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Russian Drinks to Boost Immunity
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| Has traditional Russian cuisine anything in store for improving immunity and stamina in these
challenging times of Covid?
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| --10-11-2020-- |
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Red Moscow Fashion Festival in Moscow
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| Do you think Russian fashion has remained in textbooks and museums only? No way! Red is the hit of the season again!
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| --10-08-2019-- |
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The Russian Tradition of Easter Eggs
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| One of the main Easter traditions, painted eggs symbolize the Holy Sepulcher, inside of which eternal life is hidden.
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| --24-04-2019-- |
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Russian Easter Traditions
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| One of the main Christian holidays with 11 centuries old history, the Easter has long ceased to be treated as a purely church celebration. It is jubilation and festivities that have extended far beyond their religious origin.
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| --23-04-2019-- |
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Old Folk Russian Festivities in Suzdal
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| A gem of the Golden Ring, Suzdal is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Russia. This is a wonderful town that harbours and cherishes the unique ancient Russian atmosphere.
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| --21-03-2019-- |
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Winter Traditions of the Russian People
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| It is no coincidence that the Russian winter, with its generous snowfalls and bitter frosts, has become one of the symbols of Russia.
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| --06-02-2019-- |
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Russians and Americans – Mentality Differences
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| Different histories, economics, and cultures of Russia and the USA have determined lots of differences in the mentalities of these two countries.
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| --26-01-2019-- |
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Forgotten Russian Traditions
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| For ages, the Russian folk traditions and customs have been observed both among the villagers and the townspeople. However, some of them have been mostly forgotten.
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| --20-01-2019-- |
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Russian Homemade Pickles: History and Traditions
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| The Russian cuisine stood out for the fact that national pickles were vinegar-free, as vegetables and fruits were fermented and soused. Moreover, no other country but Russia had the tradition of brined vegetables.
|
| --10-11-2018-- |
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History of Caviar in Russia
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| For many years red caviar has been a particular symbol of Russia in the world. This is not surprising, because this country is the world’s largest producer and exporter of this delicacy.
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| --31-07-2018-- |
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Top Ten Russian Taboos: What You Should NOT Do When Travelling in Russia
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| Sometimes the notion of what NOT to do is more important than what to do if you want to make a good impression. Do you agree? Then read about TOP TEN things you should NOT do in Russia.
|
| --29-07-2018-- |
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What You Should be Ready to Face When You Marry a Russian Woman
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| When drawing a picture of family happiness, have you always imagined that you will be met at home by your beautiful, caring, soulful and house-proud wife, who is fond of children? Then you have dreamed of a wife from Russia.
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| --27-07-2018-- |
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How to Enamor a Russian Woman
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| The mysterious Russian woman's soul enchants practical men's minds and evokes admiration. What does it take to gain reciprocal romantic feelings of a Russian woman?
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| --26-07-2018-- |
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Revel in Russian National Dance Show "Gzhel" in Moscow
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| “Gzhel” is an extraordinary dance show that takes the viewers on an exciting musical journey to explore various regions of Russia and enjoy their vivid folk traditions and colourful arts and crafts.
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| --20-07-2018-- |
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The Most Unusual Names of the Russians
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| From one to 12 non-standard names are registered every year. Most often an exotic name expects a baby in the family, where one of the parents is a foreigner.
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| --19-12-2014-- |
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Traditional Russian Sports, Part 2
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| Lots of internationally popular modern sport games had their local versions rooted in Old Russian traditions. Some of them survived, others were partly revived and transformed beyond recognition.
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| --08-02-2014-- |
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Traditional Russian Sports, Part 1
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| Russia is a sportive country. Within a short time the Russians mastered dozens of sports and gained international recognition by that, but at the same time forgot the native sport games played by many generations of ancestors.
|
| --07-02-2014-- |
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Values of Russian Ñulture
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| It was the Russian country community that played the major role in the history of this country and development of the Russian culture. Thus, the values of the Russian culture are to a big extent the values of the Russian community.
|
| --30-12-2013-- |
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Salient Features of the Russian National Character
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| The Russian national character can hardly be fathomed or defined disconcertingly.
|
| --18-12-2013-- |
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Chastushka: Russian Witty Ditty Tradition
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| Chastushka is a folklore genre, a short humorous Russian folk song (rhymed quatrain) performed in a fast manner. This poetic folk miniature can ironically or even sarcastically and with grim humour tackle a wide range of subjects in various areas of life.
