crinklycoat of the
Astrakhanlamb. The mythicalpropertiesascribedto thismelon were so greatthatitwas said
even to trapwolves, the only animal thatwould eat its flesh.70
arose.
Muscovy seemed so exoticto earlyvisitorsthattales of strangecreaturesfrequently
Even thereliableSigismundvon Herbersteincould notresistdescribinga humanoidfishsaid
to live "in theriverTachnin," thoughhe stronglydisclaimed the likelihood of its existence.
"Reluctant to omit anything,"he told of "a certainfish,with a head, eyes, nose, mouth,
hands,feet,and in otherrespectsalmostentirelyresemblinga man,butwithoutvoice, which,
like otherfish,affordsexcellentfood."71Fish of all varietieswere certainlyabundant,and
many of them did indeed look strange,such as the huge beluga sturgeonwhich often
exceeded nine feetin length,72
and which was killed only forits roe. The English physician
Samuel Collins found this lack of frugalityregrettable,as his Puritanpeers would have:
"[...]'tis pitty,seeing this Fish is one of the greatestDainties thatcomes out of the watry
Element,especially his belly, which surpasses the marrowof Oxen."73
Tales of a different
sortweretoldby theRussian folkthemselves,whose storiesfrequently
revolvedaroundthemostimmediatesymbolof theirdomesticlife: the stove. Whetherfood
was prepared for a royal feast or a simple peasant meal, it was invariablycooked in this
masonrybehemoth,massive enough to occupy one fourthof a peasant cottage.Not just in
For it
fairytales, but in daily life,too, thisstove was the locus of magical transformation.
could do everything- bake, roast, fry,steam, and braise - and its gradually falling
foods. In fact,the
temperaturesmade it extremelyadaptable to thepreparationof different
Russian stove's special characteristics
determinedthenatureof theindigenouscuisine. When
newly firedand extremelyhot, thepod or hearthwas perfectforbaking pies and breads.
Afterthetemperature
began to fall,soups, stews,and graindishes could bake slowly in the
diminishingheat of the oven, which imparteda special flavor.Large pieces of meat were
eitherroasted at high heat or slowly braised. Even blini, which today we associate with
'
stovetopcooking, were baked (the Russians stillsay pech [bake] bliny).All sortsof dairy
products,both culturedand fresh,were preparedusing any residual oven heat. But despite
its wonderfulcooking properties,the Russian stove should not be overly romanticized.
mm.Veryblemishfree,almost,YellowTransparent'
color."See theUSDA web sitehttp://www.arswas introduced
intotheUnited
grin.gov/gen/apple.html,
queryon PI 588859.TheYellowTransparent
StatesfromRussiain 1870 byUSDA plantexplorers
andsubsequently
becameverypopularin home
gardensin theSouth,althoughas Oleariushad notedseveralcenturies
earlier,itwas too fragileto
becomecommercially
viable.See Slow,April-June1999,p. 127.
London
CaptainJohnPerry The StateofRussiaUnderthePresentCzar.London1716,reprint
1967,pp. 94-95.
TheTravelsofOleariusp. 122; Collinsalso mentioned
thisstrangeplantbutconsideredtalesof
itsexistenceto be "fables,whichhavenottheleastshadowoftruth."
(Collins The presentstateof
Russiap. 85).
Herberstein NotesUponRussia,vol. 2, pp. 41-42.
72As
as 1998Caspianfishermen
recently
caughta thirty-year-old
belugaweighing1000 poundsand
measuringthreeand one-halfyardsin length.It contained110 poundsof caviar.AFP on-linenews
service,November16, 1998.
73Collins The
presentstateofRussiap. 134.
494
Darra Goldstein
Prosperousfamiliescouldafforda stovepipe to carrytheperniciouscarbonfumesoutof
in order
theircottages,
householdsoftenhadseparateoutdoorkitchens
whilethewealthiest
to keep fireand fumesat bay. In mostdwellings,however(theso-calledchernyeizbyor
smokefromthestovesimplyhungintheair.Thusthestoveundoubtedly
"blackcottages"),
shortenedthe commonfolk's lives even as it providedsustenance.Nevertheless,
they
mother
stove.74
adoredthematushka-pech
', thelife-giving
generally
Food and DrinkunderPetertheGreat
PeterI ascended the thronein 1689, and as is well known,his reformsaffectedvirtually
to dress in European fashions,
everyaspect of Russian life.Men and women were instructed
the women in décolletage. Men had to shave theirbeards. Upper-class women were freed
fromthe secluded teremand allowed into male company. As the sexes mixed freely,the
etiquette of upper-class dining changed dramatically,at least on the surface. Peter's
institution
of theassembly(assembleia), a social gatheringsimilarto a ball, forcedmen and
women to mingle and even eat at the same table.75To ensure proper etiquette,Peter had
iftheruleswerebreached,the social penaltycould
definedrulesof conduct;76
posted strictly
be quite severe.77
74The
used thesauna,theRussian
uses. Much as theFinnstraditionally
greatoven had further
a sortofhumanroasting
inthepech'. Weberdescribed
bathedandevengavebirth
peasantssometimes
Distemin it:"Thereis a fourth
sortofBathingwhichis theirmostpowerful
Remedyinthegreatest
abated(yetstillso hot
pers:Theycausean Oventobe heatedas usual,andwhentheHeatis somewhat
thatI was notabletoholdmyHandon theBottomabovea quarterofa Minute)fiveorsixRussians,
theirCompanion
outat theirfulllength,
themselves
moreor less,creepintoit,andhavingstretched
who waitswithout,shutstheHole so fast,thattheycan hardlybreath[sic] within:Whentheycan
endureitno longertheycall,uponwhichhe thatis upontheWatchletstheSick comeoutagain,who
somefresh
after
Air,creepintotheOvenagain,andrepeatthisOperationtilltheyare
havingbreathed
andcomingout,theirBodiesbeingruddylikea Piece ofredCloth,throwthemselves,
almostroasted,
inwhichtheylovebest,intotheSnow,withwhichthey
orinWinter
intheSummertime
intotheWater,
arecoveredall over,leavingonlytheNoseandEyesopen,andso theylieburiedfortwoorthreeHours
oftheir
thistheycountan excellentmethodfortherecovery
accordingto thestateoftheDistemper;
Health."(Weber The PresentStateofRussia,vol. 1,pp. 32-33).
75
thechangeinwomen'sstatusunderPetertheGreat,CaptainJohnPerrywrote:"It had
Concerning
intothe
fortheWomennotto be admitted
beenalwaystheCustomoí Russia,at all Entertainments,
withmen;theveryHousesofall MenofanyQualityorFashion,werebuiltwith
SightorConversation
inan Apartment
andtheyusedtobe keptup separate
an Entrance
fortheWomena-part,
bythemselves;
theCustomfortheMasteroftheHouse,upontheArrivalofanyGuestwhom
onlyitwas sometimes
withthe
attended
he hada Mindto Honour,to bringouthisWifetheBack wayfromherApartment,
a DramofBrandyroundto thewholeCompany;
CompanyofherMaids,tobe saluted,andto present
andwereto be seenno more.But
backtotheirownApartment,
whichbeingdone,theyusedto retire
theEnglishHabits,butto makethemmoreparticularly
theCzar beingnotonlywillingto introduce
at all Weddings,and at other
pleasingto theRuss ladies,madean Order,thatfromthenceforward,
butin an Englishfashioned
theWomenas wellas theMen,shouldbe invited,
publicEntertainments,
in thesameRoomwiththeMen, likeas he had seen in
Dress; and thattheyshouldbe entertained
Countries;andthattheEveningsshouldbe concludedwithMusicand Dancing,at whichhe
foreign
withmostoftheNobilityandLadiesaboutCourt."(Perry The State
himself
oftenusedtobe present
ofRussiapp. 198-199.
76See Peter'sLaw on Assemblies
zakonovrossiiskoi
in:Polnoesobranie
imperii.Vol. 5. St. Petersburg1830.No. 3241,p. 597-598. Citedin: LindseyHughes RussiaintheAge ofPetertheGreatp.
nravovv Rossiip.
on thislaw in: IdemO povrezhdenii
commented
267. PrinceMikhailShcherbatov
142.
77Well-versedin the
society,Russia's greatpoet AleksandrPushkin
ways of SaintPetersburg
ofPetertheGreat."
detailinhisunfinished
described
an assemblyinhistorical
novel,"TheBlackamoor
(A. S. Pushkin"ArapPetravelikogo"[1828],in: IdemSochineniia.Tom 3. Moskva 1971,p. 206.)
