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Railway transport in Russia is mostly under the control of the state-run Russian Railways monopoly. The company accounts for over 3.6% of Russia's GDP and handles 39% of the total freight traffic (including pipelines) and more than 42% of passenger traffic.[200] The total length of common-used railway tracks exceeds 85,500 km (53,127 mi),[200] second only to the United States. Over 44,000 km (27,340 mi) of tracks are electrified,[201] which is the largest number in the world, and additionally there are more than 30,000 km (18,641 mi) of industrial non-common carrier lines. Railways in Russia, unlike in the most of the world, use broad gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 27⁄32 in), with the exception of 957 km (595 mi) on Sakhalin island using narrow gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). The most renown railway in Russia is Trans-Siberian (Transsib), spanning a record 7 time zones and serving the longest single continuous services in the world, Moscow-Vladivostok (9,259 km (5,753 mi)), Moscow–Pyongyang (10,267 km (6,380 mi))[202] and Kiev–Vladivostok (11,085 km (6,888 mi)).[203] As of 2006 Russia had 933,000 km of roads, of which 755,000 were paved.[204] Some of these make up the Russian federal motorway system. With a large land area the road density is the lowest of all the G8 and BRIC countries.[205] Much of Russia's inland waterways, which total 102,000 km (63,380 mi), are made up of natural rivers or lakes. In the European part of the country the network of channels connects the basins of major rivers. Russia's capital, Moscow, is sometimes called "the port of the five seas", because of its waterway connections to the Baltic, White, Caspian, Azov and Black Seas. Yamal, one of Russia's nuclear-powered icebreakers (gallery) Major sea ports of Russia include Rostov-on-Don on the Azov Sea, Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, Astrakhan and Makhachkala on the Caspian, Kaliningrad and St Petersburg on the Baltic, Arkhangelsk on the White Sea, Murmansk on the Barents Sea, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean. In 2008 the country owned 1,448 merchant marine ships. The world's only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers advances the economic exploitation of the Arctic continental shelf of Russia and the development of sea trade through the Northern Sea Route between Europe and East Asia. By total length of pipelines Russia is second only to the United States. Currently many new pipeline projects are being realized, including Nord Stream and South Stream natural gas pipelines to Europe, and the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (ESPO) to the Russian Far East and China. Russia has 1,216 airports,[206] the busiest being Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo in Moscow, and Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. The total length of runways in Russia exceeds 600,000 kilometres (370,000 mi).[207] Typically, major Russian cities have well-developed systems of public transport, with the most common varieties of exploited vehicles being bus, trolleybus and tram. Seven Russian cities, namely Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, and Kazan, have underground metros, while Volgograd features a metrotram. The total length of metros in Russia is 465.4 kilometres (289.2 mi). Moscow Metro and Saint Petersburg Metro are the oldest in Russia, opened in 1935 and 1955 respectively. These two are among the fastest and busiest metro systems in the world, and are famous for rich decorations and unique designs of their stations, which is a common tradition on Russian metros and railways. Science and technology Main articles: Timeline of Russian inventions and technology records, Science and technology in Russia, List of Russian scientists and List of Russian inventors Mikhail Lomonosov, polymath scientist, inventor, poet and artist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936), physiologist, Nobel Prize in 1904 Science and technology in Russia blossomed since the Age of Enlightenment, when Peter the Great founded the Russian Academy of Sciences and Saint Petersburg State University, and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov established the Moscow State University, paving the way for a strong native tradition in learning and innovation. In the 19th and 20th centuries the country produced a large number of notable scientists and inventors. The Russian physics school began with Lomonosov who proposed the law of conservation of matter preceding the energy conservation law. Russian discoveries and inventions in physics include the electric arc, electrodynamical Lenz's law, space groups of crystals, photoelectric cell, Cherenkov radiation, electron paramagnetic resonance, heterotransistors and 3D holography. Lasers and masers were co-invented by Nikolai Basov and Alexander Prokhorov, while the idea of tokamak for controlled nuclear fusion was introduced by Igor Tamm, Andrei Sakharov and Lev Artsimovich, leading eventually the modern international ITER project, where Russia is a party. Since the time of Nikolay Lobachevsky (the "Copernicus of Geometry" who pioneered the non-Euclidean geometry) and a prominent tutor Pafnuty Chebyshev, the Russian mathematical school became one of the most influential in the world.