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{{redirect|Russian Federation|the political entity of the former ]|Russian SFSR}}
{{otheruses}}
{{Infobox Country or territory
|native_name = <span style="line-height:1.25em;"> Российская Федерация <br/>''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''</span>
|conventional_long_name = <span style="line-height:1.25em;">Russian Federation</span>
|national_motto = none
|common_name = Russia
|national_anthem = ]
|image_flag = Flag of Russia.svg
|image_coat = Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation.svg
|image_map = LocationRussia.png
|capital = ]&nbsp;]
|latd=55 |latm=45 |latNS=N |longd=37 |longm=37 |longEW=E
|largest_city = capital
|official_languages = ] official throughout nation; ] in particular regions
|government_type = ]<br/>]
|leader_title1 = ]
|leader_title2 = ]
|leader_name1 = ]
|leader_name2 = ]
|sovereignty_type = ]
|sovereignty_note = from the ]
|established_event1 = Declared
|established_event2 = Finalized
|established_date1 = ] ] <!--declared by Congress of People's Deputies (http://en.g8russia.ru/land/russia/history/) on June 12, 1991-->
|established_date2 = ], ]
|area = 17,075,400 <!--http://www.gks.ru/scripts/free/1c.exe?XXXX09F.2.1/010000R-->
|areami² = 6,592,800
|area_rank = 1st
|area_magnitude = 1 E13
|percent_water = 13 <!--http://www.gks.ru/scripts/free/1c.exe?XXXX09F.2.1/010000R-->
|population_estimate = 142,400,000 <!--http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11574942-->
|population_estimate_year = 2006
|population_estimate_rank = 8th
|population_census = 145,184,000 <!--http://www.eastview.com/all_russian_population_census.asp-->
|population_census_year = 2002
|population_density = 8.3
|population_densitymi² = 21.8
|population_density_rank = 209th
|GDP_PPP_year = 2006
|GDP_PPP = $1.723 trillion<!--http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2005&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=512-941-914-446-612-666-614-672-311-946-213-137-911-962-193-674-122-676-912-548-313-556-419-678-513-181-316-682-913-684-124-273-339-921-638-948-514-686-218-688-963-518-616-728-223-558-516-138-918-353-748-196-618-278-522-692-622-694-156-142-624-449-626-564-628-283-228-853-924-288-233-293-632-566-636-964-634-182-238-453-662-968-960-922-423-714-935-862-128-716-611-456-321-722-243-965-248-718-469-724-253-576-642-936-643-961-939-813-644-199-819-184-172-524-132-361-646-362-648-364-915-732-134-366-652-734-174-144-328-146-258-463-656-528-654-923-336-738-263-578-268-537-532-742-944-866-176-369-534-744-536-186-429-925-178-746-436-926-136-466-343-112-158-111-439-298-916-927-664-846-826-299-542-582-443-474-917-754-544-698&S=PPPWGT&CMP=0&x=25&y=12-->
|GDP_PPP_rank = 9th<sup>1</sup>
|GDP_PPP_per_capita = $12,100<!--http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2005&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=512-941-914-446-612-666-614-672-311-946-213-137-911-962-193-674-122-676-912-548-313-556-419-678-513-181-316-682-913-684-124-273-339-921-638-948-514-686-218-688-963-518-616-78-22-558-846-826-299-542-582-443-474-917-754-544-698&S=PPPPC&CMP=0&x=18&y=9-->
|GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 62nd
|HDI_year = 2004
|HDI = {{increase}} 0.797
|HDI_rank = 65th
|HDI_category = <font color="#ffcc00">medium</font>
|currency = ]
|currency_code = RUB
|time_zone =
|utc_offset = +2 to +12
|time_zone_DST =
|utc_offset_DST = +3 to +13
|cctld = ] (] reserved)
|calling_code = 7
|footnotes = <sup>1</sup> Rank based on November 2006 CIA data (IMF and Worldbank data is available only for 2005 year).
}}
'''Russia''' ({{lang-ru|Росси́я}}, ''Rossiya''; ] {{IPA|}}), also<ref>From Article&nbsp;1 of ]: "The names "Russian Federation" and "Russia" shall be equivalent."</ref> the '''Russian Federation''' (Росси́йская Федера́ция, ''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''; {{IPA|}}, {{Audio|Ru-Rossiyskaya Federatsiya Rossiya.ogg|listen}}), is a ] that stretches over a vast expanse of ] and ]. With an area of 17,075,400 ], Russia is the ], covering almost twice the territory of the next-largest country, ], and has the world's ]. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from northwest to southeast): ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. It is also close to the ], ], and ] across relatively small stretches of water (the ], the ], and ], respectively).

Formerly the ] (RSFSR), a republic of the ] (USSR), Russia is now the Federation of Russia since the ] in December 1991. After the ] era, the area, population, and industrial production of the Soviet Union (then one of the world's two ] ]s) that were located in Russia passed on to the Russian Federation.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia went from a ] to a ] (although it is sometimes considered to be an ]).<ref>See sources in ] and ]</ref> Russia is considered the ] ] in diplomatic matters (see ]) and is a permanent member of the ]. It is also one of the five recognized ] and possesses the world's largest stockpile of ] (see ]). Russia is the leading nation of the ], a member of the ] as well as other international organisations.

