Icons That Are Reminiscent of Russian Culture

Plenty has been written about Russia and its culture. From Russian dolls to Faberge eggs, and lacquer boxes, there's so much that the country has to offer. Here are lists of things that are iconic and reminiscent of Russian culture.

Russian Ushanka Fur Hat: What's the first thing that comes to the mind, when the mind conjures up images of the quintessential Russian? Needless to say, it's the Russian hat. Literally known as the ear hat, these hats protect Russians from the harsh cold winters. Originally, these hats were made from the fur of animals such as rabbits, arctic fox, mink and muskrat. Today, these are commonly made from artificial fur. The cap has earflaps around the hat, which can be either folded up or tied at the top of the hat, or tied at the chin. These caps are known to protect the head, ears and the chin of the wearer. The Russian militia also popularized the use of these hats as they were commonly worn by white officers, also called kolchakovka. In fact, they popularised its use to such an extent that it is still worn by the Russian police and military. The price of these hats, range from just over $10 to more than a few hundred dollars. These hats are very popular and favored by everyone including women, men and children.

Russian Khokhloma: The Russian art of making wooden utensils and painting them in bright colors of red, black and gold to obtain the perfect finish is one of the most popular icons of Russian culture. In fact, these are known to be in the must- buy list of people visiting Russia. The art is known to have been originated in the 17th century by people in the Nizhniy Novgorod province. The area didn't have much of arable land, but was still bestowed with many trees. The people took advantage of this and perfected the art of woodwork. Thus, various dishes of daily use, like cups, saucers, scoops and spoons were made using the available wood. These were brought to be sold in the Volga Fair, where they were admired for their beauty.

Today, besides traditional colors of black, red and gold, green, brown and yellow too are used. The art of making khokhloma derives its name from a village of the same name. Connoisseurs of Russian culture are known to collect spoons, cups, dishes, and other kitchen utensils