Word: caviar
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...freeze the bank accounts of the Soviet embassy in Ottawa, Moscow warmed to the possibility of a settlement of the original bill plus interest, court costs and pier charges. While he was at it, Edwards also demanded, and duly received, a case of vodka and a pound of caviar for a celebration party. "Mr. Edwards," said one of his lawyers, "is one of the most unique clients we've ever...
...gourmet business is obviously prospering on the small clientele that is willing to pay $30 per lb. for Scotch salmon or $345 for a 14-oz. tin of fresh Russian Beluga caviar. But the shops are also attracting large numbers of middle class customers who believe food is more than just fuel...
Tyntareva and her customers were part of the Soviet Union's thriving underground economy. This involves more than just the familiar black marketeers, dealing in Levi's and ballpoint pens, icons and caviar, who greet Western visitors around the main tourist hotels. It is, in fact, a second economy, parallel to the official state-controlled one. In a thriving permanent network, illegal and quasi-legal entrepreneurs, speculators and thieves sell hard-to-get goods and services to workers, peasants and even state officials...
...illegal Soviet economy. "It is an extremely corrupt society where graft and bribery of officials is enormously widespread and where stealing on the job is commonplace and far more sophisticated than crude break-ins or thefts at state warehouses." One of the biggest frauds of the 1970s was the caviar caper, in which officials of the Soviet Ministry of Fisheries shipped expensive black caviar abroad in large cans marked "smoked herring." Western firms cooperating in the fraud repacked and resold the caviar. They put the Soviet conspirators' share of the profits into Swiss bank accounts. The swindle is still...
...only flavor available. Kefir, a kind of cross between buttermilk and yogurt, is exceptionally good, as is a soft curd cheese called tvorog. Fruits and vegetables are found only in season, but often have more flavor than those in the U.S. Canned salmon and crab meat are especially delicate. Caviar? Nothing matches Russian beluga, which costs about $27 per Ib. (compared with $420 per Ib. in the U.S.), when it is available...