==History==
{{main|History of Russia}}

===Ancient Rus===<!--DON'T REPLACE RUS WITH RUSSIA! IT'S THERE FOR A REASON --->
]

Prior to the 1st century, the vast lands of southern Russia were home to scattered ]s, such as ] and ]. Recent archaeological evidence excavated in the Volga region points to the ] heritage.<ref></ref> Between the 3rd and 6th centuries, the steppes were overwhelmed by successive waves of nomadic invasions, led by warlike tribes which would often move on to ], as was the case with ] and ]. A ] people, the ], ruled southern Russia through the 8th century. They were important allies of the ] and waged a series of successful wars against the ] ]s.

In this era, the term "Rhos" or "]" first came to be applied to the Varangians and later also to the Slavs who peopled the region. As well as one of the rulers who contributed to the name "rus" In the tenth to eleventh centuries this state of ] became the largest in Europe and one of the most prosperous, due to diversified trade with both Europe and Asia. The opening of new trade routes with the ] at the time of the ] contributed to the decline and fragmentation of Kievan Rus by the end of the twelfth century.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the constant incursions of nomadic Turkish tribes, such as the ] and the ], led to the massive migration of Slavic populations from the fertile south to the heavily forested regions of the north, known as ]. The medieval states of ] and ] emerged as successors to Kievan Rus on those territories, while the middle course of the ] came to be dominated by the Muslim state of ]. Like many other parts of ], these territories were ], who formed the state of ] which would pillage the Russian principalities for over three centuries. Later known as the ], they ruled the southern and central expanses of present-day Russia, while the territories of present-day ] and ] were incorporated into the ] and ], thus dividing the ] in the north from the ] and ] in the west.

Similarly to the ] and ], long-lasting ] rule retarded the country's economic and social development. However, the ] together with ] retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the ] and was largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Led by ], the Novgorodians repelled the ] who attempted to colonize the region.

===Muscovy===
{{main|Muscovy}}
Unlike its spiritual leader, the ], Russia under the leadership of ] was able to revive and organize its own war of reconquest, finally subjugating its enemies and annexing their territories. After the ] in 1453, Muscovite Russia remained the only more or less functional ] state on the Eastern European frontier, allowing it ] of the ].

While still under the domain of the ]-] and with their connivance, the ] began to assert its influence in Western Russia in the early fourteenth century. Assisted by the ] and Saint ]'s spiritual revival, Muscovy inflicted a defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the ] (1380). ] eventually tossed off the control of the invaders, consolidated surrounding areas under Moscow's dominion and first took the title "grand duke of ]".

In the beginning of the sixteenth century, the Russian state set the national goal to return all Russian territories lost as a result of the ] invasion and to protect the southern borderland against attacks of ] and other Turkic peoples. The noblemen, receiving a manor from the sovereign, were obliged to serve in the military. The manor system became a basis for the nobiliary horse army.

In 1547, ] was officially crowned the first ] of Russia. During his long reign, Ivan annexed the Tatar khanates (Kazan, Astarkhan) along the ] and transformed Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state. By the end of the century, Russian ] established the first Russian settlements in Western ]. But his rule was also marked by the atrocities against both the nobility and the common people on vast scale which eventually, after his death, lead to the civil war of the Time of Troubles in early 1600s. In the middle of the seventeenth century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on ], along the ], on the Pacific coast, and the strait between ] and ] was first sighted by a Russian explorer in 1648. The colonization of the Asian territories was largely peaceful, in sharp contrast to the build-up of other colonial empires of the time.

===Imperial Russia===
{{main|Imperial Russia}}
] in Saint Petersburg]]
]

Muscovite control of the nascent nation continued after the ] under the subsequent ], beginning with Tsar ] in 1613. ] (ruled in) defeated ] in the ], forcing it to cede ], ], and ]. It was in Ingria that he founded a new capital, ]. Peter succeeded in bringing ideas and culture from Western Europe to a severely underdeveloped Russia. After his reforms, Russia emerged as a major European power.

], ruling from 1762 to 1796, continued the Petrine efforts at establishing Russia as one of the ] of Europe. Examples of its eighteenth-century European involvement include the ] and the ]. In the wake of the ], Russia had taken territories with the ethnic Belarusian and Ukrainian population, earlier parts of Kievan Rus'. As a result of the victorious ], Russia's borders expanded to the ] and Russia set its goal on the protection of Balkan Christians against a Turkish yoke. In 1783, Russia and the ] (which was almost totally devastated by Persian and Turkish invasions) signed the ] according to which Georgia received the protection of Russia.

In 1812, having gathered ] from France, as well as from all of its conquered states in Europe, ] but, after taking Moscow, was forced to retreat back to Europe. Almost 90% of the invading forces died as a result of on-going battles with the Russian army, guerillas and winter weather. The Russian armies ended their pursuit of the enemy by taking his capital, ]. The officers of the ] brought back to Russia the ideas of ] and even attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive ] (1825), which was followed by several decades of political repression. Another result of the Napoleonic wars was the incorporation of ], ], and ] into the Russian Empire.

The perseverance of ] and the conservative policies of ] impeded the development of Imperial Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. As a result, the country was defeated in the ], 1853&ndash;1856, by an alliance of major European powers, including ], ], ], and ]. Nicholas's successor ] (1855&ndash;1881) was forced to undertake a series of comprehensive reforms and issued a ] in 1861. The Great Reforms of Alexander's reign spurred increasingly rapid capitalist development and ]'s attempts at ]. The ] mood was on the rise, spearheaded by Russia's victory in the ], which forced the Ottoman Empire to recognize the independence of ], ] and ] and autonomy of ].

