از ویکی‌پدیا، دانشنامهٔ آزاد
پرش به: ناوبری، جستجو
فارسی English

مختصات: ۵۵°۴۵′ شمالی ۳۷°۳۷′ شرقی﻿ / ﻿۵۵.۷۵۰° شمالی ۳۷.۶۱۷° شرقی﻿ / 55.750; 37.617

فدراسیون روسیه
Российская Федерация
پرچم نشان ملی
شعار ملیندارد
سرود ملیسرود ملی فدراسیون روسیه

(و بزرگترین شهر)
زبان رسمی روسی (زبان رسمی)
بعلاوه ۳۰ زبان رسمی در
مناطق مختلف روسیه
نوع حکومت جمهوری چند حزبی فدرال
نام حاکمان 
 • رئیس جمهور
 • نخست وزیر

ولادیمیر پوتین
دمیتری مدودف 
 -  مساحت ۱۷٬۰۷۵٬۴۰۰کیلومتر مربع (نخست)
 -  آب‌ها (٪) ۱۳ (با در نظرگرفتن باتلاقها و مردابها)
 -  سرشماری ۱۴۳٬۷۰۰٬۰۰۰ 
 -  تراکم جمعیت ۸٫۴‎/km۲‏ (۲۰۹ام)
تولید ناخالص داخلی (تخمین ۲۰۱۳)
 -  مجموع ۲۱۱۸ میلیارد دلار (۸ام)
 -  سرانه ۱۴٬۹۷۳ دلار (۴۹)
شاخص توسعه انسانی (۲۰۱۳) ۰٫۷۸۸ (بالا) (۵۵م)
واحد پول روبل (RUB)
منطقه زمانی UTC (ساعت جهانی+۳-+۱۳)
 -  تابستانی (DST) CEST (ساعت جهانی)
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روسیه (به روسی: Россия، واج‌نویسی: راسیا) با نام رسمی فدراسیون روسیه (Российская Федерация، واج‌نویسی: راسیسکایا فدراتسیا) پهناورترین کشور جهان است که در شمال اوراسیا قرار دارد. این کشور در آسیای شمالی و اروپای خاوری واقع است و با اقیانوس آرام شمالی و اقیانوس منجمد شمالی؛ و نیز با دریای خزر، دریای سیاه، و دریای بالتیک مرز آبی دارد. روسیه با ۱۴ کشور آسیایی و اروپایی مرز زمینی دارد و با کشورهای پیرامون دریای برینگ، دریای ژاپن، دریای خزر، دریای سیاه، و دریای بالتیک ارتباط دریایی دارد.

روسیه با ۱۷٬۰۷۵٬۴۰۰ کیلومتر مربع وسعت، پهناورترین کشور جهان است. پهناوری روسیه دو برابر مساحت کانادا یا چین یا ایالات متحده آمریکا است. این کشور در عرضهای بالای جغرافیایی واقع شده‌است و بیشتر مناطق کشور سردسیر و کم بارش است. به همین دلیل بیشتر مناطق این کشور (به ویژه سرزمین بزرگ سیبری) خالی از سکنه هستند و کشاورزی در این مناطق میسر نیست. پایتخت روسیه شهر مسکو است که در باختر و بخش اروپایی کشور است و بزرگترین شهر اروپا است.

روسیه با حدود ۱۴۳ میلیون نفر (در سال ۲۰۱۳) جمعیت نهمین کشور پرجمعیت دنیاست. تراکم جمعیت روسیه۸.۴ نفر در هر کیلومتر مربع است که از پایینترین نرخهای تراکم جمعیت در جهان است. همچنین نرخ رشد جمعیت در این کشور منفی است. بیشتر جمعیت روسیه در غرب این کشور (بخش اروپایی) زندگی می‌کنند. بر اساس سرشماری سال ۲۰۱۰ حدود ۸۱ درصد از مردم این کشور از قومیت روس هستند. در مجموع ۱۶۰ گروه قومی در این کشور زندگی می‌کنند. تاتارها ۳.۹ درصد جمعیت روسیه را تشکیل می‌دهند و بزرگترین اقلیت قومی این کشور محسوب می‌شوند. اقوام اوکراینی، چوواش، باشقیر، چچنی، و ارمنی نیز هر یک بیش از یک میلیون نفر جمعیت دارند و آوارهای قفقازی، بلاروسی‌ها، آسی‌ها، آذربایجانی‌ها و قزاق‌ها از دیگر اقوام پرجمعیت روسیه هستند.

زبان رسمی روسیه، زبان روسی است. ولی ۲۷ زبان رسمی دیگر نیز در جمهوری‌ها و مناطق خودگردان این کشور وجود دارد. روسیه کشوری فدرال با تقسیمات کشوری پیچیده‌ایست و شامل ۸۳ واحد فدرال از جمله ۲۱ جمهوری خودگردان می‌شود. روسیه فرهنگ پرباری دارد و نویسندگان معروفی مانند تولستوی و داستایوفسکی روسی بوده‌اند.

