Guest Country - Russia

Flag

The national flag of Russia appeared between the XVII-XVIII centuries. Currently the flag of the Russian Federation is a canvas of three horizontal stripes, the white one is the upper one, the blue one is in the middle and the red one is the lower one. But it has not always been so.

What do the colors of the Russian national flag mean?
At the time of Peter the Great red symbolized sovereignty; blue - the color of the mother of God, the protector of Russia; and white - freedom and independence. Besides that, the three colors represented the community of White Russia (Belarus), Lesser Russia (Ukraine) and Greater Russia.

Nowadays, there is an unofficial theory about the meaning of these three colors: white symbolizes peace, purity and perfection; blue - faith and fidelity; red represents energy, power and blood shed for the motherland.

Shield

The coat of arms of the Russian Federation consists of a deep red surface with a golden double-headed eagle as coat of arms. On the breast of the same can be seen the coat of arms of Moscow, also on a red background with the silver image of St. George defeating the devil with his spear. The eagle holds a scepter in its sinister claw and an orb in its right.

The history of the current coat of arms reflects the dramatic and sometimes rugged path of the state. Although its appearance has changed from one government to another, the double-headed eagle has been the main symbol of Russia for more than four centuries.

Literature

Russian literature is considered to be one of the most influential and developed in the world, contributing many of the best-known literary works. The Golden Age of Russian poetry began with Aleksandr Pushkin, considered the founder of modern Russian literature and often described as the Russian Shakespeare.

Among the most renowned Russian poets and writers of the 19th century were Mikhail Lermontov, Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev, and Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky in particular were titanic figures to the point that many literary critics characterized one or the other as the greatest novelists who ever lived. In the eighties of the 19th century Russian literature began to change. The era of the great novelists was over and short stories and poetry began to be the dominant genres of Russian literature for the next few decades known as the Silver Age of Russian poetry. Notable poets and writers of this period include Valeri Briusov, Andrei Bely, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Aleksandr Blok, Nikolai Gumiliov, Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelshtam, Marina Tsvetayeva, Ivan Bunin. The main writers of the Soviet era are Yevgeny Zamiatin, Isaak Babel, Vladimir Nabokov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Boris Pasternak, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Sergei Yesenin, Mikhail Sholokhov, Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Andrei Voznesensky.

Language and religion

Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak about 100 languages. Russian is the only official language at the state level, but the Constitution grants the Russian Republics the right to declare their native language as co-official alongside Russian.

Russian is one of the most widely spoken languages in Eurasia and the most widely spoken Slavic language. More than a quarter of the world's scientific literature is published in Russian. The Russian language is of great regional importance, particularly in the Former Soviet Republics.

It is one of the six official languages of the UN, and one of the four working languages in the OSCE. Russia is a secular state.

Freedom of worship is guaranteed by the Constitution.

According to the law on religion, the four traditional religions in Russia are the Russian Orthodox Church, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism. It is estimated that there are about 15 to 20 million Russian Muslims, with Islam being the second religion with the largest number of adherents in Russia.

Political system

According to the Constitution adopted in 1993, Russia is a democratic federative state with a republican form of government. The Head of State is the President of the Russian Federation.

The legislative body of the Russian Federation is the Federal Assembly, which consists of two chambers: the Federation Council and the State Duma. The Federation Council is composed of two representatives from each entity of the Russian Federation: one from the representative body and one from the executive body. The State Duma is composed of 450 deputies, elected for five years.

The executive power is exercised by the Government, consisting of the Chairman of the Government, the Deputy Chairmen of the Government and the federal ministers. The Chairman of the Government, in accordance with the Constitution, federal laws and decrees of the President, determines the main directions of activity of the Government of the Russian Federation and organizes its work. The Government of the Russian Federation prepares and submits to the State Duma the report on the fulfillment of the federal budget. The Government ensures the realization in the Russian Federation of a single financial, credit and monetary policy, as well as a single state policy in the spheres of culture, science, education, public health, social welfare and ecology.