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W–017 · Documentary photograph and sources

Borscht for Stalin’s Death

On 6 March 1953, the day after Stalin died, Washington restaurateur Bob Seidel offered his customers free borscht. The sign stated the occasion plainly: the death of the Soviet leader. The restaurant was called 1203, after its street number on Pennsylvania Avenue NW.

1. A sign outside restaurant 1203

Waitress Aileen Keenan attaches a sign to the window offering free borscht to mark Stalin’s death. Restaurant 1203, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, 6 March 1953.
Waitress Aileen Keenan attaches a sign to the window offering free borscht to mark Stalin’s death. Restaurant 1203, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, 6 March 1953.
Provenance and sources for frame 1

Displayed file: 2605 × 1737 pixels. Full image record in Russian.

washingtonpost.comView image file

Seidel telephoned newspaper editors himself to announce the offer. Press photographers captured the sign in the window and a customer served a bowl of borscht. A restaurant promotion entered the photographic record of Stalin’s death.

Seidel had used similar offers to draw customers before. During a dairy strike in 1950, he gave away milk. When coffee prices rose in 1954, he advertised inexpensive tea. In 1953, the death of the Soviet leader furnished the occasion.

Over time, the pictures acquired a different address: they were captioned as a free-borscht giveaway at a Ukrainian restaurant in New York. John Kelly of The Washington Post went back to contemporary newspapers and recovered the Washington story, including the restaurant’s name, address and owner. He found no evidence that either the restaurant or Seidel was Ukrainian.

How many bowls were served on 6 March, and how long the offer lasted, is unknown. The newspaper accounts located so far do not preserve those details.

2. A free serving for E. C. Carpenter

Aileen Keenan holds a bowl of borscht as E. C. Carpenter of Cabin John, Maryland, eats from it. Behind them is the restaurant’s free-borscht sign.
Aileen Keenan holds a bowl of borscht as E. C. Carpenter of Cabin John, Maryland, eats from it. Behind them is the restaurant’s free-borscht sign.
Provenance and sources for frame 2

Displayed file: 2323 × 3000 pixels. Full image record in Russian.

washingtonpost.comView image file