Sausage in Exile

Every Russian who grew up in the Soviet Union has a special relationship with sausage. Russian sausage is, after all, more than just sausage.

The Russian word for sausage, kolbasa, has made its way into proverbs, sayings, anecdotes, movies, and works of literature. And kolbasa was one of the products that Russian immigrants craved and missed once they left Russia.

Ukrainian immigrant Alec Mikhaylov decided that, instead of shedding nostalgic tears for a lost delicacy, he would recreate it in his adopted home. He started out by making several kilograms of sausage in his kitchen, and within ten years had turned his passion into a company that today is a major provider of Ukrainian- and Russian-style sausage to outlets in the US and Canada. Mikhaylov’s Alef Sausage Company makes over two million pounds of sausage per year.