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Russia

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Geography and Climate

Russia is a very large country which spans both Europe and Asia. The traditional dividing line between the two continents runs through the Ural Mountains and the Caspian Sea. The land and seas contain a wealth of natural resources. However, much of the territory has harsh climatic conditions and is barely inhabited. Russia is well-known for its cold winters, but hot summers are equally common there.

On August 24, 1991, the Russian Soviet Federal Republic declared its independence from the Soviet Union, and changed its name to the Russian Federation. The capital of Russia is Moscow. Other important cities include St Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Khabarovsk, Vladivostok, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Omsk.

The main body of Russia borders on (counter-clockwise): Norway, Finland, Baltic Sea, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine, Black Sea, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Caspian Sea, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, China again, North Korea, Pacific Ocean, Arctic Ocean.

The enclave at Kaliningrad borders on Baltic Sea, Poland, Lithuania.

Population

The densest population is in the European part of Russia, in the Ural Mountains area, and in the south-eastern part of Asia. Cities with a population of over a million are not uncommon, especially in European part.

There are quite a lot of different ethnic groups in Russia (Russians, Chuvashes, Yakuts, Bashkirs, Mordvins, Tatars, Jews, Kalmyks, Koreans, Chechens, Ingushes, Ossetians, Karelians, Taimyrs, Germans, Tuvans, Cossacks, Evenkis and others), though Russians are still most numerous, and the Russian language is understood ubiquitously enough.

History

See also: