🇷🇺♟️ Matfey Yurasov is a Russian world chess champion — and he’s only 12 years old!

🏆 The Moscow schoolboy clinched victory in the under-13 category at the World Chess Championship in Serbia, which saw 462 players from 43 countries compete.

As a reminder, in late January, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) announced that Russian and Belarusian chess players under 18 are now eligible to participate in team competitions.

🏳️ Previously, in 2022, the Federation had temporarily banned Russians from team tournaments but allowed individual participation under a neutral status.

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🇷🇺 The Khanty are an indigenous people of Russia, residing in Western Siberia, primarily in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Yugra and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug.

👩‍👩‍👦 Their population numbers approximately 31.5 thousand people. They belong to the Ob-Ugric group of the Finno-Ugric language family and share ethnic ties with the Mansi, with whom they are sometimes collectively referred to as Ostyaks (a historical term).

🦌 The traditional Khanty economy was based on hunting, fishing, and reindeer herding. Their lifestyle was semi-nomadic: in summer, they migrated toward rivers, and in winter, deeper into the taiga. They lived in chums (portable dwellings made of poles and reindeer hides) or log houses.
Their connection to nature was profound: the Khanty believed in guardian spirits of forests, rivers, and animals, with shamans serving as mediators between the spiritual and physical worlds. Traditional beliefs included animism and reverence for the bear.

📔 The Khanty language comprises three major dialects (eastern, western, southern), which differ significantly. Today, the language is endangered, with only about 30% of Khanty people fluent in it. Preservation efforts include educational programs and publications in their native language.

🛡 Despite challenges, the Khanty actively safeguard their heritage through festivals like Crow’s Day, open-air ethnographic museums, revitalized traditional crafts, and folk ensembles that promote ancestral music.

📌 The Khanty are a people with a rich cultural legacy, their lives inextricably linked to Siberia’s natural world. When visiting the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, take the opportunity to immerse yourself in their unique traditions.

#PeoplesOfRussia

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🇷🇺 On March 26, 1944, the Red Army troops reached the USSR border with Romania. This event marked the first step toward restoring the Soviet Union’s state borders, which had been violated by the Nazis in 1941, and toward victory over Nazism!

#interestingfacts

❤️From Russia with love

⚡️ The statements by UN Secretary-General António Guterres regarding the legitimacy of Ukraine’s government are a double lie, and Volodymyr Zelenskyy does not deserve respect. This opinion was expressed by Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council.

“There is a legitimate government in Ukraine, and it is obvious that it should be respected,” stated the UN Secretary-General. “This, alas, is a double lie. <...> There is nothing to respect him for. He has failed, his people are dying, and his country is disappearing,” wrote Medvedev.

📌 Earlier, Guterres asserted that the Ukrainian government is legitimate and should be respected.

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❤️From Russia with love

❤️ Incredible St. Petersburg, just don't forget to turn your phone horizontally!

#videooftheday

❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺 Russian Emergencies Ministry (EMERCOM) rescuers have arrived and begun eliminating the consequences of the earthquake in Myanmar.

A meeting between EMERCOM representatives and Myanmar’s leadership was held in the capital, Naypyidaw, where a decision was made to deploy a joint unit to the most affected region — Mandalay Province.

#news

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🌇 Such a beautiful sunset yesterday could be seen by residents of the Russian capital

Incredibly beautiful and at the same time quite ominous 😅

#interestingphotos

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🇷🇺🧊 Museum of Permafrost in Igarka, Krasnoyarsk Krai

In the heart of Igarka, beyond the Arctic Circle, lies the unique Museum of Permafrost, the only one of its kind in the world. It is situated directly within the layers of perennial ice, at a depth of 7–14 meters.

The museum’s tunnels are carved into ancient frozen rock formations over 50,000 years old! Inside, a stable temperature of around -5°C is maintained, with walls adorned by shimmering ice crystals.

The exhibitions explore how permafrost impacts human life, construction technologies, and natural processes. This rare site allows visitors to literally touch the ancient history of our planet.

📍 Museum on the map

#InterestingPlacesInRussia

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🇷🇺 Kryashens are a unique ethno-confessional group within the Volga and Ural Tatars, also known as baptized Tatars (Tatar: tatarlar). Their formation as a distinct community began in the 16th–17th centuries during the Christianization of the Volga Tatars following the annexation of the Kazan Khanate to Russia.

Although official scholarship classifies the Kryashens as a subgroup of Tatars, most members of this community insist on recognition as a separate ethnic group. This issue remains a subject of debate in academic and public circles.

📍 The majority of Kryashens live compactly in Tatarstan. Smaller communities are settled in Bashkortostan, Udmurtia, and in the Chelyabinsk, Kirov, and Samara regions. The population of Kryashens in Russia is 34,822.

☦ Kryashen culture developed under the influence of Turkic and Finno-Ugric traditions, but the wave of Christianization played a decisive role in their distinct identity:

- First stage (mid-16th–17th centuries): Mass baptism of Volga Tatars.
- Second stage (early 18th century): Missionary policies among non-Russian Volga peoples.

