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Information About Russia
Eventually, under the
rule of Peter the 1st, the conquered land mass was extended to
the Baltic Sea and the whole territory was renamed the Russian
Empire. More territories were conquered during the 19th century
and then later, in 1917, the imperial household was overthrown.
Communism took a hold of the country, many lives were lost and
the economy slowly fell into a decline. In December 1991, the
USSR was splintered into fifteen independent republics and it
has since struggled to build a good democratic political system.
The country is starting to regain economic momentum and many of
the scars left by communism are slowly disappearing.
Location
Russia is an
incredibly large country and it expands over much of Eurasia.
Much of Northern Asia and some of Western Europe are part of
this country and it is bordered by the Arctic Ocean and the
North Pacific Ocean. It shares its' borders with many countries.
The geographical coordinates for Russia are 60 00 N, 100 00 E.
Moscow is the capital city.
Geographical Area
The geographical area
that makes up Russia spans 17 075 200 square kilometers. Of
this, 16 995 800 square kilometers is land and 79 400 square
kilometers is water. It also has 37 653 km of coastline. Russia
is the biggest country in the world.
Climate
The climate in Russia
is rather varied due to the different geographical regions in
the area. Generally speaking, the winters vary from cool to
frigid while the summers range from humid to cool. The further
north one gets the cooler the climate will be. Siberia is a sub
arctic regions and the polar north of Siberia is tundra.
Terrain
You will get a very
varied terrain in Russia. There are the coniferous forest of the
taiga and wooded areas, the cold bleak tundra's in Northern
Siberia, the broad plains and low hills west of the Urals, and
the uplands and mountains which lie along the Southern border
regions. The lowest point is the Caspian Sea which lies at an
elevation of -28 meters and the highest is Mount Elbrus (also
the highest mountain in Europe) which towers up to 5 633 meters.
Natural Resources
Russia has an
incredible wealth of natural resources ? many of which it is
well known for. Oil, natural gas, coal, minerals and timber are
hugely exported. However, because of the vastness of the
landscape, much of the lands natural resources are yet to be
discovered. Russia is also very famous for its Diamonds.
People
Russia has a
population of roughly 143 420 309 (July 2005) people. Of these,
79.8% are Russian, 3.8% are Tatar, 2% are Ukrainian, 1.2% are
Bashkir, 1.1% are Chuvash. A further 12.1% do not fit into any
of these ethnic groups (2002 census). The majority of people are
Russian Orthodox, while there is a minority of Muslim adherents
in the country. Other religions are practiced.
The main language in
the country is Russian but there are a lot of other minority
languages which are spoken in different regions. The vast
majority (males: 99.7%, females: 99.5% (2003) of Russian
citizens are literate.
Currency
The official Russian
currency is the Russian ruble. The currency code for the ruble
is RUR. The ruble has a comparatively low value against other
currencies.
Communications
Facilities for
Telephones, cellular phones, radio and television stations have
been firmly established in the country for some time now. The
internet is also readily available and is used by a large
portion of the countries inhabitants.
Transportation
The main forms of
transportation in Russia are railways, highways and waterways.
Railways are the most expansive of the three. Most major cities
have either international or national airports. Heliports are
also available. Pipelines and harbors are used for the
transportation of raw materials and refined products.
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