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Russianculture (Russian:Культура России,romanized:Kul'tura Rossii,IPA:[kʊlʲˈturərɐˈsʲiɪ]) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and bothEastern[2] andWestern influence.[3] Cultural scientists believe that the influence of the East was fairly insignificant, since theMongols did not coexist with the Russians during conquest, and the indigenous peoples were rather subjected to reversecultural assimilation. Unlike theScandinavian and morewestern neighbors, which have become the main reason for the formation of modern culture among Russians.[4] Russianwriters andphilosophers have played an important role in the development ofEuropean thought.[5][6] The Russians have also greatly influencedclassical music,[7]ballet,[8] theatre,[9]painting,[10]cinema[11] andsport,[12] The nation has also made pioneering contributions toscience and technology andspace exploration.[13][14]
Thehistory of Russia begins with the histories of theEast Slavs.[15][16] The traditional start date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of theRus' state in the north in the year 862, ruled byVarangians.[17][18] In 882, PrinceOleg of Novgorod seizedKiev, uniting the northern and southern lands of the Eastern Slavs under one authority, moving the governance center to Kiev by the end of the 10th century, and maintaining northern and southern parts with significant autonomy from each other. The stateadopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988, beginning the synthesis ofByzantine,Slavic andScandinavian cultures that definedRussian culture for the next millennium.Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated as a state due to theMongol invasions in 1237–1240. After the 13th century,Moscow emerged as a significant political and cultural force, driving theunification of Russian territories.[19] By the end of the 15th century, many of thepetty principalities around Moscow had been united with theGrand Duchy of Moscow, which took full control of its own sovereignty underIvan the Great.
Ivan the Terrible transformed the Grand Duchy into theTsardom of Russia in 1547. However, the death of Ivan's sonFeodor I withoutissue in 1598 created asuccession crisis and led Russia into a period of chaos and civil war known as theTime of Troubles, ending with the coronation ofMichael Romanov as the first Tsar of theRomanov dynasty in 1613. During the rest of the seventeenth century, Russia completed theexploration and conquest of Siberia, claiming lands as far as the Pacific Ocean by the end of the century. Domestically, Russia faced numerous uprisings of the various ethnic groups under their control, as exemplified by theCossack leaderStenka Razin, who led a revolt in 1670–1671. In 1721, in the wake of theGreat Northern War, TsarPeter the Great renamed the state as theRussian Empire; he is also noted for establishingSt. Petersburg as the new capital of his Empire, and for his introducing Western European culture to Russia. In 1762, Russia came under the control ofCatherine the Great, who continued the westernizing policies of Peter the Great, and ushered in the era of theRussian Enlightenment. Catherine's grandson,Alexander I, repulsed aninvasion by the French Emperor Napoleon, leading Russia into the status of one of thegreat powers.
Peasant revolts intensified during the nineteenth century, culminating withAlexander IIabolishingRussian serfdom in 1861. In the following decades, reform efforts such as theStolypin reforms of 1906–1914, theconstitution of 1906, and theState Duma (1906–1917) attempted to open and liberalize the economy and political system, but the emperors refused to relinquishautocratic rule and resisted sharing their power. A combination of economic breakdown, mismanagement overRussia's involvement in World War I, and discontent with the autocratic system of government triggered theRussian Revolution in 1917. Theend of the monarchy initially brought into office a coalition of liberals and moderate socialists, but their failed policies led to theOctober Revolution. In 1922,Soviet Russia, along with theUkrainian SSR,Byelorussian SSR, andTranscaucasian SFSR signed theTreaty on the Creation of the USSR, officially merging all four republics to form the Soviet Union as a single state. Between 1922 and 1991 the history of Russia essentially became thehistory of the Soviet Union.[opinion] During this period, theSoviet Union was one ofthe victors inWorld War II after recovering from asurprise invasion in 1941 byNazi Germany and itscollaborators, which had previously signed anon-aggression pact with the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union's network ofsatellite states in Eastern Europe, which were brought into itssphere of influence in the closing stages of World War II, helped the country become asuperpower competing with fellow superpower theUnited States and other Western countries in theCold War.
By the mid-1980s, with the weaknesses of Soviet economic and political structures becoming acute,Mikhail Gorbachev embarked on major reforms, which eventually led to the weakening of thecommunist party anddissolution of the Soviet Union, leaving Russia again on its own and marking the start of thehistory of post-Soviet Russia. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic renamed itself as theRussian Federation and became the primarysuccessor state to the Soviet Union.[20] Russia retained itsnuclear arsenal but lost itssuperpower status. Scrapping thecentral planning and state-ownership of property of the Soviet era in the 1990s, new leaders, led by PresidentVladimir Putin, took political and economic power after 2000 and engaged in an assertiveforeign policy. Coupled with economic growth, Russia has since regained significant global status as a world power. Russia's 2014annexation of the Crimean Peninsula led to economic sanctions imposed by the United States and theEuropean Union. Russia's 2022invasion of Ukraine led to significantly expandedsanctions. Under Putin's leadership,corruption in Russia is rated as the worst in Europe, and Russia'shuman rights situation has been increasingly criticized by international observers.
Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages.[21] According to the 2002 census, 142.6 million people speakRussian, followed byTatar with 5.3 million andUkrainian with 1.8 million speakers.[22] Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individualrepublics the right to make their native language co-official next to Russian.[23] Despite its wide dispersal, the Russian language is homogeneous throughout Russia. Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spokenSlavic language.[24] Russian belongs to theIndo-European language family and is one of the living members of theEast Slavic languages; the others beingBelarusian andUkrainian (and possiblyRusyn). Written examples ofOld East Slavic (Old Russian) are attested from the 10th century onwards.[25]
Over a quarter of the world's scientific literature is published in Russian. Russian is also applied as a means of coding and storage of universal knowledge—60–70% of all world information is published in the English and Russian languages.[26] The language is one of the sixofficial languages of theUnited Nations.[citation needed]
Russianfolklore takes its roots in thepagan beliefs of ancientSlavs, which is nowadays still represented in theRussian folklore. Epic Russianbylinas are also an important part ofSlavic mythology. The oldest bylinas ofKievan cycle were recorded in theRussian North, especially inKarelia, where most of theFinnish national epicKalevala was recorded as well.[citation needed]
ManyRussian fairy tales and bylinas were adapted forRussian animations, or for feature movies by famous directors likeAleksandr Ptushko (Ilya Muromets,Sadko) andAleksandr Rou (Morozko,Vasilisa the Beautiful). Some Russian poets, includingPyotr Yershov andLeonid Filatov, created a number of well-known poetical interpretations of classical Russian fairy tales, and in some cases, like that ofAlexander Pushkin, also created fully original fairy tale poems that became very popular.[citation needed]
Folklorists today consider the 1920s theSoviet Union's golden age of folklore. The struggling new government, which had to focus its efforts on establishing a new administrative system and building up the nation's backwards economy, could not be bothered with attempting to control literature, so studies of folklore thrived. There were two primary trends of folklore study during the decade: theformalist andFinnish schools. Formalism focused on the artistic form of ancient byliny and faerie tales, specifically their use of distinctive structures and poetic devices.[27] The Finnish school was concerned with connections amongst related legends of various Eastern European regions. Finnish scholars collected comparable tales from multiple locales and analyzed their similarities and differences, hoping to trace these epic stories' migration paths.[28]
OnceJoseph Stalin came to power and put hisfirst five-year plan into motion in 1928, the Soviet government began to criticize and censor folklore studies. Stalin and the Soviet regime repressed folklore, believing that it supported the old tsarist system and a capitalist economy. They saw it as a reminder of the backward Russian society that theBolsheviks were working to surpass.[30] To keep folklore studies in check and prevent "inappropriate" ideas from spreading amongst the masses, the government created the RAPP – theRussian Association of Proletarian Writers. The RAPP specifically focused on censoring fairy tales and children's literature, believing that fantasies and "bourgeois nonsense" harmed the development of upstanding Soviet citizens. Fairy tales were removed from bookshelves and children were encouraged to read books focusing on nature and science.[31] RAPP eventually increased its levels of censorship and became theUnion of Soviet Writers in 1932.[citation needed]
