Kid's Guide to Russia by worldtradepresss

KIDS’ GUIDE TO

Russia

St. Basil’s Cathedral

Welcome to Russia Russia is the largest country in the world with an amazing cultural history formed over centuries of interplay between East and West. Let’s learn about Russia from kids like you. Sveta lives in Arkangelsk, in the northwest part of the country. She is 12 years old.

Sveta feels blessed to be able to study ballet. Her instructor once danced with the famous Bolshoi Ballet.

Sveta is a nickname. It is short for Svetlana, which means “light.” It also means “blessed.”

Sveta wears a leotard when she dances. She wears ballet shoes made of soft leather. Soon she will wear pointe shoes. They will help her to dance on her toes.

Mikhail is Sveta’s brother. His name means “gift from God.” Mikhail is in secondary school. He is a good student. Mikhail wants to be a chemist someday. He is also his school’s chess champion.

Chess is a popular past time in Mikhail’s country. Some of the game’s best players come from Russia.

Sveta and Mikhail love their country and hope you will, too. Let’s learn some more about Russia.

Россия

Where in the World? Spanning nine time zones, Russia is the largest country in the world. It occupies two continents—Europe and Asia. A significant portion of Russia’s northern territory lies within the Arctic Circle. Farther south, large forested areas give way to semi-desert. Much of Russia’s interior consists of large plains called steppes. Within Russia’s vast territory are the world’s largest forest reserves, huge mineral and oil reserves, and almost a quarter of Earth’s freshwater.

Yuliya lives in Derbent, located between the Caspian Sea and the Caucasus Mountains. It is thought to be the oldest city in Russia.

RUSSIA

Sergey lives in Kazan. It is located where the Kazanka River meets the Volga, the longest river in Europe. Kazan is known as the sports capital of Russia.

WA Y

Ba lt ic Se a

STOCKHOLM

A NL

Norw egia n Se a

KOBENHAVN S W E D E N

OSLO

NOR

9. Latvia 10. Lithuania 11. Poland 12. Tajikistan 13. Turkey 14. Turkmenistan 15. Uzbekistan

COUNTRIES

Murmansk

Svalbard (Norway)

Vo l

Saratov

Vladikavkaz

Arkangelsk

Vladivostock

Moscow

Novosibirsk

Perm

Sochi

Kazan

St. Petersburg Perm'

DUSHANBE 12

ra'

