Learn more about Russian culture
Russian culture has a long history and traditions. It started from the East Slavs and continued its expansion to Eurasia. The early 
Russian culture was influenced by the culture of the neighbors: Tatar, Scandinavian, Turkic and Byzantine people, along with the Baltic tribes and Vikings. In 988, the Kievan Rus' converted to Orthodox Christianity, which was also a powerful influence on the 
Russian culture up to these days. Peter the Great, his visions and his reforms connected the 
Russian culture to the European. The ideology of Communism was one of the strongest influences on 
Russian customs and mentality. Your knowledge about the 
Russian culture will be a big step in 
learning Russian, that's why we've prepared many lessons on this topic. Don't forget to check them out!
Russian first names
The 
Russian first names are mostly Orthodox Christian names that are given at birth. Many of the 
Russian boy names include old Slavic names, traditional names from the ethnic minorities or names from the Communist times. Popular canonical 
Russian names for boys are 
Ivan, Roman, Pavel and 
Fedor, given in the names of saints. Men with these names celebrate the day of their saint according to the Eastern Orthodox calendar. A popular one is 
Dimitri name. There aren't more than 600 
male Russian names that are currently used. Our lesson will introduce you to the most 
popular Russian names out of all of them. You will learn the 
Nicolas name meaning, 
Alexei name meaning and 
Viktor name meaning. You will also learn the Russian versions of popular names, for example, how is 
Andrew in Russian.
Want more Russian lessons?
We've prepared a lot of free 
Russian lessons for you! If you're interested in 
popular Russian names for girls, then take a look at the 
Common Russian names for girls lesson. There are also many lessons on the 
Russian traditions, the Russian literature and places to see in Russia. Learn more about Russia, its culture and language with VocApp!