In addition, the herring and cod fisheries were pretty robust in the 19th century, too. They bear white, pink, red, blue, or purple flowers with yellow stamens.In general, the tubers of varieties with white flowers have white skins, while those of varieties with colored flowers tend to have pinkish skins. Russian potatoes provide citizens with food and nutrients, and support vodka production as well. Flax plants, also tolerant of cold and harsh climates, export from Russia for end use in textile industry. As a result, potatoes evolved and were bred to be larger so that they could feed more people. Russia’s disastrous entry into World War I in 1914 and the ensuing defeats and hardships increased resentments toward the family, eventually erupting into the 1917 February Revolution. Interestingly, from my research the potato history books skim over the history of potatoes in vodka, and the vodka books do too. In 1536 Spanish Conquistadors conquered Peru, discovered the flavors of the potato, and carried them to Europe. Russia’s potato production has dropped since the fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s, as farms are no longer socialized under the government. In the late 1800s, the modern-day russet potato was born. The potato did not arrive in North America until 1718, when Irish immigrants landing in Boston brought it with them. The Inca Indians in Peru were the first to cultivate potatoes around 8,000 BC to 5,000 B.C. They began growing potatoes the following year in Londonderry, New Hampshire. The high yields of potato crops allowed even the poorest farmers to produce healthy food with very little resources. The potato did not become a popular American food until the 1800s. Potatoes thrive at Russia's northernmost locations, primarily regions between 50 and 60 degrees latitude. When potatoes became widespread, fewer people starved. Not a fan of Russian traditionalism, upon his return to … When a series of non-potato … The Irish Potato Famine, also known as the Great Hunger, began in 1845 when a fungus-like organism called Phytophthora infestans (or P. … The potato, from the perennial Solanum tuberosum, is the world’s fourth largest food crop, following rice, wheat, and maize.. … In 1941, when Hitler invaded Russia, Stalin put an end to the whole German settlement. Potato became Europe's food reserve during the Napoleonic wars, and by 1815 it had become a staple crop across northern Europe. About 100,000 did reach freedom in Western Europe. Potatoes Become One of the Top 5 Most Important Crops in the World But I wanted to research when potatoes were used in vodka. India produces 48.61 million metric tons of potatoes per year. Following the Bolshevik revolution that began in 1905 with civil war and famine, to 1917, when Lenin took over the country, the population of German people in Russia had fallen from about 1,000,000 to 350,000. 3 - Russia, 29,589,976 metric tons of potatoes per year. Potatoes were slow to spoil, had three times the caloric value of grain and were cheap and easy to grow on both large farms and small, backyard lots. Potato plants are herbaceous perennials that grow about 60 cm (24 in) high, depending on variety, with the leaves dying back after flowering, fruiting and tuber formation. Fun Facts About Potatoes Potato Facts: Origins of the Potato. Potatoes didn't come to Europe from their native Peru until around the mid-1500s, yet the first printing of the word vodka is from 1405 . After initial hesitation, European farmers - even those in Russia, where the potato was called the "devil's apple" - began growing potatoes on a large scale. Exactly 320 years ago, in August 1697, a young tsar Peter I embarked on a two-year journey around Europe.