Headlines about Nikolai have referred to things like "blood-quaffing" and "a thirst for blood," and no story goes by without a mention of Nikolai's supposed penchant for drinking blood. But don't worry, he's not that kind of count. The history of this seems to stem back to the press release for his Ethiopia exhibition in 2013. Describing his experience in the country, he mentions that "For three weeks I drank cow's blood for breakfast."
So it was more about necessity than desire!