anddandyKorsakovis invitedto an assembly,wherehe
On a visittoRussiafromParis,thenobleman
the
asksherto dancetheminuet,
sees a beautifulyounggirl.He immediately
transgressing
thereby
Gastronomie
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
495
Because manypeople were unsureof how to conductthemselveswhen diningpublicly,
the need arose to educate them in properdecorum. Thus, in 1717, Peter commissioned a
handbook,The HonorableMirrorforYouth,aimed at young men enteringintosociety. The
book actuallyrepresenteda partialtranslation
of Erasmus's De civilitatemorumpuerilium.78
Nearly two hundredyears had passed since its publication in 1530; the Russians had not
previouslyfeltthe need forthissortof secular etiquettemanual.79Following Erasmus, The
Honorable Mirror for Youth contained the following recommendationsfor good table
manners:
"Situp straight
anddon'tgrabfooduntiloffered,
don'teatlikea pig,anddon'tblow intosoup
so thatit sprayseverywhere,
don't wheezewhileyou eat,don't be the firstto drink,be
avoiddrunkenness,
drinkandeatonlyas muchas youneed,don'ttakefooduntil
moderate,
it'sbeenoffered
severaltimes,thentakea portion
andgivetherestto someoneelse andthank
him.Don't leaveyourhandsresting
a longtimeon theplate,don'tshakeyourlegs all around,
whenyou drinkdon'twipeyourlipswithyourhandbutwitha towel,anddon'tdrinkuntil
anddon'tgnawbones,butcutthemwith
you'veswallowedyourfood,don'tlickyourfingers
a knife,
don'tcleanyourteethwitha knifebutwitha toothpick,
andcoveryourmouthwithone
eatwhatis
handwhileyoucleanthem,don'tcutbreadwhileholdingitagainstyourchest,1801
infront
infront
ofyouanddon'tgrabelsewhere,
andifyouwanttoputsomething
of someone
likesomepeoplearenowaccustomedto do. Don't smack
else,don'ttakeitwithyourfingers
yourlips overfood,likepigs,and don't scratchyourhead,don't speakwithfoodin your
blowyournose,
becausethat'swhatpeasantsdo. It's notproperto sneezefrequently,
mouth,
andcough.Whenyoueatan eggcutsomebreadfirst
andbe careful
that[theegg]doesn'tdrip
and eat it quickly.Don't cracktheegg shell,and whileyou'reeatingtheegg,don'tdrink,
meanwhile
don'tsoilthetablecloth,
anddon'tlickyourfingers,
don'tmakea fenceofbones,
breadcrusts,
etc.aroundyourplate.Whenyou'vefinished
eatingthankGod,washyourhands
and face,andrinseyourmouth."81
By refininghis people's table manners,Peterhoped also to civilize themby controllingtheir
behavior.Consequentlyhe introducedothercommensal reforms.Until Peter's reign,tables
had been coveredwithshortcloths,the edges of which were used to wipe hands and mouth
while eating.82Peter introduced napkins from Holland. Before Peter's time, even at
ceremonialdinners,plateshad been givento individualguests only as a markof the highest
honor. At othermeals, includingrelativelyformalones, each dinerhad his own spoon for
eatingout of a communalwooden or clay bowl. Under Peter,the communalbowl gave way
to individualbowls, and at themostrefinedtables,to individualplates. As forcutlery,forks
and knives previouslyhad been sharedamong several people, because largejoints of meat
established
rules.As punishment,
Korsakovis forcedtodrinka hugegobletofsweet,heavymalmsey,
totheamusement
ofall. WhilePetertheGreat'sfamouseagle-shapedgobletwas surelynotas enormousas IvantheTerrible's
ceremonial
kubok(whichweighedalmostforty-four
poundsandwas nearly
sevenfeethigh),Korsakovis nevertheless
no matchforit.Afterdowningthewine,he stumblesand
is madeall themorebitter
nearlyfallsas he triesto leavethedancefloor.His humiliation
byPeterthe
Great'sobviousdelight.The description
of IvantheTerrible'skubokis citedin: Kostomarov Domashniaiazhizn' i nravyvelikorusskogo
narodap. 82.
78For details
The HonorableMirrorforYouthand itspublicationhistorysee Max J.
regarding
OkenfussThe DiscoveryofChildhoodin Russia:The EvidenceoftheSlavic Primer.
Newtonville,
MA 1980,pp. 45-48.
79In
theFrenchhad been publishingetiquettemanualsfora century.
See Dominique
contrast,
Michel Vatelet la naissancede la gastronomicParis 1999,pp. 222-233. AntoineCourtin's1622
Nouveautraitéde la civilitéappearedin Englishin 1685as RulesofCivility,intended
to teachgood
tablemanners
to "personsofquality."
Thisis thewaypeasantstypically
cutbread.UrbaneItaliansalso consideredcutting
breadagainst
thechesta markofpeasantbehavior.
See Odile Redon,Françoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi The
MedievalKitchen:RecipesfromFranceandItaly.Chicago,London1998,p. 9.
Iunostichestnoezertsalo.SaintPetersburg
Moskva 1976,pp. 40-43.
1717,reprint
TereshchenkoBytrusskagonarodap. 260. Also inKliuchevskii Istoriiarusskogobytap. 23.
496
Darra Goldstein
were carved and served in small pieces at table. But Peterencouraged theuse of individual
two-prongedforks,althoughforkswere not yetconsideredde rigueur™(Not incidentally,
even in France at thebeginningof the eighteenthcenturythe forkwas not universallyused.
his fingersto a fork,and in thisregardPeter,who kept
King Louis XIV famouslypreferred
his own personal spoon tucked in a pocket, appears as the more refined.)84Finally, the
elaboratedrinkingvessels thattheRussians had used forcenturies- chasha, charka, kubok,
stopa were graduallyreplacedby theshotglass (riumkafromthe GermanRömer) and the
goblet (bokal fromthe French bocal).*5 The old kubok disappeared entirely,except for
ceremonialoccasions, as did drinkinghornsmade of gilded or silver-platedbuffaloand oxen
horns.Gone were thesilverurnsformead, which sometimesrequiredthreehundredmen to
fillthem.86
PetertheGreatwantedto bringhis courtup to thepolished standardsof westernEurope
thathe had observedon his travels,but at the same timehe showed littleregardforhis own
boorish behavior. On his firsttripabroad in 1697 he was invitedto dine with Sophia, the
widowed Electress of Hanover, and her daughterSophia Charlotte,wife of the Elector of
Brandenburg.As Sophia Charlottelaterwrote,"It's clear thathe had neverbeen taughtto eat
properly,butI likedhis naturalmannerand his ease."87Her motherelaborated:"He has great
vivacity of mind, and a ready and just repartee.But, with all the advantages with which
naturehas endowed him, it could be wished thathis mannerswere a littleless rustic.We
immediatelysat down to table.HerrKoppenstein,who did thedutyof marshal,presentedthe
napkinto his Majesty,who was greatlyembarrassed,forat Brandenburg,insteadof a table83
Ibidem p. 23. FriedrichWilhelm von Bergholz, who served Count Karl Friedrichof Holstein in
Petersburgand Moscow formanyyears,notedthe presence of gilded silver forksat a dinnergiven by
Fedor MatveevichApraksinin 1721. As Gentlemanof theBedchamber,Bergholz kepta diarybetween
1721 and 1725 thatdescribed Peter's court. See Friedrich Wilhelm von Berkhgol'ts Dnevnik
Kamer-iunkeraF. V. Berkhgol'tsa 1721-1725. Moskva v un. tip. 1902, p. 56.
84
See Michel Vatel et la naissance de la gastronomiep. 230. Forks were introducedfromItaly into
northernEurope in the late sixteenthcenturyat a timewhen trenchersof bread were being replaced by
pewter,silver,or glazed ceramic plates. The absence of a bread crustas an eating utensilencouraged
theuse of knifeand forkby individualdiners.In Francethetwo-tinedforkwas firstmentionedin print
in 1570. See Barbara Ketcham Wheaton Savoring the Past: The FrenchKitchen and Table from
1300 to 1789. Philadelphia 1983, pp. 54-55. The forkwas introducedintoEngland by Thomas Coryate
in 1601.
Usually made of precious metals and encrustedwithgems, the charka had a spherical bowl and
a flat,horizontalhandle.The metalwas oftenworkedin niello, filigree,or hammering,and some charki
had a round foot or saucer. The charka held 1/10 of a shtof,or a littlemore than 4 ounces. It was
replacedby glass or crystalstopkiand riumki.Like the charka, the chara was also intendedforalcoholic drinks,especially foreignwines, and was much favored by the wealthy. Chary could be of
different
sizes. Low and round,witha flathandle,theylacked the saucer or footthatdistinguishedthe
charki. A low centerof gravitymade both the charka and the chara very stable, and it was nearly
impossibleto tip themover accidentally.The kubok,importedfromEurope and Asia, was one of the
mostancientdrinkingvessels. It always appearedat religiouscelebrationsand feastsand thereforehad
ritualconnotation.Highlydecorated,witha tall stem,thekubokoftenhad a lid. It graduallyfell out of
utilitarianuse to acquire purelysymbolic meaning as a giftor decoration. See N. I. Kovalev Bliuda
russkogo stola: Istoriiai nazvaniia. S.-Peterburg1995, pp. 252-258.
86
Reportedby le capitaine Margaret Estât de l'empire de Russie et Grande Duche de Moscovie
p. 20, cited in: Tereshchenko Byt russkago naroda p. 249.
87
Reportedin A. G. Brikner IstoriiaPetraVelikogo. Tip. A. S. Suvorina,S.-Peterburg1882, reprint
Moskva 1991, p. 169. Brikner's informationis fromJean Pierre Erman Mémoires pour servirà
l'histoirede Sophie Charlotte.Berlin 1801.
underPetertheGreat
Gastronomie
Reforms
497
napkin,theyhad givenhim a ewer and basin afterthe meal."88The implicationis thatPeter
ate withhis hands.
A darkerside of Peter's tablebehavioris revealedin thepractical,at timessadistic,jokes
he liked to play. On seeing the Norwegian naval expertCornelius Cruys' crew cleaning
tortoises they had caught in the Don and learning that they were intended "to make a
fricasseefordinner,"Peterimmediatelyordereda similardishpreparedforhis own table and
invitedsome of his noblementojoin him.The Russians consideredtortoisesunclean and had
no idea thattheywere eating it. Thinkingthe tastydish was made fromchicken,theyate it
withgusto.When finished,Peterordereda servant"to bringin thefeathersof theseexcellent
chickens, which, to the general astonishmentand consternation,turnedout to be tortoiseshells." Most of the noblemen laughed at the joke, except for Aleksei Shein and Fedor
Saltykov,who became sick at having eaten food thatwent against theirreligiousbeliefs.89
Worse yetwas Peter's treatment
of Ivan MikhailovichGolovin,a memberof theTsar's inner
circle.In his diarytheAustrianemissaryJohann-Georg
Korb reportedthat"fromhis cradle,
[Golovin had] a naturalhorrorof salad and vinegar,so theCzar directingColonel Chambers
to hold him tight,forced salad and vinegar into his mouth and nostrils,until the blood
flowing from his nose succeeded his violent coughing."90On another occasion, at the
weddingof PrinceIuriiTrubetskoi,Peternoticedtheweakness of thebride's fatherforjelly
(probably aspic), and
"ordered
himtoopenhismouth,
andhe himself
stoodup fromhisseat,tooka glassofjellyand
itwitha knife,
all atonce,whichhe repeatedseveraltimesand
freeing
poureditintohisthroat
even openedIvan Mikhailovich'smouthwithhis own handswhenhe didn'topen it wide
enough."91
Peterwasn't theonlyone to engage in such antics.His chiefof police, Fedor Romadonovskii,
tookpleasurein forcinghis gueststo drinka cup of strongspiritsdoctoredwithpepper that
was preferredby a huge bear,who pulled offtheirhatsand wigs and grabbedat theirclothes
if theyfailed to drinkthe concoction.92With such goings-on it is not surprisingthatPeter
should eschew decorum in other areas. And in fact,he not only encouraged excessive
88Eugene Schuyler Peterthe
ofRussia:A StudyofHistorical
Vol. 1-2.
