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Top 20 Facts about Russian Cities

There are almost 1100 cities in Russia. It’s crazy, right? By the way, the oldest city in Russia is not Moscow. The oldest town in Russia is Derbent. It is called one of the oldest cities in the world, being about 5000 years old. Here are other 20 facts about cities of Russia and how they stand out.

Facts about Russian cities

  1. St. Petersburg is is the northernmost city in the world with a population of over a million people. Fun fact: our St Petersburg tours tend to be one-day tours, while Moscow is mostly multi-day tours. We believe, it’s only the weather to blame.
  2. There are more Kalashnikov rifle in the world than all other guns combined.
  3. The most famous computer game –Tetris – was created by Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov in 1985. This game became popular in the Soviet Union, and then, in 1986, in the West.
  4. Peterhof Park and Gardens in St. Petersburg has 176 fountains, including 40 giant and 5 stages.
  5. In the Russian city of Oymyakon was recorded the lowest temperature -71.2 ° C in 1924.
  6. The most famous national tourist routes are Golden Ring of Russia, Silver Ring of Russia and the Big Ural Ring.
  7. Saint Petersburg can’t be happy enough to have the Hermitage. The Hermitage is one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, with 2.7 works of art from the Stone Age to the present. if you were to spend a minute looking at each exhibit, it would take you over 25 years to go to the Hermitage as a job, and view the exhibits for 8 hours a day to see them all.
  8. Russia is regularly ranked on top of numerical rankings of the least friendly countries in the world, but it is simply a misunderstanding due to differences of cultural codes. In Russian schools, children are taught not to smile for no reason, it’s considered foolish. In fact, the Russians are friendly and always ready to help a foreigner.
  9. In 2002, the UNESCO included Yekaterinburg in the list of the 12 perfect cities in the world.
  10. Moscow is all about paradoxes. The largest ever cast bell – the Russian Tsar Bell – weighs 201 ton 924 kilograms, like 40 adult elephants.

Facts about Russia. Russian cities. Golden Ring

11. Suzdal is just 15 square kilometers and has a population of only 10,000 inhabitants. However, it boasts 53 Suzdal temples and cathedrals.

12. Russia is a cultural and spiritual successor to the Roman Empire. Two-headed eagle on its coat of arms symbolizes the Byzantine idea of ​​”symphony of powers”  – harmonious complementarity of the state and the Church. The word “Tsar” is derived from the word “Caesar.”

13. In Russia, there at least 15 secret cities which are not on maps or road signs.

14. In the 1930s Russian fishermen caught a sturgeon with 245 kilograms of black caviar in it. in the river Quiet Pine near Belgorod Russian fishermen caught sturgeon, which was 245 kilograms of black caviar. According to my simple conservative estimate, it would be $245,000 :)

15. Dacha (some kind of villa) is a purely Russian phenomenon. Dachas appeared at the time of Peter the Great, who gave the lands to people for architectural experiments.

16. Before the Russian Revolution of 1917 the Russian family was one of the largest in the world. In Russia, the family with 8 kids was considered a small one. It Was normal to have 12-14 children.

17. Each of the Romanov dynasty monarch left his successor with a country larger than he received from his father.

18. Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev set the record stay in space – 803 days. In addition, this versatile man is a world champion in aerobatics gliders, candidate for master of sports of all-round and founder of the space photography genre.

19. Half of the Russian city of Chelyabinsk is located in the Urals, half – in Siberia. At the same time the coat of arms depicts a camel. Why would it be a camel in Russian city? Because 200 years ago trade was the main income of the city and there were quite a lot of  trade caravans of camels laden.

20. Five of the largest cities in Russia are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Nowogrod. The combined population of Moscow and St.Petersburg is 17 million people, the same as the Netherlands, or Sweden and Switzerland combined.

And the last one: 15 Russian cities with population over 1 million:

Facts about Russia. Russian cities. 15 largest cities of Russia

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