Travel guide
Russia

The 12 keywords Russia

1. #Baths

Sauna and Russian bath (bania) are very popular in Russia where, during the harsh winters, it is customary to warm up by flogging oneself with a kind of small broom made of birch branches. Bathing is an art of living: you spend your Saturday afternoon there, you eat and drink. The luckiest ones have a sauna in their dacha!

2. #Calendar

It is well known that the October revolution was in fact a November revolution. In 1918, the new Soviet government set the record straight by adopting the Gregorian calendar. But religious holidays still follow the 13-day Julian calendar: Christmas is celebrated on January 7 and the Old New Year on the evening of January 13.

3. #Cyrillic

This alphabet was created in the 9th century by the Byzantine monks Cyril and Methodius for liturgical purposes to evangelize the Slavs. It consists of 33 signs that can be learned in just a few hours. Then, nothing could be simpler to get off at the right station or find a coffee: in Russian, almost all the letters are pronounced.

4. #Datcha

Ah... the dacha, that small space of its own, far from the impersonal community of Soviet checkered cities. Russians love the countryside and many of them migrate on Friday evenings to their small, even very modest, houses outside the city. Small isba of painted wood, a small flowery garden by the roadside, a few vegetables: happiness!

5. #Measurement

A stereotype with its share of truth: in Russia, you have to think big (not to mention the size of the country). The largest bridge, the largest housing complex, the largest bookstore, the largest number of rooms in a hotel? A tendency to excess, which is embodied in the infrastructure, but also love and resistance!

6. #Kvas

If you spend the summer in Russia, you will surely come face to face with a yellow cistern bearing the arms of KBAC (kvas), the traditional Slavic fermented drink made from stale bread. Halfway between cider and Coca-Cola depending on the preparation, kvas is very thirst-quenching and, it seems, excellent for your health.

7. #Orthodoxy

The link between the Orthodox religion and Russian identity is as complex as Russia, between a "Third Rome" Moscow and communist Boga Net ("There is no God"). Since 1991, Russia's religious revival has been primarily political: the patriarch is close to the president and conservative spiritualities serve the government.

8. #Aboriginal People

Aboriginal, indigenous, national... the situation of the peoples colonized by the Russians varies, but their fate is generally not enviable, despite the official discourse that values the country's diversity. From the Far North to the Caucasus, people have fought to preserve their traditions and their land, and ecology is the new battle horse.

9. #Poetry

Failing to grasp the particularities of a Russian soul that exists only in the imagination of Europeans, you can try to get closer to it by immersing yourself in the writings of Russian poets who, for centuries, have set the rhythm of the daily lives of the country's inhabitants. After all, poetry in Russia is almost a matter of spirituality..

10. #RuNet

The Russian part of the internet is called RuNet: a collection of social networks, search engines and sites designed by and for Russians. The goal is political (digital sovereignty), but also practical, as Western sites are not adapted to the particularities of Russian. Forget Facebook and Google, this is Yandex, Vk and Telegram!

11. #Theatre

Russians love to go to the theatre and have produced some of the most talented playwrights and choreographers in the world. The USSR has scattered the country with a dense network of public theatres: prices are affordable and people go there very regularly. And Russian-speaking or not, it is absolutely necessary to take the opportunity to see an opera or a ballet!

12. #Vodka

Another stereotype that's having a hard time! Vodka consumption in Russia is much lower than it used to be, and it is now considered bad enough to drink too much. A few rules to follow though: we avoid cheap vodka, we don't drink without toasting and of course, we don't mix! Russian vodka is delicious, so it should be drunk neat