Great,Emperor
Biography.
NewYork1884,reprint
NewYork1967.Vol. 1,p. 285. The historian
VasiliiKliuchevskii
statedthat
Peterprobably
atewithhishands,notwithcutlery.
Ata weddingPeter"wouldmovetowardthebuffet,
takea hotroastofmeatin hishands,andstarteating.Itwas thishabitofdispensing
withknivesand
forksat tablethathad so shockedtheprincesses
at Koppenburg.
He hadno manners
whatsoever
and
did notconsiderthemnecessary."Kliuchevskii Kursrusskoiistorii,
eh. 4, in: Sochineniia.Tom 4.
Moskva1958,p. 35. However,sinceas notedaboveeventheFrenchroyalty
did notalwaysuse forks,
thisgaffeshouldperhapsnothavesurprised
Peter'shostessesso greatly.
89Fromthe
ofCornelius
inSchuyler PetertheGreat,vol. 1,pp.357-358.
Cruys,as reported
90Korb journal
ofLegation,vol. 1,pp. 190-191.Thisstoryis repeatedin:
Diaryofan AustrianSecretary
Schuyler PetertheGreat,vol. 1,pp. 357-358. Thoughhe mayhavedisregarded
his ownbehavior,
Peterwas sensitive
toetiquette
inothers.
He hadproblems
withbothhissontheTsarevichAlekseiand
withhis thirdwife,Catherine,
whomhe reportedly
senthomefromabroadso thatherpoormanners
wouldn'tembarrass
him.See ibidem,vol. 2, pp. 260-261,307.
91Berkhgol'ts Dnevnik 158.
p.
Bergholz'sdiaryincludesnumerous
examplesofforceddrinking,
andhe notedthepleasurePetertookinforcing
otherstodrink(especiallysamoeprostoekhlebnoevino
or 'rotgut'),as well as thenovelwaysPetercameup withto makesurehis subjectscouldn'tescape,
such as breakingoffthestemsof gobletsto keep themfrombeingset down untilempty(ibidem
p. 179).Formoreon Peter'santicssee Hughes RussiaintheAge ofPetertheGreatpp. 264-270.Kliuchevskiirepeated
almostverbatim
in: IdemKursrusskoiistorii,eh.
Bergholz'sstoryaboutTrubetskoi
4, p. 38.
92Weber The PresentStateof
thattook
Russia,vol. 1,p. 137. Bergholznotedtheforceddrinking
that"In a word,nowhereelse in Petersburg
did we drinkas
dinners,
placeatApraksin's
commenting
muchas we did here."(Berkhgol'ts Dnevnikp. 57).
498
Darra Goldstein
drinkingat court,he virtuallyenforcedit.93At theassembliesand othergatheringsPeteroften
plied his guests withdrinkin orderto findout whatwas reallygoing on, even going so far
as to place guardsat thedoors so thatno one could escape. A cultof Bacchus prevailed,with
drinkingbinges thatlasted fordays at a timeduringState and religiousholidays. Even the
most highly-placedgovernmentofficialstook part in these bouts, consideringservice to
Bacchus a valorousway to gain theTsar's favor.Knowing hosts simplyspread the floorsof
theirhouses witha thicklayerof hay to make it easier to clean up the vomitand urinethat
inevitablyresultedfromsuch carousals.
The bawdy ceremonies and debauches of Peter's Drunken Assembly have been well
butcertaindetailscontinueto astound. On September10, 1721, forinstance,
documented,94
a grand masquerade was held in honor of the wedding of Petr Ivanovich Buturlin,the
"prince-pope"of theDrunkenAssembly. A bed strewnwithhops was installedin a nuptial
chamberinside a large wooden pyramidthathad been specially constructedin frontof the
Senate. The roomwas litwithcandles and furnishedwithbarrelsof wine, beer, and vodka.
In Peter's presence the newlywedswere made to drinkvodka fromvessels in the shape of
oversized male and female genitalia(male forthebride,female forthebridegroom).Then
Peterleft,althoughhe and otherpeeping-tomscould watchthenewlyweds' drunkenactivity
This kind of behavior,which undoubtedlytitillated
throughholes drilledintothepyramid.95
bride had resistedButurlin's
it
makes
clear
Peterand his companions,
why theunfortunate
advances fora year.In the end Peterforcedher to marryhim. Women sufferedparticularly
of pregnancythe wife of Marshal Vasilii Ol'sufev
fromPeter's whims.In her last trimester
at
a gathering,but he refusedher request and she
her
drink
not
to
make
the
Tsar
begged
miscarried.96
subsequently
If the nobility found excessive drinkinga burden,the common folk considered it an
escape. Well aware of theirattractionto alcohol, Peterorganized carnival celebrationsand
other ritualized occasions fordrinkingas a way to placate and controlhis subjects. This
institutionalized
drinkingoftendeterioratedintodrunkenbrawls. Yet public rowdinesswas
less appallingto some foreignobserversthantheRussians' poor hygiene.Weber,ever critical
of Russian customs,was trulydisgustedby the commoners' drinkinghabits:
theBeerwhichis brewed
"DuringthegreatHeatsone is hardputto itforDrink,considering
thatitdoes notquenchone's Thirst,
is so strong,
forpublickSale intheCzar'sBrew-Houses,
Personcan resolveto sendforitto thePublickTap-houses,where
besidesthatno outlandish
93Ibidem
pp. 38-40. Anotherdiaryentrytold of being trickedat Peterhof,wherethepalace custodian
made a pretenseof wantingto show Bergholz Peter's famousundergroundkitchen,the "most amazing
thing"in one of theroyalpleasure palaces (see note 107 below). This room, about two arshins (2 1/3
feet) below the surfaceof the Neva River, had a floorand walls so thicklycovered with cementthat
watercouldn't penetrate."As soon as we enteredintothisso-called kitchen,I was struckby an unpleasant smell,and I understoodthecustodian's intention.But it was already too late to leave: having lured
us into his cellar, which he called a kitchen,he began to forceus terriblyto drink,saying thatit was
thelocal customto have to drinkto thehealthof each guest individually,and he swore thatwe would
not leave withoutaccomplishing that.At least he treatedus to the best wines thattherewere in the
cellar; however, except for some others,we had to drinkHungarian, Rhine, Champagne and Burgundy." (Ibidem p. 92).
94
See, forexample,thedescriptionsby Korb, Bergholz,and Weber; Hughes also provides an excellentaccount in: Hughes Russia in the Age of Peterthe Great pp. 249-257.
95Berkhgol'ts Dnevnik 120.
p.
96 Ibidem
pp. 147-148. Juelalso told of forceddrinkingthatended in death. Peter offeredPrince
Luka Dolgorukov a large kubokof wine. Knowing thatdespite his seventyyears of age he could not
get away withoutdrinking,theprincedranksome, but not all, of the wine. When Peter learned of this
deception,he forcedDolgorukov to drinka one-quarterliterglass of vodka (about 8 1/2ounces) at one
go. Dolgorukov's legs immediatelygave out,he fainted,and withinan hour he was dead. See Zapiski
Iusta Iulia, in: Russkii arkhiv(1892) no. 5, p. 72.
Gastronomic
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
499
itis enoughtosee butoncetheirmanner
ofsellingit,to be putoutofConceitforeverwithall
RussianBeer.The Liquorstandsthereinan openTub orCooler,towhichthecommonPeople
croud,takingitoutwitha woodenVessel,anddrinking
it,holdingtheirMouthsovertheTub,
thatnothingmaybe spilled,so thatifbychanceanyof itmissestheirMouths,itrunsdown
theirBeards(whichtheDay-Labourers,
andothercommonPeople,areconnivedat stilltowear
forwantof Barbers)and fallsagain intotheTub. If sucha Customerhappensto have no
Money,he leaves his old FurCoat,a Shirt,a Pairof Stockings,or some otherPartof his
wearingApparel,topawn,tilltheEvening,whenhe receiveshisHire;meantimethosefilthy
Pledgeshangon theBrim,roundtheTub,noris a greatMatterwhether
theyarepushedinby
theThrongof thePeople,and swimthereforsometime.The Czar has Englishand Dutch
BrewersforhisHoushold,whomakegoodBeerofdiversSortsafter
thewayoftheircountries,
andnotwithred-hotStonesor ironBullets,as all therestis madeatPetersbourg"97
Peter had reaffirmedthe otkupsystemlargelybecause he needed revenue forhis war with
Sweden. But by 1716 populardissatisfaction
was so greatthathe issued an edict authorizing
the freedistillationand sale of vodka, thoughboth the stillsand the finishedproductwere
subject to taxation.98In addition to deregulatingvodka production,Peter influenced its
technologyby encouragingsuccessive distillations."Commoners,however,did not like his
refinements
and continuedto favortheirbeloved herb-infused
spirits,thedobroe zeleno vino
of folkloreand song.100
The conservativePrinceMikhail Shcherbatovnotedwithdisapproval
thatPeteralso developed a tasteforbeveragesnotat all traditionalforRussia, such as Dutch
aniseed brandyand fineFrenchand Hungarianwines.101
Despite his pursuitof new libations,PeterI did nothave a refinedpalate. He mightappear
unannouncedin any odd cornerof his empire,drop intoa house at random,sit down at the
table and enjoy the simplestmeal. At othertimes he contentedlystayed at home with his
favoriteLimburgercheese, whichhe was knownto measurewitha compass beforeeating.102
His appetite was apparentlyenormous,in keeping withhis large frame,and on enteringa
dwellinghe usuallymade a beeline forthetable.As reportedby Saint-Simon,on a statevisit
97Weber The PresentStateof
Russia,vol. 1,pp. 179-180.
98V. V. PokhlebkinChaii vodkav istorii
Rossii.Krasnoiarsk
1995,p. 210; Knigao vodke.Ed. by
G. Ivanov.Smolensk1995,p. 15.
99Nicholas
Faith, Ian WisniewskiClassicVodka.London1997,p. 38.
