HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: sergei@upenn5.hep.upenn.edu (Sergei Borodin)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: Tourist Borodin (was: Refugee Martynov)
Date: 28 Dec 92 19:12:44 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

In article <1hgqe3INN3dp@uniwa.uwa.edu.au> dima@maths.uwa.oz.au redkij mudak 
(Dima Pasechnik) writes:
>A tourist Sergei Borodin writes:
  
  
>>In article <1992Dec22.115542.1@jaguar.uofs.edu> mam18@jaguar.uofs.edu writes:

>>>  My situation
>>>was under a category "bednye rodstvenniki", which was "created" by a stupid
>>>law about some peace of paper from relatives, staying there, that I don't have
>>>any financial obligations toward them.  This "law" was created after 1986, 
>>>to stop at least a part of emigrants, because the autority couldn't use
>>>their "old tricks" any more.

>An interesting example of sovok's law-making (and sovok's law-understanding).

  No, it's rather an interesting example of sovok's English. 
  I highly doubt that anybody can pull out any sense from 
  refugee Martynov description of the law.

>Actually if a person wished to emigrate FROM sovok he had to obtain
>his/her close relatives's in sovok signatures that they wouldn't need
>him/her to feed them.
  
  This is better. But still not perfect - too many pronouns.
  Famous question - "kto na kom stojal". 
  However, I instist that even in this case the law is very 
  reasonable.

>> success.  I'll tell you, boy, not everybody wants to emigrate,
>> some people like to travel. And I tell you one more thing 
>  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>> -- I haven't spent a single minute neither in OVIR nor in the
>> US Embassy. Did I make you jealous?

>Surely. Where you've hidden your parachute? And codes, KGB sertificate,
>etc?

  Well, the sentence above is an interesting (is it?) example 
  of trivial stupidity. I didn't want to reply, but cretin
  Pasechnik asked for it.

>Oh sorry, you are just travelling! You are paynig your money for it, are
>you? 

  Don't tell stupid things - won't be sorry. Yes, I'm paying *my*
  money for my trip - so?

>>  Which one has, tell me. I'm working in a medical center which deals

>Oh, sorry, you are not tourist. You've got your passport from something

 Too much of "sorry". Isn't it? Will you start thinking, mudak?

>like UVS AH CCCP (Dept. of Foreign Connections, Academy of Sciences).
>It's interesting to know how many meat cans you've brought from sovok?

 None. I don't like canned meat. Besides, I can afford filet mignon.

>Surely you'll spend all the money you earn for philantropy, will you?

  No. I won't. I'm not a supporter of socialism.

>Oh no, you are simply much more 'hitrogopy' than that poor guy M.M.. 
>You'll just apply for residency in
>US, without dealing with OVIR and US embassy.

  It's another interesting example of sovok mentality.
  I dare to generalize - sovoks think that everybodies
  deepest dream is a US residency.

>D.P.

  S.B.

Xref: sparky soc.culture.soviet:11585 talk.politics.soviet:10008 soc.culture.europe:10824
From: viznyuk@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet,talk.politics.soviet,soc.culture.europe
Subject: Re: Svjatovyi Boi ?
Date: 27 Dec 92 12:10:56 EST
Organization: Midwest Rat's Hole

In article <1992Dec26.191529.29795@polaris.utu.fi>,
 opaloneva@abo.fi (Olli-Jukka Paloneva) writes:
> In article <15221.2b38722f@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu> ,
> viznyuk@ohstpy.mps.ohio-state.edu writes:
>> ?? "O????Ao ? ?o? -o???O[[
>>
>>Serega
> 
> I'd like to ask of the level your military training and
> ablility to go to an battle?

  I cannot allow myself not to meet lady's request.
Dear Ms. Paloneva. I'm well equiped and ready to
serve you at your earliest convienience. Just
drop me a letter where and when..

Serega, the CavalierGuard
From: dharkins@papillon.ucsd.edu (Dan Harkins)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: GONG!
Date: 29 Dec 1992 00:53:10 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: papillon.ucsd.edu

In article <9212232251@zuma.uucp> Serdar Argic (who is really Hasan B. Mutlu,
h.mutlu@att.att.com) writes:

> to be able to make this distinction. The issue at hand is the
> cold-blooded genocide of Muslim people in Bosnia and Azerbaijan.

