Russia:Cultural Topics

[Barbara]

Fascinating !!! See video below

"One of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century happened in Russia. You've probably never heard of it.

In 1987, archaeologists uncovered Arkaim in the Chelyabinsk region, a massive circular city from the Bronze Age.

Built 3,800 years ago with such precision that many couldn't believe it was real.

It should have rewritten textbooks. It should have been in every history class.

Western researchers visited. Then silence. No headlines. No reports. Nothing.

Why hasn't it entered global consciousness?

Maybe because it breaks too many accepted truths"https://x.com/rinalu_/status/2000555615975010558[/color]

[Barbara]

"Russian athletes were banned under the banner of "principles." But this was never about principles. It was about competition.

Russia dominated the Olympics for decades. Figure skating, gymnastics, wrestling, hockey. Consistent top-three finisher.

Then suddenly, it's about "values."

The US invaded Iraq on false pretenses, killed over a million people, and competed [in the Olympics, apparently] without question.

Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, documented in real time. Zero sporting consequences.

Which makes the standard painfully clear.

When you cannot beat someone fairly, you change the rules. Russian athletes were removed because they kept winning."

https://x.com/rinalu_/status/2001279019082481877

[Barbara]

What impressive talent !!

Matvey #Vetlugin performed to the Russian Imperial anthem, "God Save the Tsar!"

Divine quadruple flip!!!

He landed three quadruple flips!
#2026RussianFigureSkatingChampionships

https://x.com/SgforgoodStella/status/20 ... 9463688589

[Barbara]

That athlete was actually crying after his stellar performance. It's GOOD to show emotion.
Especially for men, that's healthy, it seems to me, and for everyone. Nothing wrong with a few tears when they are not maudlin.

[Barbara]

Watch the pretty 18 second video - but turn off the volume !

" GOOD MORNING FROM THE NORTHERN SLAVIC WORLD — AN ARCTIC SUNRISE OVER MURMANSK

A calm Arctic sunrise over Murmansk — pale pink light spreading across snow, ice, and silent streets at the edge of Europe. This is the far north waking up, beyond the Arctic Circle, where winter dominates the calendar and daylight itself feels precious.

Murmansk lies in Murmansk Oblast, on the Kola Peninsula, a region that many outside Eastern Europe imagine as remote, empty, or “purely Russian.” In reality, it is something far more layered — historically, culturally, and demographically.

Although Murmansk as a city was founded in 1916, the Slavic presence in the region is deeply tied to the great movements of the 20th century. From the late Russian Empire through the Soviet period, the Arctic north was settled, industrialized, and defended largely by East Slavs.

Russians formed the majority, but they were joined in large numbers by Ukrainians and Belarusians, who came north to work in ports, railways, mining, shipbuilding, and military infrastructure. Murmansk became a shared Slavic Arctic project, built by people from across the Slavic east.

This diversity is not theoretical. Census data and historical records consistently show that Murmansk Oblast has long been home to substantial Ukrainian and Belarusian communities, alongside Russians. These populations lived side by side, speaking closely related languages, sharing schools, neighborhoods, and daily life in extreme northern conditions. The Arctic did not erase Slavic diversity — it concentrated it.

The region’s history also reaches beyond Russia itself. During the chaos following World War I, northern Russia became a battlefield of the Russian Civil War.

In 1918–1919, Polish soldiers known as the Murmańczycy fought in the Murmansk area against Bolshevik forces, alongside Allied troops. These Polish volunteers — many from a newly reborn Poland — left a little-known Slavic footprint on the Arctic front, linking Murmansk’s history to Central Europe as well as the East.

Indigenous peoples, particularly the Sami, are also part of the Kola Peninsula’s story, with roots stretching back thousands of years. Yet demographically, linguistically, and culturally, Murmansk Oblast developed above all as a Slavic Arctic region, shaped by East Slavic settlement and shared historical experience.

This sunrise, then, is more than a beautiful moment. It is a quiet reminder that the Slavic world does not end at comfortable latitudes or familiar capitals. It reaches the tundra, the polar night, and the ice-free ports of the Arctic — places where Slavs lived, worked, fought, and built communities that many people today barely know exist."

https://x.com/SlavicNetworks/status/2002979722167250968