Yaroslavl taverns

by Evgeny Pavlov

And now we are starting another new section of our website — History. We will write some historical notes and stories related to Yaroslavl. Today I'm going to tell you about Old Yaroslavl and its taverns (pub or bar, Russian: кабак, Transliteration: kabak).

Yaroslavl residents acquainted with vodka in early of XVI century. Just about this time residents started to use the word kabak. Alexander Borodkin, PhD in History:

Yes, residents of Yaroslavl drank before vodka was invented and drank a lot. They "wormed a soul" with honey and beer. There was a brewery in each respectful house. And everyone had own secret of brewing.

After a while Yaroslavl would have completely competed with Bavaria if there had not been vodka.

Unlike "joyful" honey and beer everybody was becoming crazy when everyone got drunk. That's why residents initially embarrassed to drink vodka and drank it at home. But the government understood that alcoholism was advantageously. And taverns begone to open.

The first kabak was near the present circus, another was on Gradusova street over the Kotorosl river. The center of trade was an area of Znamenskaya tower.

A peculiarity of kabak was that owners didn't give any snack and they poured out vodka as much as visitors could drink. The owners were giving a drink while the visitors could stood. After they were taken away the street… Wives couldn't enter to kabak.

There were only three pubs in 1630 in Yaroslavl, but by the end of XVII century there were lots of them. Especially there were a lot of pubs along Volga Embankment. Not far form that place there was a market with "fake" vodka. People from the whole country drank that vodka.

via Ярославль кабацкий article

Thursday, April 02, 2009 in History. You can comment.