[208] Chebyshev's students included Aleksandr Lyapunov, who founded the modern stability theory, and Andrey Markov who invented the Markov chains. In the 20th century Soviet mathematicians, such as Andrey Kolmogorov, Israel Gelfand, and Sergey Sobolev, made major contributions to various areas of mathematics. Nine Soviet/Russian mathematicians were awarded with Fields Medal, a most prestigious award in mathematics. Recently Grigori Perelman was offered the first ever Clay Millennium Prize Problems Award for his final proof of the Poincaré conjecture in 2002.[209] Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev invented the Periodic table, the main framework of modern chemistry. Aleksandr Butlerov was one of the creators of the theory of chemical structure, playing a central role in organic chemistry. Russian biologists include Dmitry Ivanovsky who discovered viruses, Ivan Pavlov who was the first to experiment with the classical conditioning, and Ilya Mechnikov who was a pioneer researcher of the immune system and probiotics. Many Russian scientists and inventors were émigrés, like Igor Sikorsky, who built the first airliners and modern-type helicopters; Vladimir Zworykin, often called the father of TV; chemist Ilya Prigogine, noted for his work on dissipative structures and complex systems; Nobel Prize-winning economists Simon Kuznets and Wassily Leontief; physicist Georgiy Gamov (an author of the Big Bang theory) and social scientist Pitirim Sorokin. Many foreigners worked in Russia for a long time, like Leonard Euler and Alfred Nobel. Russian inventions include arc welding by Nikolay Benardos, further developed by Nikolay Slavyanov, Konstantin Khrenov and other Russian engineers. Gleb Kotelnikov invented the knapsack parachute, while Evgeniy Chertovsky introduced the pressure suit. Alexander Lodygin and Pavel Yablochkov were pioneers of electric lighting, and Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky introduced the first three-phase electric power systems, widely used today. Sergei Lebedev invented the first commercially viable and mass-produced type of synthetic rubber. The first ternary computer, Setun, was developed by Nikolay Brusentsov. The Sukhoi PAK FA is a fifth-generation jet fighter being developed for the Russian Air Force. In the 20th century a number of prominent Soviet aerospace engineers, inspired by the fundamental works of Nikolai Zhukovsky, Sergei Chaplygin and others, designed many hundreds of models of military and civilian aircraft and founded a number of KBs (Construction Bureaus) that now constitute the bulk of Russian United Aircraft Corporation. Famous Russian aircraft include the civilian Tu-series, Su and MiG fighter aircraft, Ka and Mi-series helicopters; many Russian aircraft models are on the list of most produced aircraft in history. Famous Russian battle tanks include T34, the most heavily produced tank design of World War II,[210] and further tanks of T-series, including the most produced tank in history, T54/55.[211] The AK47 and AK74 by Mikhail Kalashnikov constitute the most widely used type of assault rifle throughout the world—so much so that more AK-type rifles have been manufactured than all other assault rifles combined.[212] With all these achievements, however, since the late Soviet era Russia was lagging behind the West in a number of technologies, mostly those related to energy conservation and consumer goods production. The crisis of the 1990s led to the drastic reduction of the state support for science and a brain drain migration from Russia. In the 2000s, on the wave of a new economic boom, the situation in the Russian science and technology has improved, and the government launched a campaign aimed into modernisation and innovation. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev formulated top priorities for the country's technological development: Efficient energy use Information technology, including both common products and the products combined with space technology Nuclear energy Pharmaceuticals[213] Currently Russia has completed the GLONASS satellite navigation system. The country is developing its own fifth-generation jet fighter and constructing the first serial mobile nuclear plant in the world. Space exploration Soviet and Russian space station Mir Russian achievements in the field of space technology and space exploration are traced back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical astronautics.