starting a character

[nightscar982]

is there a way to start somewhere other than soviet russia?
Edit: i mean when i go and click on the hatch next to the ladder it said soviet russia and that was the only one on the list.
i dont really need to know now as i did it anyway

[Ninijutsu]

If you are referring to the abundance of trees and nature, then no.
If you are referring to a village, check the "Dwarves and Thieves" section to find more.

[SotK]

is there a way to start somewhere other than soviet russia?

Go up the ladder in the starting room to spawn in a random place in the wilderness, or tell someone's hearth secret to the guy in the top corner and a stairway will appear for you to spawn near the hearth fire of the owner of the hearth secret, allowing you to spawn near a friend or in a village (see Dwarves and Thieves section).

[Kiwi]

No, every other started settlement has been destroyed (If my memory serves).
Just climb the ladder and let things unfold :3

[Rallor]

Starting in the wilderness is the best thing imo, just keep making chars untill you spawn near some decent land, in just plain pine forest isnt brilliant, try to fond either the green grass(real bright green) Yellow grass or the purple grass, there you will have an abundance of chickens to feed yourself untill you can hunt

[Darkren]

just keep making chars

No. Don't be a pansy, fill up your character list with alts, and litter the world with extra hearthfires. Take the 5-20 minutes of time and look for a suitable place.

green grass(real bright green) Yellow grass or the purple grass

Grassland, Moor(land) and Heath(land) respectively. Just felt like pointing that out.

Otherwise, yes, wilderness spawn per ladder (esp. if you're still inexperienced) or join somebody at their hearthfire per Hearth Secret.