1. Russia By Jesus Ybarra

2. President: Vladimir Putin  President from 2000 to 2008, and as Prime Minister of Russia from 1999 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012.  Putin was also previously the Chairman of United Russia.  Also he knows judo and sambo  Age 60

3. Government  After the fall of the Soviet Union, the Russian Council of Ministers had become the main executive body. At some points it contained over 65 state committees, 16–17 ministers, 5 federal services, and over 30 governmental agencies. After the 2004 reform, government duties were split between 17 ministries, 5 federal services, and over 30 governmental agencies.   The prime minister is appointed by the president of the Russian Federation (currently Vladimir Putin), and confirmed by the State Duma. He or she succeeds to the presidency if the current president dies, is incapacitated, or resigns. The current prime minister is Dmitri Medvedev.

4. History  Kievan Rus', the first united East Slavic state, was founded by Rurik's successor Oleg of Novgorod in 862-879.\  They adopted Christianity.  Found in the 12 th century  Peter The Great Was the first emperor.  Prince Dmitry Donkey of Moscow led a united Russian army to an important victory over the Mongols in the Battle of Kulikovo, however most of the country was still under Mongols till 1480

5. Geographical  Coordinates 60 00 N, 100 00 E  Climate: ranges from humid continental in much of European Russia through steppes in the south; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast.  Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions.

6. Fun facts  The highest mountain Elbrus mountain 5,633 m  The Symbol of Russia is the Russian Bear.  They recently just been hit by a meteorite

7. Flight info  Price-$1,165  20 Hours 15 min  Detroit to Moscow, Russia  Layover: Frankfurt (Frankfurt Intl.) 1h 55m Layover: Vienna (VIE) 5h 55m 2 stops  Lufthansa 6334operated by Austrian Airlines  Rossiya Airlines 4266operated by Aeroflot-Russian Airlines

8. Russian Hockey KHL  September 7 th 2011 plane crash it killed 44 hockey players and One survived  First american hockey player.Sergei Priakin. Priakin had a very short career of 3 years, in which he played 46 games for the Flames. He was the first player cleared by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation to play in the NHL. Many more defected without the Federation's approval.

9. Saint Basil's Cathedral  Built between 1554 and 1561 and situated in the heart of Moscow, St. Basil’s Cathedral has been among the top tourist attractions in Russia. It is not the building’s interior artifacts that attract visitors, but rather the cathedral’s distinctive architecture. Designed to resemble the shape of a bonfire in full flame, the architecture is not only unique to the period in which it was built but to any subsequent period. There is no other structure on earth quite like St. Basil’s Cathedral.

10. Moscow Kremlin  The Moscow Kremlin, sometimes referred to as simply the Kremlin, is a historic fortified complex at the heart of Moscow, overlooking the Moskva River, Saint Basil's Cathedral and Red Square and the Alexander Garden.

11. Red Square  The Red Square is a city square in Moscow, Russia. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai- gorod.

12. Hermitage Museum  The State Hermitage is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As one of the largest and oldest museums in the world, it was founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great and has been open to the public since 1852.

13. Kizhi  Kizhi is an island near the geometrical center of the Lake Onega in the Republic of Karelia, Russia. It is elongated from north to south and is about 6 km long, 1 km wide and is about 68 km away from the capital of Karelia, Petrozavodsk.

14. Citation  "Touropia." http://www.touropia.com/tourist-attractions- in-russia/. N.p.. Web. 15 Feb 2013.  http://www.travelallrussia.com. Web. 26 Feb 2013.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russia. wikipedia. Web. 26 Feb 2013.