IRAN

rda

TEHRAN

BISHKEK 8

Il i

Oz er o Bal khash

K A Z A K H S TA N

ASTANA

Omsk

GornoAltaysk

Tura

11 0 ºE

Severnaya Zemlya

600 km

0º

East Si b er i an Sea

Chita Aginskoye Ulan Ude

Wr a n g e l Island

Yakutsk

BEIJING

CHINA

Magadan

S ea o f Jap an

SEOUL

N O R T HJA PA N KOREA SOUTH KOREA

P'YONGYANG

Ku ri l I sl an d s

PetropavloskKamchatskiy

YuzhnoSakhalinsk

Vladivostok

Khabarovsk

S akh al i n

S ea o f Okh o tsk

Palana

Ber in g S ea

PACIFIC OCEAN

Ber ing Stra it

Yu k o

USA

Anadyr

Birobidzhan

C h u kh i Sea

Blagoveshchensk

L en

Aldan

New Siberian Islands

Ozero Baykal

ULAANBAATAR

Irkutsk

Ust' Ordynskiy

L ap tev Sea

600 mi

MONGOLIA

Kyzyl

Abakan

Krasnoyarsk

Dudinka

90ºE

Kemerovo

Tomsk

ARCTIC OCEAN

CHINA

Barnaul

14 15 ASHKHABAD TASHKENT

A r al S ea

Kurgan

Kara Sea

70º

Franz Josef Land

Novosibirsk

KhantyMansiysk

Yekaterinburg Tyumen

ºE

Salekhard

Novaya Zemlya

Irty

C asp i an Sea

YEREVAN BAKI 1 2

Machackala

7 Groznyy T'BILISI

Ufa

Chelyabinsk Orenburg

Samara

Kazan' Izevsk Ul'yanovsk

Penza

Stavropol Volgograd Elista Cherkessk Astrakhan Nal'chik

Krasnodar

Rostovon-Don

Nazran

ºN

Vologda

Yaroslavl Syktyvkar Orel Kostroma Tula Bryansk Ivanovo Vladimir Kursk N. Novgorod Ryazan Vyatka Belgorod Lipetsk Yaskar-Ola Saransk Kudymkar Voronezh Ceboksary Tambov

Majkop

Smolensk

KYIV Kaluga MOSCOW

RUSSIA

POLITICAL WI TH A D MI N I STRATI V E S Co u n try ca p ita l Ad m in istra tive ca p ita l

HELSINKI Barents Kaliningrad FI Sea RIGA WARSZAWA TALLINN 5 10 St. Petersburg 9 Petrozavodsk VILNIUS Pskov Arkangel'sk Nar'yan 3 Novgorod Mar MINSK Tver

UKRAINE

ºE 15

0ºE 17

Armenia Azerbaijan Belarus Denmark Estonia Germany Georgia Kyrgyzstan

BERLIN

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8.

ºN

rka

Ye n i s e y

60º N

º 30

In di

Amu

70 ºN

Koly ma

Can You Find It?

Most of Russia has a humid continental climate with warm summers, cold, snowy winters, and moderate rainfall throughout the year. The northern regions have a subarctic climate with long, severely cold winters and short, cool summers. The northernmost areas, along the Arctic Ocean, have a polar climate. Irina lives in Irkutsk in Siberia, a region known for being cold and snowy. But Irkutsk is lin the south, so although winters are usually frigid, summer temperatures can be very warm.

Russia has multiple environmental regions that span the country in a series of belts. Heading south from the Arctic, frozen deserts give way to tundra, mixed forests, and finally the grassy steppes along the country’s southern border.

The tundra is home to reindeer, musk oxen, and Arctic foxes, while the vast forests are rich in fur-bearing mammals like foxes, sables, martins, and ermines, as well as large mammals like wolves, bears, and elk. Additionally, large mammals such as bison, leopards, and antelope live in the grassy steppe regions of southern Russia. 6

Lake Baikal At 1,642 meters deep (5,387 feet deep), Russia’s Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and is estimated to hold one fifth of the world’s fresh surface water. At 30 million years old, it is also the world’s oldest lake.

Kamchatka Peninsula

Ural Mountains

Lake Baikal

Ural Mountains The Ural Mountains run north to south through western Russia, dividing Asia and Europe. The name Ural is thought to be derived from a Tatar word meaning “stone belt.” The Urals are among the world’s oldest mountain ranges.

Kamchatka Peninsulal The Kamchatka Peninsula, known as the “Land of Fire and Ice,” is located in Russia’s far east along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters. The peninsula itself is home to 29 active volcanoes, as well as numerous geysers and hot springs. 7

History 882 CE Vikings from Scandinavia move into the area of modern-day Kyiv. With the Slavs, they establish a state called Kievan Rus (“Land of the Rus”). Today’s Russians trace their cultural lineage to Kievan Rus.

1480 Moscow’s Grand Prince Ivan III takes control over the region with his victory over the Tatars, laying the foundation for a Russian state spanning the breadth of the Asian continent.

1682–1725 Peter the Great introduces political reforms, embraces modern science, and opens Russia to the West. Under his reign, Russia becomes the largest country in the world.

1881

Tsar Alexander III comes to power after his father, Tsar Alexander II, is assassinated. He cracks down on dissention, leading to the development of radical political groups such as the Bolsheviks. 8

1917 In February, the Russian Revolution overthrows the czar and his government. After attempts to fill the power vacuum fail, Vladimir Lenin’s Bolshevik Party seizes power in the October Revolution.

