Russian people facts and features

Russian people overview

Russian people (also spelled Russkiye) are East Slavic people ethnic group. Most of the Russians are living in Russian Federation and neighboring countries like Ukraine, Byelorussia and Kazakhstan.

Also it should be mentioned that “Russians” as English term refers to all citizens of Russian Federation regardless of their nationality (in Russian language the citizen of the country is known as Rossiyanin, plural Rossiyane). About 80% of the population of the country are ethnic Russians.

Russian People

Russian People latest news and posts from our blog:

25 April, 2012 / The beauty of Russian girls.

31 March, 2012 / Extreme driving on Russian North.

1 February, 2012 / Beautiful still life paintings of Marina Zakharova.

21 January, 2012 / The convicts of main prison in Eastern Siberia.

24 December, 2011 / Kuban Cossacks performing in the streets of Krasnodar.

News, notes and thoughts:

16 December, 2011  / Russia's Federal State Statistics Service published the final results of the All-Russia population census conducted in 2010. Since 2002 the population decreased by 2.3 million and amounted to 142 million 857 thousand people. Russians live in 2,386 cities and towns and 134,000 villages (8,500 less compared to 2002).

20 November, 2011  / Orthodox relic "Holy Belt of Mother of God" owned by Vatopedi monastery on Mount Athos in Greece arrived in Moscow. It is believed that the relic can promote good health. Before Moscow the ark with the belt visited largest Russia cities, about two million people came to see it.

1 November, 2011  / A court awarded two Russian families $100,000 each in compensation from a maternity home that accidentally switched their daughters at birth 12 years ago. The story has captivated Russia ever since the families learned about the switch several months ago. Terrible situation.

Russian people facts

Russians ethnic group is the largest in Europe and among the largest in the world consisting of about 140 million people (about 100 million in Russian Federation, 17 million in neighboring countries, 3 million in Western Europe and Americas, others in Eastern Europe, Asia and other regions of the planet).

Russian language (Indo-European family of languages) is the most popular language among all Slavic languages. Russian is one of the official languages of United Nations.

The questions of our visitors

jashleen asks: Do the Russians regret not being a communist state anymore?
Expert's answer:
Not a lot of people in present Russia regret not being a communist state and in reality the USSR was not even close to communism in its true meaning. Of course there are people, mostly elderly people, who still like the USSR, have nostalgia, they vote for communist party of Russia. Also it should be mentioned that unfortunately a lot of young people don't know the history of their country well enough and they think the USSR was better than it really was.
Elizabeth asks: Is English widely spoken in Russia? I am planning a trip to visit Moscow and St Petersburg next year. Would it be too cold to visit in mid May ? Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Many thanks, Elizabeth.
Expert's answer:

Today English is main foreign language Russian children are studying at schools but the standards are not high so after the school not a lot of people are able to speak fluently or at least understand English. The situation is much better in large cities like Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

As for the weather in the middle of May the average temperature of May in Moscow is about 13C and 11C in Saint Petersburg.

henry asks: Russia recorded population growth for the first time since 15 years. This population growth only became from North Caucas or from all ethnics of Russia? Thanks
Expert's answer:

Your are right, the population of Russia increased by about 1,4% in 2009. But the overall death rate among the citizens of the country is still higher than the birth rate. About 350,000 people received Russian citizenship in 2009 (most of all the people from former Soviet Union countries).

The number of the regions of Russia that have the birth rate higher than the death rate is not high. Among them are Moscow city, North Caucasus republics, Krasnodar and Stavropol krays, and the regions with the deposits of oil and natural gas like Tyumen oblast, Khanty-Mansy autonomous okrug, Tatarstan, Bashkiria, Sverdlovsk oblast and some others.

fnhughy asks: What is the most common name?
Expert's answer:
According to the statistics of 2008 the most popular names parents gave their kids in Russia were:
  • Girls names: Anastasiya, Mariya, Darya, Anna, Yelizaveta, Polina, Viktoriya, Yekaterina
  • Boys names: Alexander, Maksim, Ivan, Artyom, Dmitriy, Nikita, Mikhail, Daniil, Yegor, Andrey
jacqueline asks: What is the regular everyday food eaten in Russia on any given day?
Expert's answer:
The food eaten by Russians varies depending on the season, income level and other factors by among the typical dishes are various soups (including borscht, fish, mushroom, pea soups and others), pelmeni (meat dumplings), potatoes dishes, kotlety (cutlets), vareniki, a variety of rigatoni, various sausages, apples, tomatoes, cucumbers, tea, coffee.