Interesting facts about Russia
- Geographic facts about Russia
- Climatic facts about Russia
- Demographic facts about Russia
- Economic facts about Russia
- Living Standards
- Language facts about Russia
- Cultural facts about Russia & Social Life
- Ethnic diversity
- Religious facts about Russia
- International travel
Geographic facts about Russia
Russia is the largest country in the world. It covers 1/7 of all of the the land of our planet. Russia has longest borders in the world, it is washed by 22 seas and has 12 in-land seas. Russia neighbors more other countries than any country on earth. Russia boasts an enormous variety of landscapes, ranging from tundra to to steppes, from deserts to mountains, from glaciers to volcanoes. The Urals are the oldest mountains in the world and lake Baikal is the world's deepest lake and a largest reservoir of fresh water on earth. You can find more geographic facts about Russia on the Map of Russia page.
Because of its vast size Russian climate differs drastically
depending on where you are located. Most of Russia lives in a
continental climate with distinct periods of warm and cold weather.
This continentality increases as you travels east.
Temperatures for Moscow and St. Petersburg range from highs of 32 C
in the summer to low - 25 C in winter.
Demographic facts about
Russia
Russia has about 145.5 million people. Another 30 mln. Russians
reside outside of Russia, mostly in as called "near abroad." Eighty
percent of Russians reside in Western Russia. Moscow alone has 11 million people. It is the
largest city in Europe. St. Petersburg
has 5 million inhabitants. Russia is very urban. Two-thirds of its
population reside in cities. Every fourth Russian is retired. The
average age of Russian is 30 years old. Average family size is
three persons. The average life expectancy is a bit lower than in
other developed countries, but the gap is narrow each
year.
Given its vast size and immense reserves on natural resources, much of Russia's economy is focused on mining. Russia is the leading producer of energy in the world, and a world-class producer of military technologies. Some of the fastest growing sectors in the Russian economy include telecommunications, finances, construction and energy production. Russian economy has not yet finished a transition from command to a market economy. Although most of enterprises have been privatized, domestic prices on energy are not established by market forces.
Living Standards
Russian living standards had plunged after the collapse of the Soviet Union and started to gradually recover since 2000. In 2007 the living standards recovered to the level of 90 and continue to improve as Russia closes the gap with developed countries. Many attribute this spectacular recover to petrodollars which of course is true. It is not often mentioned in the West that it failed to finance structural reforms during the 90s. The West, of course, did not have to.
Russian is the official language in Russian (yes, really). Russian language uses the Cyrillic alphabet instead of the Latin and is one of the 5 most spoken languages in the world.
Cultural facts about Russia & Social Life
Most of Russian cities have a vibrant social life that can be compared in spirit to that of New York. In regard to the high art, Russia has always occupied a prominent spot on the world scene. The Bolshoi Theater and Pushkin Art Gallery in Moscow, Mariinsky theater and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg are considered to be some of the best art institutions in the world. In St. Petersburg alone there are 2,000 libraries, 221 museums, 80 theaters, 100 concert halls, 45 art galleries, 62 movie theaters, 80 nightclubs. The city also hosts over 100 concerts, shows and festivals each year. There are always things to do, not to mention that Russians place much importance on friendship and family and, as a result, anniversaries and birthdays tend to be great parties.
Ethnic diversityRussia is home to more than 100 different ethnic groups.
Slavs account for about 75% of the total
population.
Russian Orthodox Church is the official religion in Russian. 20% of Russians practice Islam. Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism are not wide spread, but exist. Many of Russia's most famous sights are former or present churches signifying the important role that religion has played in the past. Russian Orthodox Church, diminished during the Soviet period, has recovered recently.
Moscow and St. Petersburg are three hours ahead of London time and eight hours ahead of New York. Vladivostok is seven hours ahead of Moscow. It takes about 9 hours to travel from New York to Moscow, 3:30 from London to Moscow and 10:30 from Tokyo.