There are many interesting facts associated with Russian poets and writers that shed light on this or that event. It seems to us that we know everything, or almost everything, about the lives of great writers, but there are pages unexplored!
So, for example, we learned that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin was the initiator of the fatal duel and did everything possible to make it happen - it was a matter of honor for the poet... And Leo Tolstoy, due to his passion for gambling lost his house. And we also know how the great Anton Pavlovich loved to call his wife in correspondence - “the crocodile of my soul”... Read about these and other facts of Russian geniuses in our selection of “the most interesting facts from the life of Russian poets and writers.”
Russian writers came up with many new words: substance, thermometer ( Lomonosov), industry ( Karamzin), bungling ( Saltykov-Shchedrin), fade away ( Dostoevsky), mediocrity ( Northerner), exhausted ( Khlebnikov).
Pushkin was not handsome, unlike his wife Natalya Goncharova, who, in addition to everything, was 10 cm taller than her husband. For this reason, when attending balls, Pushkin tried to stay away from his wife, so as not to once again draw the attention of others to this contrast.
During the period of courtship with his future wife Natalya, Pushkin told his friends a lot about her and at the same time usually said: “I am delighted, I am fascinated, In short, I am enchanted!”
Korney Chukovsky is a pseudonym. The real name (according to available documents) of the most published children's writer in Russia is Nikolai Vasilyevich Korneychukov. He was born in 1882 in Odessa out of wedlock, was recorded under his mother’s surname, and published his first article in 1901 under the pseudonym Korney Chukovsky.
Leo Tolstoy. In his youth, the future genius of Russian literature was quite passionate. Once, in a card game with his neighbor, the landowner Gorokhov, Leo Tolstoy lost the main building of his inherited estate - the estate Yasnaya Polyana. The neighbor dismantled the house and took it 35 miles away as a trophy. It is worth noting that this was not just a building - it was here that the writer was born and spent his childhood years, it was this house that he remembered warmly all his life and even wanted to buy it back, but for one reason or another he did not.
The famous Soviet writer and public figure lisped, that is, he could not pronounce the letters “r” and “l.” This happened in childhood when, while playing, he accidentally cut his tongue with a razor, and it became difficult for him to pronounce his name: Kirill. In 1934 he took the pseudonym Konstantin.
Ilya Ilf and Evgeny Petrov were natives of Odessa, but met only in Moscow immediately before starting work on their first novel. Subsequently, the duo worked together so well that even Ilf’s daughter Alexandra, who is involved in popularizing the writers’ heritage, called herself the daughter of “Ilf and Petrov.”
Alexander Solzhenitsyn communicated more than once with Russian President Boris Yeltsin. For example, Yeltsin asked his opinion about the Kuril Islands (Solzhenitsyn advised giving them to Japan). And in the mid-1990s, after Alexander Isaevich returned from emigration and restored his Russian citizenship, by order of Yeltsin, he was given the Sosnovka-2 state dacha in the Moscow region.
Chekhov sat down to write, dressed in full dress. Kuprin, on the contrary, he loved working completely naked.
When a Russian satirist-writer Arkady Averchenko During the First World War, he brought a story on a military theme to one of the editorial offices; the censor deleted the phrase from it: “The sky was blue.” It turns out that from these words, enemy spies could guess that what was happening in the south.
The real name of the satirical writer Grigory Gorin There was Ofstein. When asked about the reason for choosing the pseudonym, Gorin replied that it was an abbreviation: “Grisha Ofshtein decided to change his nationality.”
Initially at the grave Gogol in the monastery cemetery lay a stone nicknamed Golgotha because of its similarity to Mount Jerusalem. When they decided to destroy the cemetery, during reburial in another place they decided to install a bust of Gogol on the grave. And that same stone was subsequently placed on Bulgakov’s grave by his wife. In this regard, the phrase is noteworthy Bulgakov, which he repeatedly addressed to Gogol during his lifetime: “Teacher, cover me with your overcoat.”
After the outbreak of World War II Marina Tsvetaeva They were sent for evacuation to the city of Elabuga, in Tatarstan. Boris Pasternak helped her pack her things. He brought a rope to tie up the suitcase, and, assuring of its strength, joked: “The rope will withstand everything, even if you hang yourself.” Subsequently, he was told that it was on her that Tsvetaeva hanged herself in Yelabuga.
The famous phrase “We all came out of Gogol’s overcoat,” which is used to express the humanistic traditions of Russian literature. The authorship of this expression is often attributed to Dostoevsky, but in fact the first person to say it was the French critic Eugene Vogüet, who discussed the origins of Dostoevsky’s work. Fyodor Mikhailovich himself cited this quote in a conversation with another French writer, who understood it as the writer’s own words and published them in this light in his work.
As a remedy for " big belly» A.P. Chekhov prescribed a milk diet to his obese patients. For a week, the unfortunate people had to eat nothing and extinguish attacks of hunger with hundred-gram doses of regular milk. Indeed, due to the fact that milk is quickly and well absorbed, a glass of the drink taken in the morning reduces appetite. So, without feeling hungry, you can hold out until lunch. I used this property of milk in my medical practice Anton Pavlovich...
Dostoevsky made extensive use of the real topography of St. Petersburg in describing the places in his novel Crime and Punishment. As the writer admitted, he compiled a description of the yard in which Raskolnikov hides the things he stole from the pawnbroker’s apartment from personal experience- when one day, while walking around the city, Dostoevsky turned into a deserted courtyard to relieve himself.
