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The Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modernist 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; namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, rayonism, and futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Rodchenko, Pavel Filonov and Marc Chagall. The Russian avant-garde reached its creative and popular height in the period between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and 1932, at which point the revolutionary ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged conservative direction of socialist realism. |
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. |
Soviet art |
During the Russian 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 was Alexander 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. |
However, in the late Soviet era many artists combined innovation with socialist realism including Ernst Neizvestny, Ilya Kabakov, Mikhail Shemyakin, Igor Novikov, Erik Bulatov, and Vera Mukhina. They employed techniques as varied as primitivism, hyperrealism, grotesque, and abstraction. Soviet artists produced works that were furiously patriotic and anti-fascist in the 1940s. After the Great Patriotic War Soviet sculptors made multiple monuments to the war dead, marked by a great restrained solemnity. |
Performance arts |
Russian folk music |
Russians have distinctive traditions of folk music. Typical ethnic Russian musical instruments are gusli, balalaika, zhaleika, balalaika contrabass, bayan accordion, Gypsy guitar and garmoshka. Folk music had great influence on the Russian classical composers, and in modern times it is a source of inspiration for a number of popular folk bands, most prominent being Golden Ring, Ural's Nation Choir, Lyudmila Zykina. Russian folk songs, as well as patriotic songs of the Soviet era, constitute the bulk of repertoire of the world-renowned Red Army choir and other popular Russian ensembles. |
Russian folk dance |
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 to Russia in the 18th century. |
Ethnic Russian dances include khorovod (Russian: Хоровод), barynya (Russian: Барыня), kamarinskaya (Russian: Камаринская), kazachok (Russian: Казачок) and chechotka (Russian: Чечётка) (a tap dance in bast shoes and with a bayan). 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. Dances with dancers dressed as bears are a recurring theme, as seen a recording of the Omsk Russian Folk Chorus. One of the main characteristics of Russian furious dances is the vprisiadku elements. |
Classical music |
Until the 18th century, music in Russia consisted mainly of church music and folk songs and dances. In the 19th century, it was defined by the tension between classical composer Mikhail Glinka along with other members of The Mighty Handful, and the Russian Musical Society led by composers Anton and Nikolay Rubinstein. The later tradition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, was continued into the 20th century by Sergei Rachmaninoff, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music. World-renowned composers of the 20th century include Alexander Scriabin, Alexander Glazunov, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Georgy Sviridov and Alfred Schnittke. |
Soviet and Russian conservatories have turned out generations of world-renowned soloists. Among the best known are violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, pianists Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels, and vocalist Galina Vishnevskaya. |
Ballet |
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. The Ballets Russes was a ballet company founded in the 1909 by Sergey Diaghilev, an enormously important figure in the Russian ballet scene. Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide. 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. |
During the early 20th century, Russian ballet dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame. Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions, and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced one internationally famous star after another, including Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Mariinsky in Saint Petersburg remain famous throughout the world. Ballet from then on spread worldwide. |
Opera |
The first known opera made in Russia was A Life for the Tsar by Mikhail Glinka in 1836. This was followed by several operas such as Ruslan and Lyudmila in 1842. Russian opera was originally a combination of Russian folk music and Italian opera. After the October Revolution many opera composers left Russia. Russia's most popular operas include Boris Godunov, Eugene Onegin, The Golden Cockerel, Prince Igor, and The Queen of Spades. |
Electronic and experimental music |
Russia is the place where many of the earliest experiments in electronic music and noise 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 in noise music and a precursor to musique 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 by Leon Theremin in the Soviet Union before 1928. ANS was another early electronic instrument, invented in 1937 by Soviet engineer Evgeny 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") by Nikolai Obukhov (1929), violena (Russian: виолена) by Soviet engineer Alexander Gurov and ilston (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 toured Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1940. |
