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Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the largest country in the world by land area, and extends across eleven time zones; sharing land borders with fourteen countries. Russia is the most populous country in Europe and the ninth-most populous country in the world. It is a highly urbanised country, with sixteen of its urban areas having more than 1 million inhabitants. Moscow, the most populous metropolitan area in Europe, is the capital and largest city of Russia, while Saint Petersburg is its second-largest city and cultural centre.

Human settlement on the territory of modern Russia dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated; the Grand Duchy of Moscow led the unification of Russian lands, leading to the proclamation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other Soviet republics, within which it was the largest and principal constituent. The Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialisation in the 1930s, amidst the deaths of millions under Joseph Stalin's rule, and later played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for ideological dominance and international influence. The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space. (Full article...)

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Oladyi

Oladyi (Russian: оладьи [ɐˈɫadʲjɪ] pl., diminutive: оладушки, oladushki, sg. оладья, oladya [ɐˈɫadʲjə], Ukrainian: оладки, oladky) are small thick pancakes or fritters common in Russian and Ukrainian cuisines. The batter for oladyi is made from wheat or (nowadays more rarely) buckwheat flour, eggs, milk, salt, and sugar with yeast or baking soda. The batter may also contain kefir, soured milk or yoghurt. Oladyi may also include various additions, such as apple or raisins.

Oladyi are usually served with smetana (sour cream), as well as with sweet toppings such as jam, powidl, honey etc. Savoury versions may be served with caviar, similarly to blini. (Full article...)

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Manuscript miniature, part of double portrait with Empress Maria, Vatican Library

Manuel I Komnenos (Greek: Μανουήλ Κομνηνός, romanizedManouḗl Komnēnós; 28 November 1118 – 24 September 1180), Latinized as Comnenus, also called Porphyrogenitus (Greek: Πορφυρογέννητος; "born in the purple"), was a Byzantine emperor of the 12th century who reigned over a crucial turning point in the history of Byzantium and the Mediterranean. His reign saw the last flowering of the Komnenian restoration, during which the Byzantine Empire experienced a resurgence of military and economic power and enjoyed a cultural revival.

Eager to restore his empire to its past glories as the great power of the Mediterranean world, Manuel pursued an energetic and ambitious foreign policy. In the process he made alliances with Pope Adrian IV and the resurgent West. He invaded the Norman Kingdom of Sicily, although unsuccessfully, being the last Eastern Roman emperor to attempt reconquests in the western Mediterranean. The passage of the potentially dangerous Second Crusade through his empire was adroitly managed. Manuel established a Byzantine protectorate over the Crusader states of Outremer. Facing Muslim advances in the Holy Land, he made common cause with the Kingdom of Jerusalem and participated in a combined invasion of Fatimid Egypt. Manuel reshaped the political maps of the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean, placing the kingdoms of Hungary and Outremer under Byzantine hegemony and campaigning aggressively against his neighbours both in the west and in the east. (Full article...)

In the news

14 March 2025 – Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine
U.S. President Donald Trump publicly asks Russian President Vladimir Putin to spare the lives of "thousands of Ukrainian soldiers" said to be surrounded in Kursk Oblast. (ABC News)
13 March 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Peace negotiations in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia–United States relations
Russian President Vladimir Putin says that the U.S. proposal for the ceasefire in Ukraine would depend on Russia's conditions being met, and that there will be further discussions. (Euronews) (Politico)
13 March 2025 – Union State
Russian President Vladimir Putin announces that Russian citizens permanently residing in Belarus will be able to vote and run in local elections in Belarus, and that Belarusian citizens permanently residing in Russia will be able to vote and run in local elections in Russia. (Belsat)
12 March 2025 – Russian invasion of Ukraine
Kursk offensive
Russian troops, backed by close air support, enter the town of Sudzha in Kursk Oblast, ending seven months of Ukrainian occupation. (MSN) (Reuters)

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Mikhail Kalashnikov
I would have preferred to have invented a machine that people could use and that would help farmers with their work - for example, a lawn-mower.
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