Category Archives: Russia

Culture of peoples and nationalities of Russia

Russian culture (Russian: , romanized:Kul'tura Rossii) has been formed by the nation's history, its geographical location and its vast expanse, religious and social traditions, and Western influence.[1] Russian writers and philosophers have played an important role in the development of European thought.[2][3] The Russians have also greatly influenced classical music,[4] ballet,[5] sport,[6] painting,[7] and cinema.[8] The nation has also made pioneering contributions to science and technology and space exploration.[9][10]

Page of a Russian illuminated manuscript; 14851490

Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages.[11] According to the 2002 census, 142.6million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3million and Ukrainian with 1.8million speakers.[12] Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individual republics the right to make their native language co-official next to Russian.[13] Despite its wide dispersal, the Russian language is homogeneous throughout Russia. Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken Slavic language.[14] Russian belongs to the Indo-European language family and is one of the living members of the East Slavic languages; the others being Belarusian and Ukrainian (and possibly Rusyn). Written examples of Old East Slavic (Old Russian) are attested from the 10th century onwards.[15]

Over a quarter of the world's scientific literature is published in Russian. Russian is also applied as a means of coding and storage of universal knowledge6070% of all world information is published in the English and Russian languages.[16] The language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.[citation needed]

Russian folklore takes its roots in the pagan beliefs of ancient Slavs, which is nowadays still represented in the Russian folklore. Epic Russian bylinas are also an important part of Slavic mythology. The oldest bylinas of Kievan cycle were recorded in the Russian North, especially in Karelia, where most of the Finnish national epic Kalevala was recorded as well.[citation needed]

Many Russian fairy tales and bylinas were adapted for Russian animations, or for feature movies by famous directors like Aleksandr Ptushko (Ilya Muromets, Sadko) and Aleksandr Rou (Morozko, Vasilisa the Beautiful). Some Russian poets, including Pyotr Yershov and Leonid Filatov, created a number of well-known poetical interpretations of classical Russian fairy tales, and in some cases, like that of Alexander Pushkin, also created fully original fairy tale poems that became very popular.[citation needed]

Folklorists today consider the 1920s the Soviet Union's golden age of folklore. The struggling new government, which had to focus its efforts on establishing a new administrative system and building up the nation's backwards economy, could not be bothered with attempting to control literature, so studies of folklore thrived. There were two primary trends of folklore study during the decade: the formalist and Finnish schools. Formalism focused on the artistic form of ancient byliny and faerie tales, specifically their use of distinctive structures and poetic devices.[17] The Finnish school was concerned with connections amongst related legends of various Eastern European regions. Finnish scholars collected comparable tales from multiple locales and analyzed their similarities and differences, hoping to trace these epic stories' migration paths.[18]

Once Joseph Stalin came to power and put his first five-year plan into motion in 1928, the Soviet government began to criticize and censor folklore studies. Stalin and the Soviet regime repressed folklore, believing that it supported the old tsarist system and a capitalist economy. They saw it as a reminder of the backward Russian society that the Bolsheviks were working to surpass.[20] To keep folklore studies in check and prevent "inappropriate" ideas from spreading amongst the masses, the government created the RAPP the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers. The RAPP specifically focused on censoring fairy tales and children's literature, believing that fantasies and "bourgeois nonsense" harmed the development of upstanding Soviet citizens. Fairy tales were removed from bookshelves and children were encouraged to read books focusing on nature and science.[21] RAPP eventually increased its levels of censorship and became the Union of Soviet Writers in 1932.[citation needed]

In order to continue researching and analyzing folklore, intellectuals needed to justify its worth to the Communist regime. Otherwise, collections of folklore, along with all other literature deemed useless for the purposes of Stalin's Five Year Plan, would be an unacceptable realm of study. In 1934, Maksim Gorky gave a speech to the Union of Soviet Writers arguing that folklore could, in fact, be consciously used to promote Communist values. Apart from expounding on the artistic value of folklore, he stressed that traditional legends and fairy tales showed ideal, community-oriented characters, which exemplified the model Soviet citizen.[22] Folklore, with many of its conflicts based on the struggles of a labor-oriented lifestyle, was relevant to Communism as it could not have existed without the direct contribution of the working classes.[23] Also, Gorky explained that folklore characters expressed high levels of optimism, and therefore could encourage readers to maintain a positive mindset, especially as their lives changed with the further development of Communism.[18]

Yuri Sokolov, the head of the folklore section of the Union of Soviet Writers also promoted the study of folklore by arguing that folklore had originally been the oral tradition of the working people, and consequently could be used to motivate and inspire collective projects amongst the present-day proletariat.[24] Characters throughout traditional Russian folktales often found themselves on a journey of self-discovery, a process that led them to value themselves not as individuals, but rather as a necessary part of a common whole. The attitudes of such legendary characters paralleled the mindset that the Soviet government wished to instill in its citizens.[25] He also pointed out the existence of many tales that showed members of the working class outsmarting their cruel masters, again working to prove folklore's value to Soviet ideology and the nation's society at large.[26]Convinced by Gorky and Sokolov's arguments, the Soviet government and the Union of Soviet Writers began collecting and evaluating folklore from across the country. The Union handpicked and recorded particular stories that, in their eyes, sufficiently promoted the collectivist spirit and showed the Soviet regime's benefits and progress. It then proceeded to redistribute copies of approved stories throughout the population. Meanwhile, local folklore centers arose in all major cities.[27] Responsible for advocating a sense of Soviet nationalism, these organizations ensured that the media published appropriate versions of Russian folktales in a systematic fashion.[18]

Apart from circulating government-approved fairy tales and byliny that already existed, during Stalin's rule authors parroting appropriate Soviet ideologies wrote Communist folktales and introduced them to the population. These contemporary folktales combined the structures and motifs of the old byliny with contemporary life in the Soviet Union. Called noviny, these new tales were considered the renaissance of the Russian epic.[28] Folklorists were called upon to teach modern folksingers the conventional style and structure of the traditional byliny. They also explained to the performers the appropriate types of Communist ideology that should be represented in the new stories and songs[29] As the performers of the day were often poorly educated, they needed to obtain a thorough understanding of Marxist ideology before they could be expected to impart folktales to the public in a manner that suited the Soviet government. Besides undergoing extensive education, many folk performers traveled throughout the nation in order to gain insight into the lives of the working class, and thus communicate their stories more effectively.[30] Due to their crucial role in spreading Communist ideals throughout the Soviet Union, eventually some of these performers became highly valued members of Soviet society. A number of them, despite their illiteracy, were even elected as members of the Union of Soviet Writers.[31]

These new Soviet fairy tales and folk songs primarily focused on the contrasts between a miserable life in old tsarist Russia and an improved one under Stalin's leadership.[32] Their characters represented identities for which Soviet citizens should strive, exemplifying the traits of the "New Soviet Man".[33] The heroes of Soviet tales were meant to portray a transformed and improved version of the average citizen, giving the reader a clear goal for an ideal community-oriented self that the future he or she was meant to become. These new folktales replaced magic with technology, and supernatural forces with Stalin.[34] Instead of receiving essential advice from a mythical being, the protagonist would be given advice from omniscient Stalin. If the character followed Stalin's divine advice, he could be assured success in all his endeavors and a complete transformation into the "New Soviet Man".[35] The villains of these contemporary fairy tales were the Whites and their leader Idolisce, "the most monstrous idol", who was the equivalent of the tsar. Descriptions of the Whites in noviny mirrored those of the Tartars in byliny.[36] In these new stories, the Whites were incompetent, stagnant capitalists, while the Soviet citizens became invincible heroes.[37]

Once Stalin died in March 1953, folklorists of the period quickly abandoned the new folktales. Written by individual authors and performers, noviny did not come from the oral traditions of the working class. Consequently, today they are considered pseudo-folklore, rather than genuine Soviet (or Russian) folklore.[38] Without any true connection to the masses, there was no reason noviny should be considered anything other than contemporary literature. Specialists decided that attempts to represent contemporary life through the structure and artistry of the ancient epics could not be considered genuine folklore.[39] Stalin's name has been omitted from the few surviving pseudo-folktales of the period.[38] Instead of considering folklore under Stalin a renaissance of the traditional Russian epic, today it is generally regarded as a period of restraint and falsehood.[citation needed]

Russian literature is considered to be among the world's most influential and developed.[40] It can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed.[41] By the Age of Enlightenment, literature had grown in importance, with works from Mikhail Lomonosov, Denis Fonvizin, Gavrila Derzhavin, and Nikolay Karamzin.[42] From the early 1830s, during the Golden Age of Russian Poetry, literature underwent an astounding golden age in poetry, prose and drama.[43] Romanticism permitted a flowering of poetic talent: Vasily Zhukovsky and later his protg Alexander Pushkin came to the fore.[44] Following Pushkin's footsteps, a new generation of poets were born, including Mikhail Lermontov, Nikolay Nekrasov, Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Fyodor Tyutchev and Afanasy Fet.[42]

The first great Russian novelist was Nikolai Gogol.[45] Then came Ivan Turgenev, who mastered both short stories and novels.[46] Fyodor Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy soon became internationally renowned. Ivan Goncharov is remembered mainly for his novel Oblomov.[47] Mikhail Saltykov-Shchedrin wrote prose satire,[48] while Nikolai Leskov is best remembered for his shorter fiction.[49] In the second half of the century Anton Chekhov excelled in short stories and became a leading dramatist.[50] Other important 19th-century developments included the fabulist Ivan Krylov,[51] non-fiction writers such as the critic Vissarion Belinsky,[52] and playwrights such as Aleksandr Griboyedov and Aleksandr Ostrovsky.[53][54] The beginning of the 20th century ranks as the Silver Age of Russian Poetry. This era had poets such as Alexander Blok, Anna Akhmatova, Boris Pasternak, Konstantin Balmont,[55] Marina Tsvetaeva, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and Osip Mandelshtam. It also produced some first-rate novelists and short-story writers, such as Aleksandr Kuprin, Nobel Prize winner Ivan Bunin, Leonid Andreyev, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Dmitry Merezhkovsky and Andrei Bely.[42]

After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Russian literature split into Soviet and white migr parts. In the 1930s, Socialist realism became the predominant trend in Russia. Its leading figure was Maxim Gorky, who laid the foundations of this style.[56] Mikhail Bulgakov was one of the leading writers of the Soviet era.[57] Nikolay Ostrovsky's novel How the Steel Was Tempered has been among the most successful works of Russian literature. Influential migr writers include Vladimir Nabokov,[58] and Isaac Asimov; who was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers.[59] Some writers dared to oppose Soviet ideology, such as Nobel Prize-winning novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who wrote about life in the Gulag camps.[60]

Some Russian writers, like Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky, are known also as philosophers, while many more authors are known primarily for their philosophical works. Russian philosophy blossomed since the 19th century, when it was defined initially by the opposition of Westernizers, advocating Russia's following the Western political and economical models, and Slavophiles, insisting on developing Russia as a unique civilization. The latter group includes Nikolai Danilevsky and Konstantin Leontiev, the early founders of eurasianism.[citation needed]

In its further developments, Russian philosophy was always marked by a deep connection to literature and interest in creativity, society, politics and nationalism; cosmos and religion were other primary subjects. Notable philosophers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries include Vladimir Solovyov, Sergei Bulgakov, Pavel Florensky, Nikolai Berdyaev, Vladimir Lossky and Vladimir Vernadsky. In the 20th century Russian philosophy became dominated by Marxism.[citation needed]

Russia owes much of its wit to the great flexibility and richness of the Russian language, allowing for puns and unexpected associations. As with any other nation, its vast scope ranges from lewd jokes and silly word play to political satire.[citation needed]

Russian jokes, the most popular form of Russian humour, are short fictional stories or dialogues with a punch line. Russian joke culture features a series of categories with fixed and highly familiar settings and characters. Surprising effects are achieved by an endless variety of plots. Russians love jokes on topics found everywhere in the world, be it politics, spouse relations, or mothers-in-law.[citation needed]

Chastushka, a type of traditional Russian poetry, is a single quatrain in trochaic tetrameter with an "abab" or "abcb" rhyme scheme. Usually humorous, satirical, or ironic in nature, chastushkas are often put to music as well, usually with balalaika or accordion accompaniment. The rigid, short structure (and to a lesser degree, the type of humor these use) parallels limericks. The name originates from the Russian word , meaning "to speak fast".[citation needed]

Russian visual artworks are similar in style with the ones from other eastern Slavic countries like Ukraine or Belarus.[citation needed]

As early as the 12th and 13th centuries Russia had its national masters who were free of all foreign influence, i. e. that of the Greeks on the one hand, and on the other hand that of the Lombard master-masons called in Andrei Georgievich to build the Uspensky (Assumption) Cathedral in the city of Vladimir. Russia's relations with the Greek world were hampered by the Mongol invasion, and it is to the isolation arising from this that we must attribute the originality of Slavo-Russian ornamentation, which has a character of its own, quite unlike the Byzantine style and the Romanesque.[citation needed]

The history of Russian architecture begins with early woodcraft buildings of ancient Slavs, and the church architecture of Kievan Rus'.[61] Following the Christianization of Kievan Rus', for several centuries it was influenced predominantly by the Byzantine Empire.[62] Aristotle Fioravanti and other Italian architects brought Renaissance trends into Russia.[63] The 16th-century saw the development of the unique tent-like churches; and the onion dome design, which is a distinctive feature of Russian architecture.[64] In the 17th-century, the "fiery style" of ornamentation flourished in Moscow and Yaroslavl, gradually paving the way for the Naryshkin baroque of the 1690s.[citation needed]

After the reforms of Peter the Great, Russia's architecture became influenced by Western European styles. The 18th-century taste for Rococo architecture led to the splendid works of Bartolomeo Rastrelli and his followers. The most influential Russian architects of the eighteenth century; Vasily Bazhenov, Matvey Kazakov, and Ivan Starov, created lasting monuments in Moscow and Saint Petersburg and established a base for the more Russian forms that followed.[65] During the reign of Catherine the Great, Saint Petersburg was transformed into an outdoor museum of Neoclassical architecture.[66] During Alexander I's rule, Empire style became the de facto architectural style,[67] and Nicholas I opened the gate of Eclecticism to Russia. The second half of the 19th-century was dominated by the Neo-Byzantine and Russian Revival style. In early 20th-century, Russian neoclassical revival became a trend.[68] Prevalent styles of the late 20th-century were the Art Nouveau, Constructivism,[69] and Socialist Classicism.[70]

Some notable Russian buildings include:

Matryoshka doll is a Russian nesting doll. A set of Matryoshka dolls consist of a wooden figure which can be pulled apart to reveal another figure of the same sort but somewhat smaller inside. It has in turn another somewhat smaller figure inside, and so on. The number of nested figures is usually six or more. The shape is mostly cylindrical, rounded at the top for the head and tapered towards the bottom, but little else. The dolls have no extremities, (except those that are painted). The true artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate. The theme is usually peasant girls in traditional dress, but can be almost anything; for instance, fairy tales or Soviet leaders.[citation needed]

