What would convert this chili recipe into a Russian chili?

I'm going to go ahead and phrase my comment in the form of an answer (just so there's something to accept or up/down moderate). My vote is for some form of beet. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea and think I'll try it myself when I get a chance. (I actually feel a little chagrin at claiming the idea since @SaUce mentioned borsch first. And who really owns an idea anyway. Well, except for Paul Allen and Nathan Myhrvold.)

Anywho, lots of chili recipes use a little chocolate or even coffee in small amounts to add an earthiness and complexity to chili. I think the beet could do the same. Personally, I wouldn't leave it in big chunks. If I was using fresh beets, I'd dice or even shred them possibly. Or, another alternative would be to use beet powder, which would contribute sweetness and some beet flavor while acting as a mild thickening agent at the same time.

This could even inspire a new Russo-Latin fusion cuisine movement. Maybe I'll patent it after all. ;)

I think you've got a wide berth of possibilities but what's above seems pretty restricted. What you are listing above sounds like a pretty straight-forward Midwestern American chili. It has the features of the standard chili spices, beans and tomatoes, with a nice variety of meats.

• To try to engineer a Russian chili I would expect more indigenous foods.

As @Cold suggests, beets would be great to add for their sugar content. However, there are quite a few American recipes that utilize potatoes, so you might seek those out. Are there other vegetables to substitute that you recall as more native? Other beans maybe? How about caraway, dill, chervil, tarragon?

Vodka would seem like an easy route to go to appease the indigenous aspect, but I don't think it would yield much results in terms of impacting the flavor; especially in the context of the extant chili recipe. Unfortunately, I can't see the benefit of buffeting vodka against the flavors of cumin, coriander, clove, let alone hot peppers. On the other hand, Russians produce some amazing beers (I am a big fan of Baltika), and I would recommend looking into switching to a lager flavor or Imperial Stout as I mentioned above.

But for real, my spin would be to approach this from a Solyanka point of view (which would definitely give you ceiling room to try incorporating Medovukha); or really any of the other amazing cold Russian soups. Or perhaps try to incorporate mini dumplings like Pelmani, mini Kotlety, or use Shashlyk-style prepared meats for the chili. I would also consider trying to get some lamb in the recipe, in particular at the expense of the chicken.

But don't forget, chili is all about what you want to put into it (<-- self-promotional plug); not what the standard template lists.

• The romantic version of the American myth about chili (in particular, Texas Red chili) frequently revolves around Cowboys planting peppers and onions on their most traveled roads. They would be carrying dried meats and, at night under starry skies, use kettles to cook the stew that became known as chili.
• What kind of story of Russian kindred spirit do you want to weave with your chili?