Russia is probably best described as the land of contrasts. Described through centuries as the land of unimaginable wealth and extreme poverty, legendary great thinkers and unkind rulers, uneasy administration and warm welcome – Russia, to say the least, is mind-boggling.

The world has long been charmed by all that Russia has to offer including ice-capped landscapes, sun-kissed shores, dense woods, mysterious lakes, rich history, mind-blowing liquor and ballet dances. However, there are still some interesting facts that manage to evade the scrutiny of even the most avid globetrotters (no offense if you are one!). Below are listed just a few of them:

Travel to visit St. Basil’s Cathedral in Russia

i. It is the largest country in the world and we are all aware of that. Yet, very few people know that even before the existence of the Russian empire, the general expanse of the territory was termed the Great Russian Tartary. Mentions of this name are found in the maps of Mercator as well as Encyclopedia Britannica and few other sources.

ii. What’s the capital of Russia? A child can tell you it is Moscow. But did you know that Moscow is not completely a part of the nation. It is a city like state within a state. Oh and contrary to popular belief (again) Moscow is one of the most expensive capitals in the world.

iii. A deep lake full of fresh water! Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and the largest repository of fresh water on earth. Cool, isn’t it?

iv. The oldest city in the world has a Russian origin. Arkaim, otherwise known as the Russian Stonehenge, formerly a seat of Sintashta-Petrovka civilization, is now the a tourist magnet and the source of many speculations and myths.

v. Two of Hollywood’s founding fathers, Goldwyn and Mayer were from Russia. It is said that Mayer, till the end of his life, had difficulty in speaking in English.

vi. The mill that churned the stories about Russia’s riches had been working overtime during the last couple of centuries and here is probably why. Russia is considered to be the birthplace of precious gems like opal, topaz, diamond , moonstone zircon, tourmaline, citrine, etc. It was Russia where the rare gemstone Alexandrite was first discovered. It obviously derived its name from the Russian Tzar Alexander.

vii. Russians are a learned lot; there is no denying that the nation boasts of a literacy rate of 99%. Russians are smart, love to study and are especially fond of history and classical authors.

viii. It would be almost criminal to leave out Vodka from this discussion. Russians love to drink Vodka and so does the entire world, apparently. However, Russia is not the biggest consumer of Vodka. It is also a national drink for Ukrainians, Poles, Serbs, Belarusians, Macedonians, etc. But as far as the world statistics go – Finland seems to have outdone others in consuming this popular drink.

ix. Russian divas have been famous for their grace and beauty since ages; actually even before the fashion magazines became a craze. Thus it is only natural that many American and European beauty and fashion magazines prefer to have their cover pages adorned by your love.

x. Russia, with its titanic size, has ten time zones. Talk about effective time management! And the Trans-Siberian Railway passes through eight of them, while covering its route of more than 9000km from Moscow to in Beijing, China. Liked this post! Share it with your friends liking CharmDate Official Facebook page.