The author is a famous cook in the U.S.S.R. who was a student of history and wanted to preserve the dishes that represented the states of Russia. He makes careful note of how the dish is not prepared and how it used to be prepared. There are only three sources of medieval Russian recipes and they all deal with what the monks ate on various days verses the bishop. Hear with have a person fluent in Russian and a cook recording traditional food that is not tainted (as best he can manage) by the French cooks that were imported into Russia.