寒冷的塞尔维亚之夜，需要用伏特加让胃变暖？我的选择肯定是一个围绕一个牌桌，和我朋友们一起玩牌，使用卢布下注，直到晨晓。OK，有时我喜欢挑战一些难以驾奴的游戏，比如赌博。赌博，并一直被认为是俄罗斯的文化景观的重要组成部分，自从沙皇彼得大帝在1698年推出彩票以后。当然，在俄罗斯赌博并不总是受到热烈欢迎，特别是共产党执政期间，这种类型的娱乐消遣方式是严重不被赞成的。事实上，如果玩家参加了扑克赌博游戏，他们很可能会被逮捕并投入监狱。这是真实的，我不骗你。

　　东欧剧变以后，俄罗斯的博彩活动再次再次蓬勃发展，国家政府并没有对这个行业宏观的监管调控。因此，该行业市场有丰厚的利润，每个人都想要分一杯羹。营办商能收获以百万计的利润，业务的蓬勃发展程度令人难以置信。当然，一个不受管制的行业是自由的，尤其是在一个近150万人的国家。

　　2006年，普京对俄罗斯的赌博行业开始执行政策监管，这是俄罗斯赌博业的巨大变化。有人说，这次变化过于激烈，几乎在一夜之间，普京禁止在城市中心的开放扑克室和赌场，并驱逐赌场到俄罗斯的偏远地区。在俄罗斯有两个赌场区，一个在塞尔维亚，另一个在远东。

　　对于俄罗斯人来说，赌博彩乐是一项传统的消遣娱乐方式。虽然俄罗斯的在线赌博没有具体的规则，但玩网上赌博的俄罗斯人在节节攀升。其中，俄罗斯境内也有许多质量一流的网上赌场。

　　译文；

　　cold Serbian nights, stomach warming vodka and…？  My choice would definitely be a game of  cards around a poker table, huddled together with my comrades, wagering roubles until the morning light.  OK, sometimes my imagination runs wild – but you get the idea… gambling is, and always had been, part and parcel of Russia’s cultural landscape, ever since Tsar Peter the Great introduced a lottery in 1698.  Of course, gambling hasn’t always been warmly welcomed in Russia, especially during the Communist years when this type of pastime was severely frowned upon.  In fact, if players went in for a friendly game of poker, they could very well find themselves arrested and thrown into prison…I kid you not.

　　When changes started taking place in Russia in the 1980′s, gambling once again flourished, and there was no regulation to speak of which governed this industry.  As such, the industry became enormously lucrative, with everyone wanting a piece of the pie.  Operators made millions in profits, gamblers were spoiled for choice and business was booming.  Naturally, an unregulated industry also wasn’t the way to go, especially in a country of nearly 150 million people who were thirsty for change and freedom after so many years under Communist rule.  In 2006, Vladimir Putin decided that enough was enough and the President introduced sweeping changes to the gambling industry.  Some say that the changes were too drastic and, practically overnight, he banned all casinos, poker rooms and gambling halls from the main city centers, banishing them to four remote areas in the country. Two casino areas can be found in European Russia, one in Serbia and another in the Far East.

　　For Russians who were used to their gambling entertainment being practically under their noses in their cities of residence, these changes proved to be very difficult, and it came as no surprise that the number of Russians who took to online gambling climbed sky high after Putin’s reforms.  There are no specific rules governing online gambling in Russia, although there are also no state endorsed Russian language sites.  Those who want to wager at Russian sites need to access offshore sites, of which, thankfully there are many top quality ones.