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clear:right; border: 2px solid silver; margin: 0 0 .5em .5em; width: 200px;"> <div style="background-color: #e7ece6; font-size: 15px; text-align: center; padding: .3em;"><b>Russia</b> <b></b></div> <center><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_Russia.svg" class="image"><img alt="Flag of Russia.svg" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/195px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png" decoding="async" width="195" height="130" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/293px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/Flag_of_Russia.svg/390px-Flag_of_Russia.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="900" data-file-height="600" /></a></center> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Demographics</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by population" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by population">Population</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>145,478,097 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal)" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal)">GDP (million)</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>1,647,568 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capita" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by GDP (nominal) per capita">GDP p/cap.</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>11,273 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by life expectancy" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by life expectancy">Life expectancy</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>73.2 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:List of countries by Human Development Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of countries by Human Development Index">Development Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.824 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>Government</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Democracy_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Democracy Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Democracy Index">Democracy Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>3.24 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corruption_Perceptions_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Corruption Perceptions Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Corruption Perceptions Index">Corruption Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>29 </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="width: 200px;"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" style="text-align: center; background-color: #e8e7f2;"><b>More</b> </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_Index" class="extiw" title="wp:Education Index" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Education Index">Education Index</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>0.823 </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Importance_of_religion_by_country" class="extiw" title="wp:Importance of religion by country" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Importance of religion by country">Religiosity</span></a>:<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> </td> <td>34 </td></tr></tbody></table> </div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I’d like to go to Russia very much – although <a href="/wiki/Bolshevik" title="Bolshevik">the bastards</a> <a href="/wiki/October_Revolution" title="October Revolution">murdered half my family</a>.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Prince Philip<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2">[1]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>I think many Russians, but also a lot of Westerners, make a very serious mistake in trying to look for… a better person to become president. They are searching for such a person in [Alexei] Navalny, in myself, but that’s a mistake. Anyone who replaces Putin is going to take Russia along the same imperialist route. <br /> [...] It is a very large and very diverse country, and if you want to manage it from one central spot, you have to have a very strong bureaucratic apparatus. To have such a huge apparatus at the centre has to be explained by having to protect the country from an outside enemy – there is no other explanation that people will accept.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky" class="extiw" title="wp:Mikhail Khodorkovsky" rel="nofollow">Mikhail Khodorkovsky</a>, exiled Russian businessman and opposition figure, May 2022.<sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-3">[2]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>The Russian persecution complex is complemented by the idea that they, and only they, can save the world from itself. </div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Sean Stewart, <i>It’s Russia, My Son. A (partial) Roadmap of the Russian Soul</i>, page 235<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4">[3]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><br /> </p> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Do nasty things at night.<br /> <small> <table class="collapsible collapsed" border="0"> <tbody><tr> <th>Original in Russian: </th></tr> <tr> <td>Делайте гадости ночью. </td></tr></tbody></table> </small></div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—The Russian equivalent of "Love thy neighbor."<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5">[4]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6">[5]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>What I find remarkable is how quickly Russian genetic memory has come back, and how people who didn’t live in those times suddenly act as if they did. Suddenly they are squealing on others. It is a Soviet practice but it’s also something about the Russian genetic code, of fear, of trying to protect themselves at the expense of others.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Nina Khrushcheva, a Russian-American professor of International Affairs at The New School in New York (who is also Nikita Khrushchev's granddaugher)<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7">[6]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p><b>Russia</b>, officially the <b>Russian Federation</b> (Russian: Российская Федерация tr: <i>Rossiyskaya federatsiya</i>), is where <a href="/wiki/Napoleon_Bonaparte" title="Napoleon Bonaparte">invasions</a> <a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">go to die</a> (unless you're <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://youtu.be/PqcVro-3f4I">the Mongols</a>). It's the largest country globally, situated between <a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe">Europe</a> and <a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia">Asia</a>, or making up most of Europe, or taking up all of Northern Asia — or all of the above. Take your pick; Siberia makes this all way too complicated. </p><p>As the successor to the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>, the Russian Federation includes 89 federal subjects (48 oblasts, 24 <a href="/wiki/Republic" title="Republic">republics</a>, 9 krais, 4 autonomous okrugs, 3 federal cities, and 1 autonomous oblast), of which 6 are internationally recognized as part of <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>. This is even more complicated than it sounds. Imagine if the <a href="/wiki/US" class="mw-redirect" title="US">US</a> had 89 <a href="/wiki/State" title="State">states</a> that occasionally had shooting wars; 6 of those 89 were legally <a href="/wiki/Mexican" class="mw-redirect" title="Mexican">Mexican</a> or <a href="/wiki/Canadian" class="mw-redirect" title="Canadian">Canadian</a>; of those 6, 4 were active warzones whose <i>de jure</i> country still partly controlled them and was fighting to get them back; and said <i>de jure</i> country occasionally attacked <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missile_strike_on_the_Black_Sea_Fleet_headquarters" class="extiw" title="wp:Missile strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Missile strike on the Black Sea Fleet headquarters">military installations</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Crimean_Bridge_explosion" class="extiw" title="wp:2022 Crimean Bridge explosion" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: 2022 Crimean Bridge explosion">illegal infrastructure</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> in the other 2. </p> <div id="toc" class="toc" role="navigation" aria-labelledby="mw-toc-heading"><input type="checkbox" role="button" id="toctogglecheckbox" class="toctogglecheckbox" style="display:none" /><div class="toctitle" lang="en" dir="ltr"><h2 id="mw-toc-heading">Contents</h2><span class="toctogglespan"><label class="toctogglelabel" for="toctogglecheckbox"></label></span></div> <ul> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-1"><a href="#Demographics"><span class="tocnumber">1</span> <span class="toctext">Demographics</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-2"><a href="#Flag"><span class="tocnumber">2</span> <span class="toctext">Flag</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-3"><a href="#The_Eastern_Front"><span class="tocnumber">3</span> <span class="toctext">The Eastern Front</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-4"><a href="#Exporters_of_democracy"><span class="tocnumber">4</span> <span class="toctext">Exporters of democracy</span></a> <ul> <li class="toclevel-2 tocsection-5"><a href="#Irredentism"><span class="tocnumber">4.1</span> <span class="toctext">Irredentism</span></a></li> </ul> </li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-6"><a href="#Religion"><span class="tocnumber">5</span> <span class="toctext">Religion</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-7"><a href="#European_or_Asian.3F_Maybe_even_Eurasian"><span class="tocnumber">6</span> <span class="toctext">European or Asian? <s>Maybe even Eurasian</s></span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-8"><a href="#LGBT_rights"><span class="tocnumber">7</span> <span class="toctext">LGBT rights</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-9"><a href="#Siberia"><span class="tocnumber">8</span> <span class="toctext">Siberia</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-10"><a href="#Russian_language"><span class="tocnumber">9</span> <span class="toctext">Russian language</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-11"><a href="#Vodka"><span class="tocnumber">10</span> <span class="toctext">Vodka</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-12"><a href="#Chechnya"><span class="tocnumber">11</span> <span class="toctext">Chechnya</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-13"><a href="#See_also"><span class="tocnumber">12</span> <span class="toctext">See also</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-14"><a href="#External_links"><span class="tocnumber">13</span> <span class="toctext">External links</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-15"><a href="#Notes"><span class="tocnumber">14</span> <span class="toctext">Notes</span></a></li> <li class="toclevel-1 tocsection-16"><a href="#References"><span class="tocnumber">15</span> <span class="toctext">References</span></a></li> </ul> </div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Demographics">Demographics</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: Demographics">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Despite Russia housing hundreds of ethnic groups, those are mainly concentrated in semi-autonomous republics. Russia is overwhelmingly Slavic, and shared Russian and Slavic identity is a core part of its fabric. This consists of a shared love of borscht, pickles, black bread, vodka, cigarettes and Adidas tracksuits,<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8">[7]</a></sup> and a shared sense of existential despair. </p><p>The Soviet Union was hit particularly hard by <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>. Something like 26 million people died between 1941-45. Russia and other countries of the former USSR still have an imbalance in gender as a result.