1922 The Bolsheviks establish the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). For the next 70 years, the history of Russia becomes the history of the USSR.

1991 In December, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the dominant constituent of the Soviet Union, withdraws, essentially dissolving the USSR.

2000 Vladimir Putin is elected president of Russia, beginning more than 20 years at the helm of Russian politics. 9

People There are more than 160 different ethnic groups represented within the borders of Russia; however, most of the population is considered to be ethnic Russian.

Amir has Kazakh ancestry. His lessons at school are taught in Russian, but he speaks Kazakh with his family at home.

Many of the other ethnic groups represented are originally from the former republics of the Soviet Union, including Ukrainians, Kazakhs, and Tatars.

The country’s official language is Russian, although there are more than 100 different languages spoken by various ethnic groups. 10

As a result of many years of Soviet rule, when state atheism was imposed, most of the country is non-religious. However a religious revival has taken hold in recent years.

Russian Orthodox Christianity is the predominant religion, followed by Sunni Islam. Russia’s Muslims live mainly in the Volga-Urals region, the North Caucasus, and the country’s largest cities—Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Olga’s family practices Orthodox Christianity. She is named for Saint Olga of Kyiv, the first Russian saint of the Orthodox church.

Names Marina Marina is a Latin name meaning “from the sea.”

Pavel

Pavel is a Latin name meaning “small.”

Ekaterina

Dmitriy Dmitriy is a Greek name meaning “devoted to Demeter.” Demeter was the Greek goddess of agriculture. 12

Ekaterina is a Greek name meaning “pure.”

e (Male) Nam

Origin

Aleksandr Greek

M e aning

defender

Andrey French warrior Evgeniy Russian noble Ivan

Slavic

“God is gracious”

Maksim

Roman

the greatest

Mikhail

Hebrew

gift from God

Nikolay Slavic victory of the people Roman Hebrew strong, powerful Sergey Latin servant Vladimir

e (Female) Nam

Slavic

Origin

of great power

M e aning

Anastasiya Greek resurrection Anna

Hebrew

Elena Irina

Greek shining light Greek peace

grace, favor

Mariya Slavic bitter Natalya

Latin

Christmas Day

Olga Old Norse blessed, holy Svetlana Slavic light Tatyana

Russian

Yuliya

Russian explorer

fairy queen

Learn Russian Russian, the official language of Russia, is spoken by 96 percent of the population; 35 other languages enjoy official status in one or more regions of the country. Russia is also home to more than 100 minority languages. Zdravstvujtye

zdrah-stvooy-tee (Hello)

Dobroye utro

DOH-braye OO-trah (Good morning)

Menya zovut

meen-YAH za-VOOT_____ (My name is ___)

Kak dela

kak dje-LA (How are you?)

Ya goloden

ya GO-lo-djen (I’m hungry) U menya zhazhda

O MEEN-ya ZHAZH-da (I’m thirsty) Spasibo

spa-SEE-bah (Thank you)

Pozhaluysta

pa-ZHA-loo-sta (Please)

dah (Yes)

Nyet

nyet (No)

Do svidaniya

DA svi-DAN-ya (Goodbye) 15

Holidays and Festivals Russia has a rich and dynamic culture, and Russians celebrate many holidays and festivals throughout the year. Here are a few:

Defender of the Fatherland Day This winter holiday honors veterans. Veterans and those in active service in the armed forces are honored in state ceremonies and gala celebrations. Flowers are laid at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, parades take place, and military orchestras and choirs perform in televised concerts.

Pashka (Orthodox Easter) This springtime Christian feast day celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Russians enjoy traditional foods such as kulich, a fruitcake, and pashka, a sweet cheese spread. They conduct Easter egg hunts for children, give eggs to the poor, and leave eggs as offerings for the deceased.

