50 Things You Never Knew About Russia

"Russia is a riddled wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.", said late British statesman, Winston Churchill. It's time to know more about the country that will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup. As of 2015, the Russian population was 144.3 million inhabitants. The country is ruled by President Vladimir Putin, with Dmitry Medvedev serving as prime minister. The country's official name is the Russian Federation (Росси́йская Федерaция). The major cities in Russia are: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. The official language spoken in Russia is Russian. The Russian currency is the Russian Ruble (RUB). The following peculiarities  will make you develop more interest in Russia.

1. The deepest lake in the world, Lake Baikal, is found in Russia. It is estimated to be 1,642 meters deep. Lake Baikal is also the world's largest freshwater lake (in terms of volume). Lake Baikal is also the oldest lake in the world.

2. Russians hang their rugs on walls, not on the floor. This practice became common during the Soviet times. Many people speculate that insulation was the reason behind the practice but no one knows for sure. Rugs were also used for soundproofing in communal apartments.

3. There are around 11 million more women than men in Russia, given that the women have a much longer lifespan than the men - 74 years for women and 64 for men. More so, 25% of Russian men die before reaching the age of 55.

4. Russia is home to Europe's longest river - the Volga. River Volga is also the largest in Europe, in terms of discharge and drainage basin. It has a length of 3,530 km (2,193 mi).

5. Russia is the largest country by land mass in the world. The country covers an expanse of over 6.6 million square miles. It beats runner-up, Canada, by 2.8 million square miles. Russia accounts for over one ninth of the Earth's terrestrial area.

6. There are 11 time zones in Russia, ranging from UTC+02:00 to UTC+12:00. Russia has more time zones than any other country in the world.

7. Moscow, Russia's capital city is home to the most number of billionaires in a city. There are 78 billionaires in Moscow.

8. Russia is the leading importer of heroin in the world. There's a city in Russia in which 20% of its inhabitants are heroin addicts. Russian stadiums will allow cocaine, cannabis and heroin at the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

9. The highest rate of tobacco smoking per capita was recorded in Russia. Russia has the biggest percentage of adult smokers in the world. According to the WHO's Global Adult Tobacco Survey, more than 60% of Russian men and almost 22% of Russian women smoke.

10. Russia is the 4th largest consumer of alcohol per capita in the world. According to a report provided by the WHO in 2011, Russia's annual consumption per capita was about 15.76, which is twice the amount considered dangerous by health experts. Legend holds that the tenth-century Russian prince Vladimir the great rejected Islam as a state religion because it prohibited the consumption of alcohol.

11. The coldest inhabited spot on Earth which also happens to be the coldest recorded spot in the world is found in Oymyakon, a Russian village. In the world's coldest village, eyelashes freeze and its inhabitants are constantly at risk of frost bite. During winter, Oymyakon has 21 dark hours out of 24 almost every day.

12. Russians literally drink themselves to death as 1 out every 5 Russian male deaths is alcohol-related. About 40,000 Russians die from alcohol poisoning yearly. According to the WHO, more than 30% of all deaths in Russia in 2012 were attributable to alcohol.

13. AIDS is the third leading cause of death in Russia. The AIDS epidemic in Russia stems from high levels of heroin abuse in the country. As of now, more than 1 million Russians are HIV-positive. According to the Federal Center for Fighting AIDS, averagely 80 people die of AIDS every day in Russia.

14. Until 2011, beer was not considered an alcoholic beverage in Russia. It was considered same as soda and sold just about anywhere, and to anyone.

15. Russia has more nuclear weapons than any other country in the world, though being the second country to develop nuclear weapons. The United States of America is the first country to develop nuclear weapons and the only country to have used them in war. Russia's arsenal consists of 7,000 warheads and runner-up USA has 6800 warheads.

16. The world's largest satellite, Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union (present day Russia) in 1957.

17. Domestic violence was not a crime in Russia until 2017. However Russia's domestic violence laws do not really protect its victims. If a man batters his wife, but not severely enough to hospitalize them, and it is the husband's first recorded offence, the husband can't face a prison term. It is estimated that more than 600 Russian women are killed monthly, in their homes; and up to 36,000 women are abused on a daily basis.

