The Essentials Of Russia

Official Name:
Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
short form: Rossiya
int'l long form: Russian Federation
int'l short form: Russia
former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

ISO Country Code: ru, RUS
Actual Time:
Moscow, Saint-Petersburg:
Sun-Oct-29  13:17
Local Time = UTC +3h
Actual Time: Novosibirsk:
Sun-Oct-29  17:17
Local Time = UTC +7h
Daylight Saving Time (DST) March - October

Country Calling Code: +7

Capital City: Moscow (pop. 12.5 million)

Other Cities:
St. Petersburg (4.6 million), Novosibirsk (1.4 million), Nizhniy Novgorod (1.3 million)

Government: Federation.
Independence: 24 August 1991.

Geography:
Location: Northern Asia, bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Eastern Europe and the North Pacific Ocean (the Russian portion west of the Urals belongs to Europe).
Area: 17 million km² (6.5 million sq. mi.); about 1.8 times the size of the United States.
Terrain: Broad plain with low hills west of the Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains (Caucasus range) along southern borders.

Climate: Northern continental, from subarctic to subtropical.

People:
Nationality: Russian(s).
Population: 145.8 million (in 2021)
Ethnic groups: Russian 81%, Tatar 4%, Ukrainian 3%, other 12%.
Religion: Russian Orthodox, Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestant, Buddhist, other.
Language: Russian (official); more than 140 other languages and dialects.
Literacy: 98%.

Natural resources: Petroleum, natural gas, timber, furs, precious and nonferrous metals.

Agriculture products: Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits, beef, and milk.

Industries: Complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals. All forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft, space vehicles, and shipbuilding. Road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, and handicrafts.

Exports - commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, metals, wood and wood products, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures. Russia is the second-largest conventional arms exporter after the United States [2].

Exports partners: China 14%, Netherlands 10%, Belarus 5%, Germany 5% (2019)

Imports - commodities: machinery, vehicles, pharmaceutical products, plastic, semi-finished metal products, meat, fruits and nuts, optical and medical instruments, iron, steel.

Imports partners: China 20%, Germany 13%, Belarus 6% (2019)

Currency: Russian Ruble (RUR)