Audge

With the Olympics starting this week, I thought it would be appropriate to do a little research on the host country. I think it's absolutely fascinating to learn about other people and countries and the history they've had. Being fairly well educated in American history, I'm growing more and more interested in other countries. So.....let's learn about Russia.

The basics first.

Name: The Federation of Russia
-Previous Names: Tsardom of Russian, Soviet Union
Language: Primarily Russian, though there are 27 other languages spoken there, which you can find here.
Currency: Russian Ruble
Flag:

Population: 143 million approx. (as of 2013)
Popular Sports: Ice Hockey, Basketball (3 of which are in the NBA), and Bandy (which is a national sport that's similar to hockey)
National Holidays: They have 7 major holidays they celebrate.

• Defender of the Fatherland (Feb. 23)-which honors Russian men, especially those serving in the army; 
• International Women's Day (March 8)-  which combines the traditions of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day;
• Spring and Labor Day (May 1)
• Victory Day (May 9)-the second most popular holiday in Russia; it commemorates the victory over Nazism in the Great Patriotic War. A huge military parade, hosted by the President of Russia, is annually organised in Moscow on Red Square.
• Russia Day (June 12)
• Unity Day (Nov. 4)-commemorating the popular uprising which expelled the Polish occupation force from Moscow in 1612.
• Christmas (or rather their version of it. Father Frost is their Santa Claus) 

In reading up on some Russian history.......it was....in a few words....filled with lots of Russian names and conquerors. For example:  Kievan Rus', the first united East Slavic state, was founded by Rurik's successor Oleg of Novgorod in 882. That was a while ago. 
Let's see, Russia had plenty of changes throughout it's history. I'm going to try and condense it and put it in simpler terms. 
Essentially, they had dozens of leaders, mostly ferocious and powerful ones such as Ivan the Terrible, Daniil Aleksandrovich, Ivan the Great, Peter the Great, Nicholas I and II, Vladimr Lenin, and finally, Stalin. 
Now don't get me wrong, there's been plenty of great Russian leaders. The one side just seems to....outweigh the other. Hahaha
They've had revolution after revolution. World War I and II. The Cold War. The fall of the Soviet Union. And finally the creation of the Russian Federation in 1992 (booyah) which exists now. What a life Russia.

Okay, favorite part.

FUN FACTS:

1. Russia is bigger then Pluto. Say WHAAAT?
2. Russia and America are less then 4 km apart at it's nearest points.
3. There are 9 million more women in Russia then men. Bust...
4. In 1908, the Russian Olypmic team arrived to London 12 days late because they were not using the Gregorian calendar.
5. The US purchased Alaska from Russia for just $7.2 million in 1867. #bargaindeal
6. The oldest plant to ever be regenerated was grown in Russia from 32,000 year old seeds
7.Fozes have been domesticated like dogs since 1959. I WANT a pet fox.
8. Russians drink vodka like humans should drink water.

Famous Russians:

• Yul Brynner: He was in the King and I and was AWESOME. 
• Leo Tolstoy: Seriously good author
• Pytor Tchaikovsky: composer that I will always love
• Ian Pavlov: Ring that bell doggy! 
• Al Jolson: Bet you didn't know that! 
• Natasha Romanoff: Just kidding....she's not real 

Food:

Apparently, soup is a large part of Russian cuisine. I won't go into details, but lets just say they all love soup. Even cold soup.
Meats that are boiled, baked, or just simple put on a plate are all common. Fowl, beast, fish, whatever you can think of, they eat it.
Some popular dishes include:

• Beef Stroganov 
• Bliny (similar to crepes)
• Caviar 
• Goulash
• Lymonnyk (a lemony type of pie)