Other forms of Russian handicraft include khokhloma, Dymkovo toy, gzhel, Zhostovo painting, Filimonov toys, pisanka, Pavlovo Posad shawl, Rushnyk, and palekh.[citation needed]

Russian icons are typically paintings on wood, often small, though some in churches and monasteries may be as large as a table top. Many religious homes in Russia have icons hanging on the wall in the krasny ugol, the "red" or "beautiful" corner (see Icon Corner). There is a rich history and elaborate religious symbolism associated with icons. In Russian churches, the nave is typically separated from the sanctuary by an iconostasis (Russian ikonosts) a wall of icons. Icon paintings in Russia attempted to help people with their prayers without idolizing the figure in the painting. The most comprehensive collection of Icon art is found at the Tretyakov Gallery.[71]

The use and making of icons entered Kievan Rus' following its conversion to Orthodox Christianity from the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire in 988 AD. As a general rule, these icons strictly followed models and formulas hallowed by usage, some of which had originated in Constantinople. As time passed, the Russiansnotably Andrei Rublev and Dionisiuswidened the vocabulary of iconic types and styles far beyond anything found elsewhere. The personal, improvisatory and creative traditions of Western European religious art are largely lacking in Russia before the seventeenth century, when Simon Ushakov's painting became strongly influenced by religious paintings and engravings from Protestant as well as Catholic Europe.[citation needed]

In the mid-seventeenth century, changes in liturgy and practice instituted by Patriarch Nikon resulted in a split in the Russian Orthodox Church. The traditionalists, the persecuted "Old Ritualists" or "Old Believers", continued the traditional stylization of icons, while the State Church modified its practice. From that time icons began to be painted not only in the traditional stylized and nonrealistic mode, but also in a mixture of Russian stylization and Western European realism, and in a Western European manner very much like that of Catholic religious art of the time. The Stroganov movement and the icons from Nevyansk rank among the last important schools of Russian icon-painting.[citation needed]

A lubok (plural Lubki, Cyrillic: Russian: , ) is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories and popular tales. Lubki prints were used as decoration in houses and inns. Early examples from the late 17th and early 18th centuries were woodcuts, then engravings or etchings were typical, and from the mid-19th century lithography. They sometimes appeared in series, which might be regarded as predecessors of the modern comic strip. Cheap and simple books, similar to chapbooks,[72] which mostly consisted of pictures, are called lubok literature or (Cyrillic: Russian: ). Both pictures and literature are commonly referred to simply as lubki. The Russian word lubok derives from lub a special type of board that pictures were printed on.[citation needed]

Baba Yaga riding a pig and fighting the infernal Crocodile; 17th century

The sun, moon, seasons and 12 months in the form of signs of the zodiac; the end of the 17th-early 18th century

The Mice are burying the Cat; 18th century

Farnos the Red Nose (lubok depicting a pig-riding jester); 18th century

The Russian Academy of Arts was created in 1757 with the aim of giving Russian artists an international role and status. Notable portrait painters from the Academy include Ivan Argunov, Fyodor Rokotov, Dmitry Levitzky, and Vladimir Borovikovsky.[citation needed]

In the early 19th century, when neoclassicism and romantism flourished, famous academic artists focused on mythological and Biblical themes, like Karl Briullov and Alexander Ivanov.[citation needed]

Realism came into dominance in the 19th century. The realists captured Russian identity in landscapes of wide rivers, forests, and birch clearings, as well as vigorous genre scenes and robust portraits of their contemporaries. Other artists focused on social criticism, showing the conditions of the poor and caricaturing authority; critical realism flourished under the reign of Alexander II, with some artists making the circle of human suffering their main theme. Others focused on depicting dramatic moments in Russian history. The Peredvizhniki (wanderers) group of artists broke with Russian Academy and initiated a school of art liberated from Academic restrictions. Leading realists include Ivan Shishkin, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ivan Kramskoi, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov and Ilya Repin.[citation needed]

By the turn of the 20th century and on, many Russian artists developed their own unique styles, neither realist nor avant-garde. These include Boris Kustodiev, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Mikhail Vrubel and Nicholas Roerich. Many works by the Peredvizhniki group of artists have been highly sought after by collectors in recent years. Russian art auctions during Russian Art Week in London have increased in demand and works have been sold for record breaking prices.[citation needed]

The Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930. The term covers many separate, but inextricably related, art movements that occurred at the time; namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, rayonism, and futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Rodchenko, Pavel Filonov and Marc Chagall. The Russian avant-garde reached its creative and popular height in the period between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and 1932, at which point the revolutionary ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged conservative direction of socialist realism.[citation needed]

In the 20th century many Russian artists made their careers in Western Europe, forced to emigrate by the Revolution. Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, Naum Gabo and others spread their work, ideas, and the impact of Russian art globally.[citation needed]

During the Russian Revolution a movement was initiated to put all arts to service of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The instrument for this was created just days before the October Revolution, known as Proletkult, an abbreviation for "Proletarskie kulturno-prosvetitelnye organizatsii" (Proletarian Cultural and Enlightenment Organizations). A prominent theorist of this movement was Alexander Bogdanov. Initially, Narkompros (ministry of education), which was also in charge of the arts, supported Proletkult. Although Marxist in character, the Proletkult gained the disfavor of many party leaders, and by 1922 it had declined considerably. It was eventually disbanded by Stalin in 1932. De facto restrictions on what artists could paint were abandoned by the late 1980s.[citation needed]

However, in the late Soviet era many artists combined innovation with socialist realism including Ernst Neizvestny, Ilya Kabakov, Mikhail Shemyakin, Igor Novikov, Erik Bulatov, and Vera Mukhina. They employed techniques as varied as primitivism, hyperrealism, grotesque, and abstraction. Soviet artists produced works that were furiously patriotic and anti-fascist in the 1940s. After the Great Patriotic War Soviet sculptors made multiple monuments to the war dead, marked by a great restrained solemnity.[citation needed]

Russians have distinctive traditions of folk music. Typical ethnic Russian musical instruments are gusli, balalaika, zhaleika, balalaika contrabass, bayan accordion, Gypsy guitar and garmoshka. Folk music had great influence on the Russian classical composers, and in modern times it is a source of inspiration for a number of popular folk bands, most prominent being Golden Ring, Ural's Nation Choir, Lyudmila Zykina. Russian folk songs, as well as patriotic songs of the Soviet era, constitute the bulk of repertoire of the world-renowned Red Army choir and other popular Russian ensembles.[citation needed]

Russian folk dance (Russian: ) can generally be broken up into two main types of dances Khorovod (Russian: ), a circular game type dance where the participants hold hands, sing, and the action generally happens in the middle of circle, and Plyaska (Russian: or ), a circular dance for men and women that increases in diversity and tempo, according to Bob Renfield, considered to be the preeminent scholar on the topic. Other forms of Russian Folk Dance include Pereplyas (Russian: ), an all-male competitive dance, Mass Dance (Russian: ), an unpaired stage dance without restrictions on age or number of participants, Group Dance (Russian: ) a type of mass dance employs simple round-dance passages, and improvisation, and types of Quadrilles (Russian: ), originally a French dance brought to Russia in the 18th century.[73]

Ethnic Russian dances include khorovod (Russian: ), barynya (Russian: ), kamarinskaya (Russian: ), kazachok (Russian: ) and chechotka (Russian: ) (a tap dance in bast shoes and with a bayan).[74] Troika (Russian: ) A dance with one man and two women, named after the traditional Russian carriage which is led by three horses. Bear Dance or dancing with bears (Russian: ) Dates back to 907 when Great Russian Prince Oleg, in celebration of his victory over the Greeks in Kiev, had as entertainment, 16 male dancers dress as bears and four bears dress as dancers .[75][76] Dances with dancers dressed as bears are a recurring theme, as seen a recording of the Omsk Russian Folk Chorus.[77] One of the main characteristics of Russian furious dances is the Russian squat dance elements.[78][79]

Until the 18th-century, music in Russia consisted mainly of church music and folk songs and dances.[80] In the 19th-century, it was defined by the tension between classical composer Mikhail Glinka along with other members of The Mighty Handful, and the Russian Musical Society led by composers Anton and Nikolay Rubinstein.[80] The later tradition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, was continued into the 20th century by Sergei Rachmaninoff, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music.[81] World-renowned composers of the 20th century include Alexander Scriabin, Alexander Glazunov, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich, Georgy Sviridov and Alfred Schnittke.[80]

Soviet and Russian conservatories have turned out generations of world-renowned soloists. Among the best known are violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer,[82][83] cellist Mstislav Rostropovich,[84] pianists Vladimir Horowitz,[85] Sviatoslav Richter,[86] and Emil Gilels,[87] and vocalist Galina Vishnevskaya.[88]

The original purpose of the ballet in Russia was to entertain the imperial court. The first ballet company was the Imperial School of Ballet in St. Petersburg in the 1740s. The Ballets Russes was a ballet company founded in the 1909 by Sergey Diaghilev, an enormously important figure in the Russian ballet scene. Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide.[89] The headquarters of his ballet company was located in Paris, France. A protg of Diaghilev, George Balanchine, founded the New York City Ballet Company in 1948.[citation needed]

During the early 20th century, Russian ballet dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame. Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions,[90] and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced one internationally famous star after another, including Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Mariinsky in Saint Petersburg remain famous throughout the world. ballet from then on spead world wide.[91]

The first known opera made in Russia was A Life for the Tsar by Mikhail Glinka in 1836. This was followed by several operas such as Ruslan and Lyudmila in 1842. Russian opera was originally a combination of Russian folk music and Italian opera. After the October revolution many opera composers left Russia. Russia's most popular operas include Boris Godunov, Eugene Onegin, The Golden Cockerel, Prince Igor, and The Queen of Spades.[citation needed]

During the Soviet times, popular music also produced a number of renowned figures, such as the two balladeersVladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava,[92] and performers such as Alla Pugacheva.[93] Jazz, even with sanctions from Soviet authorities, flourished and evolved into one of the country's most popular musical forms.[92] The Ganelin Trio have been described by critics as the greatest ensemble of free-jazz in continental Europe.[94] By the 1980s, rock music became popular across Russia, and produced bands such as Aria, Aquarium,[95] DDT,[96] and Kino.[97] Pop music in Russia has continued to flourish since the 1960s, with globally famous acts such as t.A.T.u.[98] In the recent times, Little Big, a rave band, has gained popularity in Russia and across Europe.[99] Other modern music can be found in the media, such as Youtube. For example, the song "Moscow, Moscow," is extremely popular among memes and other means of entertainment.

Russian and later Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention, resulting in world-renowned films such as The Battleship Potemkin.[101] Soviet-era filmmakers, most notably Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, would go on to become among of the world's most innovative and influential directors.[102][103] Eisenstein was a student of Lev Kuleshov, who developed the groundbreaking Soviet montage theory of film editing at the world's first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography.[104] Dziga Vertov's "Kino-Eye" theory had a huge impact on the development of documentary filmmaking and cinema realism.[105] Many Soviet socialist realism films were artistically successful, including Chapaev, The Cranes Are Flying, and Ballad of a Soldier.[citation needed]

The 1960s and 1970s saw a greater variety of artistic styles in Soviet cinema. The comedies of Eldar Ryazanov and Leonid Gaidai of that time were immensely popular, with many of the catchphrases still in use today.[106][107] In 196168 Sergey Bondarchuk directed an Oscar-winning film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace, which was the most expensive film made in the Soviet Union.[108] In 1969, Vladimir Motyl's White Sun of the Desert was released, a very popular film in a genre of ostern; the film is traditionally watched by cosmonauts before any trip into space.[109] In 2002, Russian Ark was the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take.[110] Today, the Russian cinema industry continues to expand.[111]

Russia also has a long and rich tradition of animation, which started already in the late Russian Empire times. Most of Russia's cartoon production for cinema and television was created during Soviet times, when Soyuzmultfilm studio was the largest animation producer. Soviet animators developed a great and unmatched variety of pioneering techniques and aesthetic styles, with prominent directors including Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Fyodor Khitruk and Aleksandr Tatarskiy. Soviet cartoons are still a source for many popular catch phrases, while such cartoon heroes as Russian-style Winnie-the-Pooh, cute little Cheburashka, Wolf and Hare from Nu, Pogodi! being iconic images in Russia and many surrounding countries. The traditions of Soviet animation were developed in the past decade by such directors as Aleksandr Petrov and studios like Melnitsa, along with Ivan Maximov.[citation needed]

Russia has almost 37 thousand media outlets, over 35 thousand newspapers,[112] and 12 thousand magazines.[113] The largest internationally operating news agencies in Russia are TASS, RIA Novosti, and Interfax.[114] Television is the most popular media in Russia, as 99% of the Russian population receives at least one television channel,[112] and roughly 60% of Russians watch television on a daily basis.[115] The most watched TV channels in Russia include the state-owned Russia-1, Channel One Russia, NTV, REN TV, and Russia Today.[113] Popular nationwide radio stations in Russia include Radio Rossii, Echo of Moscow, Radio Mayak, Radio Yunost, and Russkoye Radio.[113]

Originating from Russian scientific community and telecommunication industries, a specific Russian culture of using the Internet has been established since the early 1990s. In the second half of the 1990s, the term Runet was coined to call the segment of Internet written or understood in the Russian language. Whereas the Internet "has no boundaries", "Russian Internet" (online communications in the Russian language) can not be localized solely to the users residing in the Russian Federation as it includes Russian-speaking people from all around the world. This segment includes millions of users in other ex-USSR countries, Israel and others abroad diasporas.[116]

With the introduction of the Web, many social and cultural events found reflections within the Russian Internet society. Various online communities formed, and the most popular one grew out of the Russian-speaking users of the California-based blogging platform LiveJournal (which was completely bought out in December 2007 by Russian firm SUP Fabrik).[117] In January 2008 a LiveJournal blog of the "3rd statesman" Sergey Mironov had appeared and he was shortly followed by the new President Dmitry Medvedev who opened a personal video blog which was later also expanded with a LiveJournal version.[citation needed]

As of late, there are scores of websites offering Russian language content including mass media, e-commerce, search engines and so on. Particularly notorious are the "Russian Hackers".[118] Russian web design studios, software and web-hosting enterprises offer a variety of services, and the results form a sort of national digital culture. E-commerce giants such as Google and Microsoft have their Russian branches. In September 2007, the national domain .ru passed the milestone of a million domain names.[119] By the end of the 2000s, VKontakte social network became the most populated in the Runet.[citation needed]

Russia's research and development budget is the world's ninth-highest, with an expenditure of approximately 422 billion rubles on domestic research and development.[120] In 2019, Russia was ranked tenth worldwide in the number of scientific publications.[121] Russia ranked 45th in the Global Innovation Index in 2021.[122] Since 1904, Nobel Prize were awarded to twenty-six Soviets and Russians in physics, chemistry, medicine, economy, literature and peace.[123]

