About Russia
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.
Geographical Area
The geographical area that makes up Russia spans 17 075 200 square kilometers. 16 995 800 square kilometers of it 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 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.
Natural Resources
Russia has an incredible wealth of natural resources, such as oil, natural gas, coal, minerals and timber. However, because of the vastness of the landscape, much of the natural resources are yet to be discovered. Russia is also very famous for its diamonds.
Capital: Moscow
People
Russia has a population of roughly 143 420 309 people: 79.8% are Russian, 3.8% are Tatar, 2% are Ukrainian, 1.2% are Bashkir, 1.1% are Chuvash, and 12.1% do not fit into any of these ethnic groups.
Language
The official language in the country is Russian but there are more than 100 other minority languages which are spoken in different regions.
Currency: the Russian ruble.
We also have metal coins, that is 1, 2, 5 metal rubles, and 1, 5, 10, 50 coins, which name is copeika or copeiki).
Official Government Websites:
- www.gov.ru – Official Russia
- www.kremlin.ru – The President of the Russian Federation
- http://www.government.gov.ru - The Government of the Russian Federation
- http://www.council.gov.ru – the Upper Chamber of the Russian Parliament
- http://www.duma.gov.ru – the Lower Chamber of the Russian Parliament
- http://www.russianmuseums.info – All the museums of Russia
- http://www.russia-travel.com
World Heritage Sites:
- Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments (1990)
- Kizhi Pogost (1990)
- Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow (1990)
- Cultural and Historic Ensemble of the Solovetsky Islands (1992)
- Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings (1992)
- White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal (1992)
- Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad (1993)
- Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye (1994)
- Virgin Komi Forests (1995)
- Lake Baikal (1996)
- Volcanoes of Kamchatka (1996, 2001) 20
- Golden Mountains of Altai (1998)
- Western Caucasus (1999)
- Curonian Spit (2000) *
- Ensemble of the Ferrapontov Monastery (2000)
- Historic and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin (2000)
- Central Sikhote-Alin (2001)
- Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent (2003)
- Uvs Nuur Basin (2003) *
- Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent (2004)
- Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve (2004)
- Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl (2005)
- Struve Geodetic Arc (2005) *