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Russian Information Guide |Rus-a| Russian customs and traditions | Interesting Facts about Russia
Moscow Metro
The Moscow Metro is considered to be one of the fastest means of transport in the world. Moreover, it is also undeniably efficient, as its trains are scheduled to arrive every 90 seconds during rush hours.
Therefore, its popularity is not at all striking: according to statistics, approximately nine million people ride the Moscow Metro every single day, and that makes up more than the combined number of commuters in both London and New York.
Diamond Siberia
In the 1970s, a 35 million year-old asteroid fell to Earth and landed on the Siberian territory. Russian scientists claim that there are trillions of carats of diamonds buried underneath the crater formed as the result of the asteroid’s fall. According to some estimates, those diamonds alone may satisfy the needs of the diamond market industry for the next 30,00 years. Their combined value is at around $1 quadrillion.
Extinct Species Revival
Russians scientists brought back to life a plant that became extinct 32,000 years ago. The fruit of a tiny arctic flower had been laying frozen hard in the Siberian tundra until its discovery in 2012. Scientists thawed cells from the placenta (the part of the fruit that produces seeds) and grew them into whole plants.
Highest Active Volcano in Eurasia
Klyuchevskaya Sopka is a volcano that is almost five kilometers in height, which makes it the highest mountain on the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia and the highest active volcano of Eurasia. It has been erupting for the last couple of years.
Nature
One of the greatest riches of Russia is its nature, which explains the country’s desire to preserve and nurture it: there are over 40 national parks and 100 wildlife reserves on its territory.
Country of Forests
Russia is not only the largest country in the world, but it is also a country with the largest forest area ( 7,762,602 km2), which constitutes 45.40% of the country’s entire land area. This means that the forest area of Russia alone is the size of the entire Australian continent.
Cats Watching over Art
It is common knowledge that of the greatest Russian museums, Hermitage, which is located in Saint Petersburg, is incredibly abundant in art, as over three million pieces of art are exhibited there. However, only few are aware of the fact that the Hermitage museum is home to about 70 cats guarding its treasures against rodents. This is a tradition that was established a while ago, when Empress Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great who originally founded St. Petersburg, issued a decree on the matter in 1745.
New Year is Celebrated Twice
Alongside a traditional New Year, there is another celebration in Russia called the Old New Year or the Orthodox New Year which is an informal traditional Orthodox holiday, celebrated as the start of the New Year by the Julian calendar.
Alphabet
Letters with No Sound
Russian alphabet contains 33 letters. However, two of them are soundless and cannot be pronounced separately from a word. Despite that, they bear a crucial importance for the Russian language’s grammar.
Alphabet
World’s Tallest Church
Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour (Khram Khrista Spasitelya) can open its doors for 5,000-6,000 visitors at a time and is believed to be the tallest Eastern Orthodox church in the world. Beside that, it is currently the largest operating orthodox church in the world.
By Dilyara Gafurova
Language Variety
There are over 120 languages and dialects spoken in Russia. The official language is Russian, and it is a one and only mother tongue for over 80 percent of the country’s population. Nonetheless, there are more than 100 minority languages, alongside couple of dozen dialects, among which the main one is Tatar, which is spoken by about 3 percent of people living in Russia. Other minority languages include Bashir, Circassian, Chechen, Chuvash, Dolgang, German, Mordvin and Ukrainian. Most people who speak a minority language also speak Russian.
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