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| --11-12-2013-- |
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Woodwork Tradition in Russia
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| Pre-Christian Russians had a mastery over molding and forging, ceramics and embroidery, and fine enamels. Kiev artists were good at bone carving, blackening, metal engraving, making glazed tiles (izrazets), and glasswork. However, Russians were most skillful in woodworking.
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| --30-11-2013-- |
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Smithcraft Tradition in Russia
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| Blacksmithing became the most ancient folk craft in Russia. Smiths forged work tools (iron ploughshares, scythes, sickles, knifes, saws, locks, etc.) and armament (swords, sabers, arrowheads, chain armors, and helmets).
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| --28-11-2013-- |
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Tradition of Pottery Craft in Russia
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| When studying information on archeological finds of settlements, towns and burial grounds of the Old Russian state, one can see that most of such materials are presented with fragments of various clay vessels.
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| --27-11-2013-- |
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Where to Celebrate Maslenitsa (Pancake Week) In Moscow
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| The large pedestrian zone from Tverskaya Square to Kuznetskiy Most will be the main venue of Maslenitsa. All parks of the city will also be involved in the festivities.
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| --28-02-2013-- |
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Maslenitsa (Pancake Week) In St. Petersburg
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| Almost every one of us loves the holidays. Despite the fact that many things changed a lot over the centuries, the tradition of celebrating Maslenitsa in the fresh air - in parks and gardens – remains unchanged. Maslenitsa in St. Petersburg will be held in the Babushkin Park on March 17, 2013.
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| --28-02-2013-- |
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Maslenitsa (Pancake Week) 2013 – the Joyful Celebration of Spring
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| There are many traditional Russian festivals the history of which is riddled with special Slavic culture. One of them is the well-known Maslenitsa. Merry folk festivities last one week, and each day has its own tradition. In 2013 the holiday will last from March 11 to March 17.
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| --27-02-2013-- |
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Russian Business Dress-Code
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| There is one old Russian proverb meaning: first you judge “how nice”, then you judge “how wise”. Most of Russian businesspeople pay a lot of attention to how they are dressed. Here are some helpful tips on how to prepare for a formal meeting with the Russian partners.
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| --08-11-2012-- |
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Traditions of Russian Folk Dance
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| It is difficult to define, how many folk dances there are in Russia – they can hardly be counted. They have a great variety of names: sometimes it follows the song that it is danced to, sometimes the number of dancers or the pattern of the dance.
|
| --31-05-2012-- |
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Russian Vintage Christmas Cards
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| Today we would like to share with you an exciting gallery of old Russian Christmas cards. These vintage pictures reflect unique Russian traditions and present the beautiful art of card making in the country.
|
| --27-12-2011-- |
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Russian Winter Season: A Digest of Russia-InfoCentre Features about the Festivities
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| This season we decided to help you glide through the Russian winter. The forecasters promise us a "European" winter, meaning it is going to be mild, but the holiday season is nearing, and we wanted to feel the festival glee and to share it with you. So, here is what we have already written about the Russian traditions of celebrating the New Year and Christmas.
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| --02-12-2011-- |
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Traditions of Old Russian Housing
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| In the modern age of growing interest in eco-houses architects often look for inspiration in the traditions of old national housing. Old Russian architecture is not an exception. So, what was it like, actually? Izba, terem, khoromy – what are these? Now you can learn how ancestors of modern Russians built their houses.
|
| --04-07-2011-- |
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Lot of Banned Slavic Idols
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| Slavic idols - stone and wooden sculptures that embodied Slavic gods - were an indispensable attribute of priestly religious practices of Old Russia. Very few of those idols have come down to us.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Kolt – Enigmatic Old Russian Ornament
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| Kolt is a traditional Old Russian female ornament of the 11th -13th centuries; it is a hollow metal pendant fastened to the headgear and often decorated with granulation, skan’ (filigree work), enamel, or patina. Presumably, the inner cavity was used for keeping a piece of fabric moistened with incense.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Old Russian Pictorial Embroidery
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| Old Russian pictorial embroidery (aka "needle painting") is one of the Russian arts and crafts that developed under the direct influence of Byzantine and were widely spread in the Old Rus'. Unlike ornamental embroidery these works depicted "the face" and were made with the use of gold and silver threads, pearls, jewels and gems.