In order to continue researching and analyzing folklore, intellectuals needed to justify its worth to the Communist regime. Otherwise, collections of folklore, along with all other literature deemed useless for the purposes of Stalin's Five Year Plan, would be an unacceptable realm of study. In 1934,Maksim Gorky gave a speech to the Union of Soviet Writers arguing that folklore could, in fact, be consciously used to promote Communist values. Apart from expounding on the artistic value of folklore, he stressed that traditional legends and fairy tales showed ideal, community-oriented characters, which exemplified the model Soviet citizen.[32] Folklore, with many of its conflicts based on the struggles of a labor-oriented lifestyle, was relevant to Communism as it could not have existed without the direct contribution of the working classes.[33] Also, Gorky explained that folklore characters expressed high levels of optimism, and therefore could encourage readers to maintain a positive mindset, especially as their lives changed with the further development of Communism.[28]
Yuri Sokolov, the head of the folklore section of the Union of Soviet Writers also promoted the study of folklore by arguing that folklore had originally been the oral tradition of the working people, and consequently could be used to motivate and inspire collective projects amongst the present-day proletariat.[34] Characters throughout traditional Russian folktales often found themselves on a journey of self-discovery, a process that led them to value themselves not as individuals, but rather as a necessary part of a common whole. The attitudes of such legendary characters paralleled the mindset that the Soviet government wished to instill in its citizens.[35] He also pointed out the existence of many tales that showed members of the working class outsmarting their cruel masters, again working to prove folklore's value to Soviet ideology and the nation's society at large.[36]Convinced by Gorky and Sokolov's arguments, the Soviet government and the Union of Soviet Writers began collecting and evaluating folklore from across the country. The Union handpicked and recorded particular stories that, in their eyes, sufficiently promoted the collectivist spirit and showed the Soviet regime's benefits and progress. It then proceeded to redistribute copies of approved stories throughout the population. Meanwhile, local folklore centers arose in all major cities.[37] Responsible for advocating a sense of Soviet nationalism, these organizations ensured that the media published appropriate versions of Russian folktales in a systematic fashion.[28]
Apart from circulating government-approved fairy tales and byliny that already existed, during Stalin's rule authors parroting appropriate Soviet ideologies wrote Communist folktales and introduced them to the population. These contemporary folktales combined the structures and motifs of the old byliny with contemporary life in the Soviet Union. Called noviny, these new tales were considered therenaissance of the Russian epic.[38] Folklorists were called upon to teach modern folksingers the conventional style and structure of the traditional byliny. They also explained to the performers the appropriate types of Communist ideology that should be represented in the new stories and songs[39] As the performers of the day were often poorly educated, they needed to obtain a thorough understanding ofMarxist ideology before they could be expected to impart folktales to the public in a manner that suited the Soviet government. Besides undergoing extensive education, many folk performers traveled throughout the nation in order to gain insight into the lives of the working class, and thus communicate their stories more effectively.[40] Due to their crucial role in spreading Communist ideals throughout the Soviet Union, eventually some of these performers became highly valued members of Soviet society. A number of them, despite their illiteracy, were even elected as members of the Union of Soviet Writers.[41]
These new Soviet fairy tales and folk songs primarily focused on the contrasts between a miserable life in old tsarist Russia and an improved one under Stalin's leadership.[42] Their characters represented identities for which Soviet citizens should strive, exemplifying the traits of the "New Soviet Man".[43] The heroes of Soviet tales were meant to portray a transformed and improved version of the average citizen, giving the reader a clear goal for an ideal community-oriented self that the future he or she was meant to become. These new folktales replacedmagic with technology, and supernatural forces with Stalin.[44] Instead of receiving essential advice from a mythical being, the protagonist would be given advice from omniscient Stalin. If the character followed Stalin's divine advice, he could be assured success in all his endeavors and a complete transformation into the "New Soviet Man".[45] The villains of these contemporary fairy tales were theWhites and their leader Idolisce, "the most monstrous idol", who was the equivalent of the tsar. Descriptions of the Whites in noviny mirrored those of theTartars in byliny.[46] In these new stories, the Whites were incompetent, stagnant capitalists, while the Soviet citizens became invincible heroes.[47]
Once Stalin died in March 1953, folklorists of the period quickly abandoned the new folktales. Written by individual authors and performers, noviny did not come from the oral traditions of the working class. Consequently, today they are considered pseudo-folklore, rather than genuine Soviet (or Russian) folklore.[48] Without any true connection to the masses, there was no reason noviny should be considered anything other than contemporary literature. Specialists decided that attempts to represent contemporary life through the structure and artistry of the ancient epics could not be considered genuine folklore.[49] Stalin's name has been omitted from the few surviving pseudo-folktales of the period.[48] Instead of considering folklore under Stalin a renaissance of the traditional Russian epic, today it is generally regarded as a period of restraint and falsehood.[citation needed]
Russian literature is considered to be among the world's most influential and developed.[50] It can be traced to theMiddle Ages, when epics and chronicles inOld East Slavic were composed.[51] By theAge of Enlightenment, literature had grown in importance, with works fromMikhail Lomonosov,Denis Fonvizin,Gavrila Derzhavin, andNikolay Karamzin.[1] From the early 1830s, during theGolden Age of Russian Poetry, literature underwent an astounding golden age in poetry, prose and drama.[52]Romanticism permitted a flowering of poetic talent:Vasily Zhukovsky and later his protégéAlexander Pushkin came to the fore.[53] Following Pushkin's footsteps, a new generation of poets were born, includingMikhail Lermontov,Nikolay Nekrasov,Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy,Fyodor Tyutchev andAfanasy Fet.[1]
The first great Russian novelist wasNikolai Gogol.[54] Then cameIvan Turgenev, who mastered both short stories and novels.[55]Fyodor Dostoevsky andLeo Tolstoy soon became internationally renowned.Ivan Goncharov is remembered mainly for his novelOblomov.[56]Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote prose satire,[57] whileNikolai Leskov is best remembered for his shorter fiction.[58] In the second half of the centuryAnton Chekhov excelled in short stories and became a leading dramatist.[59] Other important 19th-century developments included the fabulistIvan Krylov,[60] non-fiction writers such as the criticVissarion Belinsky,[61] and playwrights such asAleksandr Griboyedov andAleksandr Ostrovsky.[62][63] The beginning of the 20th century ranks as theSilver Age of Russian Poetry. This era had poets such asAlexander Blok,Anna Akhmatova,Boris Pasternak,Konstantin Balmont,[64]Marina Tsvetaeva,Vladimir Mayakovsky, andOsip Mandelshtam. It also produced some first-rate novelists and short-story writers, such asAleksandr Kuprin, Nobel Prize winnerIvan Bunin,Leonid Andreyev,Yevgeny Zamyatin,Dmitry Merezhkovsky andAndrei Bely.[1]
After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russian literature split into Soviet andwhite émigré parts. In the 1930s,Socialist realism became the predominant trend in Russia. Its leading figure wasMaxim Gorky, who laid the foundations of this style.[65]Mikhail Bulgakov was one of the leading writers of the Soviet era.[66]Nikolay Ostrovsky's novelHow the Steel Was Tempered has been among the most successful works of Russian literature. Influential émigré writers includeVladimir Nabokov,[67] andIsaac Asimov; who was considered one of the "Big Three"science fiction writers.[68] Some writers dared to oppose Soviet ideology, such as Nobel Prize-winning novelistAleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who wrote about life in the Gulag camps.[69]
At the beginning of the 21st century, the most discussed figures,postmodernistsVictor Pelevin andVladimir Sorokin remained the leading Russian writers.[70]