Mikhail Lomonosov proposed the conservation of mass in chemical reactions, discovered the atmosphere of Venus, and founded modern geology.[124] Since the times of Nikolay Lobachevsky, who pioneered the non-Euclidean geometry, and a prominent tutor Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematicians became among the world's most influential.[125] Dmitry Mendeleev invented the Periodic table, the main framework of modern chemistry.[126] Sofya Kovalevskaya was a pioneer among women in mathematics in the 19th century.[127] Nine Soviet/Russian mathematicians have been awarded with the Fields Medal. Grigori Perelman was offered the first ever Clay Millennium Prize Problems Award for his final proof of the Poincar conjecture in 2002, as well as the Fields Medal in 2006, both of which he infamously declined.[128][129]

Alexander Popov was among the inventors of radio,[130] while Nikolai Basov and Alexander Prokhorov were co-inventors of laser and maser.[131] Zhores Alferov contributed significantly to the creation of modern heterostructure physics and electronics.[132] Oleg Losev made crucial contributions in the field of semiconductor junctions, and discovered light-emitting diodes.[133] Vladimir Vernadsky is considered one of the founders of geochemistry, biogeochemistry, and radiogeology.[134] lie Metchnikoff is known for his groundbreaking research in immunology.[135] Ivan Pavlov is known chiefly for his work in classical conditioning.[136] Lev Landau made fundamental contributions to many areas of theoretical physics.[137]

Nikolai Vavilov was best known for having identified the centers of origin of cultivated plants.[138] Trofim Lysenko was known mainly for Lysenkoism.[139] Many famous Russian scientists and inventors were migrs. Igor Sikorsky was an aviation pioneer.[140] Vladimir Zworykin was the inventor of the iconoscope and kinescope television systems.[141] Theodosius Dobzhansky was the central figure in the field of evolutionary biology for his work in shaping the modern synthesis.[142] George Gamow was one of the foremost advocates of the Big Bang theory.[143] Many foreign scientists lived and worked in Russia for a long period, such as Leonard Euler and Alfred Nobel.[144][145]

Roscosmos is Russia's national space agency. The country's achievements in the field of space technology and space exploration can be traced back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical astronautics, whose works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such as Sergey Korolyov, Valentin Glushko, and many others who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program in the early stages of the Space Race and beyond.[147]:67,333

In 1957, the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik1, was launched. In 1961, the first human trip into space was successfully made by Yuri Gagarin. Many other Soviet and Russian space exploration records ensued. In 1963, Valentina Tereshkova became the first and youngest woman in space, having flown a solo mission on Vostok 6.[148] In 1965, Alexei Leonov became the first human to conduct a spacewalk, exiting the space capsule during Voskhod 2.[149]

In 1957, Laika, a Soviet space dog, became the first animal to orbit the Earth, aboard Sputnik 2.[150] In 1966, Luna9 became the first spacecraft to achieve a survivable landing on a celestial body, the Moon.[151] In 1968, Zond 5 brought the first Earthlings (two tortoises and other life forms) to circumnavigate the Moon.[152] In 1970, Venera7 became the first spacecraft to land on another planet, Venus.[153] In 1971, Mars3 became the first spacecraft to land on Mars.[154]:3460 During the same period, Lunokhod 1 became the first space exploration rover,[155] while Salyut1 became the world's first space station.[156] Russia had 176 active satellites in space in 2021,[157] the world's third-highest.[158]

Not only the minorities in Russia but the Russian culture as a whole has in the different regions of the country like in Northwest Russia, Central Russia, Southern Russia, Siberian Russia, Volga Russia, Ural Russia, Far East Russia and the Russian North Caucasus and their Oblasts own local traditions and characteristics which were developed over a long period of time through strong ethno-cultural interactions within the various groups and communities, like Slavs, Tatars and Finno-Ugrics.[159]

Traditional Russian clothes include kaftan, a cloth which Old Russia had in common with similar robes in the Ottoman Empire, Scandinavia and Persia.[160] Kosovorotka, which was over a long time of period a traditional holidays blouse worn by men.[161] Ushanka for men, which design was influenced in 17th century when in central and northern Russia a hat with earflaps called treukh was worn. Sarafan which is connected to the Middle East region and were worn in Central- and Northern regions of Old Russia. In Southern Russia burka and papaha are connected to the Cossacks which, in turn, is culturally connected to the people of the Northern Caucaus. Kokoshnik for women was primarily worn in the northern regions of Russia in the 16th to 19th centuries. Lapti and similar shoes were mostly worn by poorer members in Old Russia and northern regions where Slavic, Baltic and Finno-Ugric people lived. Valenki are traditional Russian shoes from 18th century designs which originally originated in the Great steppe, from Asian nomads.[citation needed] Russian traditional cloths and its elements still have a high priority in today's Russia, especially in pagan Slavic communities, folk festivals, Cossack communities, in modern fashion and Russian music ensembles.[citation needed]

Russian cuisine has been formed by climate, cultural and religious traditions, and the vast geography of the nation; and it shares similarities with the cuisines of its neighbouring countries. Crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provide the ingredients for various breads, pancakes and cereals, as well as for many drinks.[162] Bread, of many varieties,[163] is very popular across Russia.[164] Flavourful soups and stews include shchi, borsch, ukha, solyanka, and okroshka. Smetana (a heavy sour cream) and mayonnaise are often added to soups and salads.[165][166] Pirozhki, blini, and syrniki are native types of pancakes. Beef Stroganoff, Chicken Kiev, pelmeni,[167] and shashlyk are popular meat dishes.[168] Other meat dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls (golubtsy) usually filled with meat.[169] Salads include Olivier salad,[170] vinegret,[171] and dressed herring.[172]

Russia's national non-alcoholic drink is kvass,[173] and the national alcoholic drink is vodka, which was created in the nation in the 14th century.[174] The country has the world's highest vodka consumption,[175] while beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage.[176] Wine has become increasingly popular in Russia in the 21st century.[177] Tea has also been a historically popular beverage in Russia.[178]

Russia has eight, diversepublic, patriotic, and religiousofficial holidays.[179] The year starts with New Year's Day on January 1, soon followed by Russian Orthodox Christmas on January 7; the two are the country's most popular holidays.[180] Defender of the Fatherland Day, dedicated to men, is celebrated on February 23;[181] International Women's Day, dedicated to women, on March 8;[182] and Spring and Labor Day, originally a Soviet era holiday dedicated to workers; on May 1.[183]

Victory Day, which honors Soviet victory over Nazi Germany and the End of World War II in Europe, is celebrated as an annual large parade in Moscow's Red Square;[184] and marks the famous Immortal Regiment civil event.[185] Other patriotic holidays include Russia Day on June 12, celebrated to commemorate Russia's declaration of sovereignty from the collapsing Soviet Union;[186] and Unity Day on November 4, commemorating the uprising which marked the end of the PolishLithuanian occupation of Moscow.[187]

Popular non-public holidays include Old New Year on 14 January;[188] Tatiana Day on 25 January, dedicated to students;[189] Maslenitsa, an ancient and popular East Slavic folk holiday;[190] Cosmonautics Day on 12 April, in tribute to the first human trip into space;[191] Kupala Night on 67 July, a traditional Slavic holiday;[192] and Peter and Fevronia Day. Two major Christian holidays are Easter and Trinity Sunday.[193] The Scarlet Sails is a famous public event held annually during the White Nights Festival in Saint Petersburg.[194]

Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia's traditional religions, deemed part of Russia's "historical heritage" in a law passed in 1997.[195]Estimates of believers widely fluctuate among sources, and some reports put the number of non-believers in Russia as high as 48-67% of the population.[196] Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia.[197] 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches.[198] However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Nonetheless, the church is widely respected by both believers and nonbelievers, who see it as a symbol of Russian heritage and culture.[199] Smaller Christian denominations such as Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorians, and various Protestants exist.

The ancestors of many of today's Russians adopted Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century.[199] The 2007 International Religious Freedom Report published by the US Department of State said that approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians.[200] According to a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 63% of respondents considered themselves Russian Orthodox, 6% of respondents considered themselves Muslim and less than 1% considered themselves either Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant or Jewish. Another 12% said they believe in God, but did not practice any religion, and 16% said they are non-believers.[201]

The steppe culture of the Russian Cossacks originated from nomadic steppe people which merged with Eastern Slavic people groups into large communities. The early Cossack communities emerged in the 14th century, the first, among others, were the Don Cossacks. Other Cossack communities that have played an important role in Russia's history and culture are the Ural Cossacks, Terek Cossacks, Kuban Cossacks, Orenburg Cossacks, Volga Cossacks, Astrakhan Cossacks, Siberian Cossacks, Transbaikal Cossacks, Amur Cossacks, Ussuri Cossacks. Cossacks defended the Russian borders and expanded Russia's territory. The regions of the large Cossack communities enjoyed many freedoms in Tsarist Russia. The culture of the Cossacks became an important part of Russian culture, many Russian songs and various elements in dances and Russia's culture in general were much shaped by the Cossack communities.[202]

The forest plays a very important role in Russia's culture and history. The forest had a great influence on the characteristics of Russian people and their cultural creations. Many myths of Russian culture are closely intertwined with the forest. Various of the early Slavic and other tribes built their houses out of wood so that the forest influenced the style of Russian architecture significantly. The handcraft Hohloma which originated in the Volga region is made out of wood and depicts numerous plants of the forest, like the berry Viburnum opulus (Russian: , Kalina), flowers and leaves. Many Russian fairy tales play in the forest and fictional characters like Baba Yaga are strongly connected to Russian wood culture. The forest is also an important subject of many Russian folk songs.[203][204][205]

Russian walking culture

Strolling or walking (Russian: , gulyat') is very common in the Russian society. In contrast to many western countries strolling is very common among young people in Russia. Young people often arrange just to go for a walk.[206][207] Besides the verb, the experience itself, which describes the time span of the walk, is called progulka (Russian: ).[208] Walking is so important in Russian culture that gulyat' is also a synonym for "to party".[209][210][self-published source?]

Mushroom hunting and berry picking

Activities in the forest where people pick mushrooms and berries are very common in Russia.Mushrooms (Russian: , griby) have been an important part of Russian folk culture at least since the 10th century and an essential part of Russian meals. There are more than 200 kinds of edible mushrooms in Russia. Mushrooms were always considered magical and so they play a prominent role in Russian fairy tales. The ability to identify and prepare edible mushrooms is often passed on from generation to generation. The mushroom hunting tradition is especially common in Slavic-speaking and Baltic countries. The berry (Russian: , yagoda) also plays an important role in Russian folk culture and is often part of Russian craftsmanship, folk songs and national costumes. The cranberry was known in Europe for centuries as the "Russian berry". To pick mushrooms and berries in forests is a kind of meditation in Russia.[211][212][213][214][215]

Historically, Russian athletes have been one of the most successful contenders in the Olympic Games,[217] ranking second in an all-time Olympic Games medal count.[218] Russia is the leading nation in rhythmic gymnastics; and Russian synchronized swimming is considered to be the world's best.[219] Figure skating is another popular sport in Russia, especially pair skating and ice dancing.[220] Russia has produced a number of famous tennis players.[221] Chess is also a widely popular pastime in the nation, with many of the world's top chess players being Russian for decades.[222] The 1980 Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow,[223] and the 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 Winter Paralympics were hosted in Sochi.[224][225]

As the Soviet Union, Russia was traditionally very strong in basketball, winning Olympic tournaments, World Championships and Eurobasket. As of 2009 they have various players in the NBA, notably Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko, and are considered as a worldwide basketball force. In 2007, Russia defeated world champions Spain to win Eurobasket 2007. Russian basketball clubs such as PBC CSKA Moscow (numerous Euroleague Champions) have also had great success in European competitions such as the Euroleague and the ULEB Cup.[citation needed]

Although ice hockey was only introduced during the Soviet era, the national team soon dominated the sport internationally, winning gold at seven of the nine Olympics and 19 of the 30 World Championships they contested between 1954 and 1991. Russian players Valeri Kharlamov, Sergei Makarov, Viacheslav Fetisov and Vladislav Tretiak hold four of the six positions on the IIHF Team of the Century.[226] As with some other sports, the Russian ice hockey programme suffered after the breakup of the Soviet Union, with Russia enduring a 15-year gold medal drought. At that time many prominent Russian players made their careers in the National Hockey League (NHL). In recent years Russia has reemerged as a hockey power, winning back to back gold medals in the 2008 and 2009 World Championships, and overtaking Team Canada as the top ranked ice hockey team in the world, but then lost to Canada in the quarter-finals of the 2010 Olympics and 2010 World Junior Championship.[227] The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) was founded in 2008 as a rival of the NHL.[citation needed]

Bandy, known in Russian as "hockey with a ball" and sometimes informally as "Russian hockey" (as opposed to "Canadian hockey", an informal name for ice hockey), is another traditionally popular ice sport, with national league games averaging around 3,500 spectators.[228] It's considered a national sport.[229] The Soviet Union national bandy team won all the Bandy World Championships from 1957 to 1979. The Russian team is the reigning world champion since the 2014 tournament, having defended the title in 2015.[citation needed]

Football is the most popular sport in Russia.[230] The Soviet Union national football team became the first European champions by winning Euro 1960,[231] and reached the finals of Euro 1988.[232] In 1956 and 1988, the Soviet Union won gold at the Olympic football tournament. Russian clubs CSKA Moscow and Zenit Saint Petersburg won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and 2008.[233][234] The Russian national football team reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008.[235] Russia was the host nation for the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup,[236] and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.[237]

Russia has an extensive history of martial arts. Some of its best-known forms include the fistfight, Sambo, and Systema with its derivatives Ryabko's Systema and Retuinskih's System ROSS. Undefeated lightweight UFC champion Khabib Nurmagomedov is from Makhachkala and was called by President Vladimir Putin following his victory over Conor McGregor.[citation needed]

State symbols of Russia include the Byzantine double-headed eagle, combined with St. George of Moscow in the Russian coat of arms; these symbols date from the time of the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The Russian flag appeared in the late Tsardom of Russia period and became widely used during the era of the Russian Empire. The current Russian national anthem shares its music with the Soviet Anthem, though not the lyrics (many Russians of older generations don't know the new lyrics and sing the old ones). The Russian imperial motto God is with us and the Soviet motto Proletarians of all countries, unite! are now obsolete and no new motto has been officially introduced to replace them. The Hammer and sickle and the full Soviet coat of arms are still widely seen in Russian cities as a part of old architectural decorations. Soviet Red Stars are also encountered, often on military equipment and war memorials. The Soviet Red Banner is still honored, especially the Banner of Victory of 1945.[citation needed]

