A cook prepares borsch at a March 2021 event in Kyiv to promote Ukraine's bid for UNESCO to recognize the dish as part of the country's historical heritage. Sergei Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images hide caption
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Chef Vladimir Mukhin prepares food at his Chef's Table restaurant in Moscow. Mukhin owns more than 20 restaurants, mostly in Russia, including White Rabbit. Jolie Myers/NPR hide caption
The Russian Chef Who Is Bringing Back His Homeland's Colorful, Classic Cuisine
Chicken blinchiki from Kachka. Leela Cyd/Courtesy of Flatiron Books hide caption
Kachka: The Word That Saved A Family During WWII And Inspired A Chef
NPR journalist Alina Selyukh makes oreshki, a cookie from the former Soviet Union. The walnut-shaped cookies, which have a rich, nutty filling, were popular during a time when people had to make do with limited ingredients. NPR hide caption
NPR's Ari Shapiro shared this Instagram story of the cucumber dish that reminds him of his childhood summers in Oregon. Ari Shapiro/NPR hide caption
Portrait of Barbare Jorjadze by Georgian artist Anuka Beluga. The painting hangs in the Georgian National Library's reading room named after Jorjadze. Giorgi Lomsadze for NPR hide caption
A late 19th-century samovar made in Tula, Russia, a metalworking town south of Moscow. The very first samovar factory opened in Tula in 1778. As demand for samovars grew, the town became almost synonymous with the production of the giant hot-water urns. Sheldon Luskin Collection/The Museum of Russian Art, Minneapolis hide caption
Zakuski tables, like Slava and Luba Frumkin's, are known for their largesse. This spread includes smoked salmon and halibut, pickled green tomatoes, salted mackerel, Herring Under a Fur Coat and Georgian eggplant rolls. Deena Prichep hide caption
A table loaded with Sochi-style treats at Mari Vanna restaurant in Washington, D.C. Meg Vogel/NPR hide caption
There are dozens of varieties of borscht — but at its most basic, it's a beet soup with potatoes, tomatoes and often beef or pork. Flickr/Liz West hide caption
Borscht Make Your Heart Beet? They're Serving 70,000 Gallons In Sochi
A man drinks fresh kvas, the ancient Russian fermented-bread drink, in Zvenigorod, 35 miles west of Moscow. Dmitry Lovetsky/AP hide caption