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Russia owes much of its wit to the great flexibility and richness of the Russian language, allowing for puns and unexpected associations. As with any other nation, its vast scope ranges from lewd jokes and sillyword play topolitical satire.[citation needed]
Russian jokes, the most popular form ofRussian humour, are short fictional stories or dialogues with apunch line. Russian joke culture features a series of categories with fixed and highly familiar settings and characters. Surprising effects are achieved by an endless variety of plots. Russians love jokes on topics found everywhere in the world, be it politics, spouse relations, ormothers-in-law.[citation needed]
Chastushka, a type of traditional musicalRussian poetry, is a singlequatrain introchaictetrameter with an ABAB or ABCBrhyme scheme. Usuallyhumorous,satirical, or ironic in nature, chastushkas are often put to music as well, usually withbalalaika oraccordion accompaniment. The rigid, short structure (and to a lesser degree, the type of humor these use) parallelslimericks. The name originates from the Russian wordчасти́ть, meaning "to speak fast".[citation needed]
As early as the 12th and 13th centuries Russia had its national masters who were free of all foreign influence, i. e. that of the Greeks on the one hand, and on the other hand that of the Lombard master-masons called in Andrei Georgievich to build the Uspensky (Assumption) Cathedral in the city of Vladimir. Russia's relations with the Greek world were hampered by the Mongol invasion, and it is to the isolation arising from this that we must attribute the originality of Slavo-Russian ornamentation, which has a character of its own, quite unlike theByzantine style and theRomanesque.[citation needed]
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The history ofRussian architecture begins with early woodcraft buildings of ancient Slavs, and thechurch architecture of Kievan Rus'.[71] Following theChristianization of Kievan Rus', for several centuries it was influenced predominantly by theByzantine Empire.[72]Aristotle Fioravanti and other Italian architects broughtRenaissance trends into Russia.[73] The 16th century saw the development of the uniquetent-like churches; and theonion dome design, which is a distinctive feature of Russian architecture.[74] In the 17th century, the "fiery style" of ornamentation flourished in Moscow andYaroslavl, gradually paving the way for theNaryshkin baroque of the 1690s.[citation needed]
After the reforms of Peter the Great, Russia's architecture became influenced by Western European styles. The 18th-century taste forRococo architecture led to thesplendid works ofBartolomeo Rastrelli and his followers. The most influential Russian architects of the eighteenth century;Vasily Bazhenov,Matvey Kazakov, andIvan Starov, created lasting monuments in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and established a base for the more Russian forms that followed.[1] During the reign of Catherine the Great, Saint Petersburg was transformed into an outdoor museum ofNeoclassical architecture.[75] DuringAlexander I's rule,Empire style became thede facto architectural style,[76] andNicholas I opened the gate ofEclecticism to Russia. The second half of the 19th century was dominated by theNeo-Byzantine andRussian Revival style. In the early 20th century,Russian neoclassical revival became a trend.[77] Prevalent styles of the late 20th century were theArt Nouveau,Constructivism,[78] andSocialist Classicism.[79]
Some notable Russian buildings include:
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Matryoshka doll is a Russian nesting doll. A set of Matryoshka dolls consist of a wooden figure which can be pulled apart to reveal another figure of the same sort but somewhat smaller inside. It has in turn another somewhat smaller figure inside, and so on. The number of nested figures is usually six or more. The shape is mostly cylindrical, rounded at the top for the head and tapered towards the bottom, but little else. The dolls have no extremities, (except those that are painted). The true artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate. The theme is usually peasant girls in traditional dress, but can be almost anything; for instance, fairy tales or Soviet leaders.[citation needed]
Other forms of Russian handicraft includekhokhloma,Dymkovo toy,gzhel,Zhostovo painting,Filimonov toys,pisanka,Pavlovo Posad shawl,Rushnyk, andpalekh.[citation needed]
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![Russian clothing, ca. 17th–19th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[80]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEnsemble_-_MET_2009.300.3000a%25E2%2580%2593e.jpg)
![Russian clothing, late 18th–19th century. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[81]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aEnsemble_-_MET_2009.300.2999a%25E2%2580%2593c.jpg)
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![Court robe, Russian, ca. 1900. Metropolitan Museum of Art.[82]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aCourt_robe_-_MET_1977.398a%25E2%2580%2593c.jpg)
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Russian icons are typically paintings on wood, often small, though some in churches and monasteries may be as large as a table top. Many religious homes in Russia have icons hanging on the wall in thekrasny ugol, the "red" or "beautiful" corner (seeIcon Corner). There is a rich history and elaboratereligious symbolism associated with icons. In Russian churches, thenave is typically separated from thesanctuary by aniconostasis (Russianikonostás) a wall of icons. Icon paintings in Russia attempted to help people with their prayers without idolizing the figure in the painting. The most comprehensive collection of Icon art is found at theTretyakov Gallery.[83]
The use and making of icons enteredKievan Rus' following its conversion toOrthodox Christianity from the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in 988 AD. As a general rule, these icons strictly followed models and formulas hallowed by usage, some of which had originated in Constantinople. As time passed, the Russians—notablyAndrei Rublev andDionisius—widened the vocabulary of iconic types and styles far beyond anything found elsewhere. The personal, improvisatory and creative traditions of Western European religious art are largely lacking in Russia before the seventeenth century, whenSimon Ushakov's painting became strongly influenced by religious paintings and engravings from Protestant as well as Catholic Europe.[citation needed]
In the mid-seventeenth century, changes in liturgy and practice instituted byPatriarch Nikon resulted in a split in the Russian Orthodox Church. The traditionalists, the persecuted "Old Ritualists" or "Old Believers", continued the traditional stylization of icons, while the State Church modified its practice. From that time icons began to be painted not only in the traditional stylized and nonrealistic mode, but also in a mixture of Russian stylization and Western European realism, and in a Western European manner very much like that of Catholic religious art of the time. TheStroganov movement and the icons fromNevyansk rank among the last important schools of Russian icon-painting.[citation needed]
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A lubok (pluralLubki,Cyrillic:Russian:лубо́к, лубо́чная картинка) is a Russianpopular print, characterized by simplegraphics andnarratives derived from literature, religious stories and popular tales. Lubki prints were used as decoration in houses and inns. Early examples from the late 17th and early 18th centuries werewoodcuts, thenengravings oretchings were typical, and from the mid-19th centurylithography. They sometimes appeared in series, which might be regarded as predecessors of the moderncomic strip. Cheap and simple books, similar tochapbooks,[84] which mostly consisted of pictures, are calledlubok literature or (Cyrillic:Russian:лубочная литература). Both pictures and literature are commonly referred to simply aslubki. The Russian wordlubok derives fromlub – a special type of board that pictures were printed on.[citation needed]
TheRussian Academy of Arts was created in 1757 with the aim of giving Russian artists an international role and status. Notable portrait painters from the academy includeIvan Argunov,Fyodor Rokotov,Dmitry Levitzky, andVladimir Borovikovsky.[citation needed]
In the early 19th century, whenneoclassicism andromanticism flourished, famous academic artists focused on mythological and Biblical themes, likeKarl Briullov,Orest Kiprensky,Ivan Aivazovsky andAlexander Ivanov.[citation needed]
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Realism came into dominance in the 19th century. The realists captured Russian identity in landscapes of wide rivers, forests, andbirch clearings, as well as vigorous genre scenes and robust portraits of their contemporaries. Other artists focused onsocial criticism, showing the conditions of the poor and caricaturing authority;critical realism flourished under the reign ofAlexander II, with some artists making the circle of human suffering their main theme. Others focused on depicting dramatic moments in Russian history. ThePeredvizhniki (wanderers) group of artists broke with Russian Academy and initiated a school of art liberated from Academic restrictions. Leading realists includeIvan Shishkin,Arkhip Kuindzhi,Ivan Kramskoi,Vasily Polenov,Isaac Levitan,Vasily Surikov,Viktor Vasnetsov andIlya Repin.[85][86]
