Are you wondering about interesting facts about Russia? So here we come with some interesting points followed by a couple of images showing the country beyond the stereotypes associated with vodka, polar winters, politics, and all kinds of weird movie characters.
Indeed, Russia deserves attention for its vast cultural scene that is unknown for non-Russian speakers due to the language barrier, so its cultural diversity is composed of over 50 ethnic groups and nationalities. Let’s go now to interesting curiosities about this country.
Language Barrier
In Russia, most of the local population speak only the Russian language and think you have to speak it, too. There is a whole universe apart from where everything operates in Russian including cinema, theater, music, media, literature, and even social media. Not so many people there speak English even in the biggest cities like Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod. For travelers planning to explore the country by themselves, I recommend learning some basic Russian because you’ll need even to buy a bottle of water.
Everything is Written in Cyrillic
Continuing in the language barrier, everything in Russia is written in Cyrillic alphabet: the public signs, the name of metro stations, restaurant menus, and everything else in daily life. I also recommend learning Cyrillic, which is not difficult as it sounds since you’ll need to read it from the moment you step outside the tourist areas. For each letter in Cyrillic, there is a sound, you just need to memorize them to read the essential information during your trip. For navigating the metro stations, the app Yandex Metro is quite useful.
Russians Drink More Tea than Vodka
Unlike any stereotype takes to believe, Russians drink more tea than vodka in daily life. Russia is the biggest tea importer in the world, and the 4th biggest consumer, responding for 9% of world tea imports. Maybe the most important appliance at Russian houses is the samovar, a heated container to boil water for tea at night, on weekends, during meals, and at any other time. Among a large variety of flavors, black tea is the most popular in Russia but for travelers is worth trying the Ivan chai.
The History of Matryoshka Dolls
Contrary to popular legends, the matryoshka is not an ancient Russian toy and has no roots in Russian popular culture. As described by historian Orlando Figes in the book A Cultural History of Russia, the first matryoshka doll model was created by the artist Sergey Malyutin. It was envisioned as a clip-on doll in response to a request from the Mamontov family to make a Russian version of the Japanese clip-on doll.
Malyutin then created a barrel-shaped red-cheeked peasant girl with a chicken under her arm. Each smaller doll depicted a different aspect of peasant life, and the smallest was a swaddled baby in the Russian style. So popular was the artist’s creation that millions of matryoshkas were manufactured in the 1890s.
It’s Ilegal to Sell Drinks at Night
Despite vodka being largely consumed and alcoholism being a massive problem in Russia, local laws forbid selling drinks at night. It’s illegal to sell alcoholic drinks after 21:00h or 22:00h: depending on the state regulations. However, you can buy alcohol in many kiosks and stores open at night as many locals do, hiding the bottles in a backpack or bag.
A Rich Cultural Life
Walking by the streets in the main Russian cities, it’s not hard to see locals reading books inside the metro, at parks, and in other public spaces. Not to mention the large list of Russian writers such as Dostoyevski, Tolstoi, Solzhenitsyn, just to mention renowned examples. And the same goes for theater, classical music ballet, opera, and cinema. As long we learn a little of Russian, we notice that a significant part of the Russian population is reasonably educated even under hard circumstances, not something we see in Latin America, for example.
Why do Russians Record inside the Car?
If you’ve searched for interesting facts about Russia, you may have seen videos of someone doing crazy things inside a car being recorded by an internal camera. Cameras inside the car are a usual requirement from car insurance companies in order to avoid fraud by any crook driver. Corruption is a mindset to take advantage of any chance to cheat.
Anti-cafe
The anti-cafe concept, a combination of cafe and coworking space where you pay for the time of permanence instead of the consumption was developed in Moscow by Ziferblat. It’s an interesting place for digital nomads staying in Russia and to get to know local professionals from different backgrounds. I have spent time at Ziferblat’s branches in Moscow, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kyiv (Ukraine). They’ve also expanded to Saint Petersburg, London, Kharkiv (Ukraine), Ljubljana (Slovenia), and might be in other cities.
Pretty Women
Not a stereotype, Russia is already known for concentrating millions of pretty women. As in Ukraine, you see gorgeous women wherever you walk: blondes, dark-haired, red-haired, fair skin, and a little darker skin. Most of the Russian women are well-educated, independent, hard workers, and what fascinates many foreign men, they’re feminine. In parallel to what happens in Eastern Europe, lots of men from central and Northern Europe, the USA, and Australia go to Russia through marriage agencies and order-a- bride platforms. Just don’t ask me how it works since I don’t even use Tinder, I just mention it for the sake of information.
Toilet and Shower at Different Rooms
A curious fact in Russia that causes culture shock for many travelers is the toilet apart from the shower in another room at most local houses: one room for the shower and another one for number 1 and number 2. In the newest buildings, such separation doesn’t come often.
