Pokhlebkin William Vasilievich - culinary specialist, historian and connoisseur of international relations. He gained particular popularity in the study and popularization of cooking. He suggested adding black and green tea to the astronaut's menu. All the works written by William Pokhlebkin were reprinted more than once.
Biography
Pokhlebkin was born on August 20, 1923. Place of birth is Moscow. The real name is Mikhailov, Pokhlebkin is the pseudonym of his father, who was a revolutionary. William Vasilievich, whose recipes of Russian cuisine gained special popularity among the people, noted that his great-grandfather was an excellent culinary specialist, and especially prepared stews. In addition to him, there were no people in the family inclined to the cook profession. William received his name, according to one version, in honor of Shakespeare.
The Great Patriotic War
William Pokhlebkin in 1941 went as a volunteer to the front, completing his studies at school. For his quick wit and knowledge, he was sent to a reconnaissance school for further training. In the battles near Moscow, William received a serious concussion and was forced to continue serving in the regimental headquarters, and as he knew three languages, he was very useful.
In addition, Pokhlebkin served as an orderly in the kitchen, where he tried in every possible way to add variety to the ration of soldiers. Later, he noted that in many respects the skill and talent of the cook affected the mood of his comrades in arms. The morale of the troops depended on him. In 1944, William Pokhlebkin decided to send a letter to the head of the political department, in which he proposed to start training all talented soldiers, because the war was coming to an end. The answer was positive, and soon he began to study German in parallel.
Getting an education
In 1945, William Pokhlebkin began his studies at Moscow State University. He studied at the faculty of international relations. The money that he received during the training, spent on books. He graduated from high school with a single four in five years. In 1952, Pokhlebkin was able to get a doctorate in historical sciences and began working as a junior specialist at the Institute of History. Initially, he worked with the history of Yugoslavia and composed voluminous work on Croatia.
Later, Pokhlebkin began conflicts with the director. Expressing his displeasure, William lost access to government archives, as well as to the library named after V.I. Lenin. In addition, he was forbidden to hold private meetings with representatives of foreign countries. He soon left the Institute of History. The reason was that the academic council rejected the topic of his dissertation. Later he began to work independently, and also noted that he does not like organized work, but prefers personal creative work.
Pokhlebkin William Vasilievich. Russian cuisine recipes
After access to libraries and archives was closed, Pokhlebkin had to stop his previous scientific work. For several years he had to survive. Pokhlebkin William Vasilievich, all of whose books gained popularity in various circles, ate only bread and tea for several years. He noted that with such a diet it is quite possible to continue to work fruitfully. In addition, he admitted that he had lost only a kilogram during this time.
At the same time, Pokhlebkin William Vasilievich, whose Russian recipes are very diverse and interesting, began work on his first book. The book "Tea" was published in 1968. It was written largely thanks to the personal collection of the author, which was collected for many years. Tea samples were sent from many countries of the world; Chinese tea growers, with whom William Pokhlebkin collaborated, provided special assistance.
The rules and subtleties of the kitchen described in this paper have become popular at meetings with dissidents. The result was that it was called "mediocre" and "unnecessary" by many Soviet newspapers. William Vasilievich found out about the similar reputation of his book only in the early 1990s.
Soon in the newspapers, articles about cooking, written by William Pokhlebkin, began to appear. The secrets of good cuisine, which were reflected in them, really liked the readers. Some citizens purchased these newspapers only to familiarize themselves with these articles. In addition, Pokhlebkin before the publication personally prepared and tasted dishes according to these recipes. He did this so as not to let the reader down.
In the 1980s, Pokhlebkin wrote the article "Soya", and in 1990 released the article "The Hard Fate of Russian Buckwheat." As he himself claimed, it was released due to the lack of buckwheat on the shelves.
"History of Vodka"
In 1991, William Pokhlebkin, whose books by that time had gained some popularity among the people, published his study, The History of Vodka. In this work, he tried to find out when the production of vodka in Russia began and in which country they came to this earlier. The reason for writing was a debate in the late 70s of the last century about the priority of vodka production.
During this period, Pokhlebkin managed to obtain admission to the Central Archive of Ancient Acts. In it, he tried to establish when the production of vodka began in Russia. William Vasilievich himself believed that they began to produce it in 1440-1470.
In 1982, as Pokhlebkin mentioned, the Hague court secured the priority of the production of vodka for the Soviet Union.
Murder
The corpse of the writer was found on April 13, 2000. It was discovered, according to one version, by the director of Polyfact, and according to another, neighbors who felt an unpleasant smell. According to doctors, death came as a result of many injuries that were inflicted by an object similar to a screwdriver. At the same time, experts found a high alcohol content in the body of the victim, but Pokhlebkin did not drink. A criminal case was opened, but suspended after a year and a half. The reason for the stop was that the investigation could not find a single suspect. Pokhlebkin was buried at the Golovinsky cemetery on April 15.
Even the version of the murder has not yet been established. Someone suggests that he was killed during a robbery. In this case, no signs of hacking were found. Someone believes that the reason for the murder was revenge, and so on.
Family and personal life
Pokhlebkin William Vasilievich, all of whose books are mostly related to the kitchen, was twice married. The first wife is an Estonian. In marriage, their daughter Gudrun was born. The name is of Old Norse origin. She subsequently became an anthropologist.
The next wife is Evdokia. They met in 1971. At that time, the girl was only nineteen years old, but it was she who took the initiative. Himself Pokhlebkin William Vasilievich, recipes of Russian cuisine which gained popularity among the people, ate quite simply, but during his marriage with Evdokia tried his best to cook something new and varied. In the kitchen he had a lot of different dishes, with the help of which Pokhlebkin showed his talent. He lived poorly enough. When his refrigerator went bad, he went to collect nettles and stored food with it. Soon the son Augustus was born into the family, but two years later Evdokia left. The reason, she said, was her husband’s reluctance to mess with diapers. Nevertheless, Pokhlebkin constantly maintained contact with children who subsequently left Russia.
When his parents died, William Vasilievich’s relations with his brother worsened. He spent the last years of his life alone in Podolsk. He lived in a five-story building on Oktyabrsky Avenue. He had accumulated an extensive library, which contained about fifty thousand books, as well as a lot of newspaper filings. Some came to him during the expeditions. Pokhlebkin also owned 12th century Chinese porcelain. Some sources claim that until 1998, William Vasilievich had a fairly large stock of financial resources, but lost them as a result of various unsuccessful economic operations. He earned quite a bit, but there were rumors that Pokhlebkin had hidden large stocks of money in his apartment. The reason for the small fees was that William Vasilyevich was often simply embarrassed to take money from the publisher.
Films about the writer
- "William Pokhlebkin. The recipe for our lives." The picture tells about the life and work of William Vasilievich. In the film you can see Pokhlebkin's friends and colleagues who talk about him and his life, as well as their attitude to work.
Someone thought he was crazy. Someone suggested that Pokhlebkin is a dissident. Many believed that he had in vain exchanged his talent for writing cookbooks for housewives. However, his talent in cooking turned out to be very popular. With the help of his recipes, many Soviet citizens were able to try themselves in the role of a cook and prepare real masterpieces from simple products. Books by Pokhlebkin are still quite popular.