Russian

Language

Russian is the official language of Russia, Belarus, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan. It is also spoken as a native language by part of the population in twelve other countries, including Ukraine, Estonia, Finland, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Armenia, Georgia, Mongolia, Azerbaijan, and parts of China.

Russian is a global language, spoken by approximately 265 million people worldwide.

Russian is descended from Old Slavic (Old Russian), spoken in the medieval empire of Kievan Rus.

Russian is an Indo-European language closely related to Ukrainian and Belarusian. Additionally, Russian shares numerous similarities in grammar and vocabulary with other Slavic languages, such as Polish, Croatian, Serbian, and Czech.

Russian is considered to be one of the most challenging languages in the world, along with Mandarin (Chinese), Finnish, and Arabic. It is estimated to take approximately 1,100 hours to become reasonably proficient in Russian.

Russian has complex grammar and challenging pronunciation. In addition, the Russian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet with sounds unusual or unfamiliar to a native German speaker, for example „Ы“ or „Ж„.

The Russian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet consisting of 33 letters.

Russian comprises approximately 200,000 words and is the most widely spoken language in Eurasia. Additionally, Russian is known as the language of space. It’s noteworthy that stress on a word can alter its entire meaning.

There are three dialects in Russian: Central, Northern, and Southern. However, the differences between the dialects are minimal, so all dialect speakers can understand each other.

Economy

Russia’s main exports are crude oil and natural gas, as well as precious stones, metals including silver, gold, and aluminum, and diamonds.

In 2022, Russia’s GDP reached 2.22 trillion USD.

Russia’s GDP decreased by 2.1% in 2022. According to forecasts, the Russian economy is expected to further decline.

Mentality

Russian culture is diverse. It is expressed through multi-faceted literature, a rich history of the Russian world, contributions from Russian actors and presidents  as well as Orthodox churches.

Russia observes eleven public holidays, with the most notable being May 9th (Victory Day in commemoration of the victory over the Nazis in 1945), June 12th (Russia Day), November 4th (People’s Unity Day), and December 31st (New Year’s Eve).

New Year is celebrated on the 1st of January, with Father Frost and Snegurochka (the Snow Maiden) bringing gifts to children.  Easter in Russia is one of the most important holidays and is celebrated with customs like egg dyeing or baking kulich (round bread). Another regular tradition is the banya (steam bath), which involves using bundles of birch or oak branches.

The most famous national dish of Russia is pelmeni (stuffed dumplings with minced meat). Other typical dishes are blini (pancakes), syrniki (cottage cheese patties) or Olivie salad (a salad composed of potatoes, vegetables, and meat, with mayonnaise).

Apart from Russian, about one hundred other languages are spoken in Russia. These include Tatar, Chechen, Bashkir, Avar, and Karelian.

Population

The estimated population of Russia is 143.4 million people.

About thirty different ethnic groups live in Siberia, including the Khanty, Mansi, Evenks, Chukchi, and Nenets.

The capital of Russia is Moscow.