Highlights

Russia is the largest country in the world (17.075.400 sq. km.)

Russia has borders with Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belorussia, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Norway.

Russia has 1030 cities.

Capital: Moscow

The largest cities: Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Samara, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Ufa, Perm, Ekaterinburg.

Language: Russian. It is also spoken in the former of the USSR republics and some of East-European countries.

Currency: 1 rouble = 100 kopecks.

Population: 148,704,000 people.

The state structure is a Federal State with a republican form of government. The head of the state is the President, elected for a 4-year term. The head of the government is the Prime-Minister. The Legislature is a Federal Assembly (two-chamber parliament — the State Duma and the Council of Federation).

Religions: Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and others.

Famous Russians:

Andrey Rublev — the most famous Russian icons painter;
Peter the Great — the person who created a Russian Empire and made Russia one of the most powerful countries;
Ekaterina II (Great) — the most successful empress of Russia, a very powerful and intelligent woman;
Mikhail Lomonosov — one the greatest Russian scientists. The founder of Moscow State University. He worked in physics, chemistry, maths, literature and many other areas;
Alexander Suvorov — the famous Russian general. In the 18th century he defeated the Ottoman Empire and almost took Istanbul, he defeated the French army in Italy and Austria;
Alexander Pushkin — man of genius, the most-known poet in Russian literature;
Dmitriy Mendeleev — famous chemist, who invented the world-famous periodic system of elements in 1869;
Lev Tolstoy — a great Russian writer, the author of "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace";
Fyodor Dostoevsky — very famous writer. The most popular novels are "Crime and Punishment", "The Idiot", "The Karamazov Brothers";
Vladimir Lenin (Ulyanov) — the "father of the Russian revolution", the first communist leader;
Joseph Stalin — well known for his repressions;
Yuri Gagarin — the first man in space (1961);
Mikhail Gorbachyev — Soviet leader, author of "perestroika", the first and the last president of the USSR;
Boris Yeltsin — the first President of the Russian Federation;
Vladimir Putin — the current President of the Russian Federation.