The failure of ] reforms and suppression of the growing liberal ] were ] however, and on the eve of ], the position of Tsar ] and his dynasty appeared precarious. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in the ] and World War I, and the consequent deterioration of the economy led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the ], and ultimately to the overthrow of the Tsar in February 1917.

At the close of this ], a ] political faction called the ]s seized power in ] and ] under the leadership of ]. The Bolsheviks changed their name to the ]. A bloody ] ensued, pitting the Bolsheviks' ] against a loose confederation of anti-socialist ] and ] forces known as the ]. The Red Army triumphed, and the ] was formed in 1922.

===Russia as part of the Soviet Union===
{{main|History of the Soviet Union|Russian SFSR}}
] and the Spasskaya Tower of the ] in Moscow's ]]]

The Soviet Union was meant to be a trans-national worker's state free from ]. The concept of Russia as a separate national entity was therefore not emphasized in the early Soviet Union. Although Russian institutions and cities certainly remained dominant, many non-Russians participated in the new government at all levels.

====Stalin====
One of these was a ] named ]. After ]'s death in 1924, a brief power struggle ensued, during which Stalin gradually eroded the various ] which had been designed into the Soviet political system and assumed ]ial power by the end of the decade. ] and almost all other ]s from the time of the Revolution were killed or exiled. At the end of 1930s, Stalin launched the ]s, a massive series of political repressions. Millions of people whom Stalin and local authorities suspected of being a threat to their power were ] or exiled to ] ]s in remote areas of ] or Central Asia.

] forced rapid ] of the largely ] country and ] of its agriculture. In 1928, Stalin introduced his "First ]" for modernizing the Soviet economy. Most economic output was immediately diverted to establishing ]. Civilian industry was modernized and many heavy weapon factories were established. The plan worked, in some sense, as the Soviet Union successfully transformed from an agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in an unbelievably short span of time, but widespread misery and ] ensued for many millions of people as a result of the severe ] upheaval.

The Soviet Union's involvement in World War II, known in Russia as the ], started with the combined Soviet-German invasion of Poland in September 1939. Germany invaded the Soviet Union in June 1941. The ] had considerable success in the early stages of the campaign, but they suffered defeat when they reached the outskirts of Moscow. The ] then stopped the ] offensive at the ] in 1943, which became the decisive turning point for Germany's fortunes in the war. The Soviets drove through ] and ] before Germany surrendered in 1945 (see ]). During the war, the ] lost more than 27 million ] (including eighteen million ]).

Although ravaged by the war, the Soviet Union emerged from the conflict as an acknowledged superpower. The ] occupied ] after the war, including the ]. Stalin installed loyal ] governments in these ]s.

During the immediate postwar period, the Soviet Union first rebuilt and then expanded its economy, with control always exerted exclusively from Moscow. The Soviets extracted heavy ] from the areas of Germany under their control, mostly in the form of machinery and industrial equipment. The Soviet Union consolidated its hold on Eastern Europe (see ]). The ] helped the ]an countries establish democracies, and both countries sought to achieve economic, political, and ideological dominance over the ]. The ensuing struggle became known as the ], which turned the Soviet Union's wartime allies, the ] and the United States, into its foes.

Stalin died in early 1953 presumably without leaving any instructions for the selection of a successor. His closest associates officially decided to rule the Soviet Union jointly, but the secret police chief ] appeared poised to seize dictatorial control. ] ] and other leading politicians organized an anti-Beria alliance and staged a ]. Beria was arrested in June 1953 and executed later that year; Khrushchev became the undisputed leader of the Soviet Union.

====Khrushchev====
]]]

Under Khrushchev, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial ], ], and the Soviet ] ] became the first human to orbit the ] aboard the first manned spacecraft, ]. Khrushchev's reforms in ] and administration, however, were generally unproductive. ] and the ] suffered reverses, notably the ], when Khrushchev began installing nuclear missiles in ] (after the United States installed ]s in ] which nearly provoked a war with the Soviet Union). Over the course of several angry outbursts at the ], Khrushchev was increasingly seen by his colleagues as belligerent, boorish, and dangerous. The remainder of the Soviet leadership removed him from power in 1964.

Following the ousting of Khrushchev, another period of rule by collective leadership ensued until ] established himself in the early 1970s as the pre-eminent figure in Soviet politics. Brezhnev is frequently derided by historians for stagnating the development of the Soviet Union (see "]"). Others have acknowledged that despite its inertia and repression (though very mild relative to the Stalin years), the Brezhnev era did offer a relative respite to a populace and leadership battered by decades of war, famine, collectivization and crash industrialization, deadly political crises, arbitrary mass murder and arrest, and the volatility of the Krushchev years. In contrast to the revolutionary spirit that accompanied the birth of the Soviet Union, the prevailing mood of the Soviet leadership at the time of Brezhnev's death in 1982 was one of aversion to change--partly because the USSR's economic woes were proving to be deeply systemic and hence immune to reform within the context of the Stalinist-Soviet system.

