Most Russian historians divide the Russian culture

Russian culture

Russian culture is associated with the country of Russia and, sometimes, specifically with ethnic Russians. It has a rich history and can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts, especially when it comes to literature and philosophy, classical music and ballet, architecture...

 into several periods:
Russia's culture was a very lively and rough experiments to live in at some points.

Culture of Ancient Russia (989-1480)

The years of the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

 in Russia are from the adoption of Christianity in 989 until the early 19th century. The period lasted longer in Russia than in the rest of Europe. Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...

 heavily influenced Russian culture with the construction of cathedrals but Russia's size let pagan

Paganism

Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....

 practices last for several centuries in rebellious principalities. The conversion brought with it translated literature which created a renaissance

Renaissance

The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...

 in Russian writing traditions. It also led to closer ties to European countries and the Roman empire

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

d Russia around Moscow and defeated the Golden Horde

Golden Horde

The Golden Horde was a Mongol and later Turkicized khanate that formed the north-western sector of the Mongol Empire...

 at the Great standing on the Ugra river

Great standing on the Ugra river

The Great Standoff on the Ugra river The Great Standoff on the Ugra river The Great Standoff on the Ugra river ( in Russian, also (Ugorschina in English, derived from Ugra) was a standoff between the forces of Akhmat, Khan of the Great Horde, and the Grand Prince Ivan III of Russia in 1480, which...

 in 1480 to give rise to the sovereign Russian state.century (1703–1801)

Modernization of Russ

Russian culture of 19th century (1801-1914)

Upper Classes in Russia spoke French, some even as their first language, which became a problem during Napoleon's invasion.

Golden Age of Russian Poetry and Russian Literature

Russian literature

Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...

Pushkin, Lermontov

Russian culture of 20th century

Silver Age of Russian Literature

Russian literature

Russian literature refers to the literature of Russia or its émigrés, and to the Russian-language literature of several independent nations once a part of what was historically Russia or the Soviet Union...

Russian avant garde (1914-1932)

Silver Age of Russian Poetry

Russian emigrant culture

The Gesher Theater‎ in Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

 was founded by Russian emigres to bring Russian theatrical traditions to the Israeli public.

Post-stalinist period (1953-1991)

With the death of Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...

, there was a new sense of optimism in the Soviet Union with a brief flowering of a more liberal

Liberalism

Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...

, open culture.
Post-Soviet period (1991-present)

The Culture of Russia includes:

• Culture of the Soviet Union
  Culture of the Soviet Union
  The Culture of the Soviet Union passed through several stages during the 69 year existence of the Soviet Union. It was contributed by people of various nationalities from every of 15 union republics, although the majority of them were Russians...
  
  
• Culture of Russia
• Russian humour
  Russian humour
  Russian humour gains much of its wit from the inflection of the Russian language, allowing for plays on words and unexpected associations. As with any other culture's humour, its vast scope ranges from lewd jokes and wordplay to political satire.- Jokes :...
  
  
• Soviet art
  Soviet art
  Soviet art was the visual art produced in the Soviet Union.-Early years:During the Russian Revolution a movement was initiated to put all arts to service of the dictatorship of the proletariat...