The unknown Russia: dissolving the myths
A vast snow-clad country, the native land of vodka, bears and the KGB: myths about Russia seem to be an integral part of its image. The reality is a heady mix of people, traditions and history.
Spanning 9 time zones and two continents, Russia puzzles and fascinates. Taking up an immense space, a home to different nationalities and cultures, it’s often called a bridge between the East and the West. You can spend a lifetime exploring it without ever unveiling all its mysteries or feel at home over a week-end.
It’s a country of snow-covered plains and sizzling seaside, never-ending forests and high peaks, vibrant cities and forlorn villages. Everything’s on a grand scale. For centuries Russia’s been changing and re-inventing itself. It’s seen great glory and great downfalls. Emerging as one of the world’s top powers, it’s still dealing with its Soviet past. A land of age-old traditions and contrasts. For almost a century it’s been seen as “an evil empire”. Some believe it still is. Others think it’s carving itself a new place in the world.
A challenge as much as a destination, it’s the unknown Russia. It’s up to you to discover it.
Modernizing Russia, Nikita Mikhalkov, Kazimir Malevich, Maslenitsa
m ↓
Magic tablecloth Muslim Magomayev Anton Makarenko Nikolay Makarov Natalia Makarova Nestor Makhno Ekaterina Maksimova Georgy Malenkov Kazimir Malevich Rodion Malinovsky Savva Mamontov Osip Mandelstam Aleksey Maresyev Maria Feodorovna, Empress Consort of Russia Samuil Marshak Marxism-Leninism Maslenitsa Maslenitsa festivities in Istra valley Master riders saddled shirtless and armored Aleksandr Matrosov Matryoshka Denis Matsuev Valentina Matvienko Vladimir Mayakovsky Medovukha Medved Dmitry Medvedev Leonid Melamed Dmitry Mendeleev Aleksandr Menshikov Vsevolod Meyerhold Niccolo Michetti Ivan Michurin MiG Mikhail Kalashnikov museum Nikita Mikhalkov Sergey Mikhalkov Nikolay Miklukho-Maklay Artyom Mikoyan Anastas Mikoyan Military Kuzma Minin and Count Dmitry Pozharsky Andrey Mironov Sergey Mironov Mishka Kosolapiy Mochit’ v sortire Modernizing Russia Igor Moiseev Vyacheslav Molotov Count Montfort The Mons Family Aleksey Mordashov Nonna Mordyukova Savva Morozov Moscow planetarium reopens after reconstruction Moscow Ski Track Vera Mukhina Gerhard Friedrich Muller Murzilka Museum of Soviet gaming machines Music Modest Mussorgsky Anastasia Myskina Mysterious charm of the North Caucasus Karl Friedrich Hieronymus, Freiherr von Münchausen Count Burkhard Christoph von Münnich
New head, new hopes, Anna Netrebko, Rudolph Nureyev, Vladimir Nabokov
n ↓
Elvira Nabiullina Vladimir Nabokov Pavel Nakhimov Sergey Naryshkin The Naryshkins Aleksey Navalny Nikolay Nekrasov Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Boris Nemtsov New economic policy (NEP) Pyotr Nesterov Mikhail Nesterov Nestor the Chronicler Anna Netrebko Aleksandr Nevsky Leonid Nevzlin New head, new hopes Nicholas I Nicholas II Night-time exhibition and concert in Moscow Metro Afanasy Nikitin Patriarch Nikon Yury Nikulin Vatslav Nizhinsky Valeria Novodvorskaya Nicholas Roerich Rudolph Nureyev
Oleg Veshchy (The Prophet), Official state holidays, Alexander Ovechkin, Lyubov Orlova
o ↓
Of Russian origin Official state holidays Bulat Okudzhava Oladushki Old New Year Oleg Veshchy (The Prophet) Princess Olga of Kiev On this day Opening ceremony of "Worker and Kolkhoz Woman" monument in Moscow Opera and ballet Oprichnina Grigory Ordzhonikidze Grigory Orlov Aleksey Orlov (Chesmensky) Lyubov Orlova Nikolay Ostrovsky Aleksandr Ostrovsky Ottepel Alexander Ovechkin The Ovechkin Family Sergey Ozhegov
