Russia

**Russia** (Russian: Россия/Россія, Rossija), officially the **Russian Federation**, is the largest country on the planet Earth.

On late February 2022, Russian forces invaded and occupied two easterly regions in Ukraine to support several separatist militants. Ultimately, in spite of the rulers' and supporters' various claims, the actual purpose was to destroy Ukraine and its people to subjugate whatever that would be left under another period of Russian rule.

This alarmed Western countries, who provided weaponry and vehicles to help Ukraine defend itself and prevent Russia from possibly doing the same to them if Ukraine falls.

## Factfile

* Official name: Russian Federation
* Anthem: State Anthem of the Russian Federation
* Official motto: N/A
* Capital city: Moscow
* Official languages: Russian
* State religion: N/A, secular
	+ National religion: Christianity (Orthodox)
	+ Major religions: Islam, Buddhism, Rodnovery (Russian paganism/native Russian religion), Catholicism, Old Believers
* Government: Federal constitutional republic (de jure), authoritarian dictatorship (in practice)
* President: Vladimir Putin
* Prime Minister: Mikhail Mishustin
* Climate: Mostly boreal; temperate at the southwest; steppes and desert at the south.
* Population: 146,748,590
* Currency: Ruble (100 kopeiky/kopeks)
* National Day: 12 June (Russia Day)

## In the *Collectionverse*

The Indigo Revolution may have affected parts of Russia, but its role in helping the western republics break away from Soviet rule turned Russia into an embittered nation. Ukraine has become strong enough to create a new alliance of its own, to discourage Russian attempts to dominate it and its neighbours again. Even though the alliance was also against American domination, the existence of this alliance itself angered the Russians, simply because many Russian nationalists and Soviet supporters were simply banished.

Andrew Hughes hates Russia for its historical actions against his ancestral country of Latvia.

On 14 July, 2018, the comic convention AstraCon was held at Astrakhan in southern Russia. One quarrel between several celebrities turned it into an embarrassingly huge fight that ended the convention.

## In the *Rinnarverse*

See also: Rinnarverse timeline, Russia (Rinnarverse), Russia (19-canon)

During the 20th century, Russia was ruled by an authoritarian socialist government known as the Soviet Union. It and America competed for global domination, until its corrupt leaders broke its economy down and caused it to collapse.

Russia is alluded to in the *Rinnarverse* as one of four powers that competed for global domination in the years leading to World War III, the others being "America, China, and Arabia". Its methods in achieving the status of a superpower include conservative and nationalist propaganda against the two Americas and Arabia, oil money, military expansion, and supporting nationalist groups in Europe. Its republican government was later replaced by a restored Romanov monarchy.

In the escalation years leading to World War III, Russia created its own bloc in Eastern Europe as its counterpart to Visegrad. In response to Arabian and Chinese interests in Central Asia, Russia built its own network of military bases. It also funded several reactionary groups to make the AF and Visegrad more subservient.

Russia managed to avoid being conquered by the Earth Union as its leaders built energy shields to protect its lands from bombardments and invasion. Regardless, it also withstood fierce Farsider sieges: the Farsiders considered Russia to be one of four empires that were collectively responsible for World War III.

The Cyrillic alphabet became widely-used by the colonies and countries at the far side of the Milky Way, such as the Rinnarit Republic. In spite of this, Russia was also disliked by the Galactics for its and its rivals' actions, which were blamed for World War III.

## In the *Rabydosverse*

See also: Russia (Rabydosverse)

Although Russia did not exist in the Rabydosverse *per se*, a number of countries are its cultural and geographical equivalents on Jerde. They include Darros and its descendants, such as the island superpower of Bujan.

Nonetheless, different "Russias" existed in different Earths in several universes. Two of them were very hostile against Bujan due to their leaders' stances, and the third was more friendly until its leader decided to annex Koivarin. These, unfortunately, became the reason why Bujan dislikes Russia in general in spite of their cultural similarities, seeing its civilisation as hostile as America and many powerful Terran empires.