BZZZZZZT! sorry, wrong answer, thanks for playing.
From: z_ablesrl@ccsvax.sfasu.edu
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Import/Export research
Date: 29 Dec 92 00:47:20 CST
Organization: Stephen F. Austin State University

Hello all,

	We are doing research on various items that international countries
would be interested in exporting and importing.  The items can consist of
anything from clothing to large machines.  Of course, they must be a legal
product to enter and exit the different countries.  These are some questions 
that we are trying to find the answers to:
 
1.) How would we gather information concerning the legal regulations on
	shipping to or from the Russian countries? 

2.) Who would an individual contact in those countries about shipping
	requirements?  

3.) What kind of licences or paper work does a company need to enter
	that foreign market place?


I really would appreciate any help concerning this matter.  Thank you very
much for your time and hope to hear from you soon.




Sincerely,


Ron Ables

********************************************************************************
Internet Addresses:
			z_ablesrl@ccsvax.sfasu.edu
       			    
				   or
			   
			   sfa1@jetson.uh.edu

**********************************************************************************
From: nikolay@husc10.harvard.edu (Philip Nikolayev)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re:    . .
Date: 2 Jan 93 22:39:19 GMT
Organization: The Kremlin Wall of Harvard
In-reply-to: andrey@leonid.stavropol.su's message of Fri, 25 Dec 1992 21:59:19 GMT

andrey@leonid.stavropol.su (Mishchenko Andrey Leonidovich) writes:

>              uWAVAEMYE
> GOSPODA!
> pOZDRAWLQEM S
> PRAZDNIKOM
> rOVDESTWA
> hRISTOWA.  sOOB]AEM,
> ^TO kISLOWODSKIJ
> OTDEL tERSKOGO
> KAZA- ^XEGO wOJSKA
> WEDET RABOTU PO
> WOZRAVDENI@ KAZA-
> ^ESTWA. pRIGLA[AEM
> ZAINTERESOWANNYH
> LIC K SO-
> TRUDNI^ESTWU.
> aTAMAN, wOJSKOWOJ
> STAR[INA mI]ENKO.

Nu i vesti shliut nam is Stavropolya! Vidat' khleboroby
sovsem okhuyeli na poliakh strany. A mozhet eto Schtirliz
schiff-roffki Herr-at-schidt? As', Andrei Leonidovich?
From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: Apology to Croats and their supporters
Date: 21 Dec 92 21:25:00 GMT
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK

In article <1992Dec21.111855.1@jaguar.uofs.edu> mam18@jaguar.uofs.edu writes:
>Yet... I repeat, yet, Bulgars are NOT Slavs!!!

What does "Bulgars" mean?  Proto-Bulgars, the Turkic tribe that came
from the Volga to the southern side of the Danube in the 7th century,
or Bulgarians, the Slavic nation which constitutes the bulk of the
population of the Republic of Bulgaria?

In the latter case I'm afraid a second apology will be needed.

-- 
 `D'ye mind tellin me whit the two o ye are gaun oan aboot?' (The Glasgow
Ivan A Derzhanski  (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk; iad@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu)    Gospel)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,  Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
From: dharkins@papillon.ucsd.edu (Dan Harkins)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Russian Vodka, etc.
Date: 29 Dec 92 17:46:19 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
NNTP-Posting-Host: papillon.ucsd.edu

In article <1992Dec20.171248.29797@dartvax.dartmouth.edu>
J.Theodore.Schuerzinger@dartmouth.edu (J. Theodore Schuerzinger) writes:

> This vodka was specifically called 'Russian Vodka' -- all it said on
> the label was 'Russian Vodka'. It's not that vodka from Russia is bad
> (Pshenichnaya and Stolichnaya are both good), it's that you shouldn't
> trust any brand of vodka that calls itself 'Russian Vodka' with no
> other name. Also, this *was* the first time I had ever tried vodka....