====Gorbachev====
In the mid 1980s, the reform-minded ] came to power. He introduced the landmark policies of '']'' (openness) and '']'' (restructuring), in an attempt to modernize Soviet communism. Glasnost meant that the harsh restrictions on ] that had characterized most of the Soviet Union's existence were removed, and open political discourse and criticism of the government became possible again. Perestroika meant sweeping economic reforms designed to decentralize the planning of the Soviet economy. However, the Stalinist system was probably beyond repair, and the Gorbachev reforms started in motion forces of change that demonstrated that meaningful reform would eventually threaten Communist Party hegemony, i.e. the Soviet system would not survive any successful reform program intact. His initiatives also provoked strong resentment amongst conservative elements of the government, and an unsuccessful ] that attempted to remove Gorbachev from power instead led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. ] came to power and declared the end of exclusive Communist rule. The USSR splintered into fifteen independent republics, and was officially dissolved in December of 1991 (see ]).

Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and a ] to replace the strict centralized social, political, and economic controls of the Soviet era. Corruption has run rampant, and the Yeltsin government conspired with insiders to loot countless billions in cash and assets from the State. Under Vladimir Putin, political freedom has waned considerably.{{Fact|date=March 2007}}

===Post-Soviet Russia===
{{main|History of post-Soviet Russia}}
{{seealso|Politics of Russia}}

]]]
Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ] had been elected President of Russia in June 1991 in the first direct presidential election in Russian history. In October 1991, as Russia was on the verge of independence, Yeltsin announced that Russia would proceed with radical market-oriented reform along the lines of "]".

After the disintegration of the USSR, the Russian economy went through a crisis. Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's ]s, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution. The largest state enterprises (petroleum, metallurgy, and the like) were controversially privatized for the small sum of $US 600 million, far less than they were worth, while the majority of the population plunged into poverty.

Russia's ], in which the ] presence was the strongest, attempted to impeach Yeltsin on ], ]. Yeltsin's opponents gathered more than 600&nbsp;votes for impeachment, but fell 72&nbsp;votes short. On ], ], Yeltsin disbanded the ] and the Congress of People's Deputies by decree, which was illegal under the constitution. On the same day there was a military showdown: the ]. With military help, Yeltsin held control. The conflict resulted in a number of civilian casualties, but was resolved in Yeltsin's favor. According to different sources, the total number of deceased was between 300 and 2,000 people. Elections were held and the current ] was adopted on ], ].
] under construction]]

The 1990s were plagued by armed ethnic conflicts in the ]. Such conflicts took a form of ] insurrections against federal power (most notably in ]), or of ethnic/clan conflicts between local groups (e.g., in ] between ] and ], or between different clans in Chechnya). Since the ] separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent ] (], ]) has been fought between disparate Chechen groups and the Russian military. Some of these groups have grown increasingly ] over the course of the struggle. The total number of ] and ] from these territories today is about 100,000 people.

After Yeltsin's presidency in the 1990s, the recently appointed Prime Minister (who was also head of the ] from July 1998 through August 1999) ] was elected in 2000. Although President Putin is still the most popular Russian politician, with a 70% approval rating, his policies raised serious concerns about ] and ] in Russia. The West--particularly the United States--expressed growing worries about the state control of the Russian ] through Kremlin-friendly companies, government influence on elections, and ] abuses.<ref></ref>

At the same time, high ] prices and growing internal demand boosted Russian economic growth, stimulating significant economic expansion abroad and helping to finance increased military spending. Putin's presidency has shown improvements in the Russian standard of living, as opposed to the 1990s.<ref></ref> Even with these economic improvements, the government is criticized for lack of will to fight wide-spread crime and ] and to renovate deteriorated urb

==Politics==
{{main|Politics of Russia}}<!--Please add new information into relevant articles of the series-->
The politics of Russia (the Russian Federation) take place in a framework of a ] ] ], whereby the ] is the ] and the ] is the ]. ] is exercised by the government. ] is vested in both the ] and the two chambers of the ]. Most of this happens in Moscow from within the Kremlin.

==Subdivisions==
{{Main|Subdivisions of Russia}}

;Federal subjects
]

Russian Federation comprises 86&nbsp;]s, namely:
* 48 ]s (provinces)
* 21 ]s which enjoy a high degree of autonomy on most issues and which correspond to some of Russia's numerous ethnic minorities
* seven ]s (territories)
* seven ]s (autonomous districts)
* two federal cities (] and ])
* the ].

;Federal districts
Federal subjects are grouped into ], four in Europe and three in Asia. Unlike the federal subjects, the federal districts are not a subnational level of government, but are a level of administration of the federal government.

;See also
*]
*]
**]
***]
***]
***]
***]
***]
***]

==Geography and climate==
]]]
]]]
{{main|Geography of Russia}}
===Topography===
The Russian Federation stretches across much of the north of the supercontinent of ]. Although it contains a large share of the world's ] and ] areas, and therefore has less population, economic activity, and physical variety per unit area than most countries, the great area south of these still accommodates a great variety of landscapes and ]s. The mid-annual temperature is -5.5°C (22°]).{{Fact|date=February 2007}} For comparison, the mid-annual temperature in ] is +1.2°C (34°F) and in Sweden is +4°C (39°F), although the variety of climates within Russia makes such a comparison somewhat misleading, due to the extremely low temperatures in Siberia. Areas in the south of Russia have a subtropical climate, where year-round temperatures do not fall below +8°C.
The average summer high temperature ranges between 26°C and 32°C (80 to 88°F) with occasional extreme heat in some interior locations exceeding 51°C (112°F)

Most of the land consists of vast plains, both in the ]an part and the part of ]n territory that is largely known as ]. These plains are predominantly ] to the south and heavily forested to the north, with ] along the northern coast. The ] (areas of Siberia and the Far East) occupies more than half of the territory of Russia. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the ] (containing ], Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,642&nbsp;m / 18,511 ]) and the ], and in the eastern parts, such as the ] or the ]es on ]. The more central ], a north-south range that form the primary divide between Europe and Asia, are also notable.

