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{{Infobox Country
|native_name = Российская Федерация<br>''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''
|conventional_long_name = Russian Federation 
|common_name = Russia 
|national_motto = none
|national_anthem = [[National Anthem of Russia|Hymn of the Russian Federation]] 
|image_flag = Flag of Russia.svg
|image_coat = Russia coa.svg 
|image_map = LocationRussia.png 
|capital = [[Moscow]] |latd=55|latm=45|latNS=N|longd=37|longm=37|longEW=E
|largest_city = [[Moscow]] 
|official_languages = [[Russian language|Russian]], [[List of official languages in Russia|many others]] in component republics 
|government_type = [[Semi-presidential system|Semi-presidential]] [[federation]] 
|leader_titles = [[President of Russia|President]]<br>[[Prime Minister of Russia|Prime Minister]] 
|leader_names = 	[[Vladimir Putin]]<br>[[Mikhail Fradkov]] 
|sovereignty_type = [[Collapse of the Soviet Union|Independence]] 
|established_events = &nbsp;- Declared ([[Russia Day]])<br>&nbsp;- Finalized 
|established_dates = From the [[Soviet Union]]<br>[[June 12]], [[1990]]<br>[[December 26]], [[1991]]
|area = 17,075,200 
|area_rank = 1st 
|area_magnitude = 1 E12 
|percent_water = 0.5 
|population_estimate = 142,800,000 
|population_estimate_year = 2005
|population_estimate_rank = 8th 
|population_census = 145,513,037
|population_census_year = 2002
|population_density = 8 
|population_density_rank = 178th 
|GDP_PPP_year = 2005 
|GDP_PPP = $1.535 trillion
|GDP_PPP_rank = 10th
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $10,700
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 59th
|HDI_year = 2003 
|HDI = 0.795 
|HDI_rank = 62nd 
|HDI_category = <font color="#ffcc00">medium</font> 
|currency = [[Russian ruble|Ruble]] 
|currency_code = RUB 
|time_zone = 
|utc_offset = +2 to +12 
|time_zone_DST = 
|utc_offset_DST = +3 to +13 
|cctld = [[.ru]], [[.su]] reserved 
|calling_code = 7 
|footnotes =
}}{{portal}}

The '''Russian Federation''' ({{lang-ru|'''Росси́йская Федера́ция'''}}, [[Romanization of Russian|transliteration]]: ''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya'' or ''Rossijskaja Federatsija''), or '''Russia''' (Russian: Росси́я, transliteration: ''Rossiya'' or ''Rossija''), is a [[country]] that stretches over a vast expanse of [[Europe]] and [[Asia]]. With an area of 17,075,200 [[square kilometre]]s (6,595,600 [[square mile|mi²]]), it is the [[List of countries by area|largest]] country in the world (by land mass), covering almost twice the territory of the next-largest country, [[Canada]]. It ranks as the world's eighth largest [[population]]. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from NW to SE): [[Norway]], [[Finland]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]] (only through [[Kaliningrad Oblast]]), [[Poland]] (only through [[Kaliningrad Oblast]]), [[Belarus]], [[Ukraine]], [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[China (PRC)|China]], [[Mongolia]] and [[North Korea]]. It is also close to the [[United States]], [[Canada]], [[Armenia]], [[Iran]], [[Turkey]] and [[Japan]] across stretches of water: the [[Diomede Islands]] (one controlled by Russia, the other by the United States) are just 3 [[kilometre]]s (1.9 [[mile|mi]]) apart, and [[Kunashir Island]] (controlled by Russia but [[Kuril Islands dispute|claimed by Japan]]) is about 20 kilometres (12 mi) from [[Hokkaido]].

Formerly the dominant republic of the [[Soviet Union|Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (USSR), Russia is now an independent country, and an influential member of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]], since the Union's dissolution in December [[1991]]. During the Soviet era, Russia was officially called the [[Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic]] (RSFSR). Russia is considered the Soviet Union's [[successor state]] in diplomatic matters.

Most of the area, population, and industrial production of the [[Soviet Union]], then one of the world's two [[superpower]]s, lay in Russia. After the breakup of the USSR, Russia's global role was greatly diminished compared to that of the former Soviet Union. In [[October]] [[2005]], the federal statistics agency reported that Russia's population has shrunk by more than half a million people dipping to 143 million.

==History==
{{main|History of Russia}}

===Ancient Rus===
<!--DON'T REPLACE RUS FOR RUSSIA! IT'S THERE FOR A REASON --->
:''This section covers the pre-Russ ancient history of present Russia and its early medieval period, which is historically referred to as '' '''''Ancient Rus.'''''
The vast lands of present Russia were home to disunited [[tribe]]s who were variously overwhelmed by invading [[Goths]], [[Huns]], and [[Turkish Avars]] between the third and sixth centuries [[Anno Domini|AD]]. The [[Iranian peoples|Iranian]] [[Scythian]]s populated the southern [[steppe]]s, and a Turkic people, the [[Khazars]], ruled the western portion of these lands through the [[8th century]]. They in turn were displaced by a group of Scandinavians, the [[Varangians]], who established a [[capital]] at the Slavic city of [[Novgorod]] and gradually merged with [[Slavs|Slavic]] ruling classes. The Slavs constituted the bulk of the population from the 8th century onwards and slowly assimilated both the Scandinavians as well as native [[Finno-Ugric]] tribes, such as the [[Merya]], the [[Muromian]]s and the [[Meshchera]].
[[Image:Muromian-map.png|thumb|200px|left|An approximative map of the cultures in European Russia at the arrival of the Varangians]]

The Varangian dynasty lasted several centuries, during which they affiliated with the Byzantine, or [[Orthodox church]] and moved the capital to [[Kiev]] in A.D. [[1169]]. In this era the term "Rhos", or "[[Etymology of Rus and derivatives|Russ]]", first came to be applied to the Varangians and later also to the Slavs who peopled the region. In the 10th to 11th centuries this state of [[Kievan Rus]] became the largest in Europe and was quite prosperous, due to diversified trade with both Europe and Asia.

