''A History of Vodka'' (russian: «История водки»,
Romanized: ) is an academic
monograph by
William Pokhlyobkin
William Vasilyevich Pokhlyobkin (August 20, 1923 – April 15 (burial date), 2000) (russian: Ви́льям Васи́льевич Похлёбкин, Viliyam Vasilievich Pokhlyobkin) was a Soviet and Russian historian specializing in Scand ...
, which was awarded the
Langhe Ceretto Prize The Langhe Ceretto Prize ( it, Premio Langhe Ceretto, after Langhe region and Ceretto family of wine-makers) is a literary award, introduced in 1991 and bestowed by a jury of international experts to books dealing with food and viticulture
Viti ...
. Although the work had been finished in 1979, it was published just before the
dissolution of the Soviet Union. In his book, in particular, Pokhlyobkin wanted the Russian vodka to be legally produced only from the
rye stuff.
The book
After years of painstaking research Pokhlyobkin concluded that Russia's first grain-based vodka could have been
distilled at the premises of the
Chudov Monastery
The Chudov Monastery (russian: Чу́дов монасты́рь; more formally known as Alexius’ Archangel Michael Monastery) was founded in the Moscow Kremlin in 1358 by Metropolitan Alexius of Moscow. The monastery was dedicated to the mi ...
in the
Moscow Kremlin by a monk called
Isidore
Isidore ( ; also spelled Isador, Isadore and Isidor) is an English and French masculine given name. The name is derived from the Greek name ''Isídōros'' (Ἰσίδωρος) and can literally be translated to "gift of Isis." The name has survived ...
circa 1430. Apparently, the distillation technology spread to the city of
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
itself in 1440s. Pokhlyobkin suggests that both
prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcohol ...
and
drunkenness
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ...
are scourges which encourage one another. He suggests that irresponsible and uncultured ways of consuming vodka make people drunk, not vodka itself.
The later Russian editions include the 2005 softcover issue by
Tsentrpoligraf ().
Criticism
Three years after the publication the book was criticized by David Christian in ''
Slavic Review
The ''Slavic Review'' is a major peer-reviewed academic journal publishing scholarly studies, book and film reviews, and review essays in all disciplines concerned with Russia, Central Eurasia, and Eastern and Central Europe. The journal's titl ...
''. He cast doubt on statistics presented in the book. In Christian's opinion, the definitions of such terms as distilling and state monopoly were found so vague that it became hard to know when Pokhlyobkin offered firm dates for their first appearance. The arguments about the first usage of the word "vodka" and its first appearance were marked as convoluted, messy, repetitive as well as sometimes self-contradictory and unconvincing. Christian also pointed out at anti-capitalist polemics and
Stalinist snobberies of the book.
Another case, tackled by criticism, is the way ''On the Combinations of Water with Alcohol'' by
Dmitriy Mendeleyev was emphasized. It was pointed out that Pokhlyobkin used Mendeleyev's data in a speculative way to ascribe to solution of spirit and water the eminent "biochemical and physiological properties".
See also
*
Protected designation of origin
References
External links
English translation of the book
{{DEFAULTSORT:History Of Vodka, A
Russian non-fiction books
1991 non-fiction books
Economic history of Russia
Books about economic history