The Matryoshka doll is a recognizable symbol of Russia, while the towers of Moscow Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow are main Russia's architectural symbols. Cheburashka is a mascot of Russian national Olympic team. Mary, Saint Nicholas, Saint Andrew, Saint George, Saint Alexander Nevsky, Saint Sergius of Radonezh, Saint Seraphim of Sarov are Russia's patron saints. Chamomile is a flower that Russians often associate with their Motherland, while birch is a national tree. The Russian bear is an animal often associated with Russia, though this image has Western origins and Russians themselves do not consider it as a special symbol. The native Russian national personification is " " Mother Motherland (the statue of it located on the Mamay hill " " in Volgograd /former Stalingrad/), called Mother Russia at the West.[citation needed]

Tourism in Russia has seen rapid growth since the late Soviet times, first inner tourism and then international tourism as well. Rich cultural heritage and great natural variety place Russia among the most popular tourist destinations in the world. The country contains 29 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, while many more are on UNESCO's tentative lists.[238] Major tourist routes in Russia include a travel around the Golden Ring of ancient cities, cruises on the big rivers like Volga, and long journeys on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway. Diverse regions and ethnic cultures of Russia offer many different food and souvenirs, and show a great variety of traditions, like Russian banya, Tatar Sabantuy, or Siberian shamanist rituals.[citation needed]

Most popular tourist destinations in Russia are Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the current and the former capitals of the country and great cultural centers, recognized as World Cities. Moscow and Saint Petersburg feature such world-renowned museums as Tretyakov Gallery and Hermitage, famous theaters like Bolshoi and Mariinsky, ornate churches like Saint Basil's Cathedral, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Church of the Savior on Blood, impressive fortifications like Moscow Kremlin and Peter and Paul Fortress, beautiful squares like Red Square and Palace Square, and streets like Tverskaya and Nevsky Prospect. Rich palaces and parks of extreme beauty are found in the former imperial residences in suburbs of Moscow (Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno) and Saint Petersburg (Peterhof, Strelna, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, Pavlovsk Palace, Tsarskoye Selo). Moscow contains a great variety of impressive Soviet-era buildings along with modern skyscrapers, while Saint Petersburg, nicknamed Venice of the North, boasts of its classical architecture, many rivers, channels and bridges.[citation needed]

Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, shows a unique mix of Christian Russian and Muslim Tatar cultures. The city has registered a brand The Third Capital of Russia, though a number of other major Russian cities compete for this status, like Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod, all being major cultural centers with rich history and prominent architecture. Veliky Novgorod, Pskov and the cities of Golden Ring (Vladimir, Yaroslavl, Kostroma and others) have at best preserved the architecture and the spirit of ancient and medieval Rus', and also are among the main tourist destinations. Many old fortifications (typically Kremlins), monasteries and churches are scattered throughout Russia, forming its unique cultural landscape both in big cities and in remote areas.[citation needed]

The warm subtropical Black Sea coast of Russia is the site for a number of popular sea resorts, like Sochi, known for its beaches and wonderful nature. At the same time Sochi can boast a number of major ski resorts, like Krasnaya Polyana; the city is the host of 2014 Winter Olympics and the 2014 Winter Paralympics. The mountains of the Northern Caucasus contain many other popular ski resorts, like Dombay in KarachayCherkessia.[citation needed]

The most famous natural tourist destination in Russia is Lake Baikal, named the Blue Eye of Siberia. This unique lake, oldest and deepest in the world, has crystal-clean waters and is surrounded by taiga-covered mountains.[citation needed]

Other popular natural destinations include Kamchatka with its volcanoes and geysers, Karelia with its many lakes and granite rocks, Altai with its snowy mountains and Tyva with its wild steppes.[citation needed]

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Culture of Russia - Wikipedia

The earliest human settlements in Russia arrived around A.D. 500, as Scandinavians (what is now Norway, Denmark, and Sweden) moved south to areas around the upper Volga River. These settlers mixed with Slavs from the west and built a fortress that would eventually become the Ukrainian city of Kiev.

Kiev evolved into an empire that ruled most of European Russia for 200 years, then broke up into Ukraine, Belarus, and Muscovy. Muscovy's capital, Moscow, remained a small trading post until the 13th century, when Mongol invaders from central Asia drove people to settle in Moscow.

In the 1550s, Muscovite ruler Ivan IV became Russia's first tsar, or emperor, after driving the Mongols out of Kiev and unifying the region. In 1682, 10-year-old Peter the Great and his older brother, Ivan, both became tsar (though Peters aunt and Ivans mother, Sophia, was in charge). Soon after, Sophia was overthrown, and Peter was considered by most to be the real tsar, though he allowed his brother to keep his official position. For 42 years, Peter worked to make Russia more modern and more European.

In 1762, Peter took a trip to Germany, and his wife, Catherine, named herself the sole ruler of Russia. Just six months later the tsar diedperhaps on his wifes orders. Now known as Catherine the Great, the empress continued to modernize Russia; supported arts and culture; and expanded its territory, claiming Ukraine, Crimea, Poland, and other places. She ruled for 34 years.

In 1917, Russians unhappy with their leadership overthrew Tsar Nicholas II and formed an elected government. Just a few months later, though, a communist group called the Bolsheviks seized power. Their leader, Vladimir Lenin, created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R., or the Soviet Union) uniting Russia and 11 other countries.

The Soviet Union fought on the side of the United States in World War II, but relations between the two powers and their allies became strained soon after the war ended in 1945. The United States and many of its allies were worried about the spread of communism, the type of government the Soviet Union was. (In a communist society, all property is public and people share the wealth that they create.)

These concerns led to the Cold War, a long period of tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States. That ended in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke up after many of its republicssuch as Ukraine, Lithuania, and Estoniadecided they didnt want to be part of the communist country anymore.

During this time, Boris Yeltsin became president, and Russia went through many changes. Instead of the government being controlled by the Communist party, people were elected to serve in a representative democracy with many political parties. Private businesses were now allowed to function instead of the government controlling most everything. Citizens had also had new political and cultural freedoms to express themselves without fear of breaking the law.

Yeltsin was reelected in 1996, but his bad health prevented him from completing his term. He resigned a few years later and named his prime minister, Vladimir Putin, to replace him as acting president.

In 2000, Putin was formally elected by the citizens of Russia. In the first years of his presidency, Putin continued many of Yeltsins reforms and supported the United States in the war on terror after the attacks on September 11, 2001. But he got rid of some of the cultural freedoms and took control of national television networks. This allowed his government to influence news reports.

Putin was elected to a second term in 2004. But as in the United States, he couldnt serve more than two consecutive four-year terms. So in 1998 he appointed an aide, Dmitri Medvedev, to take his place as prime minister. Many believe that Putin still ruled Russia from behind the scenes during this time.

In 2012, Putin ran again for president and won. But he wasnt as popular among the people, and citizens protested against unfair elections. His government arrested many political opponents and called the protesters traitors to Russia who wanted to be more like the West, especially the United States.

In 2014, Russian troops invaded the Crimean Peninsula, an area of land in southern Ukraine bordered by the Black Sea. Putin said that the people of Crimea had voted for independence from Ukraine.

Many Ukrainians and leaders from several other countries didn't like Putins actions and thought the "vote" wasn't real. But in March of that year, Putin signed a treaty with some Crimean leaders that said that Crimea was part of Russia. Ukrainian officials announced that they would not recognize the agreement and still considered Crimea part of Ukraine, not Russia.

Russian forces remained in Crimea to keep Ukraine from taking it back. Later in 2014, fights along the eastern border broke out between Ukrainians and Russian-backed rebels who wanted all of Ukraine to become part of Russia.

In 2019, comedian and actor Volodymyr Zelensky was elected president of Ukraine. Zelensky ran on a platform of uniting the country and ending border battles in the east with Russia. To help with that, the United States planned to give Ukraine millions of dollars in military aid to help fight the Russian occupations.

In July 2019, U.S. president Donald Trump was accused of withholding those funds unless Zelensky investigated Trumps political rival,Joe Biden. He refused, and Trump was eventually impeached, or formally accused of misconduct in office, by the U.S. House of Representatives over these claims. (Ukraine received the aid later in the year.)

RUSSIA INVADESIn February 2022, Putin announced an invasion on the country and sent troops to take over major cities, including the capital, Kyiv. Ukrainian citizens have been fighting back against the attacks, and Zelensky has vowed to remain in the country and fight until Ukraine regains its freedom.

Many world leaders strongly condemned Putins actions, and some punished Russia by stopping trade with the country or putting travel bans in place. The hope is that these punishmentscalled sanctionswill hurt Putin and Russia enough to stop the fighting before the war spreads into other European nations.

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Russia - Geography

Russian President Vladimir Putin has claimed that Moscow is ready for talks to end the 10-month war in Ukraine, as he slammed Western countries for trying to tear apart the historical Russia.

Putins comments, aired on Sunday, came amid continued Russian bombardment of Ukrainian towns, including in the Kharkiv and Zaporizhia regions and were immediately dismissed by a senior official in Kyiv. The United States has also previously described Putins stance as insincere because of the ongoing assaults.

In the interview aired on Moscows Rossiya 1 television, Putin said, we are ready to negotiate with everyone involved about acceptable solutions. But that is up to them we are not the ones refusing to negotiate, they are, he said.

An adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, however, said Putin needed to return to reality and acknowledge it was Russia that did not want talks.

Russia single-handedly attacked Ukraine and is killing citizens, the adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, tweeted. Russia doesnt want negotiations, but tries to avoid responsibility.

Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, with the stated aim of toppling the so-called neo-nazi regime in Ukraine, triggering the deadliest European conflict since World War Two and the biggest confrontation between Moscow and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.

The Russian leader said the West had begun the conflict in 2014 by toppling a pro-Moscow Ukrainian president in the Maidan Revolution protests. Soon after, Russia annexed Crimea, and Russian-backed separatist forces began fighting in eastern Ukraine.

Actually, the fundamental thing here is the policy of our geopolitical opponents which is aimed at tearing apart Russia, historical Russia, Putin said, referring to a concept that argues that Ukrainians and Russians are one people.

They [the West] have always tried to divide and conquer Our goal is something else to unite the Russian people, he said.

We are acting in the right direction, we are protecting our national interests, the interests of our citizens, of our people, he added.

When asked if the geopolitical conflict with the West was approaching a dangerous level, Putin said: I dont think its so dangerous.

The remarks come as Ukraine announced a country-wide air raid alert twice on Sunday.

Three missiles hit the city of Kramatorsk in the partially-occupied Donetsk region in the afternoon, local officials reported later. The missiles hit an industrial area of the city, and there were no casualties, according to the Ukrainian governor of Donetsk, Pavlo Kyrylenko.

Ukraines top military command also reported 10 Russian attacks on the Kupiansk district in the Kharkiv region. It said Moscows forces shelled more than 25 towns along the Kupiansk-Lyman front line and hit nearly 20 others in the Zaporizhia region.

A day before, a Russian attack on the southern city of Kherson, retaken by Ukrainian forces last month, killed and wounded dozens of people. The Russian forces shelled Ukrainian-held areas of the partially-occupied Kherson region 71 times over the past 24 hours, including 41 attacks on the city of Kherson, the regions Ukrainian Governor Yaroslav Yanushevich reported on Sunday.

A total of 16 people have been killed, according to the official, including three emergency workers killed in the process of demining the Berislav district of the region. Yanushevich said that 64 more have been wounded.

Meanwhile, relentless Russian attacks on power-generating facilities since October have regularly left millions of Ukrainians without heat and water.

The Kremlin has said it will fight until all its territorial aims are achieved, while Ukraine says it will not rest until every Russian soldier is ejected from the country.

Putin on Sunday described Russia as a unique country and said the vast majority of its people were united in wanting to defend it.

As for the main part the 99.9 percent of our citizens, our people who are ready to give everything for the interests of the Motherland there is nothing unusual for me here, he said.

This just once again convinces me that Russia is a unique country and that we have an exceptional people. This has been confirmed throughout the history of Russias existence.

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Putin ready for talks as Russian missiles rain down on Ukraine

This article is about the federal constituent units. For the grouping of regions by a Presidential Decree, see Federal districts of Russia.

Constituent entities of Russia

Oblasts (provinces)

Republics

Krais (territories)

Autonomous Okrugs (with a substantial ethnic minority)

Federal cities

Autonomous Oblast

The federal subjects of Russia, also referred to as the subjects of the Russian Federation (Russian: , romanized:subyekty Rossiyskoy Federatsii) or simply as the subjects of the federation (Russian: , romanized:subyekty federatsii), are the constituent entities of Russia, its top-level political divisions according to the Constitution of Russia.[1] Kaliningrad Oblast is the only federal subject geographically separated from the rest of the Russian Federation by other countries.

According to the Russian Constitution, the Russian Federation consists of republics, krais, oblasts, cities of federal importance, an autonomous oblast and autonomous okrugs, all of which are equal subjects of the Russian Federation.[1] Three Russian cities of federal importance (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Sevastopol) have a status of both city and separate federal subject which comprises other cities and towns (Zelenograd, Troitsk, Kronstadt, Kolpino, etc.) within each federal citykeeping older structures of postal addresses. In 1993, the Russian Federation comprised 89federal subjects. By 2008 the number of federal subjects had decreased to83 because of several mergers. In 2014 after being annexed from Ukraine, Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea were announced as the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia, a move that was internationally unrecognized.[2][3] During the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, four Ukrainian oblasts were annexed by Russia, however they remain internationally recognized as part of Ukraine and are only partially occupied by Russia.[4]

Every federal subject has its own head, a parliament, and a constitutional court. Each federal subject has its own constitution or charter and legislation, although the authority of these organs differ. Subjects have equal rights in relations with federal government bodies.[1] The federal subjects have equal representationtwo delegates eachin the Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly. They do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy; republics are offered more autonomy.

Post-Soviet Russia formed during the history of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the USSR and did not change at the time of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. In 1992, during so-called "parade of sovereignties", separatist sentiments and the War of Laws within Russia, the Russian regions signed the Federation Treaty (Russian: Federativny dogovor),[5] establishing and regulating the current inner composition of Russia, based on the division of authorities and powers among Russian government bodies and government bodies of constituent entities. The Federation Treaty was included in the text of the 1978 Constitution of the Russian SFSR. The current Constitution of Russia, adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993, came into force on 25 December 1993 and abolished the model of the Soviet system of government introduced in 1918 by Vladimir Lenin and based on the right to secede from the country and on unlimited sovereignty of federal subjects (in practice secession was never allowed), which conflicts with the country's integrity and federal laws. The new constitution eliminated a number of legal conflicts, reserved the rights of the regions, introduced local self-government and did not grant the Soviet-era right to secede from the country. In the late 1990s and early 2000s the political system became de jure closer to other modern federal states with a republican form of government in the world. In the 2000s, following the policies of Vladimir Putin and of the ruling United Russia party, the Russian parliament changed the distribution of tax revenues, reduced the number of elections in the regions and gave more power to the federal authorities.