[214] His works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such as Sergey Korolyov, Valentin Glushko, and many others who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program on early stages of the Space Race and beyond. In 1957 the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched; in 1961 the first human trip into space was successfully made by Yury Gagarin. Many other Soviet and Russian space exploration records ensued, including the first spacewalk performed by Alexey Leonov, Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon, Venera 7 was the first to land on another planet (Venus), Mars 3 then the first to land on Mars, the first space exploration rover Lunokhod 1 and the first space station Salyut 1 and Mir. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some government-funded space exploration programs, including the Buran space shuttle program, were cancelled or delayed, while participation of the Russian space industry in commercial activities and international cooperation intensified. Nowadays Russia is the largest satellite launcher.[215] After the U.S. Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, Soyuz rockets became the only provider of transport for astronauts at the International Space Station. Soyuz TMA-2 is launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, carrying one of the first resident crews to the International Space Station Demographics Main articles: Demographics of Russia and Rossiyane Percentage of ethnic Russians by region in 2010 >80% 70—79% 50—69% Natural population growth rate in Russia, 2012. Ethnic Russians comprise 81% of the country's population.[2] The Russian Federation is also home to several sizeable minorities. In all, 160 different other ethnic groups and indigenous peoples live within its borders.[216] Though Russia's population is comparatively large, its density is low because of the country's enormous size. Population is densest in European Russia, near the Ural Mountains, and in southwest Siberia. 73% of the population lives in urban areas while 27% in rural ones.[217] The results of the 2010 Census show a total population of 142,856,536.[218] Russia's population peaked at 148,689,000 in 1991, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It began to experience a rapid decline starting in the mid-1990s.[219] The decline has slowed to near stagnation in recent years because of reduced death rates, increased birth rates and increased immigration.[220] In 2009, Russia recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years, with total growth of 10,500.[220] 279,906 migrants arrived to the Russian Federation the same year, of which 93% came from CIS countries.[220] The number of Russian emigrants steadily declined from 359,000 in 2000 to 32,000 in 2009.[220] There are also an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants from the ex-Soviet states in Russia.[221] Roughly 116 million ethnic Russians live in Russia[216] and about 20 million more live in other former republics of the Soviet Union,[222] mostly in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.[223] The 2010 census recorded 81% of the population as ethnically Russian, and 19% as other ethnicities:[2] 3.7% Tatars; 1.4% Ukrainians; 1.1% Bashkirs; 1% Chuvashes; 11.8% others and unspecified. According to the Census, 84.93% of the Russian population belongs to European ethnic groups (Slavic, Germanic, Finnic other than Ugric, Greek, and others). This is a decline from the 2002, when they constituted for more than 86% of the population.[2] Russia's birth rate is higher than that of most European countries (12.6 births per 1000 people in 2010[220] compared to the European Union average of 9.90 per 1000),[224] but its death rate is also substantially higher (in 2010, Russia's death rate was 14.3 per 1000 people[220] compared to the EU average of 10.28 per 1000).[225] The Russian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs predicted that by 2011 the death rate would equal the birth rate because of increase in fertility and decline in mortality.[226] The government is implementing a number of programs designed to increase the birth rate and attract more migrants. Monthly government child-assistance payments were doubled to US$55, and a one-time payment of US$9,200 was offered to women who had a second child since 2007.[227] In 2006, in a bid to compensate for the country's demographic decline, the Russian government started simplifying immigration laws and launched a state program "for providing assistance to voluntary immigration of ethnic Russians from former Soviet republics".[228] In 2009 Russia experienced its highest birth rate since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[220][229] In 2012, the birth rate increased again. Russia recorded 1,896,263 births, the highest number since 1990, and even exceeding annual births during the period 1967–1969, with a TFR of about 1.7, the highest since 1991. (Source: Vital statistics table below) In August 2012, as the country saw its first demographic growth since the 1990s, President Putin declared that Russia's population could reach 146 million by 2025, mainly as a result of immigration.