Russia

This a Useful Notes page.

It's very big.

"I cannot forecast to you the action of Russia. It is A Riddle Wrapped in a Mystery Inside An Enigma; but perhaps there is a key. That key is Russian national interest." —Winston Churchill, on the Soviet Union's invasion of Poland in 1939.

Well, we're unwrapping it.

Stuff to help you understand the Russian Federation and its predecessors, thus avoiding Glorious Mother Russia and making it easier to read Doctor Zhivago.

Rossiyane and Russkie

There are two words in Russian that mean "Russians":

• Rossiyane—citizens of the Russian Federation and the RSFSR before that. An unpopular label in Russia, mostly used in government propaganda and thought by most as an example of Political Correctness Gone Mad.
• Russkie—ethnic Russians. Were called "Great Russians" (Velikorossy) before 1917 (not used today, except for historical purposes).
  • Old generalized distinctive terms are: Great Russia (now just "Russia"), Small Russia ("Malorossia", now "Ukraine"), White Russia (verbatim: "Belorussia"), and New Russia ("Novorossia", now Southern Russia and some parts of eastern and south Ukraine). Derivative terms refers to inhabitants of those territories. E.g. even if semi-nomadic Don Cossacks ethnically were not exactly the same as their neighbours, they still lived in "Small Russia" (Nikolai Gogol who lived there used this common term when it was relevant). This is why the tsar was referred to as "Emperor and Autocrat of All the Russias".

These two designations obviously don't overlap 100%. When it becomes necessary to distinguish between the two, the Russian words will be used.

Russian flag. Its colors represent the three Russian specialties: cold snow, cool vodka and hot lead respectively.

Geography

• Moscow
  • Moscow Centre (the KGB)
  • Moscow Metro
• The City Formerly Known As - St. Petersburg/Leningrad/Petrograd
• Other Russian Towns and Cities
• Closed Cities
• The Gulag

History

• Kievan Rus
• Tsarist Russia
• The Russian Revolutions
  • Romanovs and Revolutions
  • Red October
• Soviet Russia Ukraine and So On (a basic guide to the USSR)
  • History of the USSR
  • Glorious Mother Russia - the Hollywood Atlas version
  • The Soviet Twenties
• The New Russia
  • The Mafiya
  • Russian Political System

Military

• Russians With Rifles (the Imperial Russian military)
  • Cossacks
• Reds With Rockets (the Soviet military)
  • Mnogo Nukes
  • The Political Officer
• Reporting Names
• Russians With Rusting Rockets (The post-1991 Russian military)

Language

• Cyrillic Alphabet
• Russian Language
• Russian Naming Convention
  • Patronymic
• Russian Literature
• Russian Proverbs and Expressions

Mythology and religion

• Orthodox Christianity
• Russian Mythology and Tales

Traditions and customs

• Dacha
• Russian Fashion
• Russian Holidays
• Russian Humour
  • In Soviet Russia, Trope Mocks You
• Russian Reading
• Russian Relaxing
  • Preferans
• Russian Roulette (Note: Might not be actually Russian.)
• Socialist Realism
• That Russian Squat Dance

And remember, Soviet Russia has useful notes on you!