The first philatelic society in the RSFSR was founded in Moscow in 1918. Most members of the pre-revolutionary Moscow Stamp Collectors Society joined the Moscow Society of Philatelists and Collectors. It existed till February 1921.

Origin of philately in Russia was closely connected to printing of the first Russian stamps (1858) and envelopes (1845). Some of the Russian stamps were highly appreciated by collectors in the 19th century.

From one to 12 non-standard names are registered every year. Most often an exotic name expects a baby in the family, where one of the parents is a foreigner.

Yoga was spreading in the Russian Empire and the USSR until the 1970s, when all the oriental practices were banned in the Soviet Union.

Majority of people practicing yoga today believe that yoga started its way in Russia with opening of modern clubs or popular fitness centers, and have no idea that there was, for example, the Yoga Association of the USSR.

Buddha’s teaching emerged in the middle of the first millennium BC in India. Though from far away geographically, for many centuries Buddhism has been organically manifesting itself in Russian lands as well.

Direct and mediated culture-historical links of Russia and India are rooted in hoary antiquity. They appeared much earlier than trade and economic relations of the two countries.

“The Russians smile only for a good reason” - a scientist explains the reasons for what seems to be Russian sullenness. The well-known linguist Prof. Josef Sternin has revealed secrets of the well-known Russian unsmilingness.

It was the Russian country community that played the major role in the history of this country and development of the Russian culture. Thus, the values of the Russian culture are to a big extent the values of the Russian community.

The Russian national character can hardly be fathomed or defined disconcertingly.

It is customary in the Russian philosophical and culturological tradition to particularize Russia in all the well-known typologies.

Chastushka is a folklore genre, a short humorous Russian folk song (rhymed quatrain) performed in a fast manner. This poetic folk miniature can ironically or even sarcastically and with grim humour tackle a wide range of subjects in various areas of life.

Pre-Christian Russians had a mastery over molding and forging, ceramics and embroidery, and fine enamels. Kiev artists were good at bone carving, blackening, metal engraving, making glazed tiles (izrazets), and glasswork. However, Russians were most skillful in woodworking.

Blacksmithing became the most ancient folk craft in Russia. Smiths forged work tools (iron ploughshares, scythes, sickles, knifes, saws, locks, etc.) and armament (swords, sabers, arrowheads, chain armors, and helmets).

When studying information on archeological finds of settlements, towns and burial grounds of the Old Russian state, one can see that most of such materials are presented with fragments of various clay vessels.

What do we associate with our favorite holiday - International Women's Day? Of course, spring, women and flowers. But this holiday has its historical roots, and if we look at the past we will see that initially it had political coloration and emerged as a day of women's struggle for their rights. Let's look at the background of the holiday and trace the major milestones on the way of its emergence in our country.

There are many traditional Russian festivals the history of which is riddled with special Slavic culture. One of them is the well-known Maslenitsa. Merry folk festivities last one week, and each day has its own tradition. In 2013 the holiday will last from March 11 to March 17.

When the snowflakes swirl outside the window and the weather is slightly frosty, it's time for winter entertainment. In order to enjoy the winter you need to organize your leisure time in a proper way. This can be done by trying the variety of games on the snow, snowman making and building snow fortress, playing snowballs and sledging.

It is difficult to define, how many folk dances there are in Russia – they can hardly be counted. They have a great variety of names: sometimes it follows the song that it is danced to, sometimes the number of dancers or the pattern of the dance.

New Year is a favourite holiday of Russian people. No other event has so many symbols, customs, traditions. As the general rules for that holiday are equal to almost all the countries, in Russia New Year has its own unique face. It is a very interesting blend of secular, Soviet, orthodox and pagan traditions. Do you want to know more? Well, let's go!