روسیه تا پیش از قرن هجدهم یک حکومت نه چندان نیرومند در خاور اروپا بود و وسعت آن چندان زیاد نبود. تا اینکه در آغاز قرن ۱۸ میلادی و با اصلاحاتی که تزار پتر بزرگ انجام داد، این کشور به یک امپراتوری پهناور و نیرومند تبدیل شد. در سال ۱۹۱۷ انقلاب کمونیستی در این کشور به وقوع پیوست و نام کشور به «اتحاد جماهیر شوروی سوسیالیستی» تغییر یافت. روسیه، با عنوان جمهوری فدراتیو روسیه شوروی، مهمترین و بزرگ‌ترین جمهوری در اتحاد جماهیر شوروی بود. در سال ۱۳۷۰ (۱۹۹۱) شوروی پس از جنگ سرد طولانی با غرب فروپاشید و فدراسیون روسیه به جای آن نشست.

واحد پول روسیه روبل است. روسیه با تولید ناخالص داخلی ۲۱۱۸ میلیارد دلار در سال ۲۰۱۳ هشتمین اقتصاد بزرگ جهان (ششمین بر مبنای قدرت برابری خرید) بوده‌است. روسیه پس از فروپاشی شوروی به اقتصاد بازار روی آورده‌است و به منابع طبیعی عظیم خود متکی است. درآمد سرانهٔ این کشور در سال ۲۰۱۳ بیش از ۱۸ هزار دلار (بر مبنای قدرت برابری خرید) که این کشور را در رتبه پنجاه‌وهفتم دنیا قرار می‌دهد. این کشور یکی از پنج عضو دائمی شورای امنیت سازمان ملل، عضو گروه هشت، شورای اروپا، سازمان تجارت جهانی، سازمان همکاری شانگهای و کشورهای مستقل همسود است.

اکنون ولادیمیر پوتین رئیس جمهور و دمیتری مدودف نخست وزیر روسیه‌است. سیاست کنونی روسیه، همکاری و عدم تنش با غرب و تلاش برای اتحاد کشور است. ولی به خاطر گسترش ناتو به شرق و پس از درگیری با گرجستان بر سر اوستیای جنوبی و الحاق کریمه به خاک خود، روابط روسیه و غرب به تیرگی گراییده‌است.


تاریخ روسیه به قرن چهاردهم میلادی بازمی‌گردد که قلمرو پادشاهی تجاری مسکو به عنوان بازیگر اصلی در بین چندین منطقه کوچکتر مشابه مطرح شد. ایوان چهارم، معروف به ایوان مخوف، نخستین حاکم مسکو بود که خود را تزار نامید. در سده هفدهم رومانف به حکومت روسیه دست یافتند و تا سیصد سال بعد بر این کشور حکومت کردند. پتر کبیر و کاترین کبیر از معروف‌ترین این پادشاهان بودند که اصلاحات زیادی را در جهت مدرنیزاسیون این کشور به انجام رساندند.

در اوایل قرن بیستم، نارضایتی‌های عمیق در میان بخش‌های مختلف جامعه روسیه به اعتراضات گسترده‌ای در این کشور انجامید. در شرایطی که حاکمان کشور نسبت به درد و رنج توده‌های مردم بی تفاوت به نطر می‌رسیدند، جریان‌های سیاسی رادیکال در کشور قوت گرفتند. واقعه معروف به دوشنبه خونین در سال ۱۹۰۵، شکست از ژاپن در جنگ ۱۹۰۵ و شکست‌های این کشور در جنگ جهانی اول به این نارضایتی‌ها دامن زد. در سال ۱۹۱۷ انقلابی به رهبری حزب بلشویک، که در سال ۱۹۰۳ به رهبری لنین و تحت تأثیر آموزه‌های کارل مارکس تشکیل شده بود، به حکومت پادشاهی در این کشور پایان بخشید.

اوایل حکومت لنین با جنگ داخلی علیه حامیان سلطنت همراه بود و پس از مدتی رقابت برای جانشینی لنین شدت گرفت. وی در سال ۱۹۲۴ درگذشت و استالین در سال ۱۹۲۹ به رهبری بلامنازع حزب کمونیست شوروی دست یافت. سیاستهای استالین به صنعتی‌سازی سریع کشور انجامید اما حکومت او با حجم غیرمنتظره‌ای از پاکسازی‌های سیاسی، تبعیدهای دسته‌جمعی و حبس و زندان همراه بود. در ژوئن ۱۹۴۱ آلمان به شوروی یورش برد و جنگی چهارساله درگرفت که ۲۷ میلیون شهروند شوروی در آن جان باختند. روسیه در جنگ جهانی دوم پیروز شد و کنترل سیاسی بیشتر قلمرو اروپای شرقی و مرکزی را برای خود تضمین کرد. استالین تا زمان مرگش در سال ۱۹۵۳ در قدرت باقی‌ماند. در این دوران حزب کمونیست با استفاده از دستگاه امنیتی عظیم خود بر تمام جنبه‌های زندگی حیات اجتماعی جامعه تسلط یافت و شوروی با پرداخت بهایی گزاف از حیات انسان‌ها به یک ابرقدرت صنعتی و نظامی تبدیل شد.