Russia has an extensive '''coastline''' of over 37,000 kilometres (23,000 ]) along the ] and ]s, as well as the ], ] and ] seas. Some smaller bodies of water are part of the open oceans; the ], ], ], ] and ] are part of the Arctic, whereas the ], ] and the ] belong to the Pacific Ocean.

Major '''islands and archipelagos''' include ], the ], the ], ], the ] and ]. (See ]). The ] (one controlled by Russia, the other by the United States) are just three ]s (1.9&nbsp;]) apart, and ] (controlled by Russia but ]) is about twenty kilometres (12 mi) from ].

Many '''rivers''' flow across Russia; see ].

Major '''lakes''' include ], ] and ]. See ].

===Borders===
]
The most practical way to describe Russia is as a main part (a large contiguous portion with its off-shore islands) and an ], ], (at the southeast corner of the Baltic Sea).

The main part's borders and coasts (starting in the far northwest and proceeding counter-clockwise) are:
*borders with the following countries: ] and ],
*a short coast on the ], facing eight other ] from Finland to Estonia and including the port of St. Petersburg,
*borders with ], ], ], and ],
*a coast on the ], facing five other ] from Ukraine to Georgia,
*borders with ] and ],
*a coast on the ], facing four other ] from ] to ],
*borders with ], ] (western), ], ] (eastern), and ].
*an extensive coastline that provides access to all the maritime nations of the world, and stretches
**from the North ] including
***the ] (where the west shore of Russia's ] lies),
***the ] (where the east shore of ] and its ] lie), and
***the ],
**through the ] (where its minor island of ] is separated by only a few miles from ], a part of the ] ] of ]),
**to the ], including
***the ] (where the south and east shores of its ] lie),
***the ] (where its west shore, and the east shores of its ] lie),
***the ] (where their west shores lie),
***the ] (where the east shore of its ] lies),
***the ] (where their west shore, the south shores of its ] the port of ] and important naval facilities lie, and where the ] reaches far inland).

The ], constituted by the ],
*shares borders with
**] to its south and
**] to its north and east, and
*has a northwest coast on the Baltic Sea.

The ] and ] coasts of Russia have less direct and more constrained access to the high seas than its Pacific and Arctic ones, but both are nevertheless important for that purpose. The Baltic gives immediate access to the nine other countries sharing its shores, and between the main part of Russia and its ] Oblast exclave. Via the straits that lie within ], and between it and Sweden, the Baltic connects to the ] and the oceans to its west and north. The Black Sea gives immediate access to the five other countries sharing its shores, and via the ] and ] straits adjacent to ], ], to the ] with its many countries and its access, via the ] and the ], to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The salt waters of the ], the world's largest lake, provide no access to the high seas.

===Spatial extent===

The two most widely separated points in Russia are about 8,000&nbsp;km (5,000 mi) apart along a ] (i.e. shortest line between two points on the Earth's surface). These points are: the boundary with ] on a 60-km-long (40-mi-long) ] separating the ] from the ]; and the farthest southeast of the ], a few miles off ], Japan.

The points which are furthest separated in longitude are "only" 6,600&nbsp;km (4,100 mi) apart along a geodesic. These points are: in the West, the same spit; in the East, the ] (Ostrov Ratmanova).

The Russian Federation spans eleven ]s.

===Largest cities===
] ]]
] ]]
] ]]
As of ] Russia has 13 ] with over a million inhabitants.
{| class="wikitable"
!Rank!!City/town!!]!!]!!Population
|-
|1||''']'''||Москва (''Moskva'')||]||10,342,151
|-
|2||''']'''||Санкт-Петербург (''Sankt Peterburg'')||]||4,661,219
|-
|3||''']'''||Новосибирск||]||1,425,508
|-
|4||''']'''||Нижний Новгород||]||1,311,252
|-
|5||''']'''||Екатеринбург||]||1,293,537
|-
|6||''']'''||Самара||]||1,157,880
|-
|7||''']'''||Омск||]||1,134,016
|-
|8||''']'''||Казань||]||1,105,289
|-
|9||''']'''||Челябинск||]||1,077,174
|-
|10||''']'''||Ростов-на-Дону||]||1,068,267
|-
|11||''']'''||Уфа||]||1,042,437
|-
|12||''']'''||Волгоград||]||1,011,417
|-
|13||''']'''||Пермь||]||1,001,653
|}

{{seealso|List of cities in Russia|List of cities and towns in Russia by population}}

==Economy==
{{main|Economy of Russia}}
]
===Introduction===
More than a decade after the ] in 1991, Russia is now trying to further develop a ] and achieve more consistent economic growth. Russia saw its comparatively developed centrally ] contract severely for five years, as the ] and the ] ] over the implementation of reforms and Russia's aging industrial base faced a serious decline.

===Crash===
:''Main article: ]''

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia's first slight recovery, showing signs of open-market influence, occurred in 1997. In 1998, however, the ] culminated in the August ] of the ]. This was followed by a ] by the government in 1998, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. Consequently, 1998 was marked by recession and an intense ].

