Miscellaneous
Located between the Ural Mountains and the Volga River, close to the borders of both Europe and Asia, the Russian Republic of Bashkortostan is home to people from more than a hundred different nationalities. With Ufa as its capital city, Bashkortostan is known for its rich cultural heritage, with many academies and theaters promoting performing arts, including Russian, Bashkir and Tatar State Drama Theaters, the State Opera and Ballet Theater, National Symphony Orchestra, and Bashkir State Folk Dance Ensemble, as well as a film studio. World famous Russian ballet dancer, Rudolf Nureyev, reportedly began his illustrious dancing career in the theaters of Ufa.
Miscellaneous
Covering almost all of Northern Asia, Siberia is home to around 28 percent of Russia's population, although it makes up as much as 77 percent of the country's territory. The tumultuous history of this vast, mostly inhospitable area and Soviet era domination resulted in the displacement of people which remains evident in the diversity of minority ethnic groups living in Siberia today. One of these groups is the Buryats (Buryads) of the Buryatia Republic – a federal subject of Russia.
Miscellaneous
Promoted as a sport for expats by expats, Moscow Broomball is similar to ice hockey in many ways, with the big difference being that players are not wearing ice-skates, they are wearing sponge-soled shoes, making maneuverability unpredictable and most entertaining – for both players and their loyal supporters on the side-lines. As the name suggests, the game takes place in the Russian capital city, and is restricted to the winter months when an improvised ice-rink is created by flooding a tennis court with water and letting nature take its course. The season lasts as long as the ice does, and ends off with a social event known as The Broomball Ball.
Miscellaneous
The Chukchi Peninsula was once home to a variety of native people such as Korvaks, Eskimos and the Chukchi People. Bordering this peninsula is the Bering Strait, the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea, with Uelen being the nearest village. In the year 1990, it is estimated that a hundred and fifty-five thousand people populated the peninsula. The biggest industries in the area are fishing, mining, hunting and reindeer raising. There are still populations of Chukchi living on the Chukchi Peninsula, who originated from the Okhorsk Sea and communicate in the traditional Chukchi language.
Miscellaneous
During the years 1856 to 1860, a group of composers got together to use their talents to produce Russian compositions that were free of European influence and would rely only on their training in Russian art music. Their goals were the same and they became known as The Five, The Mighty Coterie, The Mighty Handful, The Russian Five and The Mighty Five. The group consisted of Cesar Cui, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Gathering in Saint Petersburg, The Five set about creating musical masterpieces unique to Russia and became the inspiration for many composers who followed years later.
Miscellaneous
It has been suggested that the sport of baseball is derived from an ancient Russian sport called lapta. Excavations done do support the fact that the game of lapta was being played long before cricket and baseball were created. A quote by Aleksandr Kuprin described the game perfectly, saying: "This folk game is one of the most interesting and useful games. Lapta requires resourcefulness, deep breathing, faithfulness to your group, attention, dexterity, fast running, good aiming and marksmanship, strong striking hands, and firm eternal confidence that you cannot be defeated. The lazy and cowardly have no place in this game."
Miscellaneous
Taking its name from its village of origin, Zhostovo painting goes back many generations. Initially, the trays were decorated with landscapes, scenes of social gatherings and troika horse rides, but these were later replaced by the intricate and colorful floral designs distinctive to the art of Zhostovo painting. Zhostovo trays most often have a dark background that serves to accentuate the colorful floral arrangements and patterns of the artist. Many of the processes in creating one of these masterpieces are similar to the craft of Russian lacquer painting on papier-mâché and wooden items, such as trinket boxes.
Miscellaneous
Located in Saint Petersburg, and promoted as the largest non-governmental museum of contemporary art in Russia, Erarta provides a venue for artists to display their works, while at the same time encouraging visitors to discover the immense innovative talent of contemporary artists. The time period considered to be contemporary is art that was created after the end of World War II (1945) to the present day. The earliest works displayed at the museum date back to the 1950s. The term contemporary art covers a wide spectrum of mediums and subject matter, and Erarta has divided these into three main categories, namely: Freedom, Ingenuity and Skill.
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