Nomadic Turkic people [[Kipchaks]] (''Polovtsi'') conquered southern Russia at the end of the 11th century and founded a nomadic state in the steppes along the Black Sea (''Desht-e-Kipchak'').

In the 13th century the area suffered from internal disputes and was overrun by eastern [[Tatar invasions|invaders]], the [[Golden Horde]] of the pagan [[Mongols]] and Muslim Turkic-speaking nomads who pillaged the Russian [[principalities]] for over three centuries. Also known as the [[Tatars]], they ruled the southern and central expanses of present-day Russia, while its western zone was largely incorporated into the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]] and [[Poland]]. The political dissolution of Kievan Rus divided the [[Russians|Russian people]] in the north from the [[Belarusians]] and [[Ukrainians]] in the west.

The northern part of Russia together with [[Novgorod]] retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the [[Mongol yoke]] and was largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Nevertheless it had to fight the Germanic crusaders who attempted to colonize the region.

Like in the [[Balkans]] and [[Asia Minor]] long-lasting [[nomadic]] rule kevin is retarded the country's economic and social development. Asian [[autocratic]] influences degraded many of the country's democratic institutions and affected its culture and economy in a very negative way.

In spite of this, unlike its spiritual leader, the [[Byzantine Empire]], Russia was able to revive, and organized its own war of reconquest, finally subjugating its enemies and annexing their territories. After the [[fall of Constantinople]] in 1453 Russia remained the only more or less functional [[Christian]] state on the Eastern European frontier, allowing it to claim succession to the legacy of the [[Eastern Roman Empire]].

===Imperial Russia===
{{Main|Imperial Russia}}
While still nominally under the domain of the Mongols, the [[duchy of Moscow]] began to assert its influence, and eventually tossed off the control of the invaders late in the 14th century.

The Russian state was controlled by the [[Crimean Khanate]] which were successors of the Golden Horde. Russians captured by nomads were sold on Crimean slave markets. In 1571 the Crimean khan Devlet-Girei, with a horde of 120 000 horsemen, devastated Moscow. Annually thousands of Russians became victims of attacks by nomads. Tens of thousands of soldiers protected the southern borderland - a heavy burden for the state which slowed its social and economic development.

At the beginning of the 16th century the Russian state set the national goal to return all Russian territories lost as a result of the Mongolian invasion and to protect the borderland against attacks of [[Tatar invasions|hordes]]. The noblemen, receiving a manor from the sovereign, were obliged to serve in the army. The manor system became a basis for the nobiliary horse army.

[[Ivan the Great]] first took the title "grand duke of all the Russias", following his marriage to [[Sophia Paleologue]], a Byzantine Princess (niece of the last Byzantine Emperor) in 1469, consolidated surrounding areas under Moscow's dominion. In 1547, his grandson [[Ivan the Terrible]] was officially crowned the first [[Tsar]] (from the Roman [[Caesar (title)|''Caesar'']], also written Czar) of Russia at the age of sixteen. At the end of the 16th century Russian [[Cossacks]] established the first settlements in Western Siberia. In the middle of the 17th century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on [[Chukotka]], along the river [[Amur]], on the Pacific coast. In 1648 the Cossack [[Semyon Dezhnev]] discovered the [[Bering Strait|strait]] between America and Asia. The greater and more expansive [[Russian Empire]] was born.
[[Image:Prokudin-Gorskii-05.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Three generations of a Russian family, ca. 1910]]

Muscovite control of the nascent nation continued after the [[Poland|Polish]] intervention 1605-1612 under the subsequent [[Romanov dynasty]], beginning with Tsar [[Michael I of Russia|Michael Romanov]] in [[1613]]. [[Peter I of Russia|Peter the Great]], who ruled from 1689 to 1725, succeeded in bringing ideas and culture from Western Europe to a severely underdeveloped Russia. [[Catherine the Great]], ruling from 1762 to 1796, enhanced this effort, establishing Russia not just as an Asian power, but on an equal footing with Britain, France, and Germany in Europe. She enlarged the Russian empire by the [[Partitions of Poland]]. Russia had now taken territories with the ethnic Belarus and Ukrainian population, earlier parts of the medieval Kievan Rus'. As a result of the victorious Russian-Turkish wars, Russia's borders expanded to the [[Black Sea]] and Russia set its goal on the protection of Balkan Christians against a Turkish yoke. In 1783 Russia and the Georgian Kingdom (which was almost totally devastated by Persian and Turkish invasions) signed the [[treaty of Georgievsk]] according to which Georgia received the protection of Russia.

After [[Peter the Great]], Russia emerged as a major European power. Examples of its post-Peter European involvement includes the [[War of Polish Succession]] and the [[Seven Years War]].

