Why is Russia So DAMN BIG? 

Hey friends if you want to see a very historically precise version of the evolution of Russian borders (mine here are very simplified approximations) go check out this amazing video by the wildly talented EmperorTigerstar (of whom I am a patron!) ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uCIp3CF33ms.html

Ivan: Go east! How far east? Ivan: Until you find west.

I'm from Sakha republic. The funny thing is when you fly from Yakutsk to Moscow it takes about 6 hours and because of 6 time zones that divides Moscow and Yakutsk you don't lose time. For example, if you flew off in 10 AM you will land in 10 AM.

As a Dutchmen from The Netherlands (Holland) having learned only the western view on Russia, I've only learned bad things about Russia. Since I've migrated to Turkey some years ago, a more neutral country if it comes to The West / Russia I've learned so much positive things about Russia and I've met some amazing Russians living here too. My view has completely changed and I planned a trip and can't wait to visit Russia and see some of the diversity and kindness of the people there. I hope the world media would be more neutral and I feel sad it isn't.

My grandma is from Dagestan and she was a famous dancer with her group, she traveled the whole world, performing at different cities and counties. At one point she was in south korea and she with her ground got invited by samsung for dinner after their performance which I think is kinda cool. Now she lives in Czech Republic with us :)

Забавно как прозвучало - русские научились пользоваться технологиями Европы, когда порох и пушки с ракетами и пороховыми бомбами и бумагой изобрели в Китае :)

“Not to long ago, Russia wasn’t that big” Goes back 1,000 years

I hope someone sees this. As a linguistics fan, this fact about Russia always comes to mind. On the Yenisei river, there is a small town, I think about 1000 inhabitants. These people speak the ket language. The ket language was recently pretty much proven to be related to languages like NAVAJO, or basically to the whole Na-Dene language family, forming the 15k years old family of the dene yeniseian languages. The last known remaining bridge between the "old world" and the "new world" from the time the first humans to migrate there migrated.

Товарищ учил историю по картинкам из американских журналов. 😊

The country is so big that when I ask people from smaller cities whether they have traveled abroad, they tell me they have been to Moscow as if Moscow is another country entirely.😂

It's mind blowing to imagine that Russia was once European , Asian and North American country at the same time.

Actually , I love how those empires invade their land without harming others cultures. Not like British or US.

Штаты слишком велики! Свободу Техасу!

Ivan: So hear this...we go west...but through the east

The Black Sea coast is very different from the rest of Russia. Here you have Mediterranean or Subtropical climates, vineyards, tea plantations and so much more!

Интересно наблюдать,как народ практически полностью истребивший коренное население своего континента, рассуждает о жестоком обращение русских к присоединяемым народам.

"ещё не так давно Россия не была такой большой". Смеюсь в голос. 1000 лет назад, это не так давно, по его мнению. Да тогда и Британии то не было, не говоря уж о США, которые появились спустя 700-800 лет. "... не так давно ...", постыдился бы

As a person from the European side of Russia, currently in Moscow, I absolutely forget that my country is so big and that there are people who don't look "Russian" in a typical sense. One of the dreams of mine is to travel around my country to explore it since there is so much to look at, for example, natural resources rather than big city plants. And the history is so complex, I don't even know the majority of it. And it is interesting bc I'm more interested in the history of European countries and absolutely forget about my own. Also, every time a foreigner takes interest in Russia, I'm so surprised, I'm like "oh, cool. you know about Russia, that's nice". So, really appreciate your videos!

Fun fact: Norway and North Korea are separated by 1 Country

Когда изучаешь чужую историю с дивана, получается подобная развесистая клюква

На фразе страны не должны быть такими большими , вспомнился один прекрасный мем . « а тебя это ебать не должно» 😅

I am a blogger from Russia and I lived in the Republic of Chuvashia. This is a small region on the Volga River. at school we had the Chuvash language. We had to learn not only Russian, but also our native language - Chuvash. We also studied English or German - to choose from. Sometimes we knew Chuvash better than English. The government takes care of the culture and language of small nationals. We also teach the history of our small nation and the history of Russia - separately. We study the national food of our republic, songs and national clothes. This is required by the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation.