By the turn of the 20th century and on, many Russian artists developed their own unique styles, neither realist nor avant-garde. These includeBoris Kustodiev,Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin,Mikhail Vrubel andNicholas Roerich. Many works by thePeredvizhniki group of artists have been highly sought after by collectors in recent years. Russian art auctions duringRussian Art Week in London have increased in demand and works have been sold for record breaking prices.[citation needed]
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TheRussian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave ofmodernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930. The term covers many separate, but inextricably related, art movements that occurred at the time; namelyneo-primitivism,suprematism,constructivism,rayonism, andfuturism. Notable artists from this era includeEl Lissitzky,Kazimir Malevich,Wassily Kandinsky,Vladimir Tatlin,Alexander Rodchenko,Pavel Filonov andMarc Chagall. The Russian avant-garde reached its creative and popular height in the period between theRussian Revolution of 1917 and 1932, at which point the revolutionary ideas of theavant-garde clashed with the newly emerged conservative direction ofsocialist realism.[citation needed]
In the 20th century many Russian artists made their careers in Western Europe, forced to emigrate by the Revolution.Wassily Kandinsky,Marc Chagall,Naum Gabo and others spread their work, ideas, and the impact of Russian art globally.[citation needed]
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During theRussian Revolution a movement was initiated to put all arts to service of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The instrument for this was created just days before the October Revolution, known as Proletkult, an abbreviation for "Proletarskie kulturno-prosvetitelnye organizatsii" (Proletarian Cultural and Enlightenment Organizations). A prominent theorist of this movement wasAlexander Bogdanov. Initially,Narkompros (ministry of education), which was also in charge of the arts, supported Proletkult. Although Marxist in character, the Proletkult gained the disfavor of many party leaders, and by 1922 it had declined considerably. It was eventually disbanded by Stalin in 1932.De facto restrictions on what artists could paint were abandoned by the late 1980s.[citation needed]
However, in the late Soviet era many artists combined innovation withsocialist realism includingErnst Neizvestny,Ilya Kabakov,Mikhail Shemyakin,Igor Novikov,Erik Bulatov, andVera Mukhina. They employed techniques as varied asprimitivism,hyperrealism,grotesque, andabstraction. Soviet artists produced works that were furiously patriotic andanti-fascist in the 1940s. After theGreat Patriotic War Soviet sculptors made multiple monuments to the war dead, marked by a great restrained solemnity.[citation needed]
Russians have distinctive traditions offolk music. Typical ethnic Russian musical instruments aregusli,balalaika,zhaleika, balalaika contrabass,bayan accordion, Gypsy guitar andgarmoshka. Folk music had great influence on the Russian classical composers, and in modern times it is a source of inspiration for a number of popularfolk bands, most prominent beingGolden Ring,Ural's Nation Choir,Lyudmila Zykina.Russian folk songs, as well as patriotic songs of theSoviet era, constitute the bulk of repertoire of the world-renownedRed Army choir and other popular Russian ensembles.[citation needed]
Russian folk dance (Russian: Русский Народный Танец) can generally be broken up into two main types of dances.Khorovod (Russian: Хоровод), a circular game type dance where the participants hold hands, sing, and the action generally happens in the middle of circle, and Plyaska (Russian: Пляска or Плясовый), a circular dance for men and women that increases in diversity and tempo, according to Bob Renfield, considered to be the preeminent scholar on the topic. Other forms of Russian Folk Dance include Pereplyas (Russian: Перепляс), an all-male competitive dance, Mass Dance (Russian: Массовый пляс), an unpaired stage dance without restrictions on age or number of participants, Group Dance (Russian: Групповая пляска) a type of mass dance employs simple round-dance passages, and improvisation, and types of Quadrilles (Russian: Кадриль), originally a French dance brought toRussia in the 18th century.[87]
Ethnic Russian dances includekhorovod (Russian: Хоровод),barynya (Russian: Барыня),kamarinskaya (Russian: Камаринская),kazachok (Russian: Казачок) and chechotka (Russian: Чечётка) (atap dance inbast shoes and with a bayan).[88]Troika (Russian: Тройка) A dance with one man and two women, named after the traditional Russian carriage which is led by three horses. Bear Dance or dancing with bears (Russian: Танец С Медведем) Dates back to 907 when Great Russian Prince Oleg, in celebration of his victory over the Greeks in Kiev, had as entertainment, 16 male dancers dress as bears and four bears dress as dancers.[89][90] Dances with dancers dressed as bears are a recurring theme, as seen a recording of the Omsk Russian Folk Chorus.[91] One of the main characteristics of Russian furious dances is thevprisiadku elements.[92][93]
Until the 18th century, music in Russia consisted mainly of church music and folk songs and dances.[1] In the 19th century, it was defined by the tension between classical composerMikhail Glinka along with other members ofThe Mighty Handful, and theRussian Musical Society led by composersAnton andNikolay Rubinstein.[1] The later tradition ofPyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of theRomantic era, was continued into the 20th century bySergei Rachmaninoff, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music.[94] World-renowned composers of the 20th century includeAlexander Scriabin,Alexander Glazunov,Igor Stravinsky,Sergei Prokofiev,Dmitri Shostakovich,Georgy Sviridov andAlfred Schnittke.[1]
Soviet and Russian conservatories have turned out generations of world-renowned soloists. Among the best known are violinistsDavid Oistrakh andGidon Kremer,[95][96] cellistMstislav Rostropovich,[97] pianistsVladimir Horowitz,[98]Sviatoslav Richter,[99] andEmil Gilels,[100] and vocalistGalina Vishnevskaya.[101]
The original purpose of the ballet in Russia was to entertain the imperial court. The first ballet company was the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg in the 1740s. TheBallets Russes was a ballet company founded in the 1909 bySergey Diaghilev, an enormously important figure in the Russian ballet scene. Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide.[102] The headquarters of his ballet company was located in Paris, France. A protégé of Diaghilev,George Balanchine, founded the New York City Ballet Company in 1948.[citation needed]
During the early 20th century, Russian ballet dancersAnna Pavlova andVaslav Nijinsky rose to fame. Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions,[103] and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced one internationally famous star after another, includingMaya Plisetskaya,Rudolf Nureyev, andMikhail Baryshnikov. TheBolshoi Ballet in Moscow and theMariinsky in Saint Petersburg remain famous throughout the world. Ballet from then on spread worldwide.[104]
The first known opera made in Russia wasA Life for the Tsar byMikhail Glinka in 1836. This was followed by several operas such asRuslan and Lyudmila in 1842. Russian opera was originally a combination of Russian folk music andItalian opera. After theOctober Revolution many opera composers left Russia. Russia's most popular operas includeBoris Godunov,Eugene Onegin,The Golden Cockerel,Prince Igor, andThe Queen of Spades.[citation needed]
Russia is the place where many of the earliest experiments inelectronic music andnoise music took place.Arseny Avraamov's magnum opus, "Symphony of the factory sirens" (composed in 1918, performed live in 1922) stood as one of the earliest experiments innoise music and a precursor tomusique concrete, Avraamov was also a notable inventor in the field of earliest electronic instruments.Theremin, one of the first mass-produced electronic musical instruments, was invented byLeon Theremin in the Soviet Union before 1928.ANS was another early electronic instrument, invented in 1937 by Soviet engineerEvgeny Murzin. Other electronic instruments, invented around the same time in the Soviet Union and also by Russian emigrees, included "la croix sonore" ("a sounding cross") byNikolai Obukhov (1929),violena (Russian:виолена) by Soviet engineer Alexander Gurov andilston (Russian:ильстон) by Ilya Ilsarov,sonar (Russian:сонар) by Nikita Ananiev,ekvodin (Russian:экводин) by Andrei Volodin,kompanola (Russian:компанола) by Igor Simonov, and many others.
During the 1940s, new electronic instruments were invented in the Soviet Union, including "V-9" (Russian:В-9) by Andrei Volodin,emiriton (Russian:эмиритон) by Andrey Rimsky-Korsakov and A.Ivanov. Emiriton was praised by Shostakovich, and an ensemble of four emiritons touredUkrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940.
In 1956, Ensemble of Electromusical Instruments (Russian:Ансамбль Электромузыкальных Инструментов), or EMI (Russian:ЭМИ) was founded byVyacheslav Mescherin. Among many synthesizers used by EMI were theremins, electronic harps, electronic organs, ekvodin and a Soviet-madereverb unit. EMI played music reminiscent of theWesternspace-age pop.
In 1965, production of the first consumer-grade synthesizer in the Soviet Union, called "Yunost-70" (Youth-70) (Russian:Юность-70), was launched.
