Russia

Map of Russia

Large cities and regions of Russia: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Anapa, Crimea, Golden Ring

Moscow the capital.

Time in Moscow:

14:30:36

(GMT + 3)

Geography

Russia is located in two parts of the world - in Europe and Asia. In the south and southeast, it borders with China, in the southeast - with North Korea, in the south - with Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, in the southwest - with Ukraine, in the west - with Finland, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia and Norway. Kaliningrad Oblast, an enclave of Russia on the Baltic Sea coast, borders Poland and Lithuania.

Russia also owns the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, Vaigach, the Franz Josef Land archipelago, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean; Kuril Islands (part of the Kuril Islands is disputed by Japan) and Sakhalin Island in the Pacific Ocean.

In the east, Russia is washed by the waters of the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea, as well as the Bering Strait. In the north - the Barents, Kara, Chukchi and East Siberian Seas, the Laptev Sea, in the west - the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Finland, in the south - the Black and Azov Seas.

Russia can be subdivided into three very large regions: European Russia, which occupies an area west of the Ural Mountains; Siberia, stretching from the Urals almost to the Pacific coast and the Far East of Russia. The country's territory covers 11 time zones!

Climate

The climate of Russia is very diverse due to the vast territory of the country. It varies from maritime in the extreme northwest to sharply continental in Siberia and monsoon in the Far East. Average temperatures in January are from 0 to -50 ° С, in July from +1 to +25 ° С. The average January temperature in Moscow ranges from -16 ° C to -9 ° C, the average July temperature is from 13 ° C to 23 ° C. In many regions of Siberia and the Far East, there is permafrost. The largest rivers in Russia: Lena, Irtysh, Yenisei, Ob, Volga, Amur. The largest lakes are the Caspian (sea), Baikal, Ladoga, Onega. On the territory of Russia you can find arctic deserts, tundra; forest, forest-steppe, steppe and semi-desert zones.

Nature

The difference in climatic zones determines the diversity of natural zones. In the Arctic deserts of the Far North, mosses, polar poppies, buttercups grow. In the tundra, these species are supplemented by dwarf birch, willow, and alder. Almost a third of Russia's territory is covered with forests, the taiga is located south of the tundra and extends to the southern borders of Siberia. This area is characterized by conifers. To the south begins a zone of broad-leaved forests. There are many rare species in the Amur region: Mongolian oak, Manchurian maple, elm, walnut. In the forest-steppe and steppe parts of Russia there are oak forests, forbs, cereals. In the Black Sea subtropics, forests of fluffy oak, junipers, boxwood, black alder prevail.

The fauna of the country is rich and diverse. In the arctic and tundra zones, the most typical are: seals, walruses, polar bear, arctic fox, reindeer, polar hare. The taiga is inhabited by bear, lynx, red deer, wolverine, elk, sable, ermine, chipmunk, squirrel. You can find wood grouse, hazel grouse, black grouse, woodpeckers, nutcracker. Among other things, the taiga is characterized by the presence of a huge number of mosquitoes. Wild boar, deer, mink, numerous birds, lizards are found in deciduous forests. In the forests of the Far East there are rare Ussuri tigers, bears, deer. Among the animals of the steppe zone, small rodents predominate, there are many saigas, badgers, foxes, and large steppe birds. The fauna of the desert zones is represented by gazelles, jackals, sand cats, and numerous rodents. There are many reptiles and turtles. The Caucasus region is inhabited by mountain goat, Caucasian deer, porcupine, leopard, hyena, bear, as well as a large number of reptiles.

Population

The population of Russia (for 1995) is about 149 million 740 thousand people. About 10 million people live in Moscow, in St. Petersburg - 4.5 million, Novosibirsk - 1.5 million, Nizhny Novgorod - 1 million 440 thousand; Yekaterinburg - 1 million 371 thousand people, Samara - 1 million 239 thousand. Other cities with a population of more than 1 million people - Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Perm, Ufa, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd. The average population density is about 9 people per sq. Km, but it varies from region to region. More than 100 nationalities live in the Russian Federation, the largest of which are Russians - 82%, Tatars - 3.8%, Ukrainians - 3%, Chuvash - 1.2%.

Language

Official language is Russian. Local languages and dialects are widely used within national and autonomous entities.

Religion

Photo of Russia Orthodox, Muslims, Protestants (Lutherans, Baptists, Seventh-day Adventists, Pentecostals, Jehovah's Witnesses, others), Buddhists mainly in Tuva, Buryatia and Kalmykia), Jews make up about 40%, about 60% of the population are atheists.

Currency

The monetary unit of Russia is the ruble. Equal to 100 kopecks. In circulation there are banknotes of 5000, 1000, 500, 100, 50 and 10 rubles, as well as coins in denominations of 50, 10, 5, 2 and 1 ruble and 50, 10, 5 and 1 kopeck. US dollars are widely used. Credit cards and traveller's checks are only available in large