Everyone who has looked at a map before: "Yeah its pretty big"

И так здравствуйте, я из Республики Саха (Якутия). И я Саха, и в данный момент в субботу 16.12.2023 года на улице как то тепло -36 градусов по Цельсию. Интересные факты, Якутия в 6 раз больше Франции, здесь в имеется вся таблица Менделеева, самый богатый регион по природным ресурсам в России, самое холодное место где живут люди меньше -70 градусов по Цельсию, разность годовой температуры достигает 100 градусов по Цельсию, самые добрые люди в Якутии, одна из самых больших рек в мире Лена, самый большой город построенный на вечной мерзлоте. Интересный факт обо мне, мой прадед участвовал в гражданской войне 1917-1922 года, мой дед участвовал во второй мировой войне с 1941-1945 года, мой отец воевал в Афганистане, мой брат сейчас находится на СВО. Если есть вопросы то задавайте.

I'm watching this video from Russia. I can 't write texts well in English .But I want to say that the video is very superficial.About the history of Russia, there were other reasons to go to the east, the author does not know or deliberately distorts historical facts.There are other languages in the republics, but many people speak Russian. For example, in Kalmykia.

"Russia - The only thing standing between Norway and a North Korean invasion"

Мне нравится фраза: Страны не должны быть такими большими и тут же... один Техас размером с Францию😂

Страны не должны быть такими большими... в смысле? Они могут быть любого размера. Думаю, что эта фраза прозвучала только потому, что легче влиять на маленькую страну. Разделяй и властвуй. Россия большая и классная, приезжайте, посмотрите на нее изнутри. Это удивительное место. Столько людей и народов живут по-своему и вместе одновременно. Внутри России могут быть противоречия, но россияне всегда объединялись против общего врага и давали отпор. Потом что как говорится в нашем гимне: "Братских народов союз вековой...".

Интересный факт: Карелия - единственная республика в составе РФ, которая не имеет своего официального языка. А все из-за того, что "родной" язык карелов имеет общее происхождение с финским. Соответственно алфавит пишется не на кириллице, а на латинице, что противоречит законодательству России =) А еще удивительна Казань. Город с многовековой историей. Казань объединяет не только Европу и Азию, но и православие и мусульманство. Так же там можно увидеть Храм всех религий - место, где проповедуют 16 разных религий =) Про содержание видео промолчу) Далеко не со всем согласен, но тут уж кого как учили. Про царя Ивана... Да, наверное он казнил немало людей. Я не знаю, да и никто не знает. Но был ли он таким ужасным тираном на фоне других правителей того времени? Думаю, все слышали про Варфоломеевскую ночь во Франции? Там за несколько часов перебили несколько тысяч человек. Не жалели никого, беременным разрезали животы и убивали плод. Да и человеческая жизнь, наверное, ценилась иначе...

After Russia reaches the pacific : "Tsar, there is no more 'east' to expand east" "Isn't the earth a gloobe?"

I need a Johnny Harris Netflix docuseries to binge. Seriously top notch stories and editing.

Иван Грозный казнил за свое правление 3 тысячи человек, в то время как любой правитель Европы 300-400 тысяч

Спасибо далекому парню, который позволил мне взглянуть на свою huge и great страну с такой стороны. Так просто и понятно. Они все шли и шли на восток.. :) Горжусь своей родиной и своими людьми

Hey, I'm from the Russian Far East (I mean, it's an official name of the region, no jokes here), the city of Vladivostok. It is 11.0000km away from Moscow, but 200km away from China and North Korea. It has lots of south-east-asian immigrants living here (so many that children study Chinese at schools). It is also all about marine trade, fishing and all kinds of fun sea-related things. Love my land, totally recommend visiting