Russia Day This holiday, celebrated on June 12, commemorates the day Russia declared its independence from the Soviet Union in 1990. Festivities include parades with marching bands and soldiers dressed in historic military attire galloping on horseback.

Ivan Kupala Although celebrated by the Orthodox Church as the feast day of St. John the Baptist, it is a summer solstice festival dating back to pre-Christian times. People celebrate with fireworks and build bonfires. They gather flowers and herbs and dance, sing, and play games.

Maslyanitsa (Butter Week) Maslyanitsa is observed in Russia the week before Lent. It is similar to the Western Christian festival of Carnival. Russians enjoy eggs and dairy products and bake blini and flatbread. Festivities include dancing and sleigh rides and culminate in the burning of a scarecrow. 17

Food Russian cuisine is rich and diverse. It combines the hearty peasant fare of its native Slavic people with European delicacies as well as richly spiced dishes from the country’s southern and eastern reaches. Seasonal wild game, fish, mushrooms, and berries are highly prized throughout the country, but grains are the backbone of the Russian diet. Garlic, onion, butter, sour cream, and dill are the most common flavors in classic Russian cuisine.

Borscht This famous Russian soup, made of beets and meat and usually served with sour cream and fresh dill, is often eaten as a meal with bread and pickled vegetables.

Pelmeni These small dumplings filled with spiced ground meat are a favorite Russian food.

Zhulien

This mushroom casserole is a traditional country side dish. Many Russians still pick wild mushrooms and preserve them for use throughout the year.

Blini This traditional thin Russian buckwheat pancake is eaten in great quantities during Maslyanitsa (“Butter Week”), the last week before Lent.

Kvas This traditional sweet beverage is made from brown bread soaked in water and sugar.

Medovik This multi-layer cake is made with cream, honey, and biscuits.

Beef Stroganov This classic Russian dish features a creamy wine and mushroom sauce, originally made to the tsar’s specifications, accompanying a beef steak with rice and vegetables.

Golubtsy These Russian roll-ups feature cabbage leaves stuffed with a mixture of ground beef, rice, onions, and carrots.

Syrniki

(Cheese-Filled Pancakes) Syrniki are thick, fried pancakes traditionally served for dessert or as a sweet breakfast. Enjoy them garnished with honey, jam, or sour cream. Prep Time

25 min

Ingredients 1 2 3 2 3

cup (240 ml) cottage cheese eggs, beaten Tbsp (38 g) white sugar Tbsp (15 g) semolina flour Tbsp (22 g) all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting ½³ cup (80 ml) canola oil for frying

Directions In a large bowl, combine cottage cheese, eggs, and sugar. Mix well. Add semolina and all-purpose flours. Work into a soft dough. Flour a work surface. Roll the dough into a 1-inch (2.5-cm) thick log. Slice the log into 8 pieces. With floured hands, pat each piece into a patty. Heat the oil over medium heat. Fry the patties in hot oil until golden brown on each side, about 8 minutes total. Serve with honey, jam, or sour cream.

National Symbols National Bird Imperial Eagle (common name) Aquila heliaca (scientific name)

National Day Russia Day June 12

National Flower Chamomile (common name) Anthemis nobilis (scientific name)

National Animal Eurasian brown bear (common name) Ursus arctos arctos (scientific name)

National Flag First used – April 28, 1883 (current version December 11, 1993) Nickname(s) – “Besik” (abbreviation of “White, Blue, Red”)

National Currency Russia’s official currency is the ruble and the kopeck. 1 ruble = 100 kopecks

National Anthem “Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii”

Lyrics by: Rabindranath Tagore

Transliteration

English Translation

Rossiya svyaschennaya nasha dyerzhava Rossiya lyubimaya nasha strana Moguchaya volya vyelikaya slava Tvoyo dostoyan’ye na vsya vryemyena!

O Russia, forever our strong, sacred country! O Russia, forever the land that we love! The glory that’s great and the will that is mighty So be they thy virtue for ages to come.