There's a lot of pirating going on in x-SU regarding alcohol. While in Moscow
I bought two bottles of vodka that said 'Russian Vodka'. One was horrible,
like it came right out of a gascan; the other was smooth and went down
easily. Same thing with Armenian cognac. I was given a bottle of it while
in Karaganda, Kazakhstan and it was GREAT. While on my way out, I spotted
an identical bottle at a kiosk in Moscow and bought it. What a mistake. It
was horrible.

Moral? Well, don't believe the label, and give 'Russian Vodka' another try.

Dan.
Xref: sparky soc.culture.soviet:11399 talk.politics.soviet:9901 soc.culture.europe:10693
From: thietaniemi@cc.helsinki.fi
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet,talk.politics.soviet,soc.culture.europe
Subject: Re: Russian Speakers in Estonia: The Linguistic Approach.
Date: 22 Dec 92 07:04:07 GMT
Organization: University of Helsinki

In article <sorokin.27@ps1.iaee.tuwien.ac.at>, sorokin@ps1.iaee.tuwien.ac.at 
(Zhenja) writes:

> And, do not forget, there are 3 languages in Switzerland, and 
> at least two of them were from previous oppressors (German and French).

Four, if you add Rheto-Rhumainian (Reto-Romania). But it's judicial status
might be different.

Besides, German was never a language of "oppressors" in Switzerland.
In Bern German was spoken from the very beginning. The same goes to French
in cantons like Valais/Wallis.


with best regards
Tapani Hietaniemi, Universitas Helsingiensis
                   urbs fennorum
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
From: aps@sonia.math.ucla.edu (Alexei Stolboushkin)
Subject: Re: FAQ
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 92 23:03:34 GMT

In article <1992Dec22.033855.18776@husc3.harvard.edu> verbit@brauer.harvard.edu (Mikhail S. Verbitsky) writes:
>In article <1992Dec21.085443.28901@math.ucla.edu> aps@sonia.math.ucla.edu (Alexei Stolboushkin) writes:
>
>>A funny thing is that not only this imaginary person got stuck in translation,
>>as a matter of fact, all English translations I ever seen are 
>>``War and Peace'', while Leo Tolstoy used MIP (and not M I/I P) in the
>>original; just another illustration to my recent posting on Soviet vs.
>>Russian language.
>>
>>(for non-Russian speakers: in Russian there were two words with the
>>same pronunciation ``meer'', but spelled differently. One means ``Peace'',
>>and another ``World'', but also ``svet'' as opposite to ``Church''. Leo
>>Tolstoy used the second word; in Soviet language, the spelling is the same.
>>So, numerous translation to English should be marked ``Translated from
>>Soviet'').
>
>It is funny that there are people who don't know the
>story of the title of Tolstoy's novel. Even more funny that
>they still post. Note that this stuff is a part of obligatory
>highschool program on literature.

Indeed that's funny.

>
>For those who were not interested in literature while in school
>I explain. Tolstoy indeed wanted to title his novel as War and World,
>with MuP through izhitsa.

we can now only speculate what did he want. However, the scientific
fact is that Tolstoy used "Mip`" in a handwritten letter to M.N.Lavrov
of March 24-25, 1867. It was actually a draft agreement on publishing
the novel in Katkov's Publishing House (Lavrov was an employee in the
publishing house).

So, in the letter, Tolstoy have crossed ``Tysyacha vosem'sot pyatyj god'',
which was the original name, and have put "BOu'HA u Mip`".

Now, I cannot see what was wrong with my original message.

> Nevertheless, the novel was printed
>under the title War and Peace, MuP through u. Apparently Tolstoy
>did not mind, because in all editions afterwards the title
                          ^^^^^^^^^^^^
>was War and Peace.

that's true that the first edition was printed under the title
"BOu'HA u Mup`". There is no known explanation why did it happen.
However, later the mistake was corrected, and the original name
"Bou'Ha u Mip`" got restored. See for example:

	L.N. Tolstoy, Bou'Ha u Mip`, Moscow, 1913.

