Russian language in the context of Novgorod Kremlin

The Swallow's Nest (Russian: Ласточкино гнездо, romanized: Lastochkino gnezdo, Ukrainian: Ластівчине гніздо, romanized: Lastivchyne hnizdo) is a decorative castle located at Gaspra, a small spa town between Yalta and Alupka on the Crimean peninsula. It was built between 1911 and 1912, on top of the 40-metre-high (130 ft) Aurora Cliff, in a Neo-Gothic design by the Russian architect Leonid Sherwood for Pavel Leonardovich von Steingel, a Russian noble with German roots.

The castle overlooks the Cape of Ai-Todor on the Black Sea coast and is located near the remains of the Roman castrum of Charax. The Swallow's Nest is one of the most popular visitor attractions in Crimea, having become the symbol of Crimea's southern coastline.

Yalta (Ukrainian and Russian: Ялта) is a resort city on the south coast of the Crimean Peninsula surrounded by the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Yalta Municipality, one of the regions within Crimea. Yalta, along with the rest of Crimea, is internationally recognised as part of Ukraine, and is considered part of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. However, it is controlled de facto by Russia, which annexed Crimea in 2014 and regards the town as part of the Republic of Crimea. According to the most recent census, its population was 76,746 (2014 Census).

The city is located on the site of the ancient Greek colony of Yalita (Greek: Γιαλός, romanized: Gialós [ʝaˈlos̠]). It is said to have been founded by Greek settlers who were looking for a safe shore on which to land. It is situated on a deep bay facing south towards the Black Sea, surrounded by the mountain range Ai-Petri. It has a humid subtropical climate and is surrounded by numerous vineyards and orchards.

Yevpatoria (Ukrainian: Євпаторія, romanized: Yevpatoriia; Russian: Евпатория, romanized: Yevpatoriya; Crimean Tatar: Kezlev, Кезлев; Greek: Ευπατορία, romanized: Eupatoría) is a city in western Crimea, north of Kalamita Bay. Yevpatoria serves as the administrative center of Yevpatoria Municipality, one of the districts (raions) into which Crimea is divided. It had a population of 105,719 (2014 Census).

Novorossiysk (Russian: Новоросси́йск, IPA: [nəvərɐˈsʲijsk] ; Adyghe: ЦӀэмэз, romanized: C̣ămăz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It was one of the few cities designated by the Soviet Union as a Hero City. The population was 262,293 (2021 census); 241,952 (2010 census); 232,079 (2002 census); 185,938 (1989 Soviet census).

The Indo-European languages are a language family native to the northern Indian subcontinent, most of Europe, and the Iranian plateau, with additional native branches found in regions such as parts of Central Asia (e.g., Tajikistan and Afghanistan), southern Indian subcontinent (Sri Lanka and the Maldives) and Armenia. Historically, Indo-European languages were also spoken in Anatolia and Northwestern China. Some European languages of this family—English, French, Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Spanish, and Dutch—have expanded through colonialism in the modern period and are now spoken across several continents. The Indo-European family is divided into several branches or sub-families, including Albanian, Armenian, Balto-Slavic, Celtic, Germanic, Hellenic, Indo-Iranian, and Italic, all of which contain present-day living languages, as well as many more extinct branches.

Today the individual Indo-European languages with the most native speakers are English, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, Hindustani, Bengali, Punjabi, French, and German; many others spoken by smaller groups are in danger of extinction. Over 3.4 billion people (42% of the global population) speak an Indo-European language as a first language—by far the most of any language family. There are about 446 living Indo-European languages, according to an estimate by Ethnologue, of which 313 belong to the Indo-Iranian branch.

Transliteration is a type of conversion of a text from one script to another that involves swapping letters (thus trans- + liter-) in predictable ways, such as Greek ⟨α⟩ → ⟨a⟩ and ⟨χ⟩ → the digraph ⟨ch⟩, Cyrillic ⟨д⟩ → ⟨d⟩, Armenian ⟨ն⟩ → ⟨n⟩ or Latin ⟨æ⟩ → ⟨ae⟩.