In [[1812]], having gathered nearly half a million soldiers from France, as well as from all of its conquered states in Europe, [[Napoleon's Invasion of Russia|Napoleon invaded Russia]] and, after a series of initial successes was forced to retreat back to Europe. Almost 90% of the invading forces died as a result of on-going battles with the Russian army, guerillas and winter weather. In 1813 the Russian army and its allies, the Austrians and Prussians, defeated the French armies at the [[Battle of Leipzig]].

Russia won the [[Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878|War of 1877-1878]], forcing the Ottoman Empire to recognize the independence of Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and autonomy of Bulgaria.

Unrest among peasants and suppression of the growing liberal [[Intelligentsia]] were [[Russian Revolution of 1905|continuing problems]] however, and on the eve of [[World War I]], the position of Tsar [[Nicholas II of Russia|Nicholas II]] and his dynasty appeared precarious. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I and the deterioration of the economy the war caused led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the [[Russian Empire]] and to the overthrow in [[1917]] of the Romanovs.

At the close of this [[Russian Revolution of 1917]], a [[Marxist]] political faction called the [[Bolshevik]]s seized power in [[St. Petersburg]] and [[Moscow]] under the leadership of [[Vladimir Lenin]]. The Bolsheviks changed their name to the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union|Communist Party]]. A bloody [[Russian Civil War|civil war]] ensued, pitting the Bolsheviks' [[Red Army]] against a loose confederation of anti-socialist [[monarchist]] and [[bourgeois]] forces known as the [[White Army]]. The Red Army triumphed, and the [[Soviet Union]] was formed in [[1922]].

===Russia as part of the Soviet Union===
{{Main articles|[[History of the Soviet Union]] and [[Russian SFSR]]}}

[[Image:StBasile SpasskayaTower Red Square Moscow.hires.jpg|right|thumb|350px|[[Saint Basil's Cathedral]] and Spasskaya Tower of [[Moscow Kremlin]] at [[Red Square]] in Moscow.]]

The Soviet Union was meant to be a transnational worker's state free from [[nationalism]], which, according to [[Leninism]], is a ruse used by the [[bourgeoisie]] to keep the international [[working class]]es from realizing their common exploited position and overthrowing the bourgeois. The concept of Russia as a separate national entity was therefore not emphasized in the early Soviet Union. Although Russian institutions and cities certainly remained dominant, many non-Russians participated in the new government at all levels.

One of these was a [[Georgia (country)|Georgian]] named [[Joseph Stalin]]. A brief power struggle ensued after Lenin's death in [[1924]]. Stalin gradually eroded the various [[Separation of powers|checks and balances]] which had been designed into the Soviet political system and assumed [[dictator]]ial power by the end of the decade. [[Leon Trotsky]] and almost all other [[Old Bolshevik]]s from the time of the Revolution were killed or exiled. As the 1930s began, Stalin launched the [[Great Purge]]s, a massive series of political repressions. Millions of people who Stalin and local authorities suspected of being a threat to their power were [[Capital punishment|executed]] or exiled to [[Gulag]] [[labor camp]]s in remote areas of [[Siberia]].

Stalin forced rapid [[industrialization]] of the largely [[rural]] country and [[Collective farming|collectivization]] of its agriculture. Stalin also strengthened Russia's dominance within the Soviet Union as he buttressed his own hold on power. In 1928, Stalin introduced his "First [[Five-Year Plan]]" for modernizing the Soviet economy. Most economic output was immediately diverted to establishing [[heavy industry]]. Civilian industry was modernized and heavy weapon factories were established. The plan worked, in some sense, as the Soviet Union successfully transformed from an agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in an unbelievably short span of time, but widespread misery and [[famine]] ensued for many millions of people as a result of the severe economic upheaval.

In 1936 the USSR was in strong opposition to [[Nazi Germany]], and supported the republicans in Spain who struggled against German and Italian troops. However, in 1938 Germany and the other major European powers signed the [[Munich Agreement|Munich treaty]]. Germany then divided Czechoslovakia with Poland and Hungary. The Soviet government, afraid of a German attack on the USSR, began diplomatic maneuvers. In 1939 after Poland's refusal to participate in any measures of collective deterrence the USSR signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany which in effect stated that each country would occupy a portion of Poland, which they did thus obliterating the independent state of Poland. On [[September 17]], [[1939]], when German armies were within 150 kilometres (93 [[mile|mi]]) of the Soviet border, the Soviet army invaded eastern portions of Poland, populated by ethnic Ukrainians and Belorussians.

In the following year the Soviet Union invaded [[Finland]], a former part of the [[Imperial Russia|Russian Empire]] in an attempt to secure itself against future invasion by Germany (which Finland had good relations with) and to gain control of the country, separating it from Europe, and most importantly, from Germany. This conflict is now known as the [[Winter War]]. The invasion had disappointing results, as only the eastern parts of Finland ([[Karelia]]) were occupied.

Germany and its allies (Hungary, Italy, Croatia, Finland, Romania and Slovakia) invaded the Soviet Union in [[1941]]. Although the [[Wehrmacht]] had considerable success in the early stages of the campaign, they suffered defeat when they reached the outskirts of [[Moscow]]. The [[Red Army]] then stopped the [[Nazi Germany|Nazi]] offensive at the [[Battle of Stalingrad]] in 1943, which became the decisive turning point for Germany's fortunes in the war. The Soviets drove through [[Eastern Europe]] and [[Battle of Berlin|captured Berlin]] before Germany surrendered in 1945 (''see [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Great Patriotic War]]''). About 10 million Soviet citizens became victims of the oppressive policies and [[war crime]]s of Germany and its allies in the occupied territory.

