[3] In the West, blini traditionally refers to small savory pancakes made with leavened batter.

They are basically rolls based on thin pancakes usually made of wheat flour, folded to form a casing for various kinds of filing, typically cheese, fruit, or (in Russian cuisine) pre-fried minced meat, and then sautéed or baked.

[4] The Proto-Slavic term for the Russian pancakes was probably mlinŭ, which transformed in Old East Slavic into mlinъ, blinъ (млинъ, блинъ), (cf.

[6] Blini were considered by early East Slavic people in pre-Christian times to be a symbol of the sun due to their round form.

Some ways that blini are prepared and served include the following: They may be folded or rolled into a tube with sweet or salty fillings such as varenye, fruit, berry, mashed potatoes, tvorog, cooked ground meat, cooked chicken, salmon, chopped boiled eggs with green onions or chopped mushrooms.

[11][12] For example, "Первый блин комом" ("The first blin is lumpy") is a figurative saying that the first attempt to do something is expected to be unsuccessful, said to calm down the person who failed the first try.