Russia

__Anika Stankov __ __Привет, и добро пожаловать! __

__ History Summary: __ []

Russia’s original population consisted of the Slavic tribes: “West Slavs” tribes were the Poles, the Czechs, and the Slovaks “East Slavs” tribes were Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusian’s “South Slavs” tribes were Bulgarians, Croats, Macedonians, Serbs, and Slovenians

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Russia began as a small state called Novgorod, which was created by the Viking, Rurik. This state was also referred to as “Russ”(Rou-ss) which referred to a red-haired Viking. Vladimir the Great was the first prince of Russia and the Prince of Kiev (Key-ev), Ukraine. He converted his country and he to Christianity in 998 A.D. He also moved the capitol from Kiev to Moscow in 1308 which was founded in 1146. From here Russia was invaded by the Mongols from about 1237-1440. After this until 1917 Russia gained lands expanding their empire, going through Tsars (rulers), and finding their spot as one of the most powerful countries in the world. The various Tsar’s of Russia each brought something new to the Russian culture, government, and people during their time of rule. In 1917, the Russian Revolution happened. It began with the Russian people becoming tired of being under rule of the Tsar, they wanted a more modern country and they wanted hope. This was when the Bolsheviks came into play. The Bolsheviks were communists who seized power of Petrograd (St. Petersburg, also one of the grandest cities in Europe with a population of 2 million). Also, in 1918, Tsar Nicholas the second and his family were brutally executed by the communists. This revolution of the Tsar being over thrown; then started the Soviet Union or U.S.S.R. Again the Bolsheviks seized power by force. Leon Trotsky took command of the red army and Vladimir Lenin took control of the country. At this point, the communists had successfully created class hatred among the population. Lenin believed in the need for a dictator, repression, violence, censorship, atheism, and government control of industry, agriculture, the economy, and the health care system. He hid this from the people though, and acted like he wanted freedom and democracy so he could gain power. Over the next five years he began placing his beliefs into laws and decrees trying to create an atheistic state. In 1918 the Bolsheviks participated in a war against their opponents which was followed by a war on Russian villages who didn’t agree with Bolsheviks beliefs. This led to the Russian Civil War where more Russians had been killed by other Russians than the total deaths of those in World War 1. Josef Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union for 25 years. During these 25 years, he attacked peasant farmers, destroyed the lower middle class people, and he created a “cultural revolution” where many people such as engineers were arrested. His rule resulted in an estimate of about 4.5 million. In the 1930’s Stalin turned everyone against everyone by telling them they would go to Gulag in Siberia where almost all would die. Because of this children turned in parents, neighbors turned in neighbors, and strangers would turn in strangers. During World War 2 Stalin and Hitler got together but Germany turned and invaded Russia in 1941 (the “Cold War”), which ended with Britain and the U.S helping Russia who beat Germany. After WW 2, Russians thought they would have a better life but this didn’t happen, instead it got worse. Doctors and Jews were arrested and condemned and the people suffered from food and shelter shortages. Once the Cold War ended, it left the Russians wanting democracy like the U.S. even more. In 1985 Mikhail Gorbachev became the leader of the Soviet and he was the one to end it, he finally gave the Russian’s what they wanted, freedom.

__ History Timeline: __ This is the History Timeline for Russian history that I used for some of my other information. []

__ Historical Conflicts: __ []

1237-1240 A.D   The Mongols invade Russia devastating the country 1605-1613   Poland invades Russia 1904-1905   Russia loses Russo-Japanese War 1914-1917   Russia enters World War 1 and suffers a great defeat from Germany and Austria 1917   Russian Revolution 1939   World War 2 begins 1941   Germany invades Russia 1945   World War 2 Ends 1945   Cold War starts 1969   Border clash with China 1978-1982   Soviets invade Afghanistan 1991   Cold War ends

1994-1996   Russia invades the breakaway province of Chechnya which doesn’t end well, Russia withdraws with many deaths 1999-2000   Second Chechen War, Russia destroys rebels 2002   Chechen rebels take control of a theatre in Moscow with explosives demanding the Russian Government end the war with Chechnya. Sadly, the Russian Government releases a gas into the theatre killing not only all of the Chechen rebels but more than 100 hostages. 2004   In September dozens of heavily armed guerrillas take control of a school in Beslan, near Chechnya, with about 1,100 children, teachers, and parents as hostages. Hundreds of the hostages were killed including about 156 children. 2006   Chechen Warlord, Shamil Basayev, who was responsible for the attack on the school in 2004, is killed. 2008   Russia joins a conflict between Georgia and South Ossetia very aggressively. Russia moved troops into another breakaway region (Abkhazia) so they could attack Tbilisi, the capitol of Georgia. Dozens are killed, hundreds are wounded, and thousands of people living in South Ossetia flee their homes. The president of Russia tells the military to end their action in Georgia, but they continue. Russian tanks occupy a town 40 miles from Tbilisi called Gori, and hundreds of soldiers cross into South Ossetia. Many warn Russia to end the conflict in Georgia and although the Russian president signs a revised cease-fire, the troops do not stop. Georgia also demands the conflict to stop and that only peacekeeping Russians who were in the region before the conflict are allowed to stay. They demand this to be a provision to the original agreement but it does not work that well.

__ Historical Enemies: __ 1237-1240: The Mongols are Russia's enemies because they invaded Russia for the territory.

1605-1613: Poland was one of Russia's enemies because Russia invaded them for the territory.

1904-1905: Japan was one of Russia's enemies because the two both wanted Korea and Manchuria, so they went to war over the territory. Russia lost.

1914-1918: Germany and Austria-Hungary were enemies of Russia because Russia was on the Allies side and Germany and Austria-Hungary were on the opposing side, the Centeral Powers.