[230] Largest cities Main article: List of cities and towns in Russia by population v t e Largest cities or towns of Russia Rosstat (2009)[231][232] Rank Name Federal subject Pop. Rank Name Federal subject Pop. Moscow Moscow Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg 1 Moscow Moscow 11,514,300 11 Ufa Bashkortostan 1,094,842 Novosibirsk Novosibirsk Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg 2 Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg 5,227,567 12 Volgograd Volgograd Oblast 1,091,200 3 Novosibirsk Novosibirsk Oblast 1,473,737 13 Perm Perm Krai 1,090,679 4 Yekaterinburg Sverdlovsk Oblast 1,350,136 14 Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk Krai 1,000,601 5 Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod Oblast 1,250,252 15 Voronezh Voronezh Oblast 1,000,496 6 Samara Samara Oblast 1,164,900 16 Saratov Saratov Oblast 900,953 7 Kazan Tatarstan 1,143,600 17 Tolyatti Samara Oblast 720,346 8 Omsk Omsk Oblast 1,153,971 18 Krasnodar Krasnodar Krai 710,686 9 Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk Oblast 1,130,273 19 Izhevsk Udmurtia 611,043 10 Rostov-na-Donu Rostov Oblast 1,098,991 20 Yaroslavl Yaroslavl Oblast 606,336 Language Main articles: Russian language, Languages of Russia and List of endangered languages in Russia Countries where the Russian language is spoken Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages.[10] According to the 2002 Census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3 million and Ukrainian with 1.8 million speakers.[233] Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individual republics the right to establish their own state languages in addition to Russian.[234] Despite its wide distribution, the Russian language is homogeneous throughout the country. Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, as well as the most widely spoken Slavic language.[235] It belongs to the Indo-European language family and is one of the living members of the East Slavic languages, the others being Belarusian and Ukrainian (and possibly Rusyn). Written examples of Old East Slavic (Old Russian) are attested from the 10th century onwards.[236] Russian is one of the six official languages of the UN.[237] Religion Main article: Religion in Russia Circle frame.svg Religion in Russia (2012)[238][239] Russian Orthodox (41%) Muslim (6.5%) Unaffiliated Christian (4.1%) Other Orthodox (1.5%) Neopagan and Tengrist (1.2%) Tibetan Buddhist (0.5%) Other religions (1.7%) Spiritual but not religious (25%) Atheist and non-religious (13%) Undecided (5.5%) Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism are Russia's traditional religions, and are all legally a part of Russia's "historical heritage".[240] In August 2012 the first-ever sociological survey and mapping of religious adherents in Russia based on self-identification was published, with data on 79 out of 83 of the federal subjects of Russia.[238][241][242] Out of a population of 142,800,000 the survey found that 58,800,000 or 41% are Russian Orthodox, 9,400,000 or 6.5% are Muslims (including Sunni Islam, Shia Islam, and a majority of unaffiliated Muslims), 5,900,000 or 4.1% are unaffiliated Christians, 2,100,000 or 1.5% adhere to other Orthodox Churches (including Ukrainian, Georgian, Armenian and other churches), 1,700,000 or 1.2% are Pagans (including Rodnovery, Etseg Din, Caucasian Neopaganism and Uralic Neopaganism) or Tengrists (Turco-Mongol shamanic religions and new religions), 700,000 or 0.5% are Buddhists (mostly Vajrayana), 400,000 or 0.2% are Orthodox Old Believers, 300,000 or 0.2% are Protestants, 140,000 are Catholics, 140,000 are Jews.[238][239] The Bahá'í Faith in Russia (Вера Бахаи), according to Association of Religion Data Archives was estimated at about 18,990 in 2005.[243] The remaining population is made up of 36,000,000 or 25% "spiritual but not religious" people, 18,600,000 or 13% atheist and non-religious people and 7,900,000 people or 5.5% of the total population who have deemed themselves "undecided".[238][239] Traced back to the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in the 10th century, Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in the country; smaller Christian denominations such as Catholics, Armenian Gregorians and various Protestant churches also exist. The Russian Orthodox Church was the country's state religion prior to the Revolution and remains the largest religious body in the country. An estimated 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches.[244] However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Easter is the most popular religious holiday in Russia, celebrated by a large segment of the Russian population, including large numbers of those who are non-religious. More than three-quarters of the Russian population celebrate Easter by making traditional Easter cakes, coloured eggs and paskha.[245] Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg Islam is the second largest religion in Russia after Russian Orthodoxy.