100
In fact,theyconsideredthenewfangled
productto be ofpoorquality.The popularnamesgiven
tovodkaduringthePenineerareflect
thepeople'sdisdainforPeter'sspirituous
reforms.
"The Tsar's
Madeira"(tsarskaiamadera)madecynicalreference
to thefortified
winesthatPeterI forcedguests
todrinkathisassemblies.
"Fourteenth-class
French"(Frantsuzskaia
14-goklassa)alludedtotheTsar's
introduction
of theTable of Ranks,in whichthefourteenth
rankor class was thelowest.Finally,
"Peter'svodka"(Petrovskaia
termforpoor-quality
vodka)was a derogatory
spirits.See Pokhlebkin
Chaii vodkav istoriiRossiip. 156.Today,thePetrovskaiavodkalabelevokesage andauthenticity.
101
Shcherbatov O povrezhdenii
nravovv Rossiip. 141. Hermitage
is a finewineproducedfrom
Rhoneappellation.
withPeterI, itwas particuSyrahgrapes,andthemostfamousnorthern
Beginning
larlyfavoredbytheRussiancourt.
Iu. M. Lotman,E. A. Pogosian Velikosvetskie
1996,p. 89. Staehlinvon
obedy.S.-Peterburg
wrotean accountofhowPetermeasured
hischeesewitha compass,whichRobertMassie
Storcksburg
as follows:"...Veiten[hischef]servedPetera Limburger
cheesewhichtheTsarfound
paraphrased
measuredtheamountremainespeciallytasty.He atea pieceandthentookouthiscompass,carefully
on his notepad. Thenhe summonedVeitenand said, Tut this
ing and wrotedownthedimensions
cheeseawayanddon'tletanyoneelse tasteitbecauseI wishto finishitmyself.'The following
day,
whenthecheesereappeared,
it seemedmuchsmaller.To verifythisimpression,
Petertookouthis
his calculationswiththenotein his pocket.The cheesewas
compassand measuredit,comparing
smaller.PetercalledforVeiten,displayedhisnotes,pointedoutthediscrepancy,
stroked
thecook with
hiscaneandthensatdownandfinished
thecheesewitha bottleofwine."Thisanecdotecomesfrom
Staehlin von Storcksburg OriginalAnecdotesofPetertheGreat.London1787,p. 147; retoldin:
Robert K. Massie PetertheGreat:His LifeandWorld.New York 1980,p. 796; Kliuchevskii
wrote
thatPeter"hadan insatiable
sailor'sappetite.
he was alwayshungry
Accordingto hiscontemporaries,
and wheneverhe wentvisitinghe was readyto sitdownto a meal,whether
he had alreadydinedor
not."(Kliuchevskii Kursrusskoiistorii,
eh.4, p. 33).
500
Darra Goldstein
to France in 1717 Peter astoundedhis hosts withthe "inconceivable" amountof food and
drinkhe consumed.103Peter's cook prepared"two or threedishes forhim every day, and
[used] forthispurpose enough wine and meat to serve a table of eight."104
Abroad, Peter was acutely aware of his lack of grace at the table and avoided official
dinnerswhen he could. Even at home he did not especially like to host ceremonial feasts,
and he generallyleft
forintelligence-gathering,
even thoughtheyprovided an opportunity
grand entertainingto his favorite,Prince Aleksandr Menshikov, who staged magnificent
he made use of special
When Peterdid entertain,
dinnersat a diningtable craftedof silver.105
food
In
order
to
receive
devised
for
he had
promptlyfromthe outdoor
serving.
contraptions
with
a
small
was
outfitted
his
room
urban
kitchen,
openingin the wall throughwhich
dining
food was passed.106And in the "Hermitage,"one of his pleasure palaces at Peterhof,he
placed an elaboratetable:
"[...] in one of PetertheGreat'slittlepleasurepalacestherewas a tablewhichmountedby
thecentre
above.The plates,orrather,
belowto thedining-room
fromthekitchen
machinery
of
thisevolution.Each platedidthesame,and itsownerhadin front
ofthetable,performed
whichpulleda bell,and,as eachbellhada different
hima string,
note,thecook alwaysknew
whichoftheguestsitwas thatwantedhisplatechanged."107
While Menshikov's palace on the embankmentof Vasilevskii Ostrov lacked a mechanical
table, it was equipped witha large kitchenand open hearthwitha spit (vertel) forroasting
wildfowland game in the Muscovite style.
Dining among the upper classes had previouslybeen a privateaffair,but Menshikov's
dinnerswere so successfulthatothernoblemenbegan to imitatethem.Soon the custom of
keeping an open table was introducedin manyhomes, causing a certainprandial intimacy
to be lost.JohannAlbrechtEuler,Secretaryof theAcademy of Sciences in Saint Petersburg,
commentedupon the unique Russian custom of always keeping the table set and ready for
By
unexpectedguests,who were welcome to dine whetheror nottheirhosts were present.108
theclose of theeighteenthcenturytheopen house had takenon excessive proportions,as in
103Mémoiresde Saint-Simon.
Nouvelleédition.Paris1920,vol. 31, p. 369.
104As
Peter'smealsduringhis visitto
the
Frenchchefin chargeof ordering
by
Liboy,
reported
Tom 34. S.-Peterburg
obshchestva.
France,in: SbornikImperatorskogo
rossiiskogoistoricheskogo
notedthat"[TheTsar]is servedbotha meatanda lentendinneron
1867-1916,p. 184.Liboyfurther
He likessharpsauces,brownandhardbread,and greenpeas. He eatsmany
Fridaysand Saturdays.
drinkslightbeerand darkvinde Nuits,without
sweetorangesand applesand pears.He generally
he drinksaniseedwater(Kümmel),liquorsbeforemeals,beerandwinein the
liquor.The morning
anddoes notdrinksweetenedliquorsat his
All ofthemfairlycold.He eatsno sweetmeats
afternoon.
inMassie
is takenfromSchuyler PetertheGreat,vol.2, p. 3 10; itis repeated
meals."Thistranslation
PetertheGreatp. 640-641.
105
do theydineso well as at
Accordingto Bergholz,"It is wellknownthatnowherein Petersburg
theprince's[Menshikov's]."(Berkhol'ts Dnevnikp. 55).
106
o Petrepervom,in: Ruskoivestnik
Nikita Ivanovich Kashin Ruskoisoldat,povestvuiushchii
na 1808god,no. 10 (okt.),p. 42.
107The
New York
andAva My RussianandTurkishJournals.
of Dufferin
DowagerMarchioness
1916,p. 40. Comparethetablemachinéethatwas popularinroyalresidencesin eighteenth-century
France.Thismechanicaltable(also knownas a tablevolanteor"flyingtable")actuallydisappeared
one descendedfromabove.See Rodolphe el-Khoury Delectable
intotheflooras another
fully-set
Decoration:
TasteandSpectacleinJeanFrançoisde Bastide'sLa petitemaison,in: Taste,Nostalgia.
namedMichel,
a Frenchman
Ed. by AllenS. Weiss.New York 1997,p. 60. Peter'sheadcarpenter,
See Laurence Kelly St. PetersofitskindinRussia,intheHermitage.
installed
thisdevice,thefirst
burg:A Traveller'sCompanion.London1981,p. 21 1.
108
oftheBerlinAcademyof Sciences.
Letterof 18/29October1771to SamuelFormey,Secretary
en Russie,4ou l'Artde vivrede Johann
terrestres
Citedin: DominiqueTaurisson ,Les nourritures
ofFood. Ed. byBeatrice
Euler.Saint-Pétersbourg
Albrecht
Topography
(1766-1800),in:TheCultural
Fink.Vol. 23. n.s.,no. 2, May 1999,ofEighteenth-Century
Life,p. 149.
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
Gastronomic
501
the home of Lev AleksandrovichNaryshkin,at whose table any nobleman, invitedor not,
was welcome to dine and sup daily. Naryshkinoftendid not even know the names of his
guests,yet all were accorded equal welcome.109
The wealthiestfamiliesdined offsilverand pewter,and numerousobserversreportedthe
use of gold plates.110
This did notmean,however,thathygienicstandardswere as fineas the
tableware.Olearius had been appalled by the "black and repulsive"pewterand silverplate
thatthe Grand Prince used forservingforeignambassadors and was disgustedby tankards
"thathad notbeen washed fora yearor more."111
Nearlyone hundredyears laterat Peterthe
Great's court,Johann-GeorgKorb feltsimilardistastewhen he observed cups of gold and
silver"so coated withfilththatitis hardto discoverwhichpreciousmetallies hiddenbeneath
the dirt."112
Most likelysanitationwas not much betterin thekitchen,even thougha revolutionwas
takingplace there.In a move highlysignificantforthedevelopmentof Russian cuisine,Peter
introducedthe Dutch range. In contrastto the traditionalRussian stove,the range relied on
a cooktop {plita) ratherthan on oven chambers, and this change necessitated different
cooking utensils.Thus the customarygorshok or earthenwarepot - perfectforthe slowly
of theRussian stove- was largelyreplacedby thekastriuliaor saucepan
fallingtemperatures
(a corruptionof theGermanicKastrol). Similarly,thecast-ironpot (chugun) gave way to the
protiven', a griddlederivedfromtheGermanBratpfanne.The colander (durshlag) likewise
enteredintoRussian fromthe German{Durchschlag).
The foods that were served also underwenttransformation.
The founding of Saint
had
caused
trade
to
at
the
of
Petersburg
important
port Archangel decline; between 1700 and
1718 itsrevenuefellfromthreemillionto threehundredthousandrubles,while Petersburg's
So in 1721, in orderto help revive Archangel,
grew fromnothingto fourmillionrubles.113
Peterissued an ukaz orderinghis people to eat ocean fish.Except forherring,the Russians
fishfromriversand lakes, and manywere suspicious
previouslyhad eatenmainlyfreshwater
of such strangespecies as cod, whiting,and mackerel.114
Even intothelate nineteenth
century
thepeasantrystillused treskoedor "codeater" as a pejorativetermforthe inhabitantsof the
WhiteSea coast.115
But ifthepeasantryremainedskeptical,thenobilitypositivelyreveled in
thenoveltyof thenew fish.Throughouttheeighteenthcenturytheyused sledges to transport
flash-frozenfishfromArchangelto Petersburgand Moscow in the wintertime,
vyingto be
the firstto show it offin theirkitchens.116
109
M. I. Pyliaev StaraiaMoskva.Tip.A. S. Suvorina,S.-Peterburg
Moskva 1995,
1891,reprinted
p. 239.
