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"
Russia on the globe. Disputed lands are shown in light green.[a]
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 national languages	See Languages of Russia
Ethnic groups (2021, including Russia and Crimea)[4]	71.7% Russian 3.2% Tatar 1.1% Chechen 1.1% Bashkir 22.9% other or not reported
Religion (2023)[6][7]	62% Christianity 61% Russian Orthodoxy 1% other Christian 24% no religion 5% Islam[5] 2% other (including Buddhism) 4% unanswered
Demonym(s)	Russian
Government	Federal semi-presidential republic under an authoritarian dictatorship[8][9][10][11]
• President	Vladimir Putin
• Prime Minister	Mikhail Mishustin
• Speaker of the Federation Council	Valentina Matviyenko
• Speaker of the State Duma	Vyacheslav Volodin
• Chief Justice	Vyacheslav Lebedev
Legislature	Federal Assembly
• Upper house	Federation Council
• Lower house	State Duma
Formation
• Kievan Rus'	879
• Vladimir-Suzdal	1157
• Grand Duchy 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 disputed 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) (181st)
GDP (PPP)	2022 estimate
• Total	$4.771 trillion[16]
• Per capita	$33,263[16]
GDP (nominal)	2022 estimate
• Total	$2.240 trillion[16]
• Per capita	$15,480[16]
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][19] is a country in Eastern Europe and North Asia.

It has land from the Baltic Sea to the Bering Strait. It is the largest country in the world, followed by Canada, the United States, and China. Russia's population is about 146.7 million people. It is the most populous country in Europe. Moscow is its capital city. It is also the largest city in Europe by area. Other big cities include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan. Russia's official language is Russian. Russian is the most spoken language in Europe. It is also the most widely spoken Slavic language. Many regions of Russia have their own official languages alongside Russian.

Russia has land borders with 16 countries, in both Europe and Asia. These countries are Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea.^[c] It borders Lithuania and Poland through Kaliningrad Oblast. It also borders the unrecognised countries of South Ossetia and Abkhazia to the south. It is next to 16 seas, and 3 oceans. It is the country with the most land borders in the world. Russia is made up of 89 federal subjects. This includes Crimea, LPR, DPR, Kherson Oblast and Zaporizhzhia Oblast and Sevastopol, which are claimed by both Russia and Ukraine. There are many different types of federal subjects. There are 48 oblasts, 24 republics, 9 krais, 4 autonomous okrugs, 3 federal cities, and 1 autonomous oblast in Russia.

The economy of Russia is one of the largest in the world. It ranks 11th in the world for highest nominal GDP. This is mainly because of the large amount of natural resources found in Russia. However, much of the land is either infertile or covered by permafrost. The ruble is the official currency of Russia.

The Eastern Orthodox Church is the largest religion in Russia. Russia has the most followers of Eastern Orthodoxy out of any other country. About 75% of Russians are followers of Eastern Orthodoxy.^[20]

Russia is a very large and diverse country. From 1922 to 1991, it was the largest republic of the Soviet Union. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) was based on communism. Today the government of Russia is a federal semi-presidential republic. The President is chosen by direct election. Challenging candidates do not have access to the mass media. They do have full access to social media, internet news websites, and international media. Election results match domestic, international, and exit polling. The current President of Russia is Vladimir Putin. The country has turned towards an authoritarian dictatorship under Putin's rule.^{[8][21][10][11]} The President rules the country, and the Russian Parliament plays a secondary role. Russia ranks low in measurements of human rights and freedom of the press. Corruption is also seen as a big issue.^[22]

1. ↑ Pifer, Steven (17 March 2020). "Crimea: Six years after illegal annexation". Brookings Institute. Archived from the original on 14 April 2022. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
2. ↑ Chapple, Amos (4 January 2019). "The Kurile Islands: Why Russia And Japan Never Made Peace After World War II". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. Archived from the original on 8 April 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
3. ↑ Chevalier, Joan F. (2006). "Russian as the National Language: An Overview of Language Planning in the Russian Federation". Russian Language Journal. 56. American Councils for International Education ACTR / ACCELS: 25–36. JSTOR 43669126.
4. ↑ "Национальный состав населения". Federal State Statistics Service. Archived from the original on 30 December 2022. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
5. ↑ "Regional Division of Muslim population in Russia". Research Gate. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
6. ↑ "Передача иконы «Троица» Русской православной церкви" (in Russian). Фонд Общественное Мнение, ФОМ (Public Opinion Foundation). 22 June 2023.
7. ↑ "Передача иконы «Троица» Русской православной церкви" (in Russian). Фонд Общественное Мнение, ФОМ (Public Opinion Foundation). 22 June 2023.
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1} Prof. Dr. Martin Krzywdzinski (26 January 2020). Consent and Control in the Authoritarian Workplace: Russia and China Compared. Oxford University Press. pp. 252–. ISBN 978-0-19-252902-2. OCLC 1026492383. officially a democratic state with the rule of law, in practice an authoritarian dictatorship
9. ↑ "Russia: Freedom in the World 2023 Country Report". Freedom House. 2019-07-20. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "Russia – The World Factbook". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 4 March 2022.
11. ↑ ^{11.0 11.1} Kuzio, Taras (2016). "Nationalism and authoritarianism in Russia". Communist and Post-Communist Studies. 49 (1). University of California Press: 1–11. doi:10.1016/j.postcomstud.2015.12.002. JSTOR 48610429.
12. ↑ "World Statistics Pocketbook 2016 edition" (PDF). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Statistics Division. Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 August 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2018.
13. ↑ "The Russian federation: general characteristics". Federal State Statistics Service. Archived from the original on 28 July 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2008.
14. ↑ Including 2,482,450 people living on the annexed Crimean Peninsula Том 1. Численность и размещение населения. Russian Federal State Statistics Service (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 January 2020. Retrieved 3 September 2022.
15. ↑ ^{15.0 15.1} Предварительная оценка численности постоянного населения на 1 января 2022 года и в среднем за 2021 год [Preliminary estimated population as of 1 January 2022 and on the average for 2021] (XLS). Russian Federal State Statistics Service (in Russian). Archived from the original on 24 March 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
16. ↑ ^{16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3} "World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023". International Monetary Fund. Archived from the original on 2023-04-25. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
17. ↑ "GINI index (World Bank estimate) – Russian Federation". World Bank. Archived from the original on 13 May 2020. Retrieved 23 June 2022.
18. ↑ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
19. ↑ "The names Russian Federation and Russia shall be equal". "The Constitution of the Russian Federation". (Article 1). Archived from the original on 1 March 2002. Retrieved 25 June 2009.
20. ↑ "ВЦИОМ: Православными себя считают 75% россиян. :: Общество :: РБК" (in Russian). 2018-07-24. Archived from the original on 2018-07-24. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
21. ↑ "Russia: Freedom in the World 2023 Country Report". Freedom House. 2019-07-20. Archived from the original on 2023-04-18. Retrieved 2023-04-17.
22. ↑ "New Reports Highlight Russia's Deep-Seated Culture of Corruption". Voice of America. 26 January 2020. Archived from the original on 27 January 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2020.