[246] It is the traditional or predominant religion amongst some Caucasian ethnicities (notably the Chechens, the Ingush and the Circassians), and amongst some Turkic peoples (notably the Tatars and the Bashkirs). Altogether, there are 9,400,000 Muslims in Russia or 6.5% of the total population as of 2012 (the share of Muslims is probably much higher because the survey doesn't include detailed data for the traditionally Islamic states of Chechnya and Ingushetia). Notwithstanding, various differences split the Muslim population in different groups. According to the survey, most of the Muslims (precisely 6,700,000 or 4.6% of the total population) are "unaffiliated" to any Islamic schools and branches or Islamic organisation, this is mainly because it is not essential for Muslims to be affiliated with any specific sect or organization. Those who are unaffiliated are mostly Sunni Muslims. These unaffiliated Muslims constitute significant percentages of over 10% in Kabardino-Balkaria (49%), Bashkortostan (38%), Karachay-Cherkessia (34%), Tatarstan (31%), Yamalia (13%), Orenburg Oblast (11%), Adygea (11%) and Astrakhan Oblast (11%). Most of the regions of Siberia have an unaffiliated Muslim population of 1% to 2%.[238][239] Buddhism is traditional in three regions of the Russian Federation: Buryatia, Tuva, and Kalmykia. Some residents of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions, such as Yakutia and Chukotka, practice shamanist, pantheistic, and pagan rites, along with the major religions. Induction into religion takes place primarily along ethnic lines. Slavs are significantly Orthodox Christian, Turkic speakers are predominantly Muslim, and Mongolic peoples are generally Buddhists.[247] Various reports put the number of non-religious in Russia at between 16–48% of the population.[248] The number of atheists has decreased significantly; according to the recent statistic, only seven percent declared themselves atheists, a decrease of 5% in three years.[249] Health Main article: Healthcare in Russia A mobile clinic used to provide health care at remote railway stations The Russian Constitution guarantees free, universal health care for all its citizens.[250] In practice, however, free health care is partially restricted because of mandatory registration.[251] While Russia has more physicians, hospitals, and health care workers than almost any other country in the world on a per capita basis,[252] since the dissolution of the Soviet Union the health of the Russian population has declined considerably as a result of social, economic, and lifestyle changes;[253] the trend has been reversed only in the recent years, with average life expectancy having increased 2.4 years for males and 1.4 years for females between 2006–09.[220] As of 2009, the average life expectancy in Russia was 62.77 years for males and 74.67 years for females.[254] The biggest factor contributing to the relatively low life expectancy for males is a high mortality rate among working-age males. Deaths mostly occur because of preventable causes (e.g., alcohol poisoning, smoking, traffic accidents, violent crime).[220] As a result of the large gender difference in life expectancy, and also because of the lasting effect of high casualties in World War II, the gender imbalance remains to this day; there are 0.859 males to every female.[88] Education Main article: Education in Russia Moscow State University Russia has a free education system, which is guaranteed for all citizens by the Constitution,[255] however entry to subsidized higher education is highly competitive.[256] As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and aerospace research is generally of a high order.[257] Since 1990, the 11-year school education has been introduced. Education in state-owned secondary schools is free. University level education is free, with exceptions. A substantial share of students is enrolled for full pay (many state institutions started to open commercial positions in the last years).[258] In 2004, state spending for education amounted to 3.6% of the GDP, or 13% of the consolidated state budget.[259] The Government allocates funding to pay the tuition fees within an established quota or number of students for each state institution. In higher education institutions, students are paid a small stipend and provided with free housing if they are from out of town.[260] The oldest and largest Russian universities are Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University. In the 2000s, in order to create higher education and research institutions of comparable scale in Russian regions, the government launched a program of establishing "federal universities", mostly by merging existing large regional universities and research institutes and providing them with a special funding. These new institutions include the Southern Federal University, Siberian Federal University, Kazan Volga Federal University, North-Eastern Federal University, and Far Eastern Federal University. Culture Main article: Russian culture Folk culture and cuisine Main articles: Russian traditions, Russian jokes, Russian fairy tales and Russian cuisine The Merchant's Wife by Boris Kustodiev, showcasing the Russian tea culture There are over 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples in Russia.