RUSSIA
	Ain't That Sweet?

There's nothing locals love more than their honey, and no better place to sample it in all its varieties than at the All-Russia Honey Fair.

13/02/2004 Got a sweet tooth? Looking for the perfect topping for your pancakes? Whether you conduct daily raids on the honey jar or simply like a little extra flavor in your tea, you won't want to miss the 11th All-Russia Honey Fair. Organized by the Russian Beekeepers' Union, the fair typically takes place three times a year -- spring, fall, and, in tune with the pre-Lent festival of Maslenitsa, winter. Among its brightly colored stalls this year is a honey lover's dream, with beekeepers from 52 regions displaying over 60 types of honey, from blackberry to acacia to mint. Besides buying honey of every description, visitors can sample and purchase an assortment of honey-related products, including different sorts of honeycomb and mead, a honey-based alcoholic drink, as well as propolis, a product made from the secretions of bees that is often used in homeopathic medicine. While the vast arrays of honey can be confusing to the novice buyer, the general guideline is that lighter colored honeys are mild in flavor, while darker honeys are more robust.

Vladimir Filonov / MT

Russia's love affair with honey is not surprising for a country that keeps bees in almost every clime, from the sub-arctic to the sub-tropical. A popular sweetener for tea and topping for desserts, honey also serves a variety of functions in Russian folk medicine, treating everything from anxiety to pneumonia. Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Catherine the Great and Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov are among Russia's noted beekeepers.

According to the president of the Russian Beekeepers' Union, Arnold Butov, one of the reasons that the fair is so important is that it gives Moscow residents a chance to buy honey that has not passed through a middleman, as opposed to elsewhere in the city.

"Much of the honey available in Moscow's stores has been artificially sweetened, diluted or in some way tampered with," he said. "It's gotten to the point where many people, especially those who have tasted the real thing, are afraid to buy honey."

Butov also said that all of the honey sold at the fair is guaranteed to be pure, fresh and good for consumption and medicinal purposes.

In addition to offering visitors a cornucopia of bee products, the fair will also feature seminars on everything from technological advances in beekeeping to honey's uses in cooking and folk medicine.

Ira Iosebashvili