Escuela

Essay.
Russia.
Russia is the biggest country in the world, from northeast to southeast, shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latiwa, Lithuania and Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbajan, Kazakhstan, china, Mongolia, And north corea. Russia’s 160 ethnic groups speaks some 100 languages. According to the 2002 census, 142.6 million people speak Russian.
Sports
Along with icehockey and Basquetball, association football is one of the most opular sport in modern Russia. The soviet nation team became the first ever European champions by winning Euro 1960. Russia will host the 2018 FIFA world cup.
History
Tradition says the Viking Rurik came to Russia in 862 and founded the first Russian dynasty in Novrgorod. During the 11 century, the grand dukes of Kiev held suchcentralizing power as existed. In 1240, Kiev was destroyed by the Mongols, and the Russian territory was split into numerous smaller dukedoms. Early, dukes of Moscow extended their dominion over the other Russian cities throught their office of tribute collector for the Mongols and because of Moscow”s role as administrative and trade center.
Culture
There are over 160 different ethnic groups andindigenous peoples in Russia. Ethnic Russians with their Slavic Orthodox traditions, Tatars and Bashkirs with their Turkic Muslim culture, Buddhistnomadic Buryats and Kalmyks, Shamanistic peoples of the extreme north and Siberia higliters of the Northen Cavocous, Finno-Ugiz peoples of the Russian North west and Volga region all contribute to the cultural diversity of the country. Ethnic Russian clothesinclude Kaftan, korsovorota and Vshanka for men, Sara fan and Kokoshink for women, with lapti and valenki as common shoes. The clothes of Cossacks from southern Russian include borka and papaha, wich they share with the peoples of the northen Caucasus. Easter is the most popular religious holiday in Russia, celebrated by more than 90% of all Russian citizen, incluiding large numbers of those whoare non-religious.
Religion
Orthodox christianism, Islam, Judaism, Buddism are Russia’s traditional religions, and are all legally a part of Russia’s “Historical heritage”. Tracked back to the Christianazion of Kievanrus’ in the 10 century, Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in the country. Aprox. 100 million citiezens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Cristians.
Food
Borshch, ofcourse, is beet soup, and one of the most famous Russian traditional foods. Beets seem a strange base for soup to many Westerners, but there are plenty of reasons that this hearty soup is one of Russia’s most famous dishes. Full of vegetables and meat, the layered flavors in this soup are especially nice with a dollop of fresh sour cream.

You may have already heard of pirozhki. These littlepastries can be packed full of potatoes, meat, cabbage, or cheese.

Caviar, or ikra is really something to get worked up about in Russia. Briny and sharp, it is often served on dark, crusty bread or with blini, which are like pancakes or crepes. Caviar on buttered bread is a popular zakuska.

Blini are also served rolled with a variety of fillings: jam, cheese, onions, or even chocolate syrup. Atany restaurant where you aren’t sure of any of the other dishes, blini are always a safe bet. Bliniare such an important part of Russian cuisine, a festival called Maslenitsa celebrates the beginning of spring with them.

Russian kebabs are called shashlyk. Like any kebab, they can be a combination of meat and vegetables.

Pelmeni are pastry dumplings filled typically with meatballs. They canbe served alone, slathered in butter and topped with sour cream, or in a soup broth. Definitely a favorite in Russia and abroad!

You can expect to find sour cream, or smetana, accompanying almost any Russian traditional food—with crepes, in soups, and even sometimes in dessert. Often, this sour cream is fresh and often melts into any warm dish, adding to its distinctive flavor.

Russia’s...