Windows to Russia

Official state holidays 8 state holidays January 1 — New Year´s Day January 7 — Christmas February 23 — Defender of the Motherland Day March 8 — International Women’s Day May 1 — Labour Day May 9 — Victory Day June 12 — Russia Day November 4 — National Unity Day

Religion Four religions are official: Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism Since the fall of communism, religion has thrived with churches and monasteries springing up all over the country Decades of Soviet rule have left their mark: up to half of Russians declare themselves atheists, although figures vary. Among believers Orthodox Christianity dominates, but smaller […]

Administrative division 83 federal entities Russia is made up of 83 federal entities. Some of them are called republics, others are regions and there are also autonomies They all have equal representation in the Russian parliament but differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy. Their administrative heads are often referred to as “governors”, although […]

Political system The Constitution was adopted by national referendum on December 12, 1993 Russia is a federal presidential republic The executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, but the President is the dominant figure. The legislature is represented by the Federal Assembly of Russia. It has two chambers: the State Duma […]

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?