Mother Russia is known for three things: missiles, bears, and, of course, vodka. And while the Russians do drink vodka in epic proportions, manufacturer one of the most advanced nuclear missiles in the world and love their mighty bears, that’s just a stereotype, a way of describing a country that we know nothing about. First of all, it’s not located somewhere at the end of the world – it “landed” right in the middle of the civilized world and has borders with Mongolia and China on the Asian front and with Poland and Finland on the European front. Aha, it’s pretty f***king huge! And while Russian is, obviously, the official and most popular language in the country, there are as much as 27 other languages in its different regions. So, today we’ll discuss the most awesome facts about Russia, the stuff that the most of us never knew, including the country, the culture and the infrastructure.
Awesome Fact #1 – The Longest Railway On The Planet
I bet you didn’t know that the Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway on planet Earth and runs across almost the ENTIRE country. The railway starts in Moscow (that’s the capital, located in the European part of Russia) and goes for 5700 miles (9.2K kilometers), crossing into the Asian region. So, where does this huge thing end? In Vladivostok, but I’m not really sure that means something to you :). The simple fact is, the Railway is truly awesome and if you, by chance, are thinking about embarking on a cross-country travel on the Trans-Siberian, prepare to spend 152 hours and 30 minutes on a train. That’s non-stop, by the way! Now you get why Russians love vodka – what else are you supposed to do for 6,5 days?!
Awesome Fact #2 – The Biggest McDonalds Restaurant
This might come as a shock to you, but the largest McDonalds restaurant is not located in the United States, the home of hamburgers and coca-cola, but in cold-hearted Russia. Aha, if you’re a fan of junk food and affordable pricing, welcome to Moscow! It’s got as much as 700 seats and a very nice staff – make sure to check it out next time you’re visiting. By the way, a bigger building, capable of taking in 1.5K people, was built for the Olympics in London back in 2012, however, it only lasted for 6 weeks, and, after the games ended, so did the potentially largest McDonalds place in Europe. Alright, let’s continue with our list of awesome facts about Russia – there’s more to come!
Awesome Fact #3 – Women Dominate The Russian Population
Despite the popular belief that there are a lot more men in Russia than there are women, there are officially 10 million more ladies in the country, and that’s why you see a beautiful girl in pretty much every corner of the Federation. On a serious note, the scientists claim that the imbalance is the direct result of the slaughter of Soviet soldiers back in 1941-1945, during WW2. Even though there were half a million women on the front, that number was nothing close to how many men were fighting to defeat Nazi Germany. Fun fact: overall, the number of men and women in the world is almost identical, with 100 ladies matching 101.8 gents.
Awesome Fact #4 – The Biggest Country In The World
This is actually a well-known fact, but some people still think that America or India is the largest of them all :). Russia takes up a strong ninth of the globe’s land area (The Soviet Union used to cover the 6th of the Earth), with the total area of the country being approximately 6592848 square miles. And, speaking of the US, I have to mention that the land area of the Russian Federation is almost 2 times bigger than that of America. How cool is that? Of all the awesome facts about Russia this one is my favorite. I can’t really imagine what the USA would do if they had “doubles” of the 50 states right next to the real ones.
Awesome Fact #5 – Billionaires Love Moscow
Check this out: Moscow has more billionaire citizens than any other city in America, China, Europe and Africa. I mean, we all know that they’ve got some super-rich folks in Russia, but the exact number is 74 billionaires. So, what about Washington, or, rather, New-York? They’ve got some big-pocket men over there as well, right? Yes, they do – 71 in total, and that’s just 3 moguls away from becoming the billionaire capital of the world. However, when it comes to the millionaires, the Great Britain is ahead of them all, with a total of 114 thousand million-dollar gents and ladies under the sun.
Awesome Fact #6 – The Largest Oil Producer In The World
As of 2016, Russia became the largest producer of oil on planet Earth, producing more than 10221 barrels of the black gold per day. They used to be #2 back in 2012, with Saudi Arabia leading the pack (currently they’re producing 9712 barrels). So, who made it to the top 3? The Americans, of course, with 8662 barrels a day. Still, the Russians are ahead of the competition and are believed to ramp up production to 110K.
More Awesome Facts About Russia
– Every day over 9 million passengers ride the Moscow Metro, and during busy days trains are scheduled for every 1.5 minutes. The Metro in St. Petersburg is known as the deepest Metro out there – it’s 100 meters deep!
– The Russian people never shake hands when standing over a doorway – it’s considered to be bad luck. So, keep that in mind next time you try to do that.
– Furthermore, the Russian men never give 12 (or any other even amount) flowers to the ladies. Why? Because it’s associated with funerals and, again, bad luck.
– Russia is bigger than Pluto. Aha, that’s right! We just talked about it being the biggest country on Earth, but, as it turns out, it’s bigger than a whole PLANET!
– The Russian Federation and the United States Of America are just 4 kilometers away at the nearest point. How cool is that?
– Back in 1867 the US bought Alaska from Russia for just 7.2 million US$. That’s a whole STATE we’re talking about, the biggest one in America, not just a small village somewhere in the middle of nowhere.
– According to official documents, Russia and Japan are still at war, as they haven’t signed a peace treaty after WW2. Why? Try the Kuril Islands!
– Around 20 percent of the world’s fresh (and unfrozen) water is in Lake Baikal.
