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About Russia and the capital, Moscow

The national flag of Russia	Borderline map of Russia
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red. Note: the colors may have been based on those of the Dutch flag; despite many popular interpretations, there is no official meaning assigned to the colors of the Russian flag; this flag inspired several other Slav countries to adopt horizontal tricolors of the same colors but in different arrangements, and so red, blue, and white became the Pan-Slav colors.	Border length: total: 22,408 km. Border countries (14): Azerbaijan 338 km, Belarus 1,312 km, China (southeast) 4,133 km, China (south) 46 km, Estonia 324 km, Finland 1,309 km, Georgia 894 km, Kazakhstan 7,644 km, North Korea 18 km, Latvia 332 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 261 km, Mongolia 3,452 km, Norway 191 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km, Ukraine 1,944 km.

About Moscow

Russia’s capital, Moscow (Москва), is a modern, energetic city. Still, its chaotic spirit is never far beneath the surface: people bribe their way into nightclubs or out of scrapes with the law, supercars tussle for space with barely roadworthy wrecks and, come nightfall, the party mindset is truly no-holds-barred. A humble wooden town in the twelfth century, contemporary Moscow is Russia’s Manhattan, with brash and opinionated locals, a “whatever, whenever” approach to retail and a startling contrast between its glitzy, cosmopolitan heart, catering to a well-heeled elite, and pockets of extreme poverty. For visitors, the city is, above all, an assault on the senses – spend 24 hours navigating its golden-domed churches, people-crushed subway, designer shops, and cliquey nightspots, and you’ll need another 24 to recover.

Did you know about Russia?

• Russia formed in the 15th century. The USSR established in 1922 and included much of Asia. The USSR collapsed in 1991 and produced the Russian Federation.
• The Trans-Siberian Railroad, which runs 5578 miles (9297 km) from Moscow to Vladivostok, is the longest in the world, passing through eight time zones.
• Even without its European part, Siberia-as Asian Russia is known-would still be the biggest country in the world. It is sparsely occupied, since the winters are very harsh and the summers short.

European Russia stretches from the borders of Belarus and Ukraine to the Ural mountains, over 1000km (621 miles) east of Moscow; even without the rest of the vast Russian Federation, it constitutes by far the largest country in Europe. Formerly a powerful tsarist empire and a Communist superpower, Russia continues to be a source of fascination for travelers. While access is still made relatively difficult by lingering Soviet-style bureaucracy – visas are obligatory, and application forms lengthy – independent travel is increasing every year. Visitors doubly rewarded by the cultural riches of the country and the warmth of the Russian people.

Facts of Russia (RU)

