Information
Country: RussiaContinent: Europe
Russia, Europe
Overview
The country’s official name is the Russian Federation, with Moscow as its capital.People speak Russian, and the currency is the Russian Ruble (RUB).Spanning about 17.1 million square kilometers-enough to stretch across eleven time zones-it’s the largest nation on Earth by land area.With about 146 million people in 2021-roughly the size of a bustling city times a thousand-it’s the most populous country in Europe and ranks among the largest in the world.Russia stretches across 11 time zones, from UTC+2 in its western cities to UTC+12 where the morning sun hits the Pacific coast.Russia’s government is a federal, semi‑presidential republic, with power split between the president and the prime minister.The President serves as the head of state, while the Prime Minister runs the government’s day-to-day affairs.On June 12, 1990, Russia declared it was breaking away from the Soviet Union, marking its own sovereignty.In December 1991, the Soviet Union came to an official end, and Russia stepped forward as an independent nation.Geography Location: Russia spans from the plains of Eastern Europe to the icy shores of northern Asia.It shares borders with a long list of nations-Finland’s icy shores, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, North Korea, and several others.Russia’s climate ranges widely, from the biting arctic cold of Siberia to the mild, temperate air of its western plains in European Russia.Winters bite hard in Siberia, the air sharp and dry, but summers in the south can turn pleasantly warm.The country’s landscape stretches from wide, open plains to towering ranges like the Urals, the Caucasus, and the Altai, with thick forests and great rivers such as the Volga and the Ob winding through it.Russia boasts the world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal, where icy water drops over a mile down, and the longest river, the mighty Volga.Economy Overview: Russia ranks among the world’s largest economies, fueled largely by its vast reserves of oil, gas, minerals, and the endless sweep of its forests.It’s a powerhouse in the world’s energy market, producing and shipping everything from crude oil to natural gas across the globe.Russia’s GDP ranks among the world’s largest, with an economy that blends tight state oversight and the buzz of market-driven trade.Russia’s land is packed with wealth, from endless forests to massive reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, and glittering veins of precious metals.It ranks among the world’s biggest energy exporters, sending out everything from crude oil to natural gas.Russia’s key industries range from energy and defense to machinery, metallurgy, chemicals, and aerospace, with oil rigs pumping on frozen fields and factories humming through the night.The country’s tech sector is on the rise, with new startups popping up in city hubs, but it still struggles to modernize and broaden its industries.Russia’s story begins in the 9th century, when Kievan Rus’ rose along the Dnieper River, marking the birth of the first East Slavic state.In time, the state broke apart into different realms, and one of them became the Grand Duchy of Moscow, its wooden fortresses rising above the river.By the 16th century, the Tsardom of Russia had taken shape, a rising power that would grow into the vast Russian Empire.Over the course of centuries, the empire pushed its borders outward, until it ruled much of Europe and cast its influence across the globe.Tsars once ruled the land, including towering figures like Peter the Great and Catherine the Great, whose courts glittered with candlelight and ambition.In 1917, the Russian Revolution toppled the Tsar’s rule, swept Bolsheviks into power, and set the stage for the Soviet Union’s birth in 1922, as red flags spread across Moscow’s snowy streets.The Soviet Union held superpower status right up until it broke apart in 1991, when its red flag came down over the Kremlin for the last time.Modern Russia: After the Soviet Union fell, the country shifted from a tightly controlled economy to one driven more by markets, yet it still stands as a major world power with the weight to sway global politics.Russian literature runs deep, shaped by unforgettable voices like Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, and Solzhenitsyn, whose stories still feel as alive as the scent of ink on old paper.Russian literature often dives into existential questions, wrestles with social and moral dilemmas, and lays bare the human condition-sometimes in scenes as stark as a snow-covered street at dawn.Russia has left a lasting mark on classical music, giving the world composers like Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Igor Stravinsky, whose works still echo in grand concert halls.Folk music also plays an important role in Russian culture.Russian visual art stretches back centuries, from the gold-leaf glow of traditional icons to the bold, experimental strokes of 20th‑century avant‑garde movements.Wassily Kandinsky and Kazimir Malevich stand out among the most influential figures, their bold shapes and colors still sparking debate today.Ballet is one of Russia’s most celebrated cultural treasures, with the Bolshoi in Moscow and the Mariinsky in St. Petersburg drawing audiences from around the world, their satin slippers whispering across polished stages.Festivals: Russians mark the year with lively cultural events and sacred holidays, from candlelit Christmas services to the bright swirl of folk dances.The biggest celebrations are Orthodox Christian holidays like Easter, with its bright candles and midnight bells, and Christmas, along with cultural traditions such as Maslenitsa, the lively pre-Lenten festival.In Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church stands as the largest Christian denomination, and most people identify as Eastern Orthodox-its gold-domed cathedrals a familiar sight in many cities.In addition to its Orthodox majority, Russia is home to large Muslim communities-especially in Tatarstan and Chechnya-as well as Buddhists, Jews, and other minority faiths.Although religion shapes much of Russian culture-you’ll still hear church bells on a Sunday morning-the country is officially secular, and many people consider themselves non‑religious or atheist.Russia’s education system is well established, offering free schooling from the first day of primary class through university-chalk dust still hanging in the air of many classrooms.The country boasts renowned universities, from Moscow State University with its towering white columns to St. Petersburg State University by the Neva River.Russia has a long, proud history of scientific breakthroughs, especially in space exploration, physics, and engineering-think rockets lifting off under a pale winter sky.Since 1957, when it sent the shiny silver Sputnik beeping through the night sky, Russia has led the way in space exploration.In Russia, getting around is easy thanks to its vast public transport network-buses rumble through neighborhoods, trams glide past old brick buildings, and the metro in cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg is as famous for its chandeliers as for its speed.The Trans-Siberian Railway stretches from Moscow all the way to Vladivostok on the Pacific, a legendary journey that ranks among the world’s longest rail routes.Russia’s skies are busy, with planes crisscrossing a huge network that connects remote Siberian towns to major cities abroad.Two of the country’s busiest hubs are Sheremetyevo International in Moscow and Pulkovo in St. Petersburg, where the scent of jet fuel hangs in the crisp air.Russia commands one of the world’s largest, most formidable militaries, with warships that cut through icy northern seas.Russia’s military fields land, sea, and air forces, backed by a massive nuclear arsenal-one of the largest and most advanced on the planet, capable of leveling a city in seconds.Geopolitical Role: Russia holds a powerful position on the world stage, shaping events from the streets of Damascus to the borders of Ukraine and deep into Central Asia.It holds a permanent seat on the UN Security Council and helped launch groups such as the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS, standing among their earliest members.Russia wrestles with serious environmental problems-smog hanging over its cities, rivers tainted by industrial waste, forests steadily shrinking, and the fragile Arctic landscape wearing away.Heavy industries and mining have scarred the environment, leaving rivers cloudy with silt and the air tinged with smoke.
