Russian refers to anything relating to Russia, the world's largest country by land area, stretching from Eastern Europe across northern Asia to the Pacific Ocean. When we talk about Russian literature, Russian history, or Russian winters, we're describing things connected to this vast nation.

The word also describes the people of Russia. Russians have given the world remarkable contributions: the novels of Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, the ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, the classical music of Tchaikovsky, and pioneering space exploration (the Soviets launched the first satellite, Sputnik, and sent the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space).

Russian is also a language spoken by over 250 million people worldwide. It uses a different alphabet called Cyrillic, which looks quite different from the Latin alphabet used in English. Where we write “hello,” Russians write “привет.”

Throughout history, Russia has been an empire, a communist state called the Soviet Union, and now a modern nation. Its culture blends European and Asian influences, creating unique traditions in art, music, and architecture. The famous onion-shaped domes of Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow are distinctly Russian. Russian culture values education, chess (many world champions have been Russian), and a deep appreciation for literature and the arts.