|
| --21-10-2011-- |
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Tradition of Merry Russian Sleighing
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| Sleighing has been a traditional Russian winter entertainment, especially popular during Christmas-tide, Maslenitsa (Pancake week), and saints’ days.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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New Year Traditions and Beliefs in Russia
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| January – the first winter month – was once called prosinets (azure-like) in Old Rus’, because after the low gloomy sky of December it brought islets of clear dark blue sky. But January was also famous for its blizzards and frosts. Hence is its ancient name of sechen’ (whipping one). Besides, January also used to be the month of Vasily (Basil) in honor of St. Basil, whose day fell on January, 1st – the turning point of winter.
|
| --25-10-2011-- |
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Traditional Russian Wedding Feast
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| Weddings in Russia were traditionally celebrated in a vivacious and noisy way, with observation of numerous customs, signs, and popular beliefs. The festivities usually lasted for three days, but sometimes could extend to a whole week. Russian wedding ceremony was certainly accompanied with an abundant and plentiful feast, representing ceremonial dishes of Russian cuisine.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Russian Kasha: Secrets of Porridge
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| Porridge is undoubtedly a primordially Russian dish. Moreover, porridge is a cult dish. Following old Russian traditions, on wedding ceremony the groom and the bride necessarily cooked porridge.
|
| --24-06-2012-- |
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Fist Fights: Old Russian Tradition of Martial Arts
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| The tradition of fist fighting existed in Russia from times immemorial till the early 20th century. Apart from being a sort of sportive folk entertainment it was a peculiar fighting school that developed skills necessary for defense of the native land.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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The Bear in Russian Culture
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| The Bear — a significant factor of Russian culture - appears in many Russian literary works, folk tales, epics, proverbs and sayings, not infrequently acting as a protagonist. The Bear was the emblem of the XXII Olympic Games held in Moscow in 1980.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Household Furnishing and Utensils of the Old Russians
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| Interior furniture in houses of the nobility and rich merchants was naturally quite different from plain furnishing in humble huts of peasants and craftsmen.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Traditional Men’s Headwear
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| Whereas in the history of women’s clothes in Russia the headwear was first of all a decoration and a tribute to traditions (a married woman had to cover her hair completely), for men it was an indicator of their social status. The higher one’s headgear was, the higher position its owner took in the society (hence is the saying similar to the English “Such a big cap fits the big chap!”). Serfs, on the contrary, did not cover their heads.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Traditional Women’s Headwear
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|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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National Russian Dress: Basic Costume Garments
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| --26-10-2011-- |
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National Russian Dress: Outerwear
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|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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National Russian Dress: Footwear
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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National Russian Dress: Headgears
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|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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National Russian Dress: Costume Decorations
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|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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National Russian Dress
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| We know our predecessors by their tales, songs and legends, as well as by a great variety of original clothes and household things created mainly by some unknown talents. When looking at ancient holiday garments of peasantry one cannot help wondering at their unusual harmony and power of life emanating from these things and their ability to hand down the visible image of our ancestors and convey their spiritual essence to us.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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On Russians' Drinking Habits
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| A SuperJob.ru survey says most Russians believe alcohol abuse is their most negative character trait(!). 22% of 1800 respondents believe it is so, while 20% claim Russian's curse is their laziness.
|
| --17-10-2008-- |
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Maslenitsa, the Holiday of Spring and Sun
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| The tradition of Maslenitsa takes its roots in pagan times, when the Russian folks would bid farewell to stark winter and welcome long-awaited spring with mouth-watering pancakes, as round, yellow and hot, as the Sun itself, as well as with games, songs, dances and burning down the Winter effigy.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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About Wedding Dress of Russian Brides
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| Wedding garments in Old Rus’ used to be very colourful, the red being the major wedding colour. White was considered the colour of sanctity and was not used in festivities. In many regions the bride had two wedding gowns: one to wear before the marriage service and the other to put on after it.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Russian Stove
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| The stove was man’s unfailing helpmate in the olden days. The so-called “Russian stove” is a brick masonry heater, which is perhaps the most efficient and environment-friendly of all wood burning fireplaces ever invented by man.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Happy Old New Year!