Although ravaged by the war, the Soviet Union emerged from the conflict as an acknowledged superpower. The [[Red Army]] occupied [[Eastern Europe]] after the war, including the [[East Germany|eastern half of Germany]]. Stalin installed loyal [[Communism|communist]] governments in these [[satellite state]]s.

During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet Union first rebuilt and then expanded its economy, with control always exerted exclusively from Moscow. The Soviets extracted heavy war [[reparation]]s from the areas of Germany under their control, mostly in the form of machinery and industrial equipment. The Soviet Union consolidated its hold on Eastern Europe (''see [[Eastern bloc]]''). The [[United States]] helped the [[western Europe]]an countries establish democracies, and both countries sought to achieve economic, political, and ideological dominance over the [[Third World]]. The ensuing struggle became known as the [[Cold War]], which turned the Soviet Union's wartime allies, the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]], into its foes.

Stalin died in early 1953 presumably without leaving any instructions for the selection of a successor. His closest associates officially decided to rule the Soviet Union jointly, but the secret police chief [[Lavrenty Beria]] appeared poised to seize dictatorial control. [[General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union|General Secretary]] [[Nikita Khrushchev]] and other leading politicians organized an anti-Beria alliance and staged a [[coup d'état]]. Beria was arrested in June 1953 and executed later that year; Khrushchev became the undisputed leader of the USSR.
[[Image:GagarinPortrait.jpg|thumb|right|[[Yuri Gagarin]]]]

Under Khrushchev, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial [[satellite]], [[Sputnik 1]], and the Soviet [[Astronaut|cosmonaut]] [[Yuri Gagarin]] became the first person to orbit the [[Earth]]. Khrushchev's reforms in [[agriculture]] and administration, however, were generally unproductive, and foreign policy toward [[China]] and the [[United States]] suffered reverses, notably the [[Cuban Missile Crisis]], when he began installing nuclear missiles in [[Cuba]] and nearly provoked a [[war]] with the United States. Over the course of several angry outbursts at the [[United Nations]], Khrushchev was increasingly seen by his colleagues as belligerent, boorish, and dangerous. The remainder of the Soviet leadership removed him from power in 1964.

Following the ousting of Khrushchev, another period of rule by collective leadership ensued, lasting until [[Leonid Brezhnev]] established himself in the early 1970s as the preeminent figure in Soviet political life. Brezhnev is frequently derided by historians for [[Brezhnev stagnation|stagnating]] the development of the Soviet Union. In contrast to the revolutionary spirit that accompanied the birth of the Soviet Union, the prevailing mood of the Soviet leadership at the time of Brezhnev's death in 1982 was one of aversion to change.

In the mid 1980s, the reform-minded [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] came to power. He introduced the landmark policies of ''[[glasnost]]'' (openness) and ''[[perestroika]]'' (restructuring), in an attempt to modernize Soviet communism. Glasnost meant that the harsh restrictions on [[Freedom of speech|free speech]] that had characterized most of the Soviet Union's existence were removed, and open political discourse and criticism of the government became possible again. Perestroika meant sweeping economic reforms designed to decentralize the planning of the Soviet economy. However, his initiatives provoked strong resentment amongst conservative elements of the government, and an unsuccessful [[Soviet coup attempt of 1991|military coup]] that attempted to remove Gorbachev from power instead led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. [[Boris Yeltsin]] seized power in Russia and declared the end of exclusive Communist rule. The USSR splintered into 15 independent republics, and was officially dissolved in December of [[1991]] (''see [[History of the Soviet Union (1985-1991)]]'').

Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and a [[market economy]] to replace the strict centralized social, political, and economic controls of the Soviet era.

===Post-Soviet Russia===
{{Main|History of post-Soviet Russia}}
:''See also [[Politics of Russia]]''
[[Image:October1993crisis.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The shelling of the [[Russian White House]], October 4-5, 1993.]]

Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, [[Boris Yeltsin]] had been elected President of Russia in June 1991 in the first direct presidential election in Russian history. In October 1991, as Russia was on the verge of independence, Yeltsin announced that Russia would proceed with radical market-oriented reform along the lines of [[Poland]]'s "big bang," also known as "[[shock therapy (economics)|shock therapy]]".

After the disintegration of the USSR, the Russian economy went through a crisis. Most of the nonfreezing ports, consumer goods factories, oil and gas pipelines, and a significant portion of the Soviet Union's high-tech enterprises (including nuclear power stations) were outside of Russia, in the newly independent states. Russia's domestic industries were mainly focused on heavy and military branches. Russia has also taken up the responsibility for settling the USSR's external debts, although its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution. The largest state enterprises (petroleum, metallurgy, and the like) were controversially privatized for the small sum of $US 600 million, far less than they were worth.

Russia's [[Congress of People's Deputies]] attempted to impeach Yeltsin on [[March 26]] [[1993]]. Yeltsin's opponents gathered more than 600 votes for impeachment, but fell 72 votes short. On [[September 21]] [[1993]], Yeltsin disbanded the [[Supreme Soviet]] and the Congress of People's Deputies by decree, which was [[illegal]] under the constitution. On the same day there was a military showdown, the [[Russian constitutional crisis of 1993]]. With military help, Yeltsin held control. The conflict resulted in a number of civilian casualties, but was resolved in Yeltsin's favor. Elections were held on [[December 12]] [[1993]].

