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- Sverdlovsk Oblast
- Sviatoslav I of Kiev
- Sviatoslav Richter
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Symbolism (art)
- Symbolism (arts)
- Synthetic rubber
- Syria
- Syrniki
- T-34
- T-54 55
- T.A.T.u.
- Table-glass
- Tableware
- Taiga
- Taiwan
- Tajikistan
- Tanais
- Tank
- Tatar language
- Tatars
- Tatarstan
- Tatiana Day
- Tatlin's Tower
- Television in Russia
- Telnyashka
- Template G20
- Template G8 nations
- Template talk G20
- Tent-like church
- Ternary computer
- Terrorism in Russia
- Thailand
- The Five
- The Nutcracker
- The World Factbook
- Theophanes the Greek
- Third Rome
- Time in Russia
- Time of Troubles
- Time zone
- Togo
- Tokamak
- Tolyatti
- Tony Blair
- Tourism in Russia
- Toy
- Track-and-field
- Transcaucasia
- Transcaucasian SSR
- Transnistria
- Transport in Russia
- Treshchotka
- Tretyakov Gallery
- Trinity (Rublev)
- Trinity Sunday
- Triple Entente
- Trolleybus
- Tsar
- Tsardom of Russia
- Tsaritsyno Park
- Tsarskoye Selo
- Tula gingerbread
- Tundra
- Tupolev
- Turkey
- Turkic people
- Turkic peoples
- Turkmenistan
- Tuva
- TV in Russia
- Tverskaya Street
- Tyva
- Udmurtia
- UEFA Cup
- Ufa
- Ukha
- Ukraine
- Ukrainian language
- Ukrainian SSR
- Ukrainians
- Ukrainians in Russia
- Unconstitutional
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
- United Nations
- United Russia
- United States
- Unity Day (Russia)
- Unrecognized states
- Upper house
- Ural Mountains
- Uralmash
- Uraza Bayram
- Urheimat
- Ushanka
- Uvs Nuur Basin
- Uzbekistan
- Valenki
- Valentin Glushko
- Valentine's Day
- Valery Bryusov
- Valery Kharlamov
- Varangian
- Varangians
- Vasily Polenov
- Vasily Surikov
- Vaslav Nijinsky
- Vatican City
- Veliky Novgorod
- Vep Venäma
- Vera Mukhina
- Verkhoyansk Range
- Victory Day (9 May)
- Vietnam
- Viking
- Vikings
- Viktor Vasnetsov
- Vinaigrette
- Virgin Komi Forests
- Vistula Lagoon
- Vistula Spit
- Vitaly Petrov
- Vitas
- Vladimir Horowitz
- Vladimir Lenin
- Vladimir Mayakovsky
- Vladimir Motyl
- Vladimir Nabokov
- Vladimir Putin
- Vladimir the Great
- Vladimir Vernadsky
- Vladimir Vysotsky
- Vladimir Zworykin
- Vladimir-Suzdal
- Vladislav Tretiak
- Vladivostok
- Vnukovo
- Vodka
- Volga
- Volga Region
- Volga trade route
- Volga-Ural region
- Volgograd
- Volgograd Metrotram
- Volgograd Oblast
- Voronezh
- Voronezh Oblast
- Vostok 1
- Vyacheslav Fetisov
- War and Peace
- Warsaw Pact
- Washington, D.C.
- Wassily Kandinsky
- Wassily Leontief
- Wehrmacht
- Weight lifter
- West Siberian Plain
- Western Caucasus
- Westernizers
- White movement
- White Sea
- White Terror
- White émigré
- Wikipedia Link rot
- Wikitravel
- Winnie-the-Pooh
- Winter War
- Workers' council
- World Cities
- World revolution
- World War I
- World War II
- World's fish supply
- WP Books
- WP IPA for Russian
- Wrangel Island
- Wrestler
- Yakutia
- Yamal (icebreaker)
- Yaroslav the Wise
- Yaroslavl
- Yaroslavl Oblast
- Yekaterinburg
- Yekaterinburg Metro
- Yemen
- Yenisey
- Yevgeniya Kanayeva
- Yevgeny Vuchetich
- Yevgeny Yevtushenko
- Yevgeny Zamyatin
- Yo-mobil
- Yuri Gagarin
- Yury Gagarin
- Zalesye
- Zaporozhian Cossacks
- Zapovednik
- Zaraysk
- Zemsky Sobor
- Zenit St Petersburg
- Zhaleika
- Zhostovo painting
- Åland Islands
- Émigrés
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Abkhazia
Abkhazia ( Apsny, Apkhazeti, Abkhazia) is a political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus whose status is disputed. It considers itself an independent state (the Republic of Abkhazia). This is recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Venezuela, Nauru, South Ossetia and Transnistria.
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Afghanistan
{{Infobox country
http://wn.com/Afghanistan -
Alaska
Alaska () is the largest state of the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait. Approximately half of Alaska's 698,473 residents live within the Anchorage metropolitan area. As of 2009, Alaska remains the least densely populated state of the U.S.
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Albania
Albania ( , , Gheg Albanian: Shqipnia/Shqypnia), officially known as the Republic of Albania (, pronounced ), is a country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the west, and on the Ionian Sea to the southwest. It is less than from Italy, across the Strait of Otranto which links the Adriatic Sea to the Ionian Sea.
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Andorra
Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra (), also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, (), is a small country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of and an estimated population of 83,888 in 2009. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, being at an elevation of 1023 metres. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, French, and Portuguese are also commonly spoken.
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Antarctica
Antarctica
http://wn.com/Antarctica -
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic (, ), is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth-largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico, Colombia and Spain are more populous.
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Arkaim
Arkaim () is an archaeological site situated in the Southern Urals steppe, north-to-northwest of Amurskiy, and south-to-southeast of Alexandronvskiy, two villages in the Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, just to the north from the Kazakhstani border.
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Arkhangelsk
Arkhangelsk (), or Archangel in English, is a city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina River near its exit into the White Sea in the far north of European Russia. City districts spread for over along the banks of the river and numerous islands of its delta. Arkhangelsk was the chief seaport of medieval Russia. It is served by Talagi Airport and the smaller Vaskovo Airport. The city is located at the end of a long railroad, connecting it to Moscow via Vologda and Yaroslavl. Population:
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Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast (, Arkhangelskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea.
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Armenia
http://wn.com/Armenia -
Astrakhan
Astrakhan (; , ; , Haji-Tarkhan, whence Hashtarkhan, then Astrakhan) is a major city in southern European Russia and the administrative center of Astrakhan Oblast. The city lies on the left bank of the Volga River, close to where it discharges into the Caspian Sea at an altitude of 23 metres below sea level. Population: 502,800 (2004 est.);
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Australia
{{Infobox country
http://wn.com/Australia -
Austria
Austria or (), officially the Republic of Austria (German: ), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below , and its highest point is . The majority of the population speaks German, which is also the country's official language. Other local official languages are Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
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Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan ( ; ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan (), is one of the six independent Turkic states in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Eastern Europe and Western Asia, it is bounded by the Caspian Sea to the east, Russia to the north, Georgia to the northwest, Armenia to the west, and Iran to the south.
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Bahrain
Bahrain, officially Kingdom of Bahrain (, , literally: "Kingdom of the Two Seas"), is a small island country in the Persian Gulf ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. While Bahrain is an archipelago of thirty-three islands, the largest (Bahrain Island) is long by wide. Saudi Arabia lies to the west and is connected to Bahrain via the King Fahd Causeway, which was officially opened on 25 November 1986. Qatar is to the southeast across the Gulf of Bahrain.
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Bangladesh
http://wn.com/Bangladesh -
Barents Sea
Barents Sea (, ) is a part of the Arctic Ocean located north of Norway and Russia. Known in the Middle Ages as the Murman Sea, the sea takes its current name from the Dutch navigator Willem Barents. It is a rather deep shelf sea (average depth and maximum depth ), bordered by the shelf edge towards the Norwegian Sea in the west, the island of Svalbard (Norway) in the northwest, and the islands of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya (Arkhangelsk Oblast) in the northeast and east. Novaya Zemlya separates the Kara Sea from the Barents Sea. Significant fossil fuel energy resources exist in the Barents Sea region.
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Bashkortostan
The Republic of Bashkortostan (; ) or Bashkiria () is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains. Its capital is Ufa.
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Battle of Molodi
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Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad was a major battle of World War II in which Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) in southwestern Russia. It took place between 17 July 1942 and 2 February 1943. The battle's outcome was disastrous for Germany, making its victory in the East impossible. The battle marked the turning of the tide of war in favour of the Allies. Contemporaries described the Soviet victory at Stalingrad as salvation of European civilization.
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Battle of the Ice
The Battle of the Ice (; ; ; ), also known as the Battle of Lake Peipus (; ), was a battle between the Republic of Novgorod and the Livonian branch of the Teutonic Knights on April 5, 1242, at Lake Peipus. The battle is notable for its having been fought largely on top of the frozen lake.
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Battle of the Neva
The Battle of the Neva (, Nevskaya bitva) was fought between the Novgorod Republic and Swedish armies on the Neva River, near the settlement of Ust-Izhora, on July 15, 1240. The purpose of the Swedish invasion was probably to gain control over the mouth of the Neva and the city of Ladoga and, hence, seize the most important part of the Trade Route from the Varangians to the Greeks, which had been under Novgorod's control for more than a hundred years. The battle was part of the medieval Swedish-Novgorodian Wars.
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Belarus
Belarus, ( ; , ), officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno (Hrodna), Gomel (Homiel), Mogilev (Mahilyow) and Vitebsk (Viciebsk). Forty percent of its is forested, and its strongest economic sectors are agriculture and manufacturing.
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Belgium
Belgium (, ), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, as well as those of several other major international organizations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of , and it has a population of about 10.8 million people.
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Bering Sea
The Bering Sea is a body of water in the Pacific Ocean that comprises a deep water basin, which then rises through a narrow slope into the shallower water above the continental shelves.
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Bering Strait
[[Image:dateliner cam.jpg|thumb|200px|right|[http://209.165.175.132/sample/LvAppl/lvappl.htm A US-based webcam] providing a view across the Bering Strait]]
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Beslan school siege
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Bessarabia
:For other uses, see Bessarabia (disambiguation).
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Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan () (Dzongkha: ; Wylie: '' 'drug yul; Tibetan pinyin: ''), is a small landlocked country in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China . Bhutan is separated from the nearby state of Nepal to the west by the Indian state of Sikkim, and from Bangladesh to the south by West Bengal.
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Bolshoi Ballet
http://wn.com/Bolshoi_Ballet -
Bolshoi Theater
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Bosporan Kingdom
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Brazil
Brazil (; , ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (, ), is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population. It is the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas and the largest lusophone country in the world.
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Brunei
http://wn.com/Brunei -
Bulgaria
Bulgaria ( , Balgariya, ), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (, Republika Balgariya, ), is a country in Southern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south. The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east.
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Burma
Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the second largest country by geographical area in Southeast Asia. The country is bordered by People's Republic of China on the north-east, Laos on the east, Thailand on the south-east, Bangladesh on the west, India on the north-west and the Bay of Bengal to the south-west with the Andaman Sea defining its southern periphery. One-third of Burma's total perimeter, 1,930 kilometers (1,199 mi), forms an uninterrupted coastline.
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Cambodia
http://wn.com/Cambodia -
Canada
Canada () is a country in North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It is the world's second largest country by total area. Canada's common border with the United States to the south and northwest is the longest in the world.
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Caucasus
The Caucasus or Caucas (also referred to as Caucasia, , , , (''K'avk'asia''), , , , , , , ) is a geopolitical region at the border of Europe and Asia. It is home to the Caucasus Mountains, including Europe's highest mountain (Mount Elbrus).
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Caucasus Mountains
The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system in Eurasia between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the Caucasus region ( ).
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Chechnya
http://wn.com/Chechnya -
Chelyabinsk
Chelyabinsk (, ) is a city in Russia, located just to the east of the Ural Mountains, on Miass River. It is the administrative center of Chelyabinsk Oblast. Population:
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Chelyabinsk Oblast
Chelyabinsk Oblast (, Chelyabinskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Chelyabinsk. Population: 3,603,339 (2002 Census);
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China
China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity.
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Christmas Island
The Territory of Christmas Island is a territory of Australia in the Indian Ocean. It is located northwest of the Western Australian city of Perth, south of the Indonesian capital, Jakarta, and ENE of the Cocos (Keeling) Islands.
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Chukchi Peninsula
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CIS
http://wn.com/CIS -
Colombia
Colombia (), officially the Republic of Colombia (, ), is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean. Colombia also shares maritime borders with Venezuela, Jamaica, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. With a population of over 45 million people, Colombia has the 29th largest population in the world and the second largest in South America, after Brazil. Colombia has the fourth largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico, the United States, and Spain.
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Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. Its objective was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars, and the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire. This objective resulted in the redrawing of the continent's political map, establishing the boundaries of France, Napoleon's duchy of Warsaw, the Netherlands, the states of the Rhine, the German province of Saxony, and various Italian territories, and the creation of spheres of influence through which France, Austria, Russia and Britain brokered local and regional problems. The Congress of Vienna was a model for the League of Nations and United Nations due to its goal to constitute peace by all parties.
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Council of Europe
The Council of Europe () is one of the oldest international organisations working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation. It has 47 member states with some 800 million citizens. It is distinct from the European Union (EU) which has common policies, binding laws and only twenty-seven members. The two do however share certain symbols such as their flag.
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Croatia
Croatia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Croatia (Croatian: Republika Hrvatska ), is a country in Central Europe and Southeastern Europe at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Adriatic Sea. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. Croatia borders Slovenia to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the southeast, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast.
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Cuba
The Republic of Cuba (; , ) is an island country in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos.
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Curonian Spit
The Curonian Spit (, , , , , ) is a 98 km long, thin, curved sand-dune spit that separates the Curonian Lagoon from the Baltic Sea coast located in Kaliningrad Oblast, Russia and southwestern Lithuania.
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Cyprus
http://wn.com/Cyprus -
Czech Republic
http://wn.com/Czech_Republic -
Czechoslovakia
http://wn.com/Czechoslovakia -
Demography of Russia
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Denisova Cave
Denisova Cave (, also Aju-Tasch) is a cave in the Bashelaksky Range of the Altai mountains, Siberia, Russia. The cave is of paleoarchaeological and paleontological interest. Bone fragments of the Denisova hominin, sometime called the "X-woman" (referring to the maternal descent of mitochondrial DNA) originate from the cave, including artifacts dated to ~40,000 BP. The cave is located in a region thought to be inhabited concurrently in the past by Neanderthals and modern humans.
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Denmark
http://wn.com/Denmark -
Derbent
http://wn.com/Derbent -
Don River (Russia)
:For other rivers named Don, see Don River (disambiguation).
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East Germany
The German Democratic Republic (GDR; German: Deutsche Demokratische Republik or DDR), informally called East Germany by the West, was the socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany and in the East Berlin portion of the Allied-occupied capital city. The German Democratic Republic, which consisted geographically of northeast Germany rather than all of eastern Germany, had an area of 107,771 km2. (41,610 mi.2), bordering Czechoslovakia in the south, West Germany (officially: Federal Republic of Germany) in the south and west, the Baltic Sea to the north, and Poland in the east.
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East Prussia
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East Timor
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Egypt
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Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands (, ) are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Great Britain and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland.
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Fedoskino miniature
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Ferapontov Monastery
The Ferapontov convent (), in the Vologda region of Russia, is considered one of the purest examples of Russian medieval art, a reason given by UNESCO for its inscription on the World Heritage List.
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Finland
Finland (pronounced ), officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden on the west, Norway on the north and Russia on the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.
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France
{{Infobox Country
http://wn.com/France -
Franz Josef Land
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Gatchina Palace
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Gdańsk Bay
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Geography of Russia
The geography of Russia entails the physical and human geography of Russia, a country extending over much of northern Eurasia. Comprising much of eastern Europe and northern Asia, it is the world's largest country in total area. Due to its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is taiga. The country contains 40 UNESCO Biosphere reserves.
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Georgia (country)
http://wn.com/Georgia_(country) -
Germany
Germany (), officially the Federal Republic of Germany (, ), is a country in Western Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The territory of Germany covers 357.021 km2 and is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. With 81.8 million inhabitants, it is the most populous member state of the European Union, and home to the third-largest number of international migrants worldwide.
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Gibraltar
Gibraltar () is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean, overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory itself is a peninsula of whose isthmus connects to the north with Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the area and gives its name to the densely populated town, home to almost 30,000 Gibraltarians.
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Greece
http://wn.com/Greece -
Guatemala
http://wn.com/Guatemala -
Guernsey
The Bailiwick of Guernsey ( ; , ) is a British Crown Dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.
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Gzhel
Gzhel is a style of ceramics which takes its name from the village of Gzhel and surrounding area, where it has been produced since 1802.
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Hokkaido
http://wn.com/Hokkaido -
Hong Kong
Hong Kong () is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
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Hungary
http://wn.com/Hungary -
Iceland
:
http://wn.com/Iceland -
India
India (), officially the Republic of India ( ; see also official names of India), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.18 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Mainland India is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal on the east; and it is bordered by Pakistan to the west; Bhutan, the People's Republic of China and Nepal to the north; and Bangladesh and Burma to the east. In the Indian Ocean, mainland India and the Lakshadweep Islands are in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives, while India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share maritime border with Thailand and the Indonesian island of Sumatra in the Andaman Sea. India has a coastline of .
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Indonesia
Indonesia ( or ), officially the Republic of Indonesia (), is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With a population of around 238 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, and has the world's largest population of Muslims. Indonesia is a republic, with an elected legislature and president. The nation's capital city is Jakarta. The country shares land borders with Papua New Guinea, East Timor, and Malaysia. Other neighboring countries include Singapore, Philippines, Australia, and the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indonesia is a founding member of ASEAN and a member of the G-20 major economies.
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Ingria
http://wn.com/Ingria -
Ipatiev House
http://wn.com/Ipatiev_House -
Iran
Iran ( ), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Central Eurasia and Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was also known to the western world as Persia. Both Persia and Iran are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, Iran is the name used officially in political contexts.
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Iraq
Iraq ( or , Arabic: ), officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic:
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Isle of Man
The Isle of Man (; , ), otherwise known simply as Mann (, ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is represented by a Lieutenant Governor. The island is not part of the United Kingdom, but its foreign relations and defence are the responsibility of the UK Government. Although it does not usually interfere in the island's domestic matters, its "good government" is the ultimate responsibility of the Crown (i.e., in practice, the Government of the United Kingdom).
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Israel
http://wn.com/Israel -
Italy
http://wn.com/Italy -
ITER
http://wn.com/ITER -
Izhevsk
http://wn.com/Izhevsk -
Japan
http://wn.com/Japan -
Jersey
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Jordan
{{Infobox Country
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Kaliningrad
http://wn.com/Kaliningrad -
Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast (, Kaliningradskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) situated on the Baltic coast. It has a population of
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Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia (; Kalmyk: , transliteration: , ISO 9: ) is a federal subject (a republic) of the Russian Federation. The direct romanization of the republic's Russian name is Respublika Kalmykiya, and that of the Kalmyk name is ''Khal'mg Tangghch''. It is the only state in Europe where the dominant religion is Buddhism. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca, due to the fact that its President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).
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Kamchatka
http://wn.com/Kamchatka -
Kamchatka Peninsula
The Kamchatka Peninsula (, poluostrov Kamchatka) is a 1,250-kilometer long peninsula in the Russian Far East, with an area of . It lies between the Pacific Ocean to the east and the Sea of Okhotsk to the west. Immediately offshore along the Pacific coast of the peninsula runs the deep Kuril-Kamchatka Trench.
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Kara Sea
http://wn.com/Kara_Sea -
Kazakhstan
http://wn.com/Kazakhstan -
Kazan
Kazan (; , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. The sixth largest city of Russia, it lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. The Kazan Kremlin is a World Heritage Site. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the right to brand itself as the "Third Capital" of Russia. In 2009 it was chosen as the "sports capital of Russia".
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Kazan Kremlin
The Kazan Kremlin (; ) is the chief historic citadel of Tatarstan, situated in the city of Kazan. It was built on behest of Ivan the Terrible on the ruins of the former castle of Kazan khans. It was declared a World Heritage Site in 2000.
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Kholuy miniature
http://wn.com/Kholuy_miniature -
Kolomenskoye
Kolomenskoye () is a former royal estate situated several miles to the south-east of Moscow city-centre, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). The scenic area which overlooks the steep banks of the Moskva River became a part of Moscow in the 1960s.
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Krasnodar
Krasnodar () is a city in Southern Russia on the Kuban River, located around north-east of the Black Sea port of Novorossiysk. It is the administrative center of Krasnodar Krai (also known as Kuban).
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Krasnodar Krai
Krasnodar Krai (, Krasnodarsky kray) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai), located in the Southern Federal District.
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Krasnoyarsk
Krasnoyarsk ( ) is a city and the administrative center of Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia, located on the Yenisey River. It is the third largest city in Siberia, with population of 948,500 (2009 est.). Krasnoyarsk is an important junction of the Trans-Siberian Railway and one of Russia's largest producers of aluminium.
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Krasnoyarsk Krai
Krasnoyarsk Krai ( ) is a federal subject of Russia (a krai). It is the second largest federal subject after the Sakha Republic, and Russia's largest krai, occupying an area of , which is 13% of the country's total territory (about the size of Algeria). The administrative center of the krai is the city of Krasnoyarsk.
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Kuril Islands
http://wn.com/Kuril_Islands -
Kuwait
The State of Kuwait (, Dawlat al-Kuwayt) is a sovereign Arab nation situated in the northeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, and Iraq to the north. It lies on the northwestern shore of the Persian Gulf. The name Kuwait is derived from the Arabic "akwat", the plural of "kout", meaning fortress built near water. The emirate covers an area of 17,820 square kilometres (6,880 sq mi) and has a population of about 2.7 million.
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Laos
Laos (, , or ), officially the '''Lao People's Democratic Republic''', is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and People's Republic of China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west.