Name conventional long form: Russian Federation, conventional short form: Russia, local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, local short form: Rossiya, former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, etymology: Russian lands were generally referred to as Muscovy until PETER I officially declared the Russian Empire in 1721; the new name sought to invoke the patrimony of the medieval eastern European Rus state centered on Kyiv in present-day Ukraine; the Rus were a Varangian (eastern Viking) elite that imposed their rule and eventually their name on their Slavic subjects
Codes: ISO; RU, Internet; .ru
Capital city: Moscow
Language(s): Russian (official language) 85.7%, Tatar 3.2%, Chechen 1%, other 10.1%. Note: data represent native language spoken (2010 estimate)
National holiday(s): Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
Motto: N/A
Currency: Russian ruble (RUB), since 1998
GPS: 60 00 N, 100 00 E, Moscow; 55 45 N 37 36 E
Location: North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean, extending from Europe (the portion west of the Urals) to the North Pacific Ocean
Geography note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El’brus is Europe’s tallest peak; Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, is estimated to hold one fifth of the world’s fresh water
Land boundaries: Azerbaijan 338 km, Belarus 1,312 km, China (southeast) 4,133 km, China (south) 46 km, Estonia 324 km, Finland 1,309 km, Georgia 894 km, Kazakhstan 7,644 km, North Korea 18 km, Latvia 332 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 261 km, Mongolia 3,452 km, Norway 191 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km, Ukraine 1,944 km, total: 22,408 km
Maritime boundaries: Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Barents Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, Pacific Ocean, Sea of Azov
Coastline: 37,653 km
Area: total: 17,098,242 sq km; land: 16,377,742 sq km, water: 720,500 sq km (total 6 601 649,22 mi2), approximately 1.8 times the size of the US.
Roadways: total: 1,283,387 km, paved: 927,721 km (includes 39,143 km of expressways), unpaved: 355,666 km (2012)
Waterways: 102,000 km (including 48,000 km with guaranteed depth; the 72,000-km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea) (2009)
Local time (capital): UTC+3, 8 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time
Note to the local time: Russia has 11 time zones the largest number of contiguous time zones of any country in the world; in 2014 two time zones were added and DST was dropped
Population in Russia: 143 964 709
Population in Moscow: 11 621 000 (including the metropolitan areas)
Urbanization: urban population: 74% of total population (2015)
Major urban areas population: MOSCOW (capital) 12.166 million; Saint Petersburg 4.993 million; Novosibirsk 1.497 million; Yekaterinburg 1.379 million; Nizhniy Novgorod 1.212 million; Samara 1.164 million (2015)
Population growth rate: -0.06% (2016 estimate)
Birth rate: 11.3 births / 1,000 population (2016 estimate)
Death rate: 13.6 deaths / 1,000 population (2016 estimate)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 16.94% (male 12,385,281 / female 11,726,473) 15-24 years: 9.71% (male 7,071,489 / female 6,754,928) 25-54 years: 45.16% (male 31,528,258 / female 32,753,350) 55-64 years: 14.27% (male 8,727,233 / female 11,591,221) 65 years and over: 13.92% (male 6,152,252 / female 13,664,930) (2016 estimate)
Median age: total: 39.3 years; male: 36.4 years, female: 42.3 years (2016 estimate)
Ethnic groups: Russian 77.7%, Tatar 3.7%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Bashkir 1.1%, Chuvash 1%, Chechen 1%, other 10.2%, unspecified 3.9%note: nearly 200 national and/or ethnic groups are represented in Russia’s 2010 census (2010 estimate)
Religions: Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 estimate). Note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule; Russia officially recognizes Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as traditional religions
Government type: Federal semi-presidential constitutional republic
Legal system: civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
National anthem: Gosudarstvenny gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii (State Anthem of the Russian Federation)
Known national hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russiavolcanism: significant volcanic activity on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands; the peninsula alone is home to some 29 historically active volcanoes, with dozens more in the Kuril Islands; Kliuchevskoi (elev. 4,835 m), which erupted in 2007 and 2010, is Kamchatka’s most active volcano; Avachinsky and Koryaksky volcanoes, which pose a threat to the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Bezymianny, Chikurachki, Ebeko, Gorely, Grozny, Karymsky, Ketoi, Kronotsky, Ksudach, Medvezhia, Mutnovsky, Sarychev Peak, Shiveluch, Tiatia, Tolbachik, and Zheltovsky
Major infectious diseases: The degree of risk(s): intermediatefood or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrheavectorborne disease: tickborne encephalitis (2016)
Land use: agricultural land: 13.1%; arable land 7.3%; permanent crops 0.1%; permanent pasture 5.7%; forest: 49.4%; other: 37.5% (2011 estimate)
Agricultural products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; defense industries (including radar, missile production,
Export commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, metals, wood and wood products, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Main export partners: Netherlands 11.9%, China 8.3%, Germany 7.4%, Italy 6.5%, Turkey 5.6%, Belarus 4.4%, Japan 4.2% (2015)
Import commodities: machinery, vehicles, pharmaceutical products, plastic, semi-finished metal products, meat, fruits and nuts, optical and medical instruments, iron, steel
Main import partners: China 19.2%, Germany 11.2%, US 6.4%, Belarus 4.8%, Italy 4.6% (2015)

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