Do you know what Pushkin received as a dowry for N.N. Goncharova bronze statue? Not the most convenient dowry! But back in the middle of the 18th century, Afanasy Abramovich Goncharov was one of richest people Russia. The sailing fabric produced at his Linen Factory was purchased for the British Navy, and the paper was considered the best in Russia. The best society came to the Linen Factory for feasts, hunts, and performances, and in 1775 Catherine herself visited here.
In memory of this event, the Goncharovs bought bronze statue Empress, cast in Berlin. The order was delivered already under Paul, when it was dangerous to honor Catherine. And then there was no longer enough money to install the monument - Afanasy Nikolaevich Goncharov, Natalia Nikolaevna’s grandfather, who inherited a huge fortune, left his grandchildren debts and a disorganized household. He came up with the idea of giving the statue to his granddaughter as a dowry.
The poet's ordeal with this statue is reflected in his letters. Pushkin calls her “copper grandmother” and tries to sell her to the State Mint for melting down (scrap non-ferrous metals!). In the end, the statue was sold to the foundry of Franz Bard, apparently after the poet's death.
The bard sold the long-suffering statue to the Ekaterinoslav nobility, who erected a monument to the founder of their city on the Cathedral Square of Ekaterinoslav (now Dnepropetrovsk). But when she finally got to the city named after her, the “copper grandmother” continued to travel, changing 3 pedestals, and after the fascist occupation she disappeared completely. Has “grandmother” found peace, or continues her movements around the world?
The main plot of N.V. Gogol’s immortal work “The Inspector General” was suggested to the author by A.S. Pushkin. These great classics were good friends. Once Alexander Sergeevich told Nikolai Vasilyevich an interesting fact from the life of the city of Ustyuzhna, Novgorod province. It was this incident that formed the basis of the work of Nikolai Gogol.
Throughout the time he was writing The Inspector General, Gogol often wrote to Pushkin about his work, told him what stage it was in, and also repeatedly announced that he wanted to quit it. However, Pushkin forbade him to do this, so “The Inspector General” was still completed.
By the way, Pushkin, who was present at the first reading of the play, was completely delighted with it.
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov In correspondence with his wife Olga Leonardovna, Knipper, in addition to standard compliments and affectionate words, used very unusual ones for her: “actress”, “dog”, “snake” and - feel the lyricism of the moment - “the crocodile of my soul”.
Alexander Griboyedov was not only a poet, but also a diplomat. In 1829, he died in Persia along with the entire diplomatic mission at the hands of religious fanatics. To atone for their guilt, the Persian delegation arrived in St. Petersburg with rich gifts, among which was the famous Shah diamond weighing 88.7 carats. Another purpose of the embassy's visit was to mitigate the indemnity imposed on Persia under the terms of the Turkmanchay Peace Treaty. Emperor Nicholas I went to meet the Persians halfway and said: “I consign the ill-fated Tehran incident to eternal oblivion!”
Leo Tolstoy was skeptical about his novels, including War and Peace. In 1871, he sent Fet a letter: “How happy I am... that I will never write verbose rubbish like “War” again.” An entry in his diary in 1908 reads: “People love me for those trifles - “War and Peace”, etc., which seem very important to them.”
The duel, in which Pushkin was mortally wounded, was not initiated by the poet. Pushkin sent a challenge to Dantes in November 1836, the impetus for which was the spread of anonymous lampoons exposing him as a cuckold. However, that duel was canceled thanks to the efforts of the poet’s friends and the proposal made by Dantes to Natalya Goncharova’s sister. But the conflict was not settled, the spread of jokes about Pushkin and his family continued, and then the poet sent Dantes’ adoptive father Heckern an extremely offensive letter in February 1837, knowing that this would entail a challenge from Dantes. And so it happened, and this duel became Pushkin’s last. By the way, Dantes was a relative of Pushkin. At the time of the duel he was married to my own sister Pushkin's wife - Ekaterina Goncharova.
Having fallen ill, Chekhov sent a messenger to the pharmacy for castor oil capsules. The pharmacist sent him two large capsules, which Chekhov returned with the inscription “I am not a horse!” Having received the writer’s autograph, the pharmacist happily replaced them with normal capsules.
Passion Ivan Krylov there was food. Before dinner at a party, Krylov read two or three fables. After the praise, he waited for lunch. With the ease of a young man, despite all his obesity, he went to the dining room as soon as it was announced: “Dinner is served.” The Kyrgyz footman Emelyan tied a napkin under Krylov’s chin, spread the second one on his knees and stood behind the chair.
Krylov ate a huge plate of pies, three plates of fish soup, huge veal chops - a couple of plates, a fried turkey, which he called “Firebird”, and also a pickle: Nezhin cucumbers, lingonberries, cloudberries, plums, eating Antonov apples, like plums, finally began to eat Strasbourg pate, freshly prepared from the freshest butter, truffles and goose livers. After eating several plates, Krylov drank kvass, after which he washed down his food with two glasses of coffee with cream, into which you stick a spoon - it stands.
Writer V.V. Veresaev recalled that all the pleasure, all the bliss of life for Krylov lay in food. At one time he received invitations to small dinners with the Empress, about which he later spoke very unflatteringly because of the meager portions of the dishes served to the table. At one of these dinners, Krylov sat down at the table and, without greeting the hostess, began to eat. The poet who was present Zhukovsky exclaimed in surprise: “Stop it, let the queen at least treat you.” “What if he doesn’t serve you?” answered Krylov, without looking up from his plate. On dinner parties he usually ate a dish of pies, three or four plates of fish soup, several chops, a roast turkey, and a few "trifles." Arriving home, I ate it all in a bowl. sauerkraut and black bread.
