Are you curious to learn some weird and wonderful facts about Russia?
If so, excellent! You are in exactly the right place my friend…
It’s time to chat about Russia facts.
Let’s dive right in…
Facts About Russia
1 – Russia is the largest country in the world, spanning across 11 time zones (it has a total area of approximately 17 million square kilometres).
2 – Russia’s population is 144 million people, making it the ninth most populous country in the world.
3 – Moscow was founded over 1000 years ago by Prince Yuri Dolgorukiy on a site where an old village called Iur’ev-Polsky stood from 1096 to 1156.
4 – In 1812 Napoleon invaded Moscow but was defeated at Borodino before he could take control of it.
5 – The capital of Russia is Moscow.
More Facts About Russia
6 – Ancient Greeks were afraid to travel into what they called “Scythia” because it was inhabited by barbaric tribes that would kill anyone who entered their territory.
7 – Russian winters can be brutal with temperatures dropping below -30 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 Celsius) for months at a time.
8 – The Russian language has more than a hundred dialects.
9 – Moscow was founded by Ivan Kalita, who built it on the site of an old village called Moskva, which means “the place where things are taken”.
10 – Russians have been drinking vodka for centuries and its production is now one of Russia’s most important industries.
More Facts About Russia
11 – It is illegal to say anything bad about Putin or his government in public – if you do you could be fined or sent to prison. This law bans disrespect of the government.
12 – Russian cuisine includes borscht soup (a beet-based soup), stroganoff (beef with mushrooms), blini pancakes (pancakes made from unleavened dough).
13 – The Russian ruble is worth about 1/10th of a US dollar.
14 – Vladimir Putin, president of Russia, has been in office since 1999.
15 – Moscow is one of the oldest cities on earth and was founded in 1147 AD.
More Facts About Russia
16 – St Petersburg, which was founded by Peter I (also known as Peter the Great) in 1703 AD, is considered to be one of Europe’s most beautiful cities because it contains a mix of European styles with its own unique features like canals and palaces.
17 – There are over 200,000 rivers in Russia.
18 – The national flag has three colors – white on top, blue in the middle and red at bottom.
19 – The name “Russia” comes from an ancient word meaning “land of Rus” – from an old Slavic tribe called Rus that settled on the east shore of present-day Moscow.
20 – In 2014, there were more than 1 million tourists from China visiting Russia.
More Facts About Russia
21 – Russian language is spoken by over 260 million people worldwide and it’s also one of the six official languages at the United Nations (the others are: English, Chinese, Arabic, French and Spanish).
22 – The currency used in Russia is called Rouble which was introduced as a replacement for Soviet Union ruble on December 31, 1991.
23 – Russia has more than 40 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and is home to many beautiful churches including Saint Basil’s Cathedral.
24 – Russians have a long history as both inventors and innovators – they invented or developed things such as radio, television, space exploration technology, artificial satellite navigation system GLONASS (similar to GPS), submarine and helicopter.
25 – Russia has over 1 million km (620 thousand miles) of roads which are often not maintained well enough for driving during winter months due to lack of snow removal equipment so sometimes people use trains instead because they can travel through all seasons without getting stuck on roads covered by ice/snow.
Bonus Facts
In 1980, Russian scientists were able to clone a sheep named Dolly from an adult ewe’s udder cells.