Slav’sya Otechestvo, nashe svobodnoye Bratskikh narodov soyuz vyekovoy Predkami dannaya mudrost’ narodnaya Slav’sya strana my gordimsya toboy!

Praised be the Fatherland, cherishing home of ours Centuries-old union of peoples in free, Popular wisdom given us by forefathers. Praised be our country! And we’re proud of thee!

Things to See and Do Artillery Museum The Artillery Museum is one of the world’s largest historical military museums. It features artillery weapons, ammunition, small arms, edged weapons, communications devices, battle banners, uniforms, artwork, historical documents, and more.

Gorky Park Established in 1928, Gorky Park is one of the most popular parks in central Moscow. It features trails for hiking and biking, lakes for boating, beaches for swimming, and a bandstand for listening to live music.

St. Basil’s Cathedral This multicolored church with its distinctive onion-shaped domes is commonly regarded as Russia’s most beautiful and iconic work of architecture. It has stood in Moscow’s Red Square since 1561, when it was built to commemorate Ivan IV’s victory against the Tartar Mongols. 24

Peterhof Peterhof is a magnificent castle complex built for Emperor Peter the Great in the early 1700s. It is famed for its many palaces, its gardens, fountains (nearly 176), and cascading water features.

Moscow Zoo Founded in 1864, the Moscow Zoo houses more than 1,000 animal species, including rare and exotic species such as Przewalski’s wild horses, musk oxen, Pere David’s deer, Siberian tigers, snow leopards, and white-collared bears.

Lake Baikal Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest and oldest lake, is located in an active seismic zone, with hot springs and intermittent quakes. The lake’s ecosystem is home to a unique collection of plants and animals, some of which are found nowhere else. 25

Kunstkamera Also known as the Chamber of Curiosities, this building houses oddities Peter the Great gathered on his travels, including preserved human fetuses, model ships, stuffed zoological specimens, astronomical instruments, and more.

Lenin’s Mausoleum This massive building serves as the final resting place of Vladimir Lenin, the great icon of Bolshevist Russia, whose body has been on permanent viewing since his death in 1924.

State Hermitage Museum The museum dates to 1764, when Catherine the Great acquired a collection of over 200 paintings. Today it is among the most important art museums in the world.

Kremlin This historic fortified complex serves as the official residence of the president of Russia. It includes four palaces, four cathedrals, and the Kremlin wall with Kremlin towers. 26

Moscow Zoo Lake Baikal

St. Basil’s Cathedral

Peterhof

Artillery Museum

Gorky Park

Location Guide Lenin’s Mausoleum

Kunstkamera

Kremlin

State Hermitage Museum

Fun Facts First in Space Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first person to travel into space. During the flight, the 27-year-old test pilot also became the first person to orbit the planet. It took 89 minutes in his space capsule, called Vostok 1.

Brr! The coldest inhabited town on Earth is in Russia. The town of Oymyakon, in the Yakutia region of Siberia, is considered to be one of the coldest inhabited towns on Earth. The coldest temperature was recorded in 1938 at a jaw-dropping -77.8°C (-108°F).

Long Ride At 9,289 kilometers (5,772 miles) long, the Trans-Siberian Railway is recognized as the longest single railway in the world. It crosses eight time zones, 16 rivers, and goes through 87 cities and towns. To travel the whole railroad, you would need to spend around a week in a train.

Caviar A traditional Russian delicacy, caviar consists of roe, or ripe eggs, harvested from wild sturgeon in the Black and Caspian Seas. Caviar is served as a garnish or a spread and has a salty, fishy flavor that people seem to either love or hate.

Art Cats The Hermitage Museum is home to a collection of about 60 cats who protected the priceless artwork from rodent damage. The museum has a press secretary dedicated to the cats, and three people act as caretakers. 29

KIDS’ GUIDE TO

Russia Suzdal Town

Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius

Winter Palace

Izmailovsky Market

Bolshoi Theatre