110
Tereshchenko
gave an overviewoftheseaccountsin:Tereshchenko Bytrusskagonarodapp.
247-248.PrinceShcherbatov,
deniedsuchostentation,
nevertohaveseen"a proper
however,
claiming
silverdinner-service
intheMasterskaya
Palata"andconcluding
thattheroyalty
usedpewterfortheir
nravovv Rossiip. 120.
dailymeals.See Shcherbatov O povrezhdenii
111
The TravelsofOleariusp. 155.
Korb
ofan Austrian
of Legation,vol. 2, p. 157.
Secretary
113L. JayDiary
Oliva Russiain theEra ofPetertheGreat.EnglewoodCliffs,N.J.1969,p. 129.
114V. V. Usov
Rybana vashemstole.Moskva 1979,pp. 25-26.
115
N. I. Kovalev Bliudarusskogostola:Istoriiai nazvaniia.S.-Peterburg
1995,p. 203.
116
Thiscontest
ledtosuchridiculous-sounding
as labardanograten[au gratin],where
preparations
theforeign
wordswerethought
tolenda toneyflair.Labardangainedliterary
fameinNikolaiGogol's
play The InspectorGeneralwhentheheroKhlestakovhas his firsttasteof thefish.Aftera long
monologue,he leavesthestagedeclaiming"Labardan!Labardan!,"whichsoundshilariousto the
Russianear.Thefoodhistorian
N. I. Kovalevdefinedlabardanas "bakedcod" (Idem Èntsiklopediia
ofElenaMolokhovets'
famouscookbook,A Gift
gurmana
p. 277); butJoyceToomre,inhertranslation
toYoungHousewives,
asserted
thatthisdishis morepreciselysaltcod,withlabardana corruption
of
cameto referto plaincod, and
Aberdeen,a cityrenownedforitsfinesaltcod. Labardaneventually
502
Darra Goldstein
Yet only the most affluentcould affordto importnew products. Overall availability
continued to be dictatedby what was locally produced, and the poor soil and vast bogs
SaintPetersburgwere notconduciveto good agriculture.(Moscow, withitsrich
surrounding
surroundingfarmlands,had more varietyin its diet, though even there grains and root
vegetables continuedto be the mainstayof the diet.) The provisioningof Saint Petersburg
provedto be a seriousproblem.Fromtheverystart,thelaborerswho builtthe citysubsisted
on littlemorethancoarse bread,occasionally supplementedwithgarlic or a simple gruel of
flourand water(muchnaia pokhlebka). JustJuelmarveled at theirapparentacceptance of
theserations,117
thoughit is hard to believe thattheyever feltreplete,especially since their
The high mortalityrateof the
paltrywages barelyallowed forthepurchase of extrafood.118
workerscan be tracedto lack of nutritionas much as to disease.
Because of SaintPetersburg'slocation,mostedible provisionshad to be broughtin from
fishwere virtuallythe only readilyavailable product.The city's
greatdistances;freshwater
was
dependentupon a more reliable food supply.Thus Peterconceived of a system
growth
of canals that would eventuallyconnect Petersburgwith the Baltic, White, Black, and
Caspian Seas by means of Russia's central rivers. This grand project began with the
constructionof a canal to connectPetersburg'sNeva River withthe Msta and Tsna Rivers
feedingintotheVolga. Peteralso orderedthata bypass canal be builtaround Lake Ladoga,
whichwas oftentreacherousto navigate.In 1712 theimperialcourtmoved fromMoscow to
Saint Petersburg,and in 1713, ten years afterthe city's founding,constructionbegan on
Gostinyidvor,thecommercialcenter,whose designincorporateda canal rightin the middle
of thebuildingso thatboats could unload theirwares on site.
The provisioningof Saint Petersburgwas shaped not only by the city's geography,but
also by itsdemographics.PetertheGreatofferedforeigners
generousbenefitsto come to his
of the artsand social
and
the
of
in
the
and
development
industry
building
city
participate
institutions
(Dutch,English,and Italianshipbuilderswere especiallynumerous).Petersburg's
significantforeignpopulationinfluencedthe city's eatinghabits,and foods such as waffles
and artichokesfoundwelcome reception.One of the city's popular drinkingestablishments
carried the Italian name "Osteria" (subsequently "The Triumphal Osteria of the Four
even to herring.Molokhovetscalled forherringin a recipeforlabardan. (Podarokmolodym
khoziaistve.
raskhodov
vo domashnem
k umen'sheniiu
ilisredstvo
khoziaikam
Tip. N. N. Kolbukova,
ofthis
Moskva 1991,recipeno. 2611,p. 739). Foran Englishtranslation
1901,reprint
S.-Peterburg
recipefromthe1897(20th)editionofthebook,see JoyceToomre ClassicRussianCooking:Elena
Molokhovets'A Giftto YoungHousewives.Bloomington
1992,p. 573; To confusethequestionof
thatlabardanorlaberdan
maintained
V. V. Pokhlebkin
historian
theculinary
labardanevenfurther,
used forlargeSpanishcod
of theDutchKabelljau,a namethatDutchfishmongers
is a corruption
thenpressed
weighingfrom10 to 40 kgs.Theselargefishwereplacedina saltbrine,driedslightly,
statedthat"dishespreparedfromthiscod in the
and packedintobarrels.Pokhlebkin
erroneously
receivedthename'kabel'iu',andinRussia
inthe19thcentury
cuisineofEuropeancountries
restaurant
- labardan."
slovar'p. 206.
is clearlysaltcod orbacalao. See PokhlebkinKulinarnyi
Thispreparation
117
281.
Iusta
Iulia
p.
Zapiski
1IÄ
in: Peterburg
A. V. PredtechenskiiNaseleniei bytPeterburga,
vremeni,
p. 129;
Petrovskogo
butbreadtoeat.The navy,Peter'spride,
soldiersinPeter'snewly-created
armyhadnothing
Similarly,
andwineinadditionto bread.See ibidemp. 134 and
faredbetter,
fish,vinegar,
ham,butter,
receiving
zhizniRossiipervaiapolovinaXVIII v., Leningrad
L. N. SemenovaOcherkiistoriibytai kul'turnoi
rations:2 puds 10
IvanI. Nepliuevreceivedthefollowing
monthly
1982,p. 219. As a navalrecruit,
ofrye
poundsofrusks,15 poundsofdriedpeas, 15 poundsofgrain,2 1/4poundssalt,one chetverik
6 poundsofdriedfish,19 poundsofham.
ofvinegar,
flourforkvass,25 charkasofwine,1 1/2kruzhki
twobottlesoroneshtof['.3 quarts].Forequivalentsfor
(A chetverik
equalled15.8pounds,a kruzhok,
12 and 85.) 1. 1.Nepliuev Zapiski,1693-1773.S.-Peterburg
pud, pound,andcharka,see footnotes
MA 1974,pp. 5-6.
Newtonville,
1893,reprint
Gastronomie
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
503
Peterwas aware of theconsternation
Frigates).119
foreignfoods sometimescaused and, if we
are to believe Ivan Nepliuev, whom Petersentabroad in 1716 to studynavigation,the Tsar
had a sense of humorabout it. In his memoirsNepliuev relatedhow he accompanied Peter
to the cottage of a carpenterwhose wife had just given birth.The carpenterofferedPeter
some vodka (goriachee vinci)and a piece of carrotpie (pirog s morkov7w),thenofferedthe
same to Nepliuev, who declined.But Peterurgedhimto have somethingto eat lesthe offend
theirhost,and withhis own hands broke offa piece of thepie, saying,"Take it! This is our
nativefood,it's notItalian."120
Here we see a kinderand gentlertsarthanthe one who forcefed his diningpartners.
Along withnew drinkingestablishmentslike the Osteria,traktiry
(inns) began to appear
in Petersburg, superseding the traditionalkorchmyand kabaki. These western-style
establishments(named afterthe Latin tractorid)served up hot meals and camaraderieat a
timewhen restaurantswere stillnot known.121
Peteralso opened Russia's firstcoffeehouse
in St. Petersburg.Equally important
to thedevelopmentof public and privatediningwere the
Russians whom Peterhad sentabroad to further
theireducation,and who returnedwithnew
tastesalong withnew skills. Seeking more varietyin theirdiet,theybegan to importexotic
foods.When Peterhireda foreigneras his privatechef(JohannVeiten,theSaxon cook to the
Danish ambassador to Russia), the nobilitysoon followed suit. Thus Russia's firstforeign
chefscame primarilyfromSaxony,Bavaria, and Austria;only laterin thecenturydid French
chefs come intovogue.
Peterwas eager to acquaintRussians withnew foodstuffsand cooking methodsfromhis
extensivetravels.He is said to have introducedthepotatoas earlyas 1716 by puttingseveral
in a sack and sending them fromRotterdamto Count Boris Sheremet'ev at his estate.
However, it took an ukaz underCatherinethe Great to enforcetheircultivation,and even
thentheydidn'tgain wide acceptanceuntilthenineteenth
century.Peteralso encouraged the
cultivationof salad greens;theRussians consideredlettuce"grass" and laughedat theforeign
residentsforeatingit.122
FromHolland he importedaged cheeses, whichtheRussians did not
know how to make. Finally,he broughtthe European methodof churningbutterfromfresh
cream.123The unsalted butterthe Russians preparedby heatingfreshsour cream or sweet
cream in the stove and churningthe solids spoiled too quickly; until Peter's reign, the
traditionalfatswere vegetable oils pressed fromnuts,poppies, linseed and hempseed.
The vocabularyintroducedintoRussian over thecourse of the eighteenthcenturyreveals
influencesfromthe Dutch, German,English,and ultimatelyFrenchcuisines. Such foreign
terms as almond (mindaV), anchovy (anchous), apricot (abrikos), artichoke (artishok),
asparagus (sparzha), biscuit (bishkot, later biskvit),bottle (butyl'), bouillion (bul'on),
chocolate (shokolad), citruspeel (tsedra),cocoa (kakao), coffee(kofe),dessert(desert), fruit
(frukt),gelée (zhele), glaze (glazur'), inn (traktir),kitchen(kukhnia),lard (shpik), lettuce
(latuk), orange (apeVsin), pineapple (ananas), pudding (budin, laterpuding), roast beef
(rostbif),sauce (sous), saucepan (kastrol, laterkastriulia), soup (sup), starch(krakhmat),
stockfish(shtokfish),trout(foreV), vanilla (vanii'), and waffle (vafeV, later vaflia) now
119Schuyler Peterthe
Great,vol. 2, p. 2.