[216] Ethnic Russians with their Slavic Orthodox traditions, Tatars and Bashkirs with their Turkic Muslim culture, Buddhist nomadic Buryats and Kalmyks, Shamanistic peoples of the Extreme North and Siberia, highlanders of the Northern Caucasus, Finno-Ugric peoples of the Russian North West and Volga Region all contribute to the cultural diversity of the country. Handicraft, like Dymkovo toy, khokhloma, gzhel and palekh miniature represent an important aspect of Russian folk culture. Ethnic Russian clothes include kaftan, kosovorotka and ushanka for men, sarafan and kokoshnik for women, with lapti and valenki as common shoes. The clothes of Cossacks from Southern Russia include burka and papaha, which they share with the peoples of the Northern Caucasus. Russian cuisine widely uses fish, poultry, mushrooms, berries, and honey. Crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provide the ingredients for various breads, pancakes and cereals, as well as for kvass, beer and vodka drinks. Black bread is rather popular in Russia, compared to the rest of the world. Flavourful soups and stews include shchi, borsch, ukha, solyanka and okroshka. Smetana (a heavy sour cream) is often added to soups and salads. Pirozhki, blini and syrniki are native types of pancakes. Chicken Kiev, pelmeni and shashlyk are popular meat dishes, the last two being of Tatar and Caucasus origin respectively. Other meat dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls (golubtsy) usually filled with meat.[261] Salads include Olivier salad, Vinaigrette and Dressed herring. Russia's large number of ethnic groups have distinctive traditions regarding folk music. Typical ethnic Russian musical instruments are gusli, balalaika, zhaleika, and garmoshka. Folk music had a significant influence on Russian classical composers, and in modern times it is a source of inspiration for a number of popular folk bands, like Melnitsa. Russian folk songs, as well as patriotic Soviet songs, constitute the bulk of the repertoire of the world-renown Red Army choir and other popular ensembles. Russians have many traditions, including the washing in banya, a hot steam bath somewhat similar to sauna.[47] Old Russian folklore takes its roots in the pagan Slavic religion. Many Russian fairy tales and epic bylinas were adaptated for animation films, or for feature movies by the prominent directors like Aleksandr Ptushko (Ilya Muromets, Sadko) and Aleksandr Rou (Morozko, Vasilisa the Beautiful). Russian poets, including Pyotr Yershov and Leonid Filatov, made a number of well-known poetical interpretations of the classical fairy tales, and in some cases, like that of Alexander Pushkin, also created fully original fairy tale poems of great popularity. Architecture Main articles: Russian architecture and List of Russian architects Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow, a well known piece of Russian architecture Since the Christianization of Kievan Rus' for several ages Russian architecture was influenced predominantly by the Byzantine architecture. Apart from fortifications (kremlins), the main stone buildings of ancient Rus' were Orthodox churches with their many domes, often gilded or brightly painted. Aristotle Fioravanti and other Italian architects brought Renaissance trends into Russia since the late 15th century, while the 16th century saw the development of unique tent-like churches culminating in Saint Basil's Cathedral.[262] By that time the onion dome design was also fully developed.[263] In the 17th century, the "fiery style" of ornamentation flourished in Moscow and Yaroslavl, gradually paving the way for the Naryshkin baroque of the 1690s. After the reforms of Peter the Great the change of architectural styles in Russia generally followed that in the Western Europe. The 18th-century taste for rococo architecture led to the ornate works of Bartolomeo Rastrelli and his followers. The reigns of Catherine the Great and her grandson Alexander I saw the flourishing of Neoclassical architecture, most notably in the capital city of Saint Petersburg. The second half of the 19th century was dominated by the Neo-Byzantine and Russian Revival styles. Prevalent styles of the 20th century were the Art Nouveau, Constructivism, and the Stalin Empire style. In 1955, a new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, condemned the "excesses" of the former academic architecture,[264] and the late Soviet era was dominated by plain functionalism in architecture. This helped somewhat to resolve the housing problem, but created a large quantity of buildings of low architectural quality, much in contrast with the previous bright styles. The situation improved in the recent two decades. Many temples demolished in Soviet times were rebuilt, and this process continues along with the restoration of various historical buildings destroyed in World War II. A total of 23,000 Orthodox churches have been rebuilt between 1991 and 2010, which effectively quadrapled the number of operating churches in Russia.