===Recovery===
], President of Russia]]
Nevertheless, the economy started recovering in 1999. The recovery was greatly assisted by the weak ruble, which made imports expensive and boosted local production. Then it entered a phase of rapid economic expansion, the ] growing by an average of 6.7% annually in 1999&ndash;2005 on the back of higher ] prices, a weaker ruble, and increasing service production and industrial output. The country is presently running a huge ], which has been helped by protective import barriers, and rampant corruption which ensures that it is almost impossible for foreign and local ]s (small and medium sized enterprises) to import goods without the help of local specialist import firms, such as the ]. Some import barriers are expected to be abolished after Russia's accession to the ].

The recent recovery, made possible due to high world oil prices, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 and 2001 to advance lagging structural reforms, has raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, ], metals, and ], which account for about 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Industrial military exports after undergoing sharp contraction is now the major non-commodity export. In recent years, however, the economy has also been driven by growing internal consumer demand that has increased by over 12% annually in 2000&ndash;2005, showing the strengthening of its own internal market.

The economic development of the country has been extremely uneven: the Moscow region contributes one-third of the country's GDP while having only a tenth of its population. GDP increased by 7.2% in 2004, 6.4% in 2005 and about 7% in 2006.

===Recent economy===
The country's ] (PPP) soared to $1.5 trillion in 2004, making it the ninth largest economy in the world and the fifth largest in Europe. If the current growth rate is sustained, the country is expected to become the second largest European economy after Germany and the sixth largest in the world within a few years.

In 2005, according to the , GDP reached $765 billion nominally (21.7 trillion ]), equal to $1.6 trillion in international dollars (PPP; ]). Inflation was 10.9% percent. Expenditures of the consolidated budget have reached 5942 billion rubles ($215 billion). The government plans to reduce the tax burden, although the time and scale of such a reduction remains undecided.
However, some experts ( ) believe that official statistic underestimates Russian GDP by 28% because of inaccuracy of decades old statistical system (for example, it didn’t count small enterprises and whole sectors of new economy). IMSG estimated that nominal Russian GDP reached $970 billion in 2005 .

In 2006, GDP grew to $1018 billion nominally (26.31 trillion rubles; 2.04 trillion in PPP dollars).

] note, depicting ].]]
In 2005 Russia exported 241.3 billion dollars and imported 98.5 billion dollars. This means that Russia registered a trade surplus of 142.8 billion dollars in 2005, up about 33% from 2004's foreign trade surplus of $106.1 billion dollars.

In 2006, export grew to $304 billion, import to $164 billion; foreign trade surplus grew 19% to $141 billion

It's estimated what direct foreign investment reach at least $23 billion in 2006, overall foreign investments reached $55 billion.

On February 28, 2007 Russia's international reserves reached $314,5 billion nominally and projected to grow to $350–450 billion by the end of 2007 .

Thanks to high oil prices, Russian oil exports totaled $117 billion in 2005 while gas exports totaled $32 billion in the same year. That means that oil and gas made up 60% of total Russian exports in 2005.

Knowing the importance of oil and gas to the economy, a Stabilization Fund was formed by the government in January 2004. This fund takes in revenues from oil and gas exports and is designed to help offset oil market volatility. This fund was also set up in order to prevent the ruble from appreciating. The Stabilization Fund (SF) grew to $76.6 billion in November 2006.
Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Zhukov said in October 2006 the fund will continue to increase over the coming years, and will exceed $149 billion by late 2007 and about $260.4 billion by the end of 2009. Russia is paying off its foreign debt mainly from the Stabilization Fund, which hit $76.9 billion as of July 1. Russia repaid the bulk of its outstanding debt to the Paris Club of Creditor Nations on August 18-21. The debt totaled $1.9 billion as of October 1, compared to $23.7 billion on July 1.
According to the ] State ] Service of Russia, the monthly nominal ] ] in January 2007 was 11,410 rubles (about $437 nominally; about $793 PPP), 26.6 percent higher than in January 2006.

For the year of 2007, Russia's GDP is projected to grow to about $1.2 trillion nominally (31.2 trillion rubles) that would be about $2.3 trillion PPP and would make Russia the second largest economy in Europe.

===Challenge===
Some perceive the greatest challenge facing the Russian economy to be encouraging the development of ]s in a business climate with a young and less-than-sufficient functional banking system. Few of Russia's banks are owned by ], who often use the deposits to lend to their own businesses. The 2005 place Russia at the 51st place in the world, out of 121 countries by the availability of capital.

The ] and the ] have attempted to kick-start normal banking practices by making equity and debt investments in a number of banks, but with very limited success.

However, about twenty-five of the biggest banks of Russia get entry into Top 1000 banks of the world by '']'' . Many more Russian banks have very high international ] by ] and ], including "investment" level.
] in Saint Petersburg at night.]]
Other problems include disproportional economic development of Russia's own regions. While the huge capital region of Moscow is a bustling, affluent metropolis living on the cutting edge of technology with a ] rapidly approaching that of the leading Eurozone economies, much of the country, especially its indigenous and rural communities in Asia, lags significantly behind. Market integration is nonetheless making itself felt in some other sizeable cities such as ], ], and ], and recently also in the adjacent rural areas.

