It is no secret that Russia is known for its vodka. Every year approximately 4.6 billion liters of vodka are sold totaling over $50 billion, account for 20% of all money spent on alcohol globally! Vodka’s invention is typically attributed to Russians which isn't completely true, but first let me explain what the word means: Name The word “Vodka” consists of two parts, the root vod means water and the suffix “ka” which emphasizes that object is small and nice. So the word “Vodka” means “little nice water”. Who invented vodka? Scientists debate when vodka was first invented since little evidence has survived over the centuries. However, it is believed that the first production was in Poland or Russia sometime in the 8th or 9th century. During those times vodka was quite different from the one you may find in shops today: it had a different color, taste, and smell. Further, it only had about 15% alcohol and was originally used as a medicine. When did it appear in Russia? A transparent distilled liquor resembling today's vodka first came to Russia in the 14th century from Italy under the name “aqua vitae”, which means “the water of life” and was given as a present to one of the grand dukes. Through the mid-18th century the alcohol content of vodka remained quite low compared to today (about 10% lower) and it wasn’t very popular in Russia. The first time the word “vodka” was used in official documents was on June 8th, 1751 in a decree regulating the ownership of vodka distilleries. The government at the time understood that popularizing this drink could bring huge sums of money to the treasury which lead to them officially promoting the consumption of state-manufactured vodka. Soon vodka sales became the key element of government finances. How is vodka made? It all starts with water. Water quality is essential to producing quality vodka and different companies use different water sources some of the best water sources include natural springs, mountain rivers and lake Baikal. In general, Vodkas in Russia are all distilled from a mix of potato, rye or wheat. Though, all vodkas are not created equal and vodka's quality is determined by the particular process used which is a closely guarded secret. Through numerous rounds of distillation, the taste is modified and its clarity is increased. Generally, good vodkas are filtered many times with the use of modified starch and charcoal. For example 'Belenkaya' vodka advertises that their vodka is produced by running it through a 40 foot long series of charcoal filters. The type of wood from which the charcoal is made also affects the taste. Some companies even use silver and gold as filters to make vodka of superb quality! How to recognize good vodka? As a result of its popularity, counterfeiters sometimes get away with producing homemade vodka and trying to sell it in shops. Counterfeit vodka is poorly filtered, may contain dangerous chemicals in it and may be artificially-flavored to mask its poor taste. In order to protect yourself, it is important to be careful when choosing a bottle for yourself while in Russia. Here are some tips that will help you in choosing a quality bottle of vodka:
How to drink This drink is traditionally enjoyed neat (without being mixed with anything). Every time you mix vodka with juice, you make a Russian cry.
Ratings Real vodka has to be produced in Russia. According to the ratings of 2013, ten most popular kinds of vodka in Russia are: Stolichnaya, Finlandia, Graf Ledoff, Pyat ozyor, Huski, Dvoinaya Zolotaya, Saimaa, Drova, Talka, Baikal. However popularity doesn’t mean that it's the best. Once I tried one of the most imported vodkas globally and I still regret it to this day. Our choice In my family, we prefer vodka produced at the Moscow factory “Kristall” or St. Petersburg factories “Ladoga” and “Liviz”. Here are some favourite vodka brands of my family and our friends: Tsarskaya Zolotaya(“Czar’s Golden Vodka”), Russian Standart, Putinka, Beluga, Smirnoff, Diplomat, Posolskaya, Nemiroff
Usage We use vodka in Russia not only for drinking; we use it for many different purposes. Have a look at the most popular ones:
Drink responsibly and Budem zdorovi ! If You are interested in learning more about Russia and it's traditions, please like ExperienceRussia on Facebook.