1935-1945: Germany was a enemy of Russia because Germany invaded them.

1957-1976: The United States was an enemy of Russia because of many things. The space race which was caused because Russia launched Sputnik 1 which was the first statellite to ever go into orbit which threatned the U.S.A because that could've made them the sole world power. Also, America didn't agree with Russia's communism.

1994-present day: Chechnya is one of Russia's enemies because Russia invaded them trying to take their land.

Russia has also had multiple wars within itself so in a way Russia is its own enemy. They have had wars over many things but mostly power and communism.

Also, during Russia's days as the U.S.S.R they had many enemies because they disagreed with Russia being a communist country.

__ World Map: __

__ Flag and Significance: __ [] (Russian Flag) Russia's flag actually doesnt have a definite meaning but many in Russia believe that the white symbolizes generosity and frankness, blue symbolizes loyality, honesty, and wisdom, and red symbolizes courage, magnanimity, and love. Others believe that red represents Russian people, blue represents the Ukranians, and white represents Belo Russians.

__Russian Cuisine :__

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Potatoes may be the biggest part of a Russians diet but bread is something more important. Bread marks hospitality. When greeting a stranger Russians give them a round loaf of bread with a salt cellar on top. Bread is, in a way, the symbol of life and is eaten in the hardest of times especially; and to be without bread signals starvation. __Other foods that are used in many meals include:__ Ø Cabbage Ø Carrots Ø Beets Ø Onions Ø Garlic Ø Tvorog- a type of cottage cheese Ø Riazhenka- slightly soured milk Ø Hard and soft cheeses Ø Fruits and berries are loved and are usually turned into preserves along with compotes, cordials, and concentrates. Ø Cabbage, cucumbers, garlic, and potatoes are usually salted or pickled __Popular Drinks include:__ Ø Tea Ø Coffee (recently became popular is served strong and thick) Ø Wine, beer, cognac, and champagne __And the most popular and important drink:__ Ø Vodka- is a very important part of rituals and used in toasts __Meat:__ Meat is very important in Russia. While lack of bread is starvation, lack of hard kolbasa (sausage) is poverty. Meats common in Russian dishes include: Ø Sausage Ø Pork Ø Beef Ø Mutton Ø Chicken Ø Dried or salted fish __Delicacies that only some can afford are:__ Ø Veal Ø Duck Ø Sturgeon Ø Salmon

__ Tradition/Culture: __ []

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Russian Holidays:

Easter

Christmas- The Orthodox Church celebrates it according to the Julian calendar, so they celebrate it on January 7. More Western Church’s celebrate it on December 25 according to the Gregorian calendar.

Ivan Kupala- A combining of pagan and Christian traditions used to celebrate the summer solstice; this holiday is celebrated on the night of June 23.

Maslenitsa or Shrovetide- A holiday used to remember the dead. It is a weeklong and is the week before lent. Everyday of this holiday is used for very special rituals.

Weddings:

Weddings in Russia are a big deal. A Russia wedding is almost like a performance and is very enjoyable. Russian weddings are a classic tradition dating back to the end of the 9th century.

__ Traditional Clothing: __ Traditional Russian clothing was designed to empathize Russian woman's inner dignity and emotional restraint. Russian costumes are not only beautiful, there are also convenient in wearing because they were created for work without restricting freedom of movement. Festive clothes and everyday clothes, married woman's and young girl's clothes differed only for details, decoration, color gamut. The variety of colors for traditional costume displays love for beauty and ethnic diversity. Red fabric cloth was considered to be the nattiest one, and, by the way, the Russian word "beautiful" comes from the word "krasny", the Russian for "red". Homemade canvas and wool clothes decorated with embroidery or woven pattern have been used most often for traditional peasant costumes. Embroidery came in different ornaments (rhombuses, crosses, herring-bones, stylized patterns of people and animals) performed in naturally painted threads. Red, blue, green, white, yellow - the color gamut was rich and various. Despite the social and territorial differences traditional Russian clothes had one thing in common, they had to be put as a cape, from the head. Soft silhouette without any cuts emphasized Russian lady's light steps. Dress and sleeves were getting wider to the lap; the fabric was decorated with symmetric pattern, or with other golden or silvery-like fabrics, furs, and embroidery. Patterned woman's headdress "kokoshnik", fine linen "rubashka" shirts, beautiful woman's dress "sarafan" with embroidery in brocade and silk, - all these are comfortable and nice clothes worn ages ago by Russian women. In the Northern districts of the region the means of decoration were modest and laconic in keeping with the architecture of those places. In the Southern districts the ornaments were brighter and more colourful. Every tiny detail made its contribution to the whole ensemble. A waist-belt was an indispensable part of it. Headwears were divided into women's and girls ones. They are embroidered with gold and pearls and are of great value. They were everyday clothes and holiday garments. Russian tradtional costume manifests folk art and conveys the spirit of the past and old bright culture of Russia. Kosovorotka, Russian traditional skewed-collar shirt is absolutely beautiful. It is known for its straight-cut freely flowing lines, the considerable length of the dress and especially the long sleeves. Gorgeous embroidered ribbons decorate the shirt on the chest and as a trim on sleeves and on the bottom of the shirt. Silky threads on the trim give a beautiful luster and balance with the base color of the shirt. A matching belt adds that final ethnic touch to the shirt. The shirt can be worn with or without a belt, with the collar buttoned or unbuttoned. Russian fur hats are known all over the world as the best heat savers protecting from severest frosts and winds. The most popular Russian fur hats that still protect Russian people in the winter even in Siberia. Russian fur hats are made from soft sheepskin and fluffy rabbit fur and specially designed to bring you the ultimate warmth and cozines. []