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Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area, extending across eleven time zones and sharing land borders with fourteen countries. It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country. Russia is a highly urbanised country, with 16 of its population centres having more than 1 million inhabitants. Its capital and largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and its cultural capital.

The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated; the Grand Duchy of Moscow led the unification of Russian lands, leading to the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other Soviet republics, within which it was the largest and principal constituent. At the expense of millions of lives, the Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialisation in the 1930s and later played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for ideological dominance and international influence. The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space. (Full article...)

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Feodor I of Russia

Balsam bottle 0.7l

Balsam "Krasnaya Polyana" (Russian: Бальза́м «Кра́сная Поля́на» Russian pronunciation: [ˈkrasnəjə pɐˈlʲanə]) is a dark brown strong herbal liqueur, 45% abv. It is one of the traditional Eastern European beverages, called balsam.

Krasnaya Polyana Balsam is made with a combination of 24 herbs, 8 fruits, honey and other ingredients collected in the mountains area around the Black Sea. Among its natural ingredients are cherry plum and apple juices as well as morses of dried apricots, kiwi fruits and raisins. Its recipe was developed by the Russian Academy of Agricultural Sciences in the Scientific Research Institute of Food Biotechnology. (Full article...)

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Tchaikovsky, c. 1888

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (/ˈkɒfski/ chy-KOF-skee; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin.

Although musically precocious, Tchaikovsky was educated for a career as a civil servant as there was little opportunity for a musical career in Russia at the time and no system of public music education. When an opportunity for such an education arose, he entered the nascent Saint Petersburg Conservatory, from which he graduated in 1865. The formal Western-oriented teaching that Tchaikovsky received there set him apart from composers of the contemporary nationalist movement embodied by the Russian composers of The Five with whom his professional relationship was mixed. (Full article...)

In the news

3 January 2025 – 2024 Estlink 2 incident
A district court in Helsinki, Finland, denies a request to release the impounded oil tanker Eagle S, suspected of damaging the Estlink 2 submarine power cable and carrying sanctioned Russian oil. (Al Jazeera)
1 January 2025 – 2022–2023 Russia–European Union gas dispute
Russia's gas firm Gazprom suspends exports of Russian natural gas through Ukrainian pipelines after Ukraine refused to renew the transit agreement between its operator Naftogaz and Gazprom. However, Hungary will continue receiving Russian natural gas via the TurkStream pipeline. (Reuters)
1 January 2025 – Moldova–Russia relations
As announced, Russia's Gazprom halts its gas supplies both to Moldova and the self-proclaimed Transnistrian republic alleging non-compliance with payment obligations. (bne IntelliNews), (Politico)
30 December 2024 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Prisoners of war in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russia and Ukraine exchange hundreds of prisoners of war in a deal brokered by the United Arab Emirates. Ukraine says that many of those released by Russia are soldiers captured during the Siege of Mariupol in 2022. (BBC News)
30 December 2024 – Moldova–Russia relations
Moldovan prime minister Dorin Recean states his country envisages the possible nationalisation of Moldovagaz company, which is 50%-owned by Russia's Gazprom, following the announcement by Gazprom that the current gas supply deal, to expire on December 31, will not be renewed. (Reuters)

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