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Laptev Sea
http://wn.com/Laptev_Sea -
Latvia
Latvia (; ), officially the Republic of Latvia () is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia (343 km), to the south by Lithuania (588 km), to the east by the Russian Federation (276 km), and to the southeast by Belarus (141 km). Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden. The territory of Latvia covers and it has a temperate seasonal climate.
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Lebanon
Lebanon ( or ; ; ), officially the Republic of Lebanon (Arabic: ; French: ), is a country on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It is bordered by Syria to the north and east, and Israel to the south. Lebanon's location at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian hinterland has dictated its rich history, and shaped a cultural identity of religious and ethnic diversity.
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Lena River
http://wn.com/Lena_River -
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and number of books. The head of the Library is the Librarian of Congress, currently James H. Billington.
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Liechtenstein
http://wn.com/Liechtenstein -
Lithuania
Lithuania (, U.S. usually ; ), officially the Republic of Lithuania () is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad to the southwest.
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Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (, , ), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of over half a million people in an area of approximately 2,586 square kilometres (999 sq mi).
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Macau
Macau (), also spelled Macao () is, along with Hong Kong one of China's two special administrative regions. It lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.
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Makhachkala
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Malaysia
Malaysia (pronounced or ) is a federal constitutional monarchy in Southeast Asia. It consists of thirteen states and three federal territories and has a total landmass of . The country is separated by the South China Sea into two regions, Peninsular Malaysia and Malaysian Borneo (also known as West and East Malaysia respectively). Malaysia shares land borders with Thailand, Indonesia, and Brunei and has maritime boundaries with Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines. The capital city is Kuala Lumpur, while Putrajaya is the seat of the federal government. The population as of 2009 stood at over 28 million.
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Maldives
http://wn.com/Maldives -
Malta
Malta , officially the Republic of Malta (), is a southern European country and consists of an archipelago situated centrally in the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunisia, with the Strait of Gibraltar 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria 1,510 km to the east.
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Mariinsky Theater
http://wn.com/Mariinsky_Theater -
Mexico
Mexico, (pronounced ; ), officially known as the United Mexican States (), is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres (over 760,000 sq mi), Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas by total area and the 14th largest independent nation in the world. With an estimated population of 111 million, it is the 11th most populous country and the most populous Hispanophone country on Earth. Mexico is a federation comprising thirty-one states and a Federal District, the capital city.
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Millennium of Russia
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Mir
{{Infobox Space station
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Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova (Moldovan/) is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east and south. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldovan SSR in 1991, as part of the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A strip of Moldova's internationally recognized territory on the east bank of the river Dniester has been under the de facto control of the breakaway government of Transnistria since 1990.
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Monaco
http://wn.com/Monaco -
Mongolia
Mongolia (; ) is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and the People's Republic of China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulaanbaatar, the capital and largest city, is home to about 38% of the population. Mongolia's political system is a parliamentary republic.
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Montenegro
http://wn.com/Montenegro -
Morocco
http://wn.com/Morocco -
Moscow
Moscow ( or ; ; see also ) is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a global city. Moscow is the most populous city on the continent of Europe and the seventh largest city proper in the world, a megacity. The population of Moscow (as of 1 January 2010) is 10,563,038.
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Moscow Kremlin
http://wn.com/Moscow_Kremlin -
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast (, Moskovskaya oblast), or Podmoskovye (), is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2002 population of 6,618,538, is the second most populous federal subject. There is no official administrative center of Moscow Oblast; its public authorities are located in Moscow and Krasnogorsk.
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Murmansk
Murmansk (; ; ) is a city and seaport in the extreme north-west part of Russia, on the Kola Bay, from the Barents Sea on the northern shore of the Kola Peninsula, not far from Russia's borders with Norway and Finland.
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Murom
Murom (; Old Norse: Moramar) is a historic city in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which sprawls majestically along the left bank of Oka River, about 300 km east of Moscow. Population: 126,901 (2002 Census).
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NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization or NATO ( ; ), also called the "(North) Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on 4 April 1949. The NATO headquarters are in Brussels, Belgium, and the organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defence in response to an attack by any external party.
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Nazi Germany
http://wn.com/Nazi_Germany -
Nevsky Prospect
http://wn.com/Nevsky_Prospect -
New Siberian Islands
The New Siberian Islands () are an archipelago, located to the North of the East Siberian coast between the Laptev Sea and the East Siberian Sea north of the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic.
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New Statesman
The New Statesman is a British left-wing political magazine published weekly in London. Founded in 1913, and connected with leading members of the Fabian Society, the magazine reached a circulation peak in the late 1960s.
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New Zealand
{{Infobox Country
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Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod (), colloquially shortened as Nizhny, is the fourth largest city in Russia, ranking after Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Novosibirsk. Population: 1,311,252 (Russian Census (2002)); It is the economic and cultural center of the vast Volga-Vyatka economic region, and also the administrative center of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast and Volga Federal District.
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North Korea
http://wn.com/North_Korea -
Northern Cyprus
http://wn.com/Northern_Cyprus -
Norway
http://wn.com/Norway -
Novorossiysk
Novorossiysk (; ) is a city in southern Russia, in Krasnodar Krai. It is the country's main port on the Black Sea, and the leading Russian port for importing grain. And it is one of the few cities honoured with the Soviet title of the Hero City. In 2002, population was .
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Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, ) is Russia's third-largest city, after Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the largest city of Siberia. It is the administrative center of Novosibirsk Oblast as well as of the Siberian Federal District. The city is located in the south-western portion of the federal district and occupies an area of .
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Oman
Oman (pronounced ; '), officially the Sultanate of Oman''' ( ), is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest. The coast is formed by the Arabian Sea on the southeast and the Gulf of Oman on the northeast. The country also contains Madha and Musandam, two exclaves on the Gulf of Oman, south of the Strait of Hormuz and surrounded by the United Arab Emirates on the land side.
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Omsk
Omsk () is a Russian city located in southwestern Siberia and the administrative center of Omsk Oblast. It is Russia's second-largest city east of the Ural Mountains. The distance from Omsk to Moscow is .
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Omsk Oblast
http://wn.com/Omsk_Oblast -
Oranienbaum, Russia
Oranienbaum () is a Russian royal residence, located on the Gulf of Finland west of St. Petersburg. The Palace ensemble and the city center are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
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Pakistan
{{Infobox country
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Palace Square
Palace Square (, Dvortsovaya Ploshchad), connecting Nevsky Prospekt with Palace Bridge leading to Vasilievsky Island, is the central city square of St Petersburg and of the former Russian Empire. It was the setting of many events of worldwide significance, including the Bloody Sunday (1905) and the October Revolution of 1917.
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Pavlovsk Palace
Pavlovsk Palace is an eighteenth-century Russian Imperial residence built by Paul I of Russia near Saint Petersburg. After his death, it became the home of his widow, Maria Feodorovna. The palace and the large English garden surrounding it are now a Russian state museum and public park.
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Pazyryk burials
The Pazyryk () burials are a number of Iron Age tombs found in the Pazyryk Valley of the Ukok plateau in the Altai Mountains, Siberia, south of the modern city of Novosibirsk, Russia; the site is close to the borders with China, Kazakhstan and Mongolia.
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Perm
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Peterhof Palace
The Peterhof Palace (, Petergof, originally named , Dutch or German for "Peter's Court") is actually a series of palaces and gardens located in St Petersburg, Russia, laid out on the orders of Peter the Great. These Palaces and gardens are sometimes referred as the "Russian Versailles". The palace-ensemble along with the city centre is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
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Philippines
The Philippines ( ), officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (), is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila.
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Pinsk Marshes
The Pinsk Marshes () or Pripyat Marshes (Pripet Marshes, ) are a vast territory of wetlands along the Pripyat River and its tributaries from Brest, Belarus (west) to Mogilev (northeast) and Kiev (southeast).
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Poland
Poland (), officially the Republic of Poland (Rzeczpospolita Polska), is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north. The total area of Poland is , making it the 69th largest country in the world and the 9th largest in Europe. Poland has a population of over 38 million people, which makes it the 34th most populous country in the world and the sixth most populous member of the European Union, being its most populous Slavic member.
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Polotsk
Polotsk (Polatsk, , , ), is a historical city in Belarus, situated on the Dvina river. It is the center of Polotsk district in Vitsebsk Voblast. Its population is more than 80,000 people. It is served by Polotsk Airport and during the Cold War was home to Borovitsy air base.
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Portugal
Portugal (, ), officially the Portuguese Republic (; ), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal.
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Pskov
http://wn.com/Pskov -
Pulkovo Airport
Pulkovo Airport (, Aeroport Pulkovo) is an international airport serving Saint Petersburg, Russia. It consists of two terminals, Pulkovo-1 (serving mostly domestic flights) and Pulkovo-2 (international flights), which are located about and south of the city centre, respectively. The airport serves as a hub for Rossiya Airlines (formerly Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise), and as focus city for Nordavia.
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Pyongyang
Pyongyang (, literally: "Flat Land") is the capital of North Korea, located on the Taedong River. According to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,388.
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Qatar
Qatar ( ; ; local pronunciation: ), also known as the State of Qatar or locally , is an Arab country, known officially as an emirate, in the Middle East, occupying the small Qatar Peninsula on the northeasterly coast of the much larger Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south; otherwise, the Persian Gulf surrounds the state. A strait of the Persian Gulf separates Qatar from the nearby island nation of Bahrain.
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Red Square
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Republic of Buryatia
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Republic of Ireland
Ireland (, , , ), described as the Republic of Ireland (), is a state in northwest Europe with a population of almost 4.5 million people. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional republic occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned into two jurisdictions in 1921. It is bordered to the northeast by Northern Ireland, which is a part of the United Kingdom, and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the Irish Sea to the east, St George's Channel to the southeast, and the Celtic Sea to the south.
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Romania
Romania ( ; dated: Rumania; ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, north of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Romania shares a border with Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova to the northeast, and Bulgaria to the south.
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Rostov
Rostov (; Old Norse: Rostofa) is one of the oldest towns in Russia and a tourist centre of the Golden Ring. It is located on the shores of Lake Nero in Yaroslavl Oblast, 202 km to the north east of Moscow. Population:
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Rostov Oblast
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Rostov-on-Don
Rostov-on-Don ( Rostov-na-Donu, ) is the city and the administrative center of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia, located on the Don River, just 46 km from the Sea of Azov. Population:
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Ruhr
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Russia
Russia (; ), also officially known as the Russian Federation (), is a state in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the United States by the Bering Strait. At , Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than a ninth of the Earth's land area. Russia is also the ninth most populous nation with 142 million people. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 9 time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
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Russian porcelain
#REDIRECT: Imperial Porcelain Factory
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Saint Petersburg
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Sakha Republic
The Sakha (Yakutia) Republic (, Respublika Sakha (Yakutiya); , Sakha Respublikata) is a federal subject of Russia (a republic). The population of Yakutia mainly consists of ethnic Yakuts and Russians.
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Sakhalin
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Samara Oblast
Samara Oblast (, Samarskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It is located in the Volga Federal District. The administrative center is the city of Samara. During the Russian Revolution of 1905 it was home to the short-lived Stary Buyan Republic.
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Samara, Russia
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San Marino
San Marino, officially the Most Serene Republic of San Marino ( ; ), is a country situated on the eastern side of the Apennine Mountains. It is an enclave, in Italy. Its size is just over with an estimated population of almost 30,000. Its capital is the City of San Marino. One of the European microstates, along with Liechtenstein, the Vatican, Monaco, Andorra, and Malta, San Marino has the smallest population of all the members of the Council of Europe.
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Saratov
Saratov () is a major city in southern Russia. It is the administrative center of Saratov Oblast and a major port on the Volga River. Population: In addition to ethnic Russians, the city also has many Tatar, Ukrainian, Jewish and German residents.
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Saratov Oblast
Saratov Oblast (, Saratovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast), located in the Volga Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Saratov. Major cities include Balakovo (pop. 200,600 as of 2002) and Engels (pop. 193,800).
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Saudi Arabia
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Sea of Japan
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, between the Asian mainland, the Japanese archipelago and Sakhalin. It is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia and South Korea. Like the Mediterranean Sea, it has almost no tides due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean. This isolation also reflects in the fauna species and in the water salinity, which is lower than in the ocean. The sea has no large islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and Pacific Ocean. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
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Sea of Okhotsk
http://wn.com/Sea_of_Okhotsk -
Serbia
Serbia (pronounced: ), officially the Republic of Serbia (), is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central- and Southeastern Europe, covering the southern lowlands of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans. Serbia borders Hungary to the north; Romania and Bulgaria to the east; the Republic of Macedonia to the south; and Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro to the west; its border with Albania is disputed. Serbia's capital city, Belgrade, is among the most populous in Southeastern Europe.
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Severnaya Zemlya
Severnaya Zemlya (, Northern Land) is an archipelago in the Russian high Arctic at around . It is located off mainland Siberia's Taymyr Peninsula across the Vilkitsky Strait. This archipelago separates two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Kara Sea in the west and the Laptev Sea in the east.
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Shukhov Tower
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Siberia
Siberia ( ), is a vast region, constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union (USSR) from its beginning, as the preceding Russian Empire conquered it in the 16th century.
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Singapore
{{Infobox Country
http://wn.com/Singapore -
Slovakia
http://wn.com/Slovakia -
Slovenia
Slovenia ( ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (, ), is a country in Central Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy on the west, the Adriatic Sea on the southwest, Croatia on the south and east, Hungary on the northeast, and Austria on the north. The capital and largest city of Slovenia is Ljubljana.
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Sochi
Sochi (, ) is a resort city, situated in Krasnodar Krai, Russia, just north of the border of the disputed territory of Abkhazia (largely recognised as part of the Republic of Georgia), and the southern Russian border fronting the Black Sea. It sprawls along the shores of the Black Sea and against the background of the snow-capped peaks of the Caucasus Mountains. At , Greater Sochi claims to be the longest city in Europe. As of the 2002 Census, it had a population of 328,809, down from 336,514 recorded in the 1989 Census. In 2006, the population was estimated to be 395,012. The city has been selected to be the host of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and XI Paralympic Winter Games in 2014. Sochi enjoys a humid subtropical climate-Mediterranean-type.
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Solovetsky Islands
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South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. To the north lie Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe; to the east are Mozambique and Swaziland; while Lesotho is an independent country wholly surrounded by South African territory.
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South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK, , ) and sometimes referred to simply as Korea, is a state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul. South Korea lies in a temperate climate region with a predominantly mountainous terrain. Its territory covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of .
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South Ossetia
South Ossetia ( or ; , Khussar Iryston; , Samxret Oseti; , Yuzhnaya Osetiya) or Tskhinvali Region (, Tsxinvalis regioni; , Tskhinvalskiy region) is a disputed region and partly recognized state in the South Caucasus, located in the territory of the South Ossetian Autonomous Oblast within the former Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic.
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Soviet
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Soviet Union
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Soyuz TMA-2
Soyuz TMA-2 was a Soyuz mission to the International Space Station (ISS) launched by a Soyuz FG launch vehicle. The spacecraft docked with the ISS 2003-04-28 and undocked 2003-10-27.
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Spain
Spain ( ; , ), officially the Kingdom of Spain (), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for a small land boundary with the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar; to the north by France, Andorra, and the Bay of Biscay; and to the northwest and west by the Atlantic Ocean and Portugal.
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Sri Lanka
The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (commonly known as Sri Lanka (, , or ); ; , ) is a country and a sovereign state off souther coast of the Indian subcontinent. A island nation in South Asia, it was till 1972 known as Ceylon (, , or ). Sri Lanka is surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.
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State of Palestine
The State of Palestine (, dawlat filastin), officially simply Palestine (, filastin), is a polity that was unilaterally declared in Algiers on 15 November 1988, when the Palestine Liberation Organization's (PLO) National Council (PNC) adopted the Palestinian Declaration of Independence.
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Strelna
Strelna () is a historic settlement situated about halfway between St. Petersburg and Peterhof, Russia, and overlooking the shore of the Gulf of Finland. Administratively, it is a municipal settlement under jurisdiction of Petrodvortsovy District of St. Petersburg. It has a population of 12,751 (2002 Census).
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Suzdal
Suzdal () is a town in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, situated north-east of Moscow, from the city of Vladimir, on the Kamenka River. Population:
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Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast (, Sverdlovskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast) located in the Urals Federal District. Given that the bulk of the oblast lies on the Asian side of the Urals (only its south-western extremity is on the European side of the mountains) it could be recognized as the most populous oblast within Asian Russia.
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Sweden
http://wn.com/Sweden -
Switzerland
Switzerland (, , , ), officially the Swiss Confederation (Confoederatio Helvetica in Latin, hence its ISO country codes CH and CHE), is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe where it is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.
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Syria
Syria ( ; ' or '), officially the Syrian Arab Republic (), is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest.
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Taiwan
Taiwan, also known (especially in the past) as Formosa (from , "Beautiful Island"), is an island situated in East Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It comprises most (99%) of the territory of the Republic of China (ROC) since the 1950s. The term "Taiwan" is also a common name to refer to the entire country of the Republic of China.
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Tajikistan
Tajikistan ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Tajikistan (, Jumhurii Tojikiston; , Respublika Tadzhikistan; Jomhuri-ye Tajikestan), is a mountainous landlocked country in Central Asia. Afghanistan borders it to the south, Uzbekistan to the west, Kyrgyzstan to the north, and People's Republic of China to the east. Tajikistan also lies adjacent to Pakistan and the Gilgit-Baltistan region, separated by the narrow Wakhan Corridor.
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Tatarstan
http://wn.com/Tatarstan -
Thailand
Thailand ( or ; Ratcha Anachak Thai, ), formerly Siam (, ), is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and the southern extremity of Burma. Its maritime boundaries include Vietnam in the Gulf of Thailand to the southeast and Indonesia and India in the Andaman Sea to the southwest.
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Togo
http://wn.com/Togo -
Tolyatti
Tolyatti (), also known as Togliatti, is a city in Samara Oblast, Russia. It is the administrative center of Stavropolsky District. Population: 718,030 (2007 est.); It is the largest city in Russia which does not serve as an administrative center of a federal subject.
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Transnistria
http://wn.com/Transnistria -
Tretyakov Gallery
The State Tretyakov Gallery (, ) is an art gallery in Moscow, Russia, the foremost depository of Russian fine art in the world.
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Tsardom of Russia
http://wn.com/Tsardom_of_Russia -
Tsaritsyno Park
http://wn.com/Tsaritsyno_Park -
Tsarskoye Selo
Tsarskoye Selo (; "Tsar's Village") is a former Russian residence of the imperial family and visiting nobility, located south from the center of St. Petersburg. It is now part of the town of Pushkin and of the World Heritage Site Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments.
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Turkey
Turkey (), known officially as the Republic of Turkey (), is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey is one of the six independent Turkic states. Turkey is bordered by eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest; Greece to the west; Georgia to the northeast; Armenia, Azerbaijan (the exclave of Nakhchivan) and Iran to the east; and Iraq and Syria to the southeast. The Mediterranean Sea and Cyprus are to the south; the Aegean Sea to the west; and the Black Sea is to the north. The Sea of Marmara, the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles (which together form the Turkish Straits) demarcate the boundary between Eastern Thrace and Anatolia; they also separate Europe and Asia.
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Turkmenistan
The Turkmenistan (), also known as Turkmenia () is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (Turkmen SSR). Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states. It is bordered by Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest, Uzbekistan to the east and northeast, Kazakhstan to the north and northwest and the Caspian Sea to the west.
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Tuva
The Tyva Republic (, Respublika Tyva, ; , Tyva Respublika), or Tuva (, Tuva), is a federal subject of Russia (a republic).
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Tverskaya Street
Tverskaya Street (), known as Gorky Street () between 1935 and 1990 and (unofficially) Piterskaya () in the preceding decades, is the main and probably best-known radial street of Moscow, Russia. The street runs from the central Manege Square north-west in the direction of Saint Petersburg and terminated at the Garden Ring, giving its name to Tverskoy District. The route continues further as First Tverskaya-Yamskaya Street, Leningradsky Prospekt and Leningradskoye Shosse.
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Tyva
http://wn.com/Tyva -
Ufa
Ufa (; ) is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. Ufa is the capital and the administrative, political, economic, scientific and cultural center of the republic. Ufa is one of the largest cities in Russia. The population is 1,038,100 (2010 est.); 1,042,437 (2002 Census). In terms of ethnic composition, it is dominated by Russians, Tatars and Bashkirs. An inhabitant of the city is called an "ufimets". Ufa is famous for its oil, gas, minerals, and Bashkir honey.
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Ukraine
Ukraine ( ; , transliterated: , ), with its area of 603,628 km2, is the second largest country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by the Russian Federation to the east and northeast, Belarus to the northwest, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary to the west, Romania and Moldova to the southwest, and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south and southeast respectively.
http://wn.com/Ukraine -
Ukrainian SSR
http://wn.com/Ukrainian_SSR -
United Arab Emirates
http://wn.com/United_Arab_Emirates -
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK, or Britain) is a country and sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island nation, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of the island of Ireland, and many smaller islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border with another sovereign state, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Apart from this land border, the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea, the English Channel and the Irish Sea. Great Britain is linked to continental Europe by the Channel Tunnel.
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United States
The United States of America (also referred to as the United States, the U.S., the USA, or America) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Caribbean and Pacific.
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Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains (, Uralskiye gory) are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia. The mountains lie within the Ural geographical region and significantly overlap with the Ural Federal District and Ural economic region. They are rich in various deposits, including metal ores, coal, precious and semi-precious stones, and since the 18th century have been the major mineral base of Russia.
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Uvs Nuur Basin
The Uvs Nuur Basin (also Ubsu-Nur Basin) is a fragile mountain endorheic basin, named after Uvs Nuur, a large, shallow and very saline lake in the basin's center. Several smaller lakes are scattered throughout.
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Uzbekistan
http://wn.com/Uzbekistan -
Vatican City
http://wn.com/Vatican_City -
Verkhoyansk Range
The Verkhoyansk Range () is a mountain range of eastern Siberia, spanning ca. 1000 km (600 m.), across the Sakha Republic. It forms a vast arc between the Lena and Aldan rivers to the west and the Yana River to the east. It rises to ca. 2,480 m (8,150 ft) in the south. There are coal, silver, lead, and zinc deposits. It lies just west of the boundary of the Eurasian and the North American tectonic plates.
