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Portal:Russia

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Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area, extending across eleven time zones and sharing land borders with fourteen countries. It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country. Russia is a highly urbanised country including 16 population centres with over a million inhabitants. Its capital as well as its largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and its cultural capital.

The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated; the Grand Duchy of Moscow led the unification of Russian lands, leading to the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other Soviet republics, within which it was the largest and principal constituent. At the expense of millions of lives, the Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialisation in the 1930s and later played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for ideological dominance and international influence. The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space. (Full article...)

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Monument to Peter the Great

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Yaroslav the Wise

A serving of shchi. This variant contains saffron milk-caps, a type of mushroom.
Shchi (Russian: щи, IPA: [ɕːi] ) is a Russian-style cabbage soup. When sauerkraut is used instead, the soup is called sour shchi, while soups based on sorrel, spinach, nettle, and similar plants are called green shchi (Russian: зелёные щи, IPA: [zʲɪˈlʲɵnɨje ɕːi]). In the past, the term sour shchi was also used to refer to a drink, a variation of kvass, which was unrelated to the soup. (Full article...)

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Shostakovich in 1942

Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich[a] (25 September [O.S. 12 September] 1906 – 9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and thereafter was regarded as a major composer.


Shostakovich achieved early fame in the Soviet Union, but had a complex relationship with its government. His 1934 opera Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk was initially a success but later condemned by the Soviet government, putting his career at risk. In 1948 his work was denounced under the Zhdanov Doctrine, with professional consequences lasting several years. Even after his censure was rescinded in 1956, performances of his music were occasionally subject to state interventions, as with his Thirteenth Symphony (1962). Nevertheless, Shostakovich was a member of the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR (1947) and the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union (from 1962 until his death), as well as chairman of the RSFSR Union of Composers (1960–1968). Over the course of his career, he earned several important awards, including the Order of Lenin, from the Soviet government. (Full article...)

In the news

9 August 2024 – Russo-Ukrainian War
Russian invasion of Ukraine
A Russian missile attack on a supermarket in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk Oblast, kills 14 people and injures 43 others. (Reuters)
Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Ukraine launches a "massive" drone attack on Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, with Lipetsk air base reportedly being on fire. Several villages are evacuated, while six people are reportedly injured. (Reuters)
Russia declares a "federal-level" emergency in Kursk Oblast as Ukrainian forces continue to advance. (ABC News)
Akhmat special forces commander Apti Alaudinov says Ukrainian troops "simply passed-by" their positions without engaging them, instead opting to retreat until until more Russian reinforcements could arrive. (MSN)

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Mikhail Gorbachev
If the Russian word "perestroika" has easily entered the international lexicon, this is due to more than just interest in what is going on in the Soviet Union. Now the whole world needs restructuring, i.e. progressive development, a fundamental change.
Mikhail Gorbachev, Perestroika: New Thinking for Our Country and the World
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