By the way, everyone believed that the fabulist Krylov died of volvulus due to overeating. In fact, he died from bilateral inflammation lungs.
Gogol had a passion for handicrafts. I knitted scarves, cut out dresses for my sisters, wove belts, and sewed scarves for myself for the summer.
Did you know that the typical Russian name Svetlana is only 200 years old? Before it was invented in 1802 by A.Kh. Vostokov, such a name did not exist. It first appeared in his romance “Svetlana and Mstislav”. Then it was fashionable to call literary heroes pseudo-Russian names. This is how Dobrada, Priyata, Miloslava appeared - purely literary, not listed in the calendar. That’s why they didn’t call children that.
Vasily Andreevich Zhukovsky took the name for the heroine of his ballad from Vostokov’s romance. "Svetlana" became a very popular work. In the 60s and 70s of the 19th century, “Svetlana” stepped into the people from the pages of books. But there was no such name in the church books! Therefore, girls were baptized as Photinia, Faina, or Lukerya, from Greek and Latin words meaning light. It is interesting that this name is very common in other languages: Italian Chiara, German and French Clara and Claire, Italian Lucia, Celtic Fiona, Tajik Ravshana, ancient Greek Faina - all mean: light, bright. Poets simply filled a linguistic niche!
After October Revolution a wave of new names swept over Russia. Svetlana was perceived as a patriotic, modern and understandable name. Even Stalin named his daughter that. And in 1943, this name finally made it into the calendar.
Another interesting fact: this name also had men's uniform-Svetlana and Svet. Demyan the Poor named his son Light.
How many monuments to the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin are there in the world? The answer to this question is contained in the book of the Voronezh postcard collector Valery Kononov. All over the world there are them - 270 . No literary figure has ever been awarded so many monuments. The book contains illustrations of one hundred of the best monuments to the poet. Among them are monuments from the era of Tsarist Russia and Soviet times, and monuments erected abroad. Pushkin himself was never abroad, but there are monuments to him in Cuba, India, Finland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Spain, China, Chile and Norway. There are two monuments each in Hungary and Germany (in Weimar and Dusseldorf). In the USA, one was staged in 1941 in Jackson, New Jersey, the other in 1970 in Monroe, New York. V. Kononov drew one pattern: monuments to Pushkin are usually erected not in large squares, but in parks and squares.
I.A. Krylov in everyday life he was very unkempt. His disheveled, unkempt hair, stained, wrinkled shirts and other signs of sloppiness caused ridicule from his acquaintances. One day the fabulist was invited to a masquerade. - How should I dress to remain unrecognized? - he asked a lady he knew. “Wash yourself, comb your hair, and no one will recognize you,” she answered.
Seven years before death Gogol in his will he warned: “I bequeath not to bury my body until they appear obvious signs decomposition." They did not listen to the writer, and when the remains were reburied in 1931, a skeleton with a skull turned to one side was found in the coffin. According to other data, the skull was completely absent.
The duels were quite diverse both in weapons and in form. For example, few people know that there was such an interesting form as the “quadruple duel”. In this type of duel, their seconds fired after the opponents.
By the way, the most famous quadruple duel was over the ballerina Avdotya Istomina: the opponents Zavadovsky and Sheremetev had to shoot first, and the seconds Griboyedov and Yakubovich - second. That time, Yakubovich shot Griboedov in the palm of his left hand. It was from this wound that it was later possible to identify the corpse of Griboedov, who was killed by religious fanatics during the destruction of the Russian embassy in Tehran.
An example of the wit of a fabulist Krylova serves as a famous incident in the Summer Garden, where he loved to stroll. Once he met a group of young people there. One of this company decided to make fun of the writer’s physique: “Look what a cloud is coming!” Krylov heard, but was not embarrassed. He looked at the sky and added sarcastically: “It’s really going to rain. That’s why the frogs started croaking.”
Nikolay Karamzin belongs to the briefest description public life in Russia. When, during his trip to Europe, Russian emigrants asked Karamzin what was happening in his homeland, the writer answered with one word: “they are stealing.”
The handwriting of Lev Nikolaevich Tolstoy Leo Tolstoy the handwriting was terrible. Only his wife could understand everything that was written, who, according to literary researchers, rewrote his “War and Peace” several times. Perhaps Lev Nikolaevich simply wrote so quickly? The hypothesis is quite realistic, given the volume of his works.
Manuscripts Alexandra Pushkina always looked very beautiful. So beautiful that it is almost impossible to read the text. Vladimir Nabokov also had the most terrible handwriting, whose sketches and famous cards could only be read by his wife.
Sergei Yesenin had the most legible handwriting, for which his publishers thanked him more than once.
The source of the expression “No brainer” is a poem Mayakovsky(“It’s clear even to a no brainer - / This Petya was a bourgeois”). It became widespread first in the Strugatskys’ story “The Country of Crimson Clouds”, and then in Soviet boarding schools for gifted children. They recruited teenagers who had two years left to study (classes A, B, C, D, E) or one year (classes E, F, I). Students of the one-year stream were called “hedgehogs”. When they came to the boarding school, the two-year students were already ahead of them in the non-standard program, so at the beginning academic year The expression “no brainer” was very relevant.
Determination of Agnia Barto. She was always determined: she saw the goal - and forward, without swaying or retreating. This trait of hers appeared everywhere, in every little detail. Once upon a time in torn Civil War Spain, where Barto went to the International Congress for the Defense of Culture in 1937, where she saw firsthand what fascism was (congress meetings were held in the besieged, burning Madrid), and just before the bombing she went to buy castanets. The sky howls, the walls of the store bounce, and the writer makes a purchase! But the castanets are real, Spanish - for Agnia, who danced beautifully, this was an important souvenir. Alexei Tolstoy later asked Barto sarcastically: had she bought a fan in that store to fan herself during the next raids?..