As a Kalmykian, I am very happy that you mentioned our people! It’s so rare for us to get mentioned, especially in the west! Peace to you!❤️

I am so grateful for you and your team. Love your channel. Thank you for sharing on Russia I pray for Russia and our planet. It was very insightful to learn of the different cultures of Russia. Keep up your great work. Thanks

Потрясающе ПРИМИТИВНЫЙ взгляд на историю моей страны!!!! Интересно, как могла просуществовать тысячу лет русская цивилизация, если её единственной целью был поиск новых " меховых" земель? 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂 Уникальность России ( большей частью!) заключается в ненасильственной интеграции разных народов и культур. В противном случае, она бы не просуществовала и 100 лет.....

Russian history starts in Ladoga town and Velikii Novgorod - first city of Russia, not Kyiv. Kyiv was the first big capital - and it was Kyivskaya Rus'. Before that it was Novgorodskaya Rus'. The first guy of the Rus' was Rurik and Oleg. Also, the second dude died next to Ladoga Town and we have memorial about this.

A couple of interesting facts about 11 time zones: - When Russia celebrates New Years, news anchors congratulate some big city hourly. It's like a countdown - the more cities are mentioned, the closer the holiday. - Often all sorts of television programs are leaked onto the Internet, because they are first shown in the Far East, and they will reach Moscow in about 10 hours. Therefore, for example, people from Moscow can always find the President's New Year messages on the Internet long before the New Year. - Sometimes what the government doesn't like is accidentally shown on television in the Far East. These things are being cut out of programs while they trudge to Moscow. It's always fun to talk about things like that.

Russian missionary and evangelism was also very different then Western European. If you study the lives of Saint Herman and Innocent of Alaska, you see the orthodox missionaries were much more open and accepting of native cultures. Emphasizing what they had in common with Christianity and preserving cultural heritage.

"Not that long ago" "So let's look 1000 years ago"

I’m an American who recently moved to Siberian Russia! And I absolutely love it! I’m making videos of my life here.

I'm from Caucasus. I just want to add that most regions of Russia are very dependent on Moscow and money that comes from federal government. So they aren't really independent. But yeah, Russia is very diverse. I hope that when the world peace will be restored everybody can visit our country and see its beauty by themselves.

Oh Man... I wonder how you find topics.. Great stuff very informative. Every day i watch at least a video from your channel

Очень интересно конечно, Россия не зная границ дозволенного из-за жажды к богатствам, меха, новых территорий- яростно проводила экспансию, но при этом сохранила все народы в составе одной страны без массового геноцида. Почти также как США, а нет абсолютно не так, ведь Россия все таки не уничтожала коренные народы, не выгоняла их со своих территорий, не обманывала их и не подсовывала одеяла с оспой для коренных жителей.

Russians were exploring the world like we are exploring for a nice Minecraft base, far away from spawn.. lol

As a person from Kalmykia, really appreciate you bringing our culture in front of the Western world 👏👏

Finally i found a guy for boost my geography knowledge.. Thanks Harris ❤

Can you imagine if in the USA there were several republics like in Russia, Sioux Republic, Apache Republic or Cherokee Republic, etc. with their own languages? sadly they were all wiped out

I am from Buryatia in Russia but grew up in the West and even I always "forget" how diverse my country is. Thank you for talking about it!

JohnnyHarris keep up the awesome work! Honestly im learning alot off your History Vids their beautifully put together i love it & the info sticks. Thank you brother many blessings to you & the team.

It's really hard to invade a freezing country. Both France and Germany tried.

This is a token of silent appreciation of an American production that uses metric system.

holy shit. this absolutely blew my mind. i now realize how little i know about the world and how big it truly is. thank you!

