History Readings

So were my Russian relatives, in their vacation photos. My parents’ high-school graduation pictures show them frolicking about in bellbottoms with their young classmates, looking absolutely crestfallen.

No matter how the decisions were actually made, the scandal is instructive. As one Bolshoi insider confided, “What happens in the Bolshoi always reflects what’s happening in the country.”

MOSCOW — The fight is long over here for authority over the security services, the oil business, mass media and pretty much all the levers of government. Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin, notwithstanding some recent anti-government protests, has won those wars, hands down, and promises to consolidate its position in parliamentary elections. But now there is concern that the Kremlin is setting its sights on Russian culture.

Russian ballet, its rich traditions and famous names of the ballet dancers –are the most important cultural symbols of Russia. Russian school of classical ballet is considered to be the best in the world.

Still, there is a Russian character, and some traditions and traits that you will notice in the vast majority of Russians. For the sake of simplicity, these are divided in categories.

The following reference is intended to be a quick guide for travelers or students.

Learning about the Russian culture is an excellent way to improve your Russian and understand Russian-speaking people. Russian culture has a rich history, strong traditions and influential arts, especially when it comes to literature, philosophy, classical music, ballet, architecture, painting, cinema and animation. These resources will help you to learn about many aspects of the Russian cultural heritage and make learning Russian more fun.

MOSCOW (Reuters) - An escalation in U.S. sanctions against Moscow risks derailing a fragile recovery in Russia’s economy, which had just begun to take hold after the Kremlin’s last confrontation with the West in 2014, analysts and investors said on Monday.

But Brown, a leading opponent of same-sex marriage, said that in the past few years he has started meeting Russians at conferences on family issues and finding many kindred spirits.

The Russian Duma unanimously approved a law on Tuesday that prohibits the distribution of homosexual "propaganda" to minors. Holding gay pride events, speaking in defense of gay rights, or equating gay and heterosexual relationships can now result in fines of up to $31,000.

Despite prayers and protests from religious leaders and human rights advocates, the Kremlin announced Putin’s approval yesterday. The amendments, including laws against sharing faith in homes, online, or anywhere but recognized church buildings, go into effect July 20.

Russia is a secular state, where no religion can be established as dominant state or compulsory. The freedom of conscience and religion is guaranteed by the Constitution.

Russia's 144 million inhabitants subscribe to a diverse variety of religions, with the most popular religion in the state traditionally being the Russian Orthodox Church. However, irreligious beliefs

The official name for Russia is either Russian Federation or Russia. Both names are equal according to the Russian Constitution. In Russian script, they are spelled as Российская Федерация and Россия accordingly.

Russia is located in the Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. The territory of Russia lies between latitudes 41 degrees north and 82 degrees north, and longitudes 19 degrees east and 169 degrees west.

Vasyl Hrytsak, the head of Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), shocked reporters at the SBU headquarters in Kyiv on May 30 when he announced that journalist and Kremlin critic Arkady Babchenko was still alive, a day after Ukrainian authorities announced he had been killed by a gunman outside of his Kyiv apartment.

.Russia’s government labeled the Jehovah’s Witnesses an extremist sect in April 2017 and has been targeting the estimated 175,000 Jehovah’s Witnesses who live in the country ever since.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the 2017 International Religious Freedom Report "is critical to our mission to defend religious liberty," as he presided over the release of the report at the U.S. State Department in Washington on May 29.

The majority of believers belong to the Orthodox Christian denomination. Russia adopted Christianity under Prince Vladimir of Kiev in 988, in a ceremony patterned on Byzantine rites. Russia’s baptism laid the foundations for the rise of the Russian Orthodox Church.