Over a surface area of more than 17,000,000 square kilometers extends the largest country in the world, Russia. In terms of area, Russia is almost as large as the second and third place, Canada and the United States of America, combined.
Like the People’s Republic of China, Russia has 14 neighboring countries with a common land border. Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea have a border with the Russian Federation.
In terms of population, Russia is well behind the USA with around 146 million residents. The Russian population accounts for 1,92 percent of the world population. Most of them, around 77 percent, live in the part on the European continent.
The population density of Russia is just 9 people per square kilometer. 24 less than in the USA and 21,402 less than in Macau, the region with the densest population.
Many dishes of Russian cuisine are world-famous and very popular. Be it the many soups borschtsch (beetroot soup), ucha (fish soup) and shchi (cabbage soup) but also pelmeni (stuffed dumplings) and ingredients like caviar.
Every Russian drinks an average of 6.3 shots of liquor per week, a large part of which is certainly the national drink vodka. Vodka is usually consumed with friends or family in combination with many small dishes, such as salted cucumbers, meatballs, rye bread and butter and pickled vegetables.
When drinking the transparent 40 percent spirit, the air is held and the glass is emptied in one sip. Then you take a deep breath and eat one of the dishes. Traditionally a vodka glass holds about 100 mililiter, but nowadays the smaller shot glasses from the west are not unusual.
Every Russian has three names, a first name, a patronymic and a last name.
The middle name or patronymic is derived from the person’s father’s name. Depending on the sex, the addition -ovich or -evich (male) or -ovna or -evna (female) is added to it.
An additional suffix is also added to the last name, depending on gender.
1.61 percent of the male population in Russia bear the last name Смирно́в (Smirnov), which means quiet one’s in translation. A well-known representative with the surname is Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov. A Russian businessman who founded the famous Smirnoff vodka brand.