120
Nepliuev Zapiskip. 107.
121
Thefirst
restaurant
was established
inFranceonlyin 1765.See Wheaton SavoringthePastp. 77.
See Schuyler PetertheGreat,vol. 1, p. 205; Korbreported
thatwhenhe arrivedat courtin
Moscow in 1698, "thefirstfreshsalad was senta presentout of thegardenof Mr. Carbonairde
theCzar's physician."
ofLegation,vol. 1,p. 100).
Bisenegg,
(Korb Diaryofan Austrian
Secretary
123
Webernoted:"Theyknewas littleofmakinggood Butter;theirWaywas to taketheCream,and
meltit in a Pan forpresentUse." (Weber The PresentStateof Russia,vol. 1, p. 182). For special
occasionsRussianspreparedclarified
ortoplenoebutter,
whichwas finerand less proneto spoilage,
butthiswas a luxury.See also Tereshchenko Bytrusskagonarodap. 274.
504
Darra Goldstein
Some of thesefoods,such as sauce, alreadyexisted
belong to thestandardRussian lexicon.124
in theRussian repertoire,but now theywere designatedby a Latinate insteadof a Slavonic
form. Thus vzvar, the traditionalsweet-and-sourcondimentserved with meats, became
simplysous, while thesweetzaedki servedaftera meal became themore fashionabledeseri.
Similarly,striapnaia and povarnia, early terms for "kitchen,"were superceded by the
Latinatekukhnia.Entirelynew foodsbecame a sourceof delightand competitionamong the
wealthy,who engaged in a game of one-upmanshipin which the stakes grew continually
higher.Out of vanityand theneed to appear au courant,thenobilitysoughtways to entertain
ever more lavishly.
When pineappleswere introducedin 1721/22theywere embracedwithparticularpassion,
and those with the resources began to grow them year-roundin hothouses. Most often
pineapplewas servedfresh,butcertainwell-knowngourmandswere famedfortheirspecial
concoctions. At a time when most people had never tastedpineapples, or even heard of
bananas, CountPetrIvanovichShuvalov cultivatedbothfruitsin abundancein his hothouses
The noblemanZavadovskii was not contentto eat
and preparedan exoticpineapplewine.125
pineapple freshor injam, so he chopped and soured it like cabbage in barrelsand thenused
it forpineappleshchi and borshch.Zavadovskii was said to have squanderedhis fortuneon
the expensive fruit,dyingin penury.126
PetertheGreatevinced a personalinterestin grapes,seekingvarietalsthatcould thrivein
Astrakhanwineryunderthe supervision
southernRussia and placing the two-centuries-old
Pousset had originally
of a Frenchvintner,Pousset,to increaseitsqualityand production.127
been sentto Azov, but shortlyafterhis arrivalthatcityfellto theTurks,so he moved on to
Astrakhan.There is some disagreementas to whetherthe vines planted therewere from
Frenchor Persianstock,butwhateverthevarietals,thewine produced"had thesame Colour,
and somethingof the Flavour, thoughnot the same Spiritas those in France."128Pousset
124E. E.
Birzhakova, L. A. Voinova, L. Kutina Ocherki po istoricheskoileksikologii russkogo
iazyka XVIII veka: Iazykovye kontaktyi zaimstvovaniia. Leningrad 1972, pp. 337-409.
125Shcherbatov O
povrezhdeniinravov v Rossii p. 222.
126Pyliaev Staroe zhit'e 17. This Zavadovskii was most
likely Count PetrVasiPevich Zavadovp.
skii (1739-1812), a statesmanwho served underthreerulers.Catherinethe Great rewardedhim with
vast estates untilPotemkinturnedher against him. See Êntsiklopedicheskiislovar'. Ed. by I. E. Andreevskii.Tom 12. S.-Peterburg1894, p. 95.
127Weber called Pousset "a French
Refugee, A Gentlemanof fineParts and good Sense" (Weber
The PresentStateof Russia, vol. 1, p. 157). It was no simplematterto restorethe Astrakhanvineyards.
The English engineerJohnPerry,who went to Russia in 1698 to help constructthe Ladoga- Volga
Peterfaced: "The Czar has Thoughtsof plantingVineyards,and improvcanal, describedthedifficulty
ing themakingof Wine on thisSide of the Caspian Sea, in Terkiand Astracan,wheretheGrapes, both
red and white,are verylarge and good, and are broughtfromthenceeveryYear to Mosco [. . .] In the
Year 1706, the Czar gave Ordersto the late worthyMr. HenryStiles Merchantin Mosco, to writefor
10 or 12 Persons skill'd in the several Partsof Plantingand making Wine, with Design to send them
to settleat Astracan. But Mr. Stiles*s BrotherMr. ThomasStiles,(who is since also dead) returnedhim
forAnswerfromLondon, That he had wroteto his Correspondentsin Spain and in Portugal, and they
had treatedwithseveralPersonsforthatPurpose; buthearingof theRebellion thathad happenedin Astracan in theYear 1703, whereinall theStrangersthatwere in thatCitywere cut to pieces in a revengeful manner,withoutsparingeitherMan, Woman, or Child... no Person therefore,withoutverygreat
Consideration,would engage in the Undertaking,to hire themselvesto go to the said Countreyfor
makingof Wines; and so thatDesign has lain cold ever since." (Perry The Stateof Russia pp. 95-96).
128
According to Weber, the wines plantedtherewere French.Weber The PresentState of Russia,
vol. 1, p. 157. But thepainterCornelius LeBrun commentedin his notes on Russia thatthevines had
been broughtfromPersia. See his Observationson Russia, in: Weber The PresentState of Russia, vol.
2, p. 421. Tereshchenko stated thatthe original Astrakhanvines were of Persian origin,the giftof
travellingmerchants.See: Tereshchenko Byt russkago naroda p. 277.
underPetertheGreat
Gastronomic
Reforms
505
methodused forthefamousAstrakhanmelons to the
successfullyapplied thelocal irrigation
vines.129
Most of thesewines Peterhad sentto his own table,but in otherareas he had thepeople's
interestsmoreat heart.Near Voronezhhe set up an experimentalgardento determinewhich
sortsof vegetablescould be adaptedto theRussian climate,and in 1713 he created a garden
formedicinal herbs in Saint Petersburg.This plot lentits name to Pharmacist's Island and
eventually grew into an importantbotanical garden. Peter's interestin botanicals also
promptedhim to open the firstfreepharmacies forthe population at large. Not least, he
developed the mineralspringsthatgushed in Olonets near the newly-builtcannon foundry
at Petrozavodsk,in 1714 establishingRussia's firstspa, "MartialWaters,"wheregenerations
of dyspepticdinerssubsequentlysoughtrelief.The chalybeatewaterthatissued fromthis
source lefta reddishsedimentand undoubtedlyhad a harshtaste,thoughPeter swore by its
Local Petersburgmineralwaterswerebottledunderthe Poliustrovolabel, which
efficacy.130
is stillsold today.
Not all of Peter the Great's commercial food ventureswere as healthfulas vegetables,
herbs,and mineralwaters.He also increasedtheuse of tobacco in Russia. Englishmerchants
had importedtobacco throughArchangel as early as 1553, and by the late seventeenth
centuryitwas alreadybeing cultivatedin Ukraine and Siberia fromAmerican seed. At first
tobacco had not been regulated,but Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich issued edicts against its use.
Anyone caught in possession of the substanceriskednot only arrest,but tortureand death:
The miscreantcould be flogged,his nostrilstorn,his nose cut off.When PeterI ascended the
thronehe, like his predecessors,forbadetobacco's use. However, he changed his mind after
his foreigntravels,and from1697 on tobacco was freelysold and used in Russia. The first
tobacco-processing factorywas built around 1714 in Kharkov province,but afterPeter's
deathit fellintodisrepair,and domestictobacco productionwas not reviveduntilthe reign
of Catherinethe Great.
Eighteenth-Century
Developments
Peterthe Great's gastronomicreformswere by no means universal.Even underhis rule
certainfeaturesof themedieval tablepersisted,such as theuse of dwarvesforentertainment.
At the feastcelebratingthebaptismof his son PetrPetrovichin 1715
"a Pye [was] servedup on theTable of theGentlemen,
whichbeingopened,a well-shaped
WomanDwarfsteptoutofit,beingstark-naked,
exceptherHead-dressand someOrnaments
of red Ribbons;she madea well-setSpeechto theCompany,filledsome Glasses of Wine
whichshehadwithherinthePye,anddrankseveralHealths;afterwhichshewas carriedoff
again.On theLadiesTable a Man Dwarfwas servedup in thesamemanner."131
129Weber The PresentStateof
on Russiap. 421.
Russia,vol. 1,p. 158; LeBrun Observations
130Weber The PresentStateof
that"A wittyFrenchman
Russia,vol. 1,p. 205. Schuylerreported
hassaidthatthegreatmiracleofSpa is thattheTsarwas able todrinkthewater,continuehismodeof
of the
life,and yetlive and even be betterforit. He neverconformed
exactlyto theprescriptions
forinstance,
he woulddrinktwenty-one
which
Sometimes,
physicians.
glassesofwaterin a morning,
seemedto have no othereffectthanto producean excellentappetite.He was forbidden
to eat fruit
unlesscooked.Yet itis said thatone day,immediately
aftertakingthewaters,he ate tenpoundsof
cherries
anda dozenfigs."(Schuyler PetertheGreat,vol. 2, p. 448). No sourceforthisinformation
is provided.
131Weber The PresentStateof
Russia,vol. 1,p. 109.
506
Darra Goldstein
Elsewherein medieval Europe live birdshad flownout of pies, and a hunchbackhad popped
out of a custardpie at HenryVII's coronation,132
butsuch entertainments
had largelydied out
by the eighteenthcentury.In any case, the use of dwarves seems to have been a peculiarly
Russian touch. Predictably,Peterused themnot only fortheirdiminutivesize but also for
sexual titillation.