خروشچف جانشین استالین تلاش کرد تا جنبه‌های بی‌رحمانه حکومت استالین را افشا کرده و در عین حال بخش‌های کلیدی حکومت کمونیستی را حفظ کند. وی سانسور را در جامعه کاهش داده و سیاست خارجی همزیستی مسالمت‌آمیز با غرب را در پیش گرفت اما با سرکوب قیام سال ۱۹۵۶ مجارستان سلطه شوروی بر دولت‌های دست‌نشانده این کشور ادامه یافت. با این حال دستگاه حزبی اعتماد خود را به وی از دست داده و ااعتبار خروشچف در پی نحوه مواجهه او با بحران موشکی ۱۹۶۲ کوبا کاهش یافت. خروشچف در سال ۱۹۶۴ در یک کودتای حزبی ساقط شد. در دوران برژنف جانشین خروشچف، شرایط زندگی برای توده‌های مردم قابل پیش‌بینی‌تر و مناسب‌تر شد اما سرکوب سیاسی ادامه یافت. با این حال با توجه به کاهش رشد اقتصادی و سربرآوردن مشکلات اجتماعی دوران برژنف به «عصر رکود» معروف شد. از سال ۱۹۷۹ شوروی در جنگی طولانی و خونبار در افغانستان درگیر شد. یک نسل کامل قربانی جنگ شوروی در افغانستان شدند.[۱]

تقسیمات کشوری[ویرایش]



همسایگان زمینی روسیه عبارتند از:

در جنوب خاور (آسیا): کره شمالی، چین، مغولستان، و قزاقستان

در جنوب باختر (قفقاز): جمهوری آذربایجان و گرجستان

در باختر (اروپا): اوکراین، بلاروس، لتونی، استونی، فنلاند، و نروژ؛ و در بخش جدامانده کالینینگراد با کشورهای لیتوانی و لهستان.


Saint Petersburg
سن پترزبورگ

رتبه شهر نام به روسی از توابع جمعیت

Nizhny Novgorod
نیژنی نووگورود

۱ مسکو Москва کلان‌شهر مسکو ۱۱٬۸۰۰٬۹۹۲
۲ سن پترزبورگ Санкт-Петербург سن پترزبورگ ۴٬۹۰۰٬۵۲۰
۳ نووسیبیرسک Новосибирск استان نووسیبیرسک ۱٬۳۹۷٬۱۹۱
۴ یکاترینبورگ Екатеринбург استان سوردلوفسک ۱٬۳۳۲٬۲۶۴
۵ نیژنی نووگورود Нижний Новгород استان نیژنی نووگورود ۱٬۲۷۲٬۵۲۷
۶ سامارا Самара استان سامارا ۱ ۱۶۴ ۹۰۰
۷ قازان Казань تاتارستان ۱ ۱۴۳ ۶۰۰
۸ امسک Омск استان امسک ۱٬۱۲۹٬۱۲۰
۹ چلیابینسک Челябинск استان چلیابینسک ۱٬۰۹۳٬۶۹۹
۱۰ روستوف-نا-دونو Ростов-на-Дону استان روستوف ۱٬۰۴۸٬۹۹۱
۱۱ اوفا Уфа باشقیرستان ۱٬۰۲۴٬۸۴۲
۱۲ ولگاگراد Волгоград استان ولگوگراد ۱٬۰۲۱٬۲۰۰
۱۳ پرم Пермь سرزمین پرم ۹۸۵٬۷۹۴
۱۴ کراسنویارسک Красноярск سرزمین کراسنویارسک ۹۴۷٬۸۰۱
۱۵ وورونژ Воронеж استان ورونژ ۸۴۳٬۴۹۶
۱۶ ساراتوف Саратов استان ساراتوف ۸۳۰٬۹۵۳
۱۷ تولیاتی Тольятти استان سامارا ۷۲۰٬۳۴۶
۱۸ کراسنودار Краснодар سرزمین کراسنودار ۷۱۰٬۶۸۶
۱۹ ایژوسک Ижевск اودمورتیا ۶۱۱٬۰۴۳
۲۰ یاروسلاول Ярославль استان یاروسلاول ۶۰۶٬۳۳۶
سرشماری سال ۲۰۰۹ میلادی[۲][۳]


جاذبه‌های گردشگری[ویرایش]

روسیه دارای جاذبه‌های تاریخی و اکوتوریستی فراوانی است

تعدادی از جاذبه‌های تاریخی: روسیه از جمله کشورهایی است که از استقبال توریستان و جهانگردان برخوردار است. از جمله جاذبه‌های توریستی روسیه می‌توان به موارد زیر اشاره کرد: متروی مسکو، ساختمان‌های هفت خواهر، مجسمه مایاکوفسکی، مجسمه‌های لنین، میدان سرخ، موزه جنگ، پارک پیروزی، مقبره ولادیمیر لنین، مجموعه کرملین[۴]

تعدادی از جاذبه‌های اکوتوریستی: طبیعت زیبا، پوشش‌های گیاهی متفاوت را می‌توان نام برد مانند تپه وارابیف (تپه گنجشک‌ها)[۵]


جستارهای وابسته[ویرایش]


  • ویکی‌پدیای انگلیسی
  • تاریخ ایران و جهان، سال دوم آموزش متوسطه، رشته علوم انسانی، سازمان پژوهش و برنامه ریزی آموزشی، ۱۳۸۲.
  • لارنس لاکهارت، انقراض سلسله صفویه و ایام سلطه افغان‌ها بر ایران (بخش روابط ایران و روسیه)، ترجمه مصطفی قلی اعتماد، تهران، ۱۳۴۳.
"Russian Federation" redirects here. For the Soviet republic also referred to as the "Russian Federation", see Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. For other uses of "Russia", see Russia (disambiguation).


