Russia
Capital: Moscow · Eastern Europe
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country in Eastern Europe and North Asia.
Photo: Sergey Pesterev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Rukavishnikov's bank building on Lower-Volga River embankment
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Did you know?
Human settlement on modern Russian territory dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. The emergence of the East Slavs as a prominent group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD led to the establishment of Kievan Rus' in the 9th century, which adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988. Following the disintegration of Kievan Rus' in the 12th century, the Grand Principality of Moscow became the dominant Russian principality and led the unification of Russian lands during the late medieval period, culminating in the formation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547.
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View to the SE of the west Baikal Lake from the Trans-Siberian train near Kultuk
Photo: Iñaki LLM, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Kurtatinsky gorge: View of the villages of Lats and Upper Fiagdon
Photo: Alex Svirkin, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
The Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny marches on Tverskaya Street in Moscow .
Photo: Evgeny Feldman, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Etymology
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English name Russia first appeared in the 14th century, borrowed from Medieval Latin: Russia, used in the 11th century and frequently in 12th-century British sources, in turn derived from Russi, 'the Russians' and the suffix -ia.
There are several words in Russian which translate to "Russians" in English. The noun and adjective русский, russkiy refers to ethnic Russians. The adjective российский, rossiiskiy denotes Russian citizens regardless of ethnicity. The same applies to the more recently coined noun россиянин, rossiianyn, in the sense of citizen of the Russian state.
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Golden abode of Buddha Shakyamuni and a statue of the White Elder. Elista, Kalmykia
Photo: Oleg-Akamatsu, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Microcrystals of Ascorbic Acid in cross-polarized light illumination . The microcrystals have anisotropy (birefringence). The microcrystals were grown on the slide.…
Photo: Anatoly Mikhaltsov, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
History
The earliest evidence of human settlement in what is now Russia dates to the Oldowan period during the early Lower Paleolithic. About 2 million years ago, representatives of Homo erectus migrated to the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia. Flint tools, some 1.5 million years old, have been discovered in the North Caucasus. Radiocarbon dated specimens from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains estimate the oldest Denisovan specimen lived 195–122,700 years ago.
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Map of Muscovy (the so-called Fedor Godunov map)
Photo: Fedori Borisowitsi, Public domain · source
CSKA Arena in 2017. CSKA Moscow vs. Dynamo Moscow.
Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Geography
Russia's vast landmass stretches over the easternmost part of Europe and the northernmost part of Asia. It spans the northernmost edge of Eurasia and has the world's fourth-longest coastline, of over 37,653 km (23,396 mi). Russia lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W, extending some 9,000 km (5,600 mi) east to west, and 2,500 to 4,000 km (1,600 to 2,500 mi) north to south. Russia, by landmass, is larger than three continents, and has the same surface area as Pluto.
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Grand Cascade of Peterhof
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Government and politics
Russia, by constitution, is a symmetric federal republic with a semi-presidential system, wherein the president is the head of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. It is officially structured as a multi-party representative democracy, with the federal government composed of three branches:
Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, made up of the 450-member State Duma and the 170-member Federation Council, adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the president.
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Photo: Vasily Vereshchagin, Public domain · source
Achmat-Kadyrow-Moschee in Grosny / Tschetschenien, die grösste Moschee in Russland und des europäischen Kontinents.
Photo: André Widmer Maiakinfo, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source
Frozen lake Baikal near Olkhon island.
Photo: Sergey Pesterev, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Economy
Russia has a high-income, industrialised, mixed market-oriented economy following a turbulent transition from the Soviet planned model during the 1990s. According to the International Monetary Fund, it has the ninth-largest economy by nominal GDP and the fourth-largest economy by GDP (PPP). As of 2023, the service sector accounts for roughly 57% of total GDP, followed by the industrial sector (30%), while the agricultural sector is the smallest, at 3% of total GDP. It has a labour force of about 72 million, which is the ninth-largest in the world. Russia's largest trading partner is China.
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Shavlo Lake in Northern Chuysky Range
Photo: Николай Соколов, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Demographics
Russia had an estimated population of 146.0 million in 2025 (143.6 million excluding Crimea and Sevastopol), down from 147.2 million in the 2021 census. It is the most populous country in Europe and ninth-most populous country in the world. With a population density of 8.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (22 inhabitants/mi2), Russia is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries, with the vast majority of its people concentrated within its western part. The country is highly urbanised, with two-thirds of the population living in urban areas.
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Grand Cascade of Peterhof
Photo: Florstein ( Telegram: WikiPhoto.Space ), CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Culture
Russian culture reflects a long, gradual, and complex amalgamation of various elements that coincided with centuries of development, expansion, and interaction with different peoples, artistic movements, and cultures. Russia has heavily influenced classical music, ballet, theatre, mathematics, sport, painting, and cinema. Russian writers and philosophers have played an important role in the development of European literature and thought. Russia also made pioneering contributions to science, technology, and space exploration.
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Microcrystals of Mineral Water “Essentuki 4” Salt Light microscopy, polarized light Micrograph by: Dashko Alexandra, student of The Science Research Laboratory…
Photo: Лаборатория "Микрокосмос", CC BY-SA 4.0 · source