LeoTolstoy
Welcome to the website studying Russian Vegetarianism.
Documentation of food in Russian culture dates back to the Primary Chronicles. More details can be found on the features of the early Russian diet in the De Facto Vegetarianism section of this website. In addition to the many types of vegetables and grains that are mentioned in the Chronicles, there are also many references to meat in the Russian diet. Beef, chicken, fish, and even horsemeat were common fare in the 10th century. Sunday banquets in Prince Volodimir’s court featured a great spread of food, complete with lots of meat—after all, meat was evidence of prosperity. Volodimir himself seemed to be quite fond of meat. When he brought delegates to the court to present their religions to him, the Chronicles note that he expressed displeasure at the prohibitions both Islam and Judaism placed against consumption of pork.
In the St. Petersburg of Catherine the Great, many years after Volodimir’s time, meat remained a key feature of the typical Russian diet. Fish was not commonly available, and there is evidence that chicken were used more for their eggs than their flesh, but meats such as mutton, veal, beef, lamb, and pork were widely available at the local markets. Meats and fish were much less expensive than one might expect, and so they were often an important staple in the Russian diet along with grain cereals.
However, despite the prevalence of meat in historical texts and common Russian textbooks, meat was not always part of everyone’s diet, whether by necessity or by choice. To most of the educated and upper-class Russians, meat was strongly emphasized as the key to a good diet. The peasant class, on the other hand, emphasized fat. They might not be able to afford or even have access to cuts of meat, but the fat provided important caloric intake for the day. The scarce availability of meat for the nearly vegetarian peasants actually enabled the non-peasant Russians, such as gentry and noblemen, access to the meat that they valued so highly. This dietary difference evidenced a strong divide between the peasant and non-peasant classes.
In later years, such as the 21st century Soviet Union, meat was again unavailable to many Russian citizens. The chronic food shortage forced vegetarianism on much of the Russian population. When meat became available in Soviet markets, it was so valuable that it would often be reserved by the shop owners, so that it was difficult to procure without proper connections.
In addition to forced vegetarianism, there have
also been certain sects of the Russian population that voluntarily adopted a
vegetarian diet. The motivations of these deliberate vegetarians, who often
felt themselves morally and ethically superior to carnivorous Russians, are
discussed in further detail elsewhere on this site.
The rest of the Russian society often viewed (and to some extent still does
view) vegetarianism as a strange habit, feeling that a meatless diet is not
appropriate or suitable for the cold, harsh Russian climate. It is also not
very prestigious, considering that the availability and consumption of meat
have always been seen as a sign of wealth and prosperity.
Authors of vegetarian cookbooks in Russia have tried including foreign vegetarian
dishes to generate appeal, show the widespread nature of vegetarianism, or perhaps
to create a sense of the exotic. Though meat is considered by many to be an
important part of the Russian diet, the wide availability of vegetarian foods
and the occasional unavailability of meat mean that there are already a great
deal of vegetarian recipes familiar throughout Russia—recipes featuring
potatoes, cabbage, mushrooms, and other such foods. For a look at a few Russian
vegetarian dishes, check out the recipe section linked
on this site.
Rus/Hum 2734
Spring 2002
Davies, Frier, Jones, and Zarfas