The arrest of Russia's wealthiest businessman ] on charges of fraud and corruption in relation to the large-scale privatizations organized under then-President ], contrary to some expectations, has not caused most foreign investors to worry about the stability of the Russian economy. Most of the large fortunes currently in evidence in Russia are the product of either acquiring government assets at particularly low costs or gaining concessions from the government. Other countries have expressed concerns and worries at the "selective" application of the ] against individual businessmen, though government actions have been received positively in Russia. Russia occupies 122th place among 157 countries in the ].

===Prospect===
]]]
Encouraging foreign investment is also a major challenge due to legal, cultural, linguistic, economic and political peculiarities of the country. Nevertheless, there has been a significant inflow of capital in recent years from many European investors attracted by cheaper land, labor and higher growth rates than in the rest of Europe

Very high levels of education and societal involvement achieved by the majority of the population, including women and minorities, ] attitudes, mobile class structure, and better integration of various minorities into the mainstream culture set Russia far apart from the majority of the so-called ] and even some developed nations.

The country is also benefiting from rising oil prices and has been able very substantially to reduce its formerly huge foreign debt. However, equal redistribution of capital gains from the natural resource industries to other sectors is still a problem. Nonetheless, since 2003, exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market has strengthened considerably, largely stimulated by intense construction, as well as consumption of increasingly diverse goods and services. Yet teaching customers and encouraging consumer spending is a relatively tough task for many ] areas where consumer demand is primitive. However, some laudable progress has been made in larger cities, especially in the clothing, food, and entertainment industries.

Additionally, some international firms are investing in Russia. According to the ] (IMF), Russia had nearly $26 billion in cumulative foreign direct investment inflows during the period (of which $11.7 billion occurred in 2004).

Russia faces considerable income inequalities that hinder Russia's potential to become a more diversified economy.

==Demographics==
{{main|Demographics of Russia}}
] in ]]]
Despite its comparatively high population, Russia has a low average population density due to its enormous size. Population is densest in the European part of Russia, in the ] area, and in the south-western parts of Siberia; the south-eastern part of ] that meets the ], known as the ], is sparsely populated, with its southern part being densest. The Russian Federation is home to as many as 160 different ] and ]s. As of the ], 79.8% of the population is ethnically ], 3.8% ], 2% ], 1.2% ], 1.1% ], 0.9% ], 0.8% ]. The remaining 10.3% includes those who did not specify their ] as well as (in alphabetical order)
], ], ], ], ], ]s, ], ]s, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]s, ]s, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and others. Nearly all of these groups live compactly in their respective regions; Russians and to a lesser extent Tatars are the only people significantly represented in every region of the country.

In October 2005, the federal statistics agency reported that Russia's population has shrunk by more than half a million people dipping to 143 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Resident population| url=http://www.gks.ru/free_doc/2006/rus06e/05-01.htm |date=30 January 2007 | accessdate=2007-02-06 }}</ref> The major reason for this decline is the high death rate, attributable mostly to widespread alcohol abuse.<ref>{{cite web|title=Population Decline in Russia| url=http://geography.about.com/od/obtainpopulationdata/a/russiapop.htm|date=30 January 2007 | accessdate=2007-02-06 }}</ref>
Russia is the second country in the world by the number of immigrants from abroad, mostly from the former Soviet Union, and immigration is increasingly seen as necessary to sustain the country's population.<ref>http://www.un.org/esa/population/meetings/ittmigdev2005/P11_Rybakovsky&Ryazantsev.pdf</ref>

The ] is the only official state language, but the individual ] have often made their native language co-official next to Russian. The ] is the only ], which means that these languages must be written in Cyrillic in official texts.

==Religion==
{{main|Religion in Russia}}
] harmoniously combines elements of Eastern Orthodox and Muslim cultures.]]
] is the dominant religion in the Federation. ] is the second most widespread religion, predominating in the ] region and Caucasus. Other religions include various ] churches, ], ] and ]. Induction into religion takes place primarily along ethnic lines. Ethnic Russians are mainly Orthodox whereas most people of ] extraction are ]. ] are the only predominantly Buddhist people in Europe. However, due to decades of suppression of religion during Soviet times, religious adherence remains nominal for most of the population.

==Culture==
{{main|Culture of Russia}}

===Icon painting===
], one of the most venerated of Orthodox Christian icons of the ].]]
Russian ] painting was inherited from the art of the ] churches, and it soon became an offshoot version of the ] and] traditions. Icon paintings in Russia attempted to help people with their prayers without idolizing the figure in the painting. The most comprehensive collection of Icon art is found at the ].<ref name=icons></ref>

Rather than being a mere imitation, Russian icons had a peculiar style and masters such as ] took the icon to new heights.

===Soviet Art===
{{Main|Soviet Art}}
During the ] a movement was initiated to put all arts to service of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The instrument for this was created just days before the October Revolution, known as Proletkult, an abbreviation for "Proletarskie kulturno-prosvetitelnye organizatsii" (Proletarian Cultural and Enlightenment Organizations). A prominent theorist of this movement was ]. Initially ] (ministry of education), which was also in charge of the arts, supported Proletkult. However the latter sought too much independence from the ruling ] of ], gained negative attitude of Vladimir Lenin, by 1922 declined considerably, and was eventually disbanded in 1932. After ] died Soviet Art went into decline as gradually Russians artists became more independent of the state and in the ] the government ruled that it could not restrict what Russians artists could paint.