In 1966, Moscow Experimental Electronic Music Studio (MESEM) (Russian:МЭСЭМ) was created byEvgeny Murzin, and it was officially opened in 1967. Several notable electronic and experimental composers emerged from the studio, including Edison Denisov,Sofia Gubaidulina, Stanislav Kreichi, Alexander Nemtin,Sándor Kallós,Vladimir Martynov,Alfred Schnittke and one of the pioneers ofnew age music,Eduard Artemiev. Artemiev was among the composers, whose work laid down the foundation oftrance music almost two decades later.
During the late 1960s, electroniclight music ensembles emerged in the Soviet Union, among them were Ensemble Rokoko, Ensemble Elektron and variousjazz ensembles. Their music was frequently transmitted by radio abroad, an effort to increase foreign tourism to the USSR.
By the early 1970s, electronic and electroacoustic instruments became a staple in Sovietestrada andVIA music. Electronic music found acceptance in theSoviet cinema, for instance it was used byAndrei Tarkovsky in "Solaris", "Mirror", "Stalker", was used inAndrei Konchalovsky's "Siberiade", but also was used in more accessible movies, such as "Diamond hand".
Among official soundtracks for the1980 Olympic Games in Moscow opening and closing ceremonies was electronic "Oh Thou Sport, you are eternal progress" (Russian:О, спорт - ты вечный прогресс) from the electroniccantata "Ode to the good messenger" (Russian:Ода доброму вестнику) composed by Eduard Artemiev. The sound director for the opening ceremony, Yury Bogdanov, was another notable alumni of MESEM and author of more than 200 electronic soundtracks for Soviet movies, and numerous electronic and experimental albums.
After the fall of Soviet Union, several electronic music subgenres have emerged from Russia, namelyhardbass,drift phonk,dark psytrance,hookah rap,operplugg,sovietwave.
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During the Soviet times,popular music also produced a number of renowned figures, such as the twoballadeers—Vladimir Vysotsky andBulat Okudzhava,[105] and performers such asAlla Pugacheva.[106]Jazz, even with sanctions from Soviet authorities, flourished and evolved into one of the country's most popular musical forms.[105] TheGanelin Trio have been described by critics as the greatest ensemble of free-jazz incontinental Europe.[107] By the 1980s,rock music became popular across Russia, and produced bands such asAria,Aquarium,[108]DDT,[109] andKino.[110]Pop music in Russia has continued to flourish since the 1960s, with globally famous acts such ast.A.T.u.[111] In the recent times,Little Big, arave band, has gained popularity in Russia and across Europe.[112] Other modern music can be found in the media, such asYouTube. For example, the song "Moscow, Moscow," is extremely popular among memes and other means of entertainment.
Russian and laterSoviet cinema was a hotbed of invention, resulting in world-renowned films such asThe Battleship Potemkin.[114] Soviet-era filmmakers, most notablySergei Eisenstein andAndrei Tarkovsky, would go on to become among of the world's most innovative and influential directors.[115][116] Eisenstein was a student ofLev Kuleshov, who developed the groundbreakingSoviet montage theory of film editing at the world's firstfilm school, theAll-Union Institute of Cinematography.[117]Dziga Vertov's "Kino-Eye" theory had a huge impact on the development of documentary filmmaking and cinema realism.[118] Many Soviet socialist realism films were artistically successful, includingChapaev,The Cranes Are Flying, andBallad of a Soldier.[citation needed]
The 1960s and 1970s saw a greater variety of artistic styles in Soviet cinema. The comedies ofEldar Ryazanov andLeonid Gaidai of that time were immensely popular, with many of the catchphrases still in use today.[119][120] In 1961–68Sergey Bondarchuk directed anOscar-winningfilm adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epicWar and Peace, which wasthe most expensive film made in the Soviet Union.[121] In 1969,Vladimir Motyl'sWhite Sun of the Desert was released, a very popular film in a genre ofostern; the film is traditionally watched bycosmonauts before any trip into space.[122] In 2002,Russian Ark was the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take.[123] Today, the Russian cinema industry continues to expand.[124]
Russia also has a long and richtradition of animation, which started already in the lateRussian Empire times. Most of Russia's cartoon production for cinema and television was created during Soviet times, whenSoyuzmultfilm studio was the largest animation producer. Soviet animators developed a great and unmatched variety of pioneering techniques andaesthetic styles, with prominent directors includingIvan Ivanov-Vano,Fyodor Khitruk andAleksandr Tatarskiy. Soviet cartoons are still a source for many popular catch phrases, while such cartoon heroes as Russian-styleWinnie-the-Pooh, cute littleCheburashka, Wolf and Hare fromNu, Pogodi! being iconic images in Russia and many surrounding countries. The traditions of Soviet animation were developed in the past decade by such directors asAleksandr Petrov and studios likeMelnitsa, along withIvan Maximov.[citation needed]
Some Russian writers, likeTolstoy andDostoyevsky, are known also as philosophers, while many more authors are known primarily for their philosophical works.Russian philosophy blossomed since the 19th century, when it was defined initially by the opposition ofWesternizers, advocating Russia's following the Western political and economical models, andSlavophiles, insisting on developing Russia as a unique civilization.[125] The latter group includesNikolai Danilevsky andKonstantin Leontiev, the early founders ofeurasianism.[126]
In its further developments, Russian philosophy was always marked by a deep connection to literature and interest increativity, society, politics and nationalism;cosmos and religion were other primary subjects. Notable philosophers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, predominantly religious, includeVladimir Solovyov,Sergei Bulgakov,Pavel Florensky,Nikolai Berdyaev,Semyon Frank,Nikolay Lossky,Vasily Rozanov, andVladimir Vernadsky.[6][127] In the 20th century Russian philosophy became dominated byMarxism.[128]
Russia has almost 37 thousand media outlets, over 35 thousand newspapers,[129] and 12 thousand magazines.[130] The largest internationally operating news agencies in Russia areTASS,RIA Novosti, andInterfax.[131]Television is the most popular media in Russia, as 99% of the Russian population receives at least one television channel,[129] and roughly 60% of Russians watch television on a daily basis.[132] The most watched TV channels in Russia include the state-ownedRussia-1,Channel One Russia,NTV,REN TV, andRussia Today.[130] Popular nationwide radio stations in Russia includeRadio Rossii,Echo of Moscow,Radio Mayak,Radio Yunost, andRusskoye Radio.[130]
Originating from Russianscientific community andtelecommunication industries, a specific Russian culture of using the Internet has been established since the early 1990s. In the second half of the 1990s, the termRunet was coined to call the segment of Internet written or understood in the Russian language. Whereas the Internet "has no boundaries", "Russian Internet" (online communications in theRussian language) can not be localized solely to the users residing in the Russian Federation as it includes Russian-speaking people from all around the world. This segment includes millions of users in otherex-USSR countries, Israel and others abroaddiasporas.[133]
With the introduction ofthe Web, many social and cultural events found reflections within the Russian Internet society. Variousonline communities formed, and the most popular one grew out of the Russian-speaking users of the California-based blogging platformLiveJournal (which was completely bought out in December 2007 by Russian firmSUP Fabrik).[134] In January 2008 a LiveJournal blog of the "3rd statesman"Sergey Mironov had appeared and he was shortly followed by the new PresidentDmitry Medvedev who opened a personal video blog which was later also expanded with a LiveJournal version.[citation needed]
As of late, there are scores of websites offering Russian language content including mass media, e-commerce, search engines and so on. Particularly notorious are the "RussianHackers".[135] Russian web design studios, software and web-hosting enterprises offer a variety of services, and the results form a sort of national digital culture. E-commerce giants such asGoogle andMicrosoft have their Russian branches. In September 2007, the national domain.ru passed the milestone of a million domain names.[136] By the end of the 2000s,VKontakte social network became the most populated in the Runet.[citation needed]
Russia'sresearch and development budget is the world'sninth-highest, with an expenditure of approximately 422 billion rubles on domestic research and development.[137] In 2019, Russia was ranked tenth worldwide in the number of scientific publications.[138] Russia ranked 45th in theGlobal Innovation Index in 2021.[139] Since 1904,Nobel Prize were awarded to twenty-six Soviets and Russians inphysics,chemistry,medicine,economy,literature andpeace.[140]
