Before traveling to Russia, brush up on your knowledge of Russian culture. As you know, it's full of rich traditions that go back centuries. Russians are very proud of their culture, and even if traditional customs are somewhat impractical today, they'll still pull out a samovar or perform the bread and salt ceremony of welcome for nostalgia's sake. Find out what a balalaika looks like, what a troika is, and when the modern Russian flag came into use. It's all a part of Russian Culture 101 in Photos.