Homemade Piroshki
Kyrgyzstan 2012
We stopped at a place called Cold Water on our way to Issykul Lake from Bishkek. It must have been a popular stop for travelers when Russia still operated sanatoriums along the lake shore (for all those workers who needed a rest from the factories) because at least ten concession stands stood shuttered and forlorn.
The Russian population of Kyrgyzstan outnumbers the native Kyrgyz. I was told that the Russians, many of whom were exiled here back in Stalin’s day, long for Putin to bring them back into the fold because they think being a part of the Russian economy would improve their lives. The economy of Kyrgyzstan, like that of Russia, is hampered by corruption, unrest and lack of industry. Like Russia, it relies on export of natural resources. But maybe like Russians of Tolstoy’s time, a hope lingers that the “Tsar” can save them.
These Kyrgyz women, who obviously had forsaken communism for capitalism, stood in the icy wind to sell home-made samsas or piroshki. Of course, I bought one. Filled with cabbage and still warm from the oven, it was delicious.
I used a cartoon treatment on this photo and now I feel a bit bad because it is not flattering to the standing woman. Sorry!