In 1956, Ensemble of Electromusical Instruments (Russian: Ансамбль Электромузыкальных Инструментов), or EMI (Russian: ЭМИ) was founded by Vyacheslav Mescherin. Among many synthesizers used by EMI were theremins, electronic harps, electronic organs, ekvodin and a Soviet-made reverb unit. EMI played music reminiscent of the Western space-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 by Evgeny 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 of new age music, Eduard Artemiev. Artemiev was among the composers, whose work laid down the foundation of trance music almost two decades later. |
During the late 1960s, electronic light music ensembles emerged in the Soviet Union, among them were Ensemble Rokoko, Ensemble Elektron and various jazz 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 Soviet estrada and VIA music. Electronic music found acceptance in the Soviet cinema, for instance it was used by Andrei Tarkovsky in "Solaris", "Mirror", "Stalker", was used in Andrei Konchalovsky's "Siberiade", but also was used in more accessible movies, such as "Diamond hand". |
Among official soundtracks for the 1980 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 electronic cantata "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, namely hardbass, drift phonk, dark psytrance, hookah rap, operplugg, sovietwave. |
Modern music |
During the Soviet times, popular music also produced a number of renowned figures, such as the two balladeers—Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava, and performers such as Alla Pugacheva. Jazz, even with sanctions from Soviet authorities, flourished and evolved into one of the country's most popular musical forms. The Ganelin Trio have been described by critics as the greatest ensemble of free-jazz in continental Europe. By the 1980s, rock music became popular across Russia, and produced bands such as Aria, Aquarium, DDT, and Kino. Pop music in Russia has continued to flourish since the 1960s, with globally famous acts such as t.A.T.u. In the recent times, Little Big, a rave band, has gained popularity in Russia and across Europe. Other modern music can be found in the media, such as YouTube. For example, the song "Moscow, Moscow," is extremely popular among memes and other means of entertainment. |
Cinema |
Russian and later Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention, resulting in world-renowned films such as The Battleship Potemkin. Soviet-era filmmakers, most notably Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, would go on to become among of the world's most innovative and influential directors. Eisenstein was a student of Lev Kuleshov, who developed the groundbreaking Soviet montage theory of film editing at the world's first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography. Dziga Vertov's "Kino-Eye" theory had a huge impact on the development of documentary filmmaking and cinema realism. Many Soviet socialist realism films were artistically successful, including Chapaev, The Cranes Are Flying, and Ballad of a Soldier. |
The 1960s and 1970s saw a greater variety of artistic styles in Soviet cinema. The comedies of Eldar Ryazanov and Leonid Gaidai of that time were immensely popular, with many of the catchphrases still in use today. In 1961–68 Sergey Bondarchuk directed an Oscar-winning film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace, which was the most expensive film made in the Soviet Union. In 1969, Vladimir Motyl's White Sun of the Desert was released, a very popular film in a genre of ostern; the film is traditionally watched by cosmonauts before any trip into space. In 2002, Russian Ark was the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take. Today, the Russian cinema industry continues to expand. |
Animation |
Russia also has a long and rich tradition of animation, which started already in the late Russian Empire times. Most of Russia's cartoon production for cinema and television was created during Soviet times, when Soyuzmultfilm studio was the largest animation producer. Soviet animators developed a great and unmatched variety of pioneering techniques and aesthetic styles, with prominent directors including Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Fyodor Khitruk and Aleksandr Tatarskiy. Soviet cartoons are still a source for many popular catch phrases, while such cartoon heroes as Russian-style Winnie-the-Pooh, cute little Cheburashka, Wolf and Hare from Nu, Pogodi! being iconic images in Russia and many surrounding countries. The traditions of Soviet animation were developed in the past decade by such directors as Aleksandr Petrov and studios like Melnitsa, along with Ivan Maximov. |
Science and technology |
Radio and TV |
Russia has almost 37 thousand media outlets, over 35 thousand newspapers, and 12 thousand magazines. The largest internationally operating news agencies in Russia are TASS, RIA Novosti, and Interfax. Television is the most popular media in Russia, as 99% of the Russian population receives at least one television channel, and roughly 60% of Russians watch television on a daily basis. The most watched TV channels in Russia include the state-owned Russia-1, Channel One Russia, NTV, REN TV, and Russia Today. Popular nationwide radio stations in Russia include Radio Rossii, Echo of Moscow, Radio Mayak, Radio Yunost, and Russkoye Radio. |
Internet |
Originating from Russian scientific community and telecommunication industries, a specific Russian culture of using the Internet has been established since the early 1990s. In the second half of the 1990s, the term Runet 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 the Russian 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 other ex-USSR countries, Israel and others abroad diasporas. |