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| Sounds strange, doesn't it? For Russia it is quite OK. Comrade Lenin had no idea of the present he was giving to many generation ahead, when signing the decree “On introducing the West European calendar in the Republic of Russia” on January 24, 1918. He presented the Russians with the unique holiday of the Old New Year! How naive he was supposing that we would celebrate the New Year like all the rest, only by the Gregorian calendar!
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Father Frost the Red Nose
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| The key figure of the Russian New Year is certainly Ded Moroz (Father Frost, or Grandfather Frost, to be more exact) who arrives wearing a red caftan (old-style long garment) decorated with traditional embroidering and edged with snow-white fluff, a red cap, white mittens and felt boots.
|
| --26-10-2011-- |
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On Russian Wedding Traditions of the Past
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| From time immemorial wedding was one of the most interesting and sophisticated phenomena of festive, ritual and everyday life of the Russia people. Being at once a clerical, secular and pagan festival, wedding became a turning point in life of the newlyweds and an unforgettable event for the rest of community.
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| --14-12-2010-- |
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Petrushka and Vertep: on Traditions of Russian Puppet Theatre
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| Folk performances of Petrushka and Vertep theatres have existed in Russia since the 18th century. However, puppet folk theatre, just like folk theatre in general underwent hard times: its traditions were lost in the 20th century and so today we have only reconstructions of those original folk performances.
|
| --25-10-2011-- |
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Skomorokhi, the Troubadours of Old Rus
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| Skomorokhi were the wandering minstrels of ancient Russia; they were singers, jesters, musicians, play performers, acrobats and animal trainers. But first of all skomorokhi were singers of freedom, who dared to ridicule the power, the clergy, and the rich and sympathized with the common people.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Russian Vodka
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| Vodka has long become quite an independent and self-sufficient personage of Russian culture: there are jokes and songs, books and research works on this “hot” subject. Majority of foreigners have an image of vodka imprinted in their minds as the foremost symbol of Russia (along with Bear and Martyoshka).
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Traditional Russian Folk Doll
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| Dolls have always made an integral and vital part of any culture. The basic notions of human relations and complicated world order are passed on to a child with the help of all sorts of toys. As for traditional folk dolls, for centuries they were means of transmitting sacred generic values and knowledge to the following generation.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Banya, the Russian Rite of Steam Bath
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| Banya is one of the most ancient traditions of the Russian people. Russian steam bath is a full-fledged philosophy, as well as invigorative pleasure compared to nothing and true relief for one’s soul.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Russian Drinks – What are They?
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| The first thing that crosses one’s mind when speaking about Russian drinks is certainly vodka. Yet, as a matter of fact, long before vodka there were no less popular drinks in Old Rus. As for vodka, it came to Russia via Lithuania where it was brought by the Genoese from their colony in the Crimea. Actually it did not happen until the mid 14th century. So vodka is another story.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Reviving Old Tradition. Learning the Art of Bell Ringing
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| Before the revolution of 1917 Moscow alone had 765 Orthodox churches, about 350 belfries and around 3000 bells. However, in the late 1920s the majority of churches and belfries ceased existing, while bell ringing was strictly banned. Seemingly, Moscow stopped ringing forever. Bells were melted down, sold out and taken overseas. The churches which have preserved all their bells can be counted on one hand.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Traditions of Orthodox Bell Ringing
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| From ancient times church bells were perceived as living beings in Russia. Each of them was given a special name. Before raising a bell up to the chapel it was consecrated, the ritual corresponding to the sacrament of christening.
|
| --14-12-2010-- |
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Russian Holidays
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| The Russian love for holidays is known the world over. We adore holidays, indeed. But who does not? Perhaps our love for holidays is special for its indiscrimination – anything goes, just give us a chance to break the daily working routine and indulge into the surfeits of merry-making, eating and drinking.
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| --28-08-2011-- |
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Manners and Customs of the Russians
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| If you ask a Russian "How are you?" / Kak dela?", you risk to get a complete report on how he/she really is. The formalism of the Europeans or Westerners at this point can hardly be understood in Russia. Do not be surprised at the ease with which the Russians discuss their personal life.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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Something About Russian National Character
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| A lot has been said and written about the inscrutable ‘Russian soul’ – yet, it still keeps its mystery. No wonder. Here are some of our thoughts about the common traits of the people inhabiting this multiform and contradictive country.
|
| --28-08-2011-- |
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