Russia in figures and facts

GEOGRAPHY, TERRITORY, CLIMATE

Russia is situated in the east of Europe and the north of Asia. It is contiguous with 18 states and has the longest borderline in the world. Russia is a biggest country in the world. Its territory is 17,075,400 sq. km. Russia extends across the whole northern Asia and 40% of Europe.

Russia's climate is very diverse, ranging from sub-tropical at the Black Sea to extremely continental in Siberia, where the temperature drop within a year may exceed 80°C, and arctic in the Far North; but most of the country lies within the zone of temperate climate.

TIME

There are 9 time zones in Russia. The time difference varies from +3 hours in Kaliningrad to + 12 hours in Kamchatka and Chukotka with respect to the Greenwich Time. The time in Moscow and St. Petersburg is GMT +4 hours, that is for one hour more than in Saudi Arabia.

MAJOR CITIES, ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISION

The Russian Federation includes 21 republics, 9 territories, 46 regions, 1 autonomous region, 4 autonomous districts, and 2 cities of federal subordination: Moscow and St. Petersburg. The capital of Russia is Moscow. The largest cities (above 1 million) are: St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Omsk, Kazan', Chel'abinsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Ufa.

POLITICAL SYSTEM

Russia is a federal republic. The head of state is President, but the executive power is also exercised by the Government under a Prime Minister. The legislative power belongs to the Federal Assembly which consists of two houses: the Federation Council and the State Duma. Read on...

POPULATION AND LANGUAGE

There are about 142.9 million people in Russia (2011), 80% of whom are Russians. Besides, more than a hundred different national and ethnic groups live in Russia. The most numerous of them are Tatars and Ukrainians, as well as Bashkirs, Chuvash and Chechens.
The official (state) language throughout the whole territory of the Russian Federation is Russian.

Monetary unit is ruble (RUR).

CONFESSIONS. ISLAM IN RUSSIA

Most of the believers in Russia are Orthodox Christians (the eastern branch of Christianity). Islam, Catholicism, Judaism, and Buddhism are also practiced in Russia. According to the different estimates in Russia from 10 to 20 millions of muslims. In some regions of Russia in the North Caucasus and in the Volga region Muslims constitute the majority of the population. History of Islam in the territory of contemporary Russia has more than 1,000 years. The majority of Russian Muslims - Sunnis who adhere to the Hanafi and Shafi'i schools of thought. For the Hanafis hold about 65%, and for Shafiism - 30% of Russian Muslims. Russia has observer status in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

RUSSIA IN SPACE

Russia was the first country that explored the space. In 1957 the first artificial satellite was launched and in 1961 the 1st human trip was successfully made. Now Russia still remains the largest satellite launcher and the only provider transport for International space station.

MAIN HOLIDAYS

1-5 January New Year holydays 7 January Orthodox Christmas 23 February   Day of Motherland's Defender 8 March International Women's Day 1 May Day of Spring and Labour 9 May Victory Day 12 June Day of Russia 4 November Day of National Unity