1) Russia
occupies more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area.
2)The total
area of Russia is 17,075,400 square kilometers.
3) Russia
has international borders with 16 sovereign states, including two with maritime
boundaries (US, Japan), as well as with the occupied Georgian territories of
South Ossetia and Abkhazia.
4) Most of
Russia consists of vast stretches of plains that are predominantly steppe to
the south and heavily forested to the north, with tundra along the northern
coast. Russia possesses 10% of the world's arable land.
5) The
longest mountain chains are the Ural Mountains and the Caucasus Mountains.
6) the
major rivers of Russia are the Volga river, the longest river in Europe, and the
Siberian rivers Ob, Yenisey, Lena.
7) Lake
Baikal is the world's deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water
lake.
8) Occupying
a large territory in Europe and Asia Russia is spread over all climatic zones
except tropical.
9) The
coldest inhabited place on Earth is located in Oymyakon, a tiny village in
Yakutia, Russian Far East with population of slightly above 500.
10) Russia
is ranked first in the world by gas reserves, the second in oil production, the
third - in coal reserves. In terms of reserves of iron ores Russia takes the
first place, in tin – the second, lead - the third. Russia also occupies a
leading position in the world in wood provision. In 2005 Russia was the richest
country in gold reserves.
11) Russia
possesses rich reserves of iron ore, manganese, chromium, nickel, platinum,
titanium, copper, tin, lead, tungsten, diamonds, phosphates, and gold. The iron
ore deposits of the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly, close to the Ukrainian border in
the southwest, are believed to contain one-sixth of the world's total reserves.
12) The current population of the Russian
Federation is 143,446,759.
13) The European
part of the country is densely populated.
14) Russia
is a multinational state with over 185 ethnic groups designated as
nationalities, population of these groups varying enormously, from millions in
the case of Russians and Tatars to under 10,000 in the case of Samis and Kets.
15) The
head of the state is the president of Russian Federation. The current President
of Russia is Putin Vladimir.
16) The
head of the government is the Prime Minister of Russia.
17) The
Russian flag was adopted on the 11th of December 1993.
18) The
flag of Russia is a tricolor flag consisting of three equal horizontal fields:
white on the top, blue in the middle and red on the bottom.
19) The
capital city of Russia is Moscow.
20) Moscow
is a major political, economic, cultural, and scientific center of Russia and
Eastern Europe, as well as the largest city entirely on the European continent.
By broader definitions Moscow is among
the world's largest cities, being the 14th largest metro area, the 17th largest
agglomeration, the 16th largest urban area, and the 10th largest by population
within city limits worldwide. According to Forbes 2013, Moscow has been ranked
as the ninth most expensive city in the world by Mercer and has one of the
world's largest urban economies, being ranked as an alpha global city according
to the Globalization and World Cities Research Network.