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9">[8]</a></sup> </p><p>41 of Russia's over one hundred ethnic groups are legally recognized as “Indigenous small-numbered peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East.” To receive legal protection, these people must number less than 50,000 people, maintain a traditional way of life, and inhabit separate territories. 24 larger ethnic groups were identified as national identities but did not qualify for assistance. Unemployment in Indigenous populations is 1.5-2 times higher, and incomes are 2-3 times lower than other Russians, with over a decade's difference in life expectancy for men and women.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10">[9]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Flag">Flag</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: Flag">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>The Russian flag comprises three colors: </p> <ol><li>White represents the nation's broad ethnic diversity, which runs the gamut from vanilla to ivory.</li> <li>Blue, for the color to which your sensitive areas turn during winter.</li> <li>Red, for the blood of the nation's ethical journalists and opposition politicians whose gruesome murders the Kremlin had nothing to do with. ;-)</li></ol> <p>But seriously: Red symbolises (Moscow) Russia, White symbolizes (Belarus) Russia, Blue symbolizes (Ukraine) Russia. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="The_Eastern_Front">The Eastern Front</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: The Eastern Front">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:352px;"><a href="/wiki/File:RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg/350px-RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg" decoding="async" width="350" height="126" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg/525px-RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ef/RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg/700px-RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2163" data-file-height="776" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:RIAN_archive_44732_Soviet_soldiers_attack_house.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Soviet soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Anything up to five degrees below zero I don't even notice. Quite a number of young people of today already wear shorts all the year round; it is just a question of habit. In the future, I shall have an SS Highland Brigade in lederhosen.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="/wiki/Adolf_Hitler" title="Adolf Hitler">Adolf Hitler</a>, meteorologist</cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>As the Mongols discovered, you have to raze Russia to the ground to get a surrender out of them. The Khans paid attention to their supply lines and exploited advantages in the weather (which turned the rivers into Mongol highways). They also got lucky that Russia was a disunited mess at that point; it didn't expand past the Urals until the 1400-1500s. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Napoleon" class="mw-redirect" title="Napoleon">Napoleon</a> found his grip on Europe weakening thanks to <a href="/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> and was in search of a significant symbolic victory over Russia. His first objective was to take Vilnius. When he took Vilnius without having fought the Russian army, he decided to move straight into Russian territory in Moscow's direction, hoping that this would cause Alexander to bend his knee. Napoleon's subordinates urged him to halt and dig in for the winter, but Napoleon saw this as admitting defeat, so he marched on. ("Avant deux mois, la Russie me demandera la paix.") The massive amount of terrain to conquer using trench warfare and the oncoming Rasputitsa made Napoleon's defeat almost inevitable, as the Russians only needed to stall. He lost most of his 600,000 men to the arduous pursuit, starvation, exhaustion, and garrison duty.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12">[note 2]</a></sup> </p><p>Hitler had similar delusions, and on the anniversary of Napoleon's statement, he began the "European crusade against Bolshevism" (Ole Dolfy thought that all Slavs were inferior). Beyond Nazi <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clean_Wehrmacht" class="extiw" title="wp:Clean Wehrmacht" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Clean Wehrmacht">propaganda</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, the view of the Soviet army as a ramshackle mob wasn't helped by the first year of the German invasion when the Soviets had few officers because of Stalin's purges and their under-equipped rookies were swept aside. The Soviets lost about 8-10 million versus 5.5 million Germans, which led to the whole "USSR won through bodies" myth - similar to views of Robert E. Lee fighting the Union and Grant (Grant only won by "throwing bodies" at the rebels, while Lee was a tactical genius and a good man fighting for a bad cause, etc.). This, however, only accounts for about the first 1/3rd of the war. The Soviet army, for the <i>other</i> 2/3rds of the war, was a very different beast. All those elite Wehrmacht pilots and officers lay dead or dying, Zhukov was recalled from the Far East and brought his command staff with him, the Red Army was re-equipped with enormous quantities of modern armor and artillery, and the Red Guard were veterans all but in name. The Germans ran out of fuel (inevitably) halfway through<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13">[11]</a></sup> and lost what was left of their motorized divisions. Russians were literally throwing live Nazis on the ground, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massacre_of_Feodosia" class="extiw" title="wp:Massacre of Feodosia" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Massacre of Feodosia">spraying water on them until they froze</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, and then driving over them like roads. Old joke: What's the only thing the Nazis <i>didn't</i> slap a swastika on? Answer: Moscow.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14">[12]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Exporters_of_democracy">Exporters of democracy</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: Exporters of democracy">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>The sucking-up to the master is completely genuine, but as we’re all liberated 21st-century people who enjoy Coen brothers films, we’ll do our sucking up with an ironic grin while acknowledging that if we were ever to cross you we would quite quickly be dead.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Peter Pomerantsev<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15">[13]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>After experimenting with <s><a href="/wiki/Anarchy" title="Anarchy">anarchy</a></s> democracy in the 1990s under <a href="/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin" title="Boris Yeltsin">Yeltsin</a>, Russia is, thanks to <a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Putin" title="Vladimir Putin">Vladimir Putin</a>, an enlightened "<a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">sovereign democracy</a>",<sup id="cite_ref-16" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-16">[note 3]</a></sup> which has cut assassinations of <a href="/wiki/Journalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Journalist">journalists</a> down to only two or three a year<sup id="cite_ref-17" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-17">[14]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-18" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-18">[note 4]</a></sup> and doesn't cut off the <a href="/wiki/Natural_gas" title="Natural gas">gas</a> supply <i>every</i> time a foreign country criticizes it. Their "democracy" is now so thriving that the <a href="/wiki/United_Russia" title="United Russia">United Russia</a> party scored 238 out of 450 Duma seats in the 2011 elections with only minimal widespread electoral fraud.<sup id="cite_ref-19" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-19">[15]</a></sup> </p><p>One of their many favorite pastimes is insisting that <a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a> is out to get them. Every time the situation gets a bit dicey at home, the solution is easy. "<a href="/wiki/Stab-in-the-back_legend" title="Stab-in-the-back legend">Take back more of Russia!</a>" They have enough of Russia already. That whole area of Siberia? Just develop the land slowly, and you could have a country that rivals <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> in resources. Seems like Russia is thinking, <i>"Tired of being cold. Maybe take back warm land."</i> </p> <h3><span class="mw-headline" id="Irredentism">Irredentism</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: Irredentism">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h3> <div role="note" class="hatnote">See the main article on this topic: <a href="/wiki/Irredentism" title="Irredentism">Irredentism</a></div> <p>Russia has seized land by force in several former <a href="/wiki/Eastern_Bloc" title="Eastern Bloc">Eastern Bloc</a> countries that it considers unfriendly (mainly <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> and <a href="/wiki/Georgia_(country)" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a>), often under the guise of protecting Russian speakers who did not ask to be protected, or intensified local conflicts in order to send in "peacekeepers". Russia has created internationally unrecognized puppet states out of most of these territories; the rest get the honor of being <a href="/wiki/Military_occupation" title="Military occupation">unconvincingly passed off as integral parts of the Russian Federation</a> to the international community. </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Transnistria" title="Transnistria">Transnistria</a> (1990) — a sliver of <a href="/wiki/Moldova" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> and <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a>; not officially recognized by Russia, but the Russian military presence makes it clear that that's just an attempt at plausible deniability</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Abkhazia" title="Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a> (1990) — part of <a href="/wiki/Georgia_(country)" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a>; Russia officially treats it as a separate nation but decided to build a naval base in Ochamchire after Ukraine kept bombing their Sevastopol base</li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_Ossetia" title="South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a> (1991) — part of Georgia; Russia officially treats it as a separate nation, but the <i>de facto</i> government has repeatedly proposed being annexed into the Russian Federation</li> <li>Crimea (invaded in 1991; annexed in 2014) — part of Ukraine; annexed by Russia as the Republic of Crimea (as opposed to an <i>Autonomous</i> Republic, its title under Ukraine) and the separate federal city Sevastopol (as opposed to a city with special status, its status under Ukraine).</li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donbas" class="extiw" title="wp:Donbas" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Donbas">Donbas</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> (2014; annexed in 2022) — part of Ukraine; claimed as the "Donetsk People's Republic" and "Luhansk People's Republic," which are only recognized by the Russian, Syrian, and North Korean governments. Annexed into the Russian Federation in 2022 along with two other Ukrainian oblasts whose occupying governments weren't pretending to be breakaway states, following a rigged door-to-door referendum voters still stuck there were coerced into taking part in at gunpoint. Note that this happened around the time Russia announced a "partial" mobilization to replenish their decimated forces, and that deploying conscripts abroad is illegal under Russian law, meaning they likely did this so these areas wouldn't technically be abroad even if anyone who sees Ukraine as the actual country it is would say otherwise. Also note that the other two oblasts in which these referendums were held (Zaporizhzhia and Kherson) have populations that are less than 10% Russian, yet Russia expects the world to believe the vast majority of the population wanted to be annexed by Russia.