===Architecture===
{{Main|Russian architecture}}
] in ] is an example of Naryshkin baroque in Russia.]]
] was influenced predominantly by the ] until the ]. At the turn of the 15th and 16th century, ] and other Italian architects introduced ] trends. The reigns of ] and ] saw the development of ]es culminating in ], as shown to the right. In the 17th century, the "fiery style" of ornamentation flourished in ] and ], gradually paving the way for the ] of the 1690s.

The 18th-century taste for ] architecture led to the splendid works of ] and his followers. During the reign of ] and her grandson ], the city of ] was transformed into an outdoor museum of ] architecture; the 19th century was dominated by the Byzantine and Russian Revival. Prevalent styles of the 20th century were the ] (]), ] (] and ]), and the ] (]).

===Cinema===
{{Main|Cinema of Russia and Soviet Union}}
] movie ].]]
While Russia was involved in ] as early as most of the other nations in the West, it only came into prominence during the 1920s when it explored editing as the primary mode of cinematic expression. Because of the depletion of resources due to World War I, Russian film schools would take copies of ]'s '']'' and re-cut it as an exercise in creating meaning.

"Soviet Cinema" should not be used as a synonym for "Russian Cinema". Although Russian language films predominated, several republics developed lively and unique cinemas, while others did not. Most notable for their republican cinema were ], ], ], ], and, to a lesser degree, ] and ].

Since the dissolution of ], Russian cinema has greatly transformed. Although still largely funded by the state, the topics and dynamic have been updated. During the '90s, Russian filmmaking decreased sharply, going from hundreds per year to the double-digits. However, recent years have brought increased viewership and subsequent prosperity to the industry through exploration of contemporary subjects like ] in the 2004 film ]. The future of Russian cinema is promising.

===Music===
{{Main|Music of Russia}}
Russia is a large and culturally ] country with dozens of ]; each with their own forms of ]. During the period of Soviet domination, music was highly scrutinized and kept within certain boundaries of content and innovation. After the fall of the ] in the early ], western-style ] and ] became the most popular musical forms in Russia. With the rise of western music, some native artists became quite popular.

===Opera===
] in Moscow]]
The first known opera made in Russia was '']'' by ] in ]. This was followed by several operas like '']'' in 1842. Russian opera was originally a combination of Russian folk music and ]. After the ] many opera composers left Russia. Russia's most popular operas include:
*'']''
*'']''
*'']''
*'']''
*'']''

===Matryoshka doll and other handicraft===
{{Main|Matryoshka doll}}
]
A Matryoshka doll (Cyrillic матрёшка or матрешка) is a Russian nesting doll. A set of Matryoshka dolls consists of a wooden figure which can be pulled apart to reveal another figure of the same sort inside. It has in turn another figure inside, and so on. The number of nested figures is usually six or more. The shape is mostly cylindrical, rounded at the top for the head and tapered towards the bottom, but little else; the dolls have no hands (except those that are painted). The artistry is in the painting of each doll, which can be extremely elaborate. The theme is usually peasant girls in traditional dress, but can be almost anything, for instance fairy tales or Soviet leaders.

Other forms of Russian handicraft include:
*]
*]
*]

].]]
===Cuisine===
{{Main|Russian cuisine}}

Russia has a rich culinary history and offers a wide variety of ], dishes made from fish, cereal based products and drinks. In addition to meat culinary, vegetables, fruit, mushrooms, berries and herbs also play a major part in the Russian diet. Primordial Russian products such as ], ] (sour cream), ], ] flour, etc. have had a great influence on world-wide cuisine.

==Etymology==
{{nameWikt}}
{{main|Etymology of Rus and derivatives}}
The name of the country derives from the name of the ] people. The origin of the people itself and of their name is a matter of some ].

==See also==
{{portal|Russia|Flag of Russia (bordered).svg}}
===Miscellaneous===
{{columns
|width=300px
|col1 =
* ]
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|col2 =
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===Peoples===
* ]
* ]
* ]

==References==
<div class="references-small">
<references/>
*
*''The New Columbia Encyclopedia'', Columbia University Press, 1975
*''World Civilizations: The Global Experience'', by Peter Stearns, Michael Adas, Stuart Schwartz, and Marc Gilbert
*''Russia for Dummies'', India Lambert, 1975
* ''"Who's Killing Putin's enemies?"'' The Observer 25th February 2007
</div>

==External links==
{{sisterlinks|Russia}}
{{wikiatlas|Russia}}
* - Maps of Russia

===Government resources===
*{{ru icon}} - Official site of the parliamentary lower house
* - Official site of the parliamentary upper house
* - Official presidential site
*{{ru icon}} - Official governmental portal
*{{ru icon}} - Official issue of the Federal Assembly
*- Ministry of Foriegn affairs
*
*
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*{{ru icon}} - with support of Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography
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* - Guide to Russia
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*

{{Template group
|title = Geographic locale
|list =
{{Countries of Europe}}
{{Countries of Asia}}
{{Black Sea}}
{{Countries bordering the Sea of Japan and/or the Yellow Sea}}
{{Baltic}}
{{Countries and territories bordering the Norwegian-Greenland-Barents Sea}}
{{Caspian Sea}}
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{{Template group
|title = International organizations
|list =
{{Commonwealth of Independent States}}
{{Council of Europe members}}
{{G8}}
{{UN Security Council}}
{{East Asia Summit}}
{{OIC}}
{{Black Sea Economic Cooperation countries}}
{{Eurasian Economic Community}}
}}
{{Slavic-speaking}}

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Revision as of 19:18, 20 March 2007