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Vietnam
Vietnam ( ; , ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (, ), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by People's Republic of China (PRC) to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea, referred to as East Sea (), to the east. With a population of over 86 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world.
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Virgin Komi Forests
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Vistula Lagoon
http://wn.com/Vistula_Lagoon -
Vistula Spit
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Volgograd
http://wn.com/Volgograd -
Volgograd Oblast
Volgograd Oblast (, Volgogradskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). Its administrative center is the city of Volgograd.
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Voronezh
http://wn.com/Voronezh -
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast (, Voronezhskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It was established on June 13, 1934.
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Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C. (), formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790. Article One of the United States Constitution provides for a federal district, distinct from the states, to serve as the permanent national capital. The City of Washington was originally a separate municipality within the federal territory until an act of Congress in 1871 established a single, unified municipal government for the whole District. It is for this reason that the city, while legally named the District of Columbia, is known as Washington, D.C. The city shares its name with the U.S. state of Washington, which is located on the country's Pacific coast.
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Western Caucasus
:'' This article concerns the World Heritage Site. For other meanings, see Caucasus (disambiguation) and Caucasia (disambiguation).
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White Sea
The White Sea () is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of the internal waters of Russia.
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Wrangel Island
http://wn.com/Wrangel_Island -
Yakutia
http://wn.com/Yakutia -
Yaroslavl Oblast
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Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg (, also romanized Ekaterinburg), formerly Sverdlovsk () is a major city in the central part of Russia, the administrative center of Sverdlovsk Oblast. Situated on the eastern side of the Ural mountain range, it is the main industrial and cultural center of the Urals Federal District. Its population of which is down from 1,364,621 recorded in the 1989 Census, makes it Russia's fifth largest city. Between 1924 and 1991, the city was known as Sverdlovsk (), after the Bolshevik party leader Yakov Sverdlov.
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Yemen
http://wn.com/Yemen -
Yenisey
http://wn.com/Yenisey -
Zaraysk
Zaraysk () is a town in Moscow Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Zaraysky District, situated about 162 km southeast from Moscow. Population: 25,093 (2002 Census); 26,958 (1989 Census).
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Åland Islands
http://wn.com/Åland_Islands
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Adolf Hitler
http://wn.com/Adolf_Hitler -
Aleksandr Butlerov
http://wn.com/Aleksandr_Butlerov -
Aleksandr Lyapunov
http://wn.com/Aleksandr_Lyapunov -
Aleksandr Ptushko
http://wn.com/Aleksandr_Ptushko -
Aleksey I
http://wn.com/Aleksey_I -
Alexander Blok
Aleksandr Aleksandrovich Blok (, – 7 August 1921)
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Alexander Lodygin
http://wn.com/Alexander_Lodygin -
Alexander Nevsky
http://wn.com/Alexander_Nevsky -
Alexander Ostrovsky
http://wn.com/Alexander_Ostrovsky -
Alexander Prokhorov
http://wn.com/Alexander_Prokhorov -
Alexander Pushkin
http://wn.com/Alexander_Pushkin -
Alexander Scriabin
http://wn.com/Alexander_Scriabin -
Alexei Kudrin
Alexei Leonidovich Kudrin () (born 12 October 1960) is the Russian Minister of Finance. He has held the post since 7 May 2000.
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Alexey Leonov
Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov () (born 30 May 1934 in Listvyanka, Kemerovo Oblast, Soviet Union) is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and Air Force General who, on 18 March 1965, became the first human to conduct a space walk.
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Alfred Nobel
http://wn.com/Alfred_Nobel -
Alfred Schnittke
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Alina Kabayeva
Alina Maratovna Kabayeva (; ; born May 12, 1983) is a Russian sportsmaster and politician. She is the current State Duma deputy from the Party of United Russia since 2007, and before was known to lead a sports-related career in rhythmic gymnastics.
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Andrei Sakharov
http://wn.com/Andrei_Sakharov -
Andrey Kolmogorov
http://wn.com/Andrey_Kolmogorov -
Andrey Markov
http://wn.com/Andrey_Markov -
Anna Akhmatova
http://wn.com/Anna_Akhmatova -
Anna Netrebko
Anna Yuryevna Netrebko (; born September 18, 1971) is an operatic soprano. She now holds dual Russian and Austrian citizenship and currently resides in Vienna.
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Anna Pavlova
http://wn.com/Anna_Pavlova -
Anton Chekhov
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Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein () () was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos. He also founded the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, which, together with Moscow Conservatory founded by his brother Nikolai Rubinstein, helped establish a reputation for musical skill among the subjects of the Tsar of Russia.
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Aristotle Fioravanti
http://wn.com/Aristotle_Fioravanti -
Arkhip Kuindzhi
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Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians (, hayer) are a nation and ethnic group native to the Caucasus and the Armenian Highland.
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Austria
Austria or (), officially the Republic of Austria (German: ), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The territory of Austria covers and has a temperate and alpine climate. Austria's terrain is highly mountainous due to the presence of the Alps; only 32% of the country is below , and its highest point is . The majority of the population speaks German, which is also the country's official language. Other local official languages are Croatian, Hungarian and Slovene.
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Ban Ki-moon
http://wn.com/Ban_Ki-moon -
Bartolomeo Rastrelli
http://wn.com/Bartolomeo_Rastrelli -
Bohdan Khmelnytsky
http://wn.com/Bohdan_Khmelnytsky -
Boris Kustodiev
Boris Mikhaylovich Kustodiev () (March 7, 1878–May 28, 1927) was a Russian painter and stage designer.
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Boris Yeltsin
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BRIC
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BRICS
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Buddhism
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Buddhist
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Buryats
The Buryats or Buriyads, numbering approximately 436,000, are the largest ethnic minority group in Siberia and are mainly concentrated in their homeland, the Buryat Republic, a federal subject of Russia. They are the northernmost major Mongol group.
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Catherine Ashton
Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, PC (born 20 March 1956) is a British Labour politician who has been the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union (EU) since 1 December 2009 when the post was created. She is also the First-Vice-President of the European Commission (since February 2010). She prefers to be known as Cathy Ashton.
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Catherine the Great
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Chechnya
http://wn.com/Chechnya -
China
China is seen variously as an ancient civilization extending over a large area in East Asia, a nation and/or a multinational entity.
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Chuvash people
The Chuvash people (; ) are a Turkic ethnic group, native to an area stretching from the Volga Region to Siberia. Most of them live in Republic of Chuvashia and surrounding areas, although Chuvash communities may be found throughout all Russia.
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Constantine XI
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Copernicus
http://wn.com/Copernicus -
Cosmonauts
http://wn.com/Cosmonauts -
David Oistrakh
http://wn.com/David_Oistrakh -
DDT (band)
: For other uses: see DDT (disambiguation).
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Denis Fonvizin
http://wn.com/Denis_Fonvizin -
Dmitri Shostakovich
http://wn.com/Dmitri_Shostakovich -
Dmitry Donskoy
http://wn.com/Dmitry_Donskoy -
Dmitry Hvorostovsky
http://wn.com/Dmitry_Hvorostovsky -
Dmitry Ivanovsky
http://wn.com/Dmitry_Ivanovsky -
Dmitry Levitzky
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Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev (; born 14 September 1965) is the third and current President of the Russian Federation, inaugurated on 7 May 2008. He won the presidential election held on 2 March 2008 with 71.25% of the popular vote.
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Dmitry Mendeleev
http://wn.com/Dmitry_Mendeleev -
Dmitry Pozharsky
For the ship of the same name, see Sverdlov class cruiser
http://wn.com/Dmitry_Pozharsky -
Dziga Vertov
http://wn.com/Dziga_Vertov -
El Lissitzky
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Eldar Ryazanov
Eldar Aleksandrovich Ryazanov (; b. 18 November 1927) is a Soviet/Russian film director whose comedies, satirizing the daily life of the country, are very famous throughout the former Soviet Union.
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Elizabeth of Russia
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Ernst Neizvestny
Ernst Iosifovich Neizvestny () (born on 9 April 1925 in Sverdlovsk) is a famous Russian-Jewish sculptor of the second half of the 20th century. He currently lives and works in New York City.
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Eurasian Avars
The European Avars, or Ancient Avars, were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit retinue of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turkic groups. Although the name Avar first appeared in the mid fifth century, the Avars of Europe enter the historical scene in the mid sixth century A.D., when they established a pax spanning considerable areas of Central and Eastern Europe. Avar rule persisted over much of the Pannonian Plain up to the early 9th century. Their ultimate fate is believed to have been assimilation by the invading Magyars (Hungarians).
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Evgeniy Chertovsky
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Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor Vladimirovich Emelianenko (, ) (born September 28, 1976) is a Russian heavyweight mixed martial artist. He is the current World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Heavyweight Champion and the last holder of the Pride Heavyweight Championship. He has won numerous tournaments and accolades in multiple sports, most notably the Pride 2004 Grand Prix and the World Combat Sambo championship on four occasions, as well as medaling in the Russian national Judo championship.
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Finno-Ugric peoples
The Finno-Ugric peoples is a historic linguistic group of peoples in Europe who speak Finno-Ugric languages, such as the Finnic (Finns and Estonians) and the Ugric peoples (Hungarians). Finno-Ugric languages are not related to Indo-European languages, such as Germanic languages spoken by Germanic peoples; Slavic languages spoken by Slavic peoples and Romance languages by Romance peoples.
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Fyodor Dostoyevsky
http://wn.com/Fyodor_Dostoyevsky -
Fyodor Khitruk
Fyodor Savelyevich Khitruk (; born May 1, 1917) is one of the most influential animators and animation directors in Russian animation.
http://wn.com/Fyodor_Khitruk -
Galina Vishnevskaya
Galina Pavlovna Vishnevskaya () (born 25 October 1926) is a Russian soprano opera singer and recitalist who was named a People's Artist of the USSR in 1966.
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Georgiy Gamov
http://wn.com/Georgiy_Gamov -
Georgy Zhukov
http://wn.com/Georgy_Zhukov -
Gidon Kremer
Gidon Kremer () (born February 27, 1947) is a Latvian violinist and conductor. In 1980 he left the USSR and settled in Germany.
http://wn.com/Gidon_Kremer -
Gleb Kotelnikov
http://wn.com/Gleb_Kotelnikov -
Goths
The Goths (Gothic: *Gutans) were a heterogeneous East Germanic tribe, who played an important role in the history of the Roman Empire after they appeared on its lower Danube frontier in the third century.
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Grigori Perelman
http://wn.com/Grigori_Perelman -
Hong Kong
Hong Kong () is one of two special administrative regions (SARs) of the People's Republic of China (PRC), the other being Macau. Situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour. With a land mass of and a population of seven million people, Hong Kong is one of the most densely populated areas in the world. Hong Kong's population is 95 percent ethnic Chinese and 5 percent from other groups. Hong Kong's Han Chinese majority originate mainly from the cities of Guangzhou and Taishan in the neighbouring Guangdong province.
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Hu Jintao
'''
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Huns
The Huns were a group of nomadic pastoral people who, appearing from beyond the Volga, migrated into Europe c. AD 370 and built up an enormous empire in Europe. Since De Guignes linked them with the Xiongnu who had been northern neighbours of China 300 years earlier to the emergence of Huns, considerable scholarly effort has been devoted in investigating such a connection. However, there is no evidence for a direct connection between the dominant element of the Xiongnu and that of the Huns. A contemporary mentions that the Huns had a language of their own; very little of it has survived and its relationships have been the subject of debate for centuries. According to some theories, it was a Turkic language. Numerous other languages were spoken within the Hun pax including East Germanic. Their main military technique was mounted archery.
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Igor Sikorsky
Igor Sikorsky (May 25, 1889 – October 26, 1972), born Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky (, ), was a Russian-American pioneer of aviation in both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft. He designed and flew the world's first multi-engine fixed-wing aircraft, the Russky Vityaz in 1913, and the first airliner, Ilya Muromets, in 1914.
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Igor Stravinsky
http://wn.com/Igor_Stravinsky -
Igor Tamm
http://wn.com/Igor_Tamm -
Ilf and Petrov
Ilya Ilf (Ilya Arnoldovich Faynzilberg (, ; 1897–1937) and Evgeny or Yevgeni Petrov (Yevgeniy Petrovich Kataev or Katayev (, ; 1903–1942) were two Soviet prose authors of the 1920s and 1930s. They did much of their writing together, and are almost always referred to as "Ilf and Petrov". They became extremely popular for their two satirical novels: The Twelve Chairs and its sequel, The Little Golden Calf. The two texts are connected by their main character, Ostap Bender, a con man in pursuit of elusive riches.
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Ilya Mechnikov
http://wn.com/Ilya_Mechnikov -
Ilya Prigogine
http://wn.com/Ilya_Prigogine -
Isaac Levitan
http://wn.com/Isaac_Levitan -
Israel Gelfand
http://wn.com/Israel_Gelfand -
Ivan Argunov
http://wn.com/Ivan_Argunov -
Ivan III
http://wn.com/Ivan_III -
Ivan IV
http://wn.com/Ivan_IV -
Ivan Ivanov-Vano
Ivan Pyetrovich Ivanov-Vano () (February 8, 1900, Moscow – March 25, 1987, Moscow) was a Soviet animator and Russian animation director, sometimes called the "Patriarch of Soviet animation".
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Ivan Kramskoi
http://wn.com/Ivan_Kramskoi -
Ivan Pavlov
http://wn.com/Ivan_Pavlov -
Ivan Shishkin
http://wn.com/Ivan_Shishkin -
Ivan the Terrible
http://wn.com/Ivan_the_Terrible -
Joseph Stalin
http://wn.com/Joseph_Stalin -
Kalmyks
http://wn.com/Kalmyks -
Karl Briullov
http://wn.com/Karl_Briullov -
Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Severinovich Malevich (, , , , ), (February 23, 1879, previously 1878: May 15, 1935) was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born in Ukraine of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.
http://wn.com/Kazimir_Malevich -
Khazar khaganate
http://wn.com/Khazar_khaganate -
Khazars
The Khazars were a semi-nomadic Turkic people who dominated the Pontic steppe and the North Caucasus from the 7th to the 10th century. The name "Khazar" seems to be tied to a Turkic verb form meaning "wandering".
http://wn.com/Khazars -
Klavdy Lebedev
Klavdy Vasiliyevich Lebedev () (October 16(28), 1852 – September 21 (N.S. October 4), 1916) was a Russian painter, a member of The Wanderers group.
http://wn.com/Klavdy_Lebedev -
Konstantin Khrenov
http://wn.com/Konstantin_Khrenov -
Konstantin Leontiev
http://wn.com/Konstantin_Leontiev -
Kurgan hypothesis
The Kurgan hypothesis (also theory or model) is one of the proposals about early Indo-European origins, which postulates that the people of an archaeological "Kurgan culture" (a term grouping the Yamna, or Pit Grave, culture and its predecessors) in the Pontic steppe were the most likely speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language. The term is derived from kurgan () Turkic word for a tumulus or burial mound.
http://wn.com/Kurgan_hypothesis -
Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin
Kuzma Sergeevich Petrov-Vodkin, (1878, Khvalynsk, now Saratov Oblast—February 15, 1939, Leningrad) was an important Russian and Soviet painter and writer.
http://wn.com/Kuzma_Petrov-Vodkin -
Larisa Latynina
http://wn.com/Larisa_Latynina -
Leo Tolstoy
http://wn.com/Leo_Tolstoy -
Leon Trotsky
http://wn.com/Leon_Trotsky -
Leonard Euler
http://wn.com/Leonard_Euler -
Leonid Andreyev
http://wn.com/Leonid_Andreyev -
Leonid Brezhnev
http://wn.com/Leonid_Brezhnev -
Leonid Filatov
:You might be looking for Leonid the Magnificent.
http://wn.com/Leonid_Filatov -
Leonid Gaidai
http://wn.com/Leonid_Gaidai -
Lev Artsimovich
http://wn.com/Lev_Artsimovich -
Lev Kuleshov
Lev Vladimirovich Kuleshov (; – 29 March 1970) was a Soviet filmmaker and film theorist who taught at and helped establish the world's first film school (the Moscow Film School).
http://wn.com/Lev_Kuleshov -
List of cosmonauts
This is a list of cosmonauts who have taken part in the missions of the Soviet space program and the Russian Federal Space Agency, including ethnic Russians and people of other ethnicities.
http://wn.com/List_of_cosmonauts -
List of Russians
http://wn.com/List_of_Russians -
Macau
Macau (), also spelled Macao () is, along with Hong Kong one of China's two special administrative regions. It lies on the western side of the Pearl River Delta, bordering Guangdong province to the north and facing the South China Sea to the east and south.
http://wn.com/Macau -
Marc Chagall
http://wn.com/Marc_Chagall -
Maria Sharapova
http://wn.com/Maria_Sharapova -
Maxim Gorky
http://wn.com/Maxim_Gorky -
Maya Plisetskaya
Maya Mikhailovna Plisetskaya ( , scientific transliteration: Majja Michajlovna Pliseckaja ; born November 20, 1925 is a Russian ballet dancer, frequently cited as one of the greatest ballerinas of the 20th century. Maya danced during the Soviet era at the same time as the great Galina Ulanova, and took over from her as principal of the Bolshoi in 1960. Maya Plisetskaya is a naturalized Spanish and Lithuanian citizen.
http://wn.com/Maya_Plisetskaya -
Mikhail Baryshnikov
Mikhail Nikolaevich Baryshnikov (, ) (born January 28, 1948) is a Soviet-born Russian American dancer, choreographer, and actor, often cited alongside Vaslav Nijinsky and Rudolf Nureyev as one of the greatest ballet dancers of the 20th century. After a promising start in the Kirov Ballet in Leningrad, he defected to Canada in 1974 for more opportunities in western dance. After freelancing with many companies, he joined the New York City Ballet as a principal dancer to learn George Balanchine's style of movement. He then moved to New York to dance with the American Ballet Theatre, where he later became artistic director.
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Baryshnikov -
Mikhail Bulgakov
Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov (, , Kiev – March 10, 1940, Moscow) was a Soviet Russian writer and playwright active in the first half of the 20th century. He is best known for his novel The Master and Margarita, which The Times of London has called one of the masterpieces of the 20th century.
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Bulgakov -
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka () (), was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition inside his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music. Glinka's compositions were an important influence on future Russian composers, notably the members of The Five, who took Glinka's lead and produced a distinctive Russian style of music.
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Glinka -
Mikhail Gorbachev
Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev ( Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachyov ; born 2 March 1931) was the sixth General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991.
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Gorbachev -
Mikhail Kalashnikov
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Kalashnikov -
Mikhail Kutuzov
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Kutuzov -
Mikhail Lermontov
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Lermontov -
Mikhail Lomonosov
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Lomonosov -
Mikhail Sholokhov
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Sholokhov -
Mikhail Vrubel
Mikhail Aleksandrovich Vrubel (; March 17, 1856 - April 14, 1910, all n.s.) is usually regarded amongst the greatest Russian painters of the Symbolist movement. In reality, he deliberately stood aloof from contemporary art trends, so that the origin of his unusual manner should be sought in the Late Byzantine and Early Renaissance painting.
http://wn.com/Mikhail_Vrubel -
Muromians
The Muromians () were one of the Finno-Ugric tribes who lived in the Oka River basin in what is now Russia. They spoke the Muromian language. The old town of Murom still bears their name.
http://wn.com/Muromians -
Napoleon
http://wn.com/Napoleon -
Nicholas II
http://wn.com/Nicholas_II -
Nicholas Roerich
http://wn.com/Nicholas_Roerich -
Nikita Khrushchev
http://wn.com/Nikita_Khrushchev -
Nikolai Basov
http://wn.com/Nikolai_Basov -
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol (; ; ) (, – ) was a Ukrainian-born Russian novelist, humourist, and dramatist.
http://wn.com/Nikolai_Gogol -
Nikolay Benardos
http://wn.com/Nikolay_Benardos -
Nikolay Brusentsov
Nikolay Brusentsov, born February 7, 1925 in Kamenskoe (Ukrainian SSR) is a Russian computer scientist, most famous for having built a (balanced) ternary computer, Setun, together with Sergei Sobolev in 1958.
http://wn.com/Nikolay_Brusentsov -
Nikolay Gumilev
http://wn.com/Nikolay_Gumilev -
Nikolay Nekrasov
http://wn.com/Nikolay_Nekrasov -
Nikolay Rubinstein
http://wn.com/Nikolay_Rubinstein -
Ottoman Empire
http://wn.com/Ottoman_Empire -
Pafnuty Chebyshev
http://wn.com/Pafnuty_Chebyshev -
Pavel Yablochkov
http://wn.com/Pavel_Yablochkov -
Pechenegs
The Pechenegs or Patzinaks (, , , , , , ) were a semi-nomadic Turkic people of the Central Asian steppes speaking the Pecheneg language which belonged to the Turkic language family.
http://wn.com/Pechenegs -
Peter III of Russia
http://wn.com/Peter_III_of_Russia -
Peter the Great
http://wn.com/Peter_the_Great -
Pitirim Sorokin
http://wn.com/Pitirim_Sorokin -
Proto-Indo-Europeans
The Proto-Indo-Europeans were the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language (PIE), a reconstructed prehistoric language.
http://wn.com/Proto-Indo-Europeans -
R.W. Davies
http://wn.com/RW_Davies -
Rein Taagepera
Rein Taagepera (born 28 February 1933) is an Estonian-American political scientist and politician.
http://wn.com/Rein_Taagepera -
Richard Sakwa
Richard Sakwa (born 1953) is an expert in the field of Russian and Eastern European communist and post-communist politics.
http://wn.com/Richard_Sakwa -
Rudolf Nureyev
http://wn.com/Rudolf_Nureyev -
Rufus Yerxa
Rufus H. Yerxa (born 1951) is currently Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). He has served in this position since 2002. He was the former Chief International Counsel for Monsanto Company.
