Living in Russia

Many Russian families who live in a city live in a skyscraper or a block. After the Second World War, many people had to live in communal apartments in which each family had only one room. When new houses were built from the 1960s onwards, everyone was happy who was allowed to move in there.

Khrushchevkas

The Khrushchev houses (or Khrushchevkas) were typical: five-storey prefabricated buildings with no attic and apartments that were all built according to the same pattern. There is a kitchen, two rooms (living room and bedroom) and a bathroom. The ceiling height is only 2.50 meters. There are no elevators in the houses.

The houses are mostly far outside the city center and one house is lined up next to the other. They are named after the then head of government of the Soviet Union. Because they were built in bulk and cheaply, the living comfort is not particularly high. Although they were only intended as temporary buildings, ten percent of the population still live in such prefabricated buildings.

It pulls!

Not only are the Crushchevkas poorly insulated, but Russian houses in general. In a country where it is often cold, that is of course not so good. It also pulls through the window.

There are often no radiators in the apartments: Instead, pipes run in the walls through which hot water flows and thus heats the apartment. So you cannot regulate the temperature yourself. It is controlled by the heating plant for all apartments. The heat is then not evenly distributed, so that in some apartments you freeze and additionally heat with the oven and in others you keep the windows open all day.

Communal apartments

Incidentally, the aforementioned communal apartments still exist, even if their number has fallen sharply. In St. Petersburg, 660,000 people are said to still live in communal apartments (also known as Kommunalka). Several families share the kitchen, bathroom and toilet.

Wooden houses in the countryside

In the villages, however, people live in small, isolated houses. Traditionally, they are built from wooden beams. They are often painted blue or green and have carved, white painted window frames. They are called Isba. There is only one large room. There is a large stove in it, which is not only used for heating, but also as sleeping furniture.

Out to the dacha

City dwellers like to spend the weekends at their dacha. This is a holiday home with a garden where you can also grow fruit and vegetables. The dacha is usually 20 to 40 kilometers away from the apartment.

Family and free time in Russia

Russian names

According to areacodesexplorer, Russian girls are often called Anastasia, Maria, Sofia, Alexandra, Jekaterina, Ludmila, Inna, Anna, Tatjana, Galina or Irina. Popular boy names are Alexander, Dimitri, Andrej, Artjom, Alexej, Kirill, Maxim, Michail, Igor, Wladimir and Sergej. There is almost always a short form and a nickname. Anastasia is usually called Nastja or Nastjenka, Alexander and Alexandra are both called Sascha and Andrej becomes Andrjuscha.

Each child also has a patronymic for their surname. For girls, the name of the father is -owna or -evna, for boys -ovich or -evich. One of Ivan’s daughters is then called, for example, Irina Ivanovna, and a son Dimitri Ivanovich.

Russians who are sighing do not say “Hello, Mr. Pushkin” when greeting, but rather “Hello Alexander Sergeyevich”. By the way, Russian children call their grandmother Babuschka, and their grandpa Deduschka (spoken: Djéduschka).

Clothes have to keep you warm

In much of Russia, the winters are long and quite cold. To keep warm, many people wear fur coats and hats and, of course, thick gloves. Men also wear the ushanka that folds down over the ears. Otherwise, everyday clothing is not that different from what we wear in Germany. Russian women, however, are known to enjoy wearing high heels. People like to wear traditional clothing at parties or on stage. Typical is the Kosovorotka, a man’s shirt, or the sarafan, a woman’s garment.

Rubles and copecks

In Russia you pay with the ruble. One ruble is made up of 100 kopecks. There are many supermarkets that are open 24/7. So you can go shopping at 3 a.m. And not only that: A haircut or the purchase of a bouquet of flowers is also possible at any time, as many hairdressers and flower shops are open 24 hours.

Eating in Russia

What do you eat in Russia?

Do you know a russian dish? Soljanka, for example, is a soup that is also available in restaurants, especially in eastern Germany. Pickled vegetables like pickles are their most important ingredient. Pickled vegetables such as pickled cucumbers and sauerkraut are easy to store and are very popular in Russia.

Overall, the Russian food is rather hearty – you have to arm yourself against the cold. There are warming soups such as the soljanka or shchi (a cabbage soup) and borscht (with beetroot).

Saturated make Teigspeisen like blini, Russian pancakes, you using our recipe for the hands-on tips can to cook, or pierogi, in Russian Piroschki, stuffed dumplings.

More Russian food

Typical meat dishes are shashlik, Kiev chops (made from chicken), cabbage rolls or pelmeni, small and always meat-filled versions of the pierogi. Dishes with mushrooms and fish are also popular.

Caviar are fish eggs that are considered a delicacy. The main drink is tea, which is prepared in the samovar. This is a tea maker.

In the countryside, many people buy fruit and vegetables from their own garden for themselves. Even those who have a dacha (a holiday home with a garden) grow their own food there.

A traditional Russian feast includes sakuski, cold starters such as salads, sandwiches, stuffed eggs, pickled fish and pierogies. This is followed by the blini, then the soup and finally the main course.

Blini is also popular for breakfast. Kascha, a porridge made from milk and buckwheat, also tastes delicious. Kascha is sweetened with sugar or fruit. The adults also drink coffee or tea.

Typical Russian Food – 10 famous Russian foods

1. Borschtsch: The beetroot soup is not only available at home, but is also served in restaurants.
2. Blini: Blini are small pancakes.
3. Shchi: It’s a cabbage soup that is really warm in winter.
4. Piroschki: These are filled dumplings. In German we would say pierogi.
5. Pelmeni: The smaller version of the piroshki are called pelmeni. They are filled with meat.
6. Solyanka: Another soup! Their main ingredient is pickled vegetables.
7. Kascha: Kascha means porridge. He is eaten for breakfast. It is often made from milk and buckwheat.
8. Sakuski: Cold starters such as salads, sandwiches, filled eggs, pickled fish and pierogi are called Sakuski.
9. Caviar: The fish eggs are a delicacy.
10. Tea: there is also tea that is prepared in the samovar.