>As Bulgakov's hero said, "pozdravlyayu vas, grazhdanin, sovramshi"

As Bulgakov's hero said, "pozdravlyayu vas, grazhdanin, sovramshi"


Generally, you may like to learn a little bit on the subject of
a discussion before participating in. I would agree that we
cannot expect much from a person whose education didn't
continue after Soviet high school, but at least we may expect
him to not demonstrate his ignorance.
>
>Misha.
From: dharkins@papillon.ucsd.edu (Dan Harkins)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: huh?
Date: 29 Dec 1992 00:27:11 GMT
Organization: University of California, San Diego
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: papillon.ucsd.edu

In article <9212222131@zuma.UUCP> sera@zuma.uucp (Serdar Argic, who is
really Hasan Mutlu, h.mutlu@att.att.com or try 708-979-6684) writes:

> [ LONG list of names, relations and causes of death deleted ]

> List of persons attacked by Armenian gangs:
>
>  (a long list)
>

WHAT? Come on Mutlu, this was a 283 line post! If that's not a long
then let's see one that is or are you just making this stuff up?
From: gdr@acs.bu.edu (Dmitry Goldenberg)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: RUSSIAN ROCK
Date: 24 Dec 92 00:32:24 GMT
Organization: Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
Originator: gdr@acs.bu.edu


In article <1992Dec21.230501.515@rivers>, acs_anshakov@rivers.acc.uwrf.edu writes:
|> 
|> HI, PEOPLE !
|> 
|> I COULD SEE THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE AROUND WHO ARE REALLY
|> INTERESTED IN RUSSIAN MUSIC (ROCK, BURDS). WE ALL KNOW
|> THAT IT IS PRACTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO GET GOOD RUSSIAN
|> STUFF IN U.S.. SO, MAYBE, IT WILL BE A RESONABLE PROPOSAL 
|> TO DO AN EXCHANGE OF TAPES BETWEEN PEOPLE WHO ARE INTERESTED
|> IN THIS KIND OF MUSIC ? WE ALL CAN BENEFIT FROM IT.
|> ANY IDEAS ?


YEAH! This is a great idea. I personally would be glad to participate in such an 
exchange. It should be fun to organize this kind of 'free' economy.

I guess what all the people interested in this should do is post the 'catalogs' of what they have. This would allow everybody to figure out what they can offer
and what they can get on the 'market' (supply and demand...). So here's my list:

AQUARIUM				ALISA                 
Blue Album				Energy
Electricity				Block Ada
Taboo					The Sixth Ranger
Radio Africa				Shabash
The Day of Silver
MCI					BASHLACHIOV
December's Children			2 Melodiya disks + selections
10 Arrows
Equinox 
Live in DK Sviazi - 88
Black Rose... / White Rose...

VOSKRESENIE				DDT					
Voskresenie 1981			Periphery
					Pig on the Rainbow
					A Monolog in Saigon
					Ottepel'
					Live in SKK - 88
					I Got This Role
					Concert in the Memory of Tsoi

JUNGLE					KALINOV MOST
Spring in Shanghai			Live (Reviakin solo; acoustic)
					Live (elec.)
					Darza
					Vyvoroten'

KINO					KURIOKHIN
Nachal'nik Kamchatki			Polynesia
Night
The Blood Group
The Star Called Sun
Kino ("Black Album")
					
CREMATORY				ALEXANDER LYAPIN
Strawberries with Ice			Anasha
Zombie

MIKE NAUMENKO				TRILISTNIK			
LV					Matrosskaya Tishina		

VLADIMIR CHEKASIN			ZOOPARK
Nomen Nescio				Music for the Movie
					White Stripe

So, hey, let's do this exchange!

- D.
From: iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk (Ivan A Derzhanski)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: FAQ
Date: 24 Dec 92 16:36:05 GMT
Organization: Centre for Cognitive Science, Edinburgh, UK

In article <1harhkINNjqd@agate.berkeley.edu> muh@physics1 (Yury M. Mukharsky) writes:
[re the orthographic reform whereby the decimal _i_ and the _izhica_, as
 well as the _jat'_ and the _fita_, were dropped from the Russian alphabet]

>Again, AFAIR, Bolshevik's did not drop anything, it was done between 
>February and October. They have enough to blame on them, spare them
>this time.

