At a Glance

Official Name: Russian Federation

Continent: Asia

Area: 6,562,078 square miles (16,995,800 sq km)

Population: 145,470,197

Capital City: Moscow

Largest City: Moscow (13,200,000)

Unit of Money: Ruble

Major Languages: Russian

Natural Resources: Oil, natural gas, coal

The Place

Russia is the world's largest country in land area extending from the Arctic Ocean to the Black Sea and from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean.

Russia can be divided into 4 land zones—the tundra, the forest zone, the steppes, and the semi-desert and mountainous zone. The tundra is far north and is mostly a treeless plain.

About half the land has permanently frozen soil called permafrost. Shrubs, dwarf trees, and moss grow there. The forest zone, south of the tundra, consists of conifer, aspen, birch, elm, maple, and oak forests. Animals, such as brown bear, deer, elk, lynx, reindeer, beaver, rabbit, and squirrel inhabit the region. Steppes—grassy plains—are south of the forests. Northern sections consist of wooded plains and meadows, and southern sections are mostly treeless prairie. Russia's most fertile soil is there. Squirrels, jerboas, and antelope live in the steppes.

The semi-desert and mountainous zone has dry lowlands near the Caspian Sea and abundant vegetation near the Caucasus Mountains. Mount Elbrus—Europe's highest peak at 18,510 feet (5,642 m)—is there.

Russia's longest river is the 2,734-mile-(3,000-m-) long Lena River in Siberia. Other major rivers include the Amur, Ob, Yenisey, Volga, and Don rivers. Russia has more than 200,000 lakes. The Caspian Sea—the world's largest inland body of water—is a saltwater lake 92 feet (28 m) below sea level. Lake Ladoga—6,835 square miles (17,703 sq km)—is the largest lake entirely in Europe. Lake Baykal—5,315 feet (1,620 m) deep—is the deepest lake in the world.

Russia has long, cold winters. In Moscow, snow covers the ground for 5 months each year and in the north, 9 months. Northeastern Russia, known as Siberia, is one of the coldest areas in the world. Temperatures average -50°F (-46°C) in January.

History

Russia became a state in the 800s, formed by Slavic peoples. For hundreds of years the country was ruled by czars, or emperors, and czarinas, or empresses. Russian leaders had absolute power. Mongols ruled the country from the 1200s to the 1400s.

Russia did not keep up with the industrial growth of other European nations during the 1700s. Most people were poor peasants. People started to oppose the czars' rule in the 1800s and 1900s, and in 1917, revolutionaries overthrew the government. In 1918, Russia became the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (R.S.F.S.R.).

In 1922, the R.S.F.S.R. joined with three other republics and formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), also called the Soviet Union. The R.S.F.S.R. was the largest republic in the Soviet Union, which included 15 republics.

In 1991, communism collapsed in the Soviet Union. Russia and the other republics broke apart and formed a new federation—the Commonwealth of Independent States.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia's government started moving from a state-controlled economy to one based on private enterprise.

The People

Most of Russia's people are ethnic Russians, however, more than 100 minority groups also live in the country. The largest groups are the Tatars, Ukrainians, Chuvash, Bashkirs, Byelorussians, Mordvins, Chechens, Germans, Udmurts, Mari, Kazakhs, and Armenians. Small Siberian groups, such as Aleuts, Chukchi, Inuit, and Koryaks, inhabit areas in the far north.

Russia has a population density of 22 people per square mile (8 people per sq km). Life expectancy is 66 years.

About 75% of Russians live in urban areas, mainly in the west. About 35 cities have populations higher than 500,000. More than 4 million people live in Moscow and St. Petersburg. People living in the cities inhabit small apartments in high rise buildings. Many cities have housing shortages. Many families may share kitchens and bathrooms. Sometimes cities also face shortages of food and goods.

Many rural Russians live in single family houses, however, there are also some city-style apartment buildings in rural areas. Some houses in remote areas lack gas, plumbing, running water, and electricity. Urban areas have better health care and education facilities than rural areas.

Most people belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. The Russian Orthodox Christmas is January 7, and is a national holiday. Other major religious groups recognized by Russia include Buddhism, Islam, and Judaism. Baptists, Mormons, Pentecostalists, Roman Catholics, and Seventh-day Adventists must register with the country every year until they have been established in the country for 15 years. After they have been considered established they can publish religious literature and open schools.

Education

Russian children ages 6 to 17 must attend school. Elementary education consists of 9 primary and intermediate grades. When students finish the ninth grade they can enroll in a secondary or vocational school. Secondary schools teach science, math, language, literature, history, social sciences, and physical education. Vocational schools prepare students for jobs in technical fields, industry, and agriculture. Russia also has schools for gifted students and children who have physical or learning disabilities.

Students in intermediate grades and higher must pass a national exam to move up to the next grade. Students who pass the exam after finishing secondary school receive a certificate. Children who score high receive a gold or silver medal. Teachers use a number grading scale of 1 to 5. Five is the highest grade.

Students must pass an entrance exam to attend a university. Russia has 550 institutions of higher learning, including Moscow State University, which is the largest university in Russia.

Popular Culture/Daily Life

Russians like to watch television and movies, read, play chess, visit museums, and participate in sports. Soccer, gymnastics, basketball, hockey, ice skating, skiing, and tennis are the country's most popular sports. Russians also enjoy hiking, bicycling, swimming, and fishing in the countryside. Russia has more than 660 museums and 62,000 libraries.

Many famous composers lived in Russia. The most well known are Modest Mussorgsky, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, Sergei Rachmaninoff, and Igor Stravinsky. Stravinsky wrote many ballet scores, such as The Firebird.

Russian ballet performances are internationally known. The leading ballet companies are the Kirov Ballet of St. Petersburg and the Bolshoi Ballet of Moscow. Russia also has many art schools.