For instance, for the Greek term ⟨Ελληνική Δημοκρατία⟩, which is usually translated as 'Hellenic Republic', the usual transliteration into the Latin script (romanization) is ⟨Hellēnikḗ Dēmokratía⟩; and the Russian term ⟨Российская Республика⟩, which is usually translated as 'Russian Republic', can be transliterated either as ⟨Rossiyskaya Respublika⟩ or alternatively as ⟨Rossijskaja Respublika⟩.

Russian Classification on Objects of Administrative Division (Russian: Общеросси́йский классифика́тор объе́ктов администрати́вно-территориа́льного деле́ния), or OKATO (Russian: ОКАТО), also called All-Russian classification on units of administrative and territorial distribution in English, is one of several Russian national registers. OKATO's purpose is organization of information about structure of the administrative divisions of the federal subjects of Russia.

The document assigns numeric codes to each administrative division of the country, which are hierarchically structured from the federal subject level down to selsoviet level; an expanded version also includes listings of individual inhabited localities within each administrative division.

Swan Lake (Russian: Лебеди́ное о́зеро, romanized: Lebedínoje ózero, Russian pronunciation: [lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə]), Opus 20, is a ballet composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky between 1875 and 1876. The original production premiered at the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow on 4 March 1877 (20 February Old Style), with choreography by Julius Reisinger. The ballet, initially conceived in two acts, is based on Russian and German folk tales and tells the story of Princess Odette, who is transformed into a swan by the sorcerer Von Rothbart.

The initial reception was lukewarm, with criticism directed at various elements of the production. Despite this, Swan Lake has become one of the most frequently performed ballets worldwide.

The Isthmus of Perekop, literally Isthmus of the Trench (Ukrainian: Перекопський перешийок; transliteration: Perekops'kyi pereshyiok; Russian: Перекопский перешеек; transliteration: Perekopskiy peresheek, Crimean Tatar: Or boynu, Turkish: Orkapı; Greek: Τάφρος; transliteration: Taphros), is the narrow, 5–7 kilometres (3.1–4.3 mi) wide strip of land that connects the Crimean Peninsula to the mainland of Ukraine. The isthmus projects between the Black Sea to the west and the Syvash to the east. The isthmus takes its name of "Perekop" from the Tatar fortress of Or Qapi.

The border between Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Kherson Oblast runs through the northern part of the isthmus. Since the start of the Russian military occupation and subsequent annexation of Crimea in 2014, this is also the de facto northern border of the Russian Republic of Crimea. The cities of Perekop, Armiansk, Suvorove (Crimea) [uk] and Krasnoperekopsk are situated on the isthmus. The North Crimean Canal ran through the isthmus, supplying Crimea with fresh water from the Dnieper River. Ukraine closed the canal in 2014, and the water supply was only partially replaced by other local and Russian sources.

Kherson Oblast (Ukrainian: Херсонська область, romanized: Khersonska oblast, IPA: [xerˈsɔnʲsʲkɐ ˈɔblɐsʲtʲ]; Russian: Херсонская область), also known as Khersonshchyna (Херсонщина, IPA: [xerˈsɔnʃtʃɪnɐ]), is an oblast (province) in southern Ukraine. It is located just north of Crimea. Its administrative center is Kherson, on the northern or right bank of the Dnieper river, which bisects the oblast. The oblast has an area of 28,461 km and a population of 1,001,598 (2022 estimate). It is considered the 'fruit basket' of the country, as much of its agricultural production is dispersed throughout the country, with production peaking during the summer months.

Most of the area of the oblast has been under Russian military occupation since early in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In September 2022, Russia claimed to have annexed Kherson Oblast after arranging a disputed referendum. The referendum and the subsequent claimed annexation are internationally unrecognized. As the result of a counteroffensive operation, Ukrainian forces retook the whole area on the right bank of the Dnieper, including Kherson city, by mid-November 2022.

