Russia is one of the most interesting countries in the world. They are filled with cultural significance on an international scale. Some of the most enthralling things you need to know about this country are that they have the longest railway in the world and the second biggest museum in the world called State Hermitage Museum, next to the Louvre in France. Not only that, this beautiful country is home to some of the world’s wealthiest people.
If it is not obvious, the largest nation in the world is definitely Russia. Given the fact that there are numerous ethnic groups, about 150, to say the least. It comes as no surprise that the degree of rich and vivid history they have has greatly affected the abundant culture they have today. After all, they are the largest country in the world, occupying two continents.
We will start off with the least known yet the most interesting fact about the Russian culture. Not a lot of people know about this, but Russians are actually heavy drinkers. Truth be told, they are the highest alcohol consumers in the world.
In fact, they did not consider beer to be an alcoholic beverage until 2013. Why, you ask? Because any drink with less than 10 percent of alcohol is considered to be “foodstuff.” These individuals consume about 18 liters of alcohol each year, and given the fact that beer was readily available everywhere, they consumed a great deal of it. Some of them might even take out their credit cards to splurge on beer.
In addition to that, it is a well-known fact Russians love vodka. It is just part of their culture. Another fascinating fact you probably never heard of is that tea is just as strong as vodka in this amazing country and that they just love these two beverages equally. These avid tea drinkers enjoy black tea the most, pairing it with some cookies and whatnots. However, green tea is becoming more and more popular to them these days. You might want to add these must-try beverages to your financial planning when you go to Russia.
Moving forward, arts and crafts are one of the most vital parts of Russian culture. Like many countries, they do their best to preserve their traditional arts and crafts. In fact, handmade souvenirs made in good old Russia are extremely popular around the world. We ought to give credit to them for sharing their art all over the world.
The most popular Russian Souvenir will have to be Matryoshka, which means “little matron,” or as we all know it, the Russian Dolls. It was invented by Sergey Malyutin and Vasily Zvyozdochkin and has been around for more than a hundred years. They are nesting dolls, which symbolizes the traditional values of the Russian society, fertility, and abundance, which also means unity in the extended family and respecting the elderly.
After all, Russians value and prioritize their families. They all depend on each other, grandparents, parents, and children alike. In fact, like some of the Asian countries, Grandparents play a huge role in raising the children in Russian households. Their extended family is pretty much involved in their lives, and they put family first before anybody else. In fact, they are obligated to help family members in need of assistance. The degree of dependence they have towards each other is quite astonishing.