Russian students 100 years ago

English Russia never lets me down. I found some pages from a book published in 1900 about Russian students. It has drawings of students in different disciplines and of various nationalities, all male of course. I kind of want to see the rest of this book; it starts out normally enough, with pictures of a physics student, medical student, law student and a student from "the Academy," who looks like a soldier to me. Then it just delves into ethnic/nationality stereotypes. There is a "Ukranian student," a "Polish student," a "student from the South/Armenia/Azerbaijan," and the obligatory Jew. I'd like to know what the target audience was for this particular work of, um, art.

There are all kinds of things I could say about these drawings but none of them would really do justice to the pictures themselves, so here is a link. Click!

збитень!

Збитень, or sbiten if you are capitalist pig, is a "traditional honey-based beverage consumed during the winter months." The recipe I used called for honey, blackberry jam, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg:



Unfortunately, I have no pictures of the actual збитень-making process, but that is because there is nothing complicated about this drink. For the recipe I used, you boil 10¼ cups of water in a large pot, then add half a cup of honey, 16 ounces of blackberry jam, and then ¼ teaspoon each of cinnamon and nutmeg, and a whole teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground cloves. Turn down the heat and simmer for six minutes, stirring constantly. Then remove the pot from the heat and let cool for two minutes before ladling the hot deliciousness into mugs and enjoying one another's company. Here is what збитень looks like after it has been made:



It smells amazing, with the honey and blackberry flavors mixing in with the subtle bouquet of the spices and causing what may legitimately be called an olfactory foodgasm. Or drinkgasm, I guess. I want a збитень-scented candle now. In any case...how's it taste?



Mikey David likes it!

I found the recipe for збитень here, and used the first one. It turned out to be delicious. I believe later on I shall make the alternate recipes, and remember to take pictures of the process too.

The page where I got the recipe says that збитень can also be served cold. I am sorely tempted to make more, chill it, take the cold збитень to the Kiosk and have them make it a smoothie, because that would be delicious as well. I'd do it myself but I don't have a blender. Or ice.

"Putin wins respect at hip-hop party"...

Everything about that sentence is baffling.

So I was trawling the netarwebs, looking for my next blog post, when I found an article from Reuters about...well, Putin winning respect at a hip-hop party. Unfortunately, the Russian Prime Minister was not there to perform. The Battle for Respect is some kind of hip-hop awards show hosted by the Russian equivalent of MTV, called Muz TV, and Vladimir Putin was there to present awards to winners. According to the article, Putin also had a "stern message" about healthy living for attendees: "'I do not think that 'top-rock' or 'down-rock' breakdance technique is compatible with alcohol or drugs,' Putin told cheering hip-hoppers who responded with chants of 'Respect, Vladimir Vladimirovich.'" The article speculates that the purpose of the appearance was to boost the PM's flagging ratings, but his spokesman denied that this was the case.

I was really hoping for a video or at least an audio clip of Putin breakdancing and/or totally thrashing some kid in a rap battle, and now you are, too.