Nicholas (Yarushevich)

Metropolitan Nicholas (Russian: Митрополит Николай, born as Boris Dorofeyevich Yarushevich, Russian: Борис Дорофеевич Ярушевич; January 13, 1892 (December 31, 1891 OS), Kovno – December 13, 1961, Moscow), was a bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church.

He supported the controversial 1927 declaration of Metropolitan Sergius, pledging loyalty of the Church to the Soviet authorities without concurrence of the imprisoned Patriarchal locum tenens, Peter of Krutitsy, and Sergius' subsequent collaboration with them.

In 1941 he became Metropolitan of Volhynia and Lutsk and later, after the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Metropolitan of Kiev and Galicia. Later, as the German troops advanced, he was evacuated to Moscow.

In the early hours of September 5, 1943, together with Metropolitan Sergius and Metropolitan Alexius, Nicholas had a meeting with Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, where the latter proposed to reestablish the Moscow Patriarchate and elect the Patriarch. On September 8, 1943, when the Moscow Patriarchate was reestablished, Nicholas became a permanent member of the Holy Synod. In 1944 he was appointed Metropolitan of Krutitsy. In 1946, when the External Church Relations Department was established within the Patriarchate, Metropolitan Nicholas became its chairman. In 1947 he became Metropolitan of Krutitsy and Kolomna.

Nikolai (vodka)

Nikolai is a brand of vodka on the market in the United States. The brand was originally launched and developed by Seagram, and has existed since at least 1963. The Nikolai brand is currently owned and produced by the Sazerac Company, which purchased the brand rights from Seagram in 1989 (along with 16 other product lines). The sale was preceded by an announcement in late 1988 by Seagram that it had decided to sell the brand.

The Nikolai brand is available in 80, 90, and 100 proof bottlings.

The Nikolai brand has been marketed primarily as a value-oriented brand, advertised as being priced very reasonably while tasting like more expensive vodka. The brand web site says that the brand is produced using a unique proprietary distillation technique and a special recipe to yield low congener vodka, and that the Sazerac Company has been faithfully adhering to Seagram's original formula for its production process. The Sazerac Company classifies its vodka brand offerings into three categories: "super premium", "premium", and "standard". Nikolai is classified in the "standard" brand category. The company says that the 90 and 100 proof bottlings are "best in class and among the largest-selling high-proof vodkas on the market."