Если вчера был ты страшно пьяным, то сегодня будешь страшно трезвым.
Народная мудрость
If yesterday you had a big drunk, today, you have a big head
Folk wisdom
It’s 1 January. Good morning. How are you?
1 January 2017
Vitaly Podvitsky Masterskaya Karikatury
Editor:
The literal translation of the Russian proverb is:
If yesterday you were terribly drunk, today, you’re terribly sober.
BMD
This is a poster for the famous Sov 1961 comedy Самогонщики (Samogonshchiki: The Moonshiners)… click here and watch it (along with another short that comes first)… there’s no dialogue… just fun. Have a drink (or two) and smile!
With the New Year just around the corner, the chance of visitors to Russia not being asked to join the locals for a few celebratory drinks is extremely slim. However, what steps should you take to make sure a traditional vodka session doesn’t leave your head spinning by midnight? RBTH offers useful tips on how best to prepare for a New Year’s feast and avoid its less welcome side effects. When it comes to stereotypes about Russia, there are few more potent than the natives’ supposed attachment to drinking vodka. Foreigners often wonder, “Why do Russians love vodka so much?” Still, with New Year celebrations upon us, another question becomes more topical, “How should you drink vodka with Russians?”
Some attribute Russians’ supposed extraordinary ability to drink a lot of vodka to genetics. However, Russians themselves say that this ability has nothing to do with biology; in fact, it’s rooted in Russian traditions. Often, Russian businessman Artyom Minayev invites foreigners to Moscow restaurants to discuss business; he’s concluded that foreigners don’t know how to drink vodka, saying, “The biggest problem with Europeans, Americans, and the Chinese is that they drink and don’t take any food immediately after. So, after a second or third shot it’s no longer possible to talk to them about work! Russians love vodka because it really does warm you up and because it goes so well with Russian cuisine. When you drink vodka, you should do it with some fatty foods, even if it’s just sour cream! You can have boiled or fried potatoes with it, bread, sausage, cheese, or oily fish. There are numerous snacks that are not at all expensive and that’ll prevent you from getting drunk”.
Many Russians, before sitting down to their New Year feast, consume a raw egg. They say that it’s the best way of making sure that one will last the whole evening and leave the table sober. However, doctors are categorically opposed to this method because raw eggs are the easiest way of contracting salmonella. If you have concerns on that score too, you can just drink a tablespoonful of sunflower oil. On his first visit to Moscow, Santiago Fonseca from Mexico made some thorough preparations for the New Year party he was going to have with his girlfriend’s friends, fearing that otherwise he wouldn’t be able to make it through the night. He said, “I’d read that fat prevents alcohol absorption, so, I drank several spoons of oil and ate two potatoes. It’s hard to believe it, but I remained sober… even having drunk a whole bottle of rather dubious vodka!” Having said that, it’s also very important not to overeat and not to eat too many starchy and sweet foods, despite the fact that fat helps you to stay sober, as they generate more work for the liver and pancreas, making it more difficult for them to process alcohol.
Anastasiya Knezhevich sells numerous varieties of vodka at her shop and spends a lot of time explaining to foreigners how people consume vodka in Siberia, where she’s originally from, saying, “I think the problem with foreigners is that they mix vodka in cocktails and sip vodka slowly. I keep telling them that you have to drink vodka in one go and exhale through the nose and not the mouth. That’s why Russians are capable of drinking a lot of vodka and remaining alive afterwards”.
According to Minayev, at a Russian dinner party it’s important for a foreigner to show that they’re a friendly person. To that end, it’s necessary to drink the first two or three shots, after which it’s possible to take a break to save energy for more to come. He observed, “When a foreigner is ready to have another shot of vodka, they need to take the bottle and fill the glasses of all those present. Once, I was at one dinner where a Japanese guest kept pouring vodka only into his own glass. It was so tactless that nobody wanted to invite him ever again. Incidentally, he never managed to sign the important contracts that he had come to Moscow to sign”.
If none of the recommendations above proves useful in your case, here is another piece of advice from RBTH… first thing the next morning, drink a glass of salty water or pickle brine. This is the most effective ancient remedy against hangovers and headaches… many Russians swear by it.
31 December 2014
Russia Behind the Headlines
http://rbth.com/arts/2014/12/31/how_to_drink_vodka_42725.html
READ MORE:
The basics of the best Russian drinking toasts
Russian hangover remedies: Cucumbers, caviar, and a bath
The top 10 requirements for a stereotypical Russian New Year
“I’m NEVER going to drink that much EVER again”… how many times have we all heard that one? Don’t worry… I’ve got the aspirin, coffee, Rolaids, and sympathy… I’ve been there… I’ve prayed to the Great Goddess Commodia more than once in my time…
BMD
Voices from Russia 
18 October 2013. Sergei Yolkin’s World. Events of the Week in Cartoons by Sergei Yolkin: 7-11 October 2013
Tags: Aeroflot, airlines, Aleksandr Povetkin, boxers, boxing, cartoons, Dairy, dairy industry, drunkenness, editorial cartoons, Heavyweight, Heavyweight Champion, International Boxing Organization, Lithuania, political commentary, politics, Russia, Russian, Sergei Yolkin, True Crime, Vladimir Klichko, World Boxing Association
Events of the Week in Cartoons by Sergei Yolkin: 7-11 October 2013
Sergei Yolkin
2013
******
Dr Onishchenko is the equivalent of the US Surgeon General. Vladimir Klichko and Aleksandr Povetkin had a well-publicised match in Moscow last week, ending in victory for Klichko, although Povetkin showed much spunk and “heart”. Isaev resigned his posts with the United Russia party after it came out that his assistant Aleksandr Poglazov was kicked off an Aeroflot flight for drunken behaviour and Isayev threatened the cabin crew with dismissal and personal harm.
BMD
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Sergei Yolkin peeks at the opposition between Klichko and Povetkin, Gosduma Deputy Andrei Isayev and Aeroflot, and Head Sanitary Doctor Gennady Onishchenko and Lithuanian dairy products.
11 October 2013
Sergei Yolkin
RIA-Novosti
http://ria.ru/caricature/20131011/969295384.html