Browse Items (151 total)

In the German Democratic Republic in 1953, solyanka, a Russian soup, entered the East German cultural melting pot. After the fall of the Berlin wall, it emerged as a symbol for East German regional cuisine. The “soft power” theory of Joseph Nye…

Soljanka is a hearty red stew that originates from Russia, but became popular
in Eastern Germany during the Soviet era. After the unification, the phrase “Ostalgie” was
coined to refer to the nostalgia of former East Germans for the vanished…

The book looks at the culinary history of East Germany. The PDF contains the sections where soljanka was discussed.

This skit is emblematic of the relationship between the USSR and the DDR during this period. It begins by saying that “Deutsch-Sowjetische Freundschaft ist uns nicht nur Herzenssache, sondern auch ein Lippenbekenntnis” and the characters go on to…

An image of an dictionary entry

Alla was born in Berdychiv, but later moved to Israel at 19. She was introduced to solyanka when she was already living in Israel by her husband's family. At the time of our interview she was 47. We were introduced by a mutual friend.

Nataliya was a doctor working with my German host-father in Lower Saxony. My host father, Helmut R., is identified as H.R. in the interview transcription. Nataliya was originally from Ukraine but immigrated to Germany in 1992. At the time of our…

Mikhail D. is probably one of the most well-traveled of my interviewees based on his self description, and while he traveled, he tried a lot of solyanka. Originally from Odessa, Mikhail was 32 at the time of our interview. I met him while taking a B2…

At the time of our interview Valentine was 29 years old and living with her husband and son in Germany. She was originally from Petrozavodsk. We met in a B2 German language class at Leuphana University of Lüneburg.

At the time of our interview Tatiana was 53 years old and working as a professor. She was born in Tambov, but spent her childhood in Lviv and Nizhny Novgorod. At thirty she moved to Moscow. She teaches as a visiting professor at Colorado College and…