Russia is no longer a world power, as its economy is meagre and shallow. It is, however, a regional power that has a say in the matter in the area of the Caucasus and the Middle East. But Russia, certainly, does not interfere if its vital interests are at risk, like in the Balkans.
When Mr Putin first became president, the country was in a severe credit crunch and under International Economic Control, as the "former powerful USSR had to get money from the International Monetary Fund to pay salaries and pensions".
Vladimir Putin was president of Russia from 2000-20008 and was re-elected to the presidency in 2012.
The following year, on June 23, 2013, Putin impeded the US-Russian relations, when he granted asylum to Edward Snowden, who is wanted by the United States for leaking classified information from the National Security Agency. Putin was, also, criticised for his anti-gay laws.
In September 2013, the New York Times published a piece by Putin titled “A Plea of Caution from Russia”. In this article he spoke against the US decision of attacking Syria, stating that such a military move would escalate violence and turbulence in the Middle East. Furthermore, he warned the United States against launching military action in Syria, threatening that Russia has “plans” if such a plot took place.
Simultaneously, he said that Russia would support a UN resolution on punitive military strikes if it were proved that Damascus used poison gas against its own citizens. He added, however, that the possibility that the Syrian government's forces could use chemical weapons at a time when they were predominant and aware of the potential consequences, was ridiculous.
Fortunately, the crisis was averted, when Russia and the United States reached an agreement, whereby all deadly weapons would be removed or destroyed.
Apparently, American non-governmental organizations, that had supposedly interfered with the Russian elections, were closed down, under specific accusations corresponding to those that the Americans make against the Russians. Moreover, Russia is surrounded by NATO countries, like the Baltic Democracies, and whatever happened in Georgia and Ukraine were targets intending to isolate Putin from his followers.
Slowly he started making his country well known through energy "Nord Stream" and sophisticated arsenal used in the Syrian war, such as fighter planes with unlimited potentials. An impression was given that he was building a new, significant, military power.
Slowly he started making his country well known through energy "Nord Stream" and sophisticated arsenal used in the Syrian war, such as fighter planes with unlimited potentials. An impression was given that he was building a new, significant, military power.
On the 18th March 2018, Putin was re-elected as president with a 77% of the vote, despite allegations of fraud.
During the Mundial, which took place, successfully, in Moscow, Russians offered graceful hospitality to more than three million tourists. And as president Putin said: “We smashed all myths and prejudices”.
As I had written on a post of my blog, called “RECENT NEWS”, of the 6.5.2018:
“During large anti-Putin demonstrations, across Russia, the protesters were chanting: “He is not our czar!” Thousands were arrested, including the leader of the opposition and anti-corruption campaigner Alexei Navalny."
Mr Putin is certainly not a democratic leader, but paradoxically, he is quite popular in Russia because he helped the country to partly recover from poverty and to elevate its position, globally.
(The information for this post is mainly from the press like the Guardian, the New York Times and Estia and talk shows on Greek TV stations, the BBC, France 24, CNN etc, all of whom I sincerely thank).
Here are a few recipes for delicious Russian dishes.
When the vegetable mixture is cooked add it to the saucepan with the remaining tomatoes and the boiled meat. Simmer, partly covered, for 10-15 minutes until piping hot. Taste for seasoning, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with soured cream.
This is one of the best liver pates.
3 tbsp vegetable oil
Here is a recipe for a Russian Easter dessert. As I usually prepare this delicious sweet with Greek anthotyro, I don't have to drain the cheese.
1 ½ kg (3 lb) cottage cheese
2-3 tbsp butter, at room temperature, optional
A delightful Russian dessert.
Trim 12 of the ladyfingers halves, tapering them at one end. Arrange these halves side by side, curve side down, on the bottom of a 1 ½ pint (3 cup) charlotte mould, with the tapered ends meeting in the centre.
(The information for this post is mainly from the press like the Guardian, the New York Times and Estia and talk shows on Greek TV stations, the BBC, France 24, CNN etc, all of whom I sincerely thank).
Here are a few recipes for delicious Russian dishes.
BORSHCH
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| Ready to Enjoy |
Here is the recipe for the famous Russian soup, which is a meal in its self.
4 medium-sized ripe tomatoes, peeled, de-seeded and finely chopped
60 g (2 oz) butter
120 g (4 oz) onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
500 g (1 lb) beetroot, peeled and coarsely grated
½ a celeriac, peeled and coarsely grated
1 parsnip, peeled and coarsely grated
½ tsp sugar
2 tbsp vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1625 ml (6½ cups) beef stock
500 g (1 lb) potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
500 g (1 lb) cabbage, cored and finely shredded
500 g (1 lb) boiled brisket, cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tbsp trimmed and finely chopped parsley leaves only
250 ml (1 cup) or more sour cream
Sauté the onions and garlic in butter for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and lightly browned. Stir in the beetroot, celeriac, parsnip, half the tomatoes, the sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and an ample 375 ml (1 ½ cup) beef stock and simmer gently for 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, pour the remaining beef stock into a large saucepan and add the potatoes and shredded cabbage. Bring to the boil and simmer, partly covered, for 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart.
