Minka Kropotkin

Minka Kropotkin is the wife of Boris Kropotkin, the mother of Didi Pickles and Ben Kropotkin, the mother-in-law of Stu Pickles and Elaine Kropotkin, and the maternal grandmother of Tommy and Dil.

Characteristics
Minka is Boris's wife, Didi and Ben's mother, as well as Tommy and Dil's maternal grandmother and also Elaine and Stu's mother-in-law. She's of the Jewish faith, she's a loving grandmother (even to Angelica) and, like her husband, has some trouble saying some things to the children in English. Like her long-time husband, she is originally from the "Old Country," but unlike Boris, she doesn't seem to be from a poor family. She was most likely from a hard-working family. Most of what is true about Boris also applies to Minka, except that Minka doesn't believe in many of the stories that Boris tells. She tends to be more agreeable to whatever is happening, now. However, she is skeptical on some things, such as in "Mother's Day", when Didi attempted to take her to her favorite spa for Mother's Day. However, Minka was not very comfortable taking a mud bath with strangers and didn't like the idea of paying so much for mud when she says "You can get mud for free in your own backyard."

She's hinted to be a bit of bad cook at some things, such as her borscht. Her husband whispered to Stu "It tastes like glue, but what do I know. I've been eating it for 60 years". She and Boris tend to argue over their differences over traditions. At one time she shouts "This ISN'T the old country, Mr. No-Chocolate Cake", meaning that she believes he needs to mind his own business. She adores her grandsons and dotes on them, calling them the "dumplings". She, like Trixie (her grandsons' paternal grandmother) was with Lou, tends to be the voice of reason and the one who tells the truth.

One example could be in "Toys in the Attic", when they think they've lost Tommy and Angelica. Boris comes back saying he found them. Minka is relieved, but then she suddenly becomes mad and says sarcastically, "Good work there, Mr. Columbo. Except you forgot one thing". When he asks what, she shouts out that he picked up the wrong kids, pointing out these two children look nothing like Tommy and Angelica. She also likes to keep things clean, however the only thing she can't clean are Boris' glasses for Passover wine which is seen in "A Passover Story". She has her own glasses from Vilnius, hinting that she may be from Lithuania. It infuriates her that Boris won't let her clean his glasses.

In All Grown Up!, she's first mentioned in "Blind Man's Bluff". She had to take care of her sister Cidl, while Boris had his cataract surgery. Then she makes her only appearance in the show in the episode "Rachel, Rachel" when she's leaving Boris and goes to Stu and Didi's house because he forgot their 52nd Wedding anniversary. Then Boris goes back to his loving wife to forgive him. As it's revealed in the same episode, Minka's family were rich, and her father was a butcher. When they went bankrupt, they moved to New York for a better future. Five years later, Boris and Minka got married. She is voiced by Melanie Chartoff in the original series.

In the 2021 series, Minka lives in Florida with her husband, Boris. They are no longer Russian immigrants, and regularly FaceTime the Pickles, which Tommy misinterprets as a series he calls the Bubbe and Zayde Show. She is now voiced by Swoosie Kurtz.

Trivia

 * She is a beloved wife, mother and grandmother. She really loves her grandchildren, even Angelica, who's not actually her granddaughter.
 * Minka knew about Melinda's (Chas's first wife) tragedy, because she was also sad when Chas revealed to Chuckie his biological mother in "Mother's Day". It's unknown if her husband Boris has met her or not.
 * Boris and Minka visit their daughter very often because they probably live close to each other. When they want to relax and stress-out from city's bustle and hustle they go to their wooden country-side house.
 * It is revealed in All Grown Up! episode "Rachel, Rachel" Boris and Minka celebrated their 52nd anniversary, which means that they got married in 1949-1950 if you consider that the episode took place in 2001-2002. Boris says that after he left the Old Country for New York, where he found Minka, five years had passed until they got married, which means that they first met each other in 1945, so they were already 28 (Minka) and 29 (Boris).
 * In the 2021 series, Minka is referred to by Tommy as "Bubbe." Bubbe is the Yiddish word for "grandmother."
 * The only incarnation of the franchise where she doesn't appear is Rugrats Pre-School Daze.