http://wn.com/Rufus_Yerxa -
Rurik
http://wn.com/Rurik -
Russian artists
#REDIRECT: List of Russian artists
http://wn.com/Russian_artists -
Russian Civil War
http://wn.com/Russian_Civil_War -
Russian composers
http://wn.com/Russian_composers -
Russian explorers
#REDIRECT: List of Russian explorers
http://wn.com/Russian_explorers -
Russian novelists
#REDIRECT: List of Russian language novelists
http://wn.com/Russian_novelists -
Russian philosophy
http://wn.com/Russian_philosophy -
Russian playwrights
#REDIRECT: List of Russian language playwrights
http://wn.com/Russian_playwrights -
Russian poets
http://wn.com/Russian_poets -
S.G. Wheatcroft
http://wn.com/SG_Wheatcroft -
Scythians
The Scythians or Scyths (, ) were an ancient Iranian people of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who throughout Classical Antiquity dominated the Pontic-Caspian steppe, known at the time as Scythia. They were believed to have ranged west of the Altai Mountains until 2006, when a royal burial was found to the east in Mongolia. By Late Antiquity the closely-related Sarmatians came to dominate the Scythians in the west. Much of the surviving information about the Scythians comes from the Greek historian Herodotus (c. 440 BC) in his Histories and Ovid in his poem of exile Epistulae ex Ponto, and archaeologically from the depictions of Scythian life shown in relief on exquisite goldwork found in Scythian burial mounds in Ukraine and Southern Russia.
http://wn.com/Scythians -
Semyon Dezhnyov
Semyon Ivanovich Dezhnyov (, commonly called Dezhnev in English; c. 1605 – 1672) was a Russian explorer of Siberia and the first European to sail through the Bering Strait. In 1648 he sailed from the Kolyma River on the Arctic Ocean to the Anadyr River on the Pacific. His exploit was forgotten for almost a hundred years and Vitus Bering is usually given credit for discovering the strait that bears his name.
http://wn.com/Semyon_Dezhnyov -
Sergei Bulgakov
Fr. Sergei Nikolaevich Bulgakov () ( - July 12, 1944) was a Russian Orthodox theologian, philosopher and economist.
http://wn.com/Sergei_Bulgakov -
Sergei Chaplygin
http://wn.com/Sergei_Chaplygin -
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( / Sergei Pavlovich Dyagilev ) (31 March 187219 August 1929), usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes from which many famous dancers and choreographers would later arise.
http://wn.com/Sergei_Diaghilev -
Sergei Eisenstein
http://wn.com/Sergei_Eisenstein -
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev () (5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and came to be admired as one of the greatest composers of the 20th century.
http://wn.com/Sergei_Prokofiev -
Sergei Rachmaninoff
http://wn.com/Sergei_Rachmaninoff -
Sergey Korolyov
http://wn.com/Sergey_Korolyov -
Sergey Lavrov
Sergey Viktorovich Lavrov (, born 21 March 1950) is the Foreign Minister of Russia. Prior to that, Lavrov was a Soviet diplomat and Russia's ambassador to the United Nations from 1994 to 2004. Lavrov speaks Russian, English, French and Sinhala.
http://wn.com/Sergey_Lavrov -
Sergey Makarov
http://wn.com/Sergey_Makarov -
Sergey Zagraevsky
http://wn.com/Sergey_Zagraevsky -
Sergius of Radonezh
Venerable Sergius of Radonezh (, Sergii Radonezhsky), also transliterated as Sergey Radonezhsky or Serge of Radonezh, was a spiritual leader and monastic reformer of medieval Russia. Together with Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, he is one of the Russian Orthodox Church's most highly venerated saints.
http://wn.com/Sergius_of_Radonezh -
Simon Kuznets
http://wn.com/Simon_Kuznets -
Sophia Palaiologina
Zoe Palaiologina (), later changed her name to Sophia Palaiologina (), (between 1440 and 1449 or c. 1455 – 7 April 1503), Grand Duchess of Moscow, was a niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI and second wife of Ivan III of Russia.
http://wn.com/Sophia_Palaiologina -
St. Andrew
http://wn.com/St_Andrew -
St. George
http://wn.com/St_George -
St. Mary
http://wn.com/St_Mary -
St. Nicholas
http://wn.com/St_Nicholas -
Stenka Razin
http://wn.com/Stenka_Razin -
Sviatoslav I of Kiev
http://wn.com/Sviatoslav_I_of_Kiev -
Sviatoslav Richter
http://wn.com/Sviatoslav_Richter -
Taiwan
Taiwan, also known (especially in the past) as Formosa (from , "Beautiful Island"), is an island situated in East Asia in the Western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. It comprises most (99%) of the territory of the Republic of China (ROC) since the 1950s. The term "Taiwan" is also a common name to refer to the entire country of the Republic of China.
http://wn.com/Taiwan -
Tatar language
http://wn.com/Tatar_language -
Tatars
http://wn.com/Tatars -
The Five
http://wn.com/The_Five -
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007; he resigned from all these positions in June 2007.
http://wn.com/Tony_Blair -
Turkic peoples
The Turks (or Turkics) are peoples residing in northern, central and western Asia, Mongolia, southern Siberia and northwestern China and parts of eastern Europe. They speak languages belonging to the Turkic language family. They share, to varying degrees, certain cultural traits and historical backgrounds. The term Turkic represents a broad ethno-linguistic group of people including existing societies such as the Chuvashes, Kazakhs, Tatars, Kyrgyzs, Turkish, Turkmen, Uyghur, Uzbeks, Bashkirs, Qashqai, Gagauzs, Yakuts, Crimean Karaites, Krymchaks, Karakalpaks, Karachays, Krymchaks, Nogais and as well as past civilizations such as the Kumans, Kipchaks, Avars, Turgeshs, Seljuks, Khazars, Ottomans, Mamluks, Timurids, and possibly the Xiongnu and Huns.
http://wn.com/Turkic_peoples -
Ukrainians
http://wn.com/Ukrainians -
Ukrainians in Russia
The Ukrainians in Russia make up the largest single Ukrainian diaspora of the Ukrainian people. Officially there are 2,942,961 Ukrainians living in Russia or just over 2% of the total population making them the third largest ethnic group after ethnic Russians and Tatars in the Russian Federation.
http://wn.com/Ukrainians_in_Russia -
Valentin Glushko
http://wn.com/Valentin_Glushko -
Valery Bryusov
Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov () ( – October 9, 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, dramatist, translator, critic and historian. He was one of the principal members of the Russian Symbolist movement.
http://wn.com/Valery_Bryusov -
Valery Kharlamov
http://wn.com/Valery_Kharlamov -
Vasily Polenov
http://wn.com/Vasily_Polenov -
Vaslav Nijinsky
Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (French transcription; ; / Vatslav Fomich Nizhinskiy; March 12, 1890 - April 8, 1950) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer of Polish descent. He grew to be celebrated for his virtuosity and for the depth and intensity of his characterizations. He could perform en pointe, a rare skill among male dancers at the time (Albright, 2004) and his ability to perform seemingly gravity-defying leaps was also legendary. The choreographer Bronislava Nijinska was his sister.
http://wn.com/Vaslav_Nijinsky -
Vera Mukhina
http://wn.com/Vera_Mukhina -
Viktor Vasnetsov
http://wn.com/Viktor_Vasnetsov -
Vitaly Petrov
Vitaly Aleksandrovich Petrov (, born September 8, 1984 in Vyborg) is a Russian Formula One driver for the Renault F1 team. He is known as "Vyborg Rocket" in Russia. By competing in the 2010 Bahrain Grand Prix, he is the first Russian driver to take part in the Formula One World Championship. He currently resides in Valencia, Spain.
http://wn.com/Vitaly_Petrov -
Vitas
http://wn.com/Vitas -
Vladimir Horowitz
Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz (; ) (October 1, 1903 – November 5, 1989) was a Russian-American classical virtuoso pianist and minor composer. His technique and use of tone color and the excitement of his playing were and remain legendary. He is widely considered one of the greatest pianists of the 20th century.
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Horowitz -
Vladimir Lenin
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Lenin -
Vladimir Motyl
Vladimir Yakovlevich Motyl () (26 June 1927 – 21 February 2010) was a Soviet and Russian film director and scenarist.
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Motyl -
Vladimir Nabokov
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Nabokov -
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (; born 7 October 1952) served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when president Boris Yeltsin resigned in a surprising move, and then Putin won the 2000 presidential election. In 2004 he was re-elected for a second term lasting until 7 May 2008.
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Putin -
Vladimir the Great
http://wn.com/Vladimir_the_Great -
Vladimir Vernadsky
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Vernadsky -
Vladimir Vysotsky
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Vysotsky -
Vladimir Zworykin
http://wn.com/Vladimir_Zworykin -
Vladislav Tretiak
Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM (, ; born April 25, 1952 in Orudyevo, Moscow, Soviet Union) is a former goaltender for the Soviet Union's national ice hockey team. Considered to be one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the sport, he was voted one of six players to the International Ice Hockey Federation's (IIHF) Centennial All-Star Team in a poll conducted by a group of 56 experts from 16 countries. He is the current president of the Ice Hockey Federation of Russia and the general manager of the Russian 2010 Winter Olympic team.
http://wn.com/Vladislav_Tretiak -
Warsaw Pact
http://wn.com/Warsaw_Pact -
Wassily Kandinsky
http://wn.com/Wassily_Kandinsky -
Wassily Leontief
Wassily Wassilyovich Leontief (; August 5, 1905, Munich, Germany February 5, 1999, New York), was a Russian-American economist notable for his research on how changes in one economic sector may have an effect on other sectors. Leontief won the Nobel Committee's Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 1973, and three of his doctoral students have also been awarded the prize (Paul Samuelson 1970, Robert Solow 1987, Vernon Smith 2002).
http://wn.com/Wassily_Leontief -
World War I
World War I was a military conflict centered on Europe that began in the summer of 1914. The fighting ended in late 1918. This conflict involved all of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (centred around the Triple Entente) and the Central Powers. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9 million combatants were killed, due largely to great technological advances in firepower without corresponding ones in mobility. It was the second deadliest conflict in history.
http://wn.com/World_War_I -
Yaroslav the Wise
http://wn.com/Yaroslav_the_Wise -
Yevgeniya Kanayeva
Yevgeniya Olegovna Kanayeva (; born April 2, 1990 Omsk, Soviet Union) is a Russian rhythmic gymnast. She is the 2008 Olympic individual gold medalist and European Champion in the all around for Rhythmic Gymnastics.
http://wn.com/Yevgeniya_Kanayeva -
Yevgeny Vuchetich
Yevgeny Viktorovich Vuchetich (–12 April 1974) () was a prominent Soviet sculptor and artist. He is known for his heroic monuments, often of allegoric style.
http://wn.com/Yevgeny_Vuchetich -
Yevgeny Yevtushenko
Yevgeny Aleksandrovich Yevtushenko () (also transliterated as Evgenii Alexandrovich Evtushenko, Yevgeniy Yevtushenko, or Evgeny Evtushenko) (born 18 July 1933) is a Soviet and Russian poet. He is also a novelist, essayist, dramatist, screenwriter, actor, editor, and a director of several films.
http://wn.com/Yevgeny_Yevtushenko -
Yevgeny Zamyatin
http://wn.com/Yevgeny_Zamyatin -
Yuri Gagarin
http://wn.com/Yuri_Gagarin
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We Love Russia || TNL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 8:13
- Published: 16 Aug 2012
- Updated: 12 Sep 2012
WEBSITE: www.twisternederland.com FACEBOOK www.facebook.com TWITTER: www.twitter.com Already the 9th version of 'We love Russia' where funny & weird clips are shown from Russia. This time around 8 minutes of full Russian clips showing everyday life in Russia ;) Which country should I make next? Subscribe if you want to, more videos are on the way!! If your video was in this compilation please contact me and I'll add you to the credits. Credits: To be added.
http://wn.com/We_Love_Russia_||_TNL
Prototype Quadrotor with Machine Gun!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:12
- Published: 23 Apr 2012
- Updated: 12 Sep 2012
CLICK TO TWEET: clicktotweet.com FPSRussia Shirts: fpsrussia.spreadshirt.com Twitter: twitter.com FaceBook: www.facebook.com Explosive Targets: redtargets.com
http://wn.com/Prototype_Quadrotor_with_Machine_Gun!
Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody (Russia) 2012 Eurovision Song Contest
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:10
- Published: 08 Mar 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
Powered by: www.eurovision.tv Buranovskiye Babushki will represent Russia at the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest in Baku, Azerbaijan with the song 'Party For Everybody'.
http://wn.com/Buranovskiye_Babushki_Party_For_Everybody_Russia_2012_Eurovision_Song_Contest
The World in 2 Minutes: Russia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:11
- Published: 09 Jul 2012
- Updated: 12 Sep 2012
We took the greatest videos from all over the world and made a mash-up from every country. The World In 2 Minutes describes different cultures, and how eccentric they are. www.wokitoki.cl
http://wn.com/The_World_in_2_Minutes_Russia
Timely Massacre? 'Aim to make Russia & China change stance on Syria'
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:29
- Published: 27 Aug 2012
- Updated: 10 Sep 2012
Activists have accused Syrian security forces of killing more than 300 people in the town of Daraya, near the capital. The government says it carried out an anti-terror operation in the area. Britain responded to the alleged massacre, arguing that it highlighted the urgent need for international action against Assad. RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Timely_Massacre?_'Aim_to_make_Russia_China_change_stance_on_Syria'
'Russian Amish': Children of the schism (RT documentary)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 26:11
- Published: 08 Jul 2012
- Updated: 09 Sep 2012
They lead a quiet life out of public view and keep distant from worldly matters. Religious books written in the Old Slavonic language are studied and food is all homemade. Married women are obliged to cover their head, while men have beards. The length of their dresses, trousers and shirt sleeves is strictly regimented - most of the body is covered. Living, eating or praying together with lay people is out of the question. They are the Old Believers. RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/'Russian_Amish'_Children_of_the_schism_RT_documentary
Russia's Holy-Wood (RT Documentary)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 26:14
- Published: 26 Aug 2012
- Updated: 10 Sep 2012
Richard Davies is an architectural photographer from London and has been traveling Russia for the past 10 years as part of his project to take pictures of wooden churches. This time around a group of students from St. Petersburg have decided to join him. Together they explore Russia's north by the White Sea to see some remote villages, talk to local residents, and examine old church structures. See the real old Russia through their eyes in this film. Watch more on RT's documentary channel rtd.rt.com RT LIVE http Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Russia's_Holy-Wood_RT_Documentary
Video of brutal clashes between Russian & Polish fans in Warsaw
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:32
- Published: 12 Jun 2012
- Updated: 10 Sep 2012
READ MORE on.rt.com At least three people have been injured as Polish and Russian football fans clashed in Warsaw. Police was forced to fire warning shots and use water cannons to break up the fighting. According to reports, the Russians were marching through the capital when they were attacked by a mob of Polish youths. Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Watch RT LIVE on our website rt.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Video_of_brutal_clashes_between_Russian_Polish_fans_in_Warsaw
Clinton: Russia & China will 'pay price' for supporting Assad
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:48
- Published: 06 Jul 2012
- Updated: 10 Sep 2012
Read more on.rt.com Moscow and Beijing will be punished for supporting the regime of President Bashar Assad in Syria, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton harshly stated at the "Friends of Syria" meeting of over 100 Western and Arab nations in Paris on Friday. Watch RT LIVE on our website rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Clinton_Russia_China_will_'pay_price'_for_supporting_Assad
'Unimaginable' Chaos: Worst floods in decades hit Russia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:43
- Published: 07 Jul 2012
- Updated: 28 Aug 2012
At least 80 people have been killed in severe flooding, after Russia's southern Krasnodar region was swamped by torrential rain over the last 24 hours. Dozens have been injured and hundreds displaced, as the floods caused widespread structural damage across the popular resort area. RT's Tom Barton reports. RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/'Unimaginable'_Chaos_Worst_floods_in_decades_hit_Russia
Kuril Islands: Russia's Eastern Frontier
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:51
- Published: 24 Jun 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
They lie between the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 of them with a total land area of about 15600 square kilometers and a population of 19000. Along with millions of seabirds, crabs and fish, the Ainu people were early inhabitants on these islands. Yet a long-running dispute over these territories still continues. They are the Kuril Islands -- Russia's eastern frontier! Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Watch RT LIVE on our website rt.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Kuril_Islands_Russia's_Eastern_Frontier
Disaster: Russian Grenade Fishing (Video)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:34
- Published: 03 Aug 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
What happens when Russians try using grenades to catch fish? This explosive video shows the terrible result. Ana Kasparian, Cenk Uygur, and Steve Oh break it down on The Young Turks. Watch the original video here courtesy of LiveLeak: www.liveleak.com Support The Young Turks by Subscribing bit.ly Like Us on Facebook: www.fb.com Follow Us on Twitter: twitter.com Buy TYT Merch: theyoungturks.spreadshirt.com Find out how to watch The Young Turks on Current by clicking here: www.current.com
http://wn.com/Disaster_Russian_Grenade_Fishing_Video
The Russian Dash-cam Supercut
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:48
- Published: 13 Jun 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
www.animalnewyork.com Dash-cams: Russia's Last Hope For Civility And Survival On The Road In Russia, everyone should have a camera on their dashboard. It's better than keeping a lead pipe under your seat for protection, but you might still want that lead pipe... Video: Joshua Rivera/ANIMAL New York
http://wn.com/The_Russian_Dash-cam_Supercut
Ramona Falls - Russia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:11
- Published: 10 May 2010
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
The second video from Ramona Falls' debut release Intuit. Cullen Hoback, director, Kelly Brickner, editor, and Dave Lowensohn, production coordinator. Shot on the Canon Rebel T2i
http://wn.com/Ramona_Falls_Russia
Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody (Russia) 1st Rehearsal
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:09
- Published: 14 May 2012
- Updated: 09 Sep 2012
Powered by www.eurovision.tv Impression of the first rehearsal of Buranovskiye Babushki from Russia. Buranovskiye Babushki from Russia had their first rehearsal today. They appeared on stage in their traditional Udmurt clothes. During their performance, the "Grannies" made everybody smile in the arena.
http://wn.com/Buranovskiye_Babushki_Party_For_Everybody_Russia_1st_Rehearsal
This Is Russia
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:04
- Published: 16 Mar 2011
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
Animation Video for russian lighting company Tochka Opory, showing what Russia really is for foreign businessmen. idea: 2sharp creative brand agency production: Antimult studio
http://wn.com/This_Is_Russia
Illegal Cloning? 'Dumped fetuses could be half human, half engineered'
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:49
- Published: 27 Jul 2012
- Updated: 09 Sep 2012
Hundreds of human fetuses, found in a forest in central Russia, may have been removed from a local medical university. Police are questioning a researcher, who was fired last year and could have taken the material she was working on with her. However, some doctors say the dumped fetuses could even be the product of cloning. RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Illegal_Cloning?_'Dumped_fetuses_could_be_half_human,_half_engineered'
S-400 air-defence shields Russia from sky & space threats
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:53
- Published: 25 Aug 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
Iran's relations with Russia have soured of late after Moscow cancelled a contract to deliver an advanced air defence system, the S-300. Much to Tehran's anger, the deal was torn up following the UN Security Council's arms embargo. Russia meanwhile has been developing the project further with an even more sophisticated version of the weapon - as RT's Egor Piskunov reports. RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/S-400_air-defence_shields_Russia_from_sky_space_threats
Krokodil: Russia's Deadliest Drug (NSFW)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 25:17
- Published: 17 May 2012
- Updated: 12 Sep 2012
A homemade drug called Krokodil is gaining popularity in Siberia and its effects on users are horrific. Krokodil is Russian for Crocodile, because of the way addicts' skin begins to get turn scaly, dry and eventually rot right off their bodies. Even most heroin users are frightened by Krokodil and want nothing to do with this terrifying drug. Hosted by Alison Severs | Originally released in 2011 at vice.com Check out the World's Scariest Drug bit.ly Subscribe for videos that are actually good: bit.ly Check out our full video catalog: www.youtube.com Videos, daily editorial and more: vice.com Like VICE on Facebook fb.com Follow VICE on Twitter: twitter.com Read our tumblr: vicemag.tumblr.com
http://wn.com/Krokodil_Russia's_Deadliest_Drug_NSFW
Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody - Live - Grand Final - 2012 Eurovision Song Contest
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:32
- Published: 26 May 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
Powered by www.eurovision.tv Russia: Buranovskiye Babushki - Party For Everybody live at the Grand Final of the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest
http://wn.com/Buranovskiye_Babushki_Party_For_Everybody_Live_Grand_Final_2012_Eurovision_Song_Contest
Russia, China veto western-backed Syria resolution at UN Security Council
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 7:29
- Published: 19 Jul 2012
- Updated: 03 Sep 2012
Full story and details on.rt.com Russia and China have vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution that threatened Syria with more sanctions. It was the third time in nine months that Russia and China used their powers as permanent members of the 15-nation council to block resolutions on Syria. There were 11 votes in favor of the resolution. Russia and China voted against it, while South Africa and Pakistan abstained from voting. RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Russia,_China_veto_western-backed_Syria_resolution_at_UN_Security_Council
Dreadful Discovery: 250 fetuses found dumped in Russian forest
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:23
- Published: 25 Jul 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
A horrendous discovery in the woods in Russia - police say dozens of human fetuses which were found dumped may have been used for illegal research. PHOTOS: on.rt.com RT LIVE rt.com Subscribe to RT! www.youtube.com Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com Follow us on Twitter twitter.com Follow us on Google+ plus.google.com RT (Russia Today) is a global news network broadcasting from Moscow and Washington studios. RT is the first news channel to break the 500 million YouTube views benchmark.
http://wn.com/Dreadful_Discovery_250_fetuses_found_dumped_in_Russian_forest
We Love Russia || TNL
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:16
- Published: 14 May 2012
- Updated: 11 Sep 2012
Website: www.twisternederland.com FB www.facebook.com Twitter: www.twitter.com Single video channel: youtube.com New video about Russia. What a silly place it is. Cat and a dog in the tree. Guy on ice. Crazy traffic. You can all find it in Russia.
http://wn.com/We_Love_Russia_||_TNL
AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko
Creative Commons / Владимир Шеляпин
Creative Commons![Nizhny Novgorod, 17 March 2012. First Saint Patrick's Day parade took place in Russia in 1992.[46] There is an annual international festival](http://web.archive.org./web/20120916200350im_/http://cdn5.wn.com/pd/9f/39/705e5bc7e0192c449d8c5f07762a_small.jpg "Nizhny Novgorod, 17 March 2012. First Saint Patrick's Day parade took place in Russia in 1992.[46] There is an annual international festival")
Creative Commons / Алексей Белобородов
AP / Jim Watson, Pool
AP / Ivan Sekretarev
AP / Jim Watson, Pool
AP / Jim Watson, Pool
AP / Maxim Shipenkov, Pool
Malacañang Photo Bureau / Benhur Arcayan
AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko
DOD / Released by Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.
