You probably know that Russia remains both a formidable world power and a place of severe inequality. But here are 32 more Russia facts that you probably don’t know.
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1 of 33Russia has a National Sex Day when the population is encouraged to stay home from work and make babies. It’s known as the Day of Conception or Procreation Day.Pixabay 2 of 33Kindergartners in Siberia dump ice water on themselves in the snow to help strengthen their immune systems. YouTube/RussiaToday 3 of 33The Russian dog Laika was the first animal to orbit the Earth and is honored with a statue in Moscow.Wikimedia Commons 4 of 33Tetris, the best-selling video game in history, was created by Russian computer programmer Alexei Pazhitnov in 1984. Kichigai Mentat/Flickr 5 of 33There are cafes where everything is free. You pay according to how long you stay. Pixabay 6 of 33In the early 1990s, Russia sold Pepsi a fleet of 17 former submarines. Before Pepsi sold the subs for scrap, they briefly had the sixth largest sub fleet in the world. Wikimedia Commons 7 of 33Russia is the largest country in the world by area and covers 6.6 million square miles. It’s approximately 1.8 times larger than the United States. Wikimedia Commons 8 of 33Russia has a “military Disneyland” where civilians can play on military-grade weapons for kicks. The park includes shooting ranges as well as re-enactments of key Russian and Soviet battles. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images 9 of 33Moscow traffic has become so bad that some Russians hire ambulances to help them beat the traffic. Wikimedia Commons 10 of 33Bears have become hooked on jet fuel because of leftover barrels in some parts of the countryside. Bears in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve have been rumored to stalk helicopters for a fix.Alan Vernon/Wikimedia Commons 11 of 33During Peter the Great’s rule, all men with beards had to pay a special beard tax. He thought that in order for Russia to compete with Western Europe, men should imitate the British and Dutch at the time and ditch their beards. Wikimedia Commons 12 of 33When the Nazis surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1945, people partied so hard the country ran out of vodka.Wikimedia Commons 13 of 33There are still only 87 men per 100 women because so many men died during World War II. Wikimedia Commons 14 of 33Because of high auto accident rates and a corrupt legal system, most Russians have dash cams in their cars. YouTube/RussiaToday 15 of 33Ivan the Terrible constructed St. Basil’s Cathedral as a monument to his military victories. Wikimedia Commons 16 of 33The cathedral’s original color was white and it wasn’t painted with its current bright colors until the 17th century. Wikimedia Commons 17 of 33Russia’s Olympic team showed up 12 days late to the 1908 London games because they were still using the Julian calendar.Wikimedia Commons 18 of 33Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich installed lasers on his yacht to act as an “anti-photo shield” against paparazzi. Thomas Del Coro/Wikimedia Commons 19 of 33Russia didn’t officially recognize beer as an alcoholic drink until 2013. It was considered a soft drink too light to be thought of as real alcohol.Bernt Rostad/Flickr 20 of 33Russia has 11 time zones, more than any other county. Since 2011, however, it has only used nine of them. Wikimedia Commons 21 of 33Siberia occupies 77 percent of Russia’s land mass but is only occupied with about eight people per square mile.Wikimedia Commons 22 of 33Lake Karachay is so polluted with nuclear radiation that standing on its shore for just an hour could kill you. The lake sits next to one of Russia’s largest and most unsafe nuclear facilities.Wikimedia Commons 23 of 33Moscow has some of the most beautiful metro stations in the world. Pictured: Novoslobodskaya Station.Wikimedia Commons 24 of 33Russia has five times as many people as Texas, but Texas has a bigger economy. The lone star state has about $400 billion more than Russia. This gives Texans a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of around $58,000, compared to $8,700 for Russians.Wikimedia Commons 25 of 33Unlike many Western countries, smiling in Russia can be seen as a sign of uncertainty or even stupidity. Because many aspects of Russian society can be unstable, smiling for no reason is seen as foolish.Kremlin 26 of 33Vodka contributes to the fact that a quarter of Russian men die before age 55. Ralf Steinberger/Wikimedia Commons 27 of 33Around 58 percent of Russians regret the fall of the Soviet Union, according to a 2017 study. Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images 28 of 33A third of the Russian population believes that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly a third also believe humans and dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time, according to the same 2011 poll. Songpon Suradete/Flickr 29 of 33Vladamir Putin’s grandfather worked as a chef for both Stalin and Lenin.Marija Il’inična Ul’janova/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 33In 2015, Russia proposed building a superhighway connecting the country to Alaska. Pixabay 31 of 33The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest railway and spans 5,700 miles from Moscow to Beijing. Peter Kersten/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 33Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to venture into outer space, doing so in 1961. Arto Jousi/Wikimedia Commons 33 of 33Like this gallery?Share it:
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32 Russia Facts You Probably Didn’t Know View Gallery
These Russia facts can definitely round out your knowledge of the country that’s recently dominated the news. Russia is a multi-faceted place and as such is impossible to sum up in a single idea. However, the sheer mention of the name likely brings preconceived notions to mind.