</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Religion">Religion</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Religion">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg/180px-Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg.png" decoding="async" width="180" height="320" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg/270px-Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d3/Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg/360px-Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="365" data-file-height="648" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Cross_of_the_Russian_Orthodox_Church_01.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>The three-barred Cross of the Russian Orthodox Church. The bottom represents the footrest of Christ, while the top represents the <i>titulus</i> mockingly announcing Christ as the "King of the Jews" that the Romans affixed to the Cross during Christ's crucifixion.</div></div></div> <p>Russia's most prominent religion is <a href="/wiki/Orthodox_Christianity" class="mw-redirect" title="Orthodox Christianity">Russian Orthodox</a>, a branch of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, which 41% of people observe. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the observance of Orthodox Christianity has risen, but not church attendance, and the amount of people who do not identify with any religion has dropped, according to the Pew Research Center analysis in 2008.<sup id="cite_ref-20" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-20">[16]</a></sup> More women are shown to be religious than men, and the age positively correlates with the percentage of people who observe it. In 2008, the education level did not correlate with the amount of religious identification among Russians. </p><p>Apparently, the country is also adding the spectator sport of public <a href="/wiki/Creationist" class="mw-redirect" title="Creationist">creationist</a> silliness, as demonstrated by a protest by Russian Orthodox <a href="/wiki/Young_Earth_creationism" title="Young Earth creationism">Young Earth creationists</a>, specifically the Bozhya Volya (Божья воля), or "God's Will", an activist group outside of Moscow's <a href="/wiki/Charles_Darwin" title="Charles Darwin">Charles Darwin</a> museum.<sup id="cite_ref-21" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-21">[17]</a></sup> They unfurled a banner that read, "God created the world" on the building. The stunt there is tied to Dmitriy Enteo, also known as the perpetrator against the <a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Putin#Pussy_Riot" title="Vladimir Putin">Pussy Riot facade</a>. In addition, the newer competitive events of <a href="/wiki/Homophobia" title="Homophobia">passing laws against free speech to combat teh evul gay</a> and <s>beating up</s> detaining <a href="/wiki/Human_rights" title="Human rights">human rights</a> activists<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-22">[18]</a></sup> and <a href="/wiki/Flying_spaghetti_monster" class="mw-redirect" title="Flying spaghetti monster">Pastafarians</a><sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23">[19]</a></sup> seem to be crowd favorites. </p> <h2><span id="European_or_Asian?_Maybe_even_Eurasian"></span><span class="mw-headline" id="European_or_Asian.3F_Maybe_even_Eurasian">European or Asian? <s>Maybe even Eurasian</s></span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: European or Asian? Maybe even Eurasian">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:402px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Russia_EU.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Russia_EU.svg/400px-Russia_EU.svg.png" decoding="async" width="400" height="232" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Russia_EU.svg/600px-Russia_EU.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Russia_EU.svg/800px-Russia_EU.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="7596" data-file-height="4412" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Russia_EU.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Russia's possible future?</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Russia is not between Europe and Asia. Europe and Asia are to the left and right of Russia. We are not a bridge between them but a separate civilizational space, where Russia unites the civilizational communities of East and West.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Vladimir Yakunin, Russian <a href="/wiki/Oligarch" class="mw-redirect" title="Oligarch">oligarch</a><sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24">[20]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>Russia's only real geostrategic option - the option that would give Russia a realistic international role and also maximize the opportunity of transforming and socially modernizing itself - is Europe.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zbigniew_Brzezinski" class="extiw" title="wp:Zbigniew Brzezinski" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Zbigniew Brzezinski">Zbigniew Brzezinski</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Given Russia's territorial belongings and peculiar history (starting off as an Eastern European country and spending about 200 years under the Tatar yoke), there's a lot of debate about whether it belongs to Europe or Asia. Nowadays, most evidence, including genetics, points to the former: haplogroups in the Russian genetic pool form a cluster with Northern and Eastern Europeans, especially <a href="/wiki/Ukrainian" class="mw-redirect" title="Ukrainian">Ukrainians</a> and Poles.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25">[21]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26">[22]</a></sup> They are also very far from Turkish and Mongol groups.<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27">[note 5]</a></sup> This is also evident in the country's traditions and customs, originating from Slavic paganism, Eastern Byzantine Orthodoxy, and Western European culture. </p><p>Nevertheless, it was a common propaganda tactic in the 19th century to portray Russians as "Asiatic" (which, due to the epoch's <a href="/wiki/Racialism" title="Racialism">racialist</a> trends, was just a euphemism for "barbaric"/"inferior"). This view was promoted by France after the 1812 defeat (most notably by Henri Martin), by Poland after the suppression of the November Uprising, and by Britain during the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Game" class="extiw" title="wp:Great Game" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Great Game">Great Game</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>; about a century later, it was also exploited by Nazis during WW2 to justify the Russians' "racial inferiority" and the conquest of USSR. After 1945, when racialism quickly declined in popularity, the association between Russia and Mongols/nomads also went out of fashion since it lost its propaganda value; nowadays, it remains popular only among hardcore Ukrainian nationalists who seek to establish <i>their</i> country as the true heir to Kievan Rus. Some Russians argue that the country has a unique "Eurasian" path between East and West; history disagrees, however: Russia's closest cultural ties have always been with the West, and the relations with Asian countries were of the same type that Britain had with India: either conquest or trade. </p><p>Russian-American writer Nabokov provides an interesting take on this question in his novel "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ada_or_Ardor:_A_Family_Chronicle" class="extiw" title="wp:Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle">Ada or Ardor: A Family Chronicle</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>". It takes place in an alternate reality called Antiterra (Demonia). Russia and the US are combined into one country called Estotia. The Russo-Anglo-American Atlantic world is fighting the Golden Horde in this world's analog of the <a href="/wiki/Cold_War" title="Cold War">Cold War</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-28" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-28">[23]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="LGBT_rights">LGBT rights</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: LGBT rights">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg/300px-Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg" decoding="async" width="300" height="199" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg/450px-Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/74/Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg/600px-Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3008" data-file-height="2000" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Protesta_por_la_homofobia_institucional_de_Rusia-3.jpg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Activists in Madrid protest against Russia's abuses against its LGBT community.</div></div></div> <table style="margin: auto; border-collapse:collapse; border-style:none; background-color:transparent;" class="cquote"> <tbody><tr> <td><div style="padding:4px 50px;position:relative;"><span style="position:absolute;left:10px;top:-6px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">“</span><span style="position:absolute;right:10px;bottom:-20px;z-index:1;font-family:'Times New Roman',serif;font-weight:bold;color:#B2B7F2;font-size:36px">”</span>We live in a modern European country, yet we have a law that divides people up into types and categories and says that the basis of the declaration on human rights is a crime.</div> </td></tr> <tr> <td style="padding:4px 10px 8px;font-size:smaller;line-height:1.6em;text-align:right;"><cite style="font-style:normal;position:relative;z-index:2">—Anton Krasovsky on gay rights, who was fired from the government-run KontrTV for publicly coming out gay.<sup id="cite_ref-29" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-29">[24]</a></sup></cite> </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>Russia has a very proud record of ignoring and violating <a href="/wiki/LGBT_rights" title="LGBT rights">LGBT rights</a>. While same-sex activity has been considered legal since 1993,<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30">[25]</a></sup> there are no anti-discrimination laws that protect gay people from having <a href="/wiki/Homophobia" title="Homophobia">hate crimes committed against them</a> in any services, nor is <a href="/wiki/Same-sex_marriage" title="Same-sex marriage">same-sex marriage</a> formally recognized. Additionally, while gay people are legally allowed to openly serve in the military, there is an unofficial "<a href="/wiki/Don%27t_ask,_don%27t_tell" title="Don't ask, don't tell">don't ask, don't tell</a>" policy.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31">[26]</a></sup> In fact, at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games, athletes were told that it's okay to be gay <a href="/wiki/Think_of_the_children" class="mw-redirect" title="Think of the children">as long as they don't say it in front of the children's faces</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32">[27]</a></sup> Russia has a federal law against the "promotion of propaganda for non-traditional sexual relationships" (advocacy for LGBT rights), which uses this exact rationale, with a bit of offending religious fee-fees mixed in.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33">[28]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34">[29]</a></sup> Due to the overly draconian and the nakedly discriminatory nature of these laws, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGBT_rights_protests_surrounding_the_2014_Winter_Olympics" class="extiw" title="wp:LGBT rights protests surrounding the 2014 Winter Olympics" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: LGBT rights protests surrounding the 2014 Winter Olympics">protests surrounding the 2014 Sochi Olympics were widespread</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, including asking the International Olympic Committee to move the games to another country and encouraging athletes to boycott the event and Russian products, most notably Russian vodka. Since 2013, Vladimir Putin has signed a law forbidding gay couples from countries that recognize same-sex marriage to adopt Russian children, claiming to "protect" them from "<a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">complexes, emotional suffering, and stress.</a>"<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35">[30]</a></sup> Gay pride parades were never officially granted and were usually met with vast amounts of homophobia;<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36">[31]</a></sup> most notably, the biggest of the gay pride parades in Russia, the annual <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moscow_Pride" class="extiw" title="wp:Moscow Pride" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Moscow Pride">Moscow Pride</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> parade, was described as "satanic" by former Moscow mayor Yuri Luzhkov, who believes that a ban on gay pride parades <a href="/wiki/Bullshit" title="Bullshit">would reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS</a>. Since then, gay parades have been banned in Moscow for 100 years.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37">[32]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38">[33]</a></sup> Due to this tomfoolery, the European Court of Human Rights has fined Russia for the gay parade ban.<sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39">[34]</a></sup> </p><p>Public opinion doesn't fare better than official policy. 85% of polled Russians by the All-Russian Public Opinion Center strongly oppose same-sex marriage, and 88% support the gay propaganda ban.<sup id="cite_ref-Gay_Public_Opinion_40-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gay_Public_Opinion-40">[35]</a></sup> Additionally, a poll conducted by the Levada Center has a 35% of Russians thinking that homosexuality is a disease and 43% believe it to be a bad habit.<sup id="cite_ref-Gay_Public_Opinion_40-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Gay_Public_Opinion-40">[35]</a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="#.D0.A7.D0.B5.D1.87.D0.BD.D1.8F.CC.81">Chechen Republic</a> has its own story entirely to tell how it feels about gay rights. </p><p>Transgender people fare slightly better in Russia, though much work remains. They are legally allowed to change their gender, but it requires sterilization.<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41">[36]</a></sup> Though recently, to reduce driving-related fatalities, a ridiculous Russian amendment has classified transgenderism and other sexual preferences as a <a href="/wiki/Transphobia" title="Transphobia">"mental disease"</a>. Thus, it impairs a person's ability to drive a vehicle properly.<sup id="cite_ref-42" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-42">[37]</a></sup> There's not even a convenient <a href="/wiki/Correlation_does_not_imply_causation" title="Correlation does not imply causation">correlation does not imply causation</a> fallacy to back that ridiculous reasoning up since Russia has one of the worst road accident fatalities in the world, much worse than countries that are more accepting of transgender (and the other of the classified "mentally ill" sexual preferences) people as drivers such as the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany, etc.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43">[38]</a></sup> The only reason traffic fatalities will go down after introducing the bill is generally fewer drivers on the road, to begin with, assuming that there will be any impact on Russia's driver base at all since it targets only a tiny minority of people. Enforcing this amendment to root out the crazy trans drivers is another story. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Siberia">Siberia</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Siberia">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:302px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Siberia-FederalSubjects.png" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Siberia-FederalSubjects.png/300px-Siberia-FederalSubjects.png" decoding="async" width="300" height="228" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Siberia-FederalSubjects.png/450px-Siberia-FederalSubjects.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Siberia-FederalSubjects.png/600px-Siberia-FederalSubjects.png 2x" data-file-width="1130" data-file-height="858" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Siberia-FederalSubjects.png" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div><span style="margin:0; padding-bottom:1px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:#c00; background:#c00; color:#c00;">      </span> Siberian Federal District</span> <span style="margin:0; padding-bottom:1px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:#c00; background:#c00; color:#c00;">   </span><span style="border:#ff4000; background:#ff4000; color:#ff4000;">   </span> Geographic Russian Siberia</span> <span style="margin:0; padding-bottom:1px; font-size:90%; display:block;"><span style="border:#c00; background:#c00; color:#c00;">  </span><span style="border:#ff4000; background:#ff4000; color:#ff4000;">  </span><span style="border:#f93; background:#f93; color:#f93;">  </span> Historical Siberia (and present Siberia in some usages)</span></div></div></div> <p><b>Siberia</b> is the Asian portion of Russia (a "portion" comprising two-thirds of the country's landmass, though home to only one-quarter of the population). It became notorious as the destination of <a href="/wiki/Prisoner_of_conscience" title="Prisoner of conscience">prisoners of conscience</a> exiled during the times of the <a href="/wiki/Tsar" title="Tsar">Russian Empire</a> and of the <a href="/wiki/Soviet_Union" title="Soviet Union">Soviet Union</a>. So notorious is the association of the words <i>Siberia</i> and <i>prison</i> that the place is routinely described as the destination of all Russian prisoners, even when they are sent to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordovia" class="extiw" title="wp:Mordovia" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Mordovia">Mordovia</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup>, as far west of Siberia itself as <a href="/wiki/London" class="mw-redirect" title="London">London</a> is from <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Warsaw</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44">[39]</a></sup> Apart from its penological functions, Siberia is a primary source of <a href="/wiki/Oil" title="Oil">oil</a> and gas. Siberia has almost every known natural resource, from timber to <a href="/wiki/Diamond" title="Diamond">diamonds</a> to abandoned barrels of <a href="/wiki/Nuke" class="mw-redirect" title="Nuke">nuclear waste</a>. </p><p>Today, Siberia is a mostly-settled region with several large cities connected by a network of highways and railroads; indeed, Novosibirsk, the unofficial capital of Siberia, is the third-largest city in Russia, with a population of 1.47 million people. Settlements far away from established urban centers can still be impractical due to the harsh climate and long travel distances.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45">[40]</a></sup> At least the era of the phrase "<a href="/wiki/Gulag" class="mw-redirect" title="Gulag">send them to Siberia</a>" in the sense of imprisonment or exile is almost over. However, the imprisonment of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Khodorkovsky" class="extiw" title="wp:Mikhail Khodorkovsky" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Mikhail Khodorkovsky">Mikhail Khodorkovsky</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> in a Siberian penal colony<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46">[41]</a></sup> shows that this assumption is a bit premature. </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Russian_language">Russian language</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Russian language">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>The written Russian language uses Cyrillic characters, traditionally invented by St. Cyril and St. Methodius (missionaries from the Byzantine Empire) to spread Christianity. Contemporary Russian uses 33 characters, with two silent characters, one indicating palatalization (Ь) and a hard character (Ъ) that is rarely used (other languages that use Cyrillic include Ukrainian, Belorussian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Mongol, and Macedonian). While Cyrillic appears significantly different from Latin, it uses quite a few characters that look and sound like their Latin counterparts, for example, А, К, М, О, and Т. However, other characters can look like their Latin counterparts but represent drastically different sounds, such as В sounding like v as in "van" and Р sounding like r as in "rat". </p><p>Due to the prestige and widespread influence of the English language, especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the term "<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runglish" class="extiw" title="wp:Runglish" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Runglish">Runglish</span></a>"<sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> is used to describe the adaptation of English words and phrases into a Russian sound alike, such as calling "ice cream" by its English name with Russian inflections rather than "мороженое" (<i>morozhenoye</i>).<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47">[42]</a></sup> The term "Runglish", first coined by Sergei Krikalyov, was initially used to describe the hybrid language used by Americans and Russians in the International Space Station since crew members must learn to use both languages to fully operate as cosmonauts/astronauts.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48">[43]</a></sup> Russian <a href="/wiki/Nationalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Nationalist">nationalists</a> are not a huge fan of Runglish, to say the least, moaning that Westerners are subverting the "purity" of their language.<sup id="cite_ref-Runglish_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Runglish-49">[44]</a></sup> Because of this, the Russian government dubbed 2007 the "Year of the Russian Language" to preserve it.<sup id="cite_ref-Runglish_49-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Runglish-49">[44]</a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Twitter" title="Twitter">Twitter</a>, much to the major annoyance of Russians and virtually any group who uses the Cyrillic alphabet, especially Bulgarians, has banned people who frequently tweet or have a name with Cyrillic characters.<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50">[45]</a></sup> Twitter imposed these measures to tackle Russian trolls and bots, taking advantage of the service to spread discord and misinformation. Unsurprisingly, this measure has shown little result in curbing activity outside of profiling large groups of people who are unrelated to the incidents. </p><p>Cyrillic spelling is frequently abused by English writers that try to make a product seem "cooler" by being foreign or <s>Яцssiди</s> <s>Yatsssidi</s> "Russian". While the fake Cyrillic imitates English at a glance, they'd translate to complete gibberish if read correctly. Common letters being abused include Д (D) being "A", Ф (F) being "O", Я (Ya) being "R", Г (G) being "r", Ц (ts) being "U", И (ee) being "N".