An official government translation of the constitution of Russia from Russian to English uses the term "constituent entities of the Russian Federation". For example, Article5 reads: "The Russian Federation shall consist of republics, krays, oblasts, cities of federal significance, an autonomous oblast and autonomous okrugs, which shall have equal rights as constituent entities of the Russian Federation."[1] A translation provided by Garant-Internet instead uses the term "subjects of the Russian Federation".[6]

Tom Fennell, a translator, told the 2008 American Translators Association conference that "constituent entity of the Russian Federation" is a better translation than "subject".[7] This was supported by Tamara Nekrasova, Head of Translation Department at Goltsblat BLP, saying in a 2011 presentation at a translators conference that "constituent entity of the Russian Federation is more appropriate than subject of the Russian Federation (subject would be OK for a monarchy)".[8]

republic

kray

Each federal subject belongs to one of the following types.

2 unrecognized

3 unrecognized

1 unrecognized

a. ^ The largest city is also listed when it is different from the capital/administrative centre.

b. ^ According to Article13 of the Charter of Leningrad Oblast, the governing bodies of the oblast are located in the city of St.Petersburg. However, St.Petersburg is not officially the administrative centre of the oblast.

c. ^ According to Article24 of the Charter of Moscow Oblast, the governing bodies of the oblast are located in the city of Moscow and throughout the territory of Moscow Oblast. However, Moscow is not officially the administrative centre of the oblast.

d. ^ Internationally recognized as a part of Ukraine.

e. ^ In February 2000, the former code of 20 for the Chechen Republic was cancelled and replaced with code 95. License plate production was suspended due to the Chechen Wars, causing numerous issues, which in turn forced the region to use a new code.

f. ^ Claimed, but only partially controlled by Russia.

g. ^ As Russia only partially controls the region, this is a claimed figure.

Starting in 2005, some of the federal subjects were merged into larger territories. In this process, six very sparsely populated subjects (comprising in total 0.3% of the population of Russia) were integrated into more populated subjects, with the hope that the economic development of those territories would benefit from the much larger means of their neighbours. The merging process was finished on 1 March 2008. No new mergers have been planned since March 2008. The six territories became "administrative-territorial regions with special status". They have large proportions of minorities, with Russians being a majority only in three of them. Four of those territories have a second official language in addition to Russian: Buryat (in two of the merged territories), Komi-Permian, Koryak. This is an exception: all the other official languages of Russia (other than Russian) are set by the Constitutions of its constituent Republics (Mordovia, Chechnya, Dagestan etc.). The status of the "administrative-territorial regions with special status" has been a subject of criticism because it does not appear in the Constitution of the Russian Federation.

In addition to those six territories that entirely ceased to be subjects of the Russian Federation and were downgraded to territories with special status, another three subjects have a status of subject but are simultaneously part of a more populated subject:

With an estimated population of 49348 as of 2018, Chukotka is currently the least populated subject of Russia that is not part of a more populated subject. It was separated from Magadan Oblast in 1993. Chukotka is one of the richest subjects of Russia (with a Gross Regional Product [GRP] per capita equivalent to that of Australia) and therefore does not fit in the pattern of merging a subject to benefit from the economic dynamism of the neighbour.

In 1992, Ingushetia separated from Chechnya, both to stay away from the growing violence in Chechnya and as a bid to obtain the Eastern part of Northern Ossetia (it did not work: the Chechen conflict spread violence to Ingushetia, and North Ossetia retained its Prigorodny District). Those two Muslim republics, populated in vast majority (95%+) by closely related Vainakh people, speaking Vainakhish languages, remain the two poorest subjects of Russia, with the GRP per capita of Ingushetia being equivalent to that of Iraq. According to 2016 statistics, however they are also the safest regions of Russia, and also have the lowest alcohol consumption, with alcohol poisoning at least 40 times lower than the national average.[16][17]

Until 1994, Sokolsky District, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast was part of Ivanovo Oblast.

In 20112012, the territory of Moscow increased by 140% (to 2,511km2 (970sqmi)) by acquiring part of Moscow Oblast.

On 13 May 2020, the governors of Arkhangelsk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug announced their plan to merge following the collapse of oil prices stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.[18][19] The process was scrapped on 2 July due to its unpopularity among the population.[20]

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Federal subjects of Russia - Wikipedia

The U.S. Commercial Service Russia suspended operations on July 15, 2021, due to the Russian governments ban on locally employed staff. While the Commerce Department hopes to re-open its Moscow, Russia office in the future, Russias invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has severely affected bilateral commercial relations.

Initial trade statistics from the months following the invasion indicated a 70-80% drop in U.S. exports to Russia, and the long-term effects of sanctions, export controls, and other U.S. government measures affecting trade remain uncertain.

As the situation on the Russian-Ukrainian border has escalated, culminating in the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, the U.S. Government has responded by imposing new sanctions and export controls on Russian entities and individuals.

These new sanctions and export controls have significant implications for U.S. exporters working in the Russian market. The Office of Russia, Ukraine, and Eurasia (ORUE) is available for consultations about USG informational resources available to U.S. companies. Please contact Policy Team Lead Tanner Johnsonand Russia Desk Officer Agnes Pawelkowskafor more information.

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Russia - International Trade Administration

National flag of Russia

The national flag of Russia (Russian: , romanized:Flag Rossii), also known as the State Flag of the Russian Federation (Russian: , romanized:Gosudarstvenny flag Rossiyskoy Federatsii), is a tricolour flag consisting of three equal horizontal fields: white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The flag was first used as an ensign for Russian merchant ships in 1696.

It remained in use until 1858, when the first official flag of the Russian Empire was decreed by Alexander II, which was a tricolour consisting of three horizontal fields: black on the top, yellow in the middle, and white on the bottom. A decree in 1896 reinstated the white, blue, and red tricolour as the official flag of the Russian Empire until the Revolution of 1917.

Following the creation of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic after the Bolshevik Revolution, the Russian tricolour was abolished, but its usage was preserved by the White Movement and the Russian state during the Russian Civil War. During the Soviet Union's existence, the country used the red flag with a golden hammer and sickle and a golden bordered red star on top while the Russian SFSR (a constituent republic of the USSR) used a defaced variant with a vertical blue bar at the hoist.

During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, after the 1991 August Coup, the Russian SFSR adopted a new flag design similar to the pre-revolutionary tricolour that had been abolished in 1917. The ratio of the new flag was 1:2, and the flag colours consisted of white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. When Boris Yeltsin made the State Heraldic Register, he gave the flag the number 1 there. The flag design remained the same until 1993, when the original Russian tricolour was fully restored as the current flag after the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis.[citation needed] The current flag is listed at number 2 in the SHR.

Two accounts of the flag's origin connect it to the tricolour used by the Dutch Republic (the flag of the Netherlands).[1][2]

The earliest mention of the flag occurs during the reign of Alexis I, in 1668, and is related to the construction of the first Russian naval ship, the frigate Oryol. According to one source, the ship's Dutch lead engineer Butler faced the need for the flag, and issued a request to the Boyar Duma, to "ask His Royal Majesty as to which (as is the custom among other nations) flag shall be raised on the ship". The official response merely indicated that, as such issue is as yet unprecedented, even though the land forces do use (apparently different) flags, the tsar ordered that his (Butler's) opinion be sought about the matter, asking specifically as to the custom existing in his country.[3]

A different account traces the origins of the Russian flag to tsar Peter the Great's visits to Arkhangelsk in 1693 and 1694. Peter was keenly interested in shipbuilding in the European style, different from the barges ordinarily used in Russia at the time. In 1693, Peter had ordered a Dutch-built frigate from Amsterdam. In 1694 when it arrived, the Dutch red, white, and blue banner flew from its stern.[4] Peter decided to model Russia's naval flag after that banner by assigning meaning and reordering the colours.

The Dutch flag book of 1695 by Carel Allard,[5] printed only a year after Peter's trip to Western Europe, describes the tricolour with a double-headed eagle bearing a shield on its breast and wearing a golden crown over both of its heads.

A study on clarifying the national colours of Russia based on disquisition on documents of the Moscow Archive of Ministry of Justice of the Russian Empire was summarized by Dmitry Samokvasov, a Russian archaeologist and legal historian, in an edition of 16 pages called "On the Question of National Colours of Ancient Russia" published in Moscow in 1910.[6]

In 1552, Russian regiments marched on the victorious assault of Kazan under Ivan the Terrible with the banner of the Most Gracious Saviour. For the next century and a half, the banner of Ivan the Terrible accompanied the Russian army. Under Tsarina Sophia Alekseevna, it visited the Crimean campaigns, and under Peter the Great, the Azov campaigns and the Russo-Swedish War.

In the Illustrated Chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, there is an image of the banner of Ivan the Terrible in the Kazan campaign a bifurcated white one with the image of the Saviour and an eight-pointed cross above it. According to other sources, the banner was red instead of white. A copy of this banner, which has been restored many times, is still kept in the Kremlin Armoury.

In 1612, the Nizhny Novgorod militia raised the banner of Dmitry Pozharsky, it was crimson in colour with the image of the Lord Almighty on one side and the archangel Michael on the other.

In 1669, the Polish painters Stanislav Loputsky and Ivan Mirovsky invited by Tsar Alexis of Russia, painted for the tsar's palace in Kolomenskoye "the hallmarks (that is, the emblems) of the sovereigns and all the universal states of this world." Then Loputsky drew "on the canvas, the coat of arms of the Moscow State and the arms of other neighbouring countries, under every emblem of the planet under which they are." The coat of arms was a white rectangular banner with a "slope" and a wide red border, in the centre of which was depicted a gold two-headed eagle and the emblems symbolizing the subject kingdoms, principalities and lands. In the inventory of the Kremlin Armoury, the coat of arms is described as the following: "In the circle there is a two-headed eagle wearing two crowns, and in his chest, the king on horseback pricks a serpent with his spear".[7]

On 6 August 1693, during Peter the Great's sailing in the White Sea with a detachment of warships built in Arkhangelsk, the so-called "Flag of the Tsar of Muscovy"[8] was raised for the first time on the 12-gun yacht "Saint Peter". The flag was a cross-stitch of 4.6x4.9 meters sewn from cloth, composed of three equal-sized horizontal stripes of white, blue and red, with a golden double-headed eagle in the middle.[9] The original of this oldest surviving Russian flag is located in the Central Naval Museum in Saint Petersburg.

A 1695 flag book[10] by Carel Allard describes three flags used by the tsar of Muscovy: the tricolour[11] with the double-headed eagle bearing a shield on its breast and wearing a golden crown over both of its heads, the same tricolour[12] with a blue saltire over it, and a cross flag[13] showing red and white quartering with a blue cross over all.[14] The cross flag is depicted upon the Construction of Kronschloss Medal,[15] which commemorates the construction of Fort Kronschlot (Kronschloss) in Kronstadt by Peter the Great in 1704, the colours of the flag being determined according to the hatchings engraved.

The armorial banner of Peter the Great was created in 1696. Made from red taffeta with a white border, the flag depicted a golden eagle hovering over the sea. On the chest of the eagle in the circle is the Saviour, next to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul. The banner was likely made for the second Azov campaign.[16]

In 1693, Franz Timmerman received the order to build merchant ships in Arkhangelsk and trade with Europe. He was told to display the two-headed eagle spread with wings, with three crowns over it. On the chest of the eagle, a warrior on horseback was to be displayed with a spear, in a military harness. The same eagle was also to hold a sceptre with the right leg and an apple with a crest with the left. The same instructions were given to other traders.[17]

According to Dutch newspapers, in June 1694, a 44-gun frigate bought by Russia and built in Rotterdam stood in the Amsterdam roadstead under the white-blue-red flag.[18]

In 1696, at the mouth of the river Don, a Russian flotilla of armed rowboats blocked the supply of the Ottoman fortress of Azov. On the 1700 engraving by Adrian Shkhonebek, Taking the fortress of Azov. 1696, depicts the ships carrying rectangular panels on the flagpoles, the heraldic shading of which shows that some of the flags are blue with a straight red cross, and the rest are white with a straight red cross. A number of researchers doubt the accuracy of Shkonebek's engraving because he was not a witness to the events.[19]

Images of various white-blue-red Russian flags are present in the three later paintings of Abraham Storck's workshop dedicated to the arrival in Amsterdam of Peter I. Peter I took part in a practice battle on the river IJ while on board the yacht of the Dutch East India Company.[20] In the paintings of Abraham Stork depicting the show fight, this yacht sails under the white-blue-red flag with a double-headed eagle, or under a white-red-blue pennant and a white-red-blue aft flag with a double-headed eagle.

In October 1699, Peter I, on the back of the sheet with instructions sent to the Russian envoy Yemelyan Ukraintsev in Istanbul, drew a sketch of a three-band white-blue-red flag.[21]

In December 1699, the Austrian ambassador Anton Paleyer gave a list of weapons and flags seen on the vessels of the Azov Flotilla in a letter. He described seeing three small flags of white-red-blue colours and two regimental colours of red and white mixed in with other colours.[22]

In April 1700, Peter I ordered the Kremlin Armoury to build white-red-violet sea banners.[23] The design and dimensions of these banners correspond to the figure and the size of the regimental banner kept among the other 352 trophy Russian banners in the burial vault of Swedish kings the Riddarholm Church in Stockholm.[24]

The three-band white-blue-red flag, as well as the flag with a red Jerusalem cross, were also used on warships up to 1720 as signals.[25]

Flag with a Jerusalem Cross, 1693

White-red-violet banners ordered by Peter I and captured by Swedes during the Battle of Narva in 1700

Philipp Heinrich Mller, Construction of Kronschloss Medal, 1704

Black-and-white sketch of the flag, 1885

Order by Tsar Alexander II on the official flag of the Russian Empire

The Russian tricolour flag was adopted as a merchant flag at rivers in 1705. These colours of the flag of Russia would later inspire the choice of the "Pan-Slavic colours" by the Prague Slavic Congress, 1848. Two other Slavic countries, Slovakia and Slovenia, have flags similar to the Russian one, but with added coats-of-arms for differentiation. On 7 May 1883, the Russian flag was authorized to be used on land, and it became an official National flag before the coronation of Tsar Nicholas II in 1896.

The flag continued to be used by the Russian Provisional Government after the Tsar was toppled in the February Revolution and was not replaced until the October Revolution which established the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.

On 8 April 1918, the flag of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was discussed at a meeting of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR. The Council proposed that the All-Russian Central Executive Committee create a red flag with the abbreviation for the phrase Workers of the world, unite! However, the proposal was not adopted. On 13 April 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee established the RSFSR flag to be a red banner with the inscription Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic. The text of the decree did not contain any clarification regarding the colour, size and location of the inscription, or the width and length ratio of the cloth.

On 17 June 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee approved a sample image of the flag of the RSFSR, developed on behalf of the People's Commissariat for Foreign Affairs of the Russian SFSR by the graphic artist Sergey Chekhonin. The flag was a red rectangular panel, in the upper corner of which was placed the inscription RSFSR in gold letters stylized as Slavic. This inscription was separated from the rest of the cloth on both sides by gold stripes forming a rectangle.

