Students, faculty, and residents of Vologda gathered at the Vologda State University (VoGU) on February 22nd to celebrate Maslenitsa, the final day of the traditional Slavic Butter Week. The event featured customary games and a novel offering: a selection of non-alcoholic infusions developed in collaboration with local hospitality businesses.
Denis Dvornikov, acting rector of VoGU, emphasized the event’s focus on promoting a new culture of responsible consumption. “Today we are celebrating Maslenitsa, and we have prepared a lot of interesting things,” Dvornikov stated. “A lot of attention, of course, is paid to the non-alcoholic infusions, which are being presented in Vologda for the first time. The idea is to form a new culture, including the relationship between people and drinks. We, together with the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs of the Vologda Region, have come up with a way to preserve the aesthetic component, but at the same time build the drinks healthy.” He added that the university aims to position sobriety as a trendsetting lifestyle choice, demonstrating that celebrations can be enjoyable without alcohol.
The non-alcoholic infusions were crafted by Ivan Derevesnikov, an ambassador for the Association of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs of the Vologda Region. Guests were able to sample five distinct flavors: a currant-juniper infusion aged on chaga mushroom with currant leaf and a hint of smoke, a horseradish-based infusion with laurel and honey, a grape infusion with fenugreek, a juniper infusion with white grapes and vanilla, and a sugar cane-based vanilla infusion. A non-alcoholic mulled wine was also available.
Artyom Dontsov, a bar manager with the AlfaTor Group of Companies, explained the process of removing alcohol from the infusions, utilizing methods such as centrifugation. “We are presenting our infusions today to show guests that you can have a lot of fun and relax without alcohol, that you can be in company and wake up feeling great the next morning,” Dontsov said. “This is already a global trend, people are massively switching to non-alcoholic drinks, which is very pleasing. We drew inspiration for the recipes from Vologda itself, from the richness of our region. That is why we use different herbs, such as currant leaves and juniper berries.”
Beyond the innovative beverages, attendees enjoyed traditional blini and participated in seven interactive challenges. These included rope pulling, untangling knotted cords with drying biscuits, identifying accurate facts from fairy tales, performing chastushki (short rhyming quatrains), pillow fights, a target game involving balloons, and a dart game. Participants earned tokens for completing the challenges, redeemable for jars of Vologda-made jam.
Maria Lebedeva, a VoGU student, shared her positive experience. “This is the first time Maslenitsa has been celebrated like this at our university. It’s very cool, a lot of people came. The host conducts various contests, a quiz on the history of the holiday. I also completed all the stations with tasks and received a jar of jam for the tokens, I will go home and eat it with pancakes. I especially remember the rope and the one about Russian folk tales, it turned out that I know our fairy tales well.”
The Maslenitsa festivities also took place on Kremlin Square, in Vologda’s parks, courtyards, and libraries, as part of the “Winter of the Russian North” project initiated by Governor Georgy Filimonov.