Russia, the world’s largest country, borders European and Asian countries as well as the Pacific and Arctic oceans. Its landscape ranges from tundra and forests to subtropical beaches.
The official name for Russia is the Russian Federation.
In terms of land area, Russia is the largest country in the world.
Russia shares borders with Norway and Finland, Estonia and Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (bordering Kaliningrad enclave), Belarus and Ukraine, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Mongolia, North Korea and China, for a total of 14 land neighbors.
Russia is located across 9 time zones.
Of all the languages of Russia, Russian is the only official language.
In 2015, Russia was estimated to have a population of 142,098,141.
Moscow is capital of Russia with population of about 11.5 million, makes it the 6th largest city in the world.
The official residence of the Russian president is the Kremlin in Moscow. The name Kremlin means fortress.
Other major cities in Russia include Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk.
Russia has over 40 national parks and 100 wildlife reserves.
Mount Elbrus is the highest mountain in Russia and Europe, it reaches a height of 5642 meters (18,510 feet).
Russia’s Volga River is the longest in Europe, with a length of around 3690 kilometers (2293 miles).
The Ural mountains are among the oldest mountains on Earth and are generally not very high, more often looking like large hills, though there are some taller ones, too.
Lake Baikal is the largest freshwater lake in the world. It reaches 1642 metres (5,387 feet) in depth and contains around 20% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water.
Russia’s forest area is 7,762,602 km2 (2,997,157 mi2) which are 45.40% of the country’s land area. Russia is not only the largest country in the world, but also the country with the largest forest area. The forest area of Russia alone is the size of the entire continent of Australia!
The biggest swamp in the world named Vasyuganskoe swamp placed in Russia.
Russia has a wide range of natural resources and is one of the world’s largest producers of oil.
The world’s first satellite, named Sputnik, was launched by the Soviet Union in 1957.
Soviet Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to journey into outer space when his Vostok spacecraft completed an orbit of the Earth on April 12, 1961.
The Soviet Union (USSR) was a socialist state that occupied much of northern Asia and eastern Europe from 1922 until it was dissolved in 1991. Former Soviet states include Lithuania, Georgia, Latvia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and others.
The currency used in Russia is the ruble.
The Russian State Library is the biggest in Europe and second in the World after Library of Congress in the USA.
Its greatest museum – The Hermitage, in St Petersburg – is home to around 70 cats, which guard its treasures against rodents. The tradition dates back to a 1745 decree of Empress Elizabeth, the daughter of Peter the Great, founder of St. Petersburg. The museum also has almost 23 kilometer (14 miles) of marbled corridors.
Russian cuisine is a collection of the different cooking traditions of the Russian people. The cuisine is diverse, as Russia is by area the largest country in the world. Russian cuisine derives its varied character from the vast and multi-cultural expanse of Russia.
Russian caviar, along with Iranian caviar, is considered to be the finest caviar available in the world.
On March 30, 1867, the United States reached an agreement to purchase Alaska from Russia for a price of $7.2 million.
Russia and America are less than 4 km (2.5 miles) apart at the nearest point.
Vodka is with no doubt the most popular alcoholic drink in Russia.
The word “vodka” comes from the Russian word “voda” that means “water”.
The Trans-Siberian Railway (connecting Moscow and Vladivostok) is the longest railway in the world.
Russian climate dramatically different. In winter time monthly average temperature in Sochi +5°C (41ºF) and in Yakutia -61°C (-78ºF).
The sunflower is the national flower of Russia.
In Russia there are 9 million more Women than men.
Russians never shake hands over a door way, they believe it leads to arguments.
In 1908 the Imperial Russian Olympic Team arrived in London 12 days too late for the games because they were not using the Gregorian calendar yet.
A Russian woman in the 1700s gave birth to 16 pairs of twins, 7 sets of triplets and 4 sets of quadruplets in just 40 years with the same man.
Average Russian adult consumes 18 liters (4.8 US gallons) of alcohol per year, doubling what experts consider dangerous.
It is a criminal offence to drive around in a dirty car in Russia.
Giving flowers to residents can be a delicate point of etiquette. You should always make sure you give them in odd numbers, unless going to a funeral, when even numbers are the rule.
The oldest plant ever to be regenerated has been grown in Russia from 32,000-year-old seeds.