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Prince Alexis, the only son of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II, together with his sister princess Maria will be soon be buried in St. Petersburg. For many years, the Russian government and the Russian Orthodox Church disagreed about what should be done with prince Alexis and Maria's remains and finally, after much scandal, they decided to bury all members of the last Royal family together in the same place. This saga began when the missing remains of Emperor Nicholas II, his wife Alexandra, and three of their four daughters: Anastasia, Tatiana and Olga were discovered in 1993 at an unmarked roadside mass grave. Their bodies were then properly buried in 1997 in Peter and Paul’s cathedral in St. Petersburg. However, the prince Alexis and Maria's remains were nowhere to be found. It wasn't until 10 years later, in 2007, that remains were discovered that were believed to those of prince Alexis and Maria. In 2008, the remains were tested from previously acquired DNA samples and were confirmed to be relatives of the royal family though they were not absolutely certain to be that of the two missing children. For many years, these unidentified remains were held in storage in Moscow, awaiting final DNA testing. In order to be able to confirm the identity of these remains with certainty, DNA samples from Nicholas II and Empress Alexandra were needed. Remains of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II and his wife, Empress Alexandra were exhumed on September 24th 2015, at the request of Russian Orthodox Church in order to conduct these final DNA tests. Russian officials announced that all remains of the royal family will be buried together in Peter and Paul’s cathedral at a date to be announced. Hopefully, the children will be given a proper burial with their parents and will finally find their rest soon. After all of this the Russian Orthodox Church, still does not officially recognize any found remains as remains of the last Russian Royal family since the final DNA tests have a .01% margin of error (99.99% certainty) and consequently is not 100% certain. If You are interested in keeping up to date news from St. Petersburg, its history and tours, please like ExperienceRussia on Facebook.
Quite soon after the death of Russian emperor, in 1836, unknown, never seen before sage appeared in Russia. Police stopped old man after the call by local people, who thought that man was very suspicious. This man was traveling all alone, wearing old clothes, he didn’t have passport and could not say anything about his life or relatives. The only thing he told police was his name. He called himself Fyodor Kuz’mich Koz’min, he told police that he was illiterate and didn’t have any home. Homeless old man was sent to a small Siberian village, as a punishment for vagrancy. On his way to Siberia old man showed himself as a very kind and sympathetic person. He made many friends and was always ready to help; he was the only arrested man who was never put in shackle. After arrival to the district he had to stay in as punishment, he started walking in houses and teaching kids history, Bible and Russian (before he made a statement that he was illiterate). He never accepted money or any payment except food. That time people started to recognize the Emperor in him, not only the face, but the manners, way of talking and subjects of talks were quite unusual for a peasant. All his life Fyodor Kuz'mich devoted to helping other people, fortune telling and healing. He always gave out all his food and money to prisoners and homeless people, followed strict Church rules and attended all services. A few soldiers and priests, who came from the capital recognized the Emperor in that old sage. What is more, one day when the sage became angry, he accidentally said: “In St. Petersburg I just have to say one word and the whole (local) town will shiver, afraid for the consequences.” After this, sage moved to a few other villages and people saw that one day he was talking in French with one of the bishops from the capital. Another day Leo Tolstoy visited the sage and spent the whole day talking to him. What is more, after the death of the sage there were many private letters found and all of them were signed with Alexander the First's signature. Fyodor Kuz'mich and emperor Nickolas the First (son of the passed away Emperor Alexander) were pen friends and after the death of the old man, emperor was seen praying and crying the whole day for the deceased man. It is known that the sage told stories about beautiful celebrations in the capital on the birthday of the Emperor. People heard from him stories about war with Napoleon, about France and field marshals, about the fabulous capital and life in St. Petersburg. Fyodor Kuz'mich died at the age of 80 in 1864, right before his death he rejected to tell names of his parents and his Church name to the priest (Russian Orthodox Church tradition). After the death of the sage there were some unusual things found in his shack: document about marriage of Alexander the first, ivory cross and a few coded letters that are still not decoded. Even though the fact of illness was widely known, documents proving the death and burial of Alexander the First were real, people still believe that Emperor didn’t die but ran away and started a new secret life away from politicians, bureaucracy and wars. That is the only explanation about absence of his wife at the burial ceremony. Right after the death of Fyodor Kuz'mich on the place of his living there people built a small chapel. Fyodor Kuz'mich was canonized as one of local Siberian Saints and his icon can be found in local churches. The most sensational information about Fyodor Kuz'mich was announced recently. On the 23 of July 2015 on the main Russian graphologycal conference, the president of "Russian Graphological Society" announced the results of expertise: handwriting of Fyodor Kuz'mich is almost identical with the hand writing of emperor Alexander the First. Now we know that Emperor Alexander faked his own death.
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AuthorHi there! My name is Mila, I have been working as a local guide for six years and I've decided to share with you essential information about St. Petersburg, life in Russia and Russian culture. I hope you will enjoy! Archives
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