Russia

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Ethnic groups: Russian, Tatar, Ukrainian, Bashkir, Chuvash

Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, Christian

Languages: Russian, and many minority languages

Nationality: Russian

Russian Leaders:

Joseph Stalin. Died in 1953.

Khrushchev. He was removed from power in 1964

Leonid Brezhnev. Died in 1982.

Gorbachev.

Boris Yeltsin. Elected president in 1991.

Vladimir Putin. This former head of the FSB is still in power.

Name: Russia (Rossiya) or in long form: Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya)

Capital: Moscow. Moscow is one of the oldest and one of the most beautiful Russian cities. The city has absorbed many different styles that strike the visitors with their variety.

Location:

Russia is bounded on the north by arms of the Arctic Ocean, including the White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chuckchee seas; on the east by such arms of the Pacific Ocean as the Bering, Okhotsk and Japan seas. It is bounded on the south by North Korea, China, the Mongolian republic, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and the Caspian and Black seas; on the west by Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Baltic Sea, Finland and Norway.

Russia is the largest country in the world. Russia is simply a huge country. From east to west, the country is so big you can travel for seven days on a train and still not make it all the way across.

The country is also known as a land of mighty rivers. Not only are the rivers historically important in the settlement and growth of the country, but they are of great economic significance in modern Russia. Linked by many interconnecting canals and waterways, rivers provide vital avenues of inland shipping. They are also used to generate large amount of water power to float logs to mills and for commercial fishing.

Brief History:

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household.

The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics.

Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN and the erosion of nascent democratic institutions. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya and threatens to destabilize the North Caucasus region. Source: The World Factbook.


	Home Travel The World Asia More about Russia Russia Travel The World Ethnic groups: Russian, Tatar, Ukrainian, Bashkir, Chuvash Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, Christian Languages: Russian, and many minority languages Nationality: Russian Russian Leaders: Joseph Stalin. Died in 1953. Khrushchev. He was removed from power in 1964 Leonid Brezhnev. Died in 1982. Gorbachev. Boris Yeltsin. Elected president in 1991. Vladimir Putin. This former head of the FSB is still in power. Name: Russia (Rossiya) or in long form: Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) Capital: Moscow. Moscow is one of the oldest and one of the most beautiful Russian cities. The city has absorbed many different styles that strike the visitors with their variety. Location: Russia is bounded on the north by arms of the Arctic Ocean, including the White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chuckchee seas; on the east by such arms of the Pacific Ocean as the Bering, Okhotsk and Japan seas. It is bounded on the south by North Korea, China, the Mongolian republic, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey and the Caspian and Black seas; on the west by Romania, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, the Baltic Sea, Finland and Norway. Russia is the largest country in the world. Russia is simply a huge country. From east to west, the country is so big you can travel for seven days on a train and still not make it all the way across. The country is also known as a land of mighty rivers. Not only are the rivers historically important in the settlement and growth of the country, but they are of great economic significance in modern Russia. Linked by many interconnecting canals and waterways, rivers provide vital avenues of inland shipping. They are also used to generate large amount of water power to float logs to mills and for commercial fishing. Brief History: Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the Communist period. While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN and the erosion of nascent democratic institutions. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya and threatens to destabilize the North Caucasus region. Source: The World Factbook.