War! 

It’s worth noting that the Moscow being sung about in Great Comet is on the cusp of being largely burned to the ground. By Russians.

As soon as Napoleon and his Grand Army entered Moscow, on 14 September 1812, the capital erupted in flames that eventually engulfed and destroyed two thirds of the city. The fiery devastation had a profound effect on the Grand Army, but for thirty-five days Napoleon stayed, making increasingly desperate efforts to achieve peace with Russia. Then, in October, almost surrounded by the Russians and with winter fast approaching, he abandoned the capital and embarked on the long, bitter retreat that destroyed his army.

 All eyes on the Great Comet

The Great Comet of 1811, formally designated C/1811 F1, is a comet that was visible to the naked eye for around 260 days, the longest recorded period of visibility until the appearance of Comet Hale–Bopp in 1997. In October 1811, at its brightest, it displayed an apparent magnitude with an easily visible coma (the aura around the comet itself).

At the midpoint of War and Peace, Tolstoy describes the character of Pierre observing this "enormous and brilliant comet [...] which was said to portend all kinds of woes and the end of the world." The comet was popularly thought to have foretold Napoleon's invasion of Russia (even being referred to as "Napoleon's Comet") and the War of 1812, among other events.

In Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Pierre witnesses the comet. When asked why the comet made it into the title of the show, the composer Dave Malloy said it was for "for cosmic epicness.”

The year 1811 turned out to be particularly fine for wine production, and merchants marketed "Comet Wine" at high prices for many years afterwards. Even some fifty years after the harvest, John Timbs wrote in 1862, “Who has not heard of the comet wine of 1811?”  Just over a decade later Charles Hindley defined “comet wine” as one “of superior quality”.  He noted that this was perhaps “because the comets themselves exercise some chemical influence on them.”   

 The Great Comet is mentioned in Pan Tadeusz by Adam Mickiewicz; and in Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. The Shawnee military leader Tecumseh, whose name was translated as "shooting star", claimed the appearance of the comet as a favorable omen to expand his pan-Native American alliance. 

 Caviar by the bowlful

What’s more Russian than caviar? Caviar comes from one fish and that fish is the sturgeon—one of the oldest species on earth. Some estimates suggest that sturgeon have been around for an astonishing 250 million years. Sturgeon have been found weighing over one ton and can live to be over a hundred years old. As food, they were known for their mild flavor, but now are more famous for their by-product: caviar. The most prized, Beluga, is found only in the Caspian Sea.

Sturgeon were not originally fished for their roe. The fish were caught and eaten just like any other, but the fisherman found that many of the female sturgeon were filled with roe. Not wanting this slightly salty by-product to go to waste, the fishermen ate it, often using it as a flavoring on their porridge or simply eating it by the bowlful. Cereal bowl of caviar, anyone??

Today, a new technique of massaging the eggs from a fish—without killing or even cutting the fish open—could make caviar more abundant, more affordable, and more accessible to all. Best of all, says Angela Köhler, the German scientist who has spent nine years developing the new production system, "no-kill caviar" — also being called "cruelty-free caviar"— could help reduce demand for black market caviar and save endangered wild sturgeon from being hunted to extinction.

So, break out your cereal bowl and get ready for a new kind of caviar!