A History of Vodka

by Pokhlebkin, William; Clarke, Renfrey

• ISBN13: 9780860913597
• ISBN10: 0860913597
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1992-12-17
• Publisher: Verso
• More Book Details
• Purchase Benefits

Summary

Savored by peasants and Tsars, condemned by clerics and the architects of perestroika, vodka has been the joy and scourge of the Russian nation for centuries. But what are the origins of the Russians’ favorite drink? Did vodka emerge as an authentic national discovery from the brewing-shops of the monasteries of medieval Russia, or was the secret of its preparation imported from elsewhere? When was it that people first experienced vodka’s now famed property of “knocking drinkers off their feet?”

With formidable scholarship and considerable dry wit, William Pokhlebkin, one of Russia’s best-known historians, sets out on the detective trail. His aim: to reveal the strange truth about his country’s most famous tipple. The result is a triumph of historical deduction. As he uncovers the social, economic and technical background to the emergence of vodka, and indeed tells us how and with what the spirit should be drunk, the author creates an unconventional but true-to-life portrait of the society and social psychology that gave birth to today’s Russia. He argues that those who have controlled the vodka stills have controlled the density of Russia—first the Boyars, then the Tsars, and in this century the Bolsheviks. In Pokhlebkin’s view Gorbachev unwisely attempted to suppress vodka, allowing the Mafia to seize control of its production and distribution. Perestroika was thus doomed.

Pokhlebkin believes that both prohibitionism and drunkenness are scourges which encourage one another. He insists that vodka itself doesn’t make people drunk, only irresponsible and uncultured ways of consuming it. A History of Vodka is the work not only of a fine scholar but of a passionate advocate of the virtues of vodka and a stern critic of those who have misused it.

Table of Contents

Translator's Note
Foreword
How and Why this Book Came to be Written
The Origins of Alcoholic Liquors in Russia	p. 1
Vodka in Its Social Context
The Terminology of Alcoholic Liquors
The Meaning of the Word Vodka
Old Russian Terms for Alcoholic Liquors
Russian Terms for Alcoholic Liquors in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
References to Alcoholic Beverages from the Ninth to the Fourteenth Century
Techniques for the Production of Alcoholic Drinks in Russia in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
The Earliest Forms of Technical Equipment before the Rise of Vodka Production
Vodka from the Fourteenth to the Nineteenth Century	p. 41
The Rise of Distillation
Factors Expediting or Signalling the Advent of Vodka
The Social, Moral and Ideological Consequences of the Appearance of Alcohol Distilling in Russia
Where Was Vodka First Made?
The Political and Military History of the Moscow State during the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
Economic and Social Conditions in the Moscow State at the End of the Fourteenth and during the Fifteenth Century
Why Do the Chronicles and Account Books Tell Us Nothing?
Fixing the Date
The Terminology of Grain Spirit from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century	p. 100
Distinguishing Grain from Grape
The Terminology of Grape Wine from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century
Trade and Everyday Terms for Grain Spirit from the Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century
Figurative and Slang Terms for Grain Spirit in the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries
Industrial and Technical Terms for Grain Spirit and Its Quality
The Historical Significance of Terms for Grain Spirit
The History of Liquid Measurements in Russia
The Rise and Development of the Term "Vodka" from the Sixteenth to the Twentieth Century
Vodka Production and Its Control	p. 145
The Evolution of the Technology of Vodka Production
Raw Materials
Formulas
Methods of Purification
The Equipment and Technology of Distilling
Chronology of the Rise and Development of Russian Vodka Production
The Five Vodka Monopolies
Vodka and Ideology	p. 175
Vodka under the Tsars
Vodka after the Revolution
The Anti-Alcoholism Campaign
Vodka as a Positive Influence
Appendices	p. 189
1. The Gastronomic Significance of Vodka, and How It Should Be Consumed
2. Modern Vodkas of Russia and the Other Republics
3. The Alcoholic Strength of Wines and Spirits
4. The Effects of Alcohol on the Human Body
5. The Raw Materials and Production Techniques of Other Principal Spirits of the World
Afterword	p. 208
Notes	p. 210
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