Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, covering over 17,125,191 square kilometres (6,612,073 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth of Earth’s inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones, and has the most borders of any country in the world, with sixteen sovereign nations. It has a population of 146.2 million; and is the most populous country in Europe, and the ninth-most populous country in the world. Moscow, the capital, is the largest city entirely within Europe; while Saint Petersburg is the country’s second-largest city and cultural centre.
The East Slavs emerged as a recognisable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. The medieval state of Rus’ arose in the 9th century. In 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Rus’ ultimately disintegrated, and the Grand Duchy of Moscow rose during the 15th century. By the 18th century, the nation had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to evolve into the Russian Empire, the third-largest empire in history. Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian SFSR became the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world’s first constitutionally socialist state. The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, and emerged as a superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world’s first human-made satellite and the launching of the first human in space.
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation. In the aftermath of the constitutional crisis of 1993, a new constitution was adopted, and Russia has since been governed as a federal semi-presidential republic. Vladimir Putin has dominated Russia’s political system since 2000; during the period Russia has experienced democratic backsliding, and has shifted to an authoritarian state.
Russia is a great power, and a potential superpower. It is ranked 52nd in the Human Development Index, with a universal healthcare system, and a free university education. Russia’s economy is the world’s eleventh-largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest by PPP. It is a recognized nuclear-weapons state, possessing the world’s largest stockpile of nuclear weapons; with the second-most powerful military, and the fourth-highest military expenditure. Russia’s extensive mineral and energy resources are the world’s largest, and it is among the leading producers of oil and natural gas globally. It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G20, the SCO, the Council of Europe, BRICS, the APEC, the OSCE, the IIB and the WTO, as well as the leading member of the CIS, the CSTO, and the EAEU. Russia is also home to 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (Wikipedia)
Family of Tsar Nicholas II Of Russia, 1914Grand Duchess Maria Of Russia, 1906Russian WW2 Sniper Roza ShaninaLyudmila Pavlichenko. Soviet Sniper during World War II. Credited With 309 Kills. She Is Regarded As The Most Successful Female Sniper In History, 1940.Yuri Gagarin With His Matra Bonnet Djet Vs Coupe, 1965The First Passengers Of The Moscow Metro, 1935Gymnasium Girls, Imperial Russia, 1900-1917The Four Romanov Daughters With Their Mother Tsarina Alexandra, 1913Worker And Supervisor, Car Factory, Moscow, 1954Russian Family, Ekaterinburg Region, Siberia In The Late 19th CenturyYekaterina Ryabova, Russian Military Pilot, Heroine Of The Soviet Army, 1945Jose Raul Capablanca Vs Alexander Alekhine, 1913Soldier Waves A Soviet Flag, Berlin, 1945Lydia Litvyak During The World War II, 1941102nd Guards Fighter Aviation Regiment, 1943Soviet Athletes In Moscow, 1937A Man With A Group Of Russian Children, 1940Nicholas II Of Russia In The Uniform Of The Life-guards 4th The Imperial Family’s Rifle Regiment, 1912Mikhail Bulgakov, 1928Russian Soldiers In Berlin 1945Anti Tank Artilery, 1940sRomanov Sisters And Their Mother Tsarina Alexandra Working In A Military Hospital During World War ISoviet Sniper Semyon Nomokonov With His Famous Smoking Pipe, 1942Saint John Of KronstadtMaria Dolina, Hero Pilot Of The Soviet Union, 1945Tank Driver Mikhail Smirnov, 1944Reaper, 1914Group Of The Sisters Of Charity In The Dining Room During Lunch, Rhe Herbovets Community, 1900sBerlin, 1945Tashkent, 1930Grigori Rasputin, 1904Olga And Tatiana Romanov, 1900sRussian Ballet Dancer Galina Ulanova In Swan Lake, 1930A Russian Man Stands By A Made In The USSR Ford car, 1930Air Squadron Commander Of The 124th Fighter Regiment Alexander Pronin, 1942Arseny Tarkovsky, 1907A Young Russian Bride, 1903Russian Actor Nikolai Rybnikov In “Spring On Zarechnaya Street”, 1956Anti Tank Artillery Soldiers, 1943Soviet Air Force Officers Rufina Gasheva And Nataly Meklin, World War IINurse, 1914-1916Traffic Controllers, Wolchow Front, 1943La Comtesse Elisabeth Moussine-Pouchkine, 1903Red Cross Personnel Attending To Wounded Soldiers On A Russian Battlefield, WWIEaster At The Front, The Letter Symbolize The Fraze “Christ Is Risen”, 1916Grand Duchesses Olga And Tatiana Romanov In Livadia, Crimea, 1914Friends, 1934Russian Soldiers Pose Before The Attack, 1916Soviet Sailors Raise The USSR’s Naval Ensign Over Port-Arthur, 1945Captain Alexander G. Pronin And Major Sergei Stepanovich Bukhteyev Aboard A Plane, 1943Soviet Car In The May Day Parade In Tel Aviv, 1947Nikolay Felixovich Yusupov, Prince Nicholas, Eldest Son Of Princess Zenaida And Prince FeliBerlin, 1945Soviet Sniper Lyubov Makarova (left), Hero Of The Soviet Union Dmitry Nazarenko (right)Lenin, 1900Anti Tank Artilery Man, 1940s (left), Russian Sniper Nadiezhda Kolesnikova, 1943 (right)Natalia Meklin (kravtsova), Sofia Burzaeva, Polina Gelman, 1943Soviet Soldiers Are Monitoring The Movement Of German Troops Near Sevastopol, Crimea, 1941German Embassy In St. Petersburg, 1913Russian Pilot During The World War I, 1918Pilots And Air-gunners Of The 566th Assault Aviation Regiment, 1944Anti-Tank Artillery, 1940sCaptain Ivan Musienko During World War II‘Red Corner’ At A Recruiting Station, Galich, Kostroma Region, 1931The Last Projectile, 1914Alexander Kerensky, 1917
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