Blood Pressure and the North of Russia

In Siberia, there is a common belief relating to the effects of living in such a cold, northerly environment on people's blood pressure.

Nine months of this can't be good for you, can it?

Book review: Gulag: A History by Anne Applebaum

Given as a present to take on my first trip (to inform or to put the fear of god up me?), ten years later I finally finished this impressive work.

Russian food in the UK

When you live abroad for a while, especially when you're talking years, you pick up a taste for the local food, eating habits which stay with you. You miss elements of British food and certain products when you're over there - I remember wanting malt loaf for about a month and having to make do with a dark, fruit bread. Equally, this leads to similar quests for particular delicacies back in Britain...

beer snacks

Recipe: Shortbread with Curds/ Рецепт: Сочень с Творогом

The place where I worked in Russia had its own cafe and they prepared the food in a home-cooked way, but on a larger scale. One of the delights there was the sochen s tvorogom, shortbread with curd filling.

We had two packs of curds in the fridge and the plastic wrapping was starting to expand. They needed using up and there was only one thing for it... shortbread and curds on an industrial scale!

Russian-style shortbread with curds

Tips: Russian Railways

If the very mention of the Trans-Siberian Express fill you with wonderment and a longing for adventure, read on for some tips on long, Russian train journeys.

Adler Train Station

Tales of the Russian Post Office #1

Russia... why queue anywhere for 10 minutes when you can wait for over an hour? I'm beginning to suspect that if there were bread queues in the Soviet Union, it wasn’t for the lack of it but for the inefficiency of people serving.

Russian Post Office/ Почта России

This behemoth of an organisation is as necessary as it is frustrating... and as bewildering to a foreign user. It's one of the most bi-polar of instituions: one day they'll help you wrap a parcel, giving you the paper for free; another day (that's most other days) they are obtuse and the proverbial mule.So, here are some tips.