One day Fyodor Chaliapin introduced his friend to the guests - Alexander Ivanovich Kuprin.“Meet, friends, Alexander Kuprin - the most sensitive nose in Russia.” Contemporaries even joked that Kuprin had something “of a big beast.” For example, many ladies were very offended by the writer when he actually sniffed them like a dog.
And once, a certain French perfumer, having heard from Kuprin a clear layout of the components of his new fragrance, exclaimed: “Such a rare gift and you are just a writer!” Kuprin often admired his colleagues incredibly precise definitions. For example, in an argument with Bunin and Chekhov, he won with one phrase: “Young girls smell like watermelon and fresh milk. And the old women, here in the south, use wormwood, chamomile, dry cornflowers and incense.”
Anna Akhmatova I composed my first poem at the age of 11. After re-reading it “with a fresh mind,” the girl realized that she needed to improve her art of versification. Which is what I began to actively do.
However, Anna's father did not appreciate her efforts and considered it a waste of time. That's why I banned the use real name- Gorenko. Anna decided to choose her great-grandmother’s maiden name, Akhmatova, as her pseudonym.
If you want to know the most interesting facts about Russia, then welcome. Here you will learn a lot of new things about how mysterious, extraordinary and in many ways unique the country of Russia is - the birthplace of, and.
For recent years interest in To the Russian state significantly worsened due to the fact that... however, we’ll talk about politics another time.
Many people know that Russia is the largest state in the world. Its area is 17,125,191 km², which is approximately equal to the area of. To verify this, open any geographical map and soberly shudder when you see the vast expanses of the Russian land.
Klyuchevskaya Sopka or Klyuchevskoy volcano is the largest active volcano in Eurasia, which is already more than 7000 years old. The height of this volcano is almost 5 kilometers. Last eruption It was August 15, 2013. Since then, the height of the volcano has been 4835 meters.
An interesting fact is that some people think that St. Petersburg has the deepest metro in terms of a specific station. However, the primacy of this metro is determined by the average depth of the stations.
St. Petersburg is called the Venice of the North because there are 342 bridges in this metropolis. In general, if we count all the rivers and canals, adjacent to St. Petersburg, then there will be about 800 bridges. Confusion arises here, since some citizens believe that there are more bridges in St. Petersburg than in Venice.
In fact, within the city limits of Venice there are more than 400 bridges, while St. Petersburg is still limited to 342 bridges.
In the North Caucasus, in Karachay-Cherkessia, there is the oldest christian temple Russia. The Church of Elijah the Prophet was built around 900 by the Alans, who then inhabited this part of the Caucasus.
An interesting fact is that they were baptized by the Byzantines in 916, that is, before the official baptism of Rus'.
Russia has the world's longest railway. The Trans-Siberian Railway (Transsib) has a length of 9298 kilometers. Construction began in 1891 and was completed in 1916. This road connects Moscow and Vladivostok, crossing 87 cities.
An interesting fact about Russia is that there is a station “Erofey Pavlovich” on the Trans-Siberian Railway. You can travel by high-speed branded train from Vladivostok in 6 days and 2 hours. Nothing at all! Impressively, the Trans-Siberian Railway has a capacity of 100 million tons of cargo per year.
The unique Lake Baikal, located in Siberia, is the world's largest source fresh water and the deepest lake in the world (1642 meters).
Baikal has 23,615.39 km³ of fresh water, which is 19% of the world's reserves. Lake Baikal has more water than the five Great Lakes of North America (Ontario, Huron and Michigan, Erie and Superior).
Lake Baikal 
Baikal has extremely clean water Fans of interesting facts will be pleased to know that Russia is the only country in the world, which is simultaneously washed by 12 seas, one of which (the White Sea) is inland. .
What do you think is the distance from Russia to America? Wrong! There are only 4 kilometers between the Russian Ratmanov Island and the American Krusenstern Island! So a Russian person, if desired, can get to America by boat.
Everyone knows that St. Petersburg is called the cultural capital of Russia. However, not everyone knows interesting facts about this intellectual city. So, in St. Petersburg there are 2000 libraries, 221 museums, more than 80 theaters and 45 art galleries.
It is believed that the Ural Mountains are, along with the Scandinavian Mountains, the most ancient on earth. They were formed approximately 410-360 million years ago.
There are seven high-rise buildings in Moscow, which are called “Seven Sisters” in international guidebooks. In Russia they are known as Stalin's skyscrapers (they were built under). These are seven almost identical buildings, built by order of the “leader of the peoples”.
These buildings themselves are extremely beautiful and impressive in their splendor. Here is a list of the “Seven Sisters”: The Moscow State University building, the Ukraine Hotel and the Leningradskaya Hotel, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, the building on Kudrinskaya Square and Red Gate Square, the house on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment.
Interesting facts about Russia cannot be complete without the main, official residence of the President of the Russian Federation. The Moscow Kremlin is the oldest (built in 1482-1495) and largest medieval fortress in all of Europe.
The length of the Kremlin walls is 2500 meters. There are 4 gates, the number of towers is 20, and their height reaches 80 meters.
Moscow Kremlin It is appropriate to add that Red Square has only an indirect relation to communism, and it was named so from the old Russian word “Red”, which means “Beautiful”.
It is curious that St. Petersburg is the northernmost city in the world, with a population of more than one million people. To be more precise, the population of St. Petersburg is just over 5 million.
