Gateway to Russia

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Culture & History

Culture Lifestyle Science & Tech Travel History Russian Kitchen The Most Russian American

Learn Russian

Your Russian Course Russian Language Playground

Useful information

Basic facts Plan your trip Visa help

Plan your trip How a foreigner can buy a SIM card in Russia in 2025

Buying a Russian SIM card will allow you to use cellular communication and LTE internet at local rates. However, you will have to fill out several documents to get it.

Plan your trip How to get from Domodedovo Airport (DME) to central Moscow

Train, bus, taxi or car sharing – fast and easy ways to reach the city center.

Culture 6 museums in which you can FEEL the Russian spirit (PHOTOS)

Welcome to the past: in these places, time seems to have stopped!

History What Russia was like in 1915 (PHOTOS)

World War I, the everyday life of the tsar’s family and views of the Russian Empire. These images capture a country that no longer exists.

Lifestyle 5 MAIN female symbols of the Russian mass culture

Almost all of them come from the USSR. And every Russian will unmistakably identify them.

History 3 MAIN discoveries by Russian navigator Semyon Dezhnev

He managed to reach the edge of Eurasia and saw America four centuries ago.

Lifestyle How did the mimosa become a symbol of March 8?

The real floral madness happens at the beginning of March – these are the days when fragile mimosa sprigs and bright tulips appear on sale.

Russian Kitchen 5 Russian dishes that are named after other countries

Did you know that ‘Korean-style carrot’ has nothing to do with Korea or that ‘French-style meat’ has no relation to France?

Russian Kitchen What do Russian Orthodox believers eat during Great Lent?

For believers, the Great Lent is not just about giving up certain foods. Its main purpose is to stop “eating” one’s loved ones; in other words, control one’s temper and impatience.

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Russian Language Playground

Kira Lisitskaya (Photo: ATHVisions,Tatiana Sidenko/Getty Images)

Education

7 free online Russian language courses

Gateway to Russia (Photo: freemixer/Getty Images; xvector/Freepik)

Education

Why do Russians sometimes say ‘until’ instead of ‘goodbye’?

Kira Lisitskaya (Photo: Philippe Turpin/Getty Images)

Education

What does the expression “on your own head” mean?

Yulia Mulino

Education

Russian kitchen ABCs: ‘Anke’ pie

Daniil Ivanov / Russian Look / Global Look Press

Education

Russian wordlists: Great Lent

Andrey Osniovsky

Education

Bryansk Region in 3 Russian words

Russian Literature

Анна Сорокина

Guess the Russian writer blindfolded challenge! (VIDEO)

Kira Lisitskaya (Photo: Public domain; CSA Images/Getty Images; Tretyakov Gallery)

100 MAIN Russian books that everyone should read

Kira Lisitskaya (Photo: Alexei Poddubny/TASS; Sputnik; Novy Mir)

The USSR's most popular magazine & how it bypassed censorship

David Lean/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, 1965

5 reasons to read ‘Doctor Zhivago’ by Boris Pasternak

Adrian Volkov

Retracing the timeline of Alexander Pushkin’s last duel

Best of Russia

Konstantin Mikhalchevsky/Sputnik

Travel

Provence? Nope, this is Russia!

Anton Petrus/Getty Images

Travel

10 reasons to visit Russia this spring

Evgeny Mamaev

Travel

What do scientists do on the remote Commander Islands & how do you get there?

Legion Media

Culture

5 fantastic reasons to visit the Pushkin Museum

Getty Images

Basic facts

33 incredible UNESCO sites located in Russia (PHOTOS)

Legion Media

Culture

10 international masterpieces you can see only in Russia

Russian Cinema

LMPC/Getty Images; Mikhail Kalatozov/Mosfilm, 1957

How Soviet movies were shown abroad

Ekaterina Сhesnokova / Sputnik

Meet ‘Game of Thrones’ & ‘White Lotus’ star Yuri Kolokolnikov

Dia Dipasupil/WireImage/ / Getty Images

Meet actor Mark Eidelstein, the Russian star of the TV show ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’ (PHOTOS)

TOP 10 Soviet detective movies you can watch free ONLINE

Georgy Danelia/Mosfilm, 1975

10 underrated Soviet movies to watch ONLINE FOR FREE!

