Russian classical literature is an absolutely unique phenomenon. It has its own spirit, its own features which reveal the special character of the Russian soul. Stories described in the books by Russian classical authors are always surprising and unique, and they affect every reader’s feelings.

Recently we talked about Russian classical books. We’ve decided to keep telling you about Russian art. Today we’re going to speak about Russian movies every foreigner who visits Russia must see.

Today in the article we are going to speak about the food that every Russian person adores – shashlik.  Shashlik [shash-LEEK] is a meat dish that can be found in almost all countries around the world, although it’s still unknown how, where and when it first appeared.

You most probably already know now that Russian language is full of surprises: first, Cyrillic, then a challenging grammar with lots of exceptions, etc. In order to entertain you a little, we offer you an interesting task – try to read and say the longest words in Russian.

Have you ever thought about what Russians have for breakfast? For example, some people prefer to have a cup of coffee for breakfast, other people like to eat bread with butter or jam and have a cup of tea with honey in the morning.

The Russian language is considered to be one of the most difficult languages in the world. A large number of people speak Russian language almost everywhere in the world but very few of them think about a unique character of this language.

Ushanka is a common winter headwear which every Russian knows, and it is one of the most popular souvenirs which foreigners usually bring from Russia. This hat is still very popular not only with adults but also with young people, including girls.

Matryoshka is a traditional Russian souvenir and the most popular doll which appeared in Russia in 1890.  Originally, Matryoshka was created as a toy for children. However, later many people noticed the features of the Russian national character in it, and it became one of the symbols of Russian folk art and traditional culture. 

It’s been 60 years since the Soviet Union launched its first artificial satellite into Earth orbit. On October 4th, 1957, the space device which was called PS-1 (Prosteyshiy Sputnik-1 “Elementary Satellite 1”) was launched by a rocket form the Baikonur Cosmodrome.

People receive their surnames when they are born, they use their surnames in all important documents, in addition, surnames are really significant for any person.  However, people hardly ever think of the origins of their surnames. Therefore, our today’s article will tell you about the origins of the most common Russian surnames.

In this article, we will continue telling you about other Russian habits which surprise foreigners who arrive in Russia for the first time. In the second part of the article we are going to discuss 10 weird Russian habits which cause foreigners’ misunderstanding.  

Russian vodka is the most famous and widespread strong alcoholic drink, whose history dates back to the 15th century. However, there is still no definite answer who was the first to prepare this strong, alcoholic and national Russian drink.