AP / RIA-Novosti, Alexei Druzhinin, Presidential Press Service
AP / Misha Japaridze
AP / Dmitry Lovetsky
Creative Commons / Sk
Creative Commons / Óðinn
AP / Fred Beckham
UN / Mark Garten
AP / Misha Japaridze
AP / Dmitry Lovetsky
AP / Mikhail Metzel![View of Lake Ladoga to the castle nut. Lake Ladoga (Russian: Ла́дожское о́зеро, tr. Ladozhskoye ozero; IPA: [ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə] or Russian: Ла́дога, tr. Ladoga; IPA: [ˈladəgə]; Finnish: Laatokka [earlier in Finnish Nevajärvi]; Karelian: Luadogu) is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg.](http://web.archive.org./web/20120916200350im_/http://cdn1.wn.com/pd/4f/58/77de63940890523e4b4d5fdb212c_small.jpg "View of Lake Ladoga to the castle nut. Lake Ladoga (Russian: Ла́дожское о́зеро, tr. Ladozhskoye ozero; IPA: [ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə] or Russian: Ла́дога, tr. Ladoga; IPA: [ˈladəgə]; Finnish: Laatokka [earlier in Finnish Nevajärvi]; Karelian: Luadogu) is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg.")
Creative Commons / Осенняя мгла
Creative Commons / Витольд Муратов
Creative Commons / Ibos
Creative Commons
AP / Elise Amendola
AP / Victor Caivano
AP / Misha Japaridze
AP / Misha Japaridze
![Nizhny Novgorod, 17 March 2012. First Saint Patrick's Day parade took place in Russia in 1992.[46] There is an annual international festival](http://web.archive.org./web/20120916200350/http://cdn9.wn.com/pd/9f/39/705e5bc7e0192c449d8c5f07762a_medium.jpg "Nizhny Novgorod, 17 March 2012. First Saint Patrick's Day parade took place in Russia in 1992.[46] There is an annual international festival")
![View of Lake Ladoga to the castle nut. Lake Ladoga (Russian: Ла́дожское о́зеро, tr. Ladozhskoye ozero; IPA: [ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə] or Russian: Ла́дога, tr. Ladoga; IPA: [ˈladəgə]; Finnish: Laatokka [earlier in Finnish Nevajärvi]; Karelian: Luadogu) is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg.](http://web.archive.org./web/20120916200350/http://cdn5.wn.com/pd/4f/58/77de63940890523e4b4d5fdb212c_medium.jpg "View of Lake Ladoga to the castle nut. Lake Ladoga (Russian: Ла́дожское о́зеро, tr. Ladozhskoye ozero; IPA: [ˈladəʂskəjə ˈozʲɪrə] or Russian: Ла́дога, tr. Ladoga; IPA: [ˈladəgə]; Finnish: Laatokka [earlier in Finnish Nevajärvi]; Karelian: Luadogu) is a freshwater lake located in the Republic of Karelia and Leningrad Oblast in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petersburg.")
Photo: AP / Chris Clark
14 Sep 2012
Britain's royal family says it is suing the French magazine that published topless photos of Kate Middleton sunbathing....
Photo: AP / Alexander Zemlianichenko
16 Sep 2012
Peaceful demonstration opposing presidency of Vladimir Putin is first major protest to take place in three months Opposition supporters take part in the demonstration in Moscow. Photograph: Ivan...
Photo: AP / RIA Novosti, Vladimir Rodionov, Presidential Press Service
11 Sep 2012
Moscow: Russia will spend 670 billion rubles ($21 billion) to develop its space industry in the coming years, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Monday. "This is big money, you must not let a...
Photo: AP / David Karp
09 Sep 2012
VLADIVOSTOK, Russia -- Russia on Saturday soundly rejected U.S. calls for increased pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to relinquish power. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton tried to...
Zeenews
Moscow: A victory in the US presidential elections for Mitt Romney could lead to a new arms race as the Republican candidate considers Russia to be America's "No 1...(size: 1.1Kb)
noodls
(Source: Government of the Russian Federation) The message reads, in part: "This day is associated with spiritual renewal, pure intentions and bright hopes for the future. The values of Judaism and its centuries-long traditions of...(size: 1.5Kb)
Ten die in car crash in southern Russia
16 Sep 2012
The New York Times
By ALISON SMALE The anti-Putin opposition was on the streets again on Saturday in Moscow, as our colleagues Ellen Barry, David Herszenhorn, James Hill and others documented in full. One of the people they quoted, Gennady Gudkov — described by Ellen as a rumpled veteran of Russia’s...(size: 4.1Kb)
NHL Lockout to Help Russia at Olympics - Tretiak
16 Sep 2012
Novosti
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - The NHL lockout will help Russia’s national team coach prepare for the country's home Olympics in Sochi in 2014, Russian Hockey Federation president and legendary...(size: 1.3Kb)
Bloomberg
Russia plans to sell a 7.6 percent stake in OAO Sberbank, the country’s largest lender, to raise about 149 billion rubles ($4.9 billion) and will start meetings with investors tomorrow, said two people with knowledge of the matter. Russia is probably seeking a range of 91 rubles a...(size: 1.8Kb)
TSN Canada
MOSCOW -- NHL stars Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar have signed with Mettalurg of the Kontinental Hockey League after the NHL imposed a lockout of its players....(size: 1.1Kb)
Russia Eliminated from Davis Cup World Group
16 Sep 2012
DNA India
Russia's men were eliminated from the elite group of tennis playing nations for the first time Sunday, falling to a 0-3 defeat against Brazil in their Davis Cup World Group play-off in Sao Paulo. Russia's lowest-ranked team in decades put in a lacklustre performance on the clay courts of San Jose do...(size: 2.1Kb)
Yahoo Daily News
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of demonstrators marched though Moscow under streaming banners, flags and balloons on Saturday to demand an end to President Vladimir Putin's long rule and show their protest movement remains strong. Protesters chanted "Russia without Putin!" in the first big...(size: 11.2Kb)
Tens of thousands march against Putin in Russia’s capital to show resilience of protest mood
16 Sep 2012
The Washington Post
MOSCOW — The first major protest against President Vladimir Putin after a summer lull drew tens of thousands of people, determined to show that opposition sentiment remains strong despite Kremlin efforts to muzzle dissent. The street protests broke out after a December parliamentary election...(size: 4.8Kb)
This article is about the current country. For other uses, see Russia (disambiguation).
"Russian Federation" redirects here. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic was also alternatively called the "Russian Federation".
| Russian Federation
Российская Федерация
Rossiyskaya Federatsiya |
||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
||||||
Anthem:
 (tr.: Gosudarstvenny gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii) (State Anthem of the Russian Federation) |
||||||
.svg) |
||||||
| Capital (and largest city) |
Moscow 55°45′N 37°37′E / 55.75°N 37.617°E / 55.75; 37.617 |
|||||
| Official language(s) | Russian official throughout the country; 27 others co-official in various regions | |||||
| Ethnic groups (2010) | 81% Russians 3.7% Tatars 1.4% Ukrainians 1.1% Bashkirs 1% Chuvashes 11.8% others and unspecified[1] |
|||||
| Demonym | Russian | |||||
| Government | Federal semi-presidential constitutional republic | |||||
| - | President | Vladimir Putin | ||||
| - | Prime Minister | Dmitry Medvedev | ||||
| Legislature | Federal Assembly | |||||
| - | Upper house | Federation Council | ||||
| - | Lower house | State Duma | ||||
| Formation | ||||||
| - | Rurik Dynasty | 862 | ||||
| - | Kievan Rus' | 882 | ||||
| - | Vladimir-Suzdal Rus' | 1169 | ||||
| - | Grand Duchy of Moscow | 1283 | ||||
| - | Tsardom of Russia | 16 January 1547 | ||||
| - | Russian Empire | 22 October 1721 | ||||
| - | Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic | 7 November 1917 | ||||
| - | Union of Soviet Socialist Republics | 10 December 1922 | ||||
| - | Russian Federation | 25 December 1991 | ||||
| Area | ||||||
| - | Total | 17,075,400 km2 (1st) 6,592,800 sq mi |
||||
| - | Water (%) | 13[2] (including swamps) | ||||
| Population | ||||||
| - | 2012 estimate | 143,030,106[3] (8th) | ||||
| - | Density | 8.3/km2 (217th) 21.5/sq mi |
||||
| GDP (PPP) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $2.383 trillion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $16,736[4] | ||||
| GDP (nominal) | 2011 estimate | |||||
| - | Total | $1.850 trillion[4] | ||||
| - | Per capita | $12,993[4] | ||||
| Gini (2008) | 42.3[5] (83rd) | |||||
| HDI (2011) |  0.755[6] (high) (66th) |
|||||
| Currency | Ruble (RUB) |
|||||
| Time zone | (UTC+3 to +12 (exc. +5)) | |||||
| Date formats | dd.mm.yyyy | |||||
| Drives on the | right | |||||
| ISO 3166 code | RU | |||||
| Internet TLD | .ru, .su, .рф | |||||
| Calling code | +7 | |||||
Russia 
i/ˈrʌʃə/ or /ˈrʊʃə/ (Russian: Россия, tr. Rossiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] (
listen)), also officially known as the Russian Federation[7] (Russian: Российская Федерация, tr. Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ( listen)), is a country in northern Eurasia.[8] It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both via Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, and the US state of Alaska by the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the eighth most populous nation with 143 million people.[9] It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning nine time zones and incorporating a wide range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources[10] and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas globally.[11][12] Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.[13]
The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs, who emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.[14] Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire,[15] beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium.[15] Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde.[16] The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde, and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland in Europe to Alaska in North America.[17][18]
Following the Russian Revolution, Russia became the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower,[19] which played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II.[20][21] The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human spaceflight. The Russian Federation was founded following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the Soviet state.[22]
The Russian economy is the world's ninth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity, with the 3rd largest nominal military budget. Russia is one of the world's fastest growing major economies. It is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.[23] Russia is a great power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8, G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and is the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Contents |
Etymology[link]
Main articles: Rus' people and Rus (name)
The name Russia is derived from Rus, a medieval state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this proper name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants "Русская Земля" (russkaya zemlya) which could be translated as "Russian Land" or "Land of Rus'". In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus' by modern historiography. The name Rus' itself comes from Rus people, a group of Varangians (possibly Swedish Vikings)[24][25] who founded the state of Rus (Русь).
An old Latin version of the name Rus' was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus' that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия (Rossiya), comes from the Greek version of Rus', nowadays spelled Ρωσία [rosˈia] instead of Ρωσσία, which was the denomination of Kievan Rus in the Byzantine Empire.[26]
History[link]
Main article: History of Russia
Early periods[link]
One of the first modern human bones of the age of 35 000 years was found in Russia, in Kostenki on the Don River banks.[citation needed] The only remains of the Denisova hominin that lived about 41,000 years ago were discovered in Denisova Cave (South Siberia).[citation needed]
In prehistoric times the vast steppes of Southern Russia were home to tribes of nomadic pastoralists.[27] Remnants of these steppe civilizations were discovered in such places as Ipatovo,[27] Sintashta,[28] Arkaim,[29] and Pazyryk,[30] which bear the earliest known traces of mounted warfare, a key feature in nomadic way of life.
In classical antiquity, the Pontic Steppe was known as Scythia. Since the 8th century BC, Ancient Greek traders brought their civilization to the trade emporiums in Tanais and Phanagoria.[31] In 3rd – 4th centuries AD a semi-legendary Gothic kingdom of Oium existed in Southern Russia till it was overrun by Huns. Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, the Bosporan Kingdom, a Hellenistic polity which succeeded the Greek colonies,[32] was also overwhelmed by nomadic invasions led by warlike tribes, such as the Huns and Eurasian Avars.[33] A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the lower Volga basin steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas until the 8th century.[34]
The ancestors of modern Russians are the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought by some scholars to have been the wooded areas of the Pinsk Marshes.[35] The East Slavs gradually settled Western Russia in two waves: one moving from Kiev toward present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk toward Novgorod and Rostov. From the 7th century onwards, the East Slavs constituted the bulk of the population in Western Russia[36] and slowly but peacefully assimilated the native Finno-Ugric peoples, including the Merya, the Muromians, and the Meshchera.
Kievan Rus[link]
The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians, the traders, warriors and settlers from the Baltic Sea region. Primarily they were Vikings of Scandinavian origin, who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas.[37] According to the Primary Chronicle, a Varangian from Rus' people, named Rurik, was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862. In 882 his successor Oleg, ventured south and conquered Kiev,[38] which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazars; so the state of Kievan Rus' started. Oleg, Rurik's son Igor and Igor's son Sviatoslav subsequently subdued all local East Slavic tribes to Kievan rule, destroyed the Khazar khaganate and launched several military expeditions to Byzantium and Persia.
In the 10th to 11th centuries Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe.[39] The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) constitute the Golden Age of Kiev, which saw the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code, the Russkaya Pravda.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north, particularly to the area known as Zalesye.[40]
The age of feudalism and decentralization had come, marked by constant in-fighting between members of the Rurik Dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus' collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod Republic in the north-west and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west.
Ultimately Kievan Rus' disintegrated, with the final blow being the Mongol invasion of 1237–40,[41] that resulted in the destruction of Kiev[42] and the death of about half the population of Rus'.[43] The invaders, later known as Tatars, formed the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the Russian principalities and ruled the southern and central expanses of Russia for over three centuries.[44]
Galicia-Volhynia was eventually assimilated by the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while the Mongol-dominated Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod Republic, two regions on the periphery of Kiev, established the basis for the modern Russian nation.[15] The Novgorod together with Pskov retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the Mongol yoke and were largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the invading Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240, as well as the Germanic crusaders in the Battle of the Ice in 1242, breaking their attempts to colonize the Northern Rus'.
Grand Duchy of Moscow[link]
Main article: Grand Duchy of Moscow
The most powerful successor state to Kievan Rus' was the Grand Duchy of Moscow ("Moscovy" in the Western chronicles), initially a part of Vladimir-Suzdal. While still under the domain of the Mongol-Tatars and with their connivance, Moscow began to assert its influence in the Central Rus' in the early 14th century, gradually becoming the main leading force in the process of the Rus' lands' reunification and expansion of Russia.
Those were hard times, with frequent Mongol-Tatar raids and agriculture suffering from the beginning of the Little Ice Age. Like in the rest of Europe, plagues hit Russia somewhere once every five or six years from 1350 to 1490. However, due to the lower population density and better hygiene (widespread practicing of banya, the wet steam bath),[45] the population loss caused by plagues was not so severe as in the Western Europe, and the pre-Plague populations were reached in Russia as early as 1500.[46]
Led by Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow and helped by the Russian Orthodox Church, the united army of Russian principalities inflicted a milestone defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380. Moscow gradually absorbed the surrounding principalities, including the formerly strong rivals, such as Tver and Novgorod.
Ivan III (the Great) finally threw off the control of the Golden Horde, consolidated the whole of Central and Northern Rus' under Moscow's dominion, and was the first to take the title "Grand Duke of all the Russias".[47] After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, and made the Byzantine double-headed eagle his own, and eventually Russian, coat-of-arms.
Tsardom of Russia[link]
Main article: Tsardom of Russia
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In development of the Third Rome ideas, the Grand Duke Ivan IV (the "Awesome"[48]) was officially crowned the first Tsar ("Caesar") of Russia in 1547. The Tsar promulgated a new code of laws (Sudebnik of 1550), established the first Russian feudal representative body (Zemsky Sobor) and introduced local self-management into the rural regions.[49][50]
During his long reign, Ivan the Terrible nearly doubled the already large Russian territory by annexing the three Tatar khanates (parts of disintegrated Golden Horde): Kazan and Astrakhan along the Volga River, and Sibirean Khanate in South Western Siberia. Thus by the end of the 16th century Russia was transformed into a multiethnic, multiconfessional and transcontinental state.
However, the Tsardom was weakened by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden for access to the Baltic coast and sea trade.[51] At the same time the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate, the only remaining successor to the Golden Horde, continued to raid Southern Russia.[52] In effort to restore the Volga khanates, Crimeans and their Ottoman allies invaded central Russia and were even able to burn down parts of Moscow in 1571.[53] But next year the large invading army was thoroughly defeated by Russians in the Battle of Molodi, forever eliminating the threat of the Ottoman-Crimean expansion into Russia. The raids of Crimeans, however, didn't cease until the late 17th century, though the construction of new fortification lines across Southern Russia, such as the Great Abatis Line, constantly narrowed the area accessible to incursions.
The death of Ivan's sons marked the end of the ancient Rurik Dynasty in 1598, and in combination with the famine of 1601–03[54] led to the civil war, the rule of pretenders and foreign intervention during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century.[55] Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied parts of Russia, including Moscow. In 1612 the Poles were forced to retreat by the Russian volunteer corps, led by two national heroes, merchant Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The Romanov Dynasty acceded the throne in 1613 by the decision of Zemsky Sobor, and the country started its gradual recovery from the crisis.
Russia continued its territorial growth through the 17th century, which was the age of Cossacks. Cossacks were warriors organized into military communities, resembling pirates and pioneers of the New World. In 1648, the peasants of Ukraine joined the Zaporozhian Cossacks in rebellion against Poland-Lithuania during the Khmelnytsky Uprising, because of the social and religious oppression they suffered under Polish rule. In 1654 the Ukrainian leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, offered to place Ukraine under the protection of the Russian Tsar, Aleksey I. Aleksey's acceptance of this offer led to another Russo-Polish War (1654–1667). Finally, Ukraine was split along the Dnieper River, leaving the western part (or Right-bank Ukraine) under Polish rule and eastern part (Left-bank Ukraine and Kiev) under Russian. Later, in 1670–71 the Don Cossacks led by Stenka Razin initiated a major uprising in the Volga Region, but the Tsar's troops were successful in defeating the rebels.
In the east, the rapid Russian exploration and colonisation of the huge territories of Siberia was led mostly by Cossacks hunting for valuable furs and ivory. Russian explorers pushed eastward primarily along the Siberian River Routes, and by the mid-17th century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on the Chukchi Peninsula, along the Amur River, and on the Pacific coast. In 1648 the Bering Strait between Asia and North America was passed for the first time by Fedot Popov and Semyon Dezhnyov.
Imperial Russia[link]
Main article: Russian Empire
Under Peter the Great, Russia was proclaimed an Empire in 1721 and became recognized as a world power. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War, forcing it to cede West Karelia and Ingria (two regions lost by Russia in the Time of Troubles),[56] as well as Estland and Livland, securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade.[57] On the Baltic Sea Peter founded a new capital called Saint Petersburg, later known as Russia's Window to Europe. Peter the Great's reforms brought considerable Western European cultural influences to Russia.
The reign of Peter I's daughter Elizabeth in 1741–62 saw Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756–63). During this conflict Russia annexed East Prussia for a while and even took Berlin. However, upon Elisabeth's death, all these conquests were returned to Kingdom of Prussia by pro-Prussian Peter III of Russia.
Catherine II (the Great), who ruled in 1762–96, presided over the Age of Russian Enlightenment. She extended Russian political control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and incorporated most of its territories into Russia during the Partitions of Poland, pushing the Russian frontier westward into Central Europe. In the south, after successful Russo-Turkish Wars against the Ottoman Empire, Catherine advanced Russia's boundary to the Black Sea, defeating the Crimean Khanate. As a result of victories over the Ottomans, by the early 19th century Russia also made significant territorial gains in Transcaucasia. This continued with Alexander I's (1801–25) wresting of Finland from the weakened kingdom of Sweden in 1809 and of Bessarabia from the Ottomans in 1812. At the same time Russians colonized Alaska and even founded settlements in California, like Fort Ross.
In 1803–06 the first Russian circumnavigation was made, later followed by other notable Russian sea exploration voyages. In 1820 a Russian expedition discovered the continent of Antarctica.
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In alliances with various European countries, Russia fought against Napoleon's France. The French invasion of Russia at the height of Napoleon's power in 1812 failed miserably as the obstinate resistance in combination with the bitterly cold Russian Winter led to a disastrous defeat of invaders, in which more than 95% of the pan-European Grande Armée perished.[58] Led by Mikhail Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly, the Russian army ousted Napoleon from the country and drove through Europe in the war of the Sixth Coalition, finally entering Paris. Alexander I headed Russia's delegation at the Congress of Vienna that defined the map of post-Napoleonic Europe.
The officers of the Napoleonic Wars brought ideas of liberalism back to Russia with them and attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825. At the end of the conservative reign of Nicolas I (1825–55) a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe was disrupted by defeat in the Crimean War. Between 1847 and 1851 a massive wave of Asiatic cholera swept over Russia, claiming about one million lives.[59]
Nicholas's successor Alexander II (1855–81) enacted significant changes in the country, including the emancipation reform of 1861. These Great Reforms spurred industrialization and modernized the Russian army, which had successfully liberated Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War.
The late 19th century saw the rise of various socialist movements in Russia. Alexander II was killed in 1881 by revolutionary terrorists, and the reign of his son Alexander III (1881–94) was less liberal but more peaceful. The last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II (1894–1917), was unable to prevent the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905, triggered by the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese War and the demonstration incident known as Bloody Sunday. The uprising was put down, but the government was forced to concede major reforms, including granting the freedoms of speech and assembly, the legalization of political parties, and the creation of an elected legislative body, the State Duma of the Russian Empire. Migration to Siberia increased rapidly in the early 20th century, particularly during the Stolypin agrarian reform. Between 1906 and 1914 more than four million settlers arrived in that region.[60]
In 1914 Russia entered World War I in response to Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Russia's ally Serbia, and fought across multiple fronts while isolated from its Triple Entente allies. In 1916 the Brusilov Offensive of the Russian Army almost completely destroyed the military of Austria-Hungary. However, the already-existing public distrust of the regime was deepened by the rising costs of war, high casualties, and rumors of corruption and treason. All this formed the climate for the Russian Revolution of 1917, carried out in two major acts.
