Introduction to Russia:

Russia is unique. It is in the Northern Hemisphere and is within two different continents, Europe and Asia. According to the latest United Nations estimates, there is close to 144 million citizens of Russia. They are currently under the rule of Vladimir Putin who has been elected President of Russia 3 times. The country is considered a democracy since 1993, but there are many critics who say that it is still plagued by more communist qualities. Throughout this book you will learn about Russia's culture, traditions, and some of the people and art that has come out of Russia.

Famous Artist from Russia: Alexander Ivanov

Alexander Ivanov is a famous Russian artist who was born in 1806 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He is known for the art genre of Romanticism and for his work after he went to Italy. He created many works of art while in Italy that were inspired by the Bible. The image on the following page is entitled Priam Asking Achilles to Return Hector's Body that was created in 1824 while he attended the Academy of Arts.

Poetry is Popular in Russia and there is no shortage of poets from there. One poet is Anna Akhmatova who lived from 1889-1966. She was a native of Russia coming from Odessa in Ukraine and wrote over 25 poems. To the right, you will see one of her famous poems entitled I Don't Know if You're Alive or Dead

I don't know if you're alive or dead.

Can you on earth be sought,

Or only when the sunsets fade

Be mourned serenely in my thought?

All is for you: the daily prayer,

The sleepless heat at night,

And of my verses, the white

Flock, and of my eyes, the blue fire.

No-one was more cherished, no-one tortured

Me more, not

Even the one who betrayed me to torture,

Not even the one who caressed me and forgot.

Father Frost is Russia's version of Santa Claus. Santa Claus has Mrs. Claus, but Father Frost has the Snow Maiden

In the United States, we celebrate Christmas on December 25th. In Russia - however - they celebrate Christmas on January 7. On the following page is a story about Ivan and Tatiana detailing the culture and traditions that exist in Russia.