The area of Siberia (geographically) is 9.8 million km², which is about 57% of the territory of Russia.
An interesting fact is that Russia has the most neighboring countries. From the map you can check that this number is 18, including two unrecognized and two partially recognized countries.
These states are: Norway and Finland, Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, Belarus and Ukraine, LPR and DPR, Abkhazia and Georgia, South Ossetia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and China, Mongolia and North Korea. And that's just by land. By sea, Russia borders Japan and the United States.
The Kalashnikov assault rifle (AK), invented by Russian designer Mikhail Kalashnikov, is a unique, most common small arms in the world. According to some estimates, a fifth of all firearms on earth are directly related to the Kalashnikov, that is, if you take into account all unlicensed copies and developments built exclusively on the AK.
Over sixty years, more than 70 million different modifications of the Kalashnikov assault rifle have been produced, which have been in service for more than 50 years. The closest competitor to the AK is the American M16 automatic rifle.
However, she is significantly inferior to her older brother. Over the years of its existence, about 8 million M16s were produced, which are used by 27 foreign armies.
Mikhail Kalashnikov with his unique invention Interestingly, Russia equalized the rights of women and men in 1918, while the United States did so in 1920.
On the same topic. Russia abolished serfdom in 1861, and in the USA slavery was abolished in 1865. Here we must add the interesting fact that serfdom itself in Russia was much softer and more humane than in most European countries, where slaves were considered just a thing , the property of the owner.
Do you know who discovered Antarctica? Of course they are Russians! The expedition led by seafarers F.F. Bellingshausen and Lazarev, during trip around the world refuted the statement famous Cook that it is impossible to swim further than it, since “there” there is solid ice. In 1820 they discovered the mainland of Antarctica and 29 other islands.
One of the most famous old games, Tetris, was invented by Russian Alexei Pajitnov. This happened in 1985, after which Tetris gained enormous popularity and prevalence in and around the world.
Alexey Pajitnov with the Tetris he invented In the Moscow Metro, the interval between trains is shorter than in any other metro in the world. During rush hours, trains travel every 90 seconds.
The length of the entire Moscow metro is 333.5 kilometers. The number of stations for 2016 is 200. The fleet of cars is about 4535 units. If this number is divided by the average number of cars in a train, it turns out that there are about 650 trains running in the Moscow metro. Many trains have their own names.
Near St. Petersburg there is a small but world famous city of Peterhof. An interesting fact that made this city famous is that the Lower Park of Peterhof has 176 fountains (40 of which are giant structures) and 4 cascades.
Fountains of Peterhof In Russia, in the city of Oymyakon, a temperature of −77.8 °C was recorded, which is an absolute record for the northern hemisphere. This figure was recorded in 1938.
The first person to go into space was a Russian guy, a citizen of the USSR -.
Yuri Gagarin If you not only like to read interesting facts about Russia, but also want to see some of them with your own eyes, take advantage of the unique tourist routes. Three such excursion “paths” are known all over the world: golden ring Russia, Silver Ring of Russia, Great Ural Ring.
The State Hermitage is one of the largest and most important museums in the world. The Hermitage has about 3 million exhibits from the Stone Age to the present day.
Hermitage In the Hermitage there is a large flock of cats that protect the museum collections from various rodents. It's hard to imagine what would happen if mice and rats had access to the world's richest heritage. Each cat has a passport with a photo.
An interesting fact is that Russia occupies about 1/9 of the entire earth's landmass.
Russian state library, founded in Moscow in 1862, is one of the largest libraries in Europe. It ranks fifth in the world, after two US libraries, as well as libraries in the UK and Canada.
There is a sculpture in the foreground of the library And this interesting fact about Russia breathes with its natural freshness. Every year, 400-450 whooper swans and 1.5-2 thousand ducks fly to Swan Lake in the Altai Territory. They winter in this unusually beautiful place.
Swan Lake in Altai In 2002, UNESCO included Yekaterinburg in the list of twelve ideal cities in the world. Wow!
The Tsar Bell is considered the largest bell in the world in the history of casting. Ivan Motorin and his son Mikhail cast this truly impressive masterpiece for that time in 1733-1735. Its height is 6.24 m, its diameter is 6.6 m, and its weight is 202 tons! Let us remind you that this bell was made in 1735!
The Tsar Bell installed in the Moscow Kremlin An extremely interesting fact about Russia can be considered a legal incident related to the following. Ethnic Russians make up more than 80% of the total population of Russia, but the Constitution of the Russian Federation does not even mention the Russian people. One can only hope that this misunderstanding will be resolved sooner or later.
There are more than 10 secret cities in Russia that are not shown on any world map. There are no signs or public routes to them. They conduct military and scientific research marked with the highest secrecy.
In 1924, Russian fishermen caught a female beluga weighing 1224 kg in the Caspian Sea, near Biryuchya Spit. It contained 246 kg of caviar.
An interesting fact is that in 1980 a serious diplomatic conflict almost arose between the USSR and Sweden. The fact is that the Swedes took direction from the sounds coming from the depths Baltic Sea strange sounds.
Naturally, they decided that it was Soviet submarines spying. However, later scientists found out that these are giant fish, sorry, farts. For this, scientists were awarded the Ig Nobel Prize. And rightly so!
The dacha is exceptional Russian invention. It all started with Peter the Great introducing the practice of distributing country plots to his courtiers so that they could build houses there for their own needs. This is what the king called it - a dacha. In almost all European languages this word is not translated, but is written as dacha.
During Tsarist Russia, you could buy a revolver in any store, just like we buy food today.