Some of the Terrans who invaded Bujan claimed themselves as successors of Russia, hence the Bujanski association of anything that is "Russian" with these invaders and tyrants.

### General

* Russia is the largest country on Earth. Its Internet users are the second biggest language community online, below English-language users.
* In older times, and in some Russian nationalist groups, the neighbouring state of Ukraine was known as Malorussia (Малороссия, Little Russia).
* There are 33 letters in the modern Russian alphabet.

### Russia in the Rabydosverse

* Russia was the inspiration for several countries in the Rabydosverse: Bujan, Sevraeja, and Darros.
	+ Bujan was inspired by Tsar Saltan, Russian folklore, Rodnovery (Slavic neopaganism), and influences from Victorian England and modern Japan and Thailand.
	+ Sevraeja was inspired by the mediaeval Republic of Novgorod and the white-blue flag used in anti-war protests. It was also influenced by ancient Persia and 19th-century France.
	+ Darros was inspired by Slavic mythology.
	+ The Tyrskans and the Zetrosians were largely inspired by Russia, especially from the Putinist era and the 2022 invasion of Ukraine. They were also based on the Roman Empire and American extremists.
	+ Medieval Russian and Thai art and architecture were the influences for Sarmelonid art; and likewise, Bujan as a nation influenced by Sarmelonid culture.
* The author is fond of the Cyrillic alphabet for having more separate letters for more phonemes, rather than needing diphthongs or diacritics as in Latin and Greek. Another alphabet he loves is Glagolithic, an earlier script for archaic Slavic languages.
	+ His favourite letters are Ѣ (ae), Ѳ (th), and Ҁ (q); because they looked pretty and they were not often used for non-Slavic languages aside from Greek. In modern Russian, their sounds are transcribed as е/ё (je/jo), т (t, ф/f in later borrowed words), and к (k).
	+ In Russia, modern usage of the letter Ѣ and archaic spelling is associated with monarchist and far-right extremist groups. These include groups whose militaristic and hypernationalist views will be opposed in Bujanski society, similar to the Terrans that invaded the kingdom.
	+ Although Bujanski itself was based on the Russian language, its pronunciation would make it somewhat more similar to Finnish.
* In 2017, the author was a fan of RYTP (Russian Youtube Poops), edited surreal videos from Russia that have various vulgar and crude memes.
	+ Vlad Borsch - a rant by one angry boy against heavy metal hooligans. The source of the word "объебос" (ob'jebos), a term for "raver" or "junkie", which became the author's favourite word in the Russian language.
	+ Green Elephant - a horror film where an abusive captain in some dilapidated Soviet army base tortures two recruits. Quotes and rants from the film were used in multiplayer matches to pester opposing players, as the film became an internet meme from its shocking plot and the stupid behaviour of Poekhavshy (or Pakhomov). In 2022, it was banned in Russia due to fears of its gruesome scenes affecting young people.

* Bujan also has its own "Victory Day", but in different dates.
	+ The first was May 28, celebrating King Motakol ending the Old Hiranol killings and unifying Bujan for the first time.
	+ The second was June 28 at the next month, celebrating Bujan's independence from Wannaenid oppression.