The February Revolution forced Nicholas II to abdicate; he and his family were imprisoned and later executed during the Russian Civil War. The monarchy was replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared itself the Provisional Government. An alternative socialist establishment existed alongside, the Petrograd Soviet, wielding power through the democratically elected councils of workers and peasants, called Soviets. The rule of the new authorities only aggravated the crisis in the country, instead of resolving it. Eventually, the October Revolution, led by Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and created the world’s first socialist state.
Soviet Russia[link]
Main articles: Soviet Union, History of the Soviet Union, and Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Following the October Revolution, a civil war broke out between the anti-communist White movement and the new Soviet regime with its Red Army. Russia lost its Ukrainian, Polish, Baltic, and Finnish territories by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that concluded hostilities with the Central Powers in World War I. The Allied powers launched an unsuccessful military intervention in support of anti-Communist forces, while both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror. By the end of the civil war, the Russian economy and infrastructure were heavily damaged. Millions became White émigrés,[61] and the Povolzhye famine of 1921 claimed up to 5 million victims.[62]
The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (called Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic at the time) together with the Ukrainian, Byelorussian, and Transcaucasion Soviet Socialist Republics, formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union, on 30 December 1922. Out of the 15 total republics that would make up the USSR, the Russian SFSR was the largest in terms of size, and making up over half of the total USSR population, dominated the union for its entire 69-year history.
Following Lenin's death in 1924, a troika had been designated to govern the Soviet Union. However, Joseph Stalin, an elected General Secretary of the Communist Party, managed to put down all opposition groups within the party and consolidate much power in his hands. Leon Trotsky, the main proponent of the world revolution, was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929, and Stalin's idea of Socialism in One Country became the primary line. The continued internal struggle in the Bolshevik party culminated in the Great Purge, a period of mass repressions in 1937–38, in which hundreds of thousands of people were executed, including military leaders convicted in coup d'état plots.[63]
Under Stalin's leadership, the government launched a planned economy, industrialisation of the largely rural country, and collectivization of its agriculture. During this period of rapid economical and social changes, millions of people were sent to penal labor camps,[64] including many political convicts who opposed Stalin's rule, and millions were deported and exiled to remote areas of the Soviet Union.[64] The transitional disorganisation of the country's agriculture, combined with the harsh state policies and a drought, led to the Soviet famine of 1932–1933.[65] However, though with a heavy price, the Soviet Union was transformed from a largely agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in a short span of time.
The Appeasement policy of Great Britain and France towards Adolf Hitler's annexations of Ruhr, Austria and finally of Czechoslovakia enlarged the might of Nazi Germany and put a threat of war to the Soviet Union. Around the same time the German Reich allied with the Empire of Japan, a rival of the USSR in the Far East and an open enemy in the Soviet–Japanese Border Wars in 1938–39.
In August 1939, after another failure of attempts to establish a counter-Nazism alliance with Britain and France, the Soviet government agreed to conclude the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact with Germany, pledging non-aggression between the two countries and dividing their spheres of influence in Eastern Europe. While Hitler conquered Poland, France and other countries acting on single front at the start of the World War II, the USSR was able to build up its military and regain some of the former territories of the Russian Empire during the Soviet invasion of Poland and the Winter War.
On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany broke the non-aggression treaty and invaded the Soviet Union with the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history,[66] opening the largest theater of World War II. Although the German army had considerable success early on, their onslaught was halted in the Battle of Moscow. Subsequently the Germans were dealt major defeats first at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–43,[67] and then in the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. Another German failure was the Siege of Leningrad, in which the city was fully blockaded on land between 1941–44 by German and Finnish forces, suffering starvation and more than a million deaths, but never surrendering.[68] Under Stalin's administration and the leadership of such commanders as Georgy Zhukov and Konstantin Rokossovsky, Soviet forces drove through Eastern Europe in 1944–45 and captured Berlin in May 1945. In August 1945 the Soviet Army ousted Japanese from China's Manchukuo and North Korea, contributing to the allied victory over Japan.
The 1941–45 period of World War II is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War. In this conflict, which included many of the most lethal battle operations in human history, Soviet military and civilian deaths were 10.6 million and 15.9 million respectively,[69] accounting for about a third of all World War II casualties. The full demographic loss to the Soviet peoples was even greater.[70] The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation[71] but the Soviet Union emerged as an acknowledged superpower.
The Red Army occupied Eastern Europe after the war, including East Germany. Dependent socialist governments were installed in the Eastern Bloc satellite states. Becoming the world's second nuclear weapons power, the USSR established the Warsaw Pact alliance and entered into a struggle for global dominance, known as the Cold War, with the United States and NATO. The Soviet Union supported revolutionary movements across the world, including the newly formed People's Republic of China, North Korea and, later on, Cuba. Significant amounts of the Soviet resources were allocated in aid to the other socialist states.[72]
After Stalin's death and a short period of collective rule, new leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the cult of personality of Stalin and launched the policy of de-Stalinization. Penal labor system was reformed and many prisoners were released and rehabilitated (many of them posthumously).[73] The general easement of repressive policies became known later as the Khrushchev Thaw. At the same time, tensions with the United States heightened when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba.
In 1957 the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, thus starting the Space Age. Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth aboard Vostok 1 manned spacecraft on 12 April 1961.
Following the ousting of voluntarist and erratic Khrushchev in 1964, another period of collective rule ensued, until Leonid Brezhnev became the leader. The era of 1970s and the early 1980s was designated later as the Era of Stagnation, a period when the economic growth slowed and social policies became static. The 1965 Kosygin reform, aimed into partial decentralization of the Soviet economy and shifting the emphasis from heavy industry and weapons to light industry and consumer goods, was stifled by the conservative Communist leadership.
In 1979 the Soviet forces entered Afghanistan at the request of its communist government. The occupation drained economic resources and dragged on without achieving meaningful political results. Ultimately the Soviet Army was withdrawn from Afghanistan in 1989 because of international opposition, persistent anti-Soviet guerilla warfare (enhanced by the U.S.), and a lack of support from Soviet citizens.
From 1985 onwards, the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who sought to enact liberal reforms in the Soviet system, introduced the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to end the period of stagnation in the country and democratise the government. However, this led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements. Prior to 1991, the Soviet economy was the second largest in the world,[74] but during its last years it was afflicted by shortages of goods in grocery stores, huge budget deficits, and explosive growth in money supply leading to inflation.[75]
By 1991, economic and political turmoil were beginning to boil over, as the Baltic republics chose to secede from the Union. On March 17, a referendum was held, to which the vast majority of participating citizens voted in favour of preserving the Soviet Union as a renewed federation. In August 1991, a coup d'état attempt by members of Gorbachev's government, directed against Gorbachev and aimed at preserving the Soviet Union, instead led to the end of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Despite the will expressed by the people, on 25 December 1991, the USSR was dissolved into 15 post-Soviet states.
Russian Federation[link]
Main article: History of Russia (1992–present)
Boris Yeltsin was elected the President of Russia in June 1991, in the first direct presidential election in Russian history. During and after the Soviet disintegration, wide-ranging reforms including privatisation and market and trade liberalization were being undertaken,[76] including the radical changes along the lines of "shock therapy" as recommended by the United States and International Monetary Fund.[77] All this resulted in a major economic crisis, characterized by 50% decline of both GDP and industrial output between 1990–95.[76][78]
The privatization largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to individuals with inside connections in the government system. Many of the newly rich businesspeople took billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight.[79] The depression of state and economy led to the collapse of social services; the birth rate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed.[citation needed] Millions plunged into poverty, from 1.5% level of poverty in the late Soviet era, to 39–49% by mid-1993.[80] The 1990s saw extreme corruption and lawlessness, rise of criminal gangs and violent crime.[81]
The 1990s were plagued by armed conflicts in the North Caucasus, both local ethnic skirmishes and separatist Islamist insurrections. Since the Chechen separatists had declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent guerrilla war was fought between the rebel groups and the Russian military. Terrorist attacks against civilians carried out by separatists, most notably the Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school siege, caused hundreds of deaths and drew worldwide attention.
Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's external debts, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution.[82] High budget deficits caused the 1998 Russian financial crisis[83] and resulted in further GDP decline.[76]
On 31 December 1999 President Yeltsin resigned, handing the post to the recently appointed Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who then won the 2000 presidential election. Putin suppressed the Chechen insurgency, although sporadic violence still occurs throughout the Northern Caucasus. High oil prices and initially weak currency followed by increasing domestic demand, consumption and investments has helped the economy grow for nine straight years, improving the standard of living and increasing Russia's influence on the world stage.[84] While many reforms made during the Putin presidency have been generally criticized by Western nations as un-democratic,[85] Putin's leadership over the return of order, stability, and progress has won him widespread popularity in Russia.[86] Under Putin's rule, Russia has been in "a long process of regression culminated in a move from a hybrid to an authoritarian regime" according to the 2011 Democracy Index.[87] In the assessment of foreign observers, Russia has become "a corrupt, autocratic kleptocracy centred on the leadership of Vladimir Putin, in which officials, oligarchs and organised crime are bound together to create a "virtual mafia state.""[88][89]
On 2 March 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected President of Russia, whilst Putin became Prime Minister. Putin returned to the presidency following the 2012 presidential elections, and Medvedev was appointed Prime Minister.
Politics[link]
Main articles: Politics of Russia and Government of Russia
According to the Constitution of Russia, the country is a federation and semi-presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of state[90] and the Prime Minister is the head of government. The Russian Federation is fundamentally structured as a multi-party representative democracy, with the federal government composed of three branches:
- Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly, made up of the 450-member State Duma and the 166-member Federation Council, adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the President.
- Executive: The President is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
- Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Arbitration and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the President, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.
The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term, but not for a third consecutive term).[91] Ministries of the government are composed of the Premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma). Leading political parties in Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, and A Just Russia.
Western observers have raised questions as to how much of Russia's political system corresponds to Western liberal democratic ideals. Academics have often complained about the difficulty of classifying Russia's political system. According Steve White, during the Putin presidency Russia made clear that it had no intention of establishing a "second edition" of the American or British political system, but rather a system that was closer to Russia's own traditions and circumstances.[92] Richard Sakwa wrote that the Russian government is undoubtedly considered legitimate by the great majority of the Russian people and seeks to deliver a set of public goods without appealing to extra-democratic logic to achieve them, but whether the system was becoming an illiberal or delegative democracy was more contentious.[93]
Foreign relations[link]
Main article: Foreign relations of Russia
The Russian Federation is recognized in international law as successor state of the former Soviet Union.[22] Russia continues to implement the international commitments of the USSR, and has assumed the USSR's permanent seat in the UN Security Council, membership in other international organisations, the rights and obligations under international treaties, and property and debts. Russia has a multifaceted foreign policy. As of 2009, it maintains diplomatic relations with 191 countries and has 144 embassies. The foreign policy is determined by the President and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.[94]
As the successor to a former superpower, Russia's geopolitical status has been often debated, particularly in relation to unipolar and multipolar views on the global political system. While Russia is commonly accepted to be a great power, in recent years it has been characterized by a number of world leaders,[95][96] scholars,[97] commentators and politicians[98] as a currently reinstating or potential superpower.[99][100][101]
An important aspect of Russia's relations with the West is the criticism of Russia's political system and human rights management by the Western governments, the mass media and the leading democracy and human rights watchdogs. In particular, such organisations as the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch consider Russia to have not enough democratic attributes and to allow few political rights and civil liberties to its citizens.[102][103] Freedom House, an international organisation funded by the United States, ranks Russia as "not free", citing "carefully engineered elections" and "absence" of debate.[104] Russian authorities dismiss these claims and especially criticise Freedom House. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the 2006 Freedom in the World report "prefabricated", stating that the human rights issues have been turned into a political weapon in particular by the United States. The ministry also claims that such organisations as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch use the same scheme of voluntary extrapolation of "isolated facts that of course can be found in any country" into "dominant tendencies".[105]
As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia plays a major role in maintaining international peace and security. The country participates in the Quartet on the Middle East and the Six-party talks with North Korea. Russia is a member of the G8 industrialized nations, the Council of Europe, OSCE and APEC. Russia usually takes a leading role in regional organisations such as the CIS, EurAsEC, CSTO, and the SCO.[106] Former President Vladimir Putin had advocated a strategic partnership with close integration in various dimensions including establishment of EU-Russia Common Spaces.[107] Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has developed a friendlier, albeit volatile relationship with NATO. The NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 to allow the 26 Allies and Russia to work together as equal partners to pursue opportunities for joint collaboration.[108]
Russia maintains strong and positive relations with other BRIC countries. In recent years, the country has sought to strengthen ties especially with the People's Republic of China by signing the Treaty of Friendship as well as building the Trans-Siberian oil pipeline geared toward growing Chinese energy needs.[109]
Military[link]
Main article: Armed Forces of the Russian Federation
The Russian military is divided into the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force. There are also three independent arms of service: Strategic Missile Troops, Russian Space Forces, and the Airborne Troops. In 2006, the military had 1.037 million personnel on active duty.[110] It is mandatory for all male citizens aged 18–27 to be drafted for a year of service in Armed Forces.[84]
Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It has the second largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and is the only country apart from the U.S. with a modern strategic bomber force.[23][111] Russia's tank force is the largest in the world, its surface navy and air force are among the largest ones.
The country has a large and fully indigenous arms industry, producing most of its own military equipment with only few types of weapons imported. Russia is the world's top supplier of arms, a spot it has held since 2001, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales[112] and exporting weapons to about 80 countries.[113]
Official government military spending for 2008 was $58 billion, the fifth largest in the world, though various sources have estimated Russia’s military expenditures to be considerably higher.[110][114] Currently, a major equipment upgrade worth about $200 billion is on its way between 2006 and 2015.[115]
Political divisions[link]
Main article: Subdivisions of Russia
- Federal subjects
The Russian Federation comprises 83 federal subjects.[116] These subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council.[117] However, they differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.
- 46 oblasts (provinces): most common type of federal subjects, with federally appointed governor and locally elected legislature.
- 21 republics: nominally autonomous; each has its own constitution, president or a similar post, and parliament. Republics are allowed to establish their own official language alongside Russian but are represented by the federal government in international affairs. Republics are meant to be home to specific ethnic minorities.
- 9 krais (territories): essentially the same as oblasts. The "territory" designation is historic, originally given to frontier regions and later also to the administrative divisions that comprised autonomous okrugs or autonomous oblasts.
- 4 autonomous okrugs (autonomous districts): originally autonomous entities within oblasts and krais created for ethnic minorities, their status was elevated to that of federal subjects in the 1990s. With the exception of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, all autonomous okrugs are still administratively subordinated to a krai or an oblast of which they are a part.
- 1 autonomous oblast (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast): historically, autonomous oblasts were administrative units subordinated to krais. In 1990, all of them except for the Jewish AO were elevated in status to that of a republic.
- 2 federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg): major cities that function as separate regions.
- Federal districts
Federal subjects are grouped into eight federal districts, each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia.[118] Unlike the federal subjects, the federal districts are not a subnational level of government, but are a level of administration of the federal government. Federal districts' envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.
Geography[link]
Main articles: Geography of Russia and List of Russian explorers
Russia is the largest country in the world; its total area is 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi). There are 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia, 40 UNESCO biosphere reserves,[119] 40 national parks and 101 nature reserves. It lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W.
Russia has a wide natural resource base, including major deposits of timber, petroleum, natural gas, coal, ores and other mineral resources.
Topography[link]
The two widest separated points in Russia are about 8,000 km (4,971 mi) apart along a geodesic line. These points are: the boundary with Poland on a 60 km (37 mi) long Vistula Spit separating the Gdańsk Bay from the Vistula Lagoon; and the farthest southeast of the Kuril Islands. The points which are furthest separated in longitude are 6,600 km (4,101 mi) apart along a geodesic line. These points are: in the west, the same spit; in the east, the Big Diomede Island. The Russian Federation spans 9 time zones.
Most of Russia consists of vast stretches of plains that are predominantly steppe to the south and heavily forested to the north, with tundra along the northern coast. Russia possesses 10% of the world's arable land.[120] Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, which at 5,642 m (18,510 ft) is the highest point in both Russia and Europe) and the Altai (containing Mount Belukha, which at the 4,506 m (14,783 ft) is the highest point of Siberia outside of the Russian Far East); and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes of Kamchatka Peninsula (containing Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which at the 4,750 m (15,584 ft) is the highest active volcano in Eurasia as well as the highest point of Asian Russia). The Ural Mountains, rich in mineral resources, form a north-south range that divides Europe and Asia.
Russia has an extensive coastline of over 37,000 km (22,991 mi) along the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as along the Baltic Sea, Sea of Azov, Black Sea and Caspian Sea.[84] The Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Sea of Japan are linked to Russia via the Arctic and Pacific. Russia's major islands and archipelagos include Novaya Zemlya, the Franz Josef Land, the Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin. The Diomede Islands (one controlled by Russia, the other by the U.S.) are just 3 km (1.9 mi) apart, and Kunashir Island is about 20 km (12.4 mi) from Hokkaido, Japan.
Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water providing it with one of the world's largest surface water resources. The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world's deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water lake.[121] Baikal alone contains over one fifth of the world's fresh surface water.[13] Other major lakes include Ladoga and Onega, two of the largest lakes in Europe. Russia is second only to Brazil in volume of the total renewable water resources. Of the country's 100,000 rivers,[122] the Volga is the most famous, not only because it is the longest river in Europe, but also because of its major role in Russian history.[84] The Siberian rivers Ob, Yenisey, Lena and Amur are among the very longest rivers in the world.
Climate[link]
Main article: Climate of Russia
The enormous size of Russia and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the humid continental climate, which is prevalent in all parts of the country except for the tundra and the extreme southeast. Mountains in the south obstruct the flow of warm air masses from the Indian Ocean, while the plain of the west and north makes the country open to Arctic and Atlantic influences.[123]
Most of Northern European Russia and Siberia has a subarctic climate, with extremely severe winters in the inner regions of Northeast Siberia (mostly the Sakha Republic, where the Northern Pole of Cold is located with the record low temperature of −71.2 °C/−96.2 °F), and more moderate elsewhere. The strip of land along the shore of the Arctic Ocean, as well as the Russian Arctic islands, have a polar climate.
The coastal part of Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea, most notably in Sochi, possesses a humid subtropical climate with mild and wet winters. Winter is dry compared to summer in many regions of East Siberia and the Far East, while other parts of the country experience more even precipitation across seasons. Winter precipitation in most parts of the country usually falls as snow. The region along the Lower Volga and Caspian Sea coast, as well as some areas of southernmost Siberia, possesses a semi-arid climate.
| Climate data for Russia (records) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 22.2 (72.0) |
23.8 (74.8) |
30.3 (86.5) |
34.0 (93.2) |
37.7 (99.9) |
43.2 (109.8) |
45.4 (113.7) |
43.5 (110.3) |
41.5 (106.7) |
33.7 (92.7) |
29.1 (84.4) |
25.0 (77.0) |
45.4 (113.7) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −71.2 (−96.2) |
−64.4 (−83.9) |
−60.6 (−77.1) |
−46.4 (−51.5) |
−28.9 (−20.0) |
−9.7 (14.5) |
−9.3 (15.3) |
−17.1 (1.2) |
−25.3 (−13.5) |
−47.6 (−53.7) |
−58.5 (−73.3) |
−62.8 (−81.0) |
−71.2 (−96.2) |
| Source: Pogoda.ru.net[124] | |||||||||||||
Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons—winter and summer; spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low temperatures and extremely high.[123] The coldest month is January (February on the coastline), the warmest usually is July. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot, even in Siberia.[125] The continental interiors are the driest areas.
Biodiversity[link]
From north to south the East European Plain, also known as Russian Plain, is clad sequentially in Arctic tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea), as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is largely taiga. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves, known as "the lungs of Europe",[126] second only to the Amazon Rainforest in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs.
There are 266 mammal species and 780 bird species in Russia. A total of 415 animal species have been included in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation as of 1997[127] and are now protected.