On 30 December 1922, the RSFSR combined with the Ukrainian SSR, Byelorussian SSR, and Transcaucasian SFSR to form the Soviet Union. The national flag of the USSR was established on 18 April 1924, described in the Constitution of the USSR as a red or scarlet rectangular cloth with a 1:2 width to length ratio, with a gold sickle and hammer in the top corner next to the flagpole and a red five-pointed star framed with a golden border. This flag was carried by all ships of the USSR and diplomatic representations of the USSR. The 1:2 red flag was used, until replaced in 1954 with the universal design of the Soviet flag with a blue stripe along the mast.

Contrary to the belief that the USSR state flag outranked the flag of the RSFSR, the actual use of the USSR flag was limited. The USSR flag in Russia flew only over two buildings, that of the Central Executive Committee of the Soviet Union and the Council of People's Commissars. That decision was adopted on 23 March 1925, also establishing that the flag of the RSFSR had to be raised constantly not only on the buildings of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars but also on the buildings of all local soviets, including village soviets and district soviets in cities. On holidays, the RSFSR flag had to be raised on many public buildings (such as schools, hospitals, and government offices).[27]

During the Second World War, the white-blue-red tricolour was used by Nazi collaborators, most of whom were from groups targeted by the repressions of the Stalin era, including anti-communist Christians and the remnants of the Kulaks, who generally regarded the Nazi invasion as a liberation of Russia from communism to preserve White Christendom. Thus, in the war, the troops known as the Russian Liberation Army, led by Andrey Vlasov, who was allied with Germany against the Soviet Union, flew the tricolour flag, as well as the St Andrew's Flag, as they fought against the Soviet Army.[28][29]

On 20 January 1947, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR found it necessary to amend the national flags of the allied republics so that the flags reflected the idea of a Soviet Union state as well as the unique national identities of the republics. On each of the flags was placed the emblem of the USSR, a sickle and a hammer with a red five-pointed star, with the inclusion of national ornaments and new colours.[30] The new RSFSR flag was established in January 1954: a red rectangular panel with a light blue strip near the pole running the full width of the flag. In the upper left corner of the red canvas were depicted a golden sickle and a hammer and above them a red five-pointed star framed with a golden border. By the Law of the RSFSR of 2 June 1954, this flag was approved and the description of the flag was included in Article 149 of the Constitution of the RSFSR.[31]

During the dissolution of the Soviet Union, after the 1991 August Coup, the Russian SFSR adopted a new flag design similar to the pre-revolutionary tricolour that had been abolished in 1917. The ratio of the new flag was 1:2, and the flag colours consisted of white on the top, blue in the middle, and red on the bottom. The flag design remained the same until 1993, when the original Russian tricolour was fully restored as the current flag after the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis.[citation needed] Following the events of the attempted coup in Moscow, the supreme soviet of the Russian SFSR declared, by resolution dated 22 August 1991,[32] that the old imperial tricolour flag serve as the national flag of the state. The constitution was subsequently amended by Law No. 1827-1 1 November 1991.[33] At the disintegration of the USSR on 25 December 1991, the Soviet flag was lowered from Kremlin and then replaced by the tricolour flag.

The modern era flag underwent a proportion change from 1:2 to 2:3 in 1993 and has been most recently provided for by a 2000 law.[34] On 11 December 1993, President of the Russian Federation Boris Yeltsin signed Decree No. 2126 "On the State Flag of the Russian Federation".[35] In Article 1 of the decree, the flag was described as a "rectangular panel of three equal horizontal stripes: the top white, middle blue, and bottom red, with a width to length ratio of 2:3."

The National Flag Day is an official holiday in Russia, established in 1994. It is celebrated on 22 August, the day of the victory over putschists in 1991, but employees remain at work.

At the times of Alexander III of Russia the official interpretation was as follows: the white color symbolizes nobility and frankness; the blue for faithfulness, honesty, impeccability, and chastity; and the red for courage, generosity, and love. A common unofficial interpretation was: Red: Great Russia, White: White Russia, Blue: Little Russia.[36]

When the Russian flag and the flags of the Russian federal subjects are flown at the same time, the national flag should be:

The flag cannot be smaller, or lower than a regional flag.[37]

Federal constitutional law of the Russian Federation only says that the colours of the flag are "white", "blue" (, or dark blue, as Russian has two colours that are called "blue" in English), and "red". The Federal Constitutional Law on the State Flag of the Russian Federation does not actually specify which shades the colours should be. Russian government agencies when ordering the manufacture of cloth for the flag indicate the following Pantone colours: white, blue (Pantone 286C), and red (Pantone 485C).[38][39][40]

The album of national flags, published by the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Russian Navy, gives the following shades of colours of the flag of Russia in Pantone:[43]

The colours following are for the old, Post-Soviet flag of Russia:

A variant of the flag was authorized for private use by Tsar Nicholas II before World War I, adding the large state eagle on a yellow field (imperial standard) in the canton. It has never been used as the official state flag. Likewise, today some Russian people may use another variant of the flag defaced with the double-headed eagle from the coat of arms in the middle and the golden word at the bottom.[44]

After the October Revolution of 1917, the tricolour design was banned, and a definitive new flag of the RSFSR (one of the constituent republics of the Soviet Union) was introduced in 1954 (see flag of Russian SFSR), and this remained the republic's flag until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. All of the Soviet Republics' flags were created by introducing a small but noticeable change to the flag of the Soviet Union. For Russia, the change was an introduction of the left-hand blue band. The previous Soviet design was different, a plain red flag with different variants of the "RSFSR" abbreviation in the canton. Today, the Soviet flag is used by the supporters and members of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation.

The tricolour was used by the anticommunist forces during the Civil War called the White movement. It was continued to be used by White migrs in various countries as the Russian flag. The tricolour was associated both in Soviet Russia as well as the Russian White emigre communities as symbolizing a traditional tsarist Orthodox Russia. It, as well as the naval ensign of the Imperial Russian Navy was used by anticommunist Russian troops under German command during the Second World War. Both flags can be seen inside a few Orthodox churches in the West established by the Russian communities. In the Soviet Union, this flag was used in films set in the prerevolutionary period and was seen as a historical flag, especially after the 1940s.

It, rather than the black-yellow-white colour combination, was readopted by Russia on 22 August 1991. That date is celebrated yearly as the national flag day.[citation needed]

The President of Russia uses a Presidential Standard (Russian: ), which was introduced via Presidential Decree No.319 on 15 February 1994, it is officially defined as the square tricolour with the coat of arms (in this case the double-headed eagle is depicted without the shield) in the middle.[45][46]

The Flag of Russia is represented as the Unicode emoji sequence U+1F1F7 REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER R and U+1F1FA REGIONAL INDICATOR SYMBOL LETTER U, making "".[47]

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Flag of Russia - Wikipedia

KYIV, Ukraine Ukraines Air Defense Forces say Russia attacked several regions of Ukraine with missiles on Wednesday afternoon, again targeting the countrys battered power grid as winter weather approaches.

Authorities said Ukrainian soldiers shot down four Russian cruise missiles and 10 Iranian-made drones during the attack.

Air raid sirens rang out for more than three hours in Kyiv, sending many people into the capital's subway stations for shelter.

Russian attacks have become part of daily life in the capital. Some people kept working on their computers underground, some took chairs and blankets with them.

The mayor of Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, announced that the so-called heating season when authorities pump heat to urban buildings will begin on Thursday, several days earlier than usual.

Klitschko said the early step was being taken so that Kyiv residents do not overload the beleaguered power supply system by turning on electric heaters and air conditioning units.

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KEY DEVELOPMENTS:

Russia tightens Ukraine energy squeeze; launches evacuation

Russias Iranian drones complicate Israels balancing act

Berlusconi says Russias Putin gifted him vodka, sweet note

EXPLAINER: Killer drones vie for supremacy over Ukraine

As Russia strikes power plants, Ukrainians brace for winter

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OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

COPENHAGEN, Denmark Norways domestic security agency has taken charge of an investigation into drone sightings near key infrastructure sites, after the airport in the countrys second-largest city briefly closed Wednesday after locals spotted at least one drone.

Hedvig Moe, deputy chief at PST, the intelligence agencys acronym, said there was an elevated intelligence threat from Russia and that Russia is in a pressed situation as a result of the war and is isolated by sanctions over its war in Ukraine.

We are in a tense security-political situation, and at the same time a complex and unclear threat picture that can change in a relatively short time, she said.

Story continues

Also, a man with dual Russian and British citizenship was jailed for two weeks on suspicion of flying drones on Norways Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, news reports said.

Under Norwegian law, it is prohibited for aircraft operated by Russian companies or citizens to land on, take off from or fly over Norwegian territory. Norway is not a member of the European Union but mirrors its moves.

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KYIV, Ukraine Thousands of residents were hastily leaving the Russian-occupied city of Kherson on Wednesday on ferries and buses after local Russian-backed authorities announced a mass evacuation.

Konstantin, a city resident who asked for his last name to be withheld for security reasons, said thousands of people have lined up in a queue expecting to leave.

It looks more like a panic rather than an organized evacuation -- people are buying the last remaining groceries in grocery shops and are running to the Kherson River port, where thousands of people are already waiting, Konstantin told the AP. (The Russian-backed authorities) are just taking people away and are not saying where exactly.

Konstantin described columns of military vehicles driving around the city and civilian trucks carrying archives of documents belonging to Russian-installed government to the left bank of the Dnieper River.

Mostly its the pro-Russian officials, state employees, families with children and the elderly who are fleeing, Konstantin said. People are scared by talks of explosions, missiles and a possible blockade of the city.

An operator of a hotline Russian-installed officials in Kherson set up said the shelling of the city could start in the coming hours.

Khersons Russian-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo said that entry to Kherson will be closed for at least seven days.

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MOSCOW Russian President Vladimir Putin is imposing martial law in the four regions that Moscow recently annexed from Ukraine.

He also granted emergency powers to the heads of other Russian regions Wednesday.

Putin didnt immediately spell out the measures that would be taken under the martial law. But Russian legislation envisages that it may involve restrictions on travel and public gatherings and tighter censorship, as well as giving broader powers to law enforcement agencies.

Putin didnt spell out the extra powers to be given to the heads of Russian regions under his decree, in moves that were the latest sign that the fighting in Ukraine isnt going his way.

The Russian leader also declared that a Coordination Committee will be set up to improve communication between various government agencies dealing with the fighting in Ukraine, which he continued to call the special military operation.

The upper house of the Russian parliament is set to approve Putins decision later Wednesday.

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MOSCOW The Russian military claims it has defeated a Ukrainian attempt to seize control of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Lt. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said that Ukrainian forces early Wednesday used 37 boats in an attempted landing to take over the plant located on the left bank of the Dnieper River.

He said that Russian forces thwarted the attack and destroyed the landing party.

Konashenkovs claim couldnt be independently confirmed. Ukrainian officials made no immediate comment.

The Zaporizhzhia plant, which is Europes largest nuclear facility, was seized by Russian forces early during the conflict. It has seen relentless shelling in areas close to the plant, triggering fears of a possible nuclear catastrophe.

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TEHRAN, Iran Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has hinted at Tehrans hand in supplying Russia with bomb-carrying suicide drones that Moscows forces are deploying in Ukraine.

Speaking to students in Tehran on Wednesday, Khamenei touched on Irans drone program.

On building advanced missile and drone equipment, (our enemies) had said they are photoshopped when their photos were published, Khamenei said. Now they say that Iranian drones are very dangerous and ask why do you sell them.

Iran has denied supplying Russia with drones, even though the ones now used on the battlefield have been identified by Ukraine and Western nations as Shahed-136 drones, a triangle-shaped drone previously attributed to Iran.

The leader of Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard previously hinted that Tehran had sold weapons to world powers as well.

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KYIV, Ukraine A senior Ukrainian official is accusing Russian-installed officials of staging a propaganda show by evacuating civilians from occupied Kherson, painting Ukraine as the aggressor.

Kherson, with a capital of the same name, is one of four regions illegally annexed by Russia last month. Local officials loyal to Moscow are telling civilians to leave the city of Kherson because advancing Ukrainian forces will shell residential areas.

The head of Ukraines presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said Wednesday in a message on Telegram that the Russians are trying to scare the people of Kherson with fake newsletters about the shelling of the city by our army.

Yermak said it was a rather primitive tactic, given that the (Ukrainian) armed forces do not fire at Ukrainian cities.

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MOSCOW The top Russian military commander in Ukraine has acknowledged that his troops in the south have faced difficulties amid the recent Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Gen. Sergei Surovikin claimed in televised remarks Wednesday that Ukraine was pressing its offensive in the southern Kherson region without regard for casualties.

Surovikin claimed that the Ukrainian military could unleash massive rocket and artillery barrages on the city of Kherson as well as striking a dam in Kakhovka.

Surovikin described the situation for the Russian troops in the region as quite difficult.

Russian war bloggers have interpreted Surovikins statement as a warning about a possible Russian troop pullback from Kherson.

Ukrainian forces have relentlessly struck two main crossings across the Dnieper, making them inoperable and raising supply challenges for the Russian troops in Kherson and other areas on the right bank of the river.

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Russian-installed authorities in occupied Ukraine reportedly are sending text messages urging residents of the southern city of Kherson to evacuate, amid the approach of Ukrainian forces.

Russias state news agency RIA Novosti reported Wednesday that one message said there will be shelling of residential areas by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, though there was no independent verification of that claim. The message promised buses starting from 7 a.m. to the left bank of the Dnieper River, toward Russia.

Kherson, with a capital of the same name, is one of four regions illegally annexed by Russia last month. It was one of the first Ukrainian cities seized in Russias Feb. 24 invasion.

The regions Moscow-appointed head, Vladimir Saldo, said Tuesday that Russian troops are building large-scale defensive fortifications.

On Friday, too, Saldo had urged Kherson residents to evacuate to Russia. Russian authorities are promising free travel and accommodation to those who leave.

Russian-backed officials have said evacuations from occupied territories are voluntary. In many cases, the only route out is to Russia.

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KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian officials said Wednesday that Russian shelling has killed at least six civilians and injured 16 over the previous 24 hours.

The Ukrainian presidents office said the Russian army attacked nine southeastern regions of Ukraine using drones, rockets and heavy artillery. It said the attacks focused on the destruction of energy facilities.

In Kryvyi Rih, there is no electricity in several districts of the city, several pumping stations of local water utilities have been cut off power, resulting in water shortages, according to a report by the presidents office.

Four cities were attacked around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Residential buildings in Nikopol, Marhanets, Chervonohryhorivka, located on the opposite bank of the Dnieper, were damaged.

The mayor of Enerhodar, Dmytro Orlov, said that as a result of the shelling in the city where the workers of the nuclear power plant live, electricity and water were partially lost.

