banquet campaign

The issues of quotidian conduct and the symbolism of nutrition have hitherto been addressed principally in works dedicated to relatively distant epochs. Utilising the materials of the Ural provinces of the Russian Empire at the beginning of the 20 th century, this article examines the socio-cultural and political circumstances in which the practices of food and alcohol consumption acquired political meaning. The study places particular emphasis on the symbolic meaning of alcohol and associated practices, as well as the symbolic meaning of various dishes, their role and place in self-identification, in forming the image of the enemy and in politicising everyday life in the ideas of contemporaries — activists of the opposing political parties of Russia in the early 20th century. Participants in far-right and far-left political organizations frequently exhibited a similar stereotypical perception of their political opponents, adhering to the same criteria.