William Pokhlyobkin

William Vasilyevich Pokhlyobkin (August 20, 1923 – April 15 (burial date), 2000) (Russian: Вильям Васильевич Похлёбкин, Viliyam Vasilievich Pokhlyobkin) was the foremost expert on the history of Russian cuisine and the author of numerous culinary books. His A History of Vodka has been translated into a number of languages, including English. Pokhlyobkin was also an expert in the history of the diplomacy and international relations of Russia, as well as a geographer and a journalist.

William Pokhlyobkin was born to Russian revolutionary Vasili Mikhailov (Михайлов Василий Михайлович). "Pokhlyobkin" was Mikhailov's underground nickname, derived from the word "pokhlebka" or stew. Vasili named his son after Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (VIL is an acronym which turned into William).

He took part in the German-Soviet War as a private. After his discharge from service, he studied at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations from 1945–1949, and later did postgraduate courses in the Institute of History of the USSR Academy of Sciences. He became a Kandidat of Historical Sciences and a research member in the Institute of History in 1953. He founded the journal Scandinavian Collection ("Скандинавский сборник") and was its chief editor from 1955-1961. He was later a member of the editorial collegium of the journal Scandinavica.

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