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1 of 33Russia has a National Sex Day when the population is encouraged to stay home from work and make babies. It’s known as the Day of Conception or Procreation Day.Pixabay 2 of 33Kindergartners in Siberia dump ice water on themselves in the snow to help strengthen their immune systems. YouTube/RussiaToday 3 of 33The Russian dog Laika was the first animal to orbit the Earth and is honored with a statue in Moscow.Wikimedia Commons 4 of 33Tetris, the best-selling video game in history, was created by Russian computer programmer Alexei Pazhitnov in 1984. Kichigai Mentat/Flickr 5 of 33There are cafes where everything is free. You pay according to how long you stay. Pixabay 6 of 33In the early 1990s, Russia sold Pepsi a fleet of 17 former submarines. Before Pepsi sold the subs for scrap, they briefly had the sixth largest sub fleet in the world. Wikimedia Commons 7 of 33Russia is the largest country in the world by area and covers 6.6 million square miles. It’s approximately 1.8 times larger than the United States. Wikimedia Commons 8 of 33Russia has a “military Disneyland” where civilians can play on military-grade weapons for kicks. The park includes shooting ranges as well as re-enactments of key Russian and Soviet battles. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images 9 of 33Moscow traffic has become so bad that some Russians hire ambulances to help them beat the traffic. Wikimedia Commons 10 of 33Bears have become hooked on jet fuel because of leftover barrels in some parts of the countryside. Bears in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve have been rumored to stalk helicopters for a fix.Alan Vernon/Wikimedia Commons 11 of 33During Peter the Great’s rule, all men with beards had to pay a special beard tax. He thought that in order for Russia to compete with Western Europe, men should imitate the British and Dutch at the time and ditch their beards. Wikimedia Commons 12 of 33When the Nazis surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1945, people partied so hard the country ran out of vodka.Wikimedia Commons 13 of 33There are still only 87 men per 100 women because so many men died during World War II. Wikimedia Commons 14 of 33Because of high auto accident rates and a corrupt legal system, most Russians have dash cams in their cars. YouTube/RussiaToday 15 of 33Ivan the Terrible constructed St. Basil’s Cathedral as a monument to his military victories. Wikimedia Commons 16 of 33The cathedral’s original color was white and it wasn’t painted with its current bright colors until the 17th century. Wikimedia Commons 17 of 33Russia’s Olympic team showed up 12 days late to the 1908 London games because they were still using the Julian calendar.Wikimedia Commons 18 of 33Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich installed lasers on his yacht to act as an “anti-photo shield” against paparazzi. Thomas Del Coro/Wikimedia Commons 19 of 33Russia didn’t officially recognize beer as an alcoholic drink until 2013. It was considered a soft drink too light to be thought of as real alcohol.Bernt Rostad/Flickr 20 of 33Russia has 11 time zones, more than any other county. Since 2011, however, it has only used nine of them. Wikimedia Commons 21 of 33Siberia occupies 77 percent of Russia’s land mass but is only occupied with about eight people per square mile.Wikimedia Commons 22 of 33Lake Karachay is so polluted with nuclear radiation that standing on its shore for just an hour could kill you. The lake sits next to one of Russia’s largest and most unsafe nuclear facilities.Wikimedia Commons 23 of 33Moscow has some of the most beautiful metro stations in the world. Pictured: Novoslobodskaya Station.Wikimedia Commons 24 of 33Russia has five times as many people as Texas, but Texas has a bigger economy. The lone star state has about $400 billion more than Russia. This gives Texans a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of around $58,000, compared to $8,700 for Russians.Wikimedia Commons 25 of 33Unlike many Western countries, smiling in Russia can be seen as a sign of uncertainty or even stupidity. Because many aspects of Russian society can be unstable, smiling for no reason is seen as foolish.Kremlin 26 of 33Vodka contributes to the fact that a quarter of Russian men die before age 55. Ralf Steinberger/Wikimedia Commons 27 of 33Around 58 percent of Russians regret the fall of the Soviet Union, according to a 2017 study. Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images 28 of 33A third of the Russian population believes that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly a third also believe humans and dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time, according to the same 2011 poll. Songpon Suradete/Flickr 29 of 33Vladamir Putin’s grandfather worked as a chef for both Stalin and Lenin.Marija Il’inična Ul’janova/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 33In 2015, Russia proposed building a superhighway connecting the country to Alaska. Pixabay 31 of 33The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest railway and spans 5,700 miles from Moscow to Beijing. Peter Kersten/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 33Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to venture into outer space, doing so in 1961. Arto Jousi/Wikimedia Commons 33 of 33Like this gallery?Share it:
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1 of 33Russia has a National Sex Day when the population is encouraged to stay home from work and make babies. It’s known as the Day of Conception or Procreation Day.Pixabay 2 of 33Kindergartners in Siberia dump ice water on themselves in the snow to help strengthen their immune systems. YouTube/RussiaToday 3 of 33The Russian dog Laika was the first animal to orbit the Earth and is honored with a statue in Moscow.Wikimedia Commons 4 of 33Tetris, the best-selling video game in history, was created by Russian computer programmer Alexei Pazhitnov in 1984. Kichigai Mentat/Flickr 5 of 33There are cafes where everything is free. You pay according to how long you stay. Pixabay 6 of 33In the early 1990s, Russia sold Pepsi a fleet of 17 former submarines. Before Pepsi sold the subs for scrap, they briefly had the sixth largest sub fleet in the world. Wikimedia Commons 7 of 33Russia is the largest country in the world by area and covers 6.6 million square miles. It’s approximately 1.8 times larger than the United States. Wikimedia Commons 8 of 33Russia has a “military Disneyland” where civilians can play on military-grade weapons for kicks. The park includes shooting ranges as well as re-enactments of key Russian and Soviet battles. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images 9 of 33Moscow traffic has become so bad that some Russians hire ambulances to help them beat the traffic. Wikimedia Commons 10 of 33Bears have become hooked on jet fuel because of leftover barrels in some parts of the countryside. Bears in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve have been rumored to stalk helicopters for a fix.Alan Vernon/Wikimedia Commons 11 of 33During Peter the Great’s rule, all men with beards had to pay a special beard tax. He thought that in order for Russia to compete with Western Europe, men should imitate the British and Dutch at the time and ditch their beards. Wikimedia Commons 12 of 33When the Nazis surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1945, people partied so hard the country ran out of vodka.Wikimedia Commons 13 of 33There are still only 87 men per 100 women because so many men died during World War II. Wikimedia Commons 14 of 33Because of high auto accident rates and a corrupt legal system, most Russians have dash cams in their cars. YouTube/RussiaToday 15 of 33Ivan the Terrible constructed St. Basil’s Cathedral as a monument to his military victories. Wikimedia Commons 16 of 33The cathedral’s original color was white and it wasn’t painted with its current bright colors until the 17th century. Wikimedia Commons 17 of 33Russia’s Olympic team showed up 12 days late to the 1908 London games because they were still using the Julian calendar.Wikimedia Commons 18 of 33Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich installed lasers on his yacht to act as an “anti-photo shield” against paparazzi. Thomas Del Coro/Wikimedia Commons 19 of 33Russia didn’t officially recognize beer as an alcoholic drink until 2013. It was considered a soft drink too light to be thought of as real alcohol.Bernt Rostad/Flickr 20 of 33Russia has 11 time zones, more than any other county. Since 2011, however, it has only used nine of them. Wikimedia Commons 21 of 33Siberia occupies 77 percent of Russia’s land mass but is only occupied with about eight people per square mile.Wikimedia Commons 22 of 33Lake Karachay is so polluted with nuclear radiation that standing on its shore for just an hour could kill you. The lake sits next to one of Russia’s largest and most unsafe nuclear facilities.Wikimedia Commons 23 of 33Moscow has some of the most beautiful metro stations in the world. Pictured: Novoslobodskaya Station.Wikimedia Commons 24 of 33Russia has five times as many people as Texas, but Texas has a bigger economy. The lone star state has about $400 billion more than Russia. This gives Texans a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of around $58,000, compared to $8,700 for Russians.Wikimedia Commons 25 of 33Unlike many Western countries, smiling in Russia can be seen as a sign of uncertainty or even stupidity. Because many aspects of Russian society can be unstable, smiling for no reason is seen as foolish.Kremlin 26 of 33Vodka contributes to the fact that a quarter of Russian men die before age 55. Ralf Steinberger/Wikimedia Commons 27 of 33Around 58 percent of Russians regret the fall of the Soviet Union, according to a 2017 study. Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images 28 of 33A third of the Russian population believes that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly a third also believe humans and dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time, according to the same 2011 poll. Songpon Suradete/Flickr 29 of 33Vladamir Putin’s grandfather worked as a chef for both Stalin and Lenin.Marija Il’inična Ul’janova/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 33In 2015, Russia proposed building a superhighway connecting the country to Alaska. Pixabay 31 of 33The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest railway and spans 5,700 miles from Moscow to Beijing. Peter Kersten/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 33Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to venture into outer space, doing so in 1961. Arto Jousi/Wikimedia Commons 33 of 33Like this gallery?Share it:
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1 of 33Russia has a National Sex Day when the population is encouraged to stay home from work and make babies. It’s known as the Day of Conception or Procreation Day.Pixabay 2 of 33Kindergartners in Siberia dump ice water on themselves in the snow to help strengthen their immune systems. YouTube/RussiaToday 3 of 33The Russian dog Laika was the first animal to orbit the Earth and is honored with a statue in Moscow.Wikimedia Commons 4 of 33Tetris, the best-selling video game in history, was created by Russian computer programmer Alexei Pazhitnov in 1984. Kichigai Mentat/Flickr 5 of 33There are cafes where everything is free. You pay according to how long you stay. Pixabay 6 of 33In the early 1990s, Russia sold Pepsi a fleet of 17 former submarines. Before Pepsi sold the subs for scrap, they briefly had the sixth largest sub fleet in the world. Wikimedia Commons 7 of 33Russia is the largest country in the world by area and covers 6.6 million square miles. It’s approximately 1.8 times larger than the United States. Wikimedia Commons 8 of 33Russia has a “military Disneyland” where civilians can play on military-grade weapons for kicks. The park includes shooting ranges as well as re-enactments of key Russian and Soviet battles. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images 9 of 33Moscow traffic has become so bad that some Russians hire ambulances to help them beat the traffic. Wikimedia Commons 10 of 33Bears have become hooked on jet fuel because of leftover barrels in some parts of the countryside. Bears in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve have been rumored to stalk helicopters for a fix.Alan Vernon/Wikimedia Commons 11 of 33During Peter the Great’s rule, all men with beards had to pay a special beard tax. He thought that in order for Russia to compete with Western Europe, men should imitate the British and Dutch at the time and ditch their beards. Wikimedia Commons 12 of 33When the Nazis surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1945, people partied so hard the country ran out of vodka.Wikimedia Commons 13 of 33There are still only 87 men per 100 women because so many men died during World War II. Wikimedia Commons 14 of 33Because of high auto accident rates and a corrupt legal system, most Russians have dash cams in their cars. YouTube/RussiaToday 15 of 33Ivan the Terrible constructed St. Basil’s Cathedral as a monument to his military victories. Wikimedia Commons 16 of 33The cathedral’s original color was white and it wasn’t painted with its current bright colors until the 17th century. Wikimedia Commons 17 of 33Russia’s Olympic team showed up 12 days late to the 1908 London games because they were still using the Julian calendar.Wikimedia Commons 18 of 33Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich installed lasers on his yacht to act as an “anti-photo shield” against paparazzi. Thomas Del Coro/Wikimedia Commons 19 of 33Russia didn’t officially recognize beer as an alcoholic drink until 2013. It was considered a soft drink too light to be thought of as real alcohol.Bernt Rostad/Flickr 20 of 33Russia has 11 time zones, more than any other county. Since 2011, however, it has only used nine of them. Wikimedia Commons 21 of 33Siberia occupies 77 percent of Russia’s land mass but is only occupied with about eight people per square mile.Wikimedia Commons 22 of 33Lake Karachay is so polluted with nuclear radiation that standing on its shore for