Mikhail Lomonosov proposed theconservation of mass inchemical reactions, discovered theatmosphere of Venus, and founded moderngeology.[141] Since the times ofNikolay Lobachevsky, who pioneered thenon-Euclidean geometry, and a prominent tutorPafnuty Chebyshev, Russianmathematicians became among the world's most influential.[142]Dmitry Mendeleev invented thePeriodic table, the main framework of modernchemistry.[143]Sofya Kovalevskaya was a pioneer amongwomen in mathematics in the 19th century.[144] Nine Soviet/Russian mathematicians have been awarded with theFields Medal.Grigori Perelman was offered the first ever ClayMillennium Prize Problems Award for his final proof of thePoincaré conjecture in 2002, as well as the Fields Medal in 2006, both of which he infamously declined.[145][146]
Alexander Popov was among theinventors of radio,[147] whileNikolai Basov andAlexander Prokhorov were co-inventors oflaser andmaser.[148]Zhores Alferov contributed significantly to the creation ofmodern heterostructure physics and electronics.[149]Oleg Losev made crucial contributions in the field ofsemiconductor junctions, and discoveredlight-emitting diodes.[150]Vladimir Vernadsky is considered one of the founders ofgeochemistry,biogeochemistry, andradiogeology.[151]Élie Metchnikoff is known for his groundbreaking research inimmunology.[152]Ivan Pavlov is known chiefly for his work inclassical conditioning.[153]Lev Landau made fundamental contributions to many areas oftheoretical physics.[154]
Nikolai Vavilov was best known for having identified thecenters of origin ofcultivated plants.[155] Many famous Russian scientists and inventors wereémigrés.Igor Sikorsky was anaviation pioneer.[156]Vladimir Zworykin was the inventor of theiconoscope andkinescope television systems.[157]Theodosius Dobzhansky was the central figure in the field ofevolutionary biology for his work in shaping themodern synthesis.[158]George Gamow was one of the foremost advocates of theBig Bang theory.[159] Many foreign scientists lived and worked in Russia for a long period, such asLeonard Euler andAlfred Nobel.[160][161]
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Roscosmos is Russia's national space agency. The country's achievements in the field ofspace technology andspace exploration can be traced back toKonstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoreticalastronautics, whose works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such asSergey Korolyov,Valentin Glushko, and many others who contributed to the success of theSoviet space program in the early stages of theSpace Race and beyond.[162]: 6–7, 333
In 1957, the first Earth-orbiting artificialsatellite,Sputnik 1, was launched. In 1961, the first human trip into space was successfully made byYuri Gagarin. Many other Soviet and Russianspace exploration records ensued. In 1963,Valentina Tereshkova became the first and youngestwoman in space, having flown a solo mission onVostok 6.[163] In 1965,Alexei Leonov became the first human to conduct aspacewalk, exiting thespace capsule duringVoskhod 2.[164]
In 1957,Laika, aSoviet space dog, became the first animal to orbit the Earth, aboardSputnik 2.[165] In 1966,Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on acelestial body, theMoon.[166] In 1968,Zond 5 brought the first Earthlings (two tortoises and other life forms) to arrive at and circumnavigate the Moon.[167] In 1970,Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to land on another planet,Venus.[168] In 1971,Mars 3 became the first spacecraft to land onMars.[169]: 34–60 During the same period,Lunokhod 1 became the firstspace exploration rover,[170] whileSalyut 1 became the world's firstspace station.[171] Russia had 176 active satellites in space in 2021,[172] the world's third-highest.[173]
Not only the minorities in Russia but the Russian culture as a whole has in the different regions of the country like in Northwest Russia, Central Russia, Southern Russia, Siberian Russia, Volga Russia, Ural Russia, Far East Russia and the Russian North Caucasus and their Oblasts own local traditions and characteristics which were developed over a long period of time through strong ethno-cultural interactions within the various groups and communities, like Slavs, Tatars and Finno-Ugrics.[174]
TraditionalRussian clothes includekaftan, a cloth which Old Russia had in common with similar robes in theOttoman Empire,Scandinavia andPersia.[175]Kosovorotka, which was over a long time of period a traditional holidays blouse worn by men.[176]Ushanka for men, which design was influenced in 17th century when incentral andnorthern Russia a hat with earflaps called treukh was worn.Sarafan which is connected to theMiddle East region and were worn in Central- and Northern regions of Old Russia. In Southern Russia burka and papaha are connected to theCossacks which, in turn, is culturally connected to the people of theNorthern Caucaus.Kokoshnik for women was primarily worn in the northern regions of Russia in the 16th to 19th centuries.Lapti and similar shoes were mostly worn by poorer members in Old Russia and northern regions whereSlavic,Baltic andFinno-Ugric people lived. Valenki are traditional Russian shoes from 18th century designs which originally originated in the Great steppe, from Asian nomads.[citation needed] Russian traditional cloths and its elements still have a high priority in today's Russia, especially in pagan Slavic communities, folk festivals, Cossack communities, in modern fashion and Russian music ensembles.[citation needed]
Russian cuisine has been formed by climate, cultural and religious traditions, and the vast geography of the nation; and it shares similarities with the cuisines of its neighbouring countries. Crops ofrye, wheat,barley, andmillet provide the ingredients for various breads,pancakes and cereals, as well as for many drinks.[177]Bread, of many varieties,[178] is very popular across Russia.[179] Flavourful soups and stews includeshchi,borsch,ukha,solyanka, andokroshka.Smetana (a heavysour cream) andmayonnaise are often added to soups and salads.[180][181]Pirozhki,blini, andsyrniki are native types of pancakes.Beef Stroganoff,Chicken Kiev,pelmeni,[182] andshashlyk are popular meat dishes.[183] Other meat dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls(golubtsy) usually filled with meat.[184] Salads includeOlivier salad,[185]vinegret,[186] anddressed herring.[187]
Russia'snational non-alcoholic drink iskvass,[188] and the national alcoholic drink isvodka, which was created in the nation in the 14th century.[189] The country has the world's highest vodka consumption,[190] whilebeer is the most popular alcoholic beverage.[191]Wine has become increasingly popular in Russia in the 21st century.[192]Tea has also been a historically popular beverage in Russia.[193]
Russia has eight, diverse—public, patriotic, and religious—official holidays.[194] The year starts withNew Year's Day on January 1, soon followed byRussian Orthodox Christmas on January 7; the two are the country's most popular holidays.[195]Defender of the Fatherland Day, dedicated to men, is celebrated on February 23;[196]International Women's Day, dedicated to women, on March 8;[197] andSpring and Labor Day, originally a Soviet era holiday dedicated to workers; on May 1.[198]
Victory Day, which honors Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and theEnd of World War II in Europe, is celebrated as an annuallarge parade in Moscow's Red Square;[199] and marks the famousImmortal Regiment civil event.[200] Other patriotic holidays includeRussia Day on June 12, celebrated to commemorate Russia'sdeclaration of sovereignty from the collapsing Soviet Union;[201] andUnity Day on November 4, commemorating the uprising which marked the end of the Polish–Lithuanian occupation of Moscow.[202]
Popular non-public holidays includeOld New Year on 14 January;[203]Tatiana Day on 25 January, dedicated to students;[204]Maslenitsa, an ancient and popular East Slavic folk holiday;[205]Cosmonautics Day on 12 April, in tribute to the first human trip into space;[206]Kupala Night on 6–7 July, a traditional Slavic holiday;[207] andPeter and Fevronia Day. Two major Christian holidays areEaster andTrinity Sunday.[208] TheScarlet Sails is a famous public event held annually during theWhite Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg.[209]
Christianity,Islam,Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia's traditional religions, deemed part of Russia's "historical heritage" in a law passed in 1997.[210]Estimates of believers widely fluctuate among sources, and some reports put the number of non-believers in Russia as high as 48-67% of the population.[211]Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia.[212] 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to theRussian Orthodox Church while there are a number ofsmaller Orthodox Churches.[213] However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Nonetheless, the church is widely respected by both believers and nonbelievers, who see it as a symbol of Russian heritage and culture.[214] Smaller Christian denominations such as Roman Catholics,Armenian Gregorians, and variousProtestants exist.
