EVERYDAY LIFE IN MODERN RUSSIA
Over the course of the twentieth century Russia witnessed sea changes in all areas of life, in government, in forms of social organization, and in freedoms of all sorts. It was a century that saw Russia move definitively from an essentially peasant economy to become an industrial superpower. These changes inevitably have left their mark, and for many meant that economic hardship has dictated the tone of everyday life. Of course there have been other, more imperceptible transformations, and constants, too.
One of the most significant factors that have generated widespread changes in Russia's lifestyles and social customs has been the growth of a Russian middle class. This began in the Leonid Brezhnev era (1964-82) and saw another period of expansion in the glasnost era of the late 1980s. Definitions of this class, and estimates of its extent, differ widely, but it is generally agreed that today it constitutes about one-fourth of Russian society, and is largely concentrated in and around Moscow, St Petersburg, and other urban areas. In the later twentieth century increased salaries meant that ownership of consumer goods, such as refrigerators and cars, became a realistic expectation for some, and, more recently, travel abroad has become popular, and the purchase of imported luxury goods has increased. Many wealthy individuals have bought private land and built second homes, often of two or three stories. Underlying these new developments are changes in values: as distinct from Soviet practice, the new values include self-reliance and viewing work as a source of joy and pride; the middle class also tends to avoid political extremes, to participate in charitable organizations, and to patronize theatres and restaurants.
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 ushered in further dramatic change. The effects have been visible in a wide spectrum of activities, from health care and education to the construction boom and a revival of religious practice and enjoyment of folk and religious festivals.
Food, Drink, and Festivals
One of the constants in Russian everyday life, as in all countries, has been food and drink. Russia's staple foodstuffs reflect the natural environment of steppe and forest, with a predominance of grain products - especially wheat, rye, oats, and millet - and an abundance of berries and mushrooms from the country's vast forested areas. Russia also has huge resources of fish - including caviar - while since the 1990s a wide array of imported packaged products are now found in Russian cities, thus adding to the country's natural richness and diversity of food products.
One of Russia's most celebrated dishes - at least internationally - is borsch, a soup made with beets. The Ukrainian (and arguably the original) version is often eaten with a sour cream garnish and with pirozhki, turnovers filled with beef and onions, and can be eaten hot or cold. A dish celebrated across the world, borsch can be prepared in a great variety of ways, some clear and light, others thick and substantial. Sometimes it is even made with kvass, a mild beer fermented from grain or bread.
Another popular dish, both in Russia and across the world, is caviar, the processed, salted roe of certain species of fish, notably sturgeon. Like borsch, this too was once considered a humble foodstuff: for many years caviar in Russia was consumed as a staple of the poor - it was nor until the eighteenth century that it became the preserve of the aristocracy. And while it retains its connotations of luxury and wealth abroad, in Russia today caviar continues to feature at weddings, holiday feasts, and other festive occasions. Indeed, many Russians believe in the magical health benefits of caviar, seeing it as a kind of general panacea.
The main source of Russian caviar is the Caspian Sea. An idea of the scale of production can be seen in the export figures: in 1919, after the Bolsheviks had nationalized production, though exports amounted to only one-tenth of the annual harvest, Russia was able to export widely across the world and to supply the United States with the bulk of its needs, following the overfishing of its own natural reserves. During the Soviet era, despite Russia continuing to be a major exporter, caviar was readily available to the country's citizens. But in the 1960s it disappeared from the shelves, becoming a delicacy reserved for the political elite. With the opening of a market economy in the 1990s, caviar became more expensive still, though readily available at a price. According to consumption figures, this does not seem to have had a significant effect: Russians today consume 1,000 tonnes of caviar a year, a massive 92 per cent of it poached, according to figures provided by the World Wildlife Fund; Russia's agriculture ministry puts the figure even higher, at 1,200 tonnes, most of it acquired illegally.
This has brought another factor into play: the environment. Sturgeon numbers went into decline in the 1960s, and then in the 1990s the economic crisis following the collapse of the Soviet Union led to a sharp increase in poaching in the Volga delta, an activity to which the authorities largely turned a blind eye. The poachers, who paid little heed to the age and size of the fish they caught, caused a further sturgeon decline. Following warnings issued by ecologists that Russian caviar could disappear altogether as the Caspian Sea's sturgeon population reaches dangerously low levels and even risks extinction, since August 1, 2007, the harvest and sale of black caviar have been banned in Russia.
If caviar is a symbol of Russia in restaurants and shops across the world, so too is vodka, Russia's national drink. Vodka originated during the fourteenth century; the name is a diminutive of the Russian voda ("water"). It is an inexpensive drink to produce, since it can be made from a mash of the cheapest and most readily available raw materials suitable for fermentation. Potatoes were traditionally employed, but have largely been supplanted in Russia and in other vodka-producing countries by cereal grains. A distilled liquor, clear in colour and without definite aroma or taste, it ranges in alcoholic content from about 40 to 55 per cent.
In Russia, vodka accompanies many family meals, especially on special occasions. Vodka is traditionally consumed straight, unmixed and chilled, in small glasses, and is accompanied by a fatty salt herring, a sour cucumber, a pickled mushroom, or a piece of rye bread with butter. It is considered bad manners and a sign of weak character to become visibly intoxicated from vodka.
The basic vodkas have no additional flavouring, but they are sometimes infused with cranberries, lemon peel, pepper, or herbs. Zubrovka, yellowish in colour, highly aromatic, and with a somewhat bitter undertone, is produced by steeping several stalks of zubrovka, or buffalo grass, in vodka.
Vodka is not the only popular drink in Russia, of course. Normally, Russians prefer to finish their daily meals with a cup of tea or coffee (the latter more common in the larger cities). Alternatively, kvass remains popular, a traditional drink that can be made at home from stale black bread. On a hot summer's day, chilled kvass is used to make okroshka, a traditional cold soup laced with cucumbers, boiled eggs, sausages, and salamis.
As in many countries, Russia's culinary traditions are closely woven into the fabric of its religious and folk festivals. Some of these date from pagan times. During Maslyanitsa - the oldest Russian folk holiday, marking the end of winter - pancakes (symbolizing the sun) are served with caviar, various fish, nuts, honey pies, and other garnishes and side dishes. The meal is accompanied by tea in the ever-present samovar (tea kettle) and is often washed down with vodka. At Easter baked goods can be found in abundance and include round-shaped sweet bread and Easter cake. Traditionally, pashka, a mixture of sweetened curds, butter, and raisins, is served with the cake. Hard-boiled eggs painted in bright colours also are staples of the Easter holiday. During Troitsa (Pentecost), homes are adorned with fresh green branches, and girls often make garlands of birch branches and flowers to put into water for fortune-telling. In