Mikhail Piotrovsky, Political system, Population, Aleksandr Pushkin
p ↓
The Era of Palace Coups Palekh Nikita Panin Ivan Papanin Boris Pasternak Paul I Ivan Pavlov Yakov Pavlov Anna Pavlova Pechka Viktor Pelevin Grigory Perelman Perestroika Dmitry Peskov Peter II Peter III Peter I the Great Marius Petipa Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin Pioneers Mikhail Piotrovsky Dmitry Pisarev Kira Plastinina Vyacheslav Plehve Georgy Plekhanov Fyodor Plevako Maya Plisetskaya Ivan Poddubny Nikolay Podgorny Aleksandr Pokryshkin Boris Polevoy (Kampov) Politburo Political system Politics and society Dzhokhan Pollyeva Georgy Poltavchenko Po ponyatiyam Population Portyanki Vladimir Potanin Potemkinskie derevni Grigory Potyomkin Vladimir Pozner Pelmeni Ponty Proletary Prodrazvyorstka Mikhail Prokhorov Sergey Prokofiev Prominent Russians Prorub Emelyan Pugachev Alla Pugacheva Pushchino Radioastronomical Observatory Aleksandr Pushkin Vladimir Putin Pyatiletka
Russia after the Soviet Union, The Romanovs, Religion, Grigory Rasputin
r ↓
Sergey Rachmaninov Aleksandr Radishchev Arkady Raikin Faina Ranevskaya Grigory Rasputin Rassol Stepan (Stenka) Razin Registracia Reituzi Religion Religion Ilya Repin Resistance from within: Museum of German Anti-Fascists Rezhim Viktor Reznikov Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov Antonio Rinaldi Road trip: Baikonur, launch of the Soyuz rocket Svyatoslav Roerich Konstantin Rokossovsky Aleksey Mikhailovich Romanov Anastasia Romanova Elizaveta Petrovna Romanova The Romanovs Dietmar Rosenthal Karl Rossi Mstislav Rostropovich Robert Rozhdestvensky Red Army Andrey Rublev Marco Ruffo Rukomoinik Russia after the Soviet Union Russian history Russian Imperial Duma Russia’s unique Iron Museum Russkaya Pravda Aleksandr Rutskoy The Ryabushinsky family Eldar Ryazanov Ryurik
Shchi, Andrey Sakharov, Joseph Stalin, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
s ↓
Viktor Sadovnichy Marat Safin Nikas Safronov Andrey Sakharov Salo Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin Darya Saltykova Samogon Samovar Samoyedstvo Tanya Savicheva Aleksey Savrasov August Ludwig von Schlozer Alfred Schnittke Science and technology Aleksandr Scriabin Dinara Safina Igor Sechin Semibankirschina Pyotr Semyonov-Tyan-Shansky Seni Saint Seraphim of Sarov Anatoly Serdyukov Kirill Serebrennikov Serfs Valentin Serov Mintimer Shaimiev Varlam Shalamov Maria Sharapova Shchi Aleksey Shchusev Eduard Shevardnadze Yury Shevchuk Ivan Shishkin Sergey Shmatko Sergey Shoigu Mikhail Sholokhov Dmitry Shostakovich Sergey Shoygu The Shparos Shuba Vasily Shukshin Klavdia Shulzhenko Vasily Shuysky Igor Sikorsky Siloviki Denis Simachev Siphon Sitro Nikolay Sklifosovsky Skomorokh Slavophiles and Zapadniki Smekalka Smenka Anatoly Sobchak Ksenia Sobchak Sergey Sobyanin Pietro Antonio Solari (Pietro Fryazin) Fyodor Sologub Sergey Solovyov Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Soviet Monument “Worker and Kolkhoz Woman” under reconstruction Soviet posters and front-line photos The Soviet saint Space and aviation Spartak Maria Spiridonova Sport Sputnik Sergius of Radonezh (Sergey Radonezhsky) Shashlyk Snegurochka Sovok Subbotnik Sukhoi St Petersburg from the sky St. Petersburg’s miniature copy Aleksey Stakhanov Joseph Stalin Stalin's Purges Konstantin Stanislavsky Stilyagi Pyotr Stolypin Strategic bombers graveyard Igor Stravinsky Street of History Eduard Streltsov Streltsy Arkady and Boris Strugatsky Old Style and New Style Pavel Sukhoi Vasily Surikov Ivan Susanin Sushki Aleksandr Suvorov Yakov Sverdlov Georgy Sviridov Syrniki
Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, Troika, Through Time of Troubles to Imperial Russia, Leo Tolstoy
