Start out by rinsing all of your vegetables thoroughly. Any dirt left on them might spoil the taste.

Next, cut the carrots into smaller pieces. Place the carrots and medium potatoes into a large pot with water and 1 tablespoon of salt.

Cut each beet in half and place them in a separate pot. Add water and 1 tablespoon of salt to this pot also.

Boil the potatoes and carrots for 25 minutes and the beets for 35 to 45 minutes, or until knife tender.

While these two pots are boiling, hard boil 6 eggs in a small pot on the side.

When everything is done cooking, drain the water from each pot. Transfer all cooked vegetables and hard-boiled eggs onto a large plate to cool in the refrigerator.

TIP: Refrigerate vegetables and eggs for at least 4 hours. This makes them firmer and much easier to grate.

Once the vegetables and eggs are cooled, peel the potatoes, carrots, and beets.

Peel and rinse eggs, carefully so they don't break apart too much.

Next, rinse the herring fillets under warm running water. Place them in a strainer to let the excess water drain.

When most of the water is off the fillets, we need to dice them into cubes.

Now it's time to start assembling the salad layers. Start by spreading the diced herring over the bottom of a deep casserole dish.

Next, chop the onion and sprinkle ½ teaspoon of salt and ¼ teaspoon of black ground pepper over them. Now spread the seasoned onions evenly over the herring.

Next up are the potatoes. Grate them and spread them out evenly over the onion, then sprinkle the potatoes with salt and pepper to taste.

Add ½ cup of mayonnaise and slather it evenly over the grated potato. Gently press down with a spoon to pack it tightly while you're spreading the mayonnaise.

After that, grate the eggs and spread them out over the mayonnaise.

Next, grate the carrots and spread them over the eggs. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the carrots to taste.

Tip: Packing down with a spoon while spreading the veggies and mayo will help prevent the shuba from falling apart when slicing.

Last but not least, let's add the beets. Grate the beets then spread them over the carrots in the same way as the other layers. Sprinkle salt and pepper again to taste.

Add the second ½ cup of mayonnaise and spread it over the beets, lightly packing as you go. The juice of the beets will bleed into the mayonnaise, giving it a nice bright purple color.

Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (or overnight) for the salad to chill and firm up. Garnish with fresh dill or parsley, and it's ready to serve!