Me vs Stalin dining
A man fond of overconsumption of expensive food and alcohol, Stalin was known for his memorable (and rather shocking) feasts which did more than just entertain; an abundance of food in opulent surroundings was a display of decadence, power and authority- proving to act as a valuable means of demonstrating his political influence. This would be further exemplified through his playing of propaganda films (these having been accessed from Goebbels’ library) to enlighten and entertain the guests.
Traditional and simple Eastern European dishes but made in excessive quantities and using high value ingredients rarely accessible to the masses were eaten. These included a variety of cold appetisers (known as zakuski) consisting of caviar, cold salmon, and pickled meats and vegetables, to be followed by rich meat stews (notably one made from a two week old young lamb), suckling pigs, roasted geese, grouse and turkeys, and various side dishes such as porcini mushrooms in soured cream and asparagus mousseline. A array of desserts followed. Strategically positioned amidst these would have been multiple bottles of various forms of alcohol (various semi-sweet medium-dry Georgian wines including Khvanchkara and Kindzmarauli he favoured, Starka, vodkas and cognac). These made for a very un-proletarian banquet scene.
The drinking was what took centre stage and made the dinner parties what they were with many cruel games and tricks being played on the attendees (especially those who were already too drunk). To exclude oneself from these alcoholic activities was something met with as much anger as declaring oneself a Trotskyist. However, ironic though it seems, Stalin had a very low tolerance of alcohol considering his various health issues, height and lifestyle. He also appeared to find social events, particularly those that had political and ideological dimension, stressful and relied on alcohol to, as put by Mark Schrad in his book Vodka Politics, “keep his inner circle in balance” as well as perhaps increase his intimidating influence and make him look stronger. We can thus effectively reflect on the resemblance of Stalin to the typical caricature of a Russian man drinking vodka; with the Russian people during the Soviet era struggling greatly with alcoholism (consuming on average 8 gallons per person per year of pure alcohol, compared with the US average of 4 gallons per person per year) has a means of escape from concerns financially and socially, and finding pleasure in a bleak life full of constant fear of persecution. The alcohol that many Russians would have consumed during this period would have been fairly cheap to access, and often produced economically at home. This was during the major appropriation of farmland and grain production that took place in the 1920s after Stalin’s mass appropriation of agriculture leading to the starvation of millions of people. As a result of purely Stalin’s dinner parties, in fact, several of his fellow dictators including Khruschev and Beria also became alcoholics.
These parties were said to offer “clandestine means of coaxing of those in the dictator’s inner circle to reveal themselves and others” such as through repeated toasts praising the dictator in rapid succession of shots of vodka, in which failing to finish one’s shot would lead to punishment by forcing more alcohol on them. This gave him a lot of pleasure. Another of these games that Stalin enjoyed featured participants guessing the air temperature outside and being forced to down a shot for every degree above or below the correct value. Fear to impress the tyrant and constant pressure to praise him resulted in drastic actions being taken. For instance, knowing of Stalin’s hatred for Khrushchev and not wishing to pass up on any opportunity to impress him, guests would place rotten tomatoes on Khruschev’s seat (and Stalin would place them directly into his suit!). Often this backfired and random guests would have their pants soiled with these tomatoes, much to Stalin’s humour.
For this, dear comrades, I wish you solidarity and peace for this festive season. May we be united in our hopes for a revolutionary new year and enjoy drinking, partying and having fun (although hopefully we won’t end up like Stalin’s comrades).
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