Windows to Russia

Population 160 ethnic groups Population — 142 million A blend of cultures and religions Russia has one of the world’s most diverse societies – as many as 160 ethnic groups live there. The population of about 142 million may look like a lot but its density is low because of the country’s vast size. It’s […]

Language Russian alphabet — Cyrillic A tongue of harsh accents, alien alphabet and a reputation as being hard to crack… Russian may be all that and more but it’s certainly not the only language spoken in Russia. About 100 others are used across the country. But you don’t need to know all of them – […]

Economy The bulk of Russia’s manufacturing base dates back to the Soviet era For over half a century, the Russian economy, like that of the rest of the USSR, was centrally planned The state controlled virtually all investment, production and consumption across the country. Economic policy was shaped by the Communist Party. The transition towards […]

Climate Winter — -10°C Summer — 20-25°C How cold do you think Russia can get? The Russian winter certainly guarantees plenty of snow and frost… but not everywhere. And it doesn’t last forever. Russia’s climate varies dramatically, from the deep Arctic chill of the far north to the searing desert heat of some inland areas […]

On Sept. 1–3, dozens of heavily armed guerrillas seized a school in Beslan, near Chechnya, and held about 1,100 young schoolchildren, teachers, and parents hostage. Hundreds of hostages were killed, including about 156 children. Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev claimed responsibility. In the aftermath of the horrific attack, Putin announced that he would radically restructure the […]

Oh My God: You Found The End of the World… Now What are you going to do?