Since the [[Chechnya|Chechen]] separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent [[guerrilla warfare|guerrilla war]] ([[First Chechen War]], [[Second Chechen War]]) has been fought between disparate Chechen groups and the Russian military. Some of these groups have grown increasingly [[Islamist]] over the course of the struggle. It is estimated that over 200,000 people have died in this conflict. Minor armed conflicts also exist in [[North Ossetia]] and [[Ingushetia]].

After Yeltsin's presidency in the 1990s, [[Vladimir Putin]] was elected in 2000. Under Putin, the intensified state control of the Russian [[Mass media|media]] has raised Western concerns over Russian civil liberties. At the same time, rising oil prices, international political tensions, and war in the [[Middle East]] have increased Russia's revenue from oil production and export, stimulating significant economic expansion. Putin's presidency has shown improvements in the Russian standard of living, as opposed to the 1990s. Even with these economic improvements, acute political crises, human rights abuses, and largely criticized government failures remain.

Despite the economic distress and decreased military funding following the fall of the Soviet Union, the country still retains its large [[nuclear weapons]] arsenal.

==Subdivisions==
[[Image: Russia-Subdivisions.png|thumb|left|300px|Federal subjects of the Russian Federation]]
{{main|Subdivisions of Russia}}
The Russian Federation consists of a great number of different [[Federal subjects of Russia|federal subjects]], making a total of 88&nbsp;constituent components. There are 21&nbsp;[[republic]]s within the federation that enjoy a high degree of autonomy on most issues and these correspond to some of Russia's ethnic minorities. The remaining territory consists of 48&nbsp;[[oblast]]s (provinces) and 7&nbsp;[[krai]]s (territories), as well as 9&nbsp;autonomous [[okrug]]s (autonomous districts), and 1&nbsp;autonomous oblast. Beyond these there are two federal cities ([[Moscow]] and [[Saint Petersburg|St. Petersburg]]). Recently, seven extensive ''[[Federal districts of Russia|federal districts]]'' (four in Europe, three in Asia) have been added as a new layer between the above subdivisions and the national level.
{{seealso|Federal districts of Russia|Federal subjects of Russia|Republics of Russia|Oblasts of Russia|Krais of Russia|Autonomous Oblasts of Russia|Autonomous Districts of Russia|Federal cities of Russia}}

==Geography and climate==
{{main|Geography of Russia}}
[[Image:Rs-map.png|right|thumb|300px|Map of the Russian Federation]]
The Russian Federation stretches across much of the north of the supercontinent of [[Eurasia]]. Although it contains a large share of the world's Arctic and sub-Arctic areas, and therefore has less population, economic activity, and physical variety per unit area than most countries, the great area south of these still accommodates a great variety of landscapes and [[climate]]s. Most of Russia is in zones of a continental and Arctic climate. Russia is the coldest country in the world. The mid-annual temperature is −5.5°C (22°[[Fahrenheit|F]]). For comparison, the mid-annual temperature in [[Iceland]] is 1.2°C (34°F) and in Sweden is 4°C (39°F).

Most of the land consists of vast plains, both in the [[Europe]]an part and the [[Asia]]n part that is largely known as [[Siberia]]. These plains are predominantly [[steppe]] to the south and heavily forested to the north, with [[tundra]] along the northern coast. The [[permafrost]] (areas of Siberia and the Far East) occupies more than half of territory of Russia. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the [[Caucasus]] (containing [[Mount Elbrus]], Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,633 m / 17,605 [[foot (unit of length)|ft]]) and the [[Altai]], and in the eastern parts, such as the [[Verkhoyansk Range]] or the [[volcano]]es on [[Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka]]. The more central [[Ural Mountains]], a north-south range that form the primary divide between Europe and Asia, are also notable.

Russia has an extensive '''coastline''' of over 37,000 kilometres (23,000 [[mile|mi]]) along the [[Arctic Ocean|Arctic]] and [[Pacific Ocean]]s, as well as more or less inland seas such as the [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]], [[Black Sea|Black]] and [[Caspian Sea|Caspian]] seas. Some smaller bodies of water are part of the open oceans; the [[Barents Sea]], [[White Sea]], [[Kara Sea]], [[Laptev Sea]] and [[East Siberian Sea]] are part of the Arctic, whereas the [[Bering Sea]], [[Sea of Okhotsk]] and the [[Sea of Japan]] belong to the Pacific Ocean.

Major '''islands''' found in them include [[Novaya Zemlya]], the [[Franz-Josef Land]], the [[New Siberian Islands]], [[Wrangel Island]], the [[Kurile Islands|Kuril Islands]] and [[Sakhalin]]. (See [[List of islands of Russia]]).

Many '''rivers''' flow across Russia. See [[Rivers of Russia]].

Major '''lakes''' include [[Lake Baikal]], [[Lake Ladoga]] and [[Lake Onega]]. See [[List of lakes in Russia]].

===Borders===
The most practical way to describe Russia is as a main part (a large contiguous portion with its off-shore islands) and an [[exclave]] (at the southeast corner of the Baltic Sea).