Economy[link]
Main articles: Economy of Russia and Timeline of largest projects in the Russian economy
Russia has a market economy with enormous natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas. It has the 10th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the 6th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Since the turn of the 21st century, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have bolstered economic growth in Russia. The country ended 2008 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging 7% annually between 2000 and 2008. Real GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) was 19,840 in 2010.[128] Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports.[84] The average nominal salary in Russia was $640 per month in early 2008, up from $80 in 2000.[129] In the end of 2010 the average nominal monthly wages reached 21,192 RUR (or $750 USD),[130] while tax on the income of individuals is payable at the rate of 13% on most incomes.[131] Approximately 13.7% of Russians lived below the national poverty line in 2010,[132] significantly down from 40% in 1998 at the worst point of the post-Soviet collapse.[80] Unemployment in Russia was at 6% in 2007, down from about 12.4% in 1999.[133] The middle class has grown from just 8 million persons in 2000 to 55 million persons in 2006.[134]
Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of Russian exports abroad.[84] Since 2003, the exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. Despite higher energy prices, oil and gas only contribute to 5.7% of Russia's GDP and the government predicts this will be 3.7% by 2011.[135] Oil export earnings allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from, billion in 1999 to, 97.3 billion on 1 August 2008, the third largest foreign exchange reserves in the world.[136] The macroeconomic policy under Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was prudent and sound, with excess income being stored in the Stabilization Fund of Russia.[137] In 2006, Russia repaid most of its formerly massive debts,[138] leaving it with one of the lowest foreign debts among major economies.[139] The Stabilization Fund helped Russia to come out out of the global financial crisis in a much better state than many experts had expected.[137]
A simpler, more streamlined tax code adopted in 2001 reduced the tax burden on people and dramatically increased state revenue.[140] Russia has a flat tax rate of 13 percent. This ranks it as the country with the second most attractive personal tax system for single managers in the world after the United Arab Emirates.[141] According to Bloomberg, Russia is considered well ahead of most other resource-rich countries in its economic development, with a long tradition of education, science, and industry.[142] The country has more higher education graduates than Eurasia.[143][144]
The economic development of the country has been uneven geographically with the Moscow region contributing a very large share of the country's GDP.[145] Another problem is modernisation of infrastructure, ageing and inadequate after years of being neglected in 1990s; the government has said $1 trillion will be invested in development of infrastructure by 2020.[146] In December 2011, Russia finally joined World Trade Organisation, allowing it a greater access to overseas markets. Some analysts estimate that WTO membership could bring the Russian economy a bounce of up to 3 per cent annually.[147]
Agriculture[link]
Main articles: Agriculture in Russia and Fishing industry in Russia
The total area of cultivated land in Russia was estimated as 1,237,294 km2 in 2005, the fourth largest in the world.[148] In 1999–2009, Russia's agriculture demonstrated steady growth,[149] and the country turned from a grain importer to the third largest grain exporter after EU and USA.[150] The production of meat has grown from 6,813,000 tonnes in 1999 to 9,331,000 tonnes in 2008, and continues to grow.[151]
This restoration of agriculture was supported by credit policy of the government, helping both individual farmers and large privatized corporate farms, that once were Soviet kolkhozes and still own the significant share of agricultural land.[152] While large farms concentrate mainly on the production of grain and husbandry products, small private household plots produce most of the country's yield of potatoes, vegetables and fruits.[153]
With access to three of the world's oceans—the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific—Russian fishing fleets are a major contributor to the world's fish supply. The total capture of fish was at 3,191,068 tons in 2005.[154] Both exports and imports of fish and sea products grew significantly in the recent years, reaching correspondingly $2,415 and $2,036 millions in 2008.[155]
Energy[link]
Main articles: Energy in Russia and Nuclear power in Russia
In recent years, Russia has frequently been described in the media as an energy superpower.[156][157] The country has the world's largest natural gas reserves,[158] the 8th largest oil reserves,[159] and the second largest coal reserves.[160] Russia is the world's leading natural gas exporter[161] and second largest natural gas producer,[12] while also the largest oil exporter and the largest oil producer.[11] On 1 January 2011, Russia said it had begun scheduled oil shipments to China, with the plan to increase the rate up to 300,000 barrels per day in 2011.[162]
Russia is the 3rd largest electricity producer in the world[163] and the 5th largest renewable energy producer, the latter due to the well-developed hydroelectricity production in the country.[164] Large cascades of hydropower plants are built in European Russia along big rivers like Volga. The Asian part of Russia also features a number of major hydropower stations, however the gigantic hydroelectric potential of Siberia and the Russian Far East largely remains unexploited.
Russia was the first country to develop civilian nuclear power and to construct the world's first nuclear power plant. Currently the country is the 4th largest nuclear energy producer,[165] with all nuclear power in Russia being managed by Rosatom State Corporation. The sector is rapidly developing, with an aim of increasing the total share of nuclear energy from current 16.9% to 23% by 2020. The Russian government plans to allocate 127 billion rubles ($5.42 billion) to a federal program dedicated to the next generation of nuclear energy technology. About 1 trillion rubles ($42.7 billion) is to be allocated from the federal budget to nuclear power and industry development before 2015.[166]
Transport[link]
Main articles: Transport in Russia, History of rail transport in Russia, and Rail transport in Russia
Railway transport in Russia is mostly under the control of the state-run Russian Railways monopoly. The company accounts for over 3.6% of Russia’s GDP and handles 39% of the total freight traffic (including pipelines) and more than 42% of passenger traffic.[167] The total length of common-used railway tracks exceeds 85,500 km,[167] second only to the U.S. Over 44,000 km of tracks are electrified,[168] which is the largest number in the world, and additionally there are more than 30,000 km of industrial non-common carrier lines. Railways in Russia, unlike in the most of the world, use broad gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 5⁄6 in), with the exception of 957 km on Sakhalin island using narrow gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). The most renown railway in Russia is Trans-Siberian (Transsib), spanning a record 7 time zones and serving the longest single continuous services in the world, Moscow-Vladivostok (9,259 km, 5,753 mi), Moscow–Pyongyang (10,267 km, 6,380 mi)[169] and Kiev–Vladivostok (11,085 km, 6,888 mi).[170]
As of 2006 Russia had 933,000 km of roads, of which 755,000 were paved.[171] Some of these make up the Russian federal motorway system. With a large land area the road density is the lowest of all the G8 and BRIC countries.[172]
102,000 km (63,380 mi) of inland waterways in Russia mostly go by natural rivers or lakes. In the European part of the country the network of channels connects the basins of major rivers. Russia's capital, Moscow, is sometimes called "the port of the five seas", due to its waterway connections to the Baltic, White, Caspian, Azov and Black Seas.
Major sea ports of Russia include Rostov-on-Don on the Azov Sea, Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, Astrakhan and Makhachkala on the Caspian, Kaliningrad and St Petersburg on the Baltic, Arkhangelsk on the White Sea, Murmansk on the Barents Sea, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean. In 2008 the country owned 1448 merchant marine ships. The world's only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers advances the economic exploitation of the Arctic continental shelf of Russia and the development of sea trade through the Northern Sea Route between Europe and East Asia.
By total length of pipelines Russia is second only to the U.S. Currently many new pipeline projects are being realized, including Nord Stream and South Stream natural gas pipelines to Europe, and the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (ESPO) to the Russian Far East and China.
Russia has 1216 airports,[173] the busiest being Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo in Moscow, and Pulkovo in St Petersburg. The total length of runways in Russia exceeds 600,000 km.[174]
Typically, major Russian cities have well-developed and diverse systems of public transport, with the most common varieties of exploited vehicles being bus, trolleybus and tram. Seven Russian cities, namely Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg and Kazan, have undeground metros, while Volgograd features a metrotram. The total length of metros in Russia is 465.4 km. Moscow Metro and Saint Petersburg Metro are the oldest in Russia, opened in 1935 and 1955 respectively. These two are among the fastest and busiest metro systems in the world, and are famous for rich decorations and unique designs of their stations, which is a common tradition on Russian metros and railways.
Science and technology[link]
Main articles: Timeline of Russian inventions and technology records, Science and technology in Russia, List of Russian scientists, and List of Russian inventors
Science and technology in Russia blossomed since the Age of Enlightenment, when Peter the Great founded the Russian Academy of Sciences and Saint Petersburg State University, and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov established the Moscow State University, paving the way for a strong native tradition in learning and innovation. In the 19th and 20th centuries the country produced a large number of notable scientists and inventors.
The Russian physics school began with Lomonosov who proposed the law of conservation of matter preceding the energy conservation law. Russian discoveries and inventions in physics include the electric arc, electrodynamical Lenz's law, space groups of crystals, photoelectric cell, Cherenkov radiation, electron paramagnetic resonance, heterotransistors and 3D holography. Lasers and masers were co-invented by Nikolai Basov and Alexander Prokhorov, while the idea of tokamak for controlled nuclear fusion was introduced by Igor Tamm, Andrei Sakharov and Lev Artsimovich, leading eventually the modern international ITER project, where Russia is a party.
Since the time of Nikolay Lobachevsky (a Copernicus of Geometry who pioneered the non-Euclidean geometry) and a prominent tutor Pafnuty Chebyshev, the Russian mathematical school became one of the most influential in the world.[175] Chebyshev's students included Aleksandr Lyapunov, who founded the modern stability theory, and Andrey Markov who invented the Markov chains. In the 20th century Soviet mathematicians, such as Andrey Kolmogorov, Israel Gelfand and Sergey Sobolev, made major contributions to various areas of mathematics. Nine Soviet/Russian mathematicians were awarded with Fields Medal, a most prestigious award in mathematics. Recently Grigori Perelman was offered the first ever Clay Millennium Prize Problems Award for his final proof of the Poincaré conjecture in 2002.[176]
Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev invented the Periodic table, the main framework of modern chemistry. Aleksandr Butlerov was one of the creators of the theory of chemical structure, playing a central role in organic chemistry. Russian biologists include Dmitry Ivanovsky who discovered viruses, Ivan Pavlov who was the first to experiment with the classical conditioning, and Ilya Mechnikov who was a pioneer researcher of the immune system and probiotics.
Many Russian scientists and inventors were émigrés, like Igor Sikorsky, who built the first airliners and modern-type helicopters; Vladimir Zworykin, often called the father of TV; chemist Ilya Prigogine, noted for his work on dissipative structures and complex systems; Nobel Prize-winning economists Simon Kuznets and Wassily Leontief; physicist Georgiy Gamov (an author of the Big Bang theory) and social scientist Pitirim Sorokin. Many foreigners worked in Russia for a long time, like Leonard Euler and Alfred Nobel.
Russian inventions include the arc welding by Nikolay Benardos, further developed by Nikolay Slavyanov, Konstantin Khrenov and other Russian engineers. Gleb Kotelnikov invented the knapsack parachute, while Evgeniy Chertovsky introduced the pressure suit. Alexander Lodygin and Pavel Yablochkov were pioneers of electric lighting, and Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky introduced the first three-phase electric power systems, widely used today. Sergei Lebedev invented the first commercially viable and mass-produced type of synthetic rubber. The first ternary computer, Setun, was developed by Nikolay Brusentsov.
Russian achievements in the field of space technology and space exploration are traced back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical austronautics.[177] His works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such as Sergey Korolyov, Valentin Glushko and many others who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program on early stages of the Space Race and beyond.
In 1957 the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched; in 1961 the first human trip into space was successfully made by Yury Gagarin; and many other Soviet and Russian space exploration records ensued, including the first spacewalk performed by Alexey Leonov, the first space exploration rover Lunokhod-1 and the first space station Salyut 1. Nowadays Russia is the largest satellite launcher[178] and the only provider of transport for space tourism services.
In the 20th century a number of prominent Soviet aerospace engineers, inspired by the fundamental works of Nikolai Zhukovsky, Sergei Chaplygin and others, designed many hundreds of models of military and civilian aircraft and founded a number of KBs (Construction Bureaus) that now constitute the bulk of Russian United Aircraft Corporation. Famous Russian aircraft include the civilian Tu-series, Su and MiG fighter aircrafts, Ka and Mi-series helicopters; many Russian aircraft models are on the list of most produced aircraft in history.
Famous Russian battle tanks include T-34, the best tank design of World War II,[179] and further tanks of T-series, including the most produced tank in history, T-54/55.[180] The AK-47 and AK-74 by Mikhail Kalashnikov constitute the most widely used type of assault rifle throughout the world—so much so that more AK-type rifles have been manufactured than all other assault rifles combined.[181]
With all these achievements, however, since the late Soviet era Russia was lagging behind the West in a number of technologies, mostly those related to energy conservation and consumer goods production. The crisis of 1990-s led to the drastic reduction of the state support for science and a brain drain migration from Russia.
In the 2000s, on the wave of a new economic boom, the situation in the Russian science and technology has improved, and the government launched a campaign aimed into modernisation and innovation. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev formulated top 5 priorities for the country's technological development: efficient energy use, IT (including both common products and the products combined with space technology), nuclear energy and pharmaceuticals.[182]
Currently Russia has completed the GLONASS satellite navigation system. The country is developing its own fifth-generation jet fighter and constructing the first serial mobile nuclear plant in the world. In 2010, an economy class hybrid electric car project was introduced, called Yo-mobil, that will be mass-produced by ë-Auto, a Russian company that is a joint venture between truck maker Yarovit and the Onexim investment group.[183][184][185]
Demographics[link]
Main article: Demographics of Russia
>80%
| Ethnic composition (2002)[186] | |
|---|---|
| Russians | 79.8% |
| Tatars | 3.8% |
| Ukrainians | 2.0% |
| Bashkirs | 1.2% |
| Chuvash | 1.1% |
| Chechen | 0.9% |
| Armenians | 0.8% |
| Other/unspecified | 10.4% |
Ethnic Russians comprise 79.8% of the country's population. The Russian Federation is also home to several sizeable minorities. In all, 160 different other ethnic groups and indigenous peoples live within its borders.[187] Though Russia's population is comparatively large, its density is low because of the country's enormous size. Population is densest in European Russia, near the Ural Mountains, and in southwest Siberia. 73% of the population lives in urban areas while 27% in rural ones.[188] The preliminary results of the 2010 Census show a total population of 142,905,208.[9]
Russia's population peaked at 148,689,000 in 1991, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It began to experience a rapid decline starting in the mid-90s.[189] The decline has slowed to near stagnation in recent years due to reduced death rates, increased birth rates and increased immigration.[190]
In 2009, Russia recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years, with total growth of 10,500.[190] 279,906 migrants arrived to the Russian Federation the same year, of which 93% came from CIS countries.[190] The number of Russian emigrants steadily declined from 359,000 in 2000 to 32,000 in 2009.[190] There are also an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants from the ex-Soviet states in Russia.[191] Roughly 116 million ethnic Russians live in Russia[187] and about 20 million more live in other former republics of the Soviet Union,[192] mostly in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.[193]
Russia's birth rate is higher than that of most European countries (12.6 births per 1000 people in 2010[190] compared to the European Union average of 9.90 per 1000),[194] but its death rate is also substantially higher (in 2010, Russia's death rate was 14.3 per 1000 people[190] compared to the EU average of 10.28 per 1000).[195] The Russian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs predicted that by 2011 the death rate would equal the birth rate due to increase in fertility and decline in mortality.[196] The government is implementing a number of programs designed to increase the birth rate and attract more migrants. Monthly government child assistance payments were doubled to US$55, and a one-time payment of US$9,200 was offered to women who had a second child since 2007.[197] In 2009 Russia experienced its highest birth rate since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[190][198]
Largest cities[link]
Main article: List of cities and towns in Russia by population
|
Largest cities or towns of Russia Rosstat (2009)[199][200] |
|||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | City name | Federal subject | Pop. | Rank | City name | Federal subject | Pop. | ||
 Moscow |
1 | Moscow | Moscow | 11,800,992 | 11 | Ufa | Bashkortostan | 1,024,842 |  Novosibirsk |
| 2 | Saint Petersburg | Saint Petersburg | 6,100,520 | 12 | Volgograd | Volgograd | 1,021,200 | ||
| 3 | Novosibirsk | Novosibirsk | 1,397,191 | 13 | Perm | Perm | 1,000,679 | ||
| 4 | Yekaterinburg | Sverdlovsk Oblast | 1,332,264 | 14 | Krasnoyarsk | Krasnoyarsk | 1,090,601 | ||
| 5 | Nizhny Novgorod | Nizhny Novgorod | 1,272,527 | 15 | Voronezh | Voronezh | 843,496 | ||
| 6 | Samara | Samara | 1,164,900 | 16 | Saratov | Saratov | 830,953 | ||
| 7 | Kazan | Tatarstan | 1,143,600 | 17 | Tolyatti | Samara | 720,346 | ||
| 8 | Omsk | Omsk | 1,129,120 | 18 | Krasnodar | Krasnodar | 710,686 | ||
| 9 | Chelyabinsk | Chelyabinsk | 1,093,699 | 19 | Izhevsk | Udmurtia | 611,043 | ||
| 10 | Rostov-on-Don | Rostov Oblast | 1,048,991 | 20 | Yaroslavl | Yaroslavl | 606,336 | ||
Language[link]
Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages.[8] According to the 2002 Census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3 million and Ukrainian with 1.8 million speakers.[201] Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individual republics the right to make their native language co-official next to Russian.[202]
Despite its wide dispersal, the Russian language is homogeneous throughout Russia. Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken Slavic language.[203] It belongs to the Indo-European language family and is one of the living members of the East Slavic languages; the others being Belarusian and Ukrainian (and possibly Rusyn). Written examples of Old East Slavic (Old Russian) are attested from the 10th century onwards.[204]
The Russian Language Center says a quarter of the world's scientific literature is published in Russian.[205] It is also applied as a means of coding and storage of universal knowledge—60–70% of all world information is published in the English and Russian languages.[205] Russian is one of the six official languages of the UN.[206]
Religion[link]
Main article: Religion in Russia
Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism and Judaism are Russia’s traditional religions, legally a part of Russia's "historical heritage".[207] The Russian Orthodox Church was the country's state religion prior to the Revolution and remains the largest religious body in the country. Estimates of believers widely fluctuate among sources, and some reports put the number of non-believers in Russia at 16–48% of the population.[208]
Easter is the most popular religious festival in Russia, celebrated by more than 90% of all Russian citizens, including large number of non-religious. More than three-fourth of the Russians celebrate Easter by making traditional Easter cakes, coloured eggs and paskha.[209]
Traced back to the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in the 10th century, Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in the country; approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians.[210] 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches.[211] However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Smaller Christian denominations such as Catholics, Armenian Gregorians, and various Protestant churches also exist.
Estimates of the number of Muslims in Russia range from 7–9 million by the local sources to 15–20 million by Western and Islamic sources.[212] Also there are 3 to 4 million temporary Muslim migrants from the post-Soviet states.[213] Most Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region, as well as in the Caucasus, Moscow, St. Petersburg and Western Siberia.[214]
Buddhism is traditional for three regions of the Russian Federation: Buryatia, Tuva, and Kalmykia. Some residents of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions, such as Yakutia and Chukotka, practice shamanist, pantheistic, and pagan rites, along with the major religions. Induction into religion takes place primarily along ethnic lines. Slavs are overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian, Turkic speakers are predominantly Muslim, and Mongolic peoples are Buddhists.[215]
Health[link]
Main article: Healthcare in Russia
The Russian Constitution guarantees free, universal health care for all citizens.[216] In practice, however, free health care is partially restricted due to mandatory registration.[217] While Russia has more physicians, hospitals, and health care workers than almost any other country in the world on a per capita basis,[218] since the dissolution of the Soviet Union the health of the Russian population has declined considerably as a result of social, economic, and lifestyle changes;[219] the trend has been reversed only in the recent years, with average life expectancy having increased 2.4 years for males and 1.4 years for females between 2006–09.[190]
As of 2009, the average life expectancy in Russia was 62.77 years for males and 74.67 years for females.[220] The biggest factor contributing to the relatively low male life expectancy for males is a high mortality rate among working-age males from preventable causes (e.g., alcohol poisoning, smoking, traffic accidents, violent crime).[190] As a result of the large gender difference in life expectancy and because of the lasting effect of high casualties in World War II, the gender imbalance remains to this day and there are 0.859 males to every female.[84]
Education[link]
Main article: Education in Russia
.jpg)
Russia has a free education system guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution,[221] however an entry to subsidized post-secondary education is highly competitive.[222] As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and aerospace research is generally of a high order.[223]
Since 1990 the 11-year school training has been introduced. Education in state-owned secondary schools is free; first tertiary (university level) education is free with reservations: a substantial share of students is enrolled for full pay (many state institutions started to open commercial positions in the last years).[224]
In 2004 state spending for education amounted to 3.6% of GDP, or 13% of consolidated state budget.[225] The Government allocates funding to pay the tuition fees within an established quota or number of students for each state institution. In the higher education institutions, students are paid a small stipend and provided with free housing.[226]
The oldest and largest Russian universities are Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University. In 2000s, in order to create higher education and research institutions of comparable scale in the Russian regions, the government launched the program of establishing the federal universities, mostly by merging the existing large regional universities and research institutes and providing them with a special funding. These new institutions include Southern Federal University, Siberian Federal University, Kazan Volga Federal University, North-Eastern Federal University and Far Eastern Federal University.
Culture[link]
Main article: Russian culture
Folk culture and cuisine[link]
There are over 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples in Russia.[187] Ethnic Russians with their Slavic Orthodox traditions, Tatars and Bashkirs with their Turkic Muslim culture, Buddhist nomadic Buryats and Kalmyks, Shamanistic peoples of the Extreme North and Siberia, highlanders of the Northern Caucasus, Finno-Ugric peoples of the Russian North West and Volga Region all contribute to the cultural diversity of the country.
Handicraft, like Dymkovo toy, khokhloma, gzhel and palekh miniature represent an important aspect of Russian folk culture. Ethnic Russian clothes include kaftan, kosovorotka and ushanka for men, sarafan and kokoshnik for women, with lapti and valenki as common shoes. The clothes of Cossacks from Southern Russia include burka and papaha, which they share with the peoples of the Northern Caucasus.
Russian cuisine widely uses fish, poultry, mushrooms, berries, and honey. Crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provide the ingredients for various breads, pancakes and cereals, as well as for kvass, beer and vodka drinks. Black bread is rather popular in Russia, compared to the rest of the world. Flavourful soups and stews include shchi, borsch, ukha, solyanka and okroshka. Smetana (a heavy sour cream) is often added to soups and salads. Pirozhki, blini and syrniki are native types of pancakes. Chicken Kiev, pelmeni and shashlyk are popular meat dishes, the last two being of Tatar and Caucasus origin respectively. Other meat dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls (golubtsy) usually filled with meat.[227] Salads include Russian salad, vinaigrette and Dressed Herring.
Russia's large number of ethnic groups have distinctive traditions of folk music. Typical ethnic Russian musical instruments are gusli, balalaika, zhaleika and garmoshka. Folk music had great influence on Russian classical composers, and in modern times it is a source of inspiration for a number of popular folk bands, including Melnitsa. Russian folk songs, as well as patriotic Soviet songs, constitute the bulk of repertoire of the world-renown Red Army choir and other popular ensembles.
Russians have many traditions, including the washing in banya, a hot steam bath somewhat similar to sauna.[45] Old Russian folklore takes its roots in the pagan Slavic religion. Many Russian fairy tales and epic bylinas were adaptated for animation films, or for feature movies by the prominent directors like Aleksandr Ptushko (Ilya Muromets, Sadko) and Aleksandr Rou (Morozko, Vasilisa the Beautiful). Russian poets, including Pyotr Yershov and Leonid Filatov, made a number of well-known poetical interpretations of the classical fairy tales, and in some cases, like that of Alexander Pushkin, also created fully original fairy tale poems of great popularity.
Architecture[link]
Main articles: Russian architecture and List of Russian architects
.jpg)
Since the Christianization of Kievan Rus' for several ages Russian architecture was influenced predominantly by the Byzantine architecture. Apart from fortifications (kremlins), the main stone buildings of ancient Rus' were Orthodox churches with their many domes, often gilded or brightly painted.