With the introduction of the Web, many social and cultural events found reflections within the Russian Internet society. Various online communities formed, and the most popular one grew out of the Russian-speaking users of the California-based blogging platform LiveJournal (which was completely bought out in December 2007 by Russian firm SUP Fabrik). In January 2008 a LiveJournal blog of the "3rd statesman" Sergey Mironov had appeared and he was shortly followed by the new President Dmitry Medvedev who opened a personal video blog which was later also expanded with a LiveJournal version. |
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 "Russian Hackers". 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 as Google and Microsoft have their Russian branches. In September 2007, the national domain .ru passed the milestone of a million domain names. By the end of the 2000s, VKontakte social network became the most populated in the Runet. |
Science and innovation |
Russia's research and development budget is the world's ninth-highest, with an expenditure of approximately 422 billion rubles on domestic research and development. In 2019, Russia was ranked tenth worldwide in the number of scientific publications. Russia ranked 45th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021. Since 1904, Nobel Prize were awarded to twenty-six Soviets and Russians in physics, chemistry, medicine, economy, literature and peace. |
Mikhail Lomonosov proposed the conservation of mass in chemical reactions, discovered the atmosphere of Venus, and founded modern geology. Since the times of Nikolay Lobachevsky, who pioneered the non-Euclidean geometry, and a prominent tutor Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematicians became among the world's most influential. Dmitry Mendeleev invented the Periodic table, the main framework of modern chemistry. Sofya Kovalevskaya was a pioneer among women in mathematics in the 19th century. Nine Soviet/Russian mathematicians have been awarded with the Fields Medal. Grigori Perelman was offered the first ever Clay Millennium Prize Problems Award for his final proof of the Poincaré conjecture in 2002, as well as the Fields Medal in 2006, both of which he infamously declined. |
Alexander Popov was among the inventors of radio, while Nikolai Basov and Alexander Prokhorov were co-inventors of laser and maser. Zhores Alferov contributed significantly to the creation of modern heterostructure physics and electronics. Oleg Losev made crucial contributions in the field of semiconductor junctions, and discovered light-emitting diodes. Vladimir Vernadsky is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology. Élie Metchnikoff is known for his groundbreaking research in immunology. Ivan Pavlov is known chiefly for his work in classical conditioning. Lev Landau made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics. |
Nikolai Vavilov was best known for having identified the centers of origin of cultivated plants. Many famous Russian scientists and inventors were émigrés. Igor Sikorsky was an aviation pioneer. Vladimir Zworykin was the inventor of the iconoscope and kinescope television systems. Theodosius Dobzhansky was the central figure in the field of evolutionary biology for his work in shaping the modern synthesis. George Gamow was one of the foremost advocates of the Big Bang theory. Many foreign scientists lived and worked in Russia for a long period, such as Leonard Euler and Alfred Nobel. |
Space exploration |
Roscosmos is Russia's national space agency. The country's achievements in the field of space technology and space exploration can be traced back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical astronautics, whose works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such as Sergey Korolyov, Valentin Glushko, and many others who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program in the early stages of the Space Race and beyond.: 6–7, 333 |
In 1957, the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched. In 1961, the first human trip into space was successfully made by Yuri Gagarin. Many other Soviet and Russian space exploration records ensued. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first and youngest woman in space, having flown a solo mission on Vostok 6. In 1965, Alexei Leonov became the first human to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the space capsule during Voskhod 2. |
In 1957, Laika, a Soviet space dog, became the first animal to orbit the Earth, aboard Sputnik 2. In 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on a celestial body, the Moon. In 1968, Zond 5 brought the first Earthlings (two tortoises and other life forms) to arrive at and circumnavigate the Moon. In 1970, Venera 7 became the first spacecraft to land on another planet, Venus. In 1971, Mars 3 became the first spacecraft to land on Mars.: 34–60 During the same period, Lunokhod 1 became the first space exploration rover, while Salyut 1 became the world's first space station. Russia had 176 active satellites in space in 2021, the world's third-highest. |
Lifestyle |
Ethnic dress of Russian people |
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. |
