Bolshoi Ballet of censorship. It was the first time a show has been pulled in such a way since the collapse of the Soviet Union, sparking rumours about the motivation behind it. Today the Bolshoi Ballet remains one of the world's foremost ballet companies, in addition to being one of the largest, with approximately 220 dancers. The word "bolshoi" means "big" or "grand" in Russian. The company operates on a hierarchical system, similar to those used by other leading European ballet companies, with senior dancers ranked as principals, and descending in order of importance through lead soloist, first soloist, soloist and finally,
Agriculture in the Russian Empire Agriculture in the Russian Empire Agriculture in the Russian Empire throughout the 19th-20th centuries represented a major world force yet it lagged behind other developed countries. Russia was amongst the largest exporters of agricultural produce, especially wheat, while the Free Economic Society made continuing efforts to improve farming techniques. The Russian peasant (male) was colloquially called krestyanin (), female form of this word is krestyanka (), plural - krestyane (). Some arrogate this meaning to word muzhik, moujik () (man), and this word was calqued into Western languages through translations of Russian literature of 19th century, that described Russian rural