18. In Russia, bears are addicted to jet fuel, and sniff it to get high. The Bears in Kronotsky Nature Reserve in South Kamchatka sniff kerosene and gasoline from containers left in the reserve. They take long deep sniffs before digging shallow holes and lying in them once they are high.

19. Russia has the world's highest divorce rate. Rosstat reveals that between January and May 2017, there were 829 divorces per 1000 marriages in Russia, quite an improvement from 2016 wherein there were 895 divorces per 1000 marriages.

20. In Russia, unless a woman uses a walking stick, she should be called "devushka" - meaning "young lady".

21. The most famous PC game - Tetris, was invented by Russian programmer and scientist, Alexey Pajitnov.

22. Russia had more abortions than live births in 2005. In 2013, there were 13 abortions performed for every 10 live births.

23. Russia is the second largest exporter of conventional arms (after the United States). It had $13.5 billion worth of arms exports in 2012. Russia's defense industry accounts for 20% of all manufacturing jobs in Russia.

24. Russia and Japan still hate each other as they haven't been able to settle their dispute over Kuril islands.

25. The world's biggest McDonald's is found in Pushkin Square, in Moscow, Russia.

26. A third of Russia's 153,000 villages have a population of fewer than 10 residents.

27. In 2015, Russia was among the deadliest countries for journalists. A report produced by the International Federation of Journalists in 2016 ranked Russia the 5th most deadly country for journalists.

Russia ranks 148th out of 180 countries on the 2018 World Press Freedom Index.

28. Russia has one of the world's most petrifying walkways - the 439 meter SkyBridge.

29. Russians love swimming in winter. Thousands of Russians annually plunge into cold water in ice-swimming clubs, despite temperatures falling below zero.

30. Russians are taught not to smile in school. Constant smiling can make people suspicious of you, as they may think you have done wrong and are trying to avoid punishment. Moreover, smiling is not considered a sign of politeness in Russian conversations.

31. Lake Karachay, the world's most polluted lake is found in Russia. The lake is so radioactive that standing beside it for an hour would almost certainly kill you.

32. September 12th is a special date in Russia. It is Russia's "Day of Conception". On this day, couples are given half a day off work to try to conceive. Women who get pregnant at this time are then rewarded with expensive gifts.

33. Russia has a very corrupt police force, and is a very corrupt country in general. In 2017, Russia was ranked 13th out of 176 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perception Index.

34. Moscow has the second busiest metro in the world with 2.4 billion annual passenger rides. About 6.6 million people travel by metro beneath Moscow on a daily basis.

35. Russia is the second largest oil producer in the world. Russia produces 1,000,000 more barrels of oil a day than Saudi Arabia.

36. Moscow has very poor traffic, one of the worst in the world. Wealthy Russians hire fake ambulances to beat traffic jam. A one-way commute in Moscow can be anything between 1.5 to 4 hours.

37. Chamomile (Matricaria Recutita) is the national flower of Russia.

38. Russians do not shake hands over a doorway, as they believe it is a bad omen that will lead to an argument.

39. The Russian State Library is the biggest in Europe. It was established in 1862, in Moscow. It has a collection of 17.5 million books.

40. Russia has a very high literacy rate - 99.7207899.7%, the highest in the world.

41. Flowers are only offered in Russia in odd numbers. An even number of flowers can only be offered at funerals.

  

42. Back in the days of the Soviet Union, prisoners would get tattoos of Stalin and Lenin, since guards were ordered not to shoot at images of national leaders.

43. Driving in a dirty car is a finable offence in Russia.However, fines are only levied when the car's registration is so dirty that it is illegible.

44. There's a restaurant in Moscow that is entirely staffed by identical twins, it is called The Twins Stars diner.

45. Russian scientists have been domesticating foxes like dogs since 1959.

46. Russia has the world's longest railway - the Trans-Siberian Railway (the Moscow-Vladivostok line). It spans a length of 9,289 km.

47. Apple is worth more than the entire Russian stock market.

48. Russia has 48 national parks and 100 wildlife reserves.

49. There's a theater in Russia where all the actors are cats. It is called Moscow Cats Theatre.

50. Russians play golf with helicopters. The game is played in parts, and participants do their best to strike the one-meter diameter ball on the snow, from a helicopter. The chopper flies just about 4-5 meters above the ground. Playing helicopter golf is costly; a single flight for 3 people will cost about 18,000 rubles ($300).