10 Russia Facts That Are Hard To Believe

There's absolutely no doubt in this world that Russians pretty much take everything to the extreme. Whatever you can imagine, Russians have probably done it, and they've done it as intensely as possible. Alcohol? Pfft, that's like water to them. Apparently, Russians even enjoy partying with bears, but I have a feeling that's just a rare scenario. Everyone jokes about how Russians treat vodka like water and all that funstuff, but are they really just receiving a bad wrap because of a long-standing myth? Sometimes it's a bit hard to separate the facts from the misinformation, but that's probably why you're here, right? Here are 10 facts about Russia that are pretty hard to believe.

Something like this can only happen in Russia... So, let's get started!

1. The Public Chamber of Russia reported that Russians consume about 18 liters of spirits a year. That's a lot of alcohol...

2. At their nearest points, Russia and America are only 4000 meters (2.485 miles) apart!

The Diomede Islands (very center of the image) are split between Russia and the U.S.

The International Date Line runs between the two of them.

3. In June 2013, Russians passed a bill making it illegal to tell children that homosexuality exists.

4. In Russia, there are over 500,000 alcohol related deaths per year.

5. Russia will spend about $200,000 to maintain Vladimir Lenin's corpse. Even in his grave, he's making more than most people.

6. For Russians, World War II technically hasn't ended due to their dispute with the Japanese over the Kuril Islands.

7. Since 1959, Russian scientists have been domesticating foxes to the point that they have become more tame and dog-like.

8. Up until 2013, Russians considered any alcoholic beverage under an alcohol content of 10% to be "foodstuff," meaning you could buy and drink it anywhere.

9. Russians hire "guard cats" to protect the State Hermitage Museum from rodents.

10. Vodka comes from the Russian word "voda," which means water. Well, I guess we can say the myth has been confirmed!