Dwarves aside, theeighteenthcenturyin Russia saw theevolutionof table service toward
thesequence of fourcoursesthatis familiartoday(zakuska,pervoe, vtoroe,sladkoe). Where
seventeenth-century
banquets had begun dramaticallywith a roast bird such as swan or
feastsunder Peter the Great featuredcold, open-faced sandpeacock, eighteenth-century
wiches withmeat or cheese at the beginningof the meal - a directborrowingfromDutch
practice. At the same time, salted and smoked foods includingcaviar, salmon, sturgeon,
herring,
pickles,and ham were offeredbeforethemain course,an earlyversionof thezakuski
or hors d'oeuvres thatbecame the hallmarkof Russian cuisine. Peter's grandees laid their
tables with ham, sausages, and other salted and smoked meats prepared with generous
amountsof butter,garlic,and onion.Afterthesecold dishes,varioussoups, roasts,and other
hot foodswere served,followedby dessertconsistingof fruitofferedeitherfreshor poached
in syrup.Weber explained: "Aftersittingdown the firstCourse is served up, consistingof
and diverssortsof Meat dressed withOil of Olives,
cold Meat, Hams, sausages, Jelly-broth,
Onions and Garlick,which is lefton the Table above an Hour; thencome the Soups, roast
Meat, and other hot Victuals, which make up the second Course, and last of all the
Dessert."133
This sequence was alreadya change fromearlierin the century,when the soup
course followed the cold salted dishes and roasts.134
thebasic styleof table service remainedunchanged,focused as it was
Yet significantly,
on theactual servingof the meal. This Russian practicecontrastedmarkedlywiththe more
restrainedFrench style accepted at noble tables throughoutwesternEurope. The French
banquet table entailed an exquisite set-piece, intendedprimarilyto delight the eye. On
enteringthebanquethall, dinersfoundtablesalreadyset withan artfularrayof dishes, many
of them in fancifultrompel'oeil. But even thoughan entirecourse comprisingdozens of
dishes was beautifulto behold, eating it was likely anothermatter.The preset display, a
pretense,meant thathot foods were no longer hot; fatswere congealed. And each time a
course concluded, the table had to be fullyrearranged.
Russian service differedprofoundly.On enteringthebanquet hall, dinersusually found
only salt and pepper cellars and vinegar cruetson the table (the exception being at court,
where the Tsar's tables sagged underthe immenseweightof gold servers). Yet these few
condimentswere of thefinestquality,thevinegarmade fromwortflavoredwithgingerbread
and raspberries,the salt fromthe Volga flatsnear Astrakhan"clear as crystal,"with "a
Once theguestswere seated,each dish was broughtindividually
pleasantodor of violets."135
In 1553 RichardChancellor had describedthe
to table and presentedwithgreatfanfare.136
table of Ivan theTerrible:
132Betty Wason
A Historyof Cookery.GardenCity,NY 1962,
Cooks,Gluttons& Gourmets:
servedinenormous
werealso sometimes
andacrobats
leapingoutto enterpuddings,
p. 175.Jugglers
New
tainguests.See Madeleine Pelner CosmanFabulousFeasts:MedievalCookeryandCeremony.
York 1976.o. 31.
133Weber The PresentStateof
Russia,vol. 1,pp. 26-27. HereWeberdescribeda feasthostedby
PrincessNatalia,PetertheGreat'ssister.
134
ZapiskiIustaIulia,in: Russkiiarkhiv(1892) no. 3, p. 276 andno. 5, p. 69.
135
totodayasfleurde sel, thefinestTheTravelsofOleariusp. 325. Thissaltis likelywhatwe refer
fromtheverysurfaceoftheflats,whichcommandsan extremely
highprice.
qualitysaltskimmed
136
oftheRussianstyleofserviceinseventeenth-century
See Kotoshikhin's
Muscovyin:
description
Kotoshichin O Rossiiv tsarstvovanie
pp. 23, 39.
AleksejaMikhajlovicha
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
Gastronomie
507
usherofthehallcomesin,witha notablecompanyofservants
carrying
"[...] thegentleman
thedishes,andhavingdonehisreverence
totheemperor,
putsa youngswanina goldenplatter
takesitthenceagain,delivering
ittothecarverandsevenother
uponthetableandimmediately
ofhis fellowsto be cutup; whichbeingperformed,
to theguests
themeatis thendistributed
withthelikepompandceremonies."1
Nearly two centurieslaterJohann-GeorgKorb describedsimilarpomp:
"Abouttwoo'clockcamea Pristaw,
dressedina greenpelisseofsilkand furof sables,which
is givento themwiththeobligationof returning
it to the Czar's treasury,
whenceupon
occasionslikethepresentitis producedfroman innerchamber.He was accompaniedbythe
of theCzar's kitchenandcellars,attended
vice-prefects
bysomeclerksoftheambassadorial
andfollowedbytwelvesemskoi(personsbelongingto theCzar's kitchens),
clad in
chancery,
dressesornamented
withsilk,overwhichtheyworelinen;thenin longprocessionaltrainby
two hundredsoldiers,bearingtheCzar's daintydishes,and carrying
likewisedrinkables,
brandy,wine,meadofvariouskinds,beer,andguass[kvass].Theylaid thetable.The cloth
was ofthefinestpossibletexture;
therewas one littlegoldsalt-cellar,
twoothervessels,also
ofgold,one ofthemwithpepper,andtheotherwithsalt.[...] Thentheviandswerebrought
in.Amongtheroastswas a swan;therewereno less thana hundred
andeightdishescounted,
butexcessivelyfewthata Germanpalatecouldrelish."138
Like Neuville and Weber before him, Korb did not find Russian style to his liking,
commentingthat"the mere rudeness of theirunpolished mannersand theirfilthyservice
would sufficeto distinguishthisfromeveryothercourtin Europe."139
Consideringthatbanquetsconsistedof no less thanfourcourses, withup to one hundred
dishes in each course,royalfeastscould be an ordeal, especially forforeignvisitorsused to
the orderlinessand self-containmentof a French-stylemeal. Importantly,however, the
Russian styleof servicekeptthefood hot,since each dish was servedat itspeak of readiness.
Russian practicealso providedlive performanceas liveriedwaiters- oftenone foreach guest
- paraded repeatedlyintothe
banquet hall withplattersheld high. As Chancellor reported,
"therewere one hundredand fortyservitorsarrayedin cloth of gold thatin the dinnertime
changedthricetheirhabit and apparel."140Even at domesticgatherings,thistheatricalstyle
of service prevailed,albeit on a smallerscale.
This traditionalfeatureof the Russian table survivedPeter's reforms.Indeed, one of his
soldiersrecalled that"the sire [...] liked his food hot,"141
and no doubt Peterrecognized the
advantageof bringingdishesto tableas soon as theywereprepared.Littlecould he anticipate
thatin a neat culinarytwist,service à la russe would become the rage in mid-nineteenthcenturyEngland and France (Charles Dickens was one of the firstto introducethe Russian
mannerof dining to English society). The sequence of courses we eat in America today
derives directlyfromthe Russian styleof service.
Overall,however,theculinarychangeswroughtduringPeter's thirty-six
year reignwere
notable. By the timehis daughterElizabeth seized the thronein 1741, lemons and oranges
were no longer a luxury,and English beer was in greatervogue than traditionalRussian
brews.142If we thinkof our era as one of celebritychefs,we need only look at Elizabeth's
Russia to find that there,too, the most sought-afterchefs cooked to great acclaim and
137Richard Chancellor The First
Voyageto Russia,in: Rude& BarbarousKingdompp. 26-7.
Thisaccountwas first
vol. 1.
publishedin 1589in Hakluyt's The PrincipalNavigations,
138Korb
ofan AustrianSecretary
ofLegation,vol. 1,p. 167-168.
Diary
139
Ibidem,vol. 2, p. 157.
140Chancellor The First
Voyageto Russiapp. 26-27.
Kashin Ruskoisoldat,povestvuiushchii
o Petrepervomp. 42.
142
See Shcherbatov O povrezhdenii
nravovv Rossiipp.223-225,andCross By theBanksofthe
Neva p. 19.
508
Darra Goldstein
receivedenormoussalaries.143
Peterhimselfhad been less interestedin theactual preparation
of foodsthanin introducing
them,favoringthe scientificover the gastronomic(thoughit is
curious that in a list of books purchased in 1716, including such predictable titles as
KünstlicheMaschinenfürWasserkunst,Mühlewerkund Feuer Spritzen,Manière de fortifier
les places par le plus fameuxIngenieur,avec figures,and Mémoires d'artilleriepar Remy,
we find also Délices de la Grande-Bretagne,Délices d'Italie, Délices d'Espagne et du
and tasteforthingsFrencha relief
Portugal).144
Many at courtconsideredElizabeth's frivolity
afterthepracticalityof Peter's reign.Elizabeth's love of luxurymeantthatduringher reign
Frenchinfluencewas increasinglyfelt,and by theclose of theeighteenthcenturyfood in the
homes of the wealthywas unabashedlyFrench. Russia's most affluentfamiliesregularly
employed French chefs, who supplanted the Germanic influences of Peter's era. Chic
Russians now ate sup insteadof ukha orpokhlebka,sufle insteadof theirnative (irachena,
an ancientwhipped-eggdish.145The nobilityeven went so faras to orderpies, breads, and
sweetsdirectlyfromParis,whicharrivedin Petersburgwithinsix days. Those who were not
contentwithmail ordersimplytook themselvesto Paris, returningwith tales of the latest
trendsin food and dining.
With so much foreigninfluence,Russian cuisine lost its national characterand became
increasinglycomplex. The vocabulary surroundingmeat is particularlyrevealing of the
changesthatoccurred.When Petertookthe throne,largejoints of meat were stillroastedor
braised in the greatRussian stove, or grilledon a spit,but by the end of century,meat was
cutup intosmallpieces thatdemandedcomplicatedhandling.Fancy menusof theday began
to list bifshteks(steak), entrekot(entrecote),file (filet), shnitseV (schnitzel), and klops
(meatballs) along withthe standardRussian zharkoe or roast.
