Hiring of Hearty Eaters in Russia

[Richter, Laurence Raymond]

Hello there Charlie.

The association of ample appetites and ample figures being indicative of good health and stamina is not rare or new, nor is it restricted to Russia. No candidates for high public office in Germany in the decades following the war had a chance to win if they weren't conspicuously overweight. And look at the evidence right in the Russian language. Remember that popravit'sja can mean either to recover from an illness or to put on weight. And the word for 'worse' in Russian really means 'skinnier.' Remember the Russian joke that I first heard in the 70's: Studies show that 90% of Russian men prefer fat women. The other 10% prefer VERY fat women.


Laurence R. Richter
431 W. Jed Street
Bloomington, IN 47403-3569
Hm 812-334-2523  Cl 812-219-5710
________________________________________
From: SEELANGS: Slavic & East European Languages and Literatures list [SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU] On Behalf Of Charles Byrd [byrdc at UGA.EDU]
Sent: Monday, April 07, 2008 9:48 AM
To: SEELANGS at BAMA.UA.EDU
Subject: [SEELANGS] Hiring of Hearty Eaters in Russia

In the 1981 blockbuster movie, "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears,"  Tonya's father tells
his future son-in-law how in the old days (1920s? 1930s?) potential factory workers were
supplied with a meal, and only those who ate the most were hired.  Can anyone point me to
a source explaining the history and logic of this policy?  Was it that the hungriest were most
deserving of jobs in a strictly moral sense?  Or that high caloric intake would enhance
productivity, a hearty appetite being presumably a sign of good health?   Was this a strictly
Bolshevik policy or one with pre-revolutionary origins?  One of my students is captivated by
the parallelism of this moment from "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" and a similar
reference in the 2007 American movie "Wristcutters" which includes Russian characters.
Here the grandmother says: "We have a saying in  Russia, 'How much you eat, that's how
worthy you are.' My grandpa, before he'd hire anybody, he'd feed them a free meal. Those
who ate the most – that's the ones he hired..." (All at table, in unison) "Cause those were
the best workers."

Thanks,

Charles Byrd
University of Georgia

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