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Portal:Russia

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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

Tarasun (also known as Arhi) is an alcoholic beverage drunk by the Mongol Buryats of Siberia. Apart from being the national drink of Buryatia, it is also used by the Buryats in their religious ceremonies. The Buryat and his tarasun have been compared to a Scotsman and his whisky. (Full article...)

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Vasilevsky in 1944

Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Vasilevsky (Russian: Александр Михайлович Василевский) (30 September 1895 – 5 December 1977) was a Soviet career-officer in the Red Army who attained the rank of Marshal of the Soviet Union in 1943. He served as the Chief of the General Staff of the Soviet Armed Forces (1942–1945) and Deputy Minister of Defense during World War II, and as Minister of Defense from 1949 to 1953. As the Chief of the General Staff from 1942 to 1945, Vasilevsky became involved in planning and coordinating almost all the decisive Soviet offensives in World War II, from the Operation Uranus of November 1942 to the assaults on East Prussia (January–April 1945), Königsberg (January–April 1945) and Manchuria (August 1945).

Vasilevsky began his military career during World War I, earning the rank of captain by 1917. After the October Revolution of 1917 and the start of the Civil War of 1917–1922 he was conscripted into the Red Army, taking part in the Polish-Soviet War of 1919–1921. In peacetime he quickly rose through the ranks, becoming a regimental commander by 1930. In this position he showed great skill in organizing and training his troops. Vasilevsky's talent was noticed, and in 1931 he was appointed a member of the Directorate of Military Training. In 1937, following Stalin's Great Purge, he was promoted to become a General Staff officer. (Full article...)

In the news

16 January 2025 –
The twin satellites SDX01 and SDX02 of SpaDeX mission, launched in December 2024 by the Indian Space Research Organisation, conduct successfully the first spacecraft docking of India, which becomes the fourth country with such technological capability after United States, Russia and China. (BBC News)
15 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Russian strikes against Ukrainian infrastructure
Russia launches a major ballistic and cruise missile attack on regions across Ukraine, targeting energy production and compelling authorities to shut down the power grid. (AP)
15 January 2025 – Poland–Russia relations
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk accuses Russian President Vladimir Putin and his country of plotting terror attacks on airliners around the world. (The Independent)
15 January 2025 – 2024 drone sightings
The German government authorises the Bundeswehr to shoot down suspicious drones seen near military sites or other critical infrastructure with Interior Minister Nancy Faeser stating that Russia is suspected of being behind the drone activity. (BBC News)
14 January 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Attacks in Russia during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Boris Yeltsin
We don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. Freedom is like that. It's like air. When you have it, you don't notice it.
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