The main part's borders and coasts (starting in the far northwest and proceeding counter-clockwise) are:
*borders with the following countries: [[Norway]] and [[Finland]],
*a short coast on the [[Baltic Sea]], facing eight other [[Baltic Sea#Adjacent Countries|countries on its shores]] from Finland to Estonia and including the port of St. Petersburg,
*borders with [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Belarus]], and [[Ukraine]],
*a coast on the [[Black Sea]], facing five other [[Black Sea#Adjacent Countries|countries on its shores]] from Ukraine to Georgia,
*borders with [[Georgia (country)|Georgia]] and [[Azerbaijan]],
*a coast on the [[Caspian Sea]], facing four other [[Caspian Sea#Adjacent Countries|countries on its shores]] from Azerbaijan to Kazakhstan,
*borders with [[Kazakhstan]], [[China (PRC)|China]] (western), [[Mongolia]], [[China (PRC)|China]] (eastern), and [[North Korea]].
*an extensive coastline that provides access to all the maritime nations of the world, and stretches
**from the North [[Pacific Ocean]] including
***the [[Sea of Japan]] (where the west shore of Russia's [[Sakhalin]] lies), 
***the [[Sea of Okhotsk]] (where the east shore of [[Sakhalin]] and its [[Kurile Islands]] lie), and
***the [[Bering Sea]],
**through the [[Bering Strait]] (where its minor island of [[Big Diomede]] is separated by only a few miles from [[Little Diomede]], a part of the [[United States|US]] [[U.S. state|state]] of [[Alaska]]),
**to the [[Arctic Ocean]], including
***the [[Chukchi Sea]] (where the south and east shores of its [[Wrangel Island]] lie),
***the [[East Siberian Sea]] (where its west shore, and the east shores of its [[New Siberian Islands]] lie),
***the [[Laptev Sea]] (where their west shores lie),
***the [[Kara Sea]] (where the east shore of its [[Novaya Zemlya]] lies),
***the [[Barents Sea]] (where their west shore, the south shores of its [[Franz-Josef Land]] the port of [[Murmansk]] and important naval facilities lie, and where the [[White Sea]] reaches far inland).

The exclave, constituted by the [[Kaliningrad Oblast]], 
*shares borders with
**[[Poland]] to its south and
**[[Lithuania]] to its north and east, and
*has a northwest coast on the Baltic Sea.

The [[Baltic Sea|Baltic]] and [[Black Sea]] coasts of Russia have less direct and more constrained access to the high seas than its Pacific and Arctic ones, but both are nevertheless important for that purpose. The Baltic gives immediate access to the nine other countries sharing its shores, and between the main part of Russia and its [[Kaliningrad]] Oblast exclave. Via the straits that lie within [[Denmark]], and between it and Sweden, the Baltic connects to the [[North Sea]] and the oceans to its west and north. The Black Sea gives immediate access to the five other countries sharing its shores, and via the [[Dardanelles]] and [[Sea of Marmora|Marmora]] straits adjacent to [[Istanbul]], [[Turkey]], to the [[Mediterranean Sea]] with its many countries and its access, via the [[Suez Canal]] and the [[Straits of Gibraltar]], to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The salt waters of the [[Caspian Sea]], the world's largest lake, provide no access to the high seas.

===Spatial extent===
The two most widely separated points in Russia are about 8,000 km (5,000 mi) apart along a [[geodesic]] (i.e. shortest line between two points on the Earth's surface). These points are: the boundary with [[Poland]] on a 60-km-long (40-mi-long) spit of land separating the [[Gdansk Bay|Gulf of Gdańsk]] from the [[Vistula Lagoon]]; and the farthest southeast of the [[Kurile Islands]], a few miles off [[Hokkaido Island]], Japan.

However, this is confusing because the points which are furthest separated in longitude are "only" 6,600 km (4,100 mi) apart along a geodesic. These points are: in the West, the same spit; in the East, the [[Diomede Islands|Big Diomede Island]] (Ostrov Ratmanova).

It is also often mentioned that the Russian federation spans eleven [[time zone]]s. 

===Cities===
As of [[2005]] Russia has 13 [[city|cities]] with over a million inhabitants (from largest to smallest): [[Moscow]], [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Novosibirsk]], [[Yekaterinburg]], [[Nizhny Novgorod]], [[Samara, Russia|Samara]], [[Omsk]], [[Kazan]], [[Chelyabinsk]], [[Rostov-on-Don]], [[Ufa]], [[Volgograd]] and [[Perm]].

See also: [[List of cities in Russia]] | [[List of Russian administrative centers(*) and cities over 50,000 population at 2002 census]]

==Economy==
{{main|Economy of Russia}}
[[Image:Soviet Electric grid 82.jpg|right|220px|Map of the electric grid during the Soviet era.]]More than a decade after the [[collapse of the Soviet Union]] in [[1991]], Russia is now trying to further develop a [[market economy]] and achieve more consistent economic growth. Russia saw its comparatively developed centrally [[planned economy]] contract severely for five years, as the [[executive (government)|executive]] and the [[legislature]] dithered over the implementation of reforms and Russia's aging industrial base faced a serious decline.

After the breakup of the USSR, Russia's first slight recovery, showing signs of open-market influence, occurred in 1997. That year, however, the [[Asian financial crisis]] culminated in the August depreciation of the [[Russian ruble|ruble]].  This was followed by a [[Default (finance)|debt default]] by the government in 1998, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. Consequently, 1998 was marked by recession and an intense capital flight.