### 2022

* In February 2022, in protest against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and alleged neo-Nazi support of Russia's invasion, the author made various antagonists that are Russian *or* American. Yet it also made him somewhat conflicted, due to Bujan (one of the main settings) being inspired by the same country that committed war crimes.
	+ Latin/Lonzic Z is also used as a target for shooting in Bujanski gun ranges. In Earth QVOZ (where the Zetrosians came from), Z was a symbol of the emperor of Russia.
	+ Likewise, his enemies also used other letters to represent themselves as global empires, such as the American emperor's usage of Q, S for the Arabian emperor, W for the emperor of China, and R for the Empire of Hinduvarta.
	+ One secessionist army, Zavtrana, attempted to make Bujan into a colony of their self-proclaimed "Russian Empire" by annexing themselves into the Terran-dominated empire of Greater Rus. The Latin Z was their national symbol, representing a future under the Zavtranians' rule. After their defeat, they became the Ethnostate of Kovastoi, north of Bujan.
	+ The actions of the Zavtranian army and other Terran invaders made Bujan hate Terran people more. There was a constant fear that the Terrans will one day conquer Bujan and destroy it - not just the Tyrskans, but also the past American warlords, now reduced to demonic monsters in folklore.
* The Bujanski dislike of Russia as an attempted conqueror may be similar to Taiwan's dislike of China, or America's occasional dislike of Britain (its former ruler) or Germany (where most White Americans were descended from).
* The Zavtranians and their Kovastoi descendants' attempts to take over Bujan as a new Russian Empire, were influenced by Russian nationalists who claimed that Ukraine must be annexed into Russia. Like the Bujanski, the Ukrainians strongly hate any attempts to make them submit to Russian rule again.
* The anti-war protests and the white-blue flag used by Russians who protested the invasion of Ukraine were the ultimate inspiration for the nation of Sevraeja.
	+ Bujan also has a blue and white flag before 2022. On 2023, the author interpreted it as symbolic of faith in Perun and freedom.
* In 18 April, 2022, the author twisted the slogan "Where have you been in the past eight years?!" (Где вы были восемь лет?) into an idea about immortality - it was also influenced by Koschei the Deathless, a Russian folktale. 8, when turned aside, becomes the infinity symbol, so he made the Russian Empire that invaded Bujan into a more different civilisation, a nation of very angry immortals.
* Paradoxially, the same immortality serum left behind from defeated Zavtranians also made another enemy, the Wannaenids, immortals; and later, Bujan and the rest of the region extended their youth and lived using the same elixir!
	+ In May 2022, the author decided to temporarily remove the Tattoo Incident and Earth 27 Russias, because he wanted to polish the fictional alternate countries to make them more unique, as he did with Zetrosia, an alternate Russia in a post-apocalyptic world themed after emperors using letters of the Latin alphabet.
* The actions of the Russian army, and the aggressive attitudes of online Russian nationalists and Putin supporters during the war, were the inspiration for the warmongering attitudes of the Fifty-Six Tyrants and their Terran descendants. They all represent paranoia, militarism, manipulation, domination, and extremism.
	+ Many of these Terrans became examples of destructive attitudes that the Denlotia and other Jerdiskar fiercely oppose. Morality classes, genetic manipulation, and strict laws were implemented to prevent the Jerdiskar from ever becoming like them.

## Kljukva stereotypes and comparisons

See also: Klyukva

Stereotypes of Russia in Western pop culture are known as klyukva (kljukva, клюква, "cranberry"), short for razvestaja kljukva (развесистая клюква, "sprawling cranberries"), which refers to any tall tale. These include:

* bears
* balalaikas
* endless winter
* Soviet army soldiers
* communism
* "comrade"
* very strong and tough men
* vodka, drunkenness
* matrioshka dolls
* ushanka hats
* the song "Kalinka"
* я (ja) replacing "r"
* joyless, humourless, Russians never smile
* Russian women are sexy and bound to their husbands/Russian women are ugly and like men
* Everyone is a member of the mafia (a criminal gang)
* very accented and bad English
* "mysterious Russian soul"

In the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, several new recurring elements were used when mocking the Russian invaders, which the author called as "neo-klyukva".

* orcs
* obsession with the Latin letter Z
	+ Originally a tank symbol, later used by the government of Russia to support destroying Ukraine
* stealing toilets, televisions, and washing machines
* Russian soldiers who die become into sunflowers (in Ukraine), or have a Lada car given in their (dis)honour for their widows or mothers
* very filthy
* smokes a lot
* wants to kill every Ukrainian
* spends too much time online to troll (harass others) and glorify his empire