Russia

Russian Federation Российская Федерация (Russian)
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  Государственный гимн Российской Федерации Gosudarstvennyy gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii "State Anthem of the Russian Federation"
Recognized territory of Russia is shown in dark green; claimed and disputed territory is shown in light green.[a] Show globe Show region with labels
Capital and largest city	Moscow 55°45′21″N 37°37′02″E / 55.75583°N 37.61722°E / 55.75583; 37.61722
Official and national language	Russian[3]
Recognised regional languages	See Languages of Russia § Official languages
Ethnic groups (2021; including Russia and Crimea)[4]	71.7% Russian 3.2% Tatar 1.1% Bashkir 1.1% Chechen 11.3% other 11.6% not reported
Religion (2023)[6][7]	61% Christianity 60% Russian Orthodoxy 1% other Christian 24% no religion 9% Islam 2% other (including Buddhism)[5] 4% undeclared
Demonym(s)	Russian
Government	Federal semi-presidential republic under an authoritarian dictatorship[8][9][10][11]
• President	Vladimir Putin
• Prime Minister	Mikhail Mishustin
Legislature	Federal Assembly
• Upper house	Federation Council
• Lower house	State Duma
Formation
• Kievan Rus'	879
• Vladimir-Suzdal	1157
• Principality of Moscow	1263
• Tsardom of Russia	16 January 1547
• Russian Empire	2 November 1721
• Monarchy abolished	15 March 1917
• Soviet Union	30 December 1922
• Declaration of State Sovereignty	12 June 1990
• Russian Federation	12 December 1991
• Current constitution	12 December 1993
• Union State formed	8 December 1999
Area
• Total	17,098,246 km2 (6,601,670 sq mi)[12] (within internationally recognised borders) 17,234,028 km2 (6,654,095 sq mi) (including claimed territories) (1st)
• Water (%)	13[13] (including swamps)
Population
• 2022 estimate	147,182,123 (2021 Census)[14] (including Crimea)[15] 144,699,673 (excluding Crimea)[15] (9th)
• Density	8.4/km2 (21.8/sq mi) (187th)
GDP (PPP)	2023 estimate
• Total	$5.056 trillion[16] (6th)
• Per capita	$35,310[16] (60th)
GDP (nominal)	2023 estimate
• Total	$1.862 trillion[16] (11th)
• Per capita	$13,006[16] (72nd)
Gini (2020)	36.0[17] medium
HDI (2021)	0.822[18] very high · 52nd
Currency	Ruble (₽) (RUB)
Time zone	UTC+2 to +12
Driving side	right
Calling code	+7
ISO 3166 code	RU
Internet TLD	.ru .рф

Russia (Russian: Россия, romanized: Rossiya, [rɐˈsʲijə]), or the Russian Federation,^[b] is a country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area, extends across eleven time zones, and shares land boundaries with fourteen countries.^[c] It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and "cultural capital". Other major urban areas in the country include Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Kazan.

The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Rus' ultimately disintegrated, with the Grand Duchy of Moscow growing to become the Tsardom of Russia. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other Soviet republics, within which it was the largest and principal constituent. At the expense of millions of lives, the Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialisation in the 1930s and later played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for global ideological influence. The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space.

In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the independent Russian Federation. A new constitution was adopted, which established a federal semi-presidential system. Since the turn of the century, Russia's political system has been dominated by Vladimir Putin, under whom the country has experienced democratic backsliding and a shift towards authoritarianism. Russia has been militarily involved in a number of conflicts in neighbouring states, which have included the internationally unrecognised annexations of Crimea in 2014 from neighbouring Ukraine, followed by the further annexation of four other regions in 2022 during an ongoing invasion.

Internationally, Russia ranks among the lowest in measurements of democracy, human rights and freedom of the press; the country also has high levels of perceived corruption. The Russian economy ranks 11th by nominal GDP, relying heavily on its abundant natural resources. Its mineral and energy sources are the world's largest, and its figures for oil production and natural gas production rank highly globally. The Russian GDP ranks 68th by per capita; Russia possesses the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and has the third-highest military expenditure. The country is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council; a member state of the G20, SCO, BRICS, APEC, OSCE, and WTO; and the leading member state of post-Soviet organisations such as CIS, CSTO, and EAEU/EEU. Russia is home to 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

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