t ↓
Table of Ranks Taiga Viktor Talalikhin Tamada Tanks for the memories Artem Tarasov Mikael Tariverdiev Andrey Tarkovsky Vasily Tatishchev Pyotr Tchaikovsky Telogreika Valentina Tereshkova The Moscow underground river Neglinnaya The Romanov dynasty The Ryurikovich dynasty The world's biggest collection of tanks at Kubinka museum The Yury Gagarin Russian State Science Research Cosmonauts Training Center (Star City) Theophanes the Greek Through Time of Troubles to Imperial Russia Natalya Timakova Leo Tolstoy Aleksey Tolstoy Aleksey N Tolstoy Georgy Tovstonogov Vasily Trediakovsky Pavel Tretyakov Domenico Andrea Trezzini Leon Trotsky (Lev Bronstein) Tselina Zurab Tsereteli Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Nikolay Tsiskaridze Viktor Tsoy Marina Tsvetaeva Troika Mikhail Tukhachevsky Andrey Tupolev Ivan Turgenev Fyodor Tyutchev
Galina Vishnevskaya, Varezhki, Valenki, Nikolai Valuev
v ↓
Evgeny Vakhtangov Nikolai Valuev Valyat' duraka Vanka-Vstanka Viktor Vasnetsov Nikolay Vavilov Vasily Vereshchagin Aleksandr Vertinsky Victory Day Fireworks Victory Day parade training Vinegret Galina Vishnevskaya Vladimir I Vladimir Monomakh (Monomachus) Vodka Anastassia Volochkova Kliment Voroshilov Mikhail Vrubel Valenki Vareniki Varezhki Venik Pyotr Vyazemsky Vladimir Vysotsky Vytrezvitel
Zakuska, Georgy Zhukov, Vladimir Zworykin, Slava Zaitsev
z ↓
Nikolay Zabolotsky Slava Zaitsev Vasily Zaitsev Svetlana Zakharova Evgeny Zamyatin Zapoy Zavalinka Nikolay Zelinsky Zemsky Sobor Andrey Zhdanov Vladimir Zhirinovsky Zhostovo Painting Aleksandr Zhukov Georgy Zhukov Nikolay Zhukovsky Vasily Zhukovsky Mikhail Zhvanetsky Grigory Zinovyev Zolotaya Rybka Rikhard Zorge Mikhail Zoshchenko Viktor Zubkov Mikhail Zurabov Sergey Zverev Vladimir Zworykin Gennady Zyuganov Zakuska Zastoy
Roman Abramovich, Administrative division, Andrey Arshavin, AK-47 combat rifle
a ↓
Apparatchik Avoska Abandoned naval hero Roman Abramovich Administrative division Chinghiz Aitmatov Ivan Aivazovsky AK-47 combat rifle Bella (Izabella) Akhmadulina Anna Akhmatova Vasily Aksenov Boris Akunin Alexander I Alexander II Liberator Alexander III the Peacemaker Alexandrowka, Russian Colony in Potsdam Patriarch Alexy II Zhores Alfyorov Aloisio the New Nina Ananiashvili Daniil Andreev Leonid Andreev Yury Andropov Anna Ioannovna Anna Yaroslavna Annunciation Day St. Anthony of the Caves (Antony Pechersky) Oleg Antonov Andrey Arshavin Art Viktor Astafiev Avos Protopope Avvakum Petrov
Basic facts, Bistro, Timur Bekmambetov, Baba Yaga
b ↓
Isaac Babel Babushka Back to the USSR Ivan Bagramyan Pyotr Bagration Leon Bakst Aleksandr Bakulev Mikhail Bakunin Miliy Balakirev Ballet in Kuskovo Konstantin Balmont Yury Baluevsky BAM Banki Banya Yevgeny Baratynsky Mikhail Barklay de Tolly (Michael Andreas Barclay de Tolly) Mikhail Baryshnikov Basic facts Basic facts about Russia St. Basil Nikolay Basov Yelena Baturina Bayan Bayan's factory opens its doors to see how the production is going on Gottlieb Sigfried Bayer Vasily Bazhenov Baba Yaga Balalaika Bidon Bistro Blini Vladimir Bekhterev Timur Bekmambetov Vissarion Belinsky Faddey Bellinsgauzen Andrey Bely Aleksandr Benckendorff Aleksandr Benua Nikolay Berdyaev Boris Berezovsky Olga Berggolts Lavrentiy Beria Vitus Bering Mark Bernes Besperspektivnyak Dima Bilan Birch Juice Blat Aleksandr Blok Bogatyr Andrey Bogolyubsky Fyodor Bondarchuk Sergey Bondarchuk St.Boris & Gleb Aleksandr Borodin Pavel Borodin Borshch Evgeny Botkin Ivan Botsis Mikhail Botvinnik Viktor Bout Boyar Leonid Brezhnev Sergey Brin Joseph Brodsky Aleksey Brusilov Karl Bryullov Valery Bryusov Semyon Budenny Nikolay Bukharin Mikhail Bulgakov Ivan Bunin Nikolay Burdenko Business Bylina