The Crimean Bridge (Russian: Крымский мост, romanized: Krymskiy most, IPA: [ˈkrɨmskʲij most]; Ukrainian: Кримський міст, romanized: Krymskyi mist), also called Kerch Strait Bridge or Kerch Bridge, is a pair of parallel bridges, one for a four-lane road and one for a double-track railway, spanning the Kerch Strait between the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea. Built by the Russian Federation after its annexation of Crimea at the start of 2014, the bridge cost ₽227.92 billion (US$3.7 billion) and has a length of 19 km (12 mi), making it the longest bridge in Europe and the longest bridge ever constructed by Russia.

In January 2015 the multibillion-dollar construction contract for the bridge was awarded to Arkady Rotenberg's Stroygazmontazh. Construction beganin February 2016. The road bridge was inaugurated by Russian president Vladimir Putin on 15 May 2018. It opened for cars on 16 May and for trucks on 1 October. The rail bridge was inaugurated on 23 December 2019 and the first scheduled passenger train crossed the bridge two days later. The bridge was opened for freight trains on 30 June 2020. A record amount of traffic, totalling 36,393 cars, was recorded on 15 August 2020.

Krasnodar Krai (Russian: Краснода́рский край, romanized: Krasnodarskiy kray, [krəsnɐˈdarskʲɪj kraj]) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the North Caucasus region in Southern Russia and is administratively a part of the Southern Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Krasnodar. The third most populous federal subject in Russia, it had a population of 5,838,273 as of the 2021 Census.

Krasnodar Krai is formally and informally referred to as Kuban (Russian: Кубань), a term denoting the historical region of Kuban situated between the Sea of Azov and the Kuban River which is predominantly within the krai. It is bordered by Rostov Oblast to the north, Stavropol Krai to the east, Karachay-Cherkessia to the south-east. Adygea is an enclave entirely within the krai. Krasnodar Krai shares an international border with Georgia and borders annexed Crimea to the west, across the Kerch Strait.

The Arabat Spit (Ukrainian: Арабатська коса; Russian: Арабатская коса; Crimean Tatar: Arabat beli), or Arabat Arrow (Russian: Арабатская стрелка), is a barrier spit that separates the large, shallow, salty Syvash lagoons from the Sea of Azov. The spit runs between the Henichesk Strait in the north and the north-eastern shores of Crimea in the south. It is the largest of several spits of the Sea of Azov.

The Syvash or Sivash (Ukrainian and Russian: Сива́ш; Crimean Tatar: Sıvaş, Сываш, lit. 'dirt'), also known as the Putrid Sea or Rotten Sea (Russian: Гнило́е Мо́ре, romanized: Gniloye More; Ukrainian: Гниле́ Мо́ре, romanized: Hnyle More; Crimean Tatar: Çürük Deñiz), is a large area of shallow lagoons on the western edge of the Sea of Azov. Separated from the sea by the narrow Arabat Spit, the water of the Syvash covers an area of around 2,560 km (990 sq mi) and the entire area spreads over about 10,000 km (3,900 sq mi). The Henichesk Strait is its eastern connection to the Sea of Azov. The Syvash borders the northeastern coast of the main Crimean Peninsula. The central and eastern Syvash were registered as wetlands of Ukraine under the Ramsar Convention. Since the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the entire Syvash has been occupied by Russia.

The Southern Coast (Crimean Tatar: Yalı Boyu; Ukrainian: Півде́нний бе́рег, romanized: Pivdennyi bereg; Russian: Ю́жный бе́рег, romanized: Yuzhny bereg), also referred to as the Crimean Riviera, is a geographic region located in southern Crimea, a region internationally recognised as part of Ukraine but currently controlled by Russia. Stretching from Cape Aya to Kara Dag Mountain, the Southern Coast has a total length of about 180 km (110 mi). The Southern Coast has historically been a prominent tourist location due to its relatively warm climate and purported benefits for respiratory health, and drew an estimated 500,000 tourists yearly as of 1984.