just an hour could kill you. The lake sits next to one of Russia’s largest and most unsafe nuclear facilities.Wikimedia Commons 23 of 33Moscow has some of the most beautiful metro stations in the world. Pictured: Novoslobodskaya Station.Wikimedia Commons 24 of 33Russia has five times as many people as Texas, but Texas has a bigger economy. The lone star state has about $400 billion more than Russia. This gives Texans a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of around $58,000, compared to $8,700 for Russians.Wikimedia Commons 25 of 33Unlike many Western countries, smiling in Russia can be seen as a sign of uncertainty or even stupidity. Because many aspects of Russian society can be unstable, smiling for no reason is seen as foolish.Kremlin 26 of 33Vodka contributes to the fact that a quarter of Russian men die before age 55. Ralf Steinberger/Wikimedia Commons 27 of 33Around 58 percent of Russians regret the fall of the Soviet Union, according to a 2017 study. Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images 28 of 33A third of the Russian population believes that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly a third also believe humans and dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time, according to the same 2011 poll. Songpon Suradete/Flickr 29 of 33Vladamir Putin’s grandfather worked as a chef for both Stalin and Lenin.Marija Il’inična Ul’janova/Wikimedia Commons 30 of 33In 2015, Russia proposed building a superhighway connecting the country to Alaska. Pixabay 31 of 33The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest railway and spans 5,700 miles from Moscow to Beijing. Peter Kersten/Wikimedia Commons 32 of 33Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to venture into outer space, doing so in 1961. Arto Jousi/Wikimedia Commons 33 of 33Like this gallery?Share it:
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1 of 33Russia has a National Sex Day when the population is encouraged to stay home from work and make babies. It’s known as the Day of Conception or Procreation Day.Pixabay
2 of 33Kindergartners in Siberia dump ice water on themselves in the snow to help strengthen their immune systems. YouTube/RussiaToday
3 of 33The Russian dog Laika was the first animal to orbit the Earth and is honored with a statue in Moscow.Wikimedia Commons
4 of 33Tetris, the best-selling video game in history, was created by Russian computer programmer Alexei Pazhitnov in 1984. Kichigai Mentat/Flickr
5 of 33There are cafes where everything is free. You pay according to how long you stay. Pixabay
6 of 33In the early 1990s, Russia sold Pepsi a fleet of 17 former submarines. Before Pepsi sold the subs for scrap, they briefly had the sixth largest sub fleet in the world. Wikimedia Commons
7 of 33Russia is the largest country in the world by area and covers 6.6 million square miles. It’s approximately 1.8 times larger than the United States. Wikimedia Commons
8 of 33Russia has a “military Disneyland” where civilians can play on military-grade weapons for kicks. The park includes shooting ranges as well as re-enactments of key Russian and Soviet battles. Yuri Smityuk\TASS via Getty Images
9 of 33Moscow traffic has become so bad that some Russians hire ambulances to help them beat the traffic. Wikimedia Commons
10 of 33Bears have become hooked on jet fuel because of leftover barrels in some parts of the countryside. Bears in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve have been rumored to stalk helicopters for a fix.Alan Vernon/Wikimedia Commons
11 of 33During Peter the Great’s rule, all men with beards had to pay a special beard tax. He thought that in order for Russia to compete with Western Europe, men should imitate the British and Dutch at the time and ditch their beards. Wikimedia Commons
12 of 33When the Nazis surrendered to the Soviet Union in 1945, people partied so hard the country ran out of vodka.Wikimedia Commons
13 of 33There are still only 87 men per 100 women because so many men died during World War II. Wikimedia Commons
14 of 33Because of high auto accident rates and a corrupt legal system, most Russians have dash cams in their cars. YouTube/RussiaToday
15 of 33Ivan the Terrible constructed St. Basil’s Cathedral as a monument to his military victories. Wikimedia Commons
16 of 33The cathedral’s original color was white and it wasn’t painted with its current bright colors until the 17th century. Wikimedia Commons
17 of 33Russia’s Olympic team showed up 12 days late to the 1908 London games because they were still using the Julian calendar.Wikimedia Commons
18 of 33Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich installed lasers on his yacht to act as an “anti-photo shield” against paparazzi. Thomas Del Coro/Wikimedia Commons