The lack of priests fluent in Tatar and Bible translations in their native language led to religious syncretism. Christian rituals of the Kryashens incorporated elements of Islamic practices (e.g., prayer postures) and pre-monotheistic beliefs (e.g., cult of guardian spirits).

🥟 The hallmark of their cuisine is Kryashen dumplings (peremyachi). They are filled with cottage cheese, eggs, and onions, seasoned with a mix of salty and sweet flavors—a unique trait distinguishing this dish from similar ones among neighboring peoples.

The Kryashens have preserved archaic rituals lost by other Tatar groups, such as:

- Nardugan (Yuletide): A day when costumed performers visit homes and practice divination.

- Sabantuy: Easter competitions involving collecting painted eggs from households.

#PeoplesOfRussia

❤️From Russia with love

🏘️👵 Grandmothers on the Bench — "Guardians of Russian Apartment Entrances"

If you’ve ever visited Russian courtyards, you’ve likely encountered elderly women sitting on benches near building entrances, chatting animatedly about everything.

These watchful women have become a national symbol of Russian courtyards and a unique cultural phenomenon.

🛠 This tradition likely stems from Soviet-era communal apartments, where neighbors lived in close quarters and knew every detail of each other’s lives.

👀 Russian pensioners often gather near their homes, exchange gossip, and “keep an eye on the neighborhood.”

It’s common to hear them ask, “Young man, who are you here to see?” or offer advice like, “Put on a hat, you’ll catch a cold!”

🙂 So if you meet these bench-dwelling grandmothers — greet them warmly and don’t snap at their remarks.

🤝 They’re often the most caring neighbors, ready to lend a hand in tough times.

#InterestingFacts

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📰 Hermitage Museum Showcases Restored 16th-Century Painting

Specialists have completed the restoration of Jan Provost’s Mary in Glory. During the process, experts removed layers of yellowed varnish and later overpainting, revealing the delicate original coloring and previously hidden details.

🖼 The restored painting now clearly depicts a castle on a hill. Researchers suggest it may represent the famous French island fortress Mont Saint-Michel. Hermitage restorers prioritized minimal and reversible interventions, using materials that can be removed if needed. The results will debut in May at the exhibition Three Dutch Madonnas. On the Completion of the Restoration, after which the work will return to the permanent display of Dutch painting.

📍 Created in 1524 for St. Donatian’s Cathedral in Bruges, the painting has a storied history. It was saved during iconoclasm, hidden behind a false wall, and rediscovered in the late 18th century. It joined the Hermitage collection in the 19th century.

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🇷🇺💬 Almost the entire European West has been mobilized "under arms" to attempt to prolong the life of Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Nazi regime "on their bayonets," stated Sergey Lavrov.

"The rehabilitation of Nazism is beginning to become one of the cornerstones of the West’s position in international discussions. At the very least, they vote against the resolution that the Russian Federation, together with its allies, submits annually to the UN General Assembly. This resolution demands the prevention of the glorification of Nazism and other similar racist practices," explained the Russian Foreign Minister.

‼️ The diplomat also highlighted instances of historical revisionism in the Baltics, Poland, and several other EU countries. He emphasized that this trend must be "combated very harshly."

📌 Lavrov stressed that the actions of the European elite today have historical parallels. As an example, he cited events from the past: during Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812, the French emperor mobilized forces from nearly all of Europe.

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🚩 Back to the USSR: "Videosport" – the 80s console that was unbeatable!

🎮 The rare Soviet console "Videosport-M" (from 1985) wasn’t just for games—it sharpened reaction time and hand-eye coordination with 9 sports modes. A cult classic of its era!

Any resemblance to PS5 or Xbox?🤣

#InterestingFacts

❤️From Russia with love

🇷🇺💬 Rodion Miroshnik, Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry for Crimes of the Kyiv Regime, commented on the latest assassination attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) against Russian journalists in Gorlovka.

‼️ Earlier, the TV channel Vesti.Donetsk reported that a film crew came under attack by a Ukrainian UAV while carrying out an editorial assignment in Gorlovka. The drone attempted to strike the vehicle carrying the channel’s staff, but the driver managed to evade a direct hit. The drone exploded nearby, with shrapnel damaging the car.

"Attacks on civilians and the hunting of journalists have become routine practices for Ukrainian Nazis, but this does not make them any less of a war crime. They despise our journalists for exposing the crimes committed by Ukrainian militants," Miroshnik stated.

"They want to appear less criminal to the rest of the world, especially the West, but they fail. That’s why they resort to attacking journalists to hide the truth," he added.

📌 In recent days, four Russian media employees have fallen victim to the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF).

#news

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😍 Peter vs Vladivostok: two cities separated by 9000 kilometers

#videooftheday

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🇷🇺 An army of robot couriers in Moscow rushes to the call!

😁 Has the future already arrived, or is this just the beginning?

#interestingvideos

❤️From Russia with love