Как обычно.. чутка правды, куча пиз..жа, стереотипы, лицемерие, в общем винегрет 🤦‍♂️

I was born in Russia, in the Caucasus. I would like to say about the Russian republics. Honestly, 99% of Russian citizens can speak Russian. Some people in the republics speak only Russian, some people in the republics speak the language of their ethic group and Russian too. It's not a problem - all people understand Russian

It is quite strange to hear that the country should not be so huge, although, for example, the British Empire was much larger. The only difference is that Russia did not use the colonies, but annexed them to itself. In addition, this is the only way to ensure safety.

We had not covered Kalingrad Oblast!

Thank you for remembering Kalmykia, really love my own republic, it was so nice!

Heyyy👋🏽 I’m from Russia, from Tatarstan (one of republic), Kazan. I’m so proud of Tatarstan, because here 50% Russian and 50% tatar people and we live in pease and respect. I mean two different cultures coexist peacefully in the same region, that’s cool!❤ mosques can stand next to churches)) I hope, the war will end soon and then WELCOME TO Tatarstan!🥰

Fun fact: Ivan the Terrible's actual nickname doesn't actually mean "terrible". The modern English meaning of the word shifted towards "horrible, awful", but the original Russian nickname Грозный (Grozny) actually means "formidable, dangerous, powerful". Oh and if you like Game of Thrones, read his biography. You'll get: wars, conspiracy, coups, all sorts of dirty politics and much more! Did you know a rival noble clan poisoned his first wife Anastasia and her death caused a collapse in his mental health that made him unhinged? And how all of it was part of a power play by the aristocrats to take power from Ivan, and how he viciously retaliated by essentially wiping the old clans who posed a potential threat out? And the Oprichnina? History is fascinating

Хорошо рассказано! Надеюсь все поняли, что после каждого нападения на нас, наша страна не уменьшается, а расширяется😂: русский пародокс... Не воюйте с русскими!

Evil Russia was expanding so dangerously and brazenly, and the rest of the countries, especially “civilized” Europe, sat at home and never rocked the boat (didn’t capture, didn’t fight). They sat and drank peaceful black tea, peacefully obtained by peaceful traders, peaceful and who themselves asked for it in the service of the Europeans. Indian tea serves the civilizers.

Another interesting thing about Kalmykia is that it’s the only Buddhist region in Europe! Great video, Johnny!

I’m a Slavic Russian from the far eastern city of Russia called Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. It’s on the island of Sakhalin. I have a subject in school called global politics, and for it I wrote a research paper on this island and the Kuril Islands which are part of one oblast. It’s an extremely interesting story about Russian-Japanese relations, which in my opinion deserves a whole other episode. On another note, thank you for making another video about Russia! I’m so happy you find my country so interesting, because it gets annoying after a while when all people mention vodka, bears, and communism, basically all Russian stereotypes - you go beyond them.

I'm glad to see the initiative to show Russia, thank you for that. But your knowledge of history. Oh, God...to be correct, they are extremely pathetic, especially the reasons for moving east... Also talking about the conquest by the Golden Horde, we were also constantly attacked by Europe. That is, we were constantly attacked from the west and from the east in same time. But after being included in the Ulus Udzhuchi, we finally got peace for a long time. The Europeans were afraid of the Mongols and no longer came to us from the west. And in the east we simply paid tribute. This gave us time to develop and became strong, which is why we were able to get free from the Horde when power and circumstance became favorable. I would also like to point out the terms Muscovy, Kievan Rus and Ivan the Terrible. The term Muscovy was invented and used by not friendly countries in the West( Polish-Lithuanian propaganda) We called ourselves knyazgestvo Moskovskoe, which similar to The Principality of Moscow, or Grand Duchy of Moscow, so and the Duchy of Kiev. Also Suzdalsuoye, Novgorod etc. Just like the Duchy of Normandy, the Duchy of Brittany in France. The term Kievan Rus was coined in the 19th century. The Moscow Duchy simply won the power race, just like in any other feudally fragmented country. And they began to unite the lands around themselves to centralize power. As in any other country late feudal period. Ivan the Terrible is called terrible in the English translation. In Russian it means more like redoubtable. The English king Henry VIII is called Henry VIII, not the cruel or terrible , although he was more bloody than Ivan IV. I can give few other examples of European sun-faced kings, contemporaries of Ivan IV (the Terrible in the English translation) who pursued a similar policy, using political persecution and torture even of aristocrats.

