I LOVE the pictures from Starrysky's last post. How beautiful and mysterious...! Those are very talented artists.
Russian folklore and folk music are among the nicest things about Russia, I think. I think the traditional architecture is really nice too.
HC Andersen is a "shared" European storyteller of course, but it seems he's more loved in Russia than elsewhere. I grew up with his stories too, but not quite as beautiful illustrations as these!
One of the things that makes Russia seem so "cool" is that is "like" the rest of Europe, but also "different" in many ways! Familiar, yet a bit mysterious...
Haha... but it's true.