Where do you think it is the most tall building Europe? Yes, yes, in Moscow! Federation Tower is tallest skyscraper throughout Europe. The height of this 95-story building is 374 meters.
Russia has the largest reserves natural gas. Russia's share of reserves is almost a quarter (24.6%) of all world reserves.
Russia, with varying degrees of success, ranks first in the world in oil production. The constant top three production leaders include Russia, the USA and Saudi Arabia.
St. Petersburg has the longest tram network, almost 700 kilometers. This record is included in the Guinness Book of Records.
The world's largest forest is located in Russia. This is the East Siberian taiga, with an area of 3,900,000 km².
East Siberian taiga Although diplomatic relations are in good order, a formal peace treaty has not yet been signed as of 2016. It happens!
Back in 1990, a record was set in Soviet Russia for the number of copies of a paper newspaper. “Komsomolskaya Pravda” was printed in 22 million copies.
In Russia, in the Republic of Dagestan, there is one of the oldest cities in the world - Derbent. The first settlements here appeared at the end of the 4th millennium BC. e. The modern city was founded in 438 AD as a Persian fortress.
Longest land border in the world passes between Russia and Kazakhstan, amounting to 7,512.8 km.
Chistye Ponds in Moscow, until 1703, were called Nasty Swamps. However!
Chistye Prudy For the first time artificial heart was invented in Russia by a scientist named Vladimir Demikhov. An interesting fact is that the young genius had to spend money sent by his parents to buy a suit for the motor. The invention was tested on animals in 1936.
The Russian state flag under Peter the Great had a clear designation of each stripe.
- The red line below is the physical world of people with all their worries, suffering and passions.
- The blue line is the angelic, heavenly world.
- White, highest stripe - divine world Faith, Hope and Love.
To date, there is no official interpretation of the tricolor.
Peter was the first to “reward” drunkenness with a special medal weighing 7 kg. And this does not take into account the chain. Interesting pedagogy!
Russian statehood began in 862. As of 2016, the country's population is 146 million people. The Russian Federation includes 85 subjects, 46 of which are called regions, 22 are republics, 9 are territories, 3 are cities of federal significance, 4 are autonomous okrugs and 1 – autonomous region.
In total, we collected 57 facts. If we list all the interesting facts about Russia, then probably an entire website would not be enough to describe the more or less significant features of this huge country.
note that various interesting facts about Russia and Russian people on many sites contain unverified information. When preparing this material, the number of erroneous statements left the author downright confused!
All of the above facts have been verified and are completely true. If you find a statement that you think is controversial, write about it in the comments.
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Russia is the largest state on planet Earth. Throughout history, many political and social events have occurred in this country. Many great writers, poets, artists, musicians and military men were born here. Russia has made great contributions to science and is one of the world's leading space powers. It has always remained a political force, which not only its closest neighbors, but also more distant states must reckon with. Interesting facts about Russia attract the attention of not only foreigners, but also citizens of this country. Few can be sure that they know each other.
Interesting geographical facts about Russia
Russia occupies an immense territory. Large areas of land still require human development. Getting to know a topic such as interesting facts about Russia can inspire young people to be proud of their native country. And the older generation may want to go on vacation not to distant Turkey, but to take a tour of the domestic expanses. Many interesting things are still waiting for their discoverers. This is a state with the oldest mountains and a freshwater lake. Russia occupies territory equal to the area space object, and hides many secrets that remain to be unraveled.
Historical events and facts are very educational and interesting. They give us a unique opportunity to understand what is happening in a given period of development of human society, nations and countries. Almost all nations have interesting historical facts. Russia has especially many of them. This is easily explained by the rich, centuries-old past of our country. Widespread legends about rulers, about scientific and technological progress, about art and culture have always attracted and continue to attract citizens of other states. Below are examples of such historical facts.
About rulers
Since the beginning in 1825, rulers in our country have alternated according to the “bald - hairy” principle. This pattern has persisted to this day.
About television
In 1992, the chimes struck on television in New Year's Eve detained for one minute.
About money
The double-headed eagle on coins is not the country’s coat of arms, but the emblem of the Bank of Russia.
Scientific and historical fact
The only person in the world who lives in Russia is This man - He spent more than 800 hours in space, moving at high speed. According to the theory of relativity, time slows down at high speeds. It was calculated that the astronaut returned to Earth 0.02 seconds younger.
About laws
In 1994, the government passed a law prohibiting dogs from barking from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. This law is still valid, but only in Moscow. It is also noteworthy that the legislative act does not stipulate what punishment the violator will suffer.
Geography facts
The Russian Federation is almost twice the size of the United States. The St. Petersburg metro is the deepest in the world. connects the capital and the city of Vladivostok and is the longest railway line in the world. Siberian taiga - 8% of the earth's land.
Technique
There are many more Kalashnikov assault rifles in the world than all other types of weapons combined.
About the rulers and laws of Tsarist Russia
Interesting historical facts about Russia are not always accurate and scientifically verified. For example, according to some historians, Ivan the Terrible did not kill his son.
In Russia, equality between men and women was proclaimed 2 years earlier than in the United States.
Peter the Great had his own own way fight against drunkenness in the country. He ordered medals, which weighed more than 7 kg, to be given to all offenders. They were obliged not to remove it for seven days.
Racketeering is the department in charge of receiving petitions under Peter the Great.
The interesting story is rich in facts from the life of the tsarist army: Nicholas the First, as a punishment, gave the offending officers a choice between keeping a watch out of turn and listening to an opera.
Denbei is the first Japanese to come to Russia. In 1695 he arrived in Kamchatka, and in 1701 he reached Moscow. Peter the Great obliged him to teach Japanese Russian children in schools.
