20 facts about Mother Russia

Day 3,111, 11:52 Published in Russia Switzerland by orkanDiBest

1. Mother Russia is bigger than Pluto.



2. 77% of Russia is made up of Siberia.



3. Each Russian consumes 18 litres (4.8 US gal) of alcohol per year, doubling what experts consider dangerous.

4. There are over 500,000 alcohol-related deaths in Russia each year.

5. There are approximately 10 million more women in Russia than there are men. The imbalance was initially believed to the result of so many men dying during World War II.

6. In Russia it's illegal to tell kids gay people exist.



7. Stalin didn't speak Russian until he was 8. His mother tongue was Georgian.



8.The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has been grown in Russia from 32,000-year-old seeds.

9. Japan and Russia still haven't signed a peace treaty to end World War II due to the Kuril Islands dispute.



10. Beer was not considered an alcoholic beverage in Russia until 2013.

11. There's a museum in Russia that hires cats to protect its artworks against rodents.

12. There was a "Beard Tax" in Russia, during Peter the Great's Reign, paid by anyone who had a beard.

13. Foxes are domesticated like dogs by Russian scientists since 1959.

14. The word “vodka” comes from the Russian word “voda” that means “water”.

15. 25% Russians die before reaching the age of 55, compared to just 1% in the U.S., and Vodka is to blame.



16. It is a criminal offence to drive around in a dirty car in Russia.

17. Wealthy Russians hire fake ambulances to beat Moscow's traffic.

18. It is believed Russia has at least 15 secret cities with their names, and locations unknown.

19. In Russia, during times of economic disparity or high inflation, teachers can be paid in Vodka.

20. 20% of the world's unfrozen fresh water is in a single lake: Russia's Lake Baikal.



21. The Russian mayor of Megion, west Siberia, banned excuses. What a badass!

22. Russia has over 8400 nuclear weapons, more than any other country.



23. Homosexuality and abortion were decriminalised in Russia under Lenin's leadership.

24. The name Red Square has nothing to do with communism, but derives from the word "krasnyi", which once meant "beautiful".

25. Moscow's underground is perhaps the world's most beautiful.