Ivan the terrible was also regarded as Ivan the great for his revolutionary ideas and expansion of his empire he also improved the economy and made more laidback rules and gave people more rights than most colonizers

Это...Самая странная история России, которую я видел... После речи про Москву я стал уже ждать Великую Тартарию

I live in South Korea. The city of Andong holds an annual mask dance festival, and as part of the festival, they invite traditional dance troupes from all over the world to perform and share their culture. A few years ago, I attended the festival and happened upon a performance by a group from Yakutia (another name for Sakha). They were INCREDIBLE. So much energy, joy, and skill - easily my favorite group from all the performances I witnessed that weekend. Having never heard of the place before, I Googled it and was surprised to learn that it's part of Russia. Thank you for shining a light on Russia's diversity!

Я из России,точнее из республики Башкортостан,у нас своя культура свой язык.И все мы знаем руский.Спасибо тебе человек из Америки который смог так кратко и так интерестно расказать историю нашей могучей страны!

"How far should we expand?" Until you find a border... "BUT THERE IS NONE!!!" Blyad! Sen keep going, commerade!

“So sir how far east should we go?” Ivan: _Y E S_

Why didn't you tell us about Alaska? There are still Russian buildings in Alaska.

Putin stopped the war in Chechnya. And the seizure of the eastern territories was a kind word and gifts, not force. If a person violated this, he was executed

I’m actually from Republic of Sakha you mentioned. It’s a very beautiful place and is very cold. It gets to -72 Celsius in winter. I remember when I travelled to Quebec in Canada, Canadians said that I should be wary of cold and winters are harsh. That was funny :)

Speaking of Sakha republic, as a Russian (I am from South Urals) I was amazed that they have their own cinematography. Shot in local language, mostly independent, low-budget cinema that with time gets more and more recognition worldwide - awards at the well-known festivals in Hongkong, Toronto, Sydney, etc. So, within the last 5 years, it became a small industry in itself. They even launched streaming services with movies just for locals. And having all that - Sakha's cinematography is absolutely unknown in Russia. Like, 99% of people would never even heard about it. To me, it also tells a little how disconnected the regions could be sometimes, both geographically and culturally.

На том, что внутри России есть "фактически 22 независимые страны, кроме внешней политики", можно закончить

You're a great narrator/commentator/storyteller...Im not bored at all! Im learning and at the same time, Im having fun!

As a guy from Poland I think neighboring Kaliningrad Oblast is quite interesting. Not many people know about it existence, however because of its somewhat complicated history (eighty years ago it was Germany) I find it fascinating.

I remember traveling from Moscow to Vladivostok on a train. 7 days on a single railroad, this country is so huge i cant even imagine something so big

The more I learn about Russia, the more similarities I see with the United States

Очень приятно, что вы интересуетесь нашей историей. Рассказ немного простоват и угловат, но это не так важно. Важно уважение и желание узнать лучше. Спасибо

I’m from Russian Far East. My hometown has a border with China. Two countries are separated by river. You can actually see Chinese city from my hometown. The fun fact it’s called Blagoveshchensk, which is roughly translates into English as the city of good news;)

I am from the Republic of Bashkortostan. The nature here is very beautiful. By the way, the Ural Mountains are named after Ural Batyr, the hero of the ancient epos Ural Batyr. I am a Bashkir and I speak Bashkir language. Our people are famous for numerous rebellions against the russian authorities, their warriors, batyrs, culture, and, of course, honey. In the summer there were protests against the destruction of the Kushtau Shikhan mountain. Thanks for the video, Russia is not just Moscow and St.Petersburg P.S. come and visit us ;)

Good work man! Keep it up. From Mother Russia, with love.

If things ever settled down. I would love to take a trip across Russia and see the diverse landscape.