<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51">[note 6]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Vodka">Vodka</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Vodka">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <p>Vodka is, not surprisingly, the national beverage. According to the OECD, thirty percent of all deaths in 2012 were attributable to <a href="/wiki/Alcohol" title="Alcohol">alcohol</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52">[46]</a></sup> Researchers found that Russian men who drink large amounts of vodka have a 35% risk of dying before age 55.<sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53">[47]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Chechnya">Chechnya</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Chechnya">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="thumb tright"><div class="thumbinner" style="width:182px;"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg" class="image"><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg/180px-Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg.png" decoding="async" width="180" height="120" class="thumbimage" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg/270px-Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg/360px-Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="450" data-file-height="300" /></a> <div class="thumbcaption"><div class="magnify"><a href="/wiki/File:Flag_of_the_Chechen_Republic.svg" class="internal" title="Enlarge"></a></div>Flag of the Chechen Republic.</div></div></div> <p>The <b>Chechen Republic</b> (more commonly known as <b>Chechnya</b>) is a constituent republic known for separatism, terrorism, and being an enormous pain for Moscow. There have been no fewer than 2 civil wars between the Chechen separatists and the Federal Russian Government following the USSR's dissolution. The score stands as 1 win for the separatists and a more recent win for the Russian Federal Government. </p><p>For modern-day Russia, the Chechen wars drastically reshaped both countries, their leaders, and their peoples for decades to come. President <a href="/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin" title="Boris Yeltsin">Boris Yeltsin</a>, planning a blitzkrieg against the separatists, quickly collapsed under his own weight. The war descended into a quagmire, humiliating the Kremlin and forcing them to essentially sue for peace. In comes Prime Minister <a href="/wiki/Putin" class="mw-redirect" title="Putin">Putin</a>, who orchestrated a far more organized and brutal campaign against the separatists, beating them down and flattening the country before installing the Kadyrov clan into power. The Chechen wars helped destroy Yeltsin's approval ratings while turning Putin into an eternally popular strongman, whose tough talk, uncompromising rhetoric, and insistence that "There is no border with Chechnya" won over many disaffected Russians who resented the separatists' insurgent tactics.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54">[48]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55">[49]</a></sup> </p><p>The President of the Chechen Republic is <a href="/wiki/Ramzan_Kadyrov" title="Ramzan Kadyrov">Ramzan Kadyrov</a>, a barely 40-year-old man who passes the time by joking about killing opposition members.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56">[50]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57">[51]</a></sup> He acts like a warlord, crushing any and all opposition,<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58">[52]</a></sup> presiding over abuses of human rights by his unaffiliated supporter militias,<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59">[53]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60">[54]</a></sup> and, more recently, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_concentration_camps_in_Chechnya" class="extiw" title="wp:Gay concentration camps in Chechnya" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: Gay concentration camps in Chechnya">putting gay men in concentration camps</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup> while insisting there are no gay men in his country; he went on record to brag about how he wants to eliminate the gay population before the end of 2017.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61">[55]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62">[56]</a></sup> Putin has agreed with the Chechen leader that these camps do not exist and that gay people aren't being systematically persecuted for being gay <s>since gays don't actually exist</s>.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63">[57]</a></sup> The Kremlin has fed a dragon that's gotten too big for even them to control.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64">[58]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-65">[59]</a></sup> Putin has little choice but to back Kadyrov and not truly investigate the allegations,<sup id="cite_ref-66" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-66">[60]</a></sup> lest he risk pissing off the real-life Ramsay Bolton.<sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67">[61]</a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68">[62]</a></sup> </p><p>Chechens have been fighting on both sides of the Ukrainian conflict.<sup id="cite_ref-tiktokwarriors_69-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-tiktokwarriors-69">[63]</a></sup> This has included Islamist militias fighting (at least nominally) on the side of Ukraine,<sup id="cite_ref-tiktokwarriors_69-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-tiktokwarriors-69">[63]</a></sup> while the Russian military has been outsourcing a lot of its dirtier jobs<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-70">[note 7]</a></sup> to Chechen fighters.<sup id="cite_ref-tiktokwarriors_69-2" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-tiktokwarriors-69">[63]</a></sup> </p> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="See_also">See also</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: See also">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Joseph_Stalin" title="Joseph Stalin">Joseph Stalin</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pussy_Riot" class="mw-redirect" title="Pussy Riot">Pussy Riot</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tunguska_event" title="Tunguska event">Tunguska event</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/RT" title="RT">RT</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Trump-Russia_connection" title="Trump-Russia connection">Trump-Russia connection</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ukrainian#Euromaidan.2C_Crimean_crisis_and_further_dickery" class="mw-redirect" title="Ukrainian">2014 Ukrainian crisis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fun:Vatnik_argument_bingo:_Ukraine_edition" title="Fun:Vatnik argument bingo: Ukraine edition">Fun:Vatnik argument bingo: Ukraine edition</a></li> <li><a href="http://ru.rationalwiki.org/wiki/%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B0%D1%8F_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%86%D0%B0" class="extiw" title="rurw:Заглавная страница" rel="nofollow">И теперь на русском языке</a>!</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="External_links">External links</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: External links">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/nyrblog/2014/sep/02/dying-russians/">The Dying Russians</a>, <i>The New York Review of Books</i></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhDHtKpfP0o">Louis Potgieter would be proud.</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.youtube.com/user/CarCrashCompilation/video">Dash cam videos are Russia's largest export,</a> after vodka, oil, weapons, and suicidal novelists</li></ul> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="Notes">Notes</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: Notes">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:90%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-1">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Unfortunately, <a href="/wiki/Irredentism" title="Irredentism">still not enough</a> for <a href="/wiki/Vladimir_Putin" title="Vladimir Putin">some people</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-12"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-12">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Men were also lost to ferocious attacks by Russian peasant bands. Historian Andrew Roberts writes that some of the peasants even paid regular soldiers to lay their hands off some Frenchmen so that the peasants could have "the honour of killing them". Sheesh.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11">[10]</a></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-16">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Similarly, the Russian economy has developed from Yeltsin's crony capitalism to a <a href="/wiki/Oil" title="Oil">stable</a> and <a href="/wiki/Natural_gas" title="Natural gas">diversified</a> economy under Putin.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-18">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Because that is how many it takes to intimidate the surviving journalists.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-27">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Neatly explained by the fact that Mongols rarely had direct contact with Russians.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-51"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-51">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.reddit.com/r/Fauxcyrillic/">There is a Reddit documenting bad Cyrillic.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-70"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-70">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Including executing dissenting soldiers and intimidating civilians.</span> </li> </ol></div></div> <h2><span class="mw-headline" id="References">References</span><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Russia&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: References">edit</a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></h2> <div class="references-small" style="-moz-column-count:2; -webkit-column-count:2; column-count:2; font-size:80%;"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-2"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-2">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/prince-philip-quotes-relive-classic-5042787">Prince Philip quotes: Relive his classic gaffes on his 94th birthday</a> By Paul Cockerton (07:30, 10 Jun 2015 Updated 07:37, 10 Jun 2015) <i>Daily Mirror</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-3"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-3">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.newstatesman.com/world/europe/ukraine/2022/05/he-has-embarked-on-a-war-he-cant-stop-mikhail-khodorkovsky-on-putins-next-move">“He has embarked on a war he can’t stop”: Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Putin’s next move</a>, The New Statesman, 3 May 2022.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-4"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-4">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://books.google.com.ly/books?id=tk4oCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA235&lpg=PA235&dq=%22The+Russian+persecution+complex+is+complemented+by+the+idea+that+they,+and+only+they,+can+save+the+world+from+itself.%22&source=bl&ots=emUwT4ErxT&sig=ACfU3U1lU0igf3Ehz0gknkQHZq-ASJwlPQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiU3sCku-n6AhWTQuUKHacYDqEQ6AF6BAgJEAM#v=onepage&q=%22The%20Russian%20persecution%20complex%20is%20complemented%20by%20the%20idea%20that%20they%2C%20and%20only%20they%2C%20can%20save%20the%20world%20from%20itself.