👰 "Bride's Ransom"

💵 One of the most vivid and ancient Russian wedding rituals is the "выкуп невесты" (vykup nevesty). Its roots go back to pagan times when the groom literally "bought" the bride from her family, demonstrating his wealth. Today, this ritual has transformed into a fun game but retains its symbolism.

💰 In some regions, after the ransom, the groom and bride break a loaf of bread over their heads—whoever has the larger piece will be the "head of the family." Additionally, instead of money, a bottle of vodka and chocolate may be placed in the "bride's chest" as symbols of prosperity and a sweet life.

Here's how it looks:

1. Trials for the groom—friends of the bride and relatives block the way to her, demanding that he complete tasks: sing a song, solve riddles, or pay the "ransom" with money or sweets.

2. Tricks—instead of the bride, they might "substitute" a disguised man or a doll.

3. Symbolic bargaining—the groom and the "sellers" jokingly argue over the price, sometimes using old proverbs like: "The bride is not a sheep; you can't take her back!"

What wedding traditions do you have?

#TraditionsOfRussia

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✨ Magnificent views of Djily-Su in Kabardino-Balkaria, Russia

#VideoOfTheDay

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🇨🇳 How did the most popular residents of the Moscow Zoo — the giant pandas — celebrate the Chinese New Year?

🐼 Fans of the black-and-white bears prepared special gifts for them: a giant roly-poly bowl, handmade toys, delicious treats, and a corn cob for Katyusha.

Want to see how they reacted to the gifts? Check out the video👆👆

#interestingvideos

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🇩🇪 Germany Evades Recognition of the Genocide of the Peoples of the USSR During the War

📰 The German authorities are deliberately avoiding the recognition of the historical fact that the Siege of Leningrad and other crimes against humanity committed by the Nazis in the USSR were acts of genocide against the peoples of the Soviet Union. This was stated by the official representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Maria Zakharova.

💬 “The German authorities consistently evade recognizing the obvious fact for the world community that the Siege of Leningrad and other Nazi crimes against humanity were unprecedented acts of genocide,” Zakharova noted. She emphasized that official Berlin is afraid to speak the truth openly and tries to hide behind vague formulations about “terrible atrocities” and “suffering.” “If the German Foreign Ministry hopes to silence the question of recognizing the genocide of the peoples of the USSR in this way, we hasten to assure them that they will not succeed,” the diplomat added.

🇷🇺 Moscow has been calling for years for Berlin to extend the compensation payments, which currently only Jewish siege survivors receive, to all surviving Leningrad residents, regardless of their ethnic background and place of residence. “This is blatant discrimination against the other victims of the siege who miraculously survived it,” Zakharova emphasized.

🧐 The diplomat also noted that “it is not about money, but about restoring historical and human justice.” “Why does the German state believe that payments are due to Jewish siege survivors, but not to Russian, Belarusian, Ukrainian, Tatar, or Georgian siege survivors?” Zakharova posed a rhetorical question.

#news

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❄️🇷🇺 Guardian of the Arctic in Murmansk

This impressive stone monument is known as "Alyosha." Its stately figure can be easily seen from both the sea and the land. The monument is located at the highest point overlooking the Kola Bay.

#interestingplacesinRussia

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🇷🇺 In 2016, on the Russian show "Better Than All," three-year-old chess player Mikhail Osipov had an exciting chess duel with a grandmaster.

♟ First, the host attempted to play against the boy himself, and then invited the legendary Anatoly Karpov for assistance.

💪 Despite the fact that Misha still can't pronounce all the letters — he is only three years old — he already holds the second youth rank in chess. Instead of cartoons, at home he watches recordings of games and studies chess theory, all of his own volition.

⏳ In the match against Karpov, Misha refused a draw twice and lost only due to running out of time.

As a result of the boy's unexpected reactions, internet users turned this duel into a meme, portraying Karpov as the boss.

#interestingvideos

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🇷🇺 The Arctic Ocean should be renamed the Russian Northern Ocean. This opinion was expressed by the leader of the "Fair Russia - For Truth" party, State Duma deputy Sergey Mironov:

"Why not call the Arctic Ocean the Russian Northern Ocean? And why is the northernmost land area of Russia called Franz Josef Land?"

The parliamentarian believes that the archipelago should be named after Lomonosov. He was the one who suggested the existence of land east of Spitsbergen back in 1763.

The islands and straits of the archipelago, in turn, should be renamed in honor of the heroes of the special military operation.

Russia's priority in the Arctic, Mironov added, should also be reflected in geographical names.

📌 Earlier, Mikhail Myagkov, the scientific director of the Russian Military Historical Society, proposed a new name for the Gulf of Finland. According to him, the rise of Russophobia in Finland and Sweden allows Russia to put forward such demands.