Fighting for Bakhmut, in the eastern Donetsk region, is also continuing, with four cities along the front line under fire.

The Mykolaiv region was attacked by the Iranian kamikaze drones, of which The Ukrainian army shot down more than a dozen, preventing any damage.

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KYIV, Ukraine Russias military is pressing on with its strategy of targeting Ukraines energy infrastructure, leaving people without power in scores of cities and towns as the war approaches its eight-month milestone.

Shelling overnight Tuesday and into Wednesday morning in Energodar, the closest city to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, knocked out the power and water supply in some of the citys districts.

Early reports said the shelling damaged one of the citys electrical substations, Energodars mayor Dmytro Orlov said.

Critical infrastructure was attacked with Russian S-300 missiles in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to Regional Governor Oleksandr Starukh.

Russian forces also heavily shelled two areas in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, taking out the power supply in several towns and villages.

In his nightly video address, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged people to use power sparingly.

Anyone and everyone who follows this simple rule for peak hours is helping the entire country, he said.

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KYIV, Ukraine Russian ground forces have conducted limited attacks in border areas in the northern Kharkiv region.

Ukrainian forces on Wednesday reported repelling the Russian offensives in small settlements about 50 kilometers outside the regional capital, Kharkiv, close to the Russian border.

The small-scale ground attacks suggest that Moscow may retain territorial aspirations in the Kharkiv region despite taking massive losses in Ukraines counteroffensive last month, according to analysts from the Institute for the Study of War, a think tank based in Washington, D.C.

The nature of this limited incursion is unclear, but it may suggest that Russian troops are continuing offensive operations near the border, the analysts said. Considering the current, constantly degrading state of Russian offensive capabilities in Ukraine, Russian troops are very unlikely to make any gains in this area.

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KYIV, Ukraine Ukrainian soldiers have shot down 13 Iranian-made drones over the southern Mykolaiv region.

Thats according to the Ukrainian Air Force, which said Russian forces launched attacks in two waves on Tuesday night.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Ukrainian soldiers who shot down some of the missiles and Iranian-made drones targeted to damage energy facilities.

Zelenskyy highlighted that the German IRIS-T system is already integrated into Ukrainians air defense system and showed itself well in fending off Russian attacks.

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Gen. Sergei Surovikin, commander of Russian forces in Ukraine, told reporters in Moscow on Tuesday that the situation in the southern Kherson region was very difficult, and that civilians from some areas should be evacuated ahead of an expected Ukrainian offensive.

Surovikin alleged that Ukraine planned to attack infrastructure, including a dam at a hydroelectric plant.

Therefore, first of all, the Russian army will ensure the safe, already announced departure of the population under the relocation program being prepared by the Russian government, Surovikin said.

As for the city of Kherson, he said, I will say this again: It is already very difficult as of today.

It was one of the clearest acknowledgments yet by Russia that it was evacuating civilians in occupied territories because of advancing Ukrainian troops. Kherson is one of four regions illegally annexed by Russia last month.

Regional head Vladimir Saldo said Tuesday that residents of Berislav, Belozersky, Snigiryovsky and Alexandrovsky were to be moved across the Dnipro River, away from Russian troops building large-scale defensive fortifications.

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The USG has escalated sanctions on Russia since 2014 in response to Russias incursions into and invasion of Ukraine, cyber-attacks,malign influence,use of chemical weapons, and election meddling.

Most economic sanctions are imposed using authority delegated to the President in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) and the National Emergencies Act (NEA). Under IEEPA, the President generally issues an executive order declaring a national emergency under the NEA; sets out the legal bases upon which the Secretary of the Treasury or other officials (Secretary of State, etc.) may designate specific foreign persons who will be subject to the sanctions; and establishes the types of transactions or other prohibitions that shall apply to designated persons.

Please see the section U.S. Export Controls for more detailed information on the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) and the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS).

The State Department develops and implements foreign policy-related sanctions adopted to counter threats to national security posed by particular activities and countries. State also builds international diplomatic support for implementation of economic sanctions, provides foreign policy guidance to the Department of Treasury and Commerce on sanctions implementation, and works with Congress to draft legislation that advances U.S. foreign policy goals in these areas. The Department of the Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) plays a primary role in administering and enforcing many U.S. economic sanctions programs. In coordination with the Department of State, OFAC issues licenses where appropriate for a variety of goods, services and transactions. The Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is responsible for developing export control policies and issuing export licenses for particular goods/end users/destinations as appropriate in consultation with the Departments of State, Defense, and Energy.

Most U.S. sanctions imposed before the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine were in response to Russias 2014 invasion and annexation of Ukraines Crimea region and Russias support for conflict in eastern Ukraine. The basis for these Ukraine-related sanctions is a series of Executive Orders (EOs 13660, 13661, 13662, and 13685) that were issued in 2014 and codified by the Countering Russian Influence in Europe and Eurasia Act of 2017 (CRIEEA; P.L. 115-44, Title II; 22 U.S.C. 9501 et seq.), a part of the broader Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). These Executive Orders provided for sanctions against those that the President determined to have undermined Ukraines security and stability, misappropriated Ukrainian state assets, or conducted business, trade, or investment in occupied Crimea. They also provided for sanctions against any Russian government officials and those who offer them support, and persons who operate in the Russian arms sector or other key sectors of the Russian economy.

Sectoral sanctions apply to specific entities in Russias financial, energy, and defense sectors. U.S. persons are restricted from engaging in specific transactions with these designated entities. Restrictions applied to new equity investment and financing for entities in Russias financial sector; and new financing for identified entities in Russias energy and defense sectors. Sectoral sanctions also prohibit U.S. trade related to the development of Russian deep-water, Arctic offshore, or shale projects that have the potential to produce oil and, as amended by CRIEEA, such projects worldwide in which those entities have an ownership interest of at least 33% or a majority of voting interests.

The United States revised CAATSA Section 232 guidance in July 2020, opening up the possibility of sanctions on entities facilitating the completion of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. Several Russian entities and ships involved with the construction and pipelaying of Nord Stream 2 have been sanctioned, and the U.S. Congress considered a number of proposals related to Nord Stream 2 with potential sanctions implications for Russian entities and their partners on the Nord Stream 2 and Turkstream projects.

In addition to Ukraine-related sanctions, the United States maintains certain sanctions in response to malicious cyber activities, under EO 13694, as amended by EO 13757 (and codified by CRIEEA). These measures target Russian individuals and entities that have engaged in cyberattacks against critical infrastructure, for financial or commercial gain, to significantly disrupt availability of computers or networks, or for the purpose of interfering with U.S. election processes and institutions. CRIEEA, at Section 224, enlarged the scope of cyber-related activities subject to sanctions to include a range of activities conducted on behalf of the Russian government that undermine cybersecurity against any person, including a democratic institution, or government.

The Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-208, Title IV; 22 U.S.C. 5811 note) requires the President to impose sanctions on persons he identifies (U.S. Sanctions on Russia: An Overview http://www.crs.gov | 7-5700) as having been involved in either a criminal conspiracy uncovered by Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky or his subsequent imprisonment and death. The act also requires the President to impose sanctions on those he finds have committed human rights abuses against individuals who are fighting to expose the illegal activity of Russian government officials or seeking internationally recognized human rights and freedoms.

The Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014, as amended (SSIDES; P.L. 113-95; 22 U.S.C. 8901 et seq.), requires sanctions on those responsible for serious human rights abuses in any territory forcibly occupied or otherwise controlled by the Russian government. In November 2018, the Administration designated three persons for human rights abuses in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine.

Use of a Chemical Weapon: In August 2018, the United States determined that Russia used a chemical weapon in violation of international law in the March 2018 nerve agent attack on a British citizen and his daughter. This finding triggered the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW Act, P.L. 102-182, Title III; 22 U.S.C. 5601 et seq.). The CBW Act requires the President to terminate most foreign aid, arms sales, export licenses for controlled goods and services, and government-backed financial assistance. The second round of CBW sanctions announced in August 2019, prohibited U.S. banks participation in the primary market for non-ruble denominated bonds issued by Russia and lending to the Russian government/sovereign; outlined U.S. opposition to the extension of any loan or financial or technical assistance to Russia by international financial institutions; and tightened restrictions on the export of certain products subject to restrictions administered by the Department of Commerces Bureau of Industry and Security.

The United States also determined that Russia used a chemical weapon in an August 2020 attack on Alexei Navalny, again triggering the CBW Act and requiring the President to terminate most foreign aid, arms sales, export licenses for controlled goods and services, and government-backed financial assistance. The second round of CBW sanctions in response to the Navalny poisoning was announced in August 2021, as required by the law.

Weapons Proliferation: A number of Russian defense-industry entities, including state-owned arms exporter Rosoboronexport, are denied most U.S. government contracts, export licenses, and trade in U.S. Munitions List-controlled items Pursuant to the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act, as amended (INKSNA, P.L. 106-178; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note). Other Russian entities are subject to sanctions under other legal authorities for providing certain goods or facilitating trade with North Korea or for their support to the Syrian government.

Russia launched an unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, three days after officially recognizing the independence of the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk Peoples Republics. At the time of CCG publication (summer 2022) Russia continued its attack on Ukraine, occupying territory in eastern and southern Ukraine.

In response to Russias aggression, the United States led a coordinated and comprehensive effort to expand the scope and intensity of economic sanctions, political sanctions, and export controls, working with an unprecedented coalition of partners and allies that includes the European Union (EU), the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, and a continually expanding list of countries who are working to deny Russia the technology and funding necessary to continue its aggression against Ukraine.

A short timeline of major U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Russia from February through May 2022 includes:

Other major USG actions taken in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine affecting trade at the time of CCG publication include:

In addition, the Bureau of Industry & Security (BIS) at the Commerce Department announced expanded export controls on February 24, severely restricting Russias access to many technologies and items needed to sustain its aggressive military capabilities. These controls primarily target Russias defense, aerospace, and maritime sectors and include semiconductors, computers, telecommunications, information security equipment, lasers, and sensors. BIS has taken additional actions since February 24. Please see the section U.S. Export Controls for more detail on BIS and on these actions.

This list of economic sanctions and other USG actions here represents a summary of measures taken through late May 2022. Companies should be aware that the imposition of additional sanctions, export controls, and USG actions on other Russian entities and individuals after May 2022 is possible. See more under U.S. Export Controls article:https://www.trade.gov/russia-sanctions-and-export-controls

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Russia - Sanctions Framework - International Trade Administration

BANGUI, Central African Republic In early March, as Russias invasion of Ukraine entered its third week, a Russian diplomat nearly 3,000 miles away in the Central African Republic paid an unusual visit to the head of this countrys top court. His message was blunt: The countrys pro-Kremlin president must remain in office, indefinitely.

To do this, the diplomat, Yevgeny Migunov, the second secretary at the Russian Embassy, argued that the court should abolish the constitutional restriction limiting a president to two terms. He insisted that President Faustin-Archange Touadra, who is in his second term and surrounds himself with Russian mercenaries, should stay on, for the good of the country.

I was absolutely astonished, recalled Danile Darlan, 70, then the courts president, describing for the first time the meeting on March 7. I warned them that our instability stemmed from presidents wanting to make their rule eternal.

The Russian was unmoved. Seven months later, in October, Ms. Darlan was ousted by presidential decree in order to open the way for a referendum to rewrite the Constitution, only adopted in 2016, and abolish term limits. This would effectively cement what one Western ambassador called the Central African Republics status as a vassal state of the Kremlin.

With his invasion of Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia unleashed a new disorder on the world. Ukraine has portrayed its fight against becoming another Russian vassal as one for universal freedom, and the cause has resonated in the United States and Europe. But in the Central African Republic, Russia already has its way, with scant Western reaction, and in the flyblown mayhem of its capital, Bangui, a different kind of Russian victory is already on display.

Russian mercenaries with the same shadowy Wagner Group now fighting in Ukraine bestride the Central African Republic, a country rich in gold and diamonds. Their impunity appears total as they move in unmarked vehicles, balaclavas covering half their faces and openly carrying automatic rifles. The large mining and timber interests that Wagner now controls are reason enough to explain why Russia wants no threat to a compliant government.

From Bangui itself, where Wagner forces steal and threaten, to Bria in the center of the country, to Mbaiki in the south, I saw Moscows mercenaries everywhere during a two-and-a-half-week stay, despite pressure on them to rotate to fight in Ukraine.

They threaten stability, they undermine good governance, they rob countries of mineral wealth, they violate human rights, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said of Wagner operatives last week during a U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit in Washington.

Yet, although feared, the Russians are often welcomed as a more effective presence in keeping a fragile peace than the more than 14,500 blue-helmeted United Nations peacekeepers in this war-torn country since 2014. As elsewhere in the developing world, the West has seemingly lost hearts and minds here. President Bidens framework for this era the battle between democracy and rising autocracy comes across as too binary for a time of complex challenges. Despite the war in Ukraine, even because of it, Central Africans are intensely skeptical of lessons on Western values.

Mr. Putins invasion of Ukraine and the inflationary spiral it has spawned has made a desperate situation more desperate in this landlocked nation. Prices for staples like cooking oil are up by 50 percent or more. Gasoline is now sold in smuggled canisters or bottles, as gas stations have none. Hunger is more widespread, in part because U.N. agencies sometimes lack the fuel to deliver food.

Yet many Central Africans do not blame Russia.

Tired of Western hypocrisy and empty promises, stung by the shrug that war in Africa elicits in Western capitals as compared with war in Ukraine, many people I met were inclined to support Mr. Putin over their former colonizers in Paris. If Russian brutality in Bucha or Mariupol appalls the West, Russian brutality in the Central African Republic is widely perceived to have helped quiet a decade-old conflict.

Africa will account for a quarter of humanity by 2050. China spreads its influence through huge investments, construction and loans. Mr. Biden convened the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit to build on our shared values and announced $15 billion in new business deals, as the West scrambles to play catch-up and overcome a legacy of colonialism.

Mr. Putins Russia, by contrast, never builds a bridge, but is the master of pitiless protection services, plunder and propaganda. It wins friends through hard power, now extended to more than a dozen African countries, including Mali and Sudan. As in Syria, its readiness to use force secures the outcome it seeks.

In March, only 28 of Africas 54 countries voted at the United Nations to condemn the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the same slim majority that subsequently voted to condemn Russias annexation of four Ukrainian regions, suggesting a growing reluctance to accept an American narrative of right and wrong.

When your house is burning, you dont mind the color of the water you use to put out the fire, said Honor Bendoit, the subprefect of Bria, a regional capital, about 280 miles (or a six-day drive on what passes for roads here) northeast of Bangui. We have calm thanks to the Russians. They are violent and they are efficient.

Efficient, that is, in destroying or dispersing the rebel groups that have long destabilized the country through an intermittent war that has left tens of thousands dead since 2012.