Russia 101

ampueroleonardo / Getty Images

Plan your trip

How to travel across Russia: A guide for foreign tourists

Gateway to Russia (Photo: JulPo/Getty Images; Yandex)

Plan your trip

10 useful APPS for travelling across Russia in 2025

Legion Media

Visa help

What is a Russian 'golden visa' & how to obtain one?

AnnaStills / Getty Images

Visa help

How to get a Russian visa in 2025?

Davide Zanin/Getty Images

Visa help

Russian e-visa: FAQ & handy guide (PICS)

andresr / Getty Images

Plan your trip

How to visit Russia by train

History

Archive photo

WILDEST anti-alcohol ads from the USSR (VIDEO)

Anna Sorokina

When were Russian women first allowed to vote in an election? (VIDEO)

Netlenta (CC BY-SA 4.0)

How Russia almost went to war with Hawaii! (VIDEO)

Was Rasputin really a lover of the Russian 'queen'? (VIDEO)

Vladimir Akimov / Sputnik

What do these WEIRD Soviet names mean?

The Most Russian American

Tim Kirby; Litres

How Tim Kirby became ‘the most Russian American’

The Must Sees of Vladivostok, Russia’s big city in the very Far East (VIDEO)

Gee Baller: he fled Nigeria to become a star in Russia (VIDEO)

An American cheesemaker found himself in the Russian countryside (VIDEO)

More stories

Archive photo

WILDEST anti-alcohol ads from the USSR (VIDEO)

Alexey Belkin/NEWS.ru / Global Look Press

How a foreigner can buy a SIM card in Russia in 2025

Konstantin Mikhalchevsky/Sputnik

Provence? Nope, this is Russia!

Artyom Geodakyan / TASS

How to get from Domodedovo Airport (DME) to central Moscow

House of Suranovs

6 museums in which you can FEEL the Russian spirit (PHOTOS)

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Southern Black Sea coast covered by white winter dusting (VIDEO)

Kira Lisitskaya (Photo: Andrea Appiani; Public Domain; Getty Images)

How Napoleon wanted to become RELATED to the Russian Tsar!

Grigory Frid/MAMM/MDF/russiainphoto.ru

What Russia was like in 1915 (PHOTOS)

Anna Sorokina

When were Russian women first allowed to vote in an election? (VIDEO)

Sergei Petrov / Global Look Press

5 MAIN female symbols of the Russian mass culture

'Don't walk like a white crow' in Russia (VIDEO)

Archive photo; Jacques Langevin/Sygma/Getty Images

3 MAIN discoveries by Russian navigator Semyon Dezhnev

Vasilisa Malinka

Meet the ‘Mimosa’, the USSR’s most colorful salad

Ruptly

Siberians celebrate Reindeer Herder Day (VIDEO)

ilona titova / Getty Images

How did the mimosa become a symbol of March 8?

Netlenta (CC BY-SA 4.0)

How Russia almost went to war with Hawaii! (VIDEO)

Frozen adventures in Russia's majestic Arctic North! (VIDEO)

On the way to Mongolia via Chuysky Tract! (VIDEO)

Gateway to Russia (Photo: freemixer/Getty Images; xvector/Freepik)

Why do Russians sometimes say ‘until’ instead of ‘goodbye’?

Modern jewelry exhibition opens in Moscow (VIDEO)

About the project Terms of Use

"Gateway to Russia” - a project by ANO “TV-Novosti,” 2025. © All rights reserved.
Created with the financial support of the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media of the Russian Federation.

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