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Russia
Country Facts
Population: 140,041,247 (2009)
Median Age: 38.4 yrs.
GDP per capita: $15,100 (2009 est.)
Major Religion: Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%
People Groups: 163 Unreached: 77
Largest Unreached People Group: Tatar
Government Type: Federation
Official Languages: Russian
Geography
Located in Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of
Europe), Russia borders the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North
Pacific Ocean. Russia is bordered by 14 countries: Azerbaijan, Belarus, China, Estonia, Finland, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, North Korea, Norway, Poland and Ukraine.
People
"Rus" may derive from the name of a tribe that gained
political ascendancy in Kiev and other Slavic towns and lent its name to
the language, culture, and state.
People ethnically identified as Russians have been politically and
culturally dominant in a vast area for five hundred years of tsarist and
Soviet imperial expansion. However, despite repression of their cultural
autonomy, minority cultures have survived within the Russian Federation;
including the peoples of the North Caucasus, numerous indigenous groups in
Siberia, the Tatars in the Volga region, and the East Slavic Ukrainians
and Belorussians.
History
Russia has had a thousand-year history of growth and contraction,
political consolidation and disintegration, repression and relaxation, messianism and self-definition, and varying forms of socioeconomic
interdependence with other nations.
Inter-ethnic relations are fraugh
 t with tensions spawned over centuries
of Russian and Soviet colonial domination and activated in the aftermath
of the collapse of the Soviet state. Most conflicts are multi-dimensional,
simultaneously involving struggles for political control, rights over
natural resources, migration and relocation, and the revitalization of
national or ethnic cultures, religions, languages, and identities.
Culture
Russian is one of three East Slavic languages of the Slavic branch of the
Indo-European language family. It is the most widely spoken Slavic
language, with 1.39 million people speaking it as their native language
and tens of millions more using it as a second language. Many people in
non-Russian ethnic groups speak Russian as their native or only language,
partly as a result of tsarist and Soviet campaigns to suppress minority
languages.
For many centuries, the question of whether Russian culture is more
"eastern" or "western" has been a burning
issue. Situated at the crossroads of important cultures and civilizations
in every direction, the Slavic groups and other peoples of Russia have
profoundly influenced and been influenced by them all in terms of trade,
technology, language, religion, politics, and the arts.
In Russian, the most common food is bread. Potatoes, cabbage, carrots, and beets are
the standard vegetables; potatoes are a staple. Onions and garlic are used
liberally, especially in soups, stews, and salads. Russians also generally love meat. Starvation means having no bread, while
poverty means going without hard sausage
kolbasa.
Sausage, pork, beef, mutton, chicken, and dried or salted fish are widely
available and relatively cheap.
Spiritual Climate
Everyday conversation is filled with metaphors summarizing a highly
complex view of shared cultural identity. Russians talk of soul
dusha
to refer to an internal spiritual domain that is the intersection point
of heart, mind, and culture. True communion depends on an opening up of
souls that is accomplished through shared suffering or joy. Soul is said to be
one of the metaphysical mechanisms that unite Russians into a
"people"
narod.
Stemming from ancient Slavic words for clan, kin, and birth, and meaning
"citizens of a nation," "ethnic group," or
simply a "crowd of people,"
narod
is used to refer to the composite identity and experience of the people
through history.
Freedom of religion was written into the constitution after communism's
collapse in 1991. But the hopes of spiritual renewal of the early 1990s
have been dashed by the failures of both political and church
leadership. 90% of Russians have no meaningful link with a church --
whether Orthodox or not.
NMSI Involvement
NMSI first began work in Russia with its first missionaries in the 1990s.
• Partnering with nationals in church planting and discipleship
• College ministry
• Teaching English to open doors for the Gospel
Prayer Points
• For spiritual awakening and an openness to the Gospel in Russia
• Prayer against the spiritual forces of wickedness that keep the country and culture bound by the enemy
• For the equipping of Russian pastors and lay leaders; unity in the Body of Christ
• For the youth in Russia to have the eyes to see hope in Christ
• For physical health and stamina our missionaries in Russia
Ministry Opportunities
Short-term: Create your own short-term project.
Long-term: If you feel called to work or are currently working in a country in this region, please contact our People and Organizational Development Team (POD) to explore how NMSI might partner with you.
Russia Photo Gallery
Sources: Joshua Project, Every Culture—Russia, Campus Crusade for Christ—Russia, CIA World Factbook, US Department of State, Wikipedia—Russia
NMSI missionaries serving in Russia:
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