When Mr. Touadra was elected in 2016, he had effective control over only about 20 percent of the country. From 2017, mistrustful of his own army and frustrated with a French military presence that he judged ineffective, he began to turn to Russia in a bid to re-establish control over rebel-held areas.

That year, the United Nations approved an offer from the Kremlin to send military trainers to the Central African Armed Forces. The unarmed trainers morphed into Wagners armed mercenaries. A U.N. report last year found evidence of excessive force, indiscriminate killings, occupation of schools and looting on a large scale.

Today, the Wagner shock troops form a Praetorian Guard for Mr. Touadra, who is also protected by Rwandan forces, in return for an untaxed license to exploit and export diamonds, gold and timber from virgin forests and from Russian mining interests in the countrys central region.

Today, we have 5,000 Russians in the country, Pascal Bida Koyagbele, the minister for strategic investment and a close confidant of Mr. Touadras, said in an interview. Thanks to them we have retaken control of 97 percent of our territory.

That figure is widely disputed. Another minister recently spoke of 80 percent control.

And what, I asked Mr. Koyagbele, of persistent reports of Russian brutality?

In a war, as in Iraq, he said, things happen.

The Central African Republic, a country slightly bigger than Ukraine, has only two traffic lights. Neither of them works. A go-ahead Bangui mayor installed them in 2008, but that was before war, sectarian violence and pillaging propelled the nation backward. With their wiring pilfered, the lights stand as forlorn symbols of a forgotten push for progress.

Nearby, rising from the potholed, unpaved roads of what the U.N. estimates is the worlds third poorest country, billboards advertise a vodka made in the heart of Africa with Russian technology. The vodka, called Wa Na Wa, is sold in 30-cent sachets, and as I photographed one of the advertisements, a man screamed abuse and seized me by the throat. The poster was the work of his brother-in-law, he claimed, demanding to be paid.

On Prof. Faustin-Archange Touadra Avenue the president already has a road named after him a recently installed statue of four armed Russian soldiers protecting a kneeling woman with two children has pride of place.

Soldiers in red berets from the Central African Armed Forces pose beside it for photographs. Women carrying bundles on their heads and babies on their backs drift past. Nearby, a poster advertises Granit, a Wagner-financed movie released a year ago that features the heroics of Russian paramilitaries defending Mr. Touadra.

On the banks of the Oubangui River, Russia has opened a cultural center, offering a carousel for children, Russian lessons for adults and movie screenings. It stands about midway between the French and Russian Embassies, a symbol of the intense competition between the Central African Republics former colonizer in Paris and its current master in Moscow.

In a sign of the growing venom of this conflict, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the Russian tycoon who heads the Wagner group and is close to Mr. Putin, accused France last week of sending a parcel bomb that severely injured Dimitri Sytyi, who is believed by Western officials to oversee Wagners mining and shipment of diamonds in the Central African Republic. France dismissed the accusation.

Russian propaganda is a relentless, anti-Western assault, much of it channeled through the popular Radio Lengo Songo. Marcelin Eenjikele, a journalist there, said he could not let me into the radios walled compound because we have to ask permission of our Russian controllers.

A colleague of his, who declined to give his name, shouted: We are a new generation. The spirit of domination and the Cold War is over for us! We do not accept your worldview. Our partners are the Russians.

Near the Russian cultural center, the Tourangelle restaurant has a lovely setting overlooking the river. On May 15, five armed Russian mercenaries appeared at 10:30 p.m. and demanded drinks. When the night guard explained that it was too late, they beat him so severely that he was urinating blood and had to be hospitalized.

They kicked him in the genitals, the owner, Nzimbi Yele, told me. We had the Ukraine flag hanging here, they tore it down. They wiped their hands on the American flag. I spoke to the Russian Embassy and the police. There was no reaction, none.

Asked about the Wagner Group, Mr. Yele said, They look at us Africans like dead leaves.

A request to meet Mr. Touadra to discuss Wagners presence, relayed though Mr. Koyagbele, the government minister, did not elicit a response.

In response to questions about the size, violence and political purpose of the Wagner Group in the Central African Republic, Mr. Prigozhin responded: All your questions are provocative. If you are ready to provide legally formalized guarantees for the publication of my answers in full, then I am ready to give comments. An offer from his communications office to send a contract to that end was declined.

Seldom stable since its independence from France in 1960, the Central African Republic, a nation of chronic coups and rebellions that suffers from porous borders and the calamitous governance of public office for private gain, lurched into something resembling full-scale war in December 2012.

Over the ensuing decade, a multilayered conflict involving more than a dozen armed groups and since 2014, a U.N. peacekeeping force with an annual budget of $1.1 billion has festered. It has been at once a fight for power, a religious conflict between Christians and the Muslim minority, a battle for control of resources, and a proxy war of covetous neighbors.

The conflict endures, but in a minor key for now. Lizbeth Cullity, the American deputy head of the U.N. Mission, described a hit and run, hide and seek low-level conflict, with armed groups retreating into the bush and reappearing. What we have is neither war nor peace, she said.

Today, of a population of 6.1 million, 700,000 are refugees in other countries, 430,000 are internally displaced, and 3.4 million require humanitarian assistance, in what Isabella Leyh of the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Bangui called the most forgotten of forgotten crises.

Anyone flying into the Central African Republic tumbles out of a makeshift international airport onto a rutted dirt road running through a market where corrugated iron roofing, old tires and glistening offal spill into the red mud. The capital is the only place with an electricity grid in the entire vast country. It works intermittently.

Malnutrition, lack of water and the fear bequeathed by war leave their trace in sunken, bloodshot eyes. Hardship is etched in every furrowed brow across a country where 71 percent of people live on less than $1.90 a day, by United Nations estimates.

U.N. peacekeepers save lives, but, constrained by their strict rules of engagement, they have been unable to do more than apply a very expensive bandage. They have no apparent exit strategy.

In a camp for 36,000 displaced people in Bria, the capital of the large central Haute-Kotto region, I fell into conversation with Flora Assangou, a single mother of three, who was chopping wood. She said she would return to her village one day, but only when there was security. I asked her about the peacekeepers.

Oh, they just do patrols, she said.

Do the patrols help? I asked.

She laughed.

When rebel groups kill someone, Ms. Assangou said that U.N. peacekeepers known as MINUSCA take a photograph. But the Russians kill, she added. That is different. It brought us some peace.

Peter Schaller, who heads the World Food Program operation in Bangui, said: Weve asked for coordination with the Russians, but they say they report only to the president. They have little or no communication with us. This can create problems. Sometimes they jam radio communications in areas they operate, and our air service finds it has to fly visually.

Mr. Schaller said the Russian mercenaries regularly steal fuel from planes at Bangui airport. Gerson Finarou, a prominent businessman, said he was at the presidential palace three months ago and saw Russians arrive in unmarked vehicles, smash the pumps and take gasoline.

There was no government response.

Russia came with its answers to an urgent problem, said Jean-Serge Bokassa, the interior minister in Mr. Touadras government from 2016 to 2018, before growing disillusioned. He is a son of Jean-Bedel Bokassa, who ruled the country for 14 years, including two as self-proclaimed emperor. Unfortunately, the answers included detestable methods, and unhappily today we are a Russian colony.

The colony is a little quieter.

You go to work in the morning and you know you will return in the evening, said Chanel Gana, who works in the Siriri soap factory in Bangui.

As an unmarked Russian armored truck came barreling toward us, sending mud flying, Yves Oueama, our driver, swerved sharply to the right. The Wagner wagons never give way, he said. If you dont get out of their path, youre done.

The road, a track really, traced a reddish line through the forest from Bria toward Bambari, 130 miles southwest. That journey takes two or three days, and Russias sprawling gold mine at Ndassima whose reserves were described as huge by Western diplomats in Bangui lies between the two towns.

The Russians control everything, said Abdoul Aziz Sali, a mining economist, noting that Wagner had set up companies to exploit the region for diamonds, gold and timber. They are arrogant and violent. When they come to a meeting, they do not even sit down.

Ibrahima Dosso, the head of the U.N. World Food Program office in Bria, oversees the vast camp where tens of thousands of people who have fled war are housed in makeshift shacks, reliant on the missions distribution of food and, once every two months, about $50 in cash. Electricity comes only from generators, water only from wells.

Along the road to Bambari, men trudged toward distant fields carrying machetes. Women in fabrics of blazing color bore baskets of plantain.

In this area, and in Bria itself, Wagner forces, who are based in the former offices of a diamond-buying authority, are an unpredictable presence.

Mr. Dosso rarely leaves his office, but on this day, accompanied by a Zambian MINUSCA unit providing protection, he headed out to a village called Ngoubi and invited me along. A truck carried beans, cooking oil and U.S.A.I.D. rice in 110-pound sacks emblazoned with the stars and stripes.

The people of the village gathered as the sacks were laid out on a blue tarpaulin. Before receiving their handouts, men signed a list by pressing their forefingers dipped in blue ink; women used red. Close to two-thirds of Central Africans are illiterate.

Lucienne Wapi, 48, a mother of 12, said it was a struggle to find enough to eat and hard to sleep. She held a grandson, whose stomach was bloated from hunger. I asked if there was peace in the area.

Peace is not just the absence of war, she said. If I do not eat or sleep well, it means I am not at peace.

The town of Bria tails off into a refugee camp that is a seething shantytown of one-room structures spread over the hills. Pigs feed on garbage as women tress the hair of their little ones.

Most of the people, still afraid to return to the land they fled, have been here several years.

Fidelia Nafara, 15, was carrying her 9-month-old baby. She lives with her parents and siblings, eight to a single room. They fled a village 70 miles away in 2014. The father of her child is Muslim, and he disappeared after her own father, who is Christian, threatened him.

Wandering around the miserable camp, with its crude latrines and stinking garbage, I thought of the millions of Ukrainians who have fled Russias unprovoked war into the arms of a wealthy European continent that thought war was behind it.

No place is immune to the war in Ukraine. But nor, in much of the world, does it take center stage as in the West.

When only 6 percent of rural homes have sanitation and less than half of children have a birth certificate, the suffering of others pales.

The war in Ukraine has changed many things, but not the fact that when people must think of their stomachs, they think of little else.

The French Embassy in Bangui is set on sprawling grounds beside the Oubangui River. This is prime real estate, but behind coils of razor wire, the embassy is an embattled place. Last year, a mysterious fire broke out on the top floor, destroying an eighth of the building. This year, Jean-Marc Grosgurin, the French ambassador, canceled the traditional July 14 Bastille Day party because of threats from pro-Russia youth movements.

France this month completed the withdrawal of all of its forces from the Central African Republic. Six years ago, they numbered more than 1,600.

Asked about this decision, the French Ministry of the Armed Forces sent a statement blaming Central African authorities for choosing to work with a nonstate actor, the Wagner Group, that regularly commits violence and abuses toward the civilian population and is a for-profit enterprise whose business model is based on the plundering of local resources.

At Western embassies, there is intense concern that Mr. Touadra will allow Wagner mercenaries to take control of the international airport, which had been protected by the last 130 French troops. For now, MINUSCA forces are guarding the airport.

Toward the end of my stay, I drove about 50 miles southwest to the sprawling Berengo military camp, an estate with an airstrip that used to belong to the Bokassa family. The former president is buried there, but his grave cannot be visited by family members because Mr. Touadra has handed the property to the Wagner Group. Small planes fly in and out, carrying Russian booty.

I stopped at the gate and asked a Central African guard if I might go in. He opened the gate. A Russian, his face masked to his pale eyes by a balaclava, stepped out brandishing an automatic rifle. When I inquired about the Bokassa grave, he used the rifle to motion me away angrily and ducked back inside.

The gate slammed. Russia does not want prying eyes on its unconventional invasions in Africa.

The Russian attempt to overturn the Central African Constitution in effect an attempt to reproduce in the Central African Republic what Mr. Putin has contrived for himself in Russia gradually bore fruit after the meeting with Ms. Darlan in March. In late August, Mr. Touadra announced he had formed a committee to draft a new Constitution because so many people have raised their voices to demand it.

But he had underestimated Ms. Darlan.

On Sept. 23, the Constitutional Court ruled unanimously that the presidential decrees creating the committee were unconstitutional and invalid. Mr. Touadra could not disavow the words of his own oath of office in which he swore not to extend his presidency beyond the two-term limit. With no Senate sitting because of postponed elections, such a procedure was unlawful.

The ruling provoked fury against Ms. Darlan from Mr. Touadras supporters who, through the Russian-controlled Radio Lengo Songo and various social media outlets, called protesters to the streets.

Ms. Darlan told me she had met with the president a week before the courts ruling. I asked him, Why such precipitation when you still have more than three years in office? The president said he did not understand himself, but the people were in a great hurry. He looked at me and said, How do you want me to stop this now?

The initiative was difficult to stop, of course, because Moscow had demanded it, Western diplomats and officials said.

The Russian Embassy, in a written statement transmitted through the Foreign Ministry in Moscow, confirmed that Mr. Migunov had met with Ms. Darlan in March. It said that he never discussed the issue of presidential mandates with her, but gave no indication as to why else he might have requested a meeting.

On Oct. 25, in what she called a grotesque maneuver, Ms. Darlan, whose term was to run to 2024, was ousted. The government argued that she was no longer qualified to head the Constitutional Court. Radio Bangui broadcast her dismissal as she arrived at her office.

Three days later, Ned Price, the State Department spokesman, issued a statement saying the United States notes with deep concern the removal of Ms. Darlan. Judicial independence is a central tenet of democracy, he said.

It was a rare intervention. The United States, which pays about 25 percent of MINUSCAs operating costs, and for the bulk of the vast quantities of humanitarian aid that go to the Central African Republic, has taken a generally low-key approach to Wagners predations in the country, in line with the quiet realpolitik of much of the Biden administrations foreign policy.

This month, two senators, Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi, and Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, introduced a bill to designate Wagner a terrorist group, citing, among others things, the trafficking and raping of women in the Central African Republic. In response, Mr. Prigozhin issued a statement, saying, We have never crossed the boundaries of what is permitted.

Russia, through Wagner, is clearly determined to consolidate its power. Western diplomats say that the Wagner presence has shrunk since the Ukraine War as some have been sent to fight yet Russias grip on the country remains firm. Planning for the constitutional referendum is underway.

Mathias Moruba, the head of the National Elections Authority, and Charles Lemasset, the official responsible for the technology controlling the voting process, were invited to Russia for a week of instruction on electoral procedures in October.

It is not very subtle, said Ms. Darlan, who is being protected by U.N. peacekeepers after threats to her life.

When the referendum will be held is not clear, but its outcome seems as certain as the referendums held recently in the four Ukraine regions that Mr. Putin annexed. Elections yield only one result in the Putin-controlled world that Ukraine is fighting to defeat.

Blood will flow, Mr. Bokassa predicted.

All this is dangerous, Ms. Darlan said. Because if you look at our history, adventures like this have never ended well.

Ivan Nechepurenko contributed reporting from Tbilisi, Georgia, and Tom Nouvian from Paris.

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