A Reading and Watching List for Russian Cuisine

Russian cuisine can be divided into two main sections: traditional Russian cuisine and Soviet cuisine.

Traditional Russian cuisine has developed over hundreds of years. It is a mix of Slavic, Byzantine, Mongolian, Bulgarian, Polish, Finnish, Ukrainian, Eastern European and other flavors. The traditional cuisine is characterized by the dietary restrictions of the Russian Orthodox Church, the opulent tastes of the Russian nobility during the times of the Romanovs, and the wide variety of food sources available across the country and throughout Europe.

Soviet cuisine is characterized by locally sourced, storable peasant food and a few intentionally curated multiethnic additions. Due to times of famine during the five year plans and World War II, Russian people had to work with restricted ingredients. Most dishes revolved around poultry, fish, grains, honey, and vegetables suited to cold climates. The resulting Soviet recipes reflect incredible creativity in times of hardship.

This list of resources will provide information about the evolution of both traditional Russian cuisine and Soviet cuisine.

Scholarly works:

1. Scott, Erik R. “Edible Ethnicity: how Georgian cuisine conquered the Soviet table.” Kritika 4 (2012): 831.

This journal article explains the development of the Soviet cuisine. It describes Stalin’s country of origin, Georgia, and its national cuisine. Star dishes in Georgian cuisine include spicy soups, cheese pies, complex seasonings, grilled meats, and sweet wines. The article explains how Stalin used Georgian toasts and menus to emphasize the multiethnic culture that he wished Soviet Russia to adopt.

2. Smith, Alison K. Recipes for Russia: Food and Nationhood Under the Tsars. DeKalb: Northern Illinois University Press, 2008.

This scholarly exploration of the development of traditional Russian cuisine explores historical texts, cookbooks published in Russia, and first person accounts of the intersection of food and daily life. It argues that traditional Russian cuisine was defined by Russian housewives and passed down by women for generations. The book also explores the influences of agricultural regulations and Russian Orthodox fasting on recipe books and national health.

3. Mack, Glenn Randall and Asele Surina. Food Culture in Russian and Central Asia. Wesport: Greenwood Press, 2005.

This book looks at Russian cuisine through a modern, post Soviet lens. It begins with a description of the cultural diasporas and clashes that led to the multiethnic Russia that exists today. It also reviews the economic and agricultural practices over the entire history of Russia that influenced the food Russians eat today.

Lighter, anecdotal reading:

4. Brandes, G.C. Impressions of Russia. New York: Crowell, 1889.

This book is a general comment on life in Russia from Dr. Georg Brandes, a British man who made a Russian tour. Brandes claims to have met people of all different classes and nationalities during his trip. Part of his accounts include descriptions of the food he eats and the food he sees others eat. He notes a profound difference in the eating habits of the different economic classes and expresses a snooty distaste for the majority of Russian culinary choices.

5. Strohm, J. L. “Just tell the truth”. : The uncensored story of how the common people live behind the Russian iron curtain. New York: Scribner’s Sons, ltd., 1947.

This book was written in 1947 by a visiting American diplomat who made a tour of Russia. The country was still devastated by the war, and the Soviet government was struggling to adequately feed its citizens. Strohm explains the ration system and recounts what his Soviet friends were able to eat each day based on their various rations. He explains the trading system and laments the exorbitant prices for all consumable goods. This book is filled with photographs from his travels. It is important to note that Strohm’s trip was curated by the Soviet government, so he saw only the best reflection of the country at that time. Although this account is riddled with shortage and struggle, the true state of Russia in 1947 must have been much worse than the descriptions in this book.

6. Hannah, Kristin. Winter Garden. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 2010.

I first got interested in Russian cuisine when I read this historical fiction book by Kristin Hannah. My favorite part about this book is the food descriptions. The character who survived the siege of Leningrad keeps her freezer stuffed to the seams with traditional Russian dishes. As she tells her harrowing tale, she and her daughters work their way through each dish in the freezer. The author, Kristin Hannah, describes rich stroganoffs, warming soups, dumplings, hearty breads, and many other dishes. This book will make you hungry and prepare your palate for a Russian culinary adventure.

Cookbooks:

7. Dmitrovna, Elizavetta. Samovar. Richmond: The Dietz Press, Inc., 1946.

This is a cookbook by a Russian Ex-pat who met her American husband at the close of WWII. He was interned in a Japanese camp, and she was shuffled all over Russia due to the war. They met, fell in love, and moved back to the US together. In the introduction, Mrs. Dmitrovna writes that her husband was so appreciative of her cooking that she decided to immortalize his favorite Russian dishes in print. The recipes in this book are adapted to suit American ingredients while maintaining Russian flavors.

8. McGuire, Lelia. Old World Foods for New World Families. Detroit: Wayne University Press, 1947.

The recipes in this cookbook were compiled by a student of the Merrill Palmer Motherhood and Home Training School in Detroit in 1947. The section on Russia lists ingredients that most women in Russia could access in 1947. The recipes in this section only involve the ingredients on the list, so for someone first venturing into Russian cooking who needs a shopping list, this book is a good place to start.

YouTube Channel:

9. CookinginRussia. Dir. Greg Easter. 2014. Retrieved from www.youtube.com/user/CookinginRussia.

This YouTube channel gives video demonstrations of traditional Russian recipes. Make sure to turn on your YouTube annotations so that you can see the ingredient lists and the background write-ups of each dish!