President Putin’s ‘god-daughter,’ Ksenia Sobchak recently held an infamous party in Russia, with caviar and lobster as key seafood ingredients.
According to Ukraine’s news line Oboz on September 25, 2025, the 43- year-old media personality served these seafood dishes lavishly.
Famous for having once stood for President against Putin, Sobchak hosted the vanity fair same night Moscow was under drone attack.
The lavish affair showed “two Moscows in the same country,” with one side thinking safety, the other partying.
Most Muscovites may have viewed it in a bad light, but it still brought costly seafood to the limelight. Black caviar, oysters and lobster were washed down with champagne to DJ music, irrespective of the drone buzz outside.
Lobster + Caviar
Although lobster dishes are a Western cuisine that reached Russia 250 years ago, they now are a must-have for foodies.
To satiate the craving, Russia continuously imported lobster between 1766 and the 1930s after missing them in the Baltic Sea.
By the 1930s, aquaculture upped crab and lobster landings and sparked exports, according to the Moscow Times.
By the first half of 2023, the eastern European nation was producing 45,300 tonnes of crustaceans each six months.
Caviar on the other hand is a specialty that defines Russian high life, with black and red types being common.
Black caviar like the one at Sobchak’s party comes from the roe of Caspian sturgeon and the Arctic beluga narwhal.
Beluga caviar sells premium at a retail price tag of between $200 and 500 per 30 grams, based on availability.
Red caviar in its part emanates from the roe of farmed salmon, trout and the abundant pollock fish.
Despite the country holding the second position in global caviar production, it still protects this prime industry with extended export bans. Between 2002 and 2011, Russia’s processors could not ship caviar to Europe to protect declining sturgeon in the Caspian and Azov Seas.
Sometimes roe and crustacean dishes combine in cuisine, with one local favorite being the crab stick and red caviar salad.
Thanks to Putin’s ‘god-daughter,’ the caviar riches of Russia have therefore come to light, although in a bad light. The below statistics expand this review with other production resources.
Russia Caviar and Crustacean Statistics
Crustaceans like lobster and crabs make up a significant portion of Russia’s fish and seafood output. In 2021, the total crustacean, mollusc, fish and invertebrate production value hit $5.85 billion, according to Trending Economy. The lowest production value in recent memory was $2.16 billion in 2010.
Russia’s crustacean production volume averaged 45,300 tonnes in half-year 2023, per the Veterinary Medicine and Life (Vetandlife). This volume mirrored that of 2019 but was 15% below the peak production year of 2021.
For caviar, Russia ranked 2nd in 2016 in global production terms, at 49 tonnes, according to Science Agri. This was around half the output of world-beater, China, with its 100 tonnes. Much of Russia’s output comes from the northern region of Vologda Oblast and the Arctic, alongside the southern coasts.
How much caviar does Russia export to Europe?
Russia limits the export of caviar to only 150 kg to Europe, according to SIS International. In the decade ending 2011, there were virtually no exports of the commodity to Europe due to a ban.
Do crustaceans make a big cooked food industry in Russia?
There is a large cooked crustacean industry in Russia, driven by appetite for mainly lobster and other shellfish. Seasonal tallies of cooked dishes from crustaceans and invertebrates clocked 1,900 tonnes in half-year 2023. A growing appetite helped the half-year results increase by 88% annually, per Vetandlife.