Russia is not only big in size, but it is also rich in natural resources. It has one of the biggest petroleum industries in the world, with the largest reserves. It is also the leading exporter of natural gas and has the world’s second-largest coal reserves.
All those gases need to be transported somehow, and Russia has developed an extensive network of pipelines. There are so many pipelines that if you put them all together, they would make a pipeline that is 259,913 kilometers long. The circumference of the Earth is only 40,075, so traveling through all of Russia’s pipelines is like going around the world six and a half times.
Fraud is Rampant
In the United States, dashboard cameras are mostly used by the authorities, and the footage taken by them can mostly be seen in court or on Cops. In Russia, however, almost every car on the road has its own personal dashcam, and the videos from these cameras have become an Internet phenomenon.
In a country that is extremely large and in which law enforcement is oftentimes corrupt, the dashcams protect regular citizens from insurance fraud, in which motorists or pedestrians fake car accidents in order to collect the insurance money.
Part of the Family
If you are single while visiting Russia and end up meeting someone, take into account that you are not just gaining a significant other, but a whole new family. Russian families are extremely close and if one of them has chosen you, expect to be welcomed into the fold.
Typically, Russians are very supportive of their loved ones and will do almost anything for them. So when you get ready to meet the parents, don’t be surprised if you are promptly adopted into the family and treated like their own son or daughter.
A National Pastime
Chess has been one of the most beloved games in Russia for hundreds of years. Historians have even been known to claim that Czar Ivan IV died in 1854 in the midst of a chess match. In 1917, when the Bolsheviks came to power, the game’s popularity increased, and it became Russia’s favorite pastime.
Russians love chess because they feel that the game represents their ideals. It is not a game of chance but requires skill and a carefully thought-out strategy. The state-sponsored its first national chess tournament in Moscow in 1921, and to this day, many of the best players in the world are Russian natives, including the current number five Alexander Grischuk.
Secret Russian Cities
There are some cities in Russia that you will never get the chance to visit. According to the rumors, Russia is home to about 42 cities that the Russian government has classified as secret. apparently, only a handful of people in the country are privy to the names and locations of these hidden cities.
These special cities don’t appear on any map, and don’t plan on visiting them any time soon because it is against the law to even enter one of them. They are places in which metallurgy, military, and chemical industry take place and are known by the name ZATO, which stands for closed administrative-territorial entities. We know they are intriguing, but there’s no point in adding them to your travel itinerary.