From vodka to beloved opera classics – DW’s Anastassia Boutsko takes a look at World Cup host Russia’s most popular exports and their sometimes European roots.
The popular souvenir from Russia, a lathed wooden doll dressed as a female peasant and containing several smaller versions of herself all the way down to a baby, was invented and designed by the folk craft painter Sergey Malyutin. He was inspired to create the so-called Russian nesting doll in 1896 after receiving a hollow “Daruma” Buddha doll on a journey to Japan with his wife.
Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov or Tchaikovsky’s Pique Dame are world opera classics, and 20th-century symphonies are unthinkable without Shostakovich or Prokofiev. Russian music’s special national character developed in the mid-19th century with the founding of the New Russian School of composers that included Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, author of operas like The Tsar’s Bride (pictured).
“Russians are heavy drinkers.” You’ve heard that before, right? But it’s not completely true. According to the World Health Organization, Russia landed at number 16 in a ranking of countries that drink the most alcohol (11.7 liters of pure alcohol per capita). Germany ranked at number five (13.4 liters), while Moldova topped the list. Nearly half of Russians do not drink alcohol at all.
In contrast to France or Italy, Russia is a vast country with diverse culinary influences that lacks a distinct national cuisine. In the past, peasant food in the villages would center around seasonal crops, including the beet used in Borscht, while nobles ate European dishes. Russian cuisine today is a hodgepodge. “Herring under fur coat” (pictured) is derived from the Norwegian “Sildesalat.”
For more read the full of article at The Dw
