Putin Vows Support to North Korea After Devastating Floods

another

Russian President Vladimir Putin has offered condolences to North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un over devastating floods that caused untold casualties and damaged thousands of homes, the Kremlin said on Saturday. North Korea said this week it had seen a record downpour on July 27 which killed an unspecified number of people, flooded dwellings and…

Kissel and the Ancient Art of Pudding

Moscow

However strange it seems today, our ancestors described ancient kissel (also spelled kisel in English) as being very different from today’s kissel. First of all, they didn’t drink it—they ate it. It was cooked down to a dense consistency. Hence the “kissel shores” celebrated in Russian fairy tales. Second, kissel was not sweet. Its name…