%22&f=false">Sean Stewart, <i>It’s Russia, My Son. A (partial) Roadmap of the Russian Soul</i>, page 235</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-5"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-5">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://lenta.ru/articles/2018/10/31/sosed/">«Делайте гадости ночью» Почему россияне ненавидят своих соседей и не стесняются об этом говорить</a> (00:03, October 31, 2018) <i>Lenta.ru</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-6"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-6">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.thedailybeast.com/putin-has-finally-united-russians-around-the-worldagainst-him">Putin Has Finally United Russians Around the World—Against Himself: For the first time, Russian exiles around the world are banding together into a powerful anti-Putin force that will have its initial meeting next month.</a> by Anna Nemtsova (Jan. 29, 2024) <i>The Daily Beast</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-7"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-7">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3ejk4p3jxjo">Russia's targeting of 'enemies within' evokes ghosts of the Soviet past</a> by Steve Rosenberg (September 12, 2024) <i>BBC</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-8"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-8">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Fedorova, Anastasiia, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.calvertjournal.com/features/show/8676/adidas-brand-russia-rubchinskiy">"Adidas: A Love Story"</a>, Calvert Journal.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-9"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-9">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Gao, George, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/08/14/why-the-former-ussr-has-far-fewer-men-than-women/">"Why the former USSR has far fewer men than women"</a>, Pew Research 14 August 2015.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-10"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-10">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.culturalsurvival.org/news/who-are-indigenous-peoples-russia">"Who are the Indigenous People of Russia?"</a> <i>Cultural Survival</i>, February 19, 2014 </span> </li> <li id="cite_note-11"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-11">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Robert, Andrew. <i>Napoleon the Great</i>, p. 622</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-13"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-13">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVo5I0xNRhg">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVo5I0xNRhg</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-14"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-14">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Hoffman, William, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://cbweaver.wikispaces.com/file/view/Stalingrad+Primary+Accounts.pdf">"Diary of a German Solider"</a>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-15"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-15">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Pomerantsev, Peter, <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.lrb.co.uk/v33/n20/peter-pomerantsev/putins-rasputin">"Putin's Rasputin"</a>, <i>London Review of Books</i> Vol. 33 No. 20, 20 October 2011 pg. 3-6.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-17">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">See <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20100619212612/http://cdi.org/program/document.cfm?documentid=3694&programID=29&from_page=../friendlyversion/printversion.cfm">Russian Journalist Assassination Comes After U.S. Congressional Resolutions Urging Protection for Media</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_journalists_killed_in_Russia" class="extiw" title="wp:List of journalists killed in Russia" rel="nofollow"><span style="color:#477979 !important;" title="Wikipedia: List of journalists killed in Russia">Wikipedia's list of journalists killed in Russia</span></a><sup><img alt="" src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/12px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png" decoding="async" width="12" height="12" srcset="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/18px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 1.5x, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5a/Wikipedia%27s_W.svg/24px-Wikipedia%27s_W.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="128" data-file-height="128" /></sup></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-19">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-06/russians-protest-against-election-fraud/3714310">Russians protest against election fraud</a>, Australian Broadcasting Corporation</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-20">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">(February 10, 2014) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pewforum.org/2014/02/10/russians-return-to-religion-but-not-to-church/">Russians Return to Religion, But Not to Church.</a> <i>Pew Research Center</i>. Retrieved March 23, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-21"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-21">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Bartholomew, Richard (March 23, 2013) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://barthsnotes.com/2013/03/23/russian-creationists-protest-at-charles-darwin-museum/">Russian Creationists Protest at Charles Darwin Museum</a>. <i>Bartholomew's Notes</i>. Retrieved March 23, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-22"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-22">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hrw.org/news/2013/07/01/russia-investigate-violent-raid-rights-group">Russia: Investigate Violent Raid on Rights Group</a>, Human Rights Watch</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-23"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-23">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nbcnews.com/news/other/humor-failure-russia-crackdown-pastafarians-shows-kremlin-church-ties-f8C10995408">Humor failure in Russia: Crackdown on 'Pastafarians' shows Kremlin-church ties</a>, NBC</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-24">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26769481">Vladimir Putin: The rebuilding of ‘Soviet’ Russia</a>, BBC</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-25">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10069400">Mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity in Russians</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-26">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707000250">Two Sources of the Russian Patrilineal Heritage in Their Eurasian Context</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-28">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.dezimmer.net/ReAda/AntiterraGeography.htm">The geography of Antiterra</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-29"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-29">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Krasovsky, Anton (May 14, 2013) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/may/14/being-gay-russia-likened-to-terrorism">I came out because gay people in Russia are suffering – it's time for courage</a> <i>The Guardian</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-30"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-30">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ad788c.html">Russia: Update to RUS13194 of 16 February 1993 on the treatment of homosexuals.</a> (February 29, 2000). <i>Refworld</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-31"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-31">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Tolkueva, Irina (December 1, 2003) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.pravdareport.com/business/finance/01-12-2003/4207-gayarmy-0/">Gays are not Willingly Accepted in the Russian Army</a> <i>PravadaReport</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-32"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-32">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Brydum, Sunnivie (August 12, 2013) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.advocate.com/politics/2013/08/12/russia-proposes-dont-ask-dont-tell-olympics">Russia Proposes 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' Olympics.</a> <i>Advocate</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-33">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Elder, Miriam (June 11, 2013) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jun/11/russia-law-banning-gay-propaganda">Russia passes law banning gay 'propaganda'</a> <i>The Guardian</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-34"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-34">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Gevisser, Mark (December 27, 2013) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/28/opinion/life-under-russias-gay-propaganda-ban.html">Life Under Russia’s ‘Gay Propaganda’ Ban.</a> <i>The New York Times</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-35"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-35">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/07/03/russia-putin-gay-adoption/2486913/">Russia's Putin signs law limiting adoption by gays.</a> (July 3, 2013). <i>USA Today</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-36"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-36">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6310883.stm">Moscow bans 'satanic' gay parade.</a> (January 29, 2007). <i>BBC News</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-37"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-37">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-19293465">Gay parades banned in Moscow for 100 years.</a> (August 12, 2012). <i>BBC News</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-38"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-38">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/06/not-the-onion-moscow-bans-gay-pride-for-next-100-years/258296/">"Not The Onion", indeed.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-39"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-39">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-11598590">European court fines Russia for banning gay parades.</a> (March 6,2012) . <i>BBC News</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Gay_Public_Opinion-40"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Gay_Public_Opinion_40-0">35.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Gay_Public_Opinion_40-1">35.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">Herszenhorhn, David M. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/12/world/europe/gays-in-russia-find-no-haven-despite-support-from-the-west.html?pagewanted=all">Gays in Russia Find No Haven, Despite Support From the West</a> <i>The New York Times</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-41"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-41">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">(May 21, 2013) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.gaystarnews.com/article/map-shows-how-europe-forces-trans-people-be-sterilized210513/#gs.M_o2S=U">Map shows how Europe forces trans people to be sterilized</a> <i>Gay Star News.</i> Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-42"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-42">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Walker, Shaun <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jan/09/transgender-people-russia-banned-driving-legal-amendment-dmitry-medvedev">Transgender people in Russia banned from driving, says legal amendment.</a> <i>The Guardian</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-43"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-43">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_safety_status/2015/GSRRS2015_data/en/">WHO Road Safety charts from 2015.</a> Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-44"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-44">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pussy-riot-members-sent-russian-381507">"Mordovia, while </a><a href="/wiki/Pussy_Riot" class="mw-redirect" title="Pussy Riot"> Maria Alyokhina</a> was shipped to a similar institution in Perm. The two cities, located in the freezing central region of Siberia..." So the Republic of Mordovia is a city now? And Perm, although a city, lies on the other side of the Urals from Siberia...