Who is talking of blame?  I hereby claim that abolishing those redundant
letters was a Very Good Thing.  Whoever did it deserves praise, not blame.

-- 
 `D'ye mind tellin me whit the two o ye are gaun oan aboot?' (The Glasgow
Ivan A Derzhanski  (iad@cogsci.ed.ac.uk; iad@chaos.cs.brandeis.edu)    Gospel)
* Centre for Cognitive Science,  2 Buccleuch Place,  Edinburgh EH8 9LW,  UK
* Cowan House, Pollock Halls, 18 Holyrood Park Road, Edinburgh EH16 5BD, UK
From: linnan@batgirl.cs.hut.fi (Matti Linnanvuori)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: An anti-Semite joke
Keywords: Pamyat, Jew
Date: 3 Jan 93 20:23:11 GMT
Organization: Helsinki University of Technology, CS lab
NNTP-Posting-Host: batgirl.cs.hut.fi


  Who is the favourite writer of Pamyat?



  Andre' Gide.
From: opaloneva@abo.fi (Olli-Jukka Paloneva)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: Bulgarians - descendents of a Finnis tribe?
Date: 21 Dec 92 13:15:43 GMT
     <Dec.20.21.48.06.1992.581@ruhets.rutgers.edu>
     <1h3p3oINNb1a@agate.berkeley.edu>
Organization: Turku School Of Economics
X-Useragent: Nuntius v1.1

In article <1992Dec21.033927.18749@husc3.harvard.edu> Michael Zeleny,
zeleny@husc10.harvard.edu writes:
>Bulgarians are an authentic thorn in the side of the Baltic fascists:
>Orthodox Christians, speaking a Southern Slavic language, but descended
>from an ancient Finnish tribe, who conquered the Slavs of Moesia in the
>seventh century C.E.; the facts are well-known, and incontrovertible.

When Kemal Ataturk put a Bulgarian book "Finland - country of
the White Lilies" as compulsory teaching material many Turks
think that Finns are their relative nation.

Finnish Guard fought successfully 1877-78 in Gornyj-Dublnjak
for Bulgaria and we still have a military song telling about it.

Could some one reveal more facts of Finnish tribes which possibly
were relatives of Turks and Bulgarians?

- Olli -
From: sergei@upenn5.hep.upenn.edu (Sergei Borodin)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
Subject: Re: Communism as a Russian guilt (racist concepti
Date: 24 Dec 92 02:42:05 GMT
Organization: University of Pennsylvania

In article <1992Dec23.182121.18805@husc3.harvard.edu> verbit@brauer.harvard.edu (Mikhail S. Verbitsky) writes:

>	I am not very happy to support Borodin's
>	statements (as I believe that he is antisemite)

  You always surprise me.  Often you sound as a reasonable person,
  but suddenly something clicks and your words become moronicaly
  colored. First of all I don't see any reason even to mention
  my name. Secondly, logic of your words is very similar to the
  following (I remember that you're a mathematician) : I'm not
  happy that this formula is correct, because I don't like the
  personality of the author. Sounds silly, doesn't it? 
  
  And the last thing. Your beleifs are your private matter. 
  But when you publicise them they become accusations, and in 
  this case I would like to see any evidence of my "antisemitism"
  or publically available apologies.
  Your choice.


>	but any sane person should agree here.

>	Misha.

 S.B.
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet,talk.politics.soviet,soc.culture.europe
From: sorokin@ps1.iaee.tuwien.ac.at (Zhenja)
Subject: Re: Russian Speakers in Estonia: The Linguistic Approach.
Organization: Inst. for General Electrics & Electronics, TU Vienna
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 19:14:44 GMT

In article <1992Dec24.122312.1@cc.helsinki.fi> thietaniemi@cc.helsinki.fi writes:

>In article <sorokin.28@ps1.iaee.tuwien.ac.at>, sorokin@ps1.iaee.tuwien.ac.at (Zhenja) writes:

>> You know, Volkswanderung (I definitely do not know english 
>> equivalent, sorry) 

>It's Voelkerwanderung in German. The epoch of great migrations in English.

