Russian History and Culture Eleanor Joyce City of Salem Schools Salem, Virginia

Russian History ► 1861: Serfs freed ► : War with Japan ► 1917: Bolshevik Revolution, Czar overthrown ► 1924: Lenin dies ► : Stalin in power, 30 million killed in war/opposition ► : World War II — “Great Patriotic War” ► : Russia allied with US/UK ► 1953: Stalin dies, Khrushchev promotes “peaceful coexistence” ► 1955: Warsaw Pact formed ► 1962: Cuban Missile Crisis ► 1964: Brezhnev boots out Khrushchev ► 1985: Gorbachev becomes Premier ► 1991: U.S.S.R. breaks apart; Russian Federation and CIS is formed ► 1991: Yeltsin becomes President of the newly formed Russian Federation ► 1993: New Constitution

The Gorbachev Era ( ) ► Reforms: ► Perestroika — economic restructuring ► Glasnost — political reforms/openness

Government The Kremlin is Russia's mythic refuge, a self-contained city with a multitude of palaces, armories, and churches — a medieval fortress that links the modern nation to its legendary past. All photos from no copyright

The Center of Russian Government Red Square in Moscow no copyright

An example of the rapidly built, pre-fabricated, apartment complexes built throughout the Soviet Union during the rule of the Communists to ensure all people had adequate housing. Used with permission

Completed apartment building. This is typical of hundreds of apartments built throughout the Soviet Union. The apartments were small and crowded. Families shared bathrooms. Used with permission

Culture The main religion in Russia is Christian, and the major denomination is the Russian Orthodox Church. The church architecture is distinguished by the presence of the onion dome. This photo is of St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow. no copyright

Culture Icons are displayed on the walls and on special stands in the Russian Orthodox Church to remind believers about Jesus Christ and events in his life and about the saints. Mother of GodJesus Christ People kiss icons and light candles in front of them to show that they love the person depicted in the icon. These actions are also signs of asking the person for help or for a blessing. No copyright

Culture Bolshoy Theatre The Bolshoy is considered one of the best opera and ballet theatres in the world. As with many other things, tickets are more expensive for foreigners than for Russian citizens. The Bolshoy is considered one of the best opera and ballet theatres in the world. As with many other things, tickets are more expensive for foreigners than for Russian citizens. no copyright information

Culture The circus is popular in Russia. Acrobat3.jpg Picture copyright 1997 Sandy and Bela Lubkin, all rights reserved. Used with permission Picture copyright 1997 Sandy and Bela Lubkin, all rights reserved. Used with permission Picture copyright 1997 Sandy and Bela Lubkin, all rights reserved Used with permission

Culture This photograph depicts the art and architecture of the Moscow metro. Here inside a metro station, a painted mural honors the workers. Picture copyright 1997 Sandy and Bela Lubkin, all rights reserved. Used with permission

Culture The Moscow metro stations compete with some of the most beautiful buildings in Moscow. Click this link to view photos of many beautiful metro stations in Moscow.

Culture Russian wooden dolls with smaller dolls nested inside them are called matrioshka. Among peasants, the name Matriosha was a very popular female name. This name has a Latin root, "mater," which means "Mother." It is associated with the image of the mother of a big peasant family who was very healthy and had a portly figure. no copyright

Culture A samovar is an elaborate Russian tea pot. Tea was introduced to Russia in the 17 th century by the Mongols. Tea was first used as a medicine for the nobility. No copyright information

Culture Fabergé Eggs no copyright Around 1885, Russian jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé took the decoration of eggs to new heights. He volunteered to create a jewelry egg for Czar Alexander III to give his wife, Marie. Fabergé kept the egg a secret, but delighted the royal family with a jeweled looking "egg" that had tiny surprises made of gold, enamel, and precious gems inside. Alexander III

Russian Village no copyright

Portable Yurts are homes for nomads in Central Asia no copyright

Natural gas is transported through pipelines in the taiga. Natural gas is transported through pipelines in the taiga. used with permission for educational purposes Shipping Natural Resources

Citizens at work in the USSR An assembly line worker works on the axle of a car. Workplaces in the Soviet Union provided more than just work — they also provided a variety of social services related to work and proactively built a sense of community among workers. (circa 1980s) Used with permission

Citizens at work in the USSR ► A worker operates a silk-spinning machine. Used with permission

Citizens at work in the USSR A forklift operator (circa 1980s) Used with permission

Citizens at work in the USSR A worker and his family float timber down a river. (circa 1950s) Used with permission

Citizens at work in the USSR Women working beside men lever a section of the Trans-Siberian Railroad track into place. In some places, the track cannot be used for two years because the permafrost will move and settle the tracks. The railway crosses seven mountain ranges and spans 3,700 gorges, swamps, streams, and rivers. Used with permission

The results of unchecked pollution Magnitogorsk, Russia On winter Sundays, men gather to drill fishing holes in the thick ice covering the Ural River. Knowing that the river is highly polluted by waste water from one of the world’s largest steel plants, they often sell their catch rather than consume it themselves. Permission granted for educational purposes

The results of unchecked pollution Baku, Azerbaijan With forests of oil rigs in their back yard, the children of suburban Baku have learned to use the vicious pools of runoff from dilapidated and leaky pumps as substitutes for missing playgrounds. Permission granted for educational purposes

The results of unchecked pollution People collect kerosene that leaks from underground tanks. There is so much leaking kerosene that people have started to dig wells and ditches to collect about 600 liters per day. “Kerosene-exploration" has become a commercial venture. Students or pensioners are employed to work in shifts around the clock, and a certain percentage of the profit goes to the local mafia. A teacher said that the money he gets for two days of collecting kerosene equals his monthly salary. Permission granted for educational purposes

The results of unchecked pollution Permission granted for educational purposes In Novokuznetsk, Russia, KMK (Kuznetsk Metallurgical Kombinate), a huge steel plant and the main polluter in town, belches thick smoke filled with carbon monoxide into the Siberian sky.