Nevertheless, the economy started recovering in 1999. The recovery was greatly assisted by the weak ruble, which made imports expensive and boosted local production. Then it entered a phase of rapid economic expansion, the [[Gross domestic product|GDP]] growing by an average of 6.7% annually in 1999-2005 on the back of higher [[petroleum]] prices, a weaker ruble, and increasing service production and industrial output. The country is presently running a huge [[trade surplus]], which has been helped by protective import barriers, and rampant corruption which ensures that it is almost impossible for foreign and local [[SME]]s (small and medium sized enterprises) to import goods without the help of local specialist import firms, such as the [[Russia Import Company]]. While some import barriers are expected to be abolished after Russia's accession to the [[WTO]] in 2006, it is unlikely that a reduction in bureaucracy and corruption amongst customs and licensing officials will follow. 

The economic development of the country has been extremely uneven: the Moscow region contributes one-third of the country's GDP while having only a tenth of its population. GDP increased by 7.2% in 2004 and 6.4% in 2005. 

The recent recovery, made possible due to high world oil prices, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 and 2001 to advance lagging structural reforms, has raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, [[natural gas]], metals, and [[timber]], which account for about 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. In recent years, however, the economy has also been driven by growing internal consumer demand that has increased by over 12% annually in 2000-2005, showing the strengthening of its own internal market.

The country's GDP shot up to reach €1.2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) in 2004, making it the ninth largest economy in the world and the fifth largest in Europe. If the current growth rate is sustained, the country is expected to become the second largest European economy after Germany (€1.9 trillion or $2.3 trillion) and the sixth largest in the world within a few years.

In 2005, according to [http://www.gks.ru State Statistics Committee], GDP reached $765 billion nominally (21.7 billion rubles), equal to $1.748 trillion in international dollars (PPP; power purchase parity). Inflation was 10.9% percent. The consolidated budget took 38.6% of country's GDP: $675 billion (PPP). The government plans to reduce the tax burden, although the time and scale of such a reduction remains undecided.[http://www.kremlin.ru].

The greatest challenge facing the Russian economy is how to encourage the development of [[Small and Medium-sized Enterprise|SME]]s in a business climate with a young and dysfunctional banking system, dominated by [[Russian oligarchs]]. Many of Russia's banks are owned by oligarchs, who often use the deposits to lend to their own businesses. The 2005 [http://www.milkeninstitute.org/pdf/cai_rankings_2005.pdf Milken Institute's ratings] place Russia at the 51th place in the world, out of 121 countries by the availability of capital.

The [[European Bank for Reconstruction and Development]] and the [[World Bank]] have attempted to kick-start normal banking practices by making equity and debt investments in a number of banks, but with very limited success.

Other problems include disproportional economic development of Russia's own regions. While the huge capital region of Moscow is a bustling, affluent metropolis living on the cutting edge of technology with a [[per capita income]] rapidly approaching that of the leading Eurozone economies, much of the country, especially its indigenous and rural communities in Asia, lags significantly behind. Market integration is nonetheless making itself felt in some other sizeable cities such as [[Saint Petersburg]], [[Kaliningrad]], and [[Ekaterinburg]], and recently also in the adjacent rural areas.

Encouraging foreign investment is also a major challenge due to legal, some cultural, linguistic, economic and political peculiarities of the country. Nevertheless, there has been a significant inflow of capital in recent years from many European investors attracted by cheaper land, labor and higher growth rates than in the rest of Europe. Amazingly high levels of education and societal involvement achieved by the majority of the population, including women and minorities, secular attitudes, mobile class structure, better integration of various minorities in the mainstream culture set Russia far apart from the majority of the so-called [[developing countries]] and even some developed nations.

So far, the country is also benefiting from rising oil prices and has been able to pay off much of its formerly huge debt. Equal redistribution of capital gains from the natural resource industries to other sectors is however a problem. Still, since 2003, exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market has strengthened considerably largely stimulated by intense construction, as well as consumption of increasingly diverse goods and services. Yet teaching customers and encouraging consumer spending is a relatively tough task for many [[province|provincial]] areas where consumer demand is primitive. However, some laudable progress has been made in larger cities, especially in clothing, food, and entertainment industries.

The arrest of Russia's wealthiest businessman [[Mikhail Khodorkovsky]] on charges of fraud and corruption in relation to the large-scale privatizations organized under then-President [[Boris Yeltsin|Yeltsin]] has caused many foreign investors to worry about the stability of the Russian economy. Most of the large fortunes currently prevailing in Russia are the product of either acquiring government assets at particularly low costs or gaining concessions from the government. Other countries have expressed concerns and worries at the "selective" application of the [[law]] against individual businessmen, though the government actions have been received positively by most of the aggravated Russians.

Additionally, some international firms are investing in Russia. According to the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), Russia had nearly $26 billion in cumulative foreign direct investment inflows during the 2001-2004 period (of which $11.7 billion occurred in 2004).

