31 Facts about Russians

What facts about Russians do you know? The most popular opinions (myths!) are: we drink vodka in the morning, never smile and have winter all year round.

So, myths unveiled! If you plan your Russian holidays, here is our list of Top 10 places to visit in Russia. And some other inspirational ideas for Travel to Russia.

31 facts about Russians

Yes, Russians love vodka. Especially with appetizers like pickles and herring. Vodka is Russian traditional drink like sangria in Spain and beer in Germany. Many people are sure that the best kind of vodka is samogonka. People from villages cook it with sugar, potato, beet and fruits using special home-made devices. Many years ago it was simply called wine. But very few people drink vodka in the morning.
Yes, Russians almost never smile. But it does not mean we are unfriendly. We don`t smile to strangers, but it is easy to fix, isnt’t it? Have you ever heard about Russian hospitality? If you come to any home you will be met in a really friendly way.
Yes, winter is long here. But not more than half a year, November – April are the months you normally see snow outside.
Russians can’t stand smiling just for the sake of a smile. It’s totally nonsense for us. We feel like idiots.
Bears in Russia live in forests. There are many of them in Siberia. There are no bears in the streets!
Russian man in the street
In accordance with orthodoxy religion Russians celebrate The Epiphany. The tradition of this event demands bathing in the ice-hole. The Epiphany in Russia is on January 18th
One of the hardest Russian words for foreigners is Zdravstvuyte (Здравствуйте). It means Hello in polite form.
When we are going to travel for a long time, we sit for a few minutes before to go. It`s a very old Russian tradition. We are sure it makes our journey happy.
Russians never throw away any stuff they don`t need. We keep it for «just in case»
We never whistle at home! Money can go away because of that! :)
Most of Russians love to collect mushrooms in forests even if they don`t eat it.
We have 10 days-off after New Year, which makes it the most popular holiday among Russians.
Russians love New Year so much that we celebrate it twice a year: we have “Old New Year” on January 13-14.
There are nine million more women than men in Russia.
Russian girl in summer
There are around 190 different nationalities in Russia!
Lots of Russian families have a dacha and go there in summer every weekend. Dacha is a house outside the city where we grow flowers, berries and vegetables.
Russians really like sushi! It`s more popular here than in Japan.
We are sure that only Russians can say anything bad about our country. We can`t stand when foreigners agree with us :)
When we have a family celebration, people usually sing at the table. We have many nice folk-songs.
Russian family
In a restaurant or shop, Russians call for a waitress and shop assistant just saying “Girl” no matter what the age of this “girl” is.
Socializing in Russia is usually divided by sex: men talk to men, women chat to women.
Russia is a very organized country and everything is very structured and controlled. You’ll be surprised how many rules we have.
Arrogance is considered second name for happiness.
Russians love using :) emojis :) in their messages. No matter how old they are :)
Russians look very suspiciously at non-drinkers, finding them weirdo, if not aliens. They will stare at a non-drinker for a long time trying to understand what’s wrong with this person.
At work Russians celebrate just about anything. The colleague got back from holidays? It’s time to celebrate!
Friendly Local Guides
We don’t know what “privacy” is. A friend can come up at 3.00 am and we’ll have a cup of tea together.
Legend has it that in 988 Russians opted for Christianity to Islam, because they did not want to give up alcohol.
The traffic is horrible in Moscow, and some people buy ambulance cars to travel around the city. Here are more facts about Moscow.
Some Russians hang carpets on the walls. Old Russian tradition.
Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich set lasers on his yacht. This way he believes he will be protected from the paparazzi.
Visiting Sergiev Posad