“Here lies Suvorov” - the inscription on the slab near the monument to the commander.
Boris and Gleb are the first Russians to be canonized (1072).
Interesting historical facts in pre-revolutionary Russia
About the Army and Navy
In the Russian Imperial Navy the command "Cover up!" meant that you had to wear a hat.
In the army of imperial times there was the rank of cornet, and in modern times - ensign; in the army of imperial times - the rank of lieutenant, and in modern times - lieutenant.
Geography facts
1740 - the most cold winter in Russia.
After 1703, Poganye Ponds in Moscow began to be called... Chistye Ponds!
About science
M.V. Lomonosov is the founder of Moscow State University, but he himself never visited this university.
About the people
In Ancient Rus', grasshoppers were called dragonflies.
In Rus', the “original” is a stick that was used to beat a witness to a crime.
An interesting historical fact is that the Thai anthem was written in 1902 by a Russian composer.
Interesting about the politics of the USSR. Historical truth
What was called the Cuban Missile Crisis in the USSR began to be called the Cuban Crisis in the USA, and the October Crisis in Cuba itself.
An interesting historical fact is that legally the war between Germany and the USSR ended on January 21, 1955. The decision was made by the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR.
The Red Army and White Guards fought on the same side in 1931; at the request of the Governor-General of the Chinese province Sheng Shicai, they suppressed the uprising of the Turkic population.
Unusual historical facts of the USSR
In World War II, machine gunner Semyon Konstantinovich Hitler fought in the Red Army.
USSR at the beginning of the Great Patriotic War used tractors in battles due to a shortage of combat vehicles.
During the entire period of the Cold War, the world was twice on the verge of a nuclear disaster due to failures in computer systems in the USSR and the USA. Nuclear war was prevented only thanks to the experienced military leaders of both superpowers.
During the Great Patriotic War, mines were cleared by dogs specially trained for this purpose; they were the main assistants of sappers.
In the USSR, the main opponent of the Nazis, according to Hitler, was the announcer Yuri Levitan, and not Stalin, as many believe.
Interesting science and technology in the USSR
In the village of Baikonur, in the Kazakhstan SSR, a wooden cosmodrome was built in the 1950s. This was done in order to mislead enemy states. The real cosmodrome is located more than 350 km from this village.
During World War II, the USSR designed a flying tank based on the design of the A-40 tank, but the project was closed due to a lack of powerful towing vehicles.
The laser pistol was invented in the Soviet Union in 1984.
The Americans suggested that the USSR be the first to launch into space not dogs but black children.
GAZ-21 has a wide range of models, including a model with right-hand drive and an automatic transmission.
The T-28 tank could overcome “lunar landscapes”. This was the name of the territory that was seriously damaged by the fighting.
Scientific and historical fact: the space device that the Soviet Union wanted to launch into space to explore Mars, during tests showed that there is no life on Earth. After this incident, it was sent for revision.
About famous personalities
The list of gifts for Stalin's seventieth birthday was published in newspapers for more than three years.
Rokossovsky is a marshal of both the USSR and Poland.
Khrushchev ridiculed and sharply criticized paintings painted by artists in the avant-garde direction. At the same time, he often used obscene language.
Vladimir Putin, when he served in the KGB, had the call sign “Mol”.
About laws
In the Soviet Union there was a tax on childlessness.
About sports
Lev Yashin is a famous football goalkeeper who took bronze at the USSR Ice Hockey Championship in 1953.
The main prize in Sportloto has been won only twice in the entire history of this game.
Music and television
Evgeny Leonov voiced such a character as Winnie the Pooh in cartoons.
The group "Aria" has a song called "Will and Reason", few people know that this is the motto of the Nazis in fascist Italy.
Geography facts
In the early 1920s, the city of Novosibirsk had two time zones. On the left bank of the Ob River the difference from the capital was 3 hours, and on the right bank it was 4 hours.
In the 20s and 30s of the twentieth century, Vladikavkaz was the center of both the Ingush and North Ossetian republics.
About the meaning of words
The word "zek" means "prisoned Red Army soldier."
"Unknown" world history
This or that historical fact does not always sound plausible and understandable to a contemporary. Examples are given below.
During the time of Genghis Khan in Mongolia, anyone who dared to urinate in any body of water was executed. Because water in the desert was more valuable than gold.
In England in 1665-1666, the plague devastated entire villages. It was then that medicine recognized smoking as beneficial, which supposedly destroyed the deadly infection. Children and teenagers were punished if they refused to smoke.
Ancient Egyptian beauties evenly distributed pieces of fat throughout their hair. In the sun they melted and evenly covered the hair with a greasy shiny layer, which was considered very fashionable.
The famous inventor of the sewing machine, Isaac Singer, was simultaneously married to five women. In total, he had 15 children from all the women. He called all his daughters Mary. Probably so as not to make a mistake...
Interesting historical facts on the funeral theme: the English admiral Nelson, who lived from 1758 to 1805, slept in his cabin in a coffin that was cut out of the mast of an enemy French ship. His “feat” was repeated by a French actress who learned her lyrics while lying in a coffin. She often took this prop on tour, which made those around her very nervous. In the Middle Ages, sailors deliberately inserted at least one gold tooth, even sacrificing a healthy one. For what? It turns out that it was for a rainy day, so that in case of death he could be buried with honor far from home.
Approximately half of New Yorkers speak several languages other than their native American English by age 5.
In 2007, New York was visited by approximately 46 million tourists, who spent more than $28 billion in the city!
The entire story lasted only 38 minutes. Zanzibar and England “fought” so much in 1896. England won.
