Vodka+It's+Literary+Implications

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= VODKA =

**//"The first strikes like a stake, the second dives like a falcon, and the rest flutter around like tiny little birds."' - Tatyana Tolstaya//**
**The History of Vodka:** The word "vodka" originates from the Russian word "voda" meaning water, or as 'The Poles' would say, "woda". The first known distillery was reported in the Vyatka Chronicle of 1174. Poland claim to have distilled vodka even earlier than the 8th century, but has now been classed as a "crude brandy" as it was distilled from wine. In earlier times, production methods were crude and thus vodka often contained impurities. These were often masked with fruit, herbs or spices by distillers.

**Vodka in Russian literature:** All jokes aside, vodka is actually very prevalent in Russian literature. The only problem is, we cannot find out why. Perhaps it's because it's so heavily embedded into Russian culture that even scholars think about it constantly.... we just don't know. Quote from //lovefoolosophy//, a very reliable source: //"99% of "Moskva-Petushki" by Venedikt Erofeev is about drinking. And not only vodka, also denaturated spirit, methanol, eau de cologne and so on."// Vodka is a Russian cultural phenomenon, appearing in jokes, songs and literature.

Fyodor Dostoevsky, Tatyana Tolstaya, Sergei Dovlatov, Venedikt Erofeev, Mikhail Bulgakov and, most probably, every other Russian writer.
 * Famous Russian authors who included Vodka in their works:**

Seeing as it was utterly impossible to find relevant information connecting Russian literature and vodka (even though we all know there definitely IS a connection) we decided to show you some quotes from Will Rogers (an American comedian) and Nikolai Gogol himself:
 * From the horse's mouth:**

//Nobody in the world knows what [vodka] is made out of, and the reason I tell you this is that the story of vodka is the story of Russia. Nobody knows what Russia is made of, or what it is liable to cause its inhabitants to do next.// //— Will Rogers, Comparing Vodka and Russia//

//Pulkheria Ivanovna was most entertaining when she led her guests to the zakuska table. "Now this," she would say, removing the stopper from a flask, "is vodka infused with St. John's wort and sage. If the small of your back or your shoulder blade aches, it really hits the spot. This vodka over here is made with centaury. If you've got a ringing in your ears or shingles on your face, it's just the thing. And this one's distilled from peach pits here, take a glass, what a wonderful smell! If you've bumped your head against the corner of a cupboard or the table when getting out of bed, and a lump's sprung up on your forehead, then all you have to do is drink a glassful before dinner. The minute you take your hand away, the lump will disappear, as if it had never been there at all."// //— Nikolai Gogol, Old World Landowners//

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5PxuiLWuaI&NR=1
 * Vodka not only had a large impact on Russian literature, but also the typical Russian citizen:**




 * //'I drank and poured again. And at that very instant I felt as though I'd fallen through something. Suddenly I felt as though I were on the bottom of an aquarium. Everything swayed, swam away, there were glittering patches of light. And then everything disappeared.' - Sergei Dovlatov//**