Aristotle Fioravanti and other Italian architects brought Renaissance trends into Russia since the late 15th century, while the 16th century saw the development of unique tent-like churches[228] culminating in Saint Basil's Cathedral. By that time the onion dome design was also fully developed.[229] In the 17th century, the "fiery style" of ornamentation flourished in Moscow and Yaroslavl, gradually paving the way for the Naryshkin baroque of the 1690s. After the reforms of Peter the Great the change of architectural styles in Russia generally followed that in the Western Europe.
The 18th-century taste for rococo architecture led to the ornate works of Bartolomeo Rastrelli and his followers. The reigns of Catherine the Great and her grandson Alexander I saw the flourishing of Neoclassical architecture, most notably in the capital city of Saint Petersburg. The second half of the 19th century was dominated by the Neo-Byzantine and Russian Revival styles. Prevalent styles of the 20th century were the Art Nouveau, Constructivism, and the Stalin Empire style.
In 1955, a new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, condemned the "excesses" of the former academic architecture,[230] and the late Soviet era was dominated by plain functionalism in architecture. This helped somewhat to resolve the housing problem, but created a large quantity of buildings of low architectural quality, much in contrast with the previous bright styles. The situation improved in the recent two decades. Many temples demolished in Soviet times were rebuilt, and this process continues along with the restoration of various historical buildings destroyed in World War II. A total of 23,000 Orthodox churches have been rebuilt between 1991–2010, which effectively quadrapled the number of operating churches in Russia.[231]
Visual arts[link]
Main article: Russian artists
Early Russian painting is represented in icons and vibrant frescos, the two genres inherited from Byzantium. As Moscow rose to power, Theophanes the Greek, Dionisius and Andrei Rublev became vital names associated with a distinctly Russian art.
The Russian Academy of Arts was created in 1757[232] and gave Russian artists an international role and status. Ivan Argunov, Dmitry Levitzky, Vladimir Borovikovsky and other 18th century academicians mostly focused on portrait painting. In the early 19th century, when neoclassicism and romantism flourished, mythological and Biblical themes inspired many prominent painings, notably by Karl Briullov and Alexander Ivanov.
In the mid-19th century the Peredvizhniki (Wanderers) group of artists broke with the Academy and initiated a school of art liberated from academic restrictions.[233] These were mostly realist painters who captured Russian identity in landscapes of wide rivers, forests, and birch clearings, as well as vigorous genre scenes and robust portraits of their contemporaries. Some artists focused on depicting dramatic moments in Russian history, while others turned to social criticism, showing the conditions of the poor and caricaturing authority; critical realism flourished under the reign of Alexander II. Leading realists include Ivan Shishkin, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ivan Kramskoi, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, Ilya Repin and Boris Kustodiev.
The turn of the 20th century saw the rise of symbolist painting, represented by Mikhail Vrubel, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin and Nicholas Roerich.
The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of modernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930. The term covers many separate, but inextricably related, art movements that occurred at the time; namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, rayonism, and Russian Futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marc Chagall. Since 1930s the revolutionary ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged conservative direction of socialist realism.
Soviet art produced works that were furiously patriotic and anti-fascist during and after the Great Patriotic War. Multiple war memorials, marked by a great restrained solemnity, were built throughout the country. Soviet artists often combined innovation with socialist realism, notably the sculptors Vera Mukhina, Yevgeny Vuchetich and Ernst Neizvestny.
Music and dance[link]
Main articles: Music of Russia, Russian ballet, Russian opera, Russian rock, Russian pop, and Russian composers
Music in 19th century Russia was defined by the tension between classical composer Mikhail Glinka along with his followers, who embraced Russian national identity and added religious and folk elements to their compositions, and the Russian Musical Society led by composers Anton and Nikolay Rubinsteins, which was musically conservative. The later tradition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, was continued into the 20th century by Sergei Rachmaninoff.[234] World-renown composers of the 20th century included also Alexander Scriabin, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke.
Russian conservatories have turned out generations of famous soloists. Among the best known are violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer; cellist Mstislav Rostropovich; pianists Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, and Emil Gilels; and vocalists Fyodor Shalyapin, Galina Vishnevskaya, Anna Netrebko and Dmitry Hvorostovsky.[235]
During the early 20th century, Russian ballet dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame, and impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide.[236] Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions,[237] and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced many internationally famous stars, including Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg remain famous throughout the world.[238]
Modern Russian rock music takes its roots both in the Western rock and roll and heavy metal, and in traditions of the Russian bards of the Soviet era, like Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava.[239] Popular Russian rock groups include Mashina Vremeni, DDT, Aquarium, Alisa, Kino, Kipelov, Nautilus Pompilius, Aria, Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Splean and Korol i Shut. Russian pop music developed from what was known in the Soviet times as estrada into full-fledged industry, with some performers gaining wide international recognition, like t.A.T.u. and Vitas.
Literature and philosophy[link]
Main articles: Russian literature, Russian philosophy, Russian poets, Russian playwrights, and Russian novelists
In the 18th century, during the era of Russian Enlightenment, the development of Russian literature was boosted by the works of Mikhail Lomonosov and Denis Fonvizin, and by the early 19th century a modern native tradition had emerged, producing some of the greatest writers of all time. This period, known also as the Golden Age of Russian Poetry, began with Alexander Pushkin, who is considered the founder of modern Russian literary language and often described as the "Russian Shakespeare".[240] It continued into the 19th century with the poetry of Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolay Nekrasov, dramas of Alexander Ostrovsky and Anton Chekhov, and the prose of Nikolai Gogol and Ivan Turgenev. Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky in particular were titanic figures to the point that many literary critics have described one or the other as the greatest novelist of all time.[241][242]
By the 1880s the age of the great novelists was over, while short fiction and poetry became the dominant genres. The next several decades became known as the Silver Age of Russian Poetry, when the previously dominant literary realism was replaced by symbolism. Leading authors of this era include poets Valery Bryusov, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Alexander Blok, Nikolay Gumilev and Anna Akhmatova, and novelists Leonid Andreyev, Ivan Bunin, and Maxim Gorky.
Russian philosophy blossomed since the 19th century, when it was defined initially by the opposition of Westernizers, advocating the Western political and economical models, and Slavophiles, insisting on developing Russia as unique civilization. The latter group includes Nikolai Danilevsky and Konstantin Leontiev, the founders of eurasianism. In its further development Russian philosophy was always marked by deep connection to literature and interest in creativity, society, politics and nationalism; Russian cosmism and religious philosophy were other major areas. Notable philosophers of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries include Vladimir Solovyev, Sergei Bulgakov, and Vladimir Vernadsky.
Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 many prominent writers and philosophers left the country, including Ivan Bunin, Vladimir Nabokov and Nikolay Berdyayev, while a new generation of talented authors joined together in an effort to create a distinctive working-class culture appropriate for the new Soviet state. In the 1930s censorship over literature was tightened in line with the policy of socialist realism. Since late 1950s the restrictions on literature were eased, and by the 1970s and 1980s, writers were increasingly ignoring the official guidelines. The leading authors of the Soviet era include novelists Yevgeny Zamyatin, Ilf and Petrov, Mikhail Bulgakov and Mikhail Sholokhov, and poets Vladimir Mayakovsky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, and Andrey Voznesensky.
Cinema, animation and media[link]
Russian and later Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention in the period immediately following the 1917, resulting in world-renown films such as The Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein.[243] Eisenstein was a student of filmmaker and theorist Lev Kuleshov, who developed the Soviet montage theory of film editing at the world's first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography. Dziga Vertov, whose kino-glaz (“film-eye”) theory—that the camera, like the human eye, is best used to explore real life—had a huge impact on the development of documentary film making and cinema realism. The subsequent state policy of socialist realism somewhat limited creativity, however many Soviet films in this style were artistically successful, like Chapaev, The Cranes Are Flying, and Ballad of a Soldier.[243]
1960s and 1970s saw a greater variety of artistic styles in the Soviet cinema. Eldar Ryazanov's and Leonid Gaidai's comedies of that time were immensely popular, with many of the catch phrases still in use today. In 1961–68 Sergey Bondarchuk directed an Oscar-winning film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace, which was the most expensive film ever made.[244] In 1969, Vladimir Motyl's White Sun of the Desert was released, a very popular film in a genre of ostern; the film is traditionally watched by cosmonauts before any trip into space.[245]
Russian animation dates back to the late Russian Empire times. During Soviet era, Soyuzmultfilm studio was the largest animation producer. Soviet animators developed a great variety of pioneering techniques and aesthetic styles, with prominent directors including Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Fyodor Khitruk and Aleksandr Tatarsky. Many Soviet cartoon heroes, such as the Russian-style Winnie-the-Pooh, cute little Cheburashka, Wolf and Hare from Nu, Pogodi! are iconic images in Russia and many surrounding countries.
The late 1980s and 1990s were a period of crisis in Russian cinema and animation. Although Russian filmmakers became free to express themselves, state subsidies were drastically reduced, resulting in fewer films produced. The early years of the 21st century have brought increased viewership and subsequent prosperity to the industry on the back of the economic revival. Production levels are already higher than in Britain and Germany.[246] Russia's total box-office revenue in 2007 was $565 million, up 37% from the previous year[247] In 2002 the Russian Ark became the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take. The traditions of Soviet animation were developed recently by such directors as Aleksandr Petrov and studios like Melnitsa Animation.
Russia was among the first countries to introduce radio and television. While there were few channels in the Soviet time, in the past two decades many new state and private-owned radio stations and TV channels appeared. In 2005 a state-run English language Russia Today TV started broadcasting, and its Arabic version Rusiya Al-Yaum was launched in 2007.
Sports[link]
Main article: Sport in Russia
Combining the total medals of Soviet Union and Russia, the country is second among all nations by number of gold medals both at the Summer Olympics and at the Winter Olympics. Soviet and later Russian athletes have always been in the top three for the number of gold medals collected at the Summer Olympics. Soviet gymnasts, track-and-field athletes, weight lifters, wrestlers, boxers, fencers, shooters, cross country skiers, biathletes, speed skaters and figure skaters were consistently among the best in the world, along with Soviet basketball, handball, volleyball and ice hockey players.[248] The 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow while the 2014 Winter Olympics will be hosted in Sochi.
Although ice hockey was only introduced during the Soviet era, the national team managed to win gold at almost all the Olympics and World Championships they contested. Russian players Valery Kharlamov, Sergey Makarov, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Vladislav Tretiak hold four of six positions in the IIHF Team of the Century.[249] Recently Russia won the 2008, 2009 and the 2012 IIHF World Championships, overtaking Canada as the world's top ranked ice hockey team.[250] Russia totally dominated the 2012 tournament, winning all of its ten matches—the first time any team had done so since the Soviet Union in 1989.[251] The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) was founded in 2008 as a successor to the Russian Superleague. It is seen as a rival to the National Hockey League (NHL) and is ranked the top hockey league in Europe as of 2009.[252] Bandy, also known as Russian hockey, is another traditionally popular ice sport.[253] The Soviet Union won all the Bandy World Championships between 1957–79.[254]
Along with ice hockey and basketball, association football is one of the most popular sports in modern Russia. The Soviet national team became the first ever European Champions by winning Euro 1960. In recent years, Russian football, which downgraded in 1990s, has experienced a revival. Russian clubs CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and 2008 respectively. The Russian national football team reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008, losing only to the eventual champions Spain. Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with 14 host cities located in the European part of the country and on the Urals. In 2007, the Russian national basketball team also won the European Basketball Championship. Russian basketball club PBC CSKA Moscow is one of the top teams in Europe, winning the Euroleague in 2006 and 2008.
Larisa Latynina, who currently holds a record for most Olympic medals won per person and most gold Olympic medals won by a woman, established the USSR as the dominant force in gymnastics for many years to come.[255] Today, Russia is leading in rhythmic gymnastics with Alina Kabayeva, Irina Tschaschina and Yevgeniya Kanayeva. Russian synchronized swimming is the best in the world, with almost all gold medals at Olympics and World Championships having been swept by Russians in recent decades. Figure skating is another popular sport in Russia, especially pair skating and ice dancing. At every Winter Olympics from 1964 until 2006 a Soviet or Russian pair has won gold. Since the end of the Soviet era, tennis has grown in popularity and Russia has produced a number of famous players, including Maria Sharapova, the world's highest paid female athlete.[256] In martial arts, Russia produced the sport Sambo and many renown fighters, like Fedor Emelianenko. Chess is a widely popular pastime in Russia; from 1927, Russian grandmasters have held the world chess championship almost continuously.[257]
Formula One is also becoming increasingly poplular in Russia. Renault's Vitaly Petrov is the only Russian Formula One driver to date. There have only ever been two Russian Grands Prix (in 1913 and 1914), but it is set to return for 2014, in a six year deal.[258]
National holidays and symbols[link]
Main articles: Public holidays in Russia and Cultural icons of Russia
There are seven public holidays in Russia,[259] except those always celebrated on Sunday. Russian New Year traditions resemble those of the Western Christmas, with New Year Trees and gifts, and Ded Moroz (Father Frost) playing the same role as Santa Claus. Orthodox Christmas falls on 7 January, because Russian Orthodox Church still follows the Julian calendar and all Orthodox holidays are 13 days after Catholic ones. Another two major Christian holidays are Easter and Trinity Sunday. Kurban Bayram and Uraza Bayram are celebrated by Russian Muslims.
Further Russian public holidays include Defender of the Fatherland Day (23 February), which honors Russian men, especially those serving in the army; International Women's Day (8 March), which combines the traditions of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day; Spring and Labor Day (1 May); Victory Day (9 May); Russia Day (12 June); and Unity Day (4 November), commemorating the popular uprising which expelled the Polish occupation force from Moscow in 1612.
Victory Day is the second most popular holiday in Russia; it commemorates the victory over Nazism in the Great Patriotic War. A huge military parade, hosted by the President of Russia, is annually organised in Moscow on Red Square. Similar parades took place in all major Russian cities and cities with the status Hero city or City of Military Glory.
Popular non-public holidays include Old New Year (New Year according to Julian Calendar on 14 January), Tatiana Day (students holiday on 25 January), Maslenitsa (an old pagan spring holiday a week before the Great Lent), Cosmonautics Day (in tribute to Yury Gagarin's first ever human trip into space on 12 April), Ivan Kupala Day (another pagan Slavic holiday on 7 July) and Peter and Fevronia Day (taking place on 8 July and being the Russian analogue of Valentine's Day, which focuses, however, on the family love and fidelity).
State symbols of Russia include the Byzantine double-headed eagle, combined with St. George of Moscow in the Russian coat of arms. The Russian flag dates from the late Tsardom of Russia period and has been widely used since the time of the Russian Empire. The Russian anthem shares its music with the Soviet Anthem, though not the lyrics. The imperial motto God is with us and the Soviet motto Proletarians of all countries, unite! are now obsolete and no new motto has replaced them. The hammer and sickle and the full Soviet coat of arms are still widely seen in Russian cities as a part of old architectural decorations. The Soviet Red Stars are also encountered, often on military equipment and war memorials. The Red Banner continues to be honored, especially the Banner of Victory of 1945.
The Matryoshka doll is a recognizable symbol of Russia, while the towers of Moscow Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow are main Russia's architectural icons. Cheburashka is a mascot of Russian national Olympic team. St. Mary, St. Nicholas, St. Andrew, St. George, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Seraphim of Sarov are Russia's patron saints. Chamomile is the national flower, while birch the national tree. The Russian bear is an animal symbol and a national personification of Russia, though this image has a Western origin and Russians themselves have accepted it only fairly recently. The native Russian national personification is Mother Russia, sometimes called Mother Motherland.
Tourism[link]
Main article: Tourism in Russia
Tourism in Russia has seen rapid growth since the late Soviet times, first inner tourism and then international tourism as well, fueled by rich cultural heritage and great natural variety of the country. Major tourist routes in Russia include a travel around the Golden Ring of ancient cities, cruises on the big rivers like Volga, and long journeys on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway.
Most visited destinations in Russia are Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the current and the former capitals of the country. Recognized as World Cities, they feature such world-renown museums as Tretyakov Gallery and Hermitage, famous theaters like Bolshoi and Mariinsky, ornate churches like Saint Basil's Cathedral, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Church of the Savior on Blood, impressive fortifications like Moscow Kremlin and Peter and Paul Fortress, beautiful squares and streets like Red Square, Palace Square, Tverskaya Street and Nevsky Prospect. Rich palaces and parks are found in the former imperial residences in suburbs of Moscow (Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno) and St Petersburg (Peterhof, Strelna, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, Pavlovsk and Tsarskoye Selo). Moscow displays the Soviet architecture at its best, along with modern skyscrapers, while St Petersburg, nicknamed Venice of the North, boasts of its classical architecture, many rivers, channels and bridges.
Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, shows a mix of Christian Russian and Muslim Tatar cultures. The city has registered a brand The Third Capital of Russia, though a number of other major cities compete for this status, including Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod.
Typical Russian souvenirs include matryoshka doll and other handicraft, samovars for water heating, ushanka and papaha warm hats, and fur clothes. Russian vodka and caviar are among the food that attracts foreigners.
The warm subtropical Black Sea coast of Russia is the site for a number of popular sea resorts, like Sochi, the follow-up host of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The mountains of the Northern Caucasus contain popular ski resorts, including Dombay. The most famous natural destination in Russia is Lake Baikal, the Blue Eye of Siberia. This unique lake, oldest and deepest in the world,[121] has crystal-clean waters and is surrounded by taiga-covered mountains. Other popular natural destinations include Kamchatka with its volcanoes and geysers, Karelia with its lakes and granite rocks, the snowy Altai Mountains, and the wild steppes of Tyva.
See also[link]
 |
Book: Russia |
| Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print. | |
- Outline of Russia
- Index of Soviet Union-related articles
- International rankings of Russia
- Timeline of Russian history
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- ^ History of Rock Music in Russia at Russia-InfoCentre
- ^ Kelly, C (2001). Russian Literature: A Very Short Introduction (Paperback). Oxford Paperbacks. ISBN 0-19-280144-9.
- ^ "Russian literature; Leo Tolstoy". Encyclopædia Britannica. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513793/Russian-literature. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
- ^ Otto Friedrich (6 September 1971). "Freaking-Out with Fyodor". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,943893,00.html. Retrieved 10 April 2008.
- ^ a b "Russia:Motion pictures". Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/513251/Russia. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
- ^ Sergei Bondarchuk's War and peace[dead link], at filmforum.org
- ^ "White Sun of the Desert". Film Society of Lincoln Center. http://www.filmlinc.com/wrt/onsale08/russian08/whitesunofthedesert.html. Retrieved 18 January 2008.
- ^ Dzieciolowski, Z. "Kinoeye: Russia's reviving film industry". http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-Film/russian_film_3726.jsp. Retrieved 27 December 2007.
- ^ "Russian Entertainment & Media Industry worth $27.9 bn by 2011". joomag magazine. http://magazine.joomag.com/Russia/4228/p44. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ <Please add first missing authors to populate metadata.> (October 1974). "The USSR and Olympism" (PDF). Olympic Review (International Olympic Committee) (84): 530–557. http://www.la84foundation.org/OlympicInformationCenter/OlympicReview/1974/ore84/ore84k.pdf. Retrieved 28 March 2008.
- ^ "IIHF Centennial All-Star Team". Iihf.com. http://www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship/news/news-singleview-world-championship/article/iihf-centennial-all-star-team.html. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Pure gold: Russia repeats!". IIHF. http://www.iihf.com/channels/iihf-world-championship-oc09/home/news/news-singleview-world-championship-2009/article/pure-gold-russia-repeats.html. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
- ^ "Russia dominates Slovakia to win 2012 IIHF gold; 2014 Sochi groups announced". Yahoo Sports. 20 May 2012. http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/russia-dominates-slovakia-win-2012-iihf-gold-2014-205052024.html.
- ^ "Russian league tops first CHL ranking". http://www.iihf.com/en/home-of-hockey/news/news-singleview/browse/3/article/russian-league-tops-first-chl-ranking-1.html. Retrieved 3 November 2009.
- ^ "Russian Bandy Championship, 2006–7 season". bandy.ru. http://old.rusbandy.ru/content.html@PageID=325. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
- ^ Bandy at hickoksports.com
- ^ "Legendary Olympians". CNN. 19 August 2008. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/07/07/oly.olympians/index.html.
- ^ Tom Van Riper and Kurt Badenhausen (22 July 2008). "Top-Earning Female Athletes". Forbes. http://www.forbes.com/2008/07/22/women-athletes-endorsements-biz-sports-cx_tvr_kb_0722athletes.html. Retrieved 1 August 2008.
- ^ "Chessgames guide to the World Championship". Chessgames.com. http://www.chessgames.com/wcc.html. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
- ^ "Russia secures 2014 grand prix deal". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/31127.html. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
- ^ "Official days off for public holidays in Russia". Sras.org. http://www.sras.org/russian_holidays. Retrieved 29 October 2010.
Further reading[link]
- Kanet Roger E., ed. Russian Foreign Policy in the 21st century (Palgrave Macmillan; 2011) 295 pages; essays by experts
External links[link]
| Find more about Russia on Wikipedia's sister projects: | |
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Definitions and translations from Wiktionary |
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Images and media from Commons |
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Learning resources from Wikiversity |
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News stories from Wikinews |
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Look up Russia, Россия, or Русь in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
- Russia at the Open Directory Project
- Russia travel guide from Wikitravel
Geographic data related to Russia at OpenStreetMap- Russia entry at The World Factbook
- Russia at UCB Libraries GovPubs
- Government
- Official Russian governmental portal
- Chief of State and Cabinet Members
- Russian News Agency "Ria Novosti"
- Russian radio "Voice of Russia"
- Other
- Post-Soviet Problems from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
- Russia Beyond the Headlines International news project about Russia
- Way to Russia. An Introduction to Russia and Russian People
- Russia cities and regions guide
- Official Russia Travel Guide
- Russian Consulate
- Russia Beyond the Headlines International news project about Russia
- Moscow Russia Insider's Guide Moscow and Russia through Muscovite's eyes.
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