19 of 33Russia didn’t officially recognize beer as an alcoholic drink until 2013. It was considered a soft drink too light to be thought of as real alcohol.Bernt Rostad/Flickr
20 of 33Russia has 11 time zones, more than any other county. Since 2011, however, it has only used nine of them. Wikimedia Commons
21 of 33Siberia occupies 77 percent of Russia’s land mass but is only occupied with about eight people per square mile.Wikimedia Commons
22 of 33Lake Karachay is so polluted with nuclear radiation that standing on its shore for just an hour could kill you. The lake sits next to one of Russia’s largest and most unsafe nuclear facilities.Wikimedia Commons
23 of 33Moscow has some of the most beautiful metro stations in the world. Pictured: Novoslobodskaya Station.Wikimedia Commons
24 of 33Russia has five times as many people as Texas, but Texas has a bigger economy. The lone star state has about $400 billion more than Russia. This gives Texans a gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of around $58,000, compared to $8,700 for Russians.Wikimedia Commons
25 of 33Unlike many Western countries, smiling in Russia can be seen as a sign of uncertainty or even stupidity. Because many aspects of Russian society can be unstable, smiling for no reason is seen as foolish.Kremlin
26 of 33Vodka contributes to the fact that a quarter of Russian men die before age 55. Ralf Steinberger/Wikimedia Commons
27 of 33Around 58 percent of Russians regret the fall of the Soviet Union, according to a 2017 study. Sovfoto/UIG via Getty Images
28 of 33A third of the Russian population believes that the Sun revolves around the Earth. Nearly a third also believe humans and dinosaurs walked the Earth at the same time, according to the same 2011 poll. Songpon Suradete/Flickr
29 of 33Vladamir Putin’s grandfather worked as a chef for both Stalin and Lenin.Marija Il’inična Ul’janova/Wikimedia Commons
30 of 33In 2015, Russia proposed building a superhighway connecting the country to Alaska. Pixabay
31 of 33The Trans-Siberian Railway is the world’s longest railway and spans 5,700 miles from Moscow to Beijing. Peter Kersten/Wikimedia Commons
32 of 33Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to venture into outer space, doing so in 1961. Arto Jousi/Wikimedia Commons
33 of 33Like this gallery?Share it:
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32 Russia Facts You Probably Didn’t Know View Gallery
32 Russia Facts You Probably Didn’t Know View Gallery
32 Russia Facts You Probably Didn’t Know View Gallery
32 Russia Facts You Probably Didn’t Know View Gallery
32 Russia Facts You Probably Didn’t Know
View Gallery
Maybe it’s the headlines outlining its part in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. It could be the compilations of wild dash cam footage on YouTube. Or for baby-boomers, it could be memories of school drills in preparation for atomic warfare during the Cold War.
Russia is the largest country on Earth in terms of land area. It’s both a wild landscape full of untamed terrain as well as home to some of the largest metro areas on the planet. The massive territory spans all the way to Norway in the Northwest and China in the South. It is separated from Alaska by the Bering Strait.
Throughout the centuries, Russia has been occupied by everyone from the Mongols to the Huns. However, it wasn’t until the 1721 founding of the Russian Empire by Peter the Great that it emerged as a superpower. And here’s one of the more interesting Russia facts: The Russian Empire would last just four years short of its bicentennial; until its fall at the end of World War I.
This, of course, would not be the first great fall of Russia. The existence of Joseph Stalin’s socialist state, the Soviet Union, would slowly unravel after years of economic turmoil. Political unrest and devastating revolts finally led to the U.S.S.R.’s fall in 1991.
While much has changed for the better in Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union, much has yet to improve. It has some of the highest levels of economic disparity of any developed country. The majority of the nation’s wealth belongs to a select few.
As far as Russia facts go, these may surprise you. Even with all of the hardships the people of Russia have faced and continue to face, it remains a fascinating destination with a patterned history. It attracts millions of visitors each year. From the world-class museums and dining of St. Petersburg and Moscow — to the remote stretches of land covered by the Trans-Siberian Railway, Russia is unlike anywhere else.
After checking out these Russia facts, check out these candid and photos of the Soviet youths nicknamed “The Sputnik Generation”. Then, explore the fall of the Soviet Union in this gallery of rarely-seen photos.