[265] Visual arts Main article: Russian artists A piece of Russian Icon art known as Rublev's Trinity Karl Bryullov (1799–1852), a key figure in transition from the Russian neoclassicism to romanticism. Early Russian painting is represented in icons and vibrant frescos, the two genres inherited from Byzantium. As Moscow rose to power, Theophanes the Greek, Dionisius and Andrei Rublev became vital names associated with a distinctly Russian art. The Russian Academy of Arts was created in 1757[266] and gave Russian artists an international role and status. Ivan Argunov, Dmitry Levitzky, Vladimir Borovikovsky and other 18th century academicians mostly focused on portrait painting. In the early 19th century, when neoclassicism and romantism flourished, mythological and Biblical themes inspired many prominent paintings, notably by Karl Briullov and Alexander Ivanov. In the mid-19th century the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers) group of artists broke with the Academy and initiated a school of art liberated from academic restrictions.[267] These were mostly realist painters who captured Russian identity in landscapes of wide rivers, forests, and birch clearings, as well as vigorous genre scenes and robust portraits of their contemporaries. Some artists focused on depicting dramatic moments in Russian history, while others turned to social criticism, showing the conditions of the poor and caricaturing authority; critical realism flourished under the reign of Alexander II. Leading realists include Ivan Shishkin, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ivan Kramskoi, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, Ilya Repin, and Boris Kustodiev. The turn of the 20th century saw the rise of symbolist painting, represented by Mikhail Vrubel, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, and Nicholas Roerich. The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of modernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930. The term covers many separate, but inextricably related art movements that occurred at the time, namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, rayonism, and Russian Futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marc Chagall. Since the 1930s the revolutionary ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged conservative direction of socialist realism. Soviet art produced works that were furiously patriotic and anti-fascist during and after the Great Patriotic War. Multiple war memorials, marked by a great restrained solemnity, were built throughout the country. Soviet artists often combined innovation with socialist realism, notably the sculptors Vera Mukhina, Yevgeny Vuchetich and Ernst Neizvestny. Music and dance Main articles: Music of Russia, Russian ballet, Russian opera, Russian rock, Russian pop and Russian composers The Snowdance scene from The Nutcracker ballet, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Music in 19th century Russia was defined by the tension between classical composer Mikhail Glinka along with other members of The Mighty Handful, who embraced Russian national identity and added religious and folk elements to their compositions, and the Russian Musical Society led by composers Anton and Nikolay Rubinsteins, which was musically conservative. The later tradition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, was continued into the 20th century by Sergei Rachmaninoff.[268] World-renowned composers of the 20th century include Alexander Scriabin, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke. Russian conservatories have turned out generations of famous soloists. Among the best known are violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer; cellist Mstislav Rostropovich; pianists Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels; and vocalists Fyodor Shalyapin, Galina Vishnevskaya, Anna Netrebko and Dmitry Hvorostovsky.[269] During the early 20th century, Russian ballet dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame, and impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide.[270] Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions,[271] and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced many internationally famous stars, including Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg remain famous throughout the world.[272] Modern Russian rock music takes its roots both in the Western rock and roll and heavy metal, and in traditions of the Russian bards of the Soviet era, such as Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava.[273] Popular Russian rock groups include Mashina Vremeni, DDT, Aquarium, Alisa, Kino, Kipelov, Nautilus Pompilius, Aria, Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Splean and Korol i Shut. Russian pop music developed from what was known in the Soviet times as estrada into full-fledged industry, with some performers gaining wide international recognition, such as t.A.T.u., Nu Virgos and Vitas. |
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