The ancestors of many of today's Russiansadopted Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century.[214] The 2007 International Religious Freedom Report published by the US Department of State said that approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians.[215] According to a poll by theRussian Public Opinion Research Center, 63% of respondents considered themselves Russian Orthodox, 6% of respondents considered themselves Muslim and less than 1% considered themselves either Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant or Jewish. Another 12% said they believe in God, but did not practice any religion, and 16% said they are non-believers.[216]
The steppe culture of the RussianCossacks originated from nomadic steppe people which merged with Eastern Slavic people groups into large communities. The early Cossack communities emerged in the 14th century, the first, among others, were theDon Cossacks. Other Cossack communities that have played an important role in Russia's history and culture are theUral Cossacks,Terek Cossacks,Kuban Cossacks,Orenburg Cossacks,Volga Cossacks,Astrakhan Cossacks,Siberian Cossacks,Transbaikal Cossacks,Amur Cossacks,Ussuri Cossacks. Cossacks defended the Russian borders and expanded Russia's territory. The regions of the large Cossack communities enjoyed many freedoms inTsarist Russia. The culture of the Cossacks became an important part of Russian culture, many Russian songs and various elements in dances and Russia's culture in general were much shaped by the Cossack communities.[217]
The forest plays a very important role inRussia's culture and history. The forest had a great influence on the characteristics of Russian people and their cultural creations. Many myths of Russian culture are closely intertwined with the forest. Various of the earlySlavic and other tribes built their houses out of wood so that the forest influenced the style of Russian architecture significantly.[218][219] The handcraftHohloma which originated in theVolga region is made out of wood and depicts numerous plants of the forest, like the berryViburnum opulus (Russian: Калина, Kalina),flowers and leaves. ManyRussian fairy tales play in the forest and fictional characters likeBaba Yaga are strongly connected to Russian wood culture. The forest is also an important subject of manyRussian folk songs.[220]
Russian walking culture
Strolling or walking (Russian: гулять,gulyat') is very common in the Russian society. In contrast to many western countries strolling is very common among young people in Russia. Young people often arrange just to go for a walk.[221][222] Besides the verb, the experience itself, which describes the time span of the walk, is calledprogulka (Russian: прогулка).[223] Walking is so important in Russian culture thatgulyat' is also a synonym for "to party".[224][225][self-published source?]
Mushroom hunting and berry picking
Activities in the forest where people pick mushrooms and berries are very common in Russia.Mushrooms (Russian: грибы,griby) have been an important part of Russian folk culture at least since the 10th century and an essential part of Russian meals. There are more than 200 kinds of edible mushrooms in Russia. Mushrooms were always considered magical and so they play a prominent role inRussian fairy tales. The ability to identify and prepare edible mushrooms is often passed on from generation to generation. Themushroom hunting tradition is especially common inSlavic-speaking andBaltic countries. Theberry (Russian: ягода,yagoda) also plays an important role in Russian folk culture and is often part of Russian craftsmanship, folk songs and national costumes. Thecranberry was known in Europe for centuries as the "Russian berry". To pick mushrooms and berries in forests is a kind of meditation in Russia.[226][227][228][229][230]
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Historically,Russian athletes have been one of the most successful contenders in theOlympic Games,[232] ranking second in anall-time Olympic Games medal count.[233] Russia is the leading nation inrhythmic gymnastics; and Russiansynchronized swimming is considered to be the world's best.[234]Figure skating is another popular sport in Russia, especiallypair skating andice dancing.[235] Russia has produced a number of famoustennis players.[236]Chess is also a widely popular pastime in the nation, with many of the world's top chess players being Russian for decades.[237] The1980 Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow,[238] and the2014 Winter Olympics and the2014 Winter Paralympics were hosted in Sochi.[239][240]
As the Soviet Union, Russia was traditionally very strong in basketball, winningOlympic tournaments,World Championships andEurobasket. As of 2009 they have various players in theNBA, notablyUtah Jazz forwardAndrei Kirilenko, and are considered as a worldwide basketball force. In 2007, Russia defeated world champions Spain to winEurobasket 2007. Russian basketball clubs such asPBC CSKA Moscow (numerous Euroleague Champions) have also had great success in European competitions such as the Euroleague and theULEB Cup.[citation needed]
Althoughice hockey was only introduced during the Soviet era, thenational team soon dominated the sport internationally, winning gold at seven of the nineOlympics and 19 of the 30World Championships they contested between 1954 and 1991. Russian playersValeri Kharlamov,Sergei Makarov,Viacheslav Fetisov andVladislav Tretiak hold four of the six positions on theIIHF Team of the Century.[241] As with some other sports, the Russian ice hockey programme suffered after the breakup of the Soviet Union, with Russia enduring a 15-year gold medal drought. At that time many prominent Russian players made their careers in theNational Hockey League (NHL). In recent years Russia has reemerged as a hockey power, winning back to back gold medals in the2008 and2009 World Championships, and overtakingTeam Canada as thetop ranked ice hockey team in the world, but then lost to Canada in the quarter-finals of the 2010 Olympics and 2010 World Junior Championship.[242] TheKontinental Hockey League (KHL) was founded in 2008 as a rival of the NHL.[citation needed]
Bandy, known in Russian as "hockey with a ball" and sometimes informally as "Russian hockey" (as opposed to "Canadian hockey", an informal name for ice hockey), is another traditionally popular ice sport, with national league games averaging around 3,500 spectators.[243] It's considered anational sport.[244] TheSoviet Union national bandy team won all theBandy World Championships from 1957 to 1979.The Russian team is the reigning world champion sincethe 2014 tournament, having defended the title in2015.[citation needed]
Football is the most popular sport in Russia.[245] TheSoviet Union national football team became the first European champions by winningEuro 1960,[246] and reached the finals ofEuro 1988.[247] In 1956 and 1988, the Soviet Union won gold at theOlympic football tournament. Russian clubsCSKA Moscow andZenit Saint Petersburg won theUEFA Cup in 2005 and 2008.[248][249] TheRussian national football team reached the semi-finals ofEuro 2008.[250] Russia was the host nation for the2017 FIFA Confederations Cup,[251] and the2018 FIFA World Cup.[252]
Russia has an extensive history of martial arts. Some of its best-known forms include thefistfight,Sambo, andSystema with its derivativesRyabko's Systema andRetuinskih's System ROSS. Undefeated lightweightUFC championKhabib Nurmagomedov is fromMakhachkala and was called by President Vladimir Putin following his victory overConor McGregor.[citation needed]
State symbols of Russia include theByzantinedouble-headed eagle, combined withSt. George of Moscow in theRussian coat of arms; these symbols date from the time of theGrand Duchy of Moscow. TheRussian flag appeared in the lateTsardom of Russia period and became widely used during the era of theRussian Empire. The currentRussian national anthem shares its music with theSoviet Anthem, though not the lyrics (many Russians of older generations don't know the new lyrics and sing the old ones). TheRussian imperialmottoGod is with us and theSoviet mottoProletarians of all countries, unite! are now obsolete and no new motto has been officially introduced to replace them. TheHammer and sickle and the fullSoviet coat of arms are still widely seen in Russian cities as a part of old architectural decorations. SovietRed Stars are also encountered, often onmilitary equipment andwar memorials. The SovietRed Banner is still honored, especially theBanner of Victory of 1945.[citation needed]
TheMatryoshka doll is a recognizable symbol of Russia, while the towers ofMoscow Kremlin andSaint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow are main Russia's architectural symbols.Cheburashka is a mascot ofRussian national Olympic team.Mary,Saint Nicholas,Saint Andrew,Saint George,Saint Alexander Nevsky,Saint Sergius of Radonezh,Saint Seraphim of Sarov are Russia's patron saints.Chamomile is a flower that Russians often associate with theirMotherland, whilebirch is anational tree. TheRussian bear is an animal often associated with Russia, though this image has Western origins and Russians themselves do not consider it as a special symbol. The native Russian national personification is "Родина мать"Mother Motherland (the statue of it located on the Mamay hill "Мамаев курган" in Volgograd /former Stalingrad/), calledMother Russia at the West.[citation needed] In Russia another state symbol would be White or Silver Birch Trees or chamomile. Chamomile can be found in most places of Russia but is mostly found in the forests. Finding a chamomile can be a good sign in Russia and you could also make a headband out of it called a venok. Mostly young girls will sit outside with their friends in poorer regions and make them. You can make them out of any flower and keep them hanging in the house or wear it when outside.
