Russia's legal system is democratic federal rul-of-law state
with the republican form of government.
Geography
Covering over 10 percent of the globe's land area, Russia is located in part
in Eastern Europe (west of Ural mountains) and in part in Northern Asia, bordering the Arctic Ocean, beetween Europe and the North Pacific
Ocean. It border is 19,917km.
Its shores are bathed by the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Sea of Japan, the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Ocean. It comprises 76 percent of the area of the former Soviet Union, covering 11 time zones. Russia has a total surface of 17,075,200 square km, or about 6,592,800 sq miles (slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US). Its diverse landscape features broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferousforest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions. The highest elevation is Mount El'brus (5,633m).
Russia has the longest continuous coastline (37,650kilometers)
of any country in the world. Most of the coast borders water that are
frozen for many months of the year. The country has numerous important rivers and lakes. The Caspian Sea in the south is actually a salt lake. It has the largest surface area of any lake in the world, 371,000 square kilometers. The second largest body of water in Russia is "Lake Baikal", which is the deepest freshwater lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1,637 meters.
Russia has wide natural resource base including major deposits
of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber. However, formidable obstaclesof climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation
of natural resources.
Climate
The vast expranse of Russia is expressed in the country's varied climatic conditions. The climate ranges from steppes in the south through
humid continental in much of Europen Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north. Winters vary from cool along Arctic coast. The coldest winter temperatures occur in eastern Siberia; in January, temperatures there average minus 51 degrees Celsius and have reached minus 72 degrees Celsius. Most of European Russia has a more temperate climate.
People
Russia is the sixth most populous country in the world (poplation is around 146 million) after China, India, the United States, Indonesia and Brazil. About 75% of the people live in urban areas. The population is unevenly distributed across the country. Majority of the population remains concentrated in European Russia with average population density of about 25 per sq km, while most of Siberia and Far North has fewer than 1 person per sq km.
The ethnic compsition of the Russian society is dominated by the Russians who make up 81.5% of the population, followed by Tatars(3.8%), Ukrainians(3.0%), Chuvashes(1.2%), Bashkirs(0.9%), Byelorussians(0.8%), Moldavians(0.7%) and other ethnic minorities that account for 8.1% of the population. More than 100 nationalities inhabit Russia, making it one of the most multinational states in the world. Over 25 million Russians live outside the country in former Soviet republics.
Religion
That vast majority of the Russian population identify themselves with the Russian Orthodox Church, while other sizable religious denominations include Muslims, Jews, Baptists and Roman Catholics. In the Russian Orthodox Church today there are 128dioceses, 19,000parishes, and nearly
480monasteries.
Language
More than 100 languages are spoken in Russia, but Russian is the official language of Russia and is spoken as a native language by about 98% of population. English, French and German are the most common second languages.
Education
Russians are well-educated , with a literacy rate of 98% and a rate of 98% enrollment in secondary education. The average Russian completes 11years of formal schooling. Free, compulsory education extends until age of 16.
eagle on a red
geraldic shield,
above an eagle are three historic crowns of Peter the Great.
live in (Moscow):
kinds of Moscow.
Welcome to Moscow!
