What is "antonovka"

Antonovka or Antonówka is a group of late-fall or early-winter apple cultivars with a strong acid flavor that have been popular in Russia ( Soviet Union and the Russian Empire) as well as in Poland. The most popular Russian variety is Common Antonovka (Антоновка обыкновенная), from which other cultivars derive. Poland has two varieties: Antonówka Zwykła (same, as in Russia) and Antonówka Biała also known as Śmietankowa (Antonówka White or Creamy) with considerably larger and whiter fruit ripening in late September, but also a shorter shelf-life.

Its popularity is explained by the Antonovka tree's ability to sustain long harsh winters typical for some regions of Eastern Europe and Russia and for its superior fruit preservation qualities. Sometimes nicknamed "the people's apple" (народное яблоко), the Russian variety was especially popular among the dacha owners, and remains widely grown at dachas in many Post-Soviet states. Due to the relatively low ratio of sugars in the fruit, Antonovka apples are especially well-suited for apple pies and late apple wine. The taste of the wine is noticeably lighter than wine from sweeter cultivars. In Poland, Antonówka is used mostly for apple preserves. Antonovka is a cultivar of vernacular selection, which began to spread from Kursk region of Russia in the 19th century. While the fruit-bearing trees have not received a wide recognition outside the former Soviet Union, many nurseries do use Antonovka rootstocks, since they impart a degree of winter-hardiness to the grafted varieties.

On August 19, 2008 the monument to Antonovka apple was unveiled in Kursk. The sculpture was by Vyacheslav Klykov and has a diameter of 1.5 meter. Ivan Bunin's early short story, Antonov Apples (1900), is a kind of ode to this apple cultivar as a lyric metaphor to the departing world of Russian landed gentry.

Antonovka is the name of several rural localities in Russia.

Modern localities

• Antonovka, Arkharinsky District, Amur Oblast, a selo in Antonovsky Rural Settlement of Arkharinsky District of Amur Oblast
• Antonovka, Mazanovsky District, Amur Oblast, a selo in Krasnoyarovsky Rural Settlement of Mazanovsky District of Amur Oblast
• Antonovka, Zavitinsky District, Amur Oblast, a selo in Antonovsky Rural Settlement of Zavitinsky District of Amur Oblast
• Antonovka, Bizhbulyaksky District, Republic of Bashkortostan, a village in Yelbulaktamaksky Selsoviet of Bizhbulyaksky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan
• Antonovka, Gafuriysky District, Republic of Bashkortostan, a selo in Beloozersky Selsoviet of Gafuriysky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan
• Antonovka, Karmaskalinsky District, Republic of Bashkortostan, a village in Yefremkinsky Selsoviet of Karmaskalinsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan
• Antonovka, Meleuzovsky District, Republic of Bashkortostan, a village in Shevchenkovsky Selsoviet of Meleuzovsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan
• Antonovka, Belgorod Oblast, a selo in Grayvoronsky District of Belgorod Oblast
• Antonovka, Bryansky District, Bryansk Oblast, a village in Suponevsky Rural Administrative Okrug of Bryansky District of Bryansk Oblast
• Antonovka, Gordeyevsky District, Bryansk Oblast, a village in Unoshevsky Rural Administrative Okrug of Gordeyevsky District of Bryansk Oblast
• Antonovka, Chuvash Republic, a vyselok in Chuvashsko-Sorminskoye Rural Settlement of Alikovsky District of the Chuvash Republic
• Antonovka, Guryevsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast, a settlement in Dobrinsky Rural Okrug of Guryevsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast
• Antonovka, Ozyorsky District, Kaliningrad Oblast, a settlement in Krasnoyarsky Rural Okrug of Ozyorsky District of Kaliningrad Oblast
• Antonovka, Kaluga Oblast, a village in Tarussky District of Kaluga Oblast
• Antonovka, Prokopyevsky District, Kemerovo Oblast, a village in Kuzbasskaya Rural Territory of Prokopyevsky District of Kemerovo Oblast
• Antonovka, Yaysky District, Kemerovo Oblast, a settlement in Sudzhenskaya Rural Territory of Yaysky District of Kemerovo Oblast
• Antonovka, Leningrad Oblast, a village in Voloshovskoye Settlement Municipal Formation of Luzhsky District of Leningrad Oblast
• Antonovka, Republic of Mordovia, a village in Povodimovsky Selsoviet of Dubyonsky District of the Republic of Mordovia
• Antonovka, Moscow Oblast, a village in Novopetrovskoye Rural Settlement of Istrinsky District of Moscow Oblast
• Antonovka, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, a village in Kriushinsky Selsoviet of Voznesensky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
• Antonovka, Novosibirsk Oblast, a village in Kochenyovsky District of Novosibirsk Oblast
• Antonovka, Omsk Oblast, a selo in Antonovsky Rural Okrug of Nizhneomsky District of Omsk Oblast
• Antonovka, Oryol Oblast, a village in Zhernovetsky Selsoviet of Trosnyansky District of Oryol Oblast
• Antonovka, Chuguyevsky District, Primorsky Krai, a selo in Chuguyevsky District of Primorsky Krai
• Antonovka, Kirovsky District, Primorsky Krai, a selo in Kirovsky District of Primorsky Krai
• Antonovka, Millerovsky District, Rostov Oblast, a khutor in Krivorozhskoye Rural Settlement of Millerovsky District of Rostov Oblast
• Antonovka, Milyutinsky District, Rostov Oblast, a khutor in Nikolo-Berezovskoye Rural Settlement of Milyutinsky District of Rostov Oblast
• Antonovka, Sakha Republic, a selo in Oktyabrsky Rural Okrug of Nyurbinsky District of the Sakha Republic
• Antonovka, Alexeyevsky District, Samara Oblast, a selo in Alexeyevsky District of Samara Oblast
• Antonovka, Pokhvistnevsky District, Samara Oblast, a settlement in Pokhvistnevsky District of Samara Oblast
• Antonovka, Sergiyevsky District, Samara Oblast, a settlement in Sergiyevsky District of Samara Oblast
• Antonovka, Dergachyovsky District, Saratov Oblast, a selo in Dergachyovsky District of Saratov Oblast
• Antonovka, Yershovsky District, Saratov Oblast, a selo in Yershovsky District of Saratov Oblast
• Antonovka, Taborinsky District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, a village in Taborinsky District of Sverdlovsk Oblast
• Antonovka, Turinsky District, Sverdlovsk Oblast, a village in Turinsky District of Sverdlovsk Oblast
• Antonovka, Tambov Oblast, a settlement in Iskrovsky Selsoviet of Zherdevsky District of Tambov Oblast
• Antonovka, Kamsko-Ustyinsky District, Republic of Tatarstan, a selo in Kamsko-Ustyinsky District, the Republic of Tatarstan
• Antonovka, Spassky District, Republic of Tatarstan, a selo in Spassky District, the Republic of Tatarstan
• Antonovka, Tula Oblast, a village in Butikovsky Rural Okrug of Zaoksky District of Tula Oblast

Historical localities

• Antonovka, Arkhangelsk Governorate, a colony included in Alexandrovskaya Volost of Alexandrovsky Uyezd of Arkhangelsk Governorate of the Russian SFSR upon its establishment in 1920