Traditional Russian clothes include kaftan, a cloth which Old Russia had in common with similar robes in the Ottoman Empire, Scandinavia and Persia. Kosovorotka, which was over a long time of period a traditional holidays blouse worn by men. Ushanka for men, which design was influenced in 17th century when in central and northern Russia a hat with earflaps called treukh was worn. Sarafan which is connected to the Middle East region and were worn in Central- and Northern regions of Old Russia. In Southern Russia burka and papaha are connected to the Cossacks which, in turn, is culturally connected to the people of the Northern 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 where Slavic, Baltic and Finno-Ugric people lived. Valenki are traditional Russian shoes from 18th century designs which originally originated in the Great steppe, from Asian nomads. 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. |
Cuisine |
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 of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provide the ingredients for various breads, pancakes and cereals, as well as for many drinks. Bread, of many varieties, is very popular across Russia. Flavourful soups and stews include shchi, borsch, ukha, solyanka, and okroshka. Smetana (a heavy sour cream) and mayonnaise are often added to soups and salads. Pirozhki, blini, and syrniki are native types of pancakes. Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Kiev, pelmeni, and shashlyk are popular meat dishes. Other meat dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls (golubtsy) usually filled with meat. Salads include Olivier salad, vinegret, and dressed herring. |
Russia's national non-alcoholic drink is kvass, and the national alcoholic drink is vodka, which was created in the nation in the 14th century. The country has the world's highest vodka consumption, while beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage. Wine has become increasingly popular in Russia in the 21st century. Tea has also been a historically popular beverage in Russia. |
Traditions |
Holidays |
Russia has eight, diverse—public, patriotic, and religious—official holidays. The year starts with New Year's Day on January 1, soon followed by Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7; the two are the country's most popular holidays. Defender of the Fatherland Day, dedicated to men, is celebrated on February 23; International Women's Day, dedicated to women, on March 8; and Spring and Labor Day, originally a Soviet era holiday dedicated to workers; on May 1. |
Victory Day, which honors Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and the End of World War II in Europe, is celebrated as an annual large parade in Moscow's Red Square; and marks the famous Immortal Regiment civil event. Other patriotic holidays include Russia Day on June 12, celebrated to commemorate Russia's declaration of sovereignty from the collapsing Soviet Union; and Unity Day on November 4, commemorating the uprising which marked the end of the Polish–Lithuanian occupation of Moscow. |
Popular non-public holidays include Old New Year on 14 January; Tatiana Day on 25 January, dedicated to students; Maslenitsa, an ancient and popular East Slavic folk holiday; Cosmonautics Day on 12 April, in tribute to the first human trip into space; Kupala Night on 6–7 July, a traditional Slavic holiday; and Peter and Fevronia Day. Two major Christian holidays are Easter and Trinity Sunday. The Scarlet Sails is a famous public event held annually during the White Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg. |
Religion |
Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia's traditional religions, deemed part of Russia's "historical heritage" in a law passed in 1997. |
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. Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia. 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches. 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. Smaller Christian denominations such as Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorians, and various Protestants exist. |
The ancestors of many of today's Russians adopted Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century. The 2007 International Religious Freedom Report published by the US Department of State said that approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians. According to a poll by the Russian 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. |
Cossack culture in Russia |
The steppe culture of the Russian Cossacks 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 the Don Cossacks. Other Cossack communities that have played an important role in Russia's history and culture are the Ural 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 in Tsarist 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. |
Russian forest culture |
The forest plays a very important role in Russia'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 early Slavic and other tribes built their houses out of wood so that the forest influenced the style of Russian architecture significantly. The handcraft Hohloma which originated in the Volga region is made out of wood and depicts numerous plants of the forest, like the berry Viburnum opulus (Russian: Калина, Kalina), flowers and leaves. Many Russian fairy tales play in the forest and fictional characters like Baba Yaga are strongly connected to Russian wood culture. The forest is also an important subject of many Russian folk songs. |
More elements of Russian society and culture |
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. Besides the verb, the experience itself, which describes the time span of the walk, is called progulka (Russian: прогулка). Walking is so important in Russian culture that gulyat' is also a synonym for "to party". |
Mushroom hunting and berry picking |
Activities in the forest where people pick mushrooms and berries are very common in Russia. |
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