</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-45"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-45">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://archive.today/SQRVq">Yakutsk, the saddest city in the world.</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-46"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-46">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2005/oct/25/russia.tomparfitt">Welcome to penal colony YaG 14/10. Now the home of one of Russia's richest men</a>, <i>The Guardian</i> (He's since been freed and <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/29/business/international/yukos-shareholders-awarded-about-50-billion-in-court-ruling.html">giving Rosneft a run for its money.</a>)</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-47"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-47">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Feur, Alan (June 14, 2005) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E01E3DD133EF937A25755C0A9639C8B63">For the Thirsty Runglish Speaker: Try an Ized Cyawfeh.</a> <i>The New York Times</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-48"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-48">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Hamer, Ashley. (March 24, 2017) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://curiosity.com/topics/iss-astronauts-speak-in-a-space-creole-called-runglish-curiosity/">ISS Astronauts Speak In A "Space Creole" Called Runglish.</a> <i>Curiosity</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Runglish-49"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Runglish_49-0">44.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-Runglish_49-1">44.1</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text">Blomfield, Adrian. (September 12, 2003) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/1562947/English-invades-Russian-language.html">English invades Russian language.</a> <i>The Telegraph</i>. Retrieved January 9, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-50"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-50">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"> Savov, Vlad. (May 22, 2018).<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/22/17380630/twitter-moderation-cyrillic-russian-bots">Twitter is treating Bulgarians tweeting in Cyrillic like Russian bots.</a> <i>The Verge</i>. Retrieved May 24, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-52"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-52">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.irishexaminer.com/world/russian-official-urges-action-on-workplace-alcohol-abuse-354118.html">Russian official urges action on workplace alcohol abuse</a> (Wednesday, September 16, 2015) <i>Irish Examiner</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-53"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-53">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/31/russian-men-losing-years-to-vodka">Russian men losing years to vodka: Spirit linked to 35% of cases where a man dies before age 55, with study citing national sport of spectacular drunkenness</a> (Friday 31 January 2014 11.55 EST) <i>The Guardian</i>.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-54"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-54">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/12/chechnya-russia-20-years-conflict-2014121161310580523.html">http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/12/chechnya-russia-20-years-conflict-2014121161310580523.html</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-55"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-55">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/chechnya-russia%E2%80%99s-forgotten-war">http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/article/chechnya-russia%E2%80%99s-forgotten-war</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-56"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-56">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.newsweek.com/chechen-head-kadyrov-puts-russian-opposition-leader-sniper-scope-421579">http://www.newsweek.com/chechen-head-kadyrov-puts-russian-opposition-leader-sniper-scope-421579</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-57"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-57">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://mashable.com/2016/02/01/chechen-leader-puts-putin-critics-in-crosshairs/#HcMDwP5aRPqk">http://mashable.com/2016/02/01/chechen-leader-puts-putin-critics-in-crosshairs/#HcMDwP5aRPqk</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-58"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-58">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.waynakh.com/eng/2011/08/sex-slavery-and-death-await-women-seized-by-kadyrovs-bandits/">http://www.waynakh.com/eng/2011/08/sex-slavery-and-death-await-women-seized-by-kadyrovs-bandits/</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-59"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-59">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://pantheon.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/eca/chechnya1106/3.htm">http://pantheon.hrw.org/legacy/backgrounder/eca/chechnya1106/3.htm</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-60"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-60">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.rferl.org/a/1071107.html">https://www.rferl.org/a/1071107.html</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-61"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-61">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/world/europe/chechnya-russia-attacks-gays.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/21/world/europe/chechnya-russia-attacks-gays.html</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-62"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-62">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://attitude.co.uk/chechnyas-president-vows-to-eliminate-gay-population-by-the-end-of-may/">http://attitude.co.uk/chechnyas-president-vows-to-eliminate-gay-population-by-the-end-of-may/</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-63"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-63">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text">Dearden, Lizzie (April 20, 2017) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-chechnya-gay-men-killing-torture-vladimir-putin-dmitry-peskov-chechen-leader-ramzan-kadyrov-a7693291.html">Russia backs Chechnya government's denials over killing and torture of gay men.</a> <i>The Independent</i>. Retrieved January 10, 2018.</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-64"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-64">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/putins-dragon">http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/02/08/putins-dragon</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-65"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-65">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/23/putins-closest-ally-and-his-biggest-liability">https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/23/putins-closest-ally-and-his-biggest-liability</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-66"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-66">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="https://m.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/gay-men-rounded-held-secret-prisons-reports-sugges/3170885/">https://m.themorningbulletin.com.au/news/gay-men-rounded-held-secret-prisons-reports-sugges/3170885/</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-67"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-67">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_why_putin_wont_get_tough_on_kadyrov_7278">http://www.ecfr.eu/article/commentary_why_putin_wont_get_tough_on_kadyrov_7278</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-68"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><a href="#cite_ref-68">↑</a></span> <span class="reference-text"><a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/05/19/putins-monster-ramzan-kadyrov/">http://www.nybooks.com/daily/2017/05/19/putins-monster-ramzan-kadyrov/</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-tiktokwarriors-69"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">↑ <sup><a href="#cite_ref-tiktokwarriors_69-0">63.0</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-tiktokwarriors_69-1">63.1</a></sup> <sup><a href="#cite_ref-tiktokwarriors_69-2">63.2</a></sup></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r2708880">/* Errors processing stylesheet [[:Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css]] (rev 2708880): • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 44 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 50 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 55 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽background⧼/code⧽ at line 64 character 14. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 96 character 9. • Invalid or unsupported value for property ⧼code⧽color⧼/code⧽ at line 100 character 9. • Invalid media query at line 138 character 8. */ .mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration.id-lock-registration a{}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription.id-lock-subscription a{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{}body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-free a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-registration a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .id-lock-subscription a,body:not(.skin-timeless):not(.skin-minerva) .mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background-size:contain;padding:0 1em 0 0}.mw-parser-output .cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite id="CITEREFAskew2023" class="citation web cs1">Askew, Joshua (January 20, 2023). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.euronews.com/2023/01/20/mad-dogs-what-are-chechen-fighters-doing-in-ukraine">"<span class="cs1-kern-left"></span>'TikTok warriors': What are Chechen fighters doing in Ukraine?"</a>. Euronews.