Cossacks, Cosmonaut, Climate, Anton Chekhov
c ↓
Canine cops - life at a Russian police kennel Catherine I Catherine II the Great Cosmonaut Cossacks Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War Marc Chagall Anna Chakvetadze Feodor Chaliapin Vasily Chapaev Igor Chapurin Yury Chayka Evgeny Chazov Cheburashka Anton Chekhov Mikhail Chekhov Konstantin Chernenko Max Chernitsov Chernobyl Viktor Chernomyrdin Sergey Cheskidov Gaetano Chiaveri Boris Chirkov Valery Chkalov Anatoly Chubais Korney Chukovsky Inna Churikova Cinema and theater Classic GAZ car show Carl Philipp Gottfried von Clausewitz Climate Collectivization Cornelius Cruys CSKA Curvy Moscow Metro
Sergey Diagilev, Draniki, Ded Moroz, Fyodor Dostoevsky
d ↓
Dacha Vladimir Dahl Ekaterina Dashkova Denis Davydov Ded Moroz Draniki Dedovshchina The Demidov dynasty Anton Denikin Oleg Deripaska Gavriil Derzhavin Aleksandr Deyneka Semyon Dezhnyov Sergey Diagilev Dmitry Donskoy Yury Dolgoruky Domostroy Fyodor Dostoevsky Sergei Dovlatov Druzhina Dukhovnost Russian Duma Pavel Durov Nadezhda Durova The Durovs Felix Dzerzhinsky
From Empire to communism, Fortochka, Svyatoslav Fyodorov, Viacheslav Fetisov
f ↓
Peter Carl Faberge Fartsovshchik Festival of early History and Culture "Gorodetskoe Gulbishe" Afanasy Fet Viacheslav Fetisov Fortochka Sergey Filatov Aristotele Fioravanti Fire and water in Siberia: cross-river war games Denis Fonvizin Foreigners in Russia Mikhail Fradkov From Empire to communism Mikhail Frunze Fyodor I “The Bellringer” Svyatoslav Fyodorov Ivan Fyodorov
Glasnost and perestroika times, Nikolay Gogol, Valery Gergiev, Yury Gagarin
g ↓
Yury Gagarin Gagarin Underground Arkady Gaidamak Egor Gaidar Arkady Gaidar Aleksandr Galich Galleries Galoshi Rasul Gamzatov Nikolay Gastello Geography and exploration Valery Gergiev Nikolay Ghe Domenico Gilardi Vladimir Gilyarovsky Girya Glasnost Glasnost and perestroika times Aleksandr Glazunov Ilya Glazunov Mikhail Glinka Boris Godunov Nikolay Gogol Tatyana Golikova Golubtsi Ivan Goncharov Gopnik Mikhail Gorbachev Aleksandr Gorchakov Patrick Gordon Maxim Gorky (Aleksey Peshkov) Gosplan Grand Embassy The Great Patriotic War Andrey Grechko German Gref Aleksandr Griboyedov Yury Grigorovich Boris Gromov Andrey Gromyko The GULAG Nikolay Gumilev Lev Gumilev Lyudmila Gurchenko Gzhel
Kievan Rus, Nikita Khrushchev, Alina Kabayeva, Mikhail Khodorkovsky
k ↓
Alina Kabayeva Lazar Kaganovich Mikhail Kalashnikov Mikhail Kalatozov Mikhail Kalinin Lev Kamenev Vassily Kandinsky Pyotr Kapitsa Nikolay Karamzin Karavay Dmitry Karbyshev Anatoly Karpov Anatoly Kashpirovsky Garry Kasparov Mikhail Kasyanov Katyusha Mstislav Keldysh Aleksandr Kerensky Yerofey Khabarov Konstantin Khabensky Aram Khachaturyan Chulpan Khamatova Khandra Aleksansdr Khanzhonkov Valery Kharlamov Daniil Kharms Aleksandr Khloponin Bohdan Khmelnitsky Mikhail Khodorkovsky Svetlana Khorkina Viktor Khristenko Nikita Khrushchev Khrushchev Kievan Rus Sergey Kirienko Patriarch Kirill Sergey Kirov Kissel Kefir KGB Khalyava Khokhloma Kholodets Kipyatilnik Kolbasa Koshchey Bessmertny Kosovorotka Kvas Vasily Klyuchevsky Knight fight: medieval sport for modern heroes Viktor Kochubey Kokoshnik Aleksandr Kolchak Kolkhoz Aleksandra Kollontai Kolobok Anatoly Komm Kompot Komsomol Pyotr Konchalovsky Andrey Konchalovsky Ivan Konev Fyodor Konyukhov Kooperativ Ilya Kormiltsev Lavr Kornilov Sergey Korolev Koromyslo Mikhail Koshkin Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya Aleksey Kosygin Anna Kournikova Sofia Kovalevskaya Dmitry Kozak Ivan Kozhedub Ivan Kramskoy Ivan Kruzenshtern (Adam Johann von Krusenstern) Ivan Krylov Matilda Kshesinskaya Aleksey Kudrin Arkhip Kuindzhi Kulak Ivan Kulibin Kulich Aleksandr Kuprin Igor Kurchatov Mikhail Kutuzov Kuzka's mother
