Russia

Russia is  an independent country officially known as the Russian Federation.

Geographical names: the Pacific Ocean the Arctic Ocean the Atlantic Ocean the Baltic Sea the Mediterranean the Black Sea Europe (European Russia) Asia the Far East the Ural Mountains the Caucasus Mountains Mount Elbrus the Russian (Eastern-European) Lowland the Central Siberian Plateau the Volga the Dnieper the Dvina the Ob the Irtysh the Amur the Lena the Yenisey Lake Baikal

The Russian Federation covers one-eighth of the world’s land area. It is the world’s largest country, stretching for more than 5,600 miles from east to west, and 2,500 miles from north to south. Russia is almost twice the size of the next largest country, Canada. Russian land boundaries stretch for 20,017 km neighboring more countries than any other country on the planet. The sun literally never sets on Russia: when it is evening in St. Petersburg, it is already a next day on Russia's Pacific shores.

Russia occupies most of eastern Europe and almost all of northern Asia.

Russia covers 11 time zones.

Russia Fast Facts Official name Russian Federation Capital and population Moscow; 10,672,000 Official language Russian, many minority languages Population 143,000,000 Rank among countries in population 8th Religion Russian Orthodox, Islam, Catholic, other Life Expectancy 65 Literacy Percent 100 Major cities Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod Area Land-6,590,000 square miles (17,100,000 sq kilometers) Water - 30,657 sq miles (79,400 sq km) Rank among countries in area 1st Highest Point Mt. Elbrus - 18,481 ft. (5,633 m) Lowest Point Caspian Sea - (-92 ft.) (-28 m) Currency Russian ruble

Geography The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic Oceans.

In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania), Belarus, (the)Ukraine. It also has maritime borders with Japan (by the Sea of Okhotsk), the Republic of Korea (by the East Sea), Sweden (by the Baltic Sea), Turkey (by the Black Sea), and the United States (by the Bering Strait).

The low Ural Mountains divide Russia in two parts: the smaller European (referred to as European Russia) and the larger Asian regions (referred to as Siberia) .

Landforms The broad European Plain, or Volga River Plain extends from the Ural Mountains to its western borders with Europe. These huge plains stretching thousands of miles are called the Russian (Eastern-European) Lowland. In the far southwest the Caucasus Mountains slice across the land. The country's and Europe’s highest peak, Mt. Elbrus (18,465 ft), is located there.

Siberia makes up roughly 77% of the total area of Russia. Siberia covers almost 10% of Earth's land surface. The Ural Mountains separate this area from another huge lowland- the West Siberian Plain. And the Central Siberian Plateau extends to the east and reaches the mountainous regions of southern and north-eastern Siberia and the Far East. A few on the Kamchatka Peninsula contain active volcanoes.

Russia’s landscape is as varied as the world itself: it includes almost every geographical feature imaginable(except tropical climate zones ). Most of the country’s territory consists of great plains, but there is a large tundra in the extreme north and much of western Russia is covered by forests. Parts of eastern Russia are desert.  polar desert    tundra  taiga march fertile area temperate broadleaf forest   mixed forest temperate steppe    dry steppe desert semi-desert

Water Basins Russia is a great marine power. In the north it is washed by the Arctic Ocean and in the east by the Pacific Ocean. Through St. Petersburg it has outlet to the Baltic Sea, and thus also to the Atlantic Ocean. Russia’s ships can reach the Mediterranean through the Black Sea. Russia includes the world's deepest lake and Europe's highest mountain and Europe’s longest river.

Of its 100,000 rivers, Russia contains some of the world's longest. Significant rivers include the Dnieper and Dvina in European Russia. Of these five, 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.

The other four are in Asia: Ob-Irtysh, Amur, Lena, and Yenisey The other four are in Asia: Ob-Irtysh, Amur, Lena, and Yenisey. All but the Amur flow northward into the Arctic Ocean. The Yenisei is the greatest river system flowing to the Arctic Ocean, and at 5,539 km (3,445 mi) is the fifth longest river in the world.

Baikal Lake Lake Baikal means "the rich lake”. It is located in the south of the Russian region of Siberia. It is the world's greatest lake, containing more water than all of the North American Great Lakes combined, a total of roughly 20 percent of the world's surface fresh water. Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world, at 5,310 ft. (1,620m).

Lake Ladoga is a freshwater lake located in northwestern Russia, not far from Saint Petesburg. It is the largest lake in Europe, and the 14th largest lake by area in the world. Lake Onega is the second largest lake in Europe, and the 18th largest lake by area in the world.

Mountain Ranges Mount Elbrus The Ural Mountains are a mountain range that runs roughly north and south through western Russia. They are usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,642 m (18,510 ft)) and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes on Kamchatka. The Caucasus Mountains The country's and Europe’s highest point, Mt. Elbrus, is located in the Caucasus Mountains, at 5642m. The Ural Mountains

Climate the changes in climate reflect the changes in vegetation. The vast Russian Federation has a wide variety of weather conditions: the changes in climate reflect the changes in vegetation. In general terms, winters are somewhat mild along the Black Sea coastal areas, much colder inland and northwest, and frigid in Siberia. Summers vary from mild to warm in the west and central, with cooler conditions in the north, and along the Arctic coast.

Largest cities Russia has over 1,000 major cities, with 16 having a metro population of more than one million. The most populated city is Moscow with 11 million residents. Other large cities: St. Petersburg, 4,582,300; Novosibirsk, 1,395,500; Nizhny Novgorod, 1,340,900; Yekaterinburg, 1,256,600; Samara, 1,146,800; Kazan, 1,113,600; Ufa, 1,096,600; Chelyabinsk, 1,080,000; Perm, 998,800; Volgograd, 984,200. Moscow, the capital is the country's major economic and political center - the seat of the President, the government and the State Duma . St. Petersburg Moscow Nizhniy Novgorod

The population of Russia is about 149 The population of Russia is about 149.6 million and is growing annually at only 0.2 percent. There are some 120 different ethnic groups, but most are small. Ethnic Russians form 82 percent of the entire population. Of all the 15 former Soviet Union republics, Russia has the greatest ethnic diversity, with more than 70 distinct nationalities. Russians make up about four fifths of the total, and only two other groups—Tatars and Ukrainians—constitute more than 2 percent each. Other notable ethnic groups include Chuvash, Bashkir, Chechen, Mordovian, and Belorussian. Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002) Population

Industrial Resources Russia’s natural resources give it great potential for economic growth and development. Natural gas, coal, gold, oil, diamond, cooper, silver, and lead are all abundant. Russia, especially the Urals and Siberia, contains perhaps the world's largest iron-ore deposit, the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly. The Urals contain almost every mineral but are short of coal. Coal is mined in the Pechora, Kuznetsk, and Kansk-Achinsk basins. Petroleum and natural gas are extracted in western Siberia and also in the Volga-Urals. Natural resources: major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber.

Answer the questions: 1. Where is Russia situated? 2. What world place does Russia take according to its size? 3.What countries border on Russia in land? 4. What are the two main parts which make up Russia? 5. What are the greatest rivers of Russia? 6. What is the highest point of Russia? 7. What ethnic groups make up the population of Russia? 8. What are the natural resources of Russia? 1. What is Russia washed by? 2. What countries are next after Russia in size? 3. What countries border on Russia by sea? 4. What makes up the landscape of Russia? 5. What are the chief mountains of Russia? 6. What is the name of the famous fresh water lake? 7.What is the population of Russia? 8. What are the largest cities of the country?