Russian Federation
Российская Федерация
Rossiyskaya Federatsiya (Russian)
Flag Coat of arms
"Государственный гимн Российской Федерации"
"Gosudarstvennyy gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii"  (transliteration)
"State Anthem of the Russian Federation"
Russia proper (dark green)
Crimean peninsula (disputed) (light green)a
and largest city
Official languages Russian
Recognised languages 35 other languages co-official in various regions[citation needed]
Ethnic groups (2010[1])
Demonym Russians
Government Federal semi-presidential constitutional republic
 -  President Vladimir Putin
 -  Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev
 -  Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko
 -  Chairman of the State Duma Sergey Naryshkin
Legislature Federal Assembly
 -  Upper house Federation Council
 -  Lower house State Duma
 -  Kievan Rus' 882 
 -  Grand Duchy of Moscow 1283 
 -  Tsardom of Russia 16 January 1547 
 -  Russian Empire 22 October 1721 
 -  Russian SFSR 6 November 1917 
 -  Soviet Union 10 December 1922 
 -  Russian Federation 25 December 1991 
 -  Adoption of the current Constitution of Russia 12 December 1993 
 -  Total 17,098,242 (Crimea not included) km2 (1st)
6,592,800 (Crimea not included) sq mi
 -  2015 estimate 143,975,923[4] (not including the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol) (9th)
 -  Density 8.4/km2 (217th)
21.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2015 estimate
 -  Total $3.458 trillion[5] (6th)
 -  Per capita $24,067[6] (53rd)
GDP (nominal) 2015 estimate
 -  Total $1.176 trillion[5] (15th)
 -  Per capita $8,184[6] (74th)
Gini (2012) 42[7]
medium · 83rd
HDI (2013) Steady 0.778[8]
high · 57th
Currency Russian ruble (RUB)
Time zone (UTC+2 to +12)
Date format dd.mm.yyyy
Drives on the right
Calling code +7
ISO 3166 code RU
Internet TLD



The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs, who emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.[13] Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire,[14] beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium.[14] Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde.[15] The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde, and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland in Europe to Alaska in North America.[16][17]

Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower,[18] which played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II.[19][20] 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 first man in space. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation and is recognized as the continuing legal personality (the sole successor state) of the Union state.[21]

The Russian economy ranks as the fifteenth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015.[22] Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources, the largest reserves in the world,[23] have made it one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas globally.[24][25] The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.[26] Russia was the world's second biggest exporter of major arms in 2010-14, according to SIPRI data.[27] Russia is a great power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as being the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.


Main articles: Rus' people and Rus (name)





Main article: History of Russia

Early periods

In prehistoric times the vast steppes of Southern Russia were home to tribes of nomadic pastoralists.[31] Remnants of these steppe civilizations were discovered in such places as Ipatovo,[31] Sintashta,[32] Arkaim,[33] and Pazyryk,[34] which bear the earliest known traces of mounted warfare, a key feature in the nomadic way of life.

In classical antiquity, the Pontic Steppe was known as Scythia. Since the 8th century BC, Ancient Greek traders brought their civilization to the trade emporiums in Tanais and Phanagoria. The Romans settled on the western part of the Caspian Sea, where their empire stretched towards the east.[35] In 3rd – 4th centuries AD a semi-legendary Gothic kingdom of Oium existed in Southern Russia till it was overrun by Huns. Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, the Bosporan Kingdom, a Hellenistic polity which succeeded the Greek colonies,[36] was also overwhelmed by nomadic invasions led by warlike tribes, such as the Huns and Eurasian Avars.[37] A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the lower Volga basin steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas until the 10th century.[38]

The ancestors of modern Russians are the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought by some scholars to have been the wooded areas of the Pinsk Marshes.[39] The East Slavs gradually settled Western Russia in two waves: one moving from Kiev toward present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk toward Novgorod and Rostov. From the 7th century onwards, the East Slavs constituted the bulk of the population in Western Russia[40] and slowly but peacefully[citation needed] assimilated the native Finno-Ugric peoples, including the Merya, the Muromians, and the Meshchera.

Kievan Rus'

Kievan Rus' in the 11th century





Ultimately Kievan Rus' disintegrated, with the final blow being the Mongol invasion of 1237–40,[45] that resulted in the destruction of Kiev[46] and the death of about half the population of Rus'.[47] The invading Mongol elite, together with their conquered Turkic subjects (Cumans, Kipchaks, Bulgars) became known as Tatars, formed the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the Russian principalities; the Mongols ruled the Cuman-Kipchak confederation and Volga Bulgaria (modern-day southern and central expanses of Russia) for over two centuries.[48]


Grand Duchy of Moscow

Main article: Grand Duchy of Moscow


Those were hard times, with frequent Mongol-Tatar raids and agriculture suffering from the beginning of the Little Ice Age. As in the rest of Europe, plague was a frequent occurrence between 1350 and 1490.[50] However, because of the lower population density and better hygiene (widespread practicing of banya, the wet steam bath), the death rate from plague was not as severe as in Western Europe,[51] and population numbers recovered by 1500.[50]



Tsardom of Russia

Main article: Tsardom of Russia

In development of the Third Rome ideas, the Grand Duke Ivan IV (the "Terrible")[53] was officially crowned the first Tsar ("Caesar") of Russia in 1547. The Tsar promulgated a new code of laws (Sudebnik of 1550), established the first Russian feudal representative body (Zemsky Sobor) and introduced local self-management into the rural regions.[54][55]