The Most Popular Social Media in Russia
Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Google, and Youtube are also popular in Russia. However, the most used social media networks in the Russian-speaking zone are VKontakte and the search index Yandex, which has all the features Google has, if not more.
I like VKontakte for enabling me to save songs and videos. Among Yandex’s features and applications, one of the best ones is the app Yandex Metro that helps you to find the fastest routes from one metro station to another in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and other cities around the world.
Not Smiling at Strangers
At a first sight, Russians may transmit an impression of being cold, too serious, and unfriendly. However, perception changes after any icebreaking. In Russia, smiling at strangers is something very weird, pathetic. Smile and extrovert expressions are usually reserved for relatives and close friends.
Very Direct Communication
Communication in daily Russia is usually very direct, straight to the point packed by a nude and crude sincerity. It may sound harsh and rude if you come from a culture used to mannerisms and indirect communication. Forget political correctness! Yet, the tone of directness and politeness varies a lot according to hierarchy, which plays a big role in the Russian working environment. A colleague of yours, for example, may speak his mind straight to your face while he’s the most polite person with the boss.
Alenka Chocolate
Alënka (in Cyrillic), reads “A-li-on-ka”, is a popular brand of chocolates in Russia and even among Russians residing abroad, unmistakable by the brand with the girl wearing a headscarf. The brand was created in the 1960s and was made in Red October (красный октябрь), a former chocolate factory in Moscow that now houses a huge space with art galleries, shops, restaurants, and exhibitions. Next to Red Square, there is an Alenka store, whose photo is below.
Pancake Fast-Food
Russians love pancakes, as mentioned in the post about food in Russia, and to the surprise of many travelers, there is a pancake fast-food chain with franchisees in the main cities of the country, Teremok (Теремок). This chain serves pancakes in a variety of flavors ranging from minced meat to honey at affordable prices unless you order pancakes with caviar.
3rd Largest Railway Network in the World
Russia has the third-largest rail network in the world, behind the US and China. Railways have played an important role in Russian logistics since the construction of the Trans-Siberian, connecting all regions of the country and the former Soviet republics. The Russian railway system is centralized in Moscow, from where it is possible to travel by train to any region of the country, as well as to neighboring countries.
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Talking about railways, the Trans-Siberian deserves a mention, as it is the longest train route in the world. Built between 1891 and 1916, it remains Russia’s main logistical corridor transporting passengers and goods. And the most interesting thing about the Trans-Siberian is the possibility to cross Russia, Mongolia and China on the same train route. The main route is Moscow-Vladivostok, but it is also possible to take the route from Moscow to Ulan-Baatar (in Mongolia) and from Moscow to Beijing (in China).
10 Time Zones
Russia has 10 along with its huge territory between Europe and Asia. From west to east, the time difference amounts to 9 hours. However, train times all over the country usually follow Moscow time, which is GMT +3.
Lake Baikal
One of the attractions along the Trans-Siberian route is Lake Baikal, located near Irkutsk, a city close to the border between Russia and Mongolia, known as the “Paris of Siberia”. It is the largest freshwater lake in the world and one of the most beautiful landscapes to see in the country. A trip that can be done in this region is a boat excursion to Olkhon Island from Listvyanka, but the most practical route is to take a bus from Irkutsk to Chernorud, and from there a ferry to the island.
Omul Fish
Once you’re traveling close to Lake Baikal, it is worth mentioning the Omul fish, which is found only in this lake. This fish is popularly consumed around the lake, whether fried, boiled, salted, or roasted. It’s so greasy, it doesn’t even need oil to fry. A dish made with Omul is sagudai, which is worth a try if you stop in the city of Irkutsk.
Saint Petersburg is such a Beautiful City
Designed to be the capital of Russia in the 1700s, Saint Petersburg is one of the most beautiful cities in the world, without any exaggeration. It was the Russian capital from 1712 until the Russian Revolution in 1917, built with European architecture under Tsar Peter the Great’s obsession with modernizing the country in line with the trends of that time. St. Petersburg was built on a wetland region, in addition to the harsh Russian winter that required superhuman efforts to erect it according to the tsar’s whims.
Holodets
Holodets (Xолодец), pronounced “rra-la-dyê-ts”, is a kind of meatloaf that looks like jelly, which is cooled in the fridge after it is cooked. It can be made with beef, pork, or chicken; it is also present in other Slavic countries, especially in celebrations such as Christmas and Easter.
Do you have any interesting facts about Russia to say? Feel free to comment and for more travel tips, you find on Milione recommendations about Russian food, what to do in Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Kazan plus other information to help people explore the country by themselves.
Originally posted 2022-02-22 04:19:58.