As noble families stroveto outdo one anotherin the preparationand service of food,
noveltyand luxurybecame thenorm.By the late eighteenthcentury,meals served by such
well-known gastronomes as Prince Grigorii Potemkin, Catherine the Great's favorite,
providedgrandoccasions forshowingoff.Not onlydid Potemkinhave a silverdinnerservice
fordailyuse, he also reputedlyhad kitchenwareof pure silver,includingvast stockpotsthat
held sixty-five
gallons each.146Withhis unlimitedresourcesPotemkinsparedno cost to elicit
Catherine's delight. Avidly imitatingthe latest European trends, he strove to be as
sophisticatedas his European counterparts.He and othermembersof the Russian nobility
enjoyedcreatingmagical,neo-classicalsettingsthattransportedguests to distantplaces and
his diningroom intoa Caucasian grotto
times.For one famouspartyPotemkintransformed
an artificialmountainside.Roses and
down
stream
with
a
spilling
fullyengineered
complete
flowersgrewin profusion,while myrtleand laureltreeswere resplendentwith
otherfragrant
fruitscraftedof gems. On Catherine'sarrival,a chorusbroke intosong, limningherpraises
143Shcherbatov O
povrezhdeniinravov v Rossii p. 223. This practicecontinuedthroughoutthe
centuries.In 1789, forinstance,thepersonalchefof Matvei Matveevich Eck,
eighteenthand nineteenth
St. Petersburg'sPostmasterGeneral,received 600 rubles a year. In a letterto Samuel Formey,Johann
AlbrechtEuler wrotethatEck had "une cuisine superbe: il donne à son cuisinier600 roubles par an,
et il fautl'avouer, qu'on ne mange nulle partsi bien que chez lui, et qu'on y boit des vins délicieux:
aussi il ne lui manque jamais des convives...". Letterof 31 August/11September 1789, cited in:
en Russie' p. 151.
Taurisson 'Les nourrituresterrestres
144
Rospis' o vziatykhknigakhin: "1716 goda." Sbornikvypisok iz arkhivnykhbumag o Petrevelikom. Moskva v un. tip. 1872, pp. 30-31.
145Drachena lacks the
delicacy of a soufflé,which is made withseparatedeggs. A halfdozen whole
eggs are beaten,withflouradded graduallyto make a smooth,thickbatter.Then enough milk is added
while beatingto make a liquid batter,which is poured into a butteredskilletand baked untillightand
puffy.
146Pyliaev Staroe zhit'e 6.
p.
Gastronomic
Reforms
underPetertheGreat
509
in ancient Greek.147Despite such displays, some commentatatorsclaimed thatCatherine
showed littleinterestin grandeur.For instance,she allegedly preferredboiled beef with
pickles and a sauce made of dried deer tonguesto any recherchéFrenchfare.148
The ostensiblesimplicityof the Muscovite era and its decline underPeter's rule was the
subject of a cantankeroustreatiseby the conservativecount Mikhail Shcherbatov,"On the
Corruptionof Morals in Russia". Writingneartheend of theeighteenthcentury,Shcherbatov
complained thatthe reformsinitiatedby Peter the Great had led to Russia's deterioration.
Specifically,thenobility'sexcessive socializing at table led to moral deterioration:
"Themealswerenotofthetraditional
kind,thatis,whenonlyhouseholdproductswereused;
now theytriedto improvetheflavourof themeatand fishwithforeignseasonings.And of
hasalwaysbeena characteristic
course,ina nationinwhichhospitality
virtue,itwas nothard
forthecustomoftheseopentablesto becomea habit;unitingas itdid thespecialpleasureof
kind,it
societyand the improvedflavourof the food as comparedwiththe traditional
establisheditselfas a pleasurein itsownright."149
In thispassage Shcherbatovprovedhimselfa moralistand spoilsportwho soughtto diminish
the convivialityof the shared table even as he recognized its delights. What apparently
troubledhimmostwas theidea of thetableas "a pleasure in its own right,"withno thought
given to our relationshipto the food we eat or our moral and religious obligations as we
partake of it. Such seeming indifferencewent against the very grain of what Shcherbatov
whichhe correctlyidentifiedat the core of Russian culture.He
judged to be truehospitality,
was grievedby thefactthathospitalityoftencontainedmore thana touch of personal pride.
Yet pride had long ago intrudedinto the sacred ritualsof hopitalityas prescribedby the
Domostroi. As Olearius wrotein the mid-seventeenth
century:
"Thehighestmarkofrespectandfriendship
theyshowa guestat a feastor inthecourseofa
visit,toconveythathe is welcomeandthattheyapproveofhim,is as follows.Aftertheguest
hasbeenfed,theRussianhas hiswife,richlydressed,brought
outto theguestto presenthim
witha cup of vodkafromherown hand.Occasionally,as a markof particular
favorto the
to kissheron themouth.Thisgreathonorwas rendered
me personally
guest,he is permitted
whenI was lastin Moscow,in 1643."150
Shliakhovskii,
byCountLev Aleksandrovich
The apparentlysimple act of presentinga guest withvodka was, even in pre-Petrinetimes,
a carefullycalculated display of thehost's power and wealth. In despair over the perceived
loss of a golden past,Shcherbatovoverstatedhis case in favorof the erstwhilesimplicityof
Muscovite lifebeforeits contaminationby foreignways. Yet despitehis lack of objectivity
and even credibility,Shcherbatov's treatiseis useful forits reflectionof the conservative
mood among nobilitywho desired thereturnof a more purelyRussian past.
Like Shcherbatov,the eighteenth-century
poet and playwrightAleksandr Sumarokov
foundthesocietalchangesunsettling.In a treatiseentitled"On theUse of Foreign Words in
the Russian Language" he excoriatedthose who chose foreignwords over native Russian
ones, makinghis pointwithseveralexamples fromtheculinarysphere.AlthoughSumarokov
147
Lotman, Pogosian Velikosvetskie
obedypp. 28-30.
148
Pyliaev Staroezhit'ep. 6. PrinceShcherbatov
thisimageofCatherine,
supported
claimingthat
sherefused
todismissa particularly
unskilled
toPotemkin,
whoforcedPrinceNikolai
cook,incontrast
Golitsynto retireas High Marshalof theCourtforfailingto ordera favoritedish prepared.See
Shcherbatov O povrezhdenii
nravovv Rossiipp. 246, 290.
149Ibidem 143.
p.
150
TheTravelsofOleariusp. 158.Kotoshikhin
also described
thepracticeofallowinggueststo kiss
thehost'swifeanddrinka gobletofdouble-or triple-distilled
vodka.See Kotoshichin O Rossiiv
tsarstvovanie
AleksejaMikhajlovicha
pp. 159-160.Well intoPeter'sreign,womenwerestillbeing
paradedout to kisshonoredmaleguestsand offerthema charkaof vodka.See Korb Diaryof an
Austrian
ofLegation,
vol.2, p. 208, andWeber The PresentStateofRussia,vol. 1,p. 148.
Secretary
IftheEmperor
abashedwomenbybringing
themoutofseclusion,he also liberated
themfromservile
behavior,at leastin modernterms.
5 10
Darra Goldstein
allowed forthe introductionof foreignwords foranimals and fruitsnot native to Russia such as carp,sardines,capers,olives, lemon,oranges,and bitteroranges- he maintainedthat
therewas no reasonto call thesandpiper,kulik,by theFrenchtermbekas.ì5ìIn whatway was
sup preferableto the traditionaland evocative Russian pokhlebka,which up untilnow had
serveditspurposemorethanadequately?"Whatneed is thereto say insteadoïplody.fruktyl
and
insteadof stolovoipribor,stolovoi serviz?...insteadof nachal'nyi povar, kikhenmeister
even more strangely,kukhmistrl[...] Germanand Frenchdeformour language."152
But the conservativevoices of Shcherbatovand Sumarokov were lost in the nobility's
quest forprestige,and as the nineteenthcenturydrew near, European dining habits were
firmlyentrenchedin Russia. Peterthe Great's reformsand subsequentculinaryrefinements
had broadenedand polishedRussian cuisine.Russia was enteringthe westernworld withall
nottheleast of which lay in therealm of gastronomy.Adapting
of itsattendanttemptations,
westerntrendsto theirown needs and tastes,the Russians ultimatelymade theirtable quite
sophisticated.By encouragingthenobilityto adopt a moreEuropean sensibility,by teaching
themetiquetteand expandingtheirpalates, Peteracceleratedtheprocess of refinementand
civilizationthatmightotherwisehave takendecades longerto complete.153
Emergingintoa
world of
secretive
public domain, the Russian nobilitygraduallyabandoned the cloistered,
do little
he
could
his
in
Muscovy. But althoughPetersucceeded refining subjects' manners,
new
have
donned
nobleman
The
of
sense
their
to temper
may
innate,hearty
extravagance.
clothes and shaved his face smooth,but a Russian bear still lurkedbeneath the debonair
surface.Only now he clutcheda forkin his hand.
151
here.The Frenchbécasseor "woodcock"
confusion
hisownterminological
Sumarokov
betrayed
tothewoodcock(val 'dshnep,fromtheGerman)norto the
neither
intoRussiantorefer
was borrowed
to thecommonsnipe.For
Bekas in Russianrefers
as lamented
kulikor "sandpiper,"
bySumarokov.
okhotnika
moreon wildfowlsee S. T. Aksakov Zapiskiruzheinogo
gubernii.Ed. by
Orenburgskoi
is availableas Sergei TimofeevichAksakov
S. V. Kirikov.Moskva 1953.An Englishtranslation
Evanston1998.
Notesofa ProvincialWildfowler.
152
Sumarokova.Chast
Petrovicha
i proze...Aleksandra
v stikhakh
vsekhsochinenii
Polnoesobranie
IX. Moskvav un-skoitip.u N. Novikogo1781,p. 275.
153The culturalhistorian
Russiawould
DmitriLikhachev believedthatwithoutPeter'sreforms
reform
have remainedtwo hundredyearsbehindthetimes.See his Byla li epokhapetrovskikh
i razvitiia
in: Slavianskiekul'turyv epokhuformirovaniia
v razvitiirusskoikuFtury?,
pereryvom
natsiiXVII-XX vv. Ed. byD. F. Markov.Moskva1978,pp. 171-174.
slavianskikh