However, the Tsardom was weakened by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden for access to the Baltic coast and sea trade.[56] At the same time the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate, the only remaining successor to the Golden Horde, continued to raid Southern Russia.[57] In an effort to restore the Volga khanates, Crimeans and their Ottoman allies invaded central Russia and were even able to burn down parts of Moscow in 1571.[58] But next year the large invading army was thoroughly defeated by Russians in the Battle of Molodi, forever eliminating the threat of the Ottoman–Crimean expansion into Russia. The slave raids of Crimeans, however, didn't cease until the late 17th century, though the construction of new fortification lines across Southern Russia, such as the Great Abatis Line, constantly narrowed the area accessible to incursions.[59]

The death of Ivan's sons marked the end of the ancient Rurik Dynasty in 1598, and in combination with the famine of 1601–03[60] led to the civil war, the rule of pretenders and foreign intervention during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century.[61] Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied parts of Russia, including Moscow. In 1612, the Poles were forced to retreat by the Russian volunteer corps, led by two national heroes, merchant Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The Romanov Dynasty acceded the throne in 1613 by the decision of Zemsky Sobor, and the country started its gradual recovery from the crisis.



Imperial Russia

Main article: Russian Empire



Catherine II ("the Great"), who ruled in 1762–96, presided over the Age of Russian Enlightenment. She extended Russian political control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and incorporated most of its territories into Russia during the Partitions of Poland, pushing the Russian frontier westward into Central Europe. In the south, after successful Russo-Turkish Wars against the Ottoman Empire, Catherine advanced Russia's boundary to the Black Sea, defeating the Crimean Khanate. As a result of victories over the Qajar Persian Empire, by the first half of the 19th century Russia also made significant territorial gains in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus.[64][65] This continued with Alexander I's (1801–25) wresting of Finland from the weakened kingdom of Sweden in 1809 and of Bessarabia from the Ottomans in 1812. At the same time Russians colonized Alaska and even founded settlements in California, like Fort Ross.







Revolution and Russian Republic


Soviet Russia and civil war



Soviet Union

Main article: Soviet Union
The Russian SFSR as a part of the USSR in 1922.



Millions of Soviet citizens were forced to work on massive government projects such as the construction of the White Sea–Baltic Canal, 1931–1933.

Under Stalin's leadership, the government launched a planned economy, industrialisation of the largely rural country, and collectivization of its agriculture. During this period of rapid economic and social change, millions of people were sent to penal labor camps,[72] including many political convicts for their opposition to Stalin's rule; millions were deported and exiled to remote areas of the Soviet Union.[72] The transitional disorganisation of the country's agriculture, combined with the harsh state policies and a drought, led to the Soviet famine of 1932–1933.[73] The Soviet Union, though with a heavy price, was transformed from a largely agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in a short span of time.





On 22 June 1941, Nazi Germany broke the non-aggression treaty and invaded the Soviet Union with the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history,[74] opening the largest theater of World War II. Although the German army had considerable early success, their attack was halted in the Battle of Moscow. Subsequently, the Germans were dealt major defeats first at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–43,[75] and then in the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943. Another German failure was the Siege of Leningrad, in which the city was fully blockaded on land between 1941–44 by German and Finnish forces, and suffered starvation and more than a million deaths, but never surrendered.[76] Under Stalin's administration and the leadership of such commanders as Georgy Zhukov and Konstantin Rokossovsky, Soviet forces took Eastern Europe in 1944–45 and captured Berlin in May 1945. In August 1945 the Soviet Army ousted the Japanese from China's Manchukuo and North Korea, contributing to the allied victory over Japan.

The 1941–45 period of World War II is known in Russia as the "Great Patriotic War". During this conflict, which included many of the most lethal battle operations in human history, Soviet military and civilian deaths were 10.6 million and 15.9 million respectively,[77] accounting for about a third of all World War II casualties. The full demographic loss to the Soviet peoples was even greater.[78] The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation,[79] but the Soviet Union emerged as an acknowledged military superpower on the continent.

Sputnik 1 was the world's first artificial satellite










Russian Federation

In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin became the first directly elected President in Russian history when he was elected President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which became the independent Russian Federation in December of that year. During and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wide-ranging reforms including privatization and market and trade liberalization were undertaken,[84] including radical changes along the lines of "shock therapy" as recommended by the United States and the International Monetary Fund.[85] All this resulted in a major economic crisis, characterized by a 50% decline of both GDP and industrial output between 1990–95.[84][86]

The privatization largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to individuals with inside connections in the government. Many of the newly rich moved billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight.[87] The depression of the economy led to the collapse of social services; the birth rate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed.[88] Millions plunged into poverty, from 1.5% level of poverty in the late Soviet era, to 39–49% by mid-1993.[89] The 1990s saw extreme corruption and lawlessness, the rise of criminal gangs and violent crime.[90]


Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's external debts, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution.[91] High budget deficits caused the 1998 Russian financial crisis[92] and resulted in a further GDP decline.[84]

On 31 December 1999, President Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned, handing the post to the recently appointed Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who then won the 2000 presidential election. Putin suppressed the Chechen insurgency, although sporadic violence still occurs throughout the Northern Caucasus. High oil prices and the initially weak currency followed by increasing domestic demand, consumption, and investments has helped the economy grow for nine straight years, improving the standard of living and increasing Russia's influence on the world stage.[93] While many reforms made during the Putin presidency have been generally criticized by Western nations as un-democratic,[94] Putin's leadership over the return of order, stability, and progress has won him widespread admiration in Russia.[95]

On 2 March 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected President of Russia, while Putin became Prime Minister. Putin returned to the presidency following the 2012 presidential elections, and Medvedev was appointed Prime Minister.