Aleksey Leonov, Language, Mikhail Lomonosov, Vladimir Lenin
l ↓
The Ilyich Lamp Lev Landau Language Lapti Sergey Lavrov Mikhail Lazarev Jean-Baptiste Alexandre Le Blond Leaders Franz Lefort Sergey Lemeshev Vladimir Lenin Aleksey Leonov Mikhail Lermontov Nikolay Leskov Alexander Leslie Letopis Isaac Levitan Yury Levitan Maris Liepa Ilse Liepa Dmitry Likhachyov Limitchik Eduard Limonov Vladislav Listyev Literature Aleksandr Litvinenko Living God in Siberia Nikolai Lobachevsky Lokh Mikhail Lomonosov Ulyana Lopatkina Lubok Andrey Lugovoy Vladimir Lukin Sergey Lukyanenko Anatoly Lunacharsky Yury Luzhkov The Lykovs
Prominent Russians: faces of Russia
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Bulgakov was a Russian novelist and playwright, known for his vivid satirical images of life in Russia and his novel The Master and Margarita.
Yury Gagarin
Yury Gagarin was the first man to orbit the earth in a man-made spacecraft leading the world into the era of the space exploration.
Peter I the Great
One of Russia’s greatest statesmen, Peter the Great, the first Emperor of Russia was a man of unwavering willpower, extraordinary energy and supreme vision.
Vladimir Putin
At the stroke of the 21st century, Vladimir Putin, current President of Russia, became one of the worlds’ most well-known politicians, associated with Russia’s rise from the ashes.
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev is Russia's Prime Minister and third President.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn was a Russian Nobel prize-winning author who exposed the horror of Soviet prison labor camps and gave new meaning to the word "gulag."
Andrey Arshavin
Despite being 1.72 meters tall, Andrey Arshavin is the biggest star in Russian soccer.
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin is one of the most controversial and enigmatic figures in Russian history and is still the subject of fierce discussions.
Marc Chagall
Russian-French artist, master of modernism and one of the most successful artists of the 20th century.
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Baryshnikov is one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century, who has also become one of the most widely recognizable contemporary performers.
Timur Bekmambetov
Timur Bekmambetov is recognized as one of the most talented Post-Soviet Russian film directors and the only Russian film director to enjoy success in Hollywood.
Maria Sharapova
Winning her first Wimbledon Championship at the age of 17, Maria Sharapova became the first Russian female tennis player to claim the #1 ranking in the world.
Leo Tolstoy
A Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy is widely seen as one of the greatest European novelists of all time.
Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Tchaikovsky is one of the most loved Russian composers.
Catherine II the Great
Recognized worldwide as a noteworthy historical figure, Catherine the Great made such progress in political power that it is hard to find similar examples in world history.
Lyubov Orlova
Lyubov Orlova is the most glamorous and popular actress of Soviet cinema.
Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov is the most insightful and époque-making dramatist in Russia, author of world famous plays, mostly through their interpretation by the Moscow Art Theater.
Maya Plisetskaya
Plisetskaya is renowned as one of the world's greatest and most charismatic ballerinas.