The Russian Federation, known as Russia, is a transcontinental country that spans northern Asia and Eastern Europe. With an estimated landmass of about 17 million square kilometers, the area is considered the largest country in the whole world. The country encompasses more than one-eighth of the earth’s total inhabited area and crosses 11 time zones.
Along with 16 sovereign nations, the country has the most borders in the world. Russia is the most populous country in entire Europe with a population of 146.2 million and is thus considered the ninth-most populous country on the earth. The capital city Moscow is the largest in entire Europe, while the second-largest city in the country is Saint Petersburg which is also the cultural center of Russia.
The people of Russia speak Russian and form the largest Slavic and European nations. It is the most native language, and the most Slavic language spoken in the entire Europe. In the human development index, along with a universal healthcare system and a free university education, the country is ranked as 52nd and is considered a great power and a potential superpower.
Facts About Russia
The coldest inhabited town in the entire world- The Yakutia region present in Siberia has the coldest inhabited town of the earth called Oymyakon. From December to January, the town experiences a temperature of -50 degrees Celsius.
The coldest temperature ever recorded in the town was in 1938, when the temperature fell to a jaw-dropping -77.8 degrees Celsius.
Longest railway in the world – one of the fun facts for Russia is that with a length of 9,289 kilometers, the trans-Siberian railroad passes through eight different time zones. In order to travel the whole railway road, the passenger has to spend around 7 to 8 days on the train.
The biggest fortress in the world- one of the interesting facts of Russia is that the world’s biggest active medieval fortress is Moscow’s Kremlin. The fortress covers more than 27 hectares with 2.5 kilometers long walls.
The Kremlin consists of about 20 towers, and each tower has its name, but there are two towers whose name is anonymous.
A city more luxurious than Versailles- In the first half of the 18th century, Petergof was created by Peter the Great, and this city was supposed to become a rival of the famous Versailles in terms of luxuriousness.
With over 150 fountains, about four gigantic cascades were built on the site, out of which the Bolshoy cascade is the most remarkable one with about 64 fountains and 225 sculptures of bronze.
Russia is a massive forest- Russia has a vast territory, and most of it comes under Siberia. Thus about 60% of Russia is forest, and about half of those forests are uninhabited by humans.
Sub-tropical weather of one Russian region – often known as the Russian Riviera, the Sochi region shares the same latitude line as the Cannes and Nice hotspots. The city has mild winter temperatures along with humid summers and palm trees.
Helicopter golf – One of the fun facts about Russia is that a very unique and curious sport called helicopter golf is played in Moscow’s suburbs. With a much larger scale, the idea of this sport is similar to traditional golf.
Using a 10 kg stick through the snowy route, the players have to guide the one-meter ball while driving a helicopter.
The matryoshka dolls – One of the interesting facts in Russia is that the famous Russian doll called the matryoshka has its roots in Japan. Using Malyutin’s drawings, the first-ever matryoshka doll was created by the wooden doll master Zvyozdochkin which consisted of about 8 dolls.
The country has its own mafia gang wars – The fun facts of Russia include that in search of financial gain, the infamous gang called the Uralmash gang was founded by the local Mafiosos. Initially, the gang began controlling the Yekaterinburg small business but later rose to power due to the dissolution of the USSR, which led to widespread instability and then the city was sooner in the grips of violent turf wars.
The central gang was the arch-enemy of the Uralmash gang, and each gang buried its deceased member in separate cemeteries of the city located on different sides.
Tetris came from Russia – One of the fun facts of Russia is that in the year 1984, the programmer and scientist named Alexey Pazhitnov invented the first edition of the Tetris game in USSR, which later gained mass popularity all over the world.
The Russian cats – The hermitage museum is considered the national treasure of the country, and the treasure of the hermitage museum is the cats and is one of the fun facts for Russia. The cats are the guardians of the museum and protect priceless artworks from rats. Each cat in the museum has its passport with its photo and receives a monthly salary.
Russian stray dogs navigate the metro – One of the interesting facts of Russia is that Moscow’s dogs have developed street smarts in order to tackle the harsh winters. The dogs have learned the metro stops and can identify the tannoy announcements. They also keep the city’s rat population under control.
The country with 12 active volcanoes – With over 12 active volcanoes, Kamchatka is the most visited due to its accessible location. These active volcanoes are home to over 1,000 types of different species of plants, along with sheep, wolves, and brown bears.
54% of the Russian population is made up of females – With a big difference of male to female ratio in the Russian population; the females constitute about 54% of the entire population while only 46% is made up of the male population.
The reason for this population gap in World War II, during which around 25 million Russian soldiers lost their lives due to the war.