In 2014, after President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine fled as a result of a revolution, Putin requested and received authorization from the Russian Parliament to deploy Russian troops to Ukraine.[96][97][98][99][100] Following a Crimean referendum in which separation was favored by a large majority of voters, which was not accepted internationally,[101][102][103][104][105][106] the Russian leadership announced the annexation of Crimea by Russia. On 27 March the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a non-binding resolution opposing the Russian annexation of Crimea.[107]


Main article: Politics of Russia


Moscow Kremlin, the working residence of the President of Russia

According to the Constitution of Russia, the country is a federation and semi-presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of state[108] and the Prime Minister is the head of government. The Russian Federation is fundamentally structured as a multi-party representative democracy, with the federal government composed of three branches:


Foreign relations

Member states, observers and partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation


As the successor to a former superpower, Russia's geopolitical status has often been debated, particularly in relation to unipolar and multipolar views on the global political system. While Russia is commonly accepted to be a great power, in recent years it has been characterized by a number of world leaders,[113][114] scholars,[115] commentators and politicians[116] as a currently reinstating or potential superpower.[117][118][119]

As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia plays a major role in maintaining international peace and security. The country participates in the Quartet on the Middle East and the Six-party talks with North Korea. Russia is a member of the G8 industrialized nations, the Council of Europe, OSCE, and APEC. Russia usually takes a leading role in regional organisations such as the CIS, EurAsEC, CSTO, and the SCO.[120] Russia became the 39th member state of the Council of Europe in 1996.[121] In 1998, Russia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. The legal basis for EU relations with Russia is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 1997. The Agreement recalls the parties' shared respect for democracy and human rights, political and economic freedom and commitment to international peace and security.[122] In May 2003, the EU and Russia agreed to reinforce their cooperation on the basis of common values and shared interests.[123] Former President Vladimir Putin had advocated a strategic partnership with close integration in various dimensions including establishment of EU-Russia Common Spaces.[124] Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has developed a friendlier relationship with the United States and NATO. The NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 to allow the United States, Russia and the 27 allies in NATO to work together as equal partners to pursue opportunities for joint collaboration.[125]


Russia maintains strong and positive relations with other BRIC countries. India is the largest customer of Russian military equipment and the two countries share extensive defense and strategic relations.[126] In recent years, the country has strengthened bilateral ties especially with the People's Republic of China by signing the Treaty of Friendship as well as building the Trans-Siberian oil pipeline and gas pipeline from Siberia to China.[127][128]

An important aspect of Russia's relations with the West is the criticism of Russia's political system and human rights management (including LGBT rights, media freedom, and reports about killed journalists) by the Western governments, the mass media and the leading democracy and human rights watchdogs. In particular, such organisations as the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch consider Russia to have not enough democratic attributes and to allow few political rights and civil liberties to its citizens.[129][130] Freedom House, an international organisation funded by the United States, ranks Russia as "not free", citing "carefully engineered elections" and "absence" of debate.[131] Russian authorities dismiss these claims and especially criticise Freedom House. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the 2006 Freedom in the World report "prefabricated", stating that the human rights issues have been turned into a political weapon in particular by the United States. The ministry also claims that such organisations as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch use the same scheme of voluntary extrapolation of "isolated facts that of course can be found in any country" into dominant tendencies.[132]


Main article: Russian Armed Forces

The Russian military is divided into the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force. There are also three independent arms of service: Strategic Missile Troops, Aerospace Defence Forces, and the Airborne Troops. In 2006, the military had 1.037 million personnel on active duty.[133] It is mandatory for all male citizens aged 18–27 to be drafted for a year of service in Armed Forces.[93]

Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It has the second largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and is the only country apart from the United States with a modern strategic bomber force.[26][134] Russia's tank force is the largest in the world, its surface navy and air force are among the largest ones.

The country has a large and fully indigenous arms industry, producing most of its own military equipment with only few types of weapons imported. Russia is one of the world's top supplier of arms, a spot it has held since 2001, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales[135] and exporting weapons to about 80 countries.[136] The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, found that Russia was the second biggest exporter of arms in 2010-14, increasing their exports by 37 per cent from the period 2005-2009. In 2010-14, Russia delivered weapons to 56 states and to rebel forces in eastern Ukraine.[27]

The Russian government's published 2014 military budget is about 2.49 trillion rubles (approximately US$69.3 billion), the third largest in the world behind the US and China. The official budget is set to rise to 3.03 trillion rubles (approximately US$83.7 billion) in 2015, and 3.36 trillion rubles (approximately US$93.9 billion) in 2016.[137] However, unofficial estimates put the budget significantly higher, for example the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 2013 Military Expenditure Database estimated Russia's military expenditure in 2012 at US$90.749 billion.[138] This estimate is an increase of more than US$18 billion on SIPRI's estimate of the Russian military budget for 2011 (US$71.9 billion).[139] As of 2014, Russia's military budget is higher than any other European nation.