Tourism in Russia has seen rapid growth since the late Soviet times, first inner tourism and then international tourism as well. Rich cultural heritage and great natural variety place Russia among themost popular tourist destinations in the world. The countrycontains 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, while many more are on UNESCO's tentative lists.[253] Major tourist routes in Russia include a travel around the Golden Ring of ancient cities, cruises on the big rivers likeVolga, and long journeys on the famousTrans-Siberian Railway. Diverse regions and ethnic cultures of Russia offer many different food and souvenirs, and show a great variety of traditions, like Russianbanya, TatarSabantuy, or Siberianshamanist rituals.[citation needed]
Most popular tourist destinations in Russia are Moscow andSaint Petersburg, the current and the former capitals of the country and great cultural centers, recognized asWorld Cities. Moscow and Saint Petersburg feature such world-renowned museums asTretyakov Gallery andHermitage, famous theaters likeBolshoi andMariinsky, ornate churches likeSaint Basil's Cathedral,Cathedral of Christ the Saviour,Saint Isaac's Cathedral andChurch of the Savior on Blood, impressive fortifications likeMoscow Kremlin andPeter and Paul Fortress, beautiful squares likeRed Square andPalace Square, and streets likeTverskaya andNevsky Prospect. Rich palaces and parks of extreme beauty are found in the formerimperial residences in suburbs of Moscow (Kolomenskoye,Tsaritsyno) and Saint Petersburg (Peterhof,Strelna,Oranienbaum,Gatchina,Pavlovsk Palace,Tsarskoye Selo). Moscow contains a great variety of impressive Soviet-era buildings along withmodern skyscrapers, while Saint Petersburg, nicknamedVenice of the North, boasts of its classical architecture, many rivers, channels andbridges.[citation needed]
Kazan, the capital ofTatarstan, shows a unique mix of ChristianRussian and MuslimTatar cultures. The city has registered a brandThe Third Capital of Russia, though a number of other major Russian cities compete for this status, likeNovosibirsk,Yekaterinburg andNizhny Novgorod, all being major cultural centers with rich history and prominent architecture.Veliky Novgorod,Pskov and the cities of Golden Ring (Vladimir,Yaroslavl,Kostroma and others) have at best preserved the architecture and the spirit of ancient and medievalRus', and also are among the main tourist destinations. Manyold fortifications (typicallyKremlins),monasteries andchurches are scattered throughout Russia, forming its unique cultural landscape both in big cities and in remote areas.[citation needed]
The warm subtropicalBlack Sea coast of Russia is the site for a number of popular searesorts, likeSochi, known for its beaches and wonderful nature. At the same time Sochi can boast a number of majorski resorts, likeKrasnaya Polyana; the city is the host of2014 Winter Olympics and the2014 Winter Paralympics. The mountains of theNorthern Caucasus contain many other popularski resorts, likeDombay inKarachay–Cherkessia.[citation needed]
The most famous natural tourist destination in Russia isLake Baikal, namedthe Blue Eye of Siberia. This unique lake, oldest and deepest in the world, has crystal-clean waters and is surrounded bytaiga-covered mountains.[citation needed]
Other popular natural destinations includeKamchatka with itsvolcanoes andgeysers,Karelia with its many lakes andgranite rocks,Altai with its snowy mountains andTyva with its wild steppes.[citation needed]
...and in the twentieth century Russian choreographers and performers, disseminating the art of ballet throughout the world, attained world-wide recognition.
Muscovy gained full sovereignty over the ethnically Russian lands... by the beginning of the sixteenth century virtually all those lands were united
The inhabitants of Russia are quite diverse. Most are ethnic Russians, but there also are more than 120 other ethnic groups present, speaking many languages and following disparate religious and cultural traditions. ... Russia can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts and sciences.
{{cite encyclopedia}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)...and Pushkin, adapting to the transition with ingenuity and uneven success, became Russia's first fully profes-sional writer.
...Chekhov, whatever his standing as a playwright, is quite probably the best short-story writer ever.
On June 16, 1963, aboard Vostok 6, Soviet Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman to travel into space.
Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to achieve a lunar soft landing and to transmit photographic data from the Moon's surface to Earth...
...on September 18, 1968, the Soviet Union's Zond 5 spacecraft circled the moon, ferrying the first living creatures known to have orbited another world. On board were two Russian steppe tortoises along with some worms, flies and seeds.
The Lunokhod 1 rover was delivered to the lunar surface by the Luna 17 spacecraft and was first successful rover to operate beyond Earth.
On April 19, 1971, the Soviet Union placed into orbit Salyut, the world's first space station.
...and Russia is third with 147.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Life in Russia would have been impossible without bread, and the different types of bread are as varied as life itself.
Mayonnaise was introduced to imperialist Russia at the turn of the 20th century and it remained a stalwart throughout Soviet times. Mass-produced and durable, it was everywhere – from workers canteens to households that didn't have an abundance of fresh food. Today the average Russian consumes 2.5kg a year, using it as everything from a salad dressing to a bread spread.
But ask Russians whatpierogi resemble, and they show no hesitation. It is, of course, nothing more than Russian pelmeni, they reply.
At the other end of Europe, the popularity in medieval France of pigeon and foie gras wrapped en paupiettes with cabbage leaves may well have migrated east — or at least its association with pigeon may have. That seems to be the origin of Polishgoląbki, Ukrainianholubtsi, and Russian golubtsy, all versions of the word pigeon.
...if Russian salad is an orchestra of flavours and textures, then each player deserves to be heard.
Beloved by Russians, this dish is an essential ingredient for any feast, especially the New Year celebration.
Shuba, or dressed herring, fills many Russian hearts with nostalgia. Also known as "herring under a fur coat", it was a traditional New Year's Eve dish in the Soviet era - and is still a much loved snack.
The Russians drink some 17.3 shots of vodka per month on average, according to data from Euromonitor. That's easily the most in the world.
The topic of wine production and wine varieties is gaining popularity among the population. More and more, Russian wine consumers want to learn about the product being consumed, which is reflected in the growing influence of beverage retailers on the retail distribution of wine.
In Russia, where tea is a part of daily life in all seasons, "tea-drinking," or chayepitiye, refers to more than just simply consuming the brewed delicacy.
A legacy of the Soviet era, March 8 is widely celebrated and a public holiday in Russia.
Since the end of the Soviet era in Russia, May Day has become a rallying point for Russians who are nostalgic for the Communist era.
The annual parade, which commemorates the end of World War II in Europe, is usually held on May 9.
With each passing year, the so-called Immortal Regiment procession marking the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany becomes larger and more widespread.
It marks the anniversary of the FirstCongress of People's Deputies adopting the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) in 1990.
The holiday was established to mark Moscow's liberation from Polish invaders in 1612
The Old New Year isn't an official holiday. By this time, there have been enough days off for Russians - almost eleven days to celebrate the New Year and Orthodox Christmas. But, for some reason, January 13–14 is a feast yet again.
In Russia, Jan. 25 is Tatiana's Day—otherwise known as student's day—and Moscow has an array of events planned to mark the occasion.
The country is in the midst of celebrating Maslenitsa, an Eastern Slavic folk holiday that takes place the week before the start of Russian OrthodoxLent... Though now tied to the Christian calendar, Maslenitsa has roots in ancient Slavic sun worshippers — it originally marked the end of winter and advent of spring.
The day has been celebrated every year as Cosmonautics Day since the spaceflight took place in 1961.
In parts of Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and Russia, an ancient pagan summer rite called Kupala combined with the traditional Orthodox feast of Saint John the Baptist, becoming Ivan Kupala Night, a festival celebrating the summer solstice.
The biggest Russian Orthodox celebration of the year is Easter (Paskha) – a time for friends, family, food and, of course, vodka.
More than 1.4 million people gathered along the Neva River in St. Petersburg on June 23 to watch the famous Scarlet Sails celebration held in honour of the city's high school graduates
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