Folk dancing is the tradition of Russia- Khorovod is considered the most common type of folk dance in Russia. This dancing style contains people dancing in circles while holding hands. These folk dances are performed in theaters, markets, and during festivals.
Alaska was sold for 7.2 million dollars – In 1897, Alaska was sold to the United States by Russia for only 7.2 million dollars. During that period of time, Russia was facing a financial crisis, and there weren’t many people living in Alaska.
In addition to the financial help, the Russians believed that selling off the land to the United States would also help them in offsetting Europe’s power.
Russia has 11 time zones – Russia is so big that it contains around 11 different time zones. But it is not the only country to have maximum time zones in the world. Due to the various small islands, France has the maximum number of different time zones globally.
Lake Baikal contains more water than any other lake in the whole world – One of the fun facts in Russia is that in terms of water volume, Lake Baikal is considered the largest freshwater lake in the entire world. It is located in Siberia and contains about 23% of the world’s total freshwater. It has more water as compared to the great lakes combined in North America.
Home to a lot of famous literature – Russia is the home to some of the world’s most esteemed writers. To name a few, many Great Russian authors such as Alexander Pushkin, Ivan Turgenev, Vladimir Nabokov, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Fyodor Dostoevsky, and Leo Tolstoy, reside in the country. There is a museum dedicated to the famous literary writers of the country and can be found in St. Petersburg and Moscow.
20% of the earth’s trees present in Russia – Russia’s landmass are home to about 640 billion trees, making it about 20% of the earth’s total trees. The majority of these trees are located in the remote areas of Siberia and are a part of untouched, wild forests which are too cold to even travel to. This untouched forest contains the endangered Siberian tigers.
The 45 years of the cold war – Between the USA and the Soviet Union lasted for about 45 years. Both sides never fought directly with each other but instead funded the wars and helped build nuclear weapons.
In the year 1991, the cold war ended with Perestroika reforms and Mikhail Gorbachev’s glasnost. The USSR collapsed and founded 15 newly independent republics.
Lake Karachay – In the southern Ural Mountains of eastern Russia, lake Karachi was used as a dumping ground for radioactive waste over the years. What Russian scientists have done there
over the years has made the lake one of the most populated places on the earth, and if you spent some time besides that lake, then the radiation emanating from karachay can kill you within an hour.
Moscow is home to the most billionaires after New York city – With a total of 93 billionaires in the country, after the USA, China and India, Russia is the fourth largest country to have the maximum number of billionaires in the world.
In the last couple of years, several Russian billionaires saw a fall in their fortunes due to a range of factors, including the drop in oil prices all over the world.
Russian women outlive Russian men – For Russian men, the life expectancy is about 64.7 years, while it is about 76.57 years. For a Russian woman, The Russian woman outlives the Russian men by 12 years and is one of the fun facts about Russia.
The world’s fourth-biggest alcohol lover – With vodka as the most popular drink and beer the second most, the country stands as the fourth biggest alcohol lover in the whole world.
Before 2013, any drink containing less than 10% of alcohol was considered a foodstuff. The country holds a record of 15.1 liters of alcohol per person in a year.
The country with more than 100 languages – Russian is the country’s official language and is spoken by about 80% of its population. But it also has about more than 100 minority languages.
The most spoken minority language is Tatar which is spoken by about 3% of its population. People who speak minor languages can also speak Russian, which is the 1st language of the majority population.
Domestication of fox – Led by the Geneticist Dmitry Belyavevat in the institute of Cytology and genetics of Novosibirsk, the Russian scientists, proved that just in over 50 years, a species could be tamed by breeding their behavior all alone. The Siberian foxes have been domesticated by scientists, and they are extremely friendly and trainable.
Russian economy – The Russian economy is the fifth-largest economy of Europe and is the 11th largest economy in the world. The country has a mixed economy. The economy has enormous natural resources, including particularly oil and natural gas.
The world’s current, longest-standing math problem was posed by a Russian mathematician – In the year 1742, the world’s most significant standing math problem was posed by the Russian mathematician Christian Goldbach.
Till now, no one has been able to prove or disprove his conjecture, stating that every even positive integer greater than the three is the sum of two primes.
Yuri Gagarin – Yuri Gagarin was a Russian cosmonaut and was the first human in space. He orbited the earth in a flight of 108 minutes in 1961. In the year 1967, the world’s first satellite called the Sputnik was launched by Russia.
Conclusion
Russia is one of the hugely sought out countries after its tourist destinations. From being one of the largest countries with 11 different time zones, it is a country with one of the most historically and culturally fascinating destinations.
But one central question that pops up in every mind is what is Russia know for. The world knows Russia for its thinkers and artists. It is home to the world’s most famous literates and ballet dancers. Russian history is dominated by monarchies, invasions along with an authoritarian 20th century soviet regime.
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