==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of Russia}}
Despite its comparatively high population, Russia has low average population density due to its enormous size. Population is densest in the European part of Russia, in the [[Ural Mountains]] area, and in the south-western parts of Siberia; the south-eastern part of [[Siberia]] that meets the [[Pacific Ocean]], known as the [[Russian Far East]], is sparsely populated, with its southern part being densest. The Russian Federation is home to as many as 160 different [[ethnic groups]] and [[indigenous people]]s. As of the 2002 census, 79.8% of the population is ethnically [[Russians|Russian]], 3.8% [[Tatars|Tatar]], 2% [[Ukrainians|Ukrainian]], 1.2% [[Bashkir]], 1.1% [[Chuvash]], 0.9% [[Chechen people|Chechen]], 0.8% [[Armenian people|Armenian]]. The remaining 10.3% includes those who did not specify their [[ethnicity]] as well as (in alphabetical order) [[Caucasian Avars|Avars]], [[Azerbaijanis]], [[Belarusians]], [[Buryat]]s, [[Chinese people|Chinese]], [[Evenks]], [[Georgian people|Georgians]], [[German minority in Russia and Soviet Union|Germans]], [[Greeks]], [[Ingush people|Ingushes]], [[Inuit]], [[Jews]], [[Kalmyks]], [[Karelians]], [[Kazakhs]], [[Koreans]], [[Mari]]s, [[Mordvins]], [[Nenetses]], [[Ossetians]], [[Poles]], [[Tuvans]], [[Udmurts]], [[Uzbeks]], [[Yakuts]], and others. Nearly all of these groups live compactly in their respective regions; Russians are the only people significantly represented in every region of the country.

The [[Russian language]] is the only official state language, but the individual [[Republics of Russia|republics]] have often made their native language co-official next to Russian. [[Cyrillic alphabet]] is the only [[official script]], which means that these languages must be written in Cyrillic in official texts.

The [[Russian Orthodox Church]] is the dominant [[Christianity|Christian]] religion in the Federation. [[Islam]] is the second most widespread faith. Other religions include various [[Protestant]] faiths, [[Judaism]], [[Roman Catholicism]] and [[Buddhism]]. Induction into religion takes place primarily along ethnic lines. Ethnic Russians are mainly Orthodox whereas most people of [[Turkic peoples|Turkic]] and [[Caucasus|Caucasian]] extraction are Muslim. [[Neopaganism]] is on the rise, especially among Slavic people. See [[Religion in Russia]] for more.

==Culture==
{{main|Culture of Russia}}
*[[:Category:Cinema of Russia|Cinema of Russia]]
*[[Ethnic Russian music]]
*[[List of Russians]]
*[[Music of Russia]]
*[[Russian architecture]]
*[[Russian cuisine]]
*[[Russian humour]]
*[[Russian literature]]
**[[List of Russian language poets]]
**[[Russian formalism]]
**[[Russian folklore]]

==Etymology==
{{nameWikt}}
:''Main article: [[Etymology of Rus and derivatives]].''
The name of the country derives from the name of the [[Rus' (people)|Rus']] people. The origin of the people itself and of their name is a matter of some [[controversy]].

==Miscellaneous topics==
* [[Armed Forces of the Russian Federation]]
* [[Communications in Russia]]
* [[Education in Russia]]
* [[Foreign relations of Russia]]
* [[Law of the Russian Federation]]
* [[List of Russian companies]]
* [[List of Russian language television channels]]
* [[Major power#Russia|Major power - Russia]]
* [[Postage stamps and postal history of Russia]]
* [[Public holidays in Russia]]
* [[Quartet on the Middle East]]
* [[Russian Association of Scouts/Navigators]]
* [[Tourism in Russia]]
* [[Transportation in Russia]]
* [[Russian connections in Australia]]

==References==
*''The New Columbia Encyclopedia'', Col.Univ.Press, 1975
*''World Civilizations:The Global Experience'', by Peter Stearns, Michael Adas, Stuart Schwartz, and Marc Gilbert

==External links==
{{Sisterlinks|Russia}}
===Government resources===
*{{ru icon}} [http://www.duma.ru/ Duma] - Official site of the parliamentary lower house
*[http://www.council.gov.ru/eng/index.html Federative Council] - Official site of the parliamentary upper house
*[http://www.kremlin.ru/eng/ Kremlin] - Official presidential site
*{{ru icon}} [http://www.gov.ru/ Gov.ru] - Official governmental portal
*{{ru icon}} [http://www.russia-today.ru/ Russian Federation Today]. Official issue of the Federal Assembly.

===General information===
*[http://www.angus-reid.com/polls/index.cfm/fuseaction/searchSimpleResults/iw/1/keyword/russian%20federation Public Opinion in Russia]
*[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/1102275.stm BBC Country Profile - ''Russia'']
*[http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/rs.html CIA World Factbook - ''Russia'']
*[http://www.gksoft.com/govt/en/ru.html Government links]
*[http://www.russianembassy.org/ Embassy of the Russian Federation to the United States]
*[http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/russia.html Russia Energy Resources and Industry from U.S. Department of Energy]
*[http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html U.S. State Department Consular Information Sheet: Russia]
*[http://www.globalstroll.com/russia/russia_home.php Russia at Global Stroll]
*[http://www.rulers.org/russgov.html Deputy prime ministers and ministries of Russia]
*[http://www.russiaprofile.org/index.wbp Russia Profile]
*[http://webcam.deili.info/en,1,3 Webcam in Russia]
*[http://geocities.com/deweytextsonline/isr.htm Impressions of Soviet Russia, by John Dewey]
*[http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/default.cfm Johnson's Russia List Archive]
*[http://www.waytorussia.net Travel Guide to Russia]
*{{pt icon}} [http://www.russianet.com.br Rússi@Net] - The Russian Community in Brazil
*[http://www.russiatoday.com Russia Today] - online news service

{{Russiantie}}
{{Asia}}
{{Europe}}
{{G8}}

[[Category:Russia| ]]

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