ABSTRACT
The production, consumption, and presentation of food have always had cultural and political meanings. In contemporary urban Russia, food choices seem designed to reflect Russia's entry into European society since the collapse of the Soviet Union and recovery from the economic collapse of the late 1990s. The term "elite" describes those who served directly at court and depended on imperial service, as well as the members of the nobility who were related to court nobles, attended court functions, and participated in the social practices of court and noble culture. Surveying patterns of food service at court and among the elite of the Russian nobility to the middle of the nineteenth century, ending with the reign of Nicholas I, will serve to acquaint those unfamiliar with the situation in Russia during these centuries. This pattern for food service is set out in the manual for householders known as the Domostroi.
