How did Soviet leaders celebrate the New Year?

Vladimir Lenin usually worked during the New Year holidays. Only in the last years of his life did he begin hosting celebrations at his home in Gorki, inviting children from neighboring villages. They were given a few candies and simple lumps of sugar – times were hard.

Joseph Stalin, meanwhile, would celebrate the holiday with large feasts in the Moscow Kremlin, featuring performers who performed on stage in front of the leader's desk and were then invited to share wine with him later. He also enjoyed home gatherings with close relatives and comrades: Marshal Budyonny, for example, once entertained him by playing the accordion. All kinds of alcohol were on the table, including Stalin's favorite Georgian wine (‘Khvanchkara’, a natural semi-sweet red wine). However, he often drank plain water, poured from a separate decanter.

Nikita Khrushchev introduced the fashion of celebrating the New Year at work among colleagues. He invited specialists from various fields to his Moscow Kremlin feasts, where he summarized the work and made plans for the future. Khrushchev personally ensured that all guests at the table drank constantly. He himself used a double-bottomed shot glass, which held very little alcohol.

Leonid Brezhnev, however, promoted the idea that "New Year's is a family holiday". Under his rule, boisterous feasts in the Moscow Kremlin ceased. At home or at his ‘dacha’, surrounded by family and close friends, he danced, reminisced about the past and sang war songs. Celebrations could continue intermittently until January 2. He limited his alcohol consumption to just Soviet champagne and the bitter ‘Zubrovka’ liqueur.