Best resources for learning about Russia?

Question

I'm interesting in learning what Russians hear, see and think, preferably from non-state sources as close to regular folk as possible.Some challenges:- Freedom of speech is not easy in Russia- I'm not familiar with Russian news / social / community websites- I don't speak RussianPlease list any tools, websites, forums, apps or other methods you recommend for getting a feel for the honest thoughts and opinions of everyday Russians.

gostsamo · Accepted Answer

Well, vkontakte is the local fb equivalent. The rest is google translate if you don't know the language. I'm not even sure how do you mean to understand an entire culture without bothering to learn its language because everything you learn will be biased due to many factors: translators, curators, survival bias (you will learn only from english speaking russians willing to talk in english).Maybe try to find russian movies and books translated in english and maybe some russian music, but it won't be a comprehensive understanding.