Political divisions

Map of the federal subjects of the Russian Federation
Federal subjects

According to the Constitution, the country comprises eighty-five federal subjects,[141] including the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol, whose recent establishment is internationally disputed and criticized as illegal annexation.[142] In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were eighty-nine federal subjects listed, but later some of them were merged. These subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council.[143] However, they differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.

  • 22 republics: nominally autonomous; each is tasked with drafting its own constitution, direct-elected[144] head of republic[145] or a similar post, and parliament. Republics are allowed to establish their own official language alongside Russian but are represented by the federal government in international affairs. Republics are meant to be home to specific ethnic minorities.
Federal districts



Main article: Geography of Russia
The topography of Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world; its total area is 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi). There are 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia, 40 UNESCO biosphere reserves,[147] 41 national parks and 101 nature reserves. It lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W.








Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water, providing it with one of the world's largest surface water resources. Its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's liquid fresh water.[150] The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world's deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water lake.[151] Baikal alone contains over one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water.[150] Other major lakes include Ladoga and Onega, two of the largest lakes in Europe. Russia is second only to Brazil in volume of the total renewable water resources. Of the country's 100,000 rivers,[152] the Volga is the most famous, not only because it is the longest river in Europe, but also because of its major role in Russian history.[93] The Siberian rivers Ob, Yenisey, Lena and Amur are among the longest rivers in the world.


Main article: Climate of Russia




Climate data for Russia (records)
Record high °C (°F) 22.2
Record low °C (°F) −71.2
Source: Pogoda.ru.net[154]

Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons—winter and summer—as spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low temperatures and extremely high.[153] The coldest month is January (February on the coastline), the warmest usually is July. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot, even in Siberia.[155] The continental interiors are the driest areas.



From north to south the East European Plain, also known as Russian Plain, is clad sequentially in Arctic tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea), as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is largely taiga. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves,[156] known as "the lungs of Europe",[157] second only to the Amazon Rainforest in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs.



World Trade Center in Moscow

Russia has a developed, high-income market economy with enormous natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas. It has the 15th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the 6th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Since the turn of the 21st century, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have bolstered economic growth in Russia. The country ended 2008 with its ninth straight year of growth, but growth has slowed with the decline in the price of oil and gas. Real GDP per capita, PPP (current international) was 19,840 in 2010.[159] Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports.[93] The average nominal salary in Russia was $967 per month in early 2013, up from $80 in 2000.[160][161] In March 2014 the average nominal monthly wages reached 30,000 RUR (or US$980),[162][163] while tax on the income of individuals is payable at the rate of 13% on most incomes.[164] Approximately 12.8% of Russians lived below the national poverty line in 2011,[165] significantly down from 40% in 1998 at the worst point of the post-Soviet collapse.[89] Unemployment in Russia was at 5.4% in 2014, down from about 12.4% in 1999.[166] The middle class has grown from just 8 million persons in 2000 to 104 million persons in 2013.[167][168] Sugar imports reportedly dropped 82% between 2012 and 2013 as a result of the increase in domestic output.[169]

Russian economy since the end of the Soviet Union

Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of Russian exports abroad.[93] Since 2003, the exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. Despite higher energy prices, oil and gas only contribute to 5.7% of Russia's GDP and the government predicts this will be 3.7% by 2011.[170] Oil export earnings allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to $597.3 billion on 1 August 2008, the third largest foreign exchange reserves in the world.[171] The macroeconomic policy under Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was prudent and sound, with excess income being stored in the Stabilization Fund of Russia.[172] In 2006, Russia repaid most of its formerly massive debts,[173] leaving it with one of the lowest foreign debts among major economies.[174] The Stabilization Fund helped Russia to come out of the global financial crisis in a much better state than many experts had expected.[172]

A simpler, more streamlined tax code adopted in 2001 reduced the tax burden on people and dramatically increased state revenue.[175] Russia has a flat tax rate of 13%. This ranks it as the country with the second most attractive personal tax system for single managers in the world after the United Arab Emirates.[176] According to Bloomberg, Russia is considered well ahead of most other resource-rich countries in its economic development, with a long tradition of education, science, and industry.[177] The country has a higher proportion of higher education graduates than any other country in Eurasia.[178]


The economic development of the country has been uneven geographically with the Moscow region contributing a very large share of the country's GDP.[179] Inequality of household income and wealth has also been noted, with Credit Suisse finding Russian wealth distribution so much more extreme than other countries studied it "deserves to be placed in a separate category."[180][181] Another problem is modernisation of infrastructure, ageing and inadequate after years of being neglected in the 1990s; the government has said $1 trillion will be invested in development of infrastructure by 2020.[182] In December 2011, Russia finally[clarification needed] joined the World Trade Organisation, allowing it a greater access to overseas markets. Some analysts estimate that WTO membership could bring the Russian economy a bounce of up to 3% annually.[183] Russia ranks as the second-most corrupt country in Europe (after Ukraine), according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. The Norwegian-Russian Chamber of Commerce also states that "[c]orruption is one of the biggest problems both Russian and international companies have to deal with".[184] The high rate of corruption acts as a hidden tax as businesses and individuals often have to pay money that is not part of the official tax rate. It is estimated that corruption is costing the Russian economy an estimated $2 billion (80 billion rubles) per year.[185] In 2014, a book-length study by Professor Karen Dawisha was published concerning corruption in Russian under Putin's government.[186]