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=%27TikTok+warriors%27%3A+What+are+Chechen+fighters+doing+in+Ukraine%3F&rft.pub=Euronews&rft.date=2023-01-20&rft.aulast=Askew&rft.aufirst=Joshua&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.euronews.com%2F2023%2F01%2F20%2Fmad-dogs-what-are-chechen-fighters-doing-in-ukraine&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Frationalwiki.org%3ARussia" class="Z3988"></span> <span class="cs1-visible-error citation-comment"><code class="cs1-code">{{<a href="/wiki/Template:Cite_web" title="Template:Cite web">cite web</a>}}</code>: </span><span class="cs1-visible-error citation-comment">Italic or bold markup not allowed in: <code class="cs1-code">|publisher=</code> (<a href="/wiki/Help:CS1_errors#apostrophe_markup" title="Help:CS1 errors">help</a>)</span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div role="navigation" aria-labelledby="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox" class="toccolours" style="clear:both; margin:0.5em 3.5%; text-align:center;"> <div style="margin:0.15em; padding:0.1em; background:#ccccff; font-weight:bold;"><span id="Nations_of_the_world-navigationbox"><a href="/wiki/Nation" title="Nation">Nations</a> of the world</span> </div> <div class="hlist" style="font-size: 90%; margin: 0.15em 1.425em;"><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Africa" title="Africa"><b>Africa</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Algeria" title="Algeria">Algeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo" title="Democratic Republic of the Congo">Democratic Republic of the Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Eritrea" title="Eritrea">Eritrea</a> — <a href="/wiki/ESwatini" title="ESwatini">eSwatini</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ethiopia" title="Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Guinea" title="Guinea">Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kenya" title="Kenya">Kenya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Liberia" title="Liberia">Liberia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Libya" title="Libya">Libya</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mali" title="Mali">Mali</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nigeria" title="Nigeria">Nigeria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somalia" title="Somalia">Somalia</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Africa" title="South Africa">South Africa</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sudan" title="Sudan">Sudan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Togo" title="Togo">Togo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uganda" title="Uganda">Uganda</a> — <a href="/wiki/Zimbabwe" title="Zimbabwe">Zimbabwe</a> <p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Asia" title="Asia"><b>Asia</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Afghanistan" title="Afghanistan">Afghanistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Armenia" title="Armenia">Armenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Azerbaijan" title="Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bahrain" title="Bahrain">Bahrain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bangladesh" title="Bangladesh">Bangladesh</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brunei" title="Brunei">Brunei</a> — <a href="/wiki/Burma" title="Burma">Burma</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cambodia" title="Cambodia">Cambodia</a> — <a href="/wiki/China" title="China">China</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Egypt" title="Egypt">Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Georgia_(country)" title="Georgia (country)">Georgia</a> — <a href="/wiki/India" title="India">India</a> — <a href="/wiki/Indonesia" title="Indonesia">Indonesia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iran" title="Iran">Iran</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iraq" title="Iraq">Iraq</a> — <a href="/wiki/Israel" title="Israel">Israel</a> — <a href="/wiki/Japan" title="Japan">Japan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jordan" title="Jordan">Jordan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kazakhstan" title="Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kuwait" title="Kuwait">Kuwait</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kyrgyzstan" title="Kyrgyzstan">Kyrgyzstan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Laos" title="Laos">Laos</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lebanon" title="Lebanon">Lebanon</a> — <a href="/wiki/Malaysia" title="Malaysia">Malaysia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Maldives" title="Maldives">Maldives</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mongolia" title="Mongolia">Mongolia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nepal" title="Nepal">Nepal</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Korea" title="North Korea">North Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Oman" title="Oman">Oman</a> — <a href="/wiki/Pakistan" title="Pakistan">Pakistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Palestine" title="Palestine">Palestine</a> — <a href="/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines">Philippines</a> — <a href="/wiki/Qatar" title="Qatar">Qatar</a> — <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia" title="Saudi Arabia">Saudi Arabia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Singapore" title="Singapore">Singapore</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Korea" title="South Korea">South Korea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Syria" title="Syria">Syria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tajikistan" title="Tajikistan">Tajikistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Thailand" title="Thailand">Thailand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Timor-Leste" title="Timor-Leste">Timor-Leste</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkmenistan" title="Turkmenistan">Turkmenistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates" title="United Arab Emirates">United Arab Emirates</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uzbekistan" title="Uzbekistan">Uzbekistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Vietnam" title="Vietnam">Vietnam</a> — <a href="/wiki/Yemen" title="Yemen">Yemen</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Europe" title="Europe"><b>Europe</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Albania" title="Albania">Albania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Austria" title="Austria">Austria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belarus" title="Belarus">Belarus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgium" title="Belgium">Belgium</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bulgaria" title="Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Channel_Islands" title="Channel Islands">Channel Islands</a> — <a href="/wiki/Croatia" title="Croatia">Croatia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cyprus" title="Cyprus">Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Czechia" title="Czechia">Czechia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Denmark" title="Denmark">Denmark</a> — <a href="/wiki/Estonia" title="Estonia">Estonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Finland" title="Finland">Finland</a> — <a href="/wiki/France" title="France">France</a> — <a href="/wiki/Germany" title="Germany">Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greece" title="Greece">Greece</a> — <a href="/wiki/Hungary" title="Hungary">Hungary</a> — <a href="/wiki/Iceland" title="Iceland">Iceland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ireland" title="Ireland">Ireland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Man" title="Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a> — <a href="/wiki/Italy" title="Italy">Italy</a> — <a href="/wiki/Latvia" title="Latvia">Latvia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Lithuania" title="Lithuania">Lithuania</a> — <a href="/wiki/Moldova" title="Moldova">Moldova</a> — <a href="/wiki/Netherlands" title="Netherlands">Netherlands</a> — <a href="/wiki/North_Macedonia" title="North Macedonia">North Macedonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Norway" title="Norway">Norway</a> — <a href="/wiki/Poland" title="Poland">Poland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Portugal" title="Portugal">Portugal</a> — <a href="/wiki/Romania" title="Romania">Romania</a> — <a class="mw-selflink selflink">Russia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Serbia" title="Serbia">Serbia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Slovenia" title="Slovenia">Slovenia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Spain" title="Spain">Spain</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sweden" title="Sweden">Sweden</a> — <a href="/wiki/Switzerland" title="Switzerland">Switzerland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Turkey" title="Turkey">Turkey</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ukraine" title="Ukraine">Ukraine</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> (<a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Vatican_City" title="Vatican City">Vatican City</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/North_America" title="North America"><b>North America</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Canada" title="Canada">Canada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Costa_Rica" title="Costa Rica">Costa Rica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Cuba" title="Cuba">Cuba</a> — <a href="/wiki/El_Salvador" title="El Salvador">El Salvador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Grenada" title="Grenada">Grenada</a> — <a href="/wiki/Haiti" title="Haiti">Haiti</a> — <a href="/wiki/Jamaica" title="Jamaica">Jamaica</a> — <a href="/wiki/Mexico" title="Mexico">Mexico</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nicaragua" title="Nicaragua">Nicaragua</a> — <a href="/wiki/Panama" title="Panama">Panama</a> — <a href="/wiki/United_States" title="United States">United States</a> (<a href="/wiki/Puerto_Rico" class="mw-redirect" title="Puerto Rico">Puerto Rico</a>) <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/Oceania" title="Oceania"><b>Oceania</b></a>:</big></span> <a href="/wiki/Australia" title="Australia">Australia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kiribati" title="Kiribati">Kiribati</a> — <a href="/wiki/Nauru" title="Nauru">Nauru</a> — <a href="/wiki/New_Zealand" title="New Zealand">New Zealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Papua_New_Guinea" title="Papua New Guinea">Papua New Guinea</a> — <a href="/wiki/Pitcairn_Islands" title="Pitcairn Islands">Pitcairn Islands</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><a href="/wiki/South_America" title="South America"><b>South America</b></a>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Argentina" title="Argentina">Argentina</a> — <a href="/wiki/Bolivia" title="Bolivia">Bolivia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Brazil" title="Brazil">Brazil</a> — <a href="/wiki/Chile" title="Chile">Chile</a> (<a href="/wiki/Rapa_Nui" title="Rapa Nui">Rapa Nui</a>) — <a href="/wiki/Colombia" title="Colombia">Colombia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Ecuador" title="Ecuador">Ecuador</a> — <a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands">Falkland Islands</a> (<a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands"><small>Malvinas</small></a>)— <a href="/wiki/Paraguay" title="Paraguay">Paraguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Peru" title="Peru">Peru</a> — <a href="/wiki/Uruguay" title="Uruguay">Uruguay</a> — <a href="/wiki/Venezuela" title="Venezuela">Venezuela</a> <br /> </p><p><span style="float:left;"><big><b>Separatist or disputed</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Abkhazia" title="Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a> —<a href="/wiki/Catalonia" title="Catalonia">Catalonia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Greenland" title="Greenland">Greenland</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kashmir" title="Kashmir">Kashmir</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kosovo" title="Kosovo">Kosovo</a> — <a href="/wiki/Kurdistan" title="Kurdistan">Kurdistan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Micronation" title="Micronation">Micronation</a> — <a href="/wiki/Northern_Cyprus" title="Northern Cyprus">Northern Cyprus</a> — <a href="/wiki/Sealand" class="mw-redirect" title="Sealand">Sealand</a> — <a href="/wiki/Somaliland" title="Somaliland">Somaliland</a> — <a href="/wiki/South_Ossetia" title="South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a> — <a href="/wiki/Taiwan" title="Taiwan">Taiwan</a> — <a href="/wiki/Tibet" title="Tibet">Tibet</a> — <a href="/wiki/Transnistria" title="Transnistria">Transnistria</a> — <a href="/wiki/Western_Sahara" title="Western Sahara">Western Sahara</a> </p> <span style="float:left;"><big><b>Historical</b>:</big></span><a href="/wiki/Ancient_Egypt" title="Ancient Egypt">Ancient Egypt</a> — <a href="/wiki/Belgian_Congo" title="Belgian Congo">Belgian Congo</a> — <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Confederate_States_of_America" title="Confederate States of America">Confederate States of America</a> — <a href="/wiki/East_Germany" title="East Germany">East Germany</a> — <a href="/wiki/French_colonial_empire" title="French colonial empire">French colonial empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/German_Empire" title="German Empire">German Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire" title="Holy Roman Empire">Holy Roman Empire</a> — <a href="/wiki/Imperial_China" title="Imperial 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