>> hadn't finished ten ages ago. It is still on the way... 
>> My idea is, that there have to be a reasonable time, when you should stop 
>> going back to history, because it'll bring you NOTHING, but conflict.

>Exactly. One should support only states recognized by The United Nations
>and it's predecessor, the League of Nations.

You again try to consider the world and its history using mathematical 
logic. This will never go. First, even in mathematics it is proven that no 
axiom system is full (Goedel's theorem). Second, real world consists of 
people, not math objects. People tend to act unreasonable (from one's point 
of view) and illegal. Normally, only communists and fascits try to 
think the opposite. Third, it is well understood in law systems and exactly 
this is a reason for the existence of judges and courts. 
In the special case of League of Nations and UN, I wouldn't consider them as 
authoritative international legislators, especially League of Nations. Such 
organizations are very often subject to political games of great players.

Your statement is more or less OK with the situation in Baltics, but 
can you apply it to, say
1. Croatia, Slovenia.
2. Slovakia.
3. Moldavia.
4. Other X-USSR states.
5. Middle East.
6. Iraq.

The restauration of independence and troops withdrawal from Baltics are not 
under the question, but not only because these states were "recognized...". 

>If the occupation of the Baltic states ends, we could conclude that
>the WW II would be definitely over.

For Balts, maybe. For the Europe, no, unfortunately. You see, today's war in 
Balkans has its roots in WW I and League of Nation's policy in the time 
between wars. The conflict about Moldavia is still to come, given the 
rumanian "Romania Mara" mentality and traditions. 

But still, the main topic was not independence of baltic states, but 
rather 
1. Will the end of totalitarian occupation of baltic states 
automatically bring them peace, democracy, human rights, etc.?

2. Does previous occupation give a (moral) right to discriminate the 
descendants of the occupants and the newcomers?

3. What solutions to the current situation are possible, given current 
mentality and inter-community relations.

4. What could be the results of the today's policy of all the participants?


Sincerely, 

Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
From: aps@sonia.math.ucla.edu (Alexei Stolboushkin)
Subject: Re: FAQ
Organization: UCLA Mathematics Department
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 92 01:54:59 GMT

In article <1h88cfINN56t@agate.berkeley.edu> muh@physics1 (Yury M. Mukharsky) writes:
>In article <1992Dec22.033855.18776@husc3.harvard.edu> verbit@brauer.harvard.edu (Mikhail S. Verbitsky) writes:
>>
>>with MuP through izhitsa. Nevertheless, the novel was printed
>
>Also, wasn't izhitsa removed from alphabet before October 1917?
>Yury M.

this demonstrates, by the way, how dangerous is to read postings of a
self-assured ignoramus without a pinch of salt. There is nothing
wrong that a person with Soviet high school education call ``i''
izhitsa, esp.if he is from Harvard. But a person from UC system
is expected to know what izhitsa is.

Regards, --Alosha
Newsgroups: soc.culture.soviet
From: jbm@hal.trl.OZ.AU (Jacques Guy)
Subject: Re: Is Russian vodka bad?
Organization: Telecom Research Labs, Melbourne, Australia
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 02:21:47 GMT

It has much to do with the local ingredients, I should think. When she
lived in France my wife would touch nothing but Wyborowa (Polish, of course),
and swear that Smirnoff (made in France, according to the original recipe, they
say) was ... yech. Not very long ago, at a friends' place, she was served 
(*shudder*) ... Smirnoff! She quite liked it, and has stuck to it since in
preference to Wyborowa. Now that Smirnoff is made in New Zealand, very possibly
from glacier water, or spring water far from pollution sources. There is another
NZ vodka, equally clean-tasting, called... I forgot. Australian-made stuff, on
the other hand, always has an aftertaste. So has, to my palate, Stolichnaya.
There certainly must be a matter of quality control too.

  ...and the best is Sermeq (an Eskimo word), made in Denmark from 2000-year old
  ice shipped from Greenland.