“Not all empires last forever” Russia: calls itself a country and manages to stay

Меня в истории России поражает тот факт, что сталкиваясь на Евразийском континенте с разными Империями, борясь с ними, ища выходы к морям в обход этих империй, только прирастала своими территориями. Удивительно! И все народы до сих пор живы и не утратили свою национальную индентичность. Никто их не загеноцидил, в отличии от Европейцев. Самая агрессивная и жестокая цивилизация...даже монголы не были такими отбитыми

Ты приезжай, мы тебя встретим. Покажем, что у нас тут и как.

Hello, Dagestani here👋🥰It’so so sweet to see people from foreign countries talk about Russia with such respect and passion, I was watching the whole video with a smile😄There are more than 40 different ethnic groups living in Dagestan, all of them have there own customs, there own food and legacy. For example, my ethnicity is called Laks. In Dagestan we also have unique nature like Caspian sea (which is technically a lake), Caucasian mountains, waterfalls, the Sarikum dune, Sulak canyon and etc. Come visit us, I think, you’d like it❤️ P.S. you’re so good at pronouncing our geographic titles, mad respect✊🏽

Этот человек очень поверхностно соединил какие-то факты между собой, очень искажено и с большим количеством пропусков, что даёт не совсем то ощущение прошедшей истории

I am from Komi Republic, from capital Syktyvkar, Ezhva. И я в шоке от того, что какой то иностранец говорит про мою республику, рассказал про ГУЛАГ в Воркуте и про Маньпупунёр, про место, которое занесено в наследие ЮНЕСКО с 95 года. Я в шоке потому, что об этом и наши то русские говорят не часто. А помимо природных красот есть и другие особенности республики. Но я рада что сказали хотя бы про это. Я очень люблю место, в котором живу. Прямо сейчас, кстати, ожидается 1 января -35 градусов. С нашей высокой влажностью это будет как -45))) Но я обожаю это место. И пусть летом +45, а зимой -45, тут не особо может удобно жить и чего то не хватает, но я просто люблю свой дом и мне повезло родиться именно здесь. И спасибо что рассказали. Мне очень интересно как иностранцы относятся к России, особенно в настоящее время. Понимаете о чём я... Но Россия это люди. Не судите о такой огромной стране по правительству, это не правильно. Спасибо еще раз за то, что сделали этот ролик, искали информацию несколько дней, пытались разобраться в истории другой страны. Это очень приятно.

I'm from Astrakhan. It's in South Russia part (Astrakhan oblast), near Volgograd if it helps. And, we have almost +40°C in summer. It's hot! And it snows there really bad recently. Last winter it did, like, only 3 times. Then it melted immediately, turning ground into dirt.))) Sorry for the mistakes :)

В средние века русские торговали не только мехом, еще мёдом, воском, льном и древесиной.😊 А еще вы не упомянули, что даже во времена татаро-монгольского ига, Россия непрерывно защищалась от Ливонских и других захватчиков с запада. У нас была причина постоянно отступать на восток. Не смотря на то, что на востоке холоднее и менее плодородные земли, но там нет таких агрессивных соседей, как европейцы 😅

hi everyone 😺 i’m from Krasnodarsky krai, which is located in the south of Russia. It’s very hot there! Besides, we have two seas there : Black Sea and Azov Sea 🌊 I say hello to all foreign friends❤️

Awesome video. I always learn a tremendous amount of information from you. Thank you.

Amazing, I have never learn so much about history in a single video👌🏽

As Russian from eastern Siberia (Irkutsk) but living in Western Canada (Edmonton) since 2015 and traveling across both countries I would like to mention that some First nation from Canada are genetically very close with Tuva, Buryat, Saha nations. And I am so proud of them in Russia : they were able to survive better then in a Canada regards of their language and traditions. Thank you for this video about real Russian people across different republics.

It's pretty crazy how Russia's expeditions actually reached modern-day Northern California.

There is too much historical inaccuracy in this video