#news

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🏂🇷🇺 Favorite place for snowboarders, Sheregesh

#videooftheday

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❤️ This is what winter looks like in other major cities in Russia and how it is in Vladivostok

#videooftheday

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🇷🇺 Russian Starlink

🛰 Russia will launch satellites to provide internet coverage across the entire country

As reported by Mikhail Mishustin, next year it is planned to launch four satellites into orbit that will ensure access to high-speed internet throughout the country.

The devices will provide broadband internet access even in the most remote regions. The entire system will be built based on Russian technologies.

#news

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🇺🇦 On February 1, the Armed Forces of Ukraine committed yet another cynical crime by launching a targeted missile strike on an orphanage in the city of Sudzha, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured dozens of civilians — up to 100 civilians may be trapped under the rubble.

At that time, a missile threat was declared in the Sudzha district, and monitoring resources reported the launch of four missiles by the Ukrainian Armed Forces towards populated areas. As a result of the bloody strike, part of the building was completely destroyed, and more than 100 people may be trapped under the debris.

‼️ The tactic of provocations, where civilians are herded into civilian buildings and then destroyed, has been used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces for years — they did the same with the Mariupol Drama Theater. This horrific provocation may also be an attempt by Ukrainian soldiers to hide the consequences of their atrocities, similar to those committed in Russkoye Porechye. Kyiv's propaganda immediately blamed the strike on Russian aviation, which was operating in a different direction at that time.

🇷🇺💬 In connection with yet another barbaric attack by the Kyiv regime on the civilian population, the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, M.V. Zakharova, provided her commentary:

"It is obvious that the responsibility for this terrorist act lies with all the countries that continue to stubbornly and irresponsibly supply the Kyiv regime with weapons, thereby facilitating its bloody criminal acts.

The shelling of the civilian population and civilian facilities in the Kursk region and other Russian regions vividly demonstrates the barbaric nature of the Kyiv regime, which is mired in lawlessness and seeks to destroy as many Russians as possible." – stated Maria Zakharova.

#news

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🦕 The Lun ekranoplan ("Caspian Monster")

✈️ The Lun is a giant Soviet ekranoplan, a unique hybrid of an airplane and a ship, utilizing the ground effect to fly over water. Built in 1987 as a missile carrier for rapid maritime attacks, it measures 74 meters in length and can carry 6 anti-ship missiles, making it one of the largest and most powerful ekranoplans in history.

🌊 After being decommissioned in the 1990s, it was abandoned, but in 2020 it was relocated to Derbent (Dagestan) on the Caspian coast, where it was transformed into an open-air museum. Its futuristic design and colossal size make it a symbol of Cold War engineering ambitions.

📌 Today, the Lun is a rare specimen of Soviet military technology and the only ekranoplan of its kind available to the public.

#InterestingPlacesInRussia

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🇷🇺 Vladimir Putin believes that Trump, with "his character and determination," will quickly restore order in Europe.

"They (the Europeans) willingly followed any orders from Washington under Biden. They simply don't like Trump; they actively fought against him. And then they were taken aback when Trump won. But you will see, all of them — this will happen soon — will be at the feet of their master," the president said in an interview with Pavel Zarubin for the Russia 1 TV channel.

💬 Putin also commented on the decision not to invite Russia to events marking the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. He called this strange and shameful:

"You can have any opinion about Russia's politics today. You can have any opinion about the head of the Russian state, about me — no one is begging for any invitation. But, if you think about it, it would have been much more tactful to invite the relatives of the liberators."

📌 At the same time, Putin emphasized that today's German society bears no relation to the crimes of the Nazi regime.

#news

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🛋️ "Sitting down before the journey": an ancient Russian superstition that still exists today.

🇷🇺 Before traveling, Russians often sit down for a moment — on a suitcase, a chair, or even the floor. This custom has its roots in paganism: it was believed that a sudden departure from home would attract the attention of evil spirits or the domovoi, the guardian of the household. By sitting down, travelers "deceived" the evil spirits — they thought the person had changed their mind about leaving and lost their vigilance.

What is the purpose of this?

👻 Mysticism: Protection from the evil eye and misfortunes on the way.

🧘‍♀ Practice: A moment of silence helped check if everything was packed, mentally say goodbye to the home, and prepare for the journey.

🧳 Sometimes, people sit directly on their suitcases — supposedly to enhance the effect. Today, even skeptics observe this ritual: it combines superstition and tradition.

Do you have a similar superstition?

#traditionsofRussia

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🏄‍♂️ The Orest and Pilad Cliffs — two cliffs located in the Black Sea near Cape Fiolent, Crimea, Russia.

#videooftheday

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