The total area of cultivated land in Russia was estimated as 1,237,294 km2 in 2005, the fourth largest in the world.[191] From 1999 to 2009, Russia's agriculture demonstrated steady growth,[192] and the country turned from a grain importer to the third largest grain exporter after EU and the United States.[193] The production of meat has grown from 6,813,000 tonnes in 1999 to 9,331,000 tonnes in 2008, and continues to grow.[194]

This restoration of agriculture was supported by credit policy of the government, helping both individual farmers and large privatized corporate farms, that once were Soviet kolkhozes and still own the significant share of agricultural land.[195] While large farms concentrate mainly on the production of grain and husbandry products, small private household plots produce most of the country's yield of potatoes, vegetables and fruits.[196]

With access to three of the world's oceans—the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific—Russian fishing fleets are a major contributor to the world's fish supply. The total capture of fish was at 3,191,068 tons in 2005.[197] Both exports and imports of fish and sea products grew significantly in the recent years, reaching correspondingly $2,415 and $2,036 millions in 2008.[198]

Sprawling from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, Russia has more than a fifth of the world's forests, which makes it the largest forest country in the world.[156][199] However, according to a 2012 study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Government of the Russian Federation,[200] the considerable potential of Russian forests is underutilized and Russia's share of the global trade in forest products is less than four percent.[201][202]



In recent years, Russia has frequently been described in the media as an energy superpower.[203][204] The country has the world's largest natural gas reserves,[205] the 8th largest oil reserves,[206] and the second largest coal reserves.[207] Russia is the world's leading natural gas exporter[208] and second largest natural gas producer,[25] while also the largest oil exporter and the largest oil producer.[24]

Russia is the 3rd largest electricity producer in the world[209] and the 5th largest renewable energy producer, the latter because of the well-developed hydroelectricity production in the country.[210] Large cascades of hydropower plants are built in European Russia along big rivers like Volga. The Asian part of Russia also features a number of major hydropower stations, however the gigantic hydroelectric potential of Siberia and the Russian Far East largely remains unexploited.





Railway transport in Russia is mostly under the control of the state-run Russian Railways monopoly. The company accounts for over 3.6% of Russia's GDP and handles 39% of the total freight traffic (including pipelines) and more than 42% of passenger traffic.[214] The total length of common-used railway tracks exceeds 85,500 km (53,127 mi),[214] second only to the United States. Over 44,000 km (27,340 mi) of tracks are electrified,[215] which is the largest number in the world, and additionally there are more than 30,000 km (18,641 mi) of industrial non-common carrier lines. Railways in Russia, unlike in the most of the world, use broad gauge of 1,520 mm (4 ft 11 2732 in), with the exception of 957 km (595 mi) on Sakhalin island using narrow gauge of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in). The most renown railway in Russia is Trans-Siberian (Transsib), spanning a record 7 time zones and serving the longest single continuous services in the world, Moscow-Vladivostok (9,259 km (5,753 mi)), Moscow–Pyongyang (10,267 km (6,380 mi))[216] and Kiev–Vladivostok (11,085 km (6,888 mi)).[217]

As of 2006 Russia had 933,000 km of roads, of which 755,000 were paved.[218] Some of these make up the Russian federal motorway system. With a large land area the road density is the lowest of all the G8 and BRIC countries.[219]




Russia has 1,216 airports,[221] the busiest being Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo in Moscow, and Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. The total length of runways in Russia exceeds 600,000 kilometres (370,000 mi).[222]


Science and technology

Mikhail Lomonosov, polymath scientist, inventor, poet and artist








Famous Russian battle tanks include T34, the most heavily produced tank design of World War II,[225] and further tanks of T-series, including the most produced tank in history, T54/55.[226] The AK47 and AK74 by Mikhail Kalashnikov constitute the most widely used type of assault rifle throughout the world—so much so that more AK-type rifles have been manufactured than all other assault rifles combined.[227]




Space exploration

Soviet and Russian space station Mir

Russian achievements in the field of space technology and space exploration are traced back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical astronautics.[229] His works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such as Sergey Korolyov, Valentin Glushko, and many others who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program on early stages of the Space Race and beyond.



Nowadays Russia is the largest satellite launcher.[230] After the U.S. Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, Soyuz rockets became the only provider of transport for astronauts at the International Space Station.



Percentage of ethnic Russians by region in 2010
Natural population growth rate in Russia, 2012.

Ethnic Russians comprise 81% of the country's population.[1] The Russian Federation is also home to several sizeable minorities. In all, 160 different other ethnic groups and indigenous peoples live within its borders.[231] Though Russia's population is comparatively large, its density is low because of the country's enormous size. Population is densest in European Russia, near the Ural Mountains, and in southwest Siberia. 73% of the population lives in urban areas while 27% in rural ones.[232] The results of the 2010 Census show a total population of 142,856,536.[233]

Russia's population peaked at 148,689,000 in 1991, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It began to experience a rapid decline starting in the mid-1990s.[234] The decline has slowed to near stagnation in recent years because of reduced death rates, increased birth rates and increased immigration.[235]

In 2009, Russia recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years, with total growth of 10,500.[