Russian Culture

Photo by Christophe
Meneboeuf CC SA 3.0

Learning about the Russian culture is an excellent way to improve your Russian and understand Russian-speaking people. Russian culture has a rich history, strong traditions and influential arts, especially when it comes to literature, philosophy, classical music, ballet, architecture, painting, cinema and animation. These resources will help you to learn about many aspects of the Russian cultural heritage and make learning Russian more fun.

Traditional

Discover Russian traditions, gift ideas, fashion trends, games, jokes, toasts, and everything else that is typical of Russia and its people.

Family and Marriage

These resources will help you understand the family and romantic aspect of Russian culture.

Modern Russia

Learn about the latest trends, innovations, and developments in Russia.

Russian Names

Learn more about Russian first names, patronymics, surnames and naming conventions.

Russian Movies and Music

Best Russian Movies

Russian Holidays

Russian holidays reflect all aspects of Russian history, customs and traditions. Here's a quick list of official public holidays and other Russian festivities.

January 1-5 - New Year (the biggest Russian holiday)
January 7 - Christmas (Orthodox Christmas)
January 14 - Old New Year
February 14 - St. Valentine's Day
February 23 - Defender of the Motherland Day
March 8 - International Women's Day, March 8th Vocabulary
May 1 - May Day
May 9 - Victory Day
June 12 - Russia Day
November 4 - National Unity Day
April 12 - Cosmonautics Day
Sunday, varies - Orthodox Easter
Varies - Maslenitsa, Maslenitsa Week

Cuisine, Food and Recipes

Russia has wonderful and often unique cuisine, recipes, traditions and customs. The following resources include instructions for preparing traditional Russian cuisine, as well as many Russian recipes with a personal flare.

Got questions?

Ask them in the Russian Questions and Answers — a place for students, teachers and native Russian speakers to discuss Russian grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and other aspects of the Russian language.