The Pereiaslav Agreement or Pereyaslav Agreement (Ukrainian: Переяславська рада, romanized: Pereiaslavska Rada, lit. 'Pereiaslav Council', Russian: Переяславская рада) was an official meeting that convened for a ceremonial pledge of allegiance by Zaporozhian Cossacks to Russian tsar Alexis (r. 1645–1676) in the town of Pereiaslav in central Ukraine, in January 1654. The ceremony took place concurrently with ongoing negotiations that started on the initiative of Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky to address the issue of the Cossack Hetmanate with the ongoing Khmelnytsky Uprising against the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth and which concluded the Treaty of Pereiaslav (also known as the March Articles). The treaty itself was finalized in Moscow in April 1654 (in March according to the Julian calendar).

Khmelnytsky secured the military protection of the Tsardom of Russia in exchange for allegiance to the tsar. An oath of allegiance to the Russian monarch from the leadership of the Cossack Hetmanate was taken, shortly thereafter followed by other officials, the clergy and the inhabitants of the Hetmanate swearing allegiance. The exact nature of the relationship stipulated by the agreement between the Hetmanate and Russia is a matter of scholarly controversy. The council of Pereiaslav was followed by an exchange of official documents: the March Articles (from the Cossack Hetmanate) and the tsar's declaration (from Russia).

Barysaw or Borisov (Belarusian: Барысаў, romanized: Barysaŭ, IPA: [baˈrɨsaw]; Russian: Борисов, IPA: [bɐˈrʲisəf]) is a city in Minsk Region, Belarus. It serves as the administrative center of Barysaw District. It is located on the Berezina River and 74 kilometres (46 mi) north-east from the capital Minsk. As of 2025, it has a population of 134,732.

North Asia or Northern Asia (Russian: Северная Азия) is the northern region of Asia, which is defined in geographical terms and consists of three federal districts of Russia: Ural, Siberian, and the Far Eastern. North Asia is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to its north; by Eastern Europe to its west; by Central Asia and East Asia to its south; and by the Pacific Ocean and Northern America to its east. It covers an area of 13,100,000 square kilometres (5,100,000 sq mi), or 8.8% of Earth's total land area; and is the largest subregion of Asia by area, occupying approx. 29.4% of Asia's land area, but is also the least populated, with a population of around 37 million, accounting for merely 0.74% of Asia's population.

Topographically, the region is dominated by the Eurasian Plate, except for its eastern part, which lies on the North American, Amurian, and Okhotsk Plates. It is divided by three major plains: the West Siberian Plain, Central Siberian Plateau, and Verhoyansk-Chukotka collision zone. The Uralian orogeny in the west raised Ural Mountains, the informal boundary between Asia and Europe. Tectonic and volcanic activities are frequently occurred in the eastern part of the region as part of the Ring of Fire, evidenced by the formation of island arcs such as the Kuril Islands and ultra-prominent peaks such as Klyuchevskaya Sopka, Kronotsky, and Koryaksky. The central part of North Asia is a large igneous province called the Siberian Traps, formed by a massive eruption which occurred 250 million years ago. The formation of the traps coincided with the Permian–Triassic extinction event.

Sakhalin (Russian: Сахалин, IPA: [səxɐˈlʲin]) is an island in Northeast Asia. Its north coast lies 6.5 km (4.0 mi) off the southeastern coast of Khabarovsk Krai in Russia, while its southern tip lies 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the Japanese island of Hokkaido. An island of the West Pacific, Sakhalin divides the Sea of Okhotsk to its east from the Sea of Japan to its southwest. It is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast and is the largest island of Russia, with an area of 72,492 square kilometres (27,989 sq mi). The island has a population of roughly 500,000, the majority of whom are Russians. The indigenous peoples of the island are the Ainu, Oroks, and Nivkhs, who are now present in very small numbers.

The island's name is derived from the Manchu word Sahaliyan (ᠰᠠᡥᠠᠯᡳᠶᠠᠨ), which was the name of the Qing dynasty city of Aigun. The Ainu people of Sakhalin paid tribute to the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties and accepted official appointments from them. Sometimes the relationship was forced but control from dynasties in China was loose for the most part.