Hard to be Vegetarian in Moscow? Nyet!

According to many Russian travel guides, it's very difficult to be vegetarian while traveling in that country. Moscow-The Rough Guide states "Russia is not a good place for vegetarians." This isn't necessarily so.

We prepared for the worst for our 16-day stay in Moscow, packing handy aseptic Mori-Nu tofu, soymilk, lentils, soy nuts, etc. However, as it turned out, our non-vegetarian hosts had soy protein nuggets in their house because they enjoyed eating them. The grandmother pointed us to a store across the street from their apartment, which sold soy milk, soy mayonnaise, and soy yogurt. One day, we dined on an incredible vegan Indian meal at a local restaurant. Believe it or not, we also found a bagel shop offering a wide variety of vegan bagels. The vegetarian world is larger than we often think.

Written on one of the soy products, among the Russian letters, was ADM, Decatur, IL. These are the same folks (Archer Daniels Midland) who, in North America, bring us the Harvest Burger, which was previously distributed by Green Giant, and now has been taken over by Worthington Foods, Inc.

While in Moscow, we met with Tatyona Pavlova, chairwoman of the Russian Vegetarian Society and Russian Society for Ethical Treatment of Animals. Their major strategy is to affect the decision makers. The organizations work on government policies and impact views of dietitians and educators. Tatyona is author of a vegetarian cookbook sold in bookstores throughout Russia. She is frequently invited to speak in Moscow classrooms and promotes vegetarian ideals, as well as animal rights.

On one occasion, we were introduced to a journalist who wanted to start a vegetarian magazine in Moscow. He had access to professional writers and designers, computers, and methods of distribution, but needed seed money for printing. Money is tight over there since their currency was significantly devalued this past year.

We also met with a representative from the Hare Krishna, which was preparing and distributing vegetarian food as part of their relief efforts in various parts of Russia including Siberia. It seems many charity organizations have had problems because of graft over there, but the HK say their private system is effective.

We are not making recommendations, but if you would be interested in supporting any of the above ventures, and want to learn more, let us know.