A few more myths. Or is it true?
Historians claim that on Cocos Island, located 300 miles south of Costa Rica, pirates hid treasure worth two billion dollars. Archaeologists are searching.
The most incomprehensible mystery of humanity is death. What happens to a person after he dies? Modern scientists are conducting large-scale and multimillion-dollar research in this area. So far there is only 100% conclusion that human consciousness continues to exist after physical death.
Official data from the British Admiralty states that as a result of shipwrecks on seabed the eighth part of all the gold and silver mined on earth rests. Today, you can buy an old map with treasure coordinates on the black market. Is this true or a scam? In 1985, using such a map, Mel Fisher found the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora off the coast of Florida, which sank back in 1622. From the bottom of the ship he managed to lift 450(!) million dollars worth of valuables.
In some countries, every movement of citizens is monitored by intelligence services using Internet tracking programs. Sensors are built into modern phones, TVs, and computers. World espionage is thriving. Is this true? Who knows...
We have collected the most interesting facts about the Russian people, which relate to completely different historical eras. You may know some of this, but some of the information will definitely surprise you.
Fact #1. During the Soviet era, Koreans called Russians “Maoz,” which means “bearded men.”
Fact #2. The word "Russia" began to be used only in late XVI century, when the idea of the “Third Rome” appeared in Moscow. This term began to replace the word “Rus”. Although it first appeared at the end of the 10th century.
Fact #3. About 80% of Russians live in Russia.
Fact #4. The Austrian diplomat Sigismund Herberstein wrote that the Russians were called “rosseya” - “that is, a scattered or scattered people, because Rosseyya, in the language of the Russians, means scattering.”
Fact #5. In China there is a region called Shiwei, which is also called Enhe-Russian National Parish. More than half of its inhabitants are Russian.
Fact #6. Finns call Russians "Venäläinen". There is also another term - “Russia”. This word is derogatory.
Fact No. 7. Russian is the native language of 168 million people, and the second language of 11 million.
Fact #8. It is believed that Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin had the richest vocabulary among Russian people (about 25 thousand lexemes). About the same vocabulary in Shakespeare (in English).
Fact #9. The Russian people had 19 kings and queens. All of them belonged to two dynasties: Rurikovich and Romanov.
Fact #10. Words of Ivan Ilyin about Russia: “Soloviev counts from 1240 to 1462 (over 222 years) 200 wars and invasions. From the 14th century to the 20th century (525 years), Sukhotin counts 329 years of war. Russia has been at war for two-thirds of its life.”.
Fact #11. In 241 years, 12 wars occurred between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. On average, there was a time gap of 19 years between wars.
Fact #12. Back in 1910 Russian Empire was in second to last place in terms of alcohol consumption per capita among European countries. Only residents of Norway drank less.
Fact #13. Estonians also have a name for Russians with a derogatory connotation - “tybla”. It was formed from the abusive “you, bl...”. Usually such an address is interpreted as a designation of the Soviet man Homo soveticus.
Fact No. 14. The first surnames among Russian people appeared in the 13th century. The princes and boyars had this privilege. Many of them are formed from patronymics (hence, by the way, most of such surnames as Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov, etc. That is, the son of Ivanov, Petrov, Sidorov). Among peasants, they appeared only in the 19th century; they were most often formed from the craft in which the peasant was engaged (for example, Kuznetsov), or from the village in which he lived.
Fact #15. Universal passportization began in the USSR in the 1930s, when all residents of the country already had surnames.
Fact No. 16. In Russian there is only one one-syllable adjective (we will omit them short forms) - wicked.
Fact No. 17. The root “lyub-” in Russian has 441 words. For comparison, in English there are 108 words with a similar root.
Fact No. 18. In Russian huts there was a so-called “beggar's shop”. It was located right next to the door and was intended for beggars or unexpected guests.
Fact No. 19. “Bear fun” is one of the oldest entertainments in Rus'. These are bear fights and theatrical performances. Moreover, there was a tradition of Christmas caroling, when bears were led through the streets (over time, the animals were replaced by mummers in bear costumes, apparently, this is where it came from famous expression). “Bear joys” were banned several times in Russia, but until the beginning of the twentieth century this tradition was popular.
Fact #20. Do you know why men were greeted in Rus'? Not by his clothes at all, but by his beard. Those men whose beards did not grow well were considered almost degenerates and very often remained unmarried.
Fact No. 21. Balalaikas were banned many times in Rus'; they were taken from their owners and burned. This is how they fought buffoonery. But the instrument became popular again in the mid-19th century. It was brought into fashion by the gifted musician Vasily Andreev.
Fact No. 22. Russian mat is first found in birch bark documents of the 11th century. True, then it only included the word “mother” in a vulgar context.
Fact #23. Matryoshka has Japanese roots, but it was in Russia that it became a cult.
Fact No. 24. In Rus', the most popular outdoor games were lapta, baker, siskin, gorodki, klyushkovaniye and konyashki.
Fact No. 25. Not all dishes that are considered Russian have Russian roots. So, vinaigrette came from Scandinavia, and dumplings - from China.
Fact No. 26. Bread has always been revered in Rus'; there were even special “bread rules”. These include blessings before baking, and the fact that bread could not be placed on the table without a tablecloth, thrown away or broken.
Fact No. 27. Births in Rus' were attended by midwives. They stayed with young mothers for 40 days, helped with bathing, swaddling, and treatment. By the way, swaddling was previously called wrapping.
Fact No. 28. There were legends about Russian weddings: for example, in the middle of the 19th century, families of Yekaterinburg gold miners married their children and celebrated the wedding for a whole year.
