Russian Food

Russian Food is very much a product of the Russian climate and environment. With short bountiful growing seasons and long harsh winters, Russian diet traditionally consisted of milled grains, storable produce (like potatoes, beets, carrots and cabbage), plus fish, poultry, beef, pork and game. These traditional staples (meat, potatoes, bread, eggs and fish) still...

Russian Handicraft and Folk Art

Some forms of Russian handicraft are well known worldwide, while others are unfamiliar outside of Russia. Every one knows about the famous Matryoshka, or Russian Nesting Doll. Fewer people associate intricately woven lace, hand painted porcelain, wood work, or enamel jewelry with Russian Folk Art.   Below we have descriptions and examples of some of...

Russian Holidays and Festivals

Russian holidays (and Ukrainian holidays) have come from a wide variety origins. The oldest festivals have their roots in both pagan tradition and Eastern Orthodox religion. More recent holidays had their start during the period of the Soviet Union. The newest holidays (with the least amount of tradition) were created following the breakup of the USSR and the...

Russian Superstitions

Superstition is a very big part of Russian and Ukrainian culture. While many superstitions are largely ignored, many more are so common that they have become an inseparable part of everyday Russian etiquette. So while Russian friends may joke about them, it may be courteous to be aware of common superstitions and show respect for them just the same. After all, do...

Traditional Russian and Ukrainian Clothing

Ethnic Russian and Ukrainian clothing is a derivative of both practicality and creativity. Many of the garments associated with Russia and Ukraine were simply founded as the best possible means to stay warm. The fur and sheep skin coat (shuba and dublyonka), warm fur and wool hats (ushanka,papakha and budenovka), as well as the wool felt footwear (valenki), are all...

Traditional Russian Folk Dance

Traditional Russian folk dance is as broad and diverse as the nation itself. While most foreigners identify traditional Russian dance with the stomping and and knee bending characteristic of Eastern Slavic dance styles, many forget about traditions of dance that originated from Turkic, Uralic, Mongolic and Caucasian peoples who are also native to Russia. Below we...