When the vegetable mixture is cooked add it to the saucepan with the remaining tomatoes and the boiled meat. Simmer, partly covered, for 10-15 minutes until piping hot. Taste for seasoning, sprinkle with chopped parsley and serve with soured cream.
FISH IN ASPIC
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| Osetrina Zalivnaya |
A superb first dish of the Russian cuisine.
Fish stock:
2 ½ pints (5 cups) cold water
2 kg (4 lb) fish trimmings + heads
2 medium-sized carrots, scraped
4 sprigs parsley
2 celery stalks with leaves, trimmed and coarsely chopped
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
5 cloves
2 ½ tsp salt
1 tsp black peppercorns
4 fresh halibut or sturgeon stakes, weighing 500 g (8 oz) each
Aspic:
15 g (½ oz) powdered gelatin
6 tbsp water
4 egg whites
Place the water fish trimmings in a large saucepan, with the vegetables, vinegar, bay leaf, cloves, salt and peppercorns. Bring to the boil, and simmer very, very gently for 20 minutes and remove the carrots with a slotted spoon. Then continue simmering the stock undisturbed for 40 minutes more.
Strain the stock through a fine sieve, pressing down on the vegetables and fish trimming with the back of a wooden spoon, to extract all their juices before discarding. Bring the stock to the boil, over high heat and add the fish stakes. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 8 minutes or until the fish is firm to the touch. Do not overcook. Transfer the fish to a dish and cut each steak in half.
There should be about 1 ½ pints (3 cups) of stock in the saucepan if less add cold water; if more boil rapidly until reduced to 1½ pints (3 cups).
Stir the gelatin into the cold water and let it soften for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whip the egg whites to a foam. Bring the stock to the boil and stir in the softened gelatin and the egg whites. Boil until the aspic begins to froth and rise, stirring constantly with a whisk. When it threatens to overflow, remove the saucepan from the heat and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
Then pour the entire contents into a sieve which is placed over a bowl and double lined with cheesecloth. Allow the aspic to drain through, slowly, without disturbing it at all. Discard the contents of the sieve and taste the aspic for seasoning. It should be tasty and flavoursome. But add more salt if necessary.
Slice the carrots and arrange them in concentric circles in the bottom of a 3 – 3 ½ pint (6-7 cup) mould, about 3 inches (7.5 cm) deep. Sprinkle the carrots evenly with aspic until they are half submerged. Place the mould into the refrigerator to set, for at least one hour. By this time the rest of the aspic should be cool. Arrange half the fish, in a single layer over the carrots and pour in just enough aspic to submerge them and refrigerate for 1 hour. Then arrange the remaining fish evenly on top, pour the remaining aspic over and refrigerate for 2 hours until firm.
To turn out the aspic, run a flexible, sharp knife around the side of the mould and dip the bottom in hot water for a few seconds. Place a dish over the mould and invert them both. The aspic should slide out easily.
Serve with a green salad and a glass of white wine.
Famous small Russian savoury pies with a meat or potato filling.
PIROZHKI
Famous small Russian savoury pies with a meat or potato filling.
Pastry:
500 g (1 lb) plain flour
½ tsp salt
240 g (8 oz) butter cut into small pieces
6-10 tbsp iced water
Filling:
60 g (2 oz) butter
360 g (12oz) finely chopped onions
750 g (1 ½ lb) minced beef
3 hard-boiled eggs, finely chopped
5 tbsp finely chopped dill
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the pastry, place the flour, salt and butter into a deep bowl and rub together until it resembles breadcrumbs. Pour in 6 tbsp of iced water altogether and gather the dough into a ball. If it crumbles add more iced water, a spoonful at a time, until the particles adhere.
Roll out the pastry into a long strip and fold in three, turn the packet over and repeat the entire procedure twice more. Then cover and refrigerate each time for 15 minutes, ending with a folded packet. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the filling, sauté the onions in butter, over medium heat, for 8-10 minutes until the onions turn soft and translucent but not brown. Stir in the minced beef, mashing it with a fork to break up any lumps. Cook briskly until no traces of pink remain.
Placed the cooked minced meat into a large bowl with the chopped hard boiled eggs, dill, salt and pepper, mix thoroughly and taste for seasoning.
Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Roll out the pastry into a circle and cut out as many circles as you can with a 7.5 cm (3 inch) pastry cutter. Gather the scraps together into a ball and roll out again, cutting additional circles.
Place a tablespoonful. of filling in the centre of each circle, fold the pastry over the filling and seal the edges with a fork. Place the pirozhki side by side on a tin lined with baking parchment and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown.
Serve as an hors-d'oeuvre with a glass of vodka.
LIVER PATE
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| Pashtet |
This is one of the best liver pates.
3 tbsp vegetable oil
500 g (1lb) calf’s liver, carefully trimmed and diced
30 g (1 oz) butter
1 carrot, scraped and coarsely chopped
105 g (3 ½ oz) chopped onions
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
120 g (4 oz) butter softened
Sprigs of parsley
Sauté the liver in vegetable oil until golden brown, stirring constantly and scrape into a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in the same pan and sauté the carrot and onions until soft but not brown. Stir in the salt, pepper and nutmeg, and then sprinkle with chopped parsley and beat in the butter, a spoonful at a time. Blend the mixture in a food processor until smooth and velvety. Taste and season
accordingly.
BEEF STROGANOFF
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"Bef Stroganov", created in the late 19th century for a Russian count, has become one of the world's famous dishes.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
250 g (½ lb) mushrooms, sliced
500 g (1 lb) fillet steak, sliced
1 tbsp plain flour
Salt and freshly ground white pepper to taste
120 ml (4 liquid oz) cream
125 ml (½ cup) beef stock
1 tsp hot mustard
1cup chopped parsley
Sauté the sliced onion in olive oil, over medium heat, around 15 minutes, adding a little water when and if necessary. Add the crushed garlic and cook for 2 minutes, add the butter and the mushrooms and cook for 6 minutes until completely cooked. Season with salt and freshly ground white pepper, tip into a plate and reserve.
Mix the flour with salt and pepper, in a bowl and toss the steak in seasoned flour. Sauté the steak in a little olive oil for 3-4 minutes until brown. Return the onions and mushrooms into the frying pan. Mix the cream, beef stock and mustard together, pour into the pan and cook, over medium heat for 5 minutes more.
Serve sprinkled with parsley with noodles or rice.
PASKHA
Here is a recipe for a Russian Easter dessert. As I usually prepare this delicious sweet with Greek anthotyro, I don't have to drain the cheese.
1 ½ kg (3 lb) cottage cheese
2-3 tbsp butter, at room temperature, optional
75 g (2½ oz) crystallized fruit, chopped
Vanilla
250 ml (1 cup) double cream
4 egg yolks
210 g (7oz) sugar
75 g (2½ oz) blanched almonds, toasted
75 g (2½ oz) extra crystallized fruit
Drain the cottage cheese of all its moisture by placing it in a colander lined with a double lining of cheesecloth and by weighing it down with a heavy pot. Allow the cheese to drain for 2-3 hours.
Meanwhile, place the crystallized fruit and the vanilla in a small bowl, mix well together and allow to rest for one hour.
Rub the cheese, with the back of a wooden spoon through a fine sieve, set over a large bowl, with the back of a wooden spoon. Beat the butter, if using, into the cheese and set aside.
Heat the cream, over high heat until bubbles form around the edge of the saucepan. Beat the egg yolks for 1 minute then add the sugar and whip until pale and thick. Slowly pour the hot cream in a thin stream, into the whipped yolks, still beating, and return the mixture to the saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring constantly until the mixture thickens into a custard, do not allow it to boil, because it will curdle.
Stir in the crystallized fruit and cool over a bowl of ice cubes stirring constantly with a metal spoon until completely cold. Then gently but thoroughly fold the custard into the cheese mixture and stir in the chopped almonds.
Spoon the mixture into a mould, lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth long enough to hang over the sides of the mould. Cover the paskha, gently, with the cheesecloth and set a weight directly over. Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight until the sweet is firm.
To turn out, unwrap the cheesecloth and invert of a flat dish. Serve garnished with almonds and fruit.
CHARLOTTE RUSSE
A delightful Russian dessert.
12 -16 ladyfingers, split in half lengthwise
5 egg yolks
120 g (4 oz) sugar
250 ml (1 cup) milk
Vanilla
1 ½ tsp powdered gelatin, softened with 3 tbsp water
12 tbsp double cream
Raspberry Puree:
600 g (1lb 3 oz) frozen raspberries, defrosted and strained
1 ½ tbsp. fine castor sugar
2 ½ tsp kirsch or brandy
Trim 12 of the ladyfingers halves, tapering them at one end. Arrange these halves side by side, curve side down, on the bottom of a 1 ½ pint (3 cup) charlotte mould, with the tapered ends meeting in the centre.
Stand the remaining ladyfingers, side by side, curve side out, around the inside of the mould.
Beat the egg yolks briefly and gradually add the sugar and beat until the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Warm the milk with the vanilla in a small saucepan, over moderate heat until bubbles appear around the edges of the saucepan. Slowly add the hot milk on to the eggs beating constantly. Cook over very low heat, stirring all the time until the mixture thickens into a custard, heavy enough to coat a spoon. Do not let it boil, or it will curdle.
Stir in the gelatin off the heat and when it is completely dissolved, strain through a fine sieve, set over a large bowl. Beat the cream to stiff peaks.
Place the custard over ice cubes stirring for 5 minutes at least, or until cold and gently fold in the whipped cream with a metal spoon.
Pour the mixture into the prepared mould, smooth the top, cover with cling film and refrigerate for 4-5 hours.
For the raspberry puree, rub the raspberries with the back of a wooden spoon, through a fine sieve, set over a mixing bowl. Stir in the sugar and the liqueur of your choice, cover tightly with cling film and ice until ready to serve.
To turn out the Charlotte, place a flat serving dish on the top of the mould, turn them both over and gently remove the mould.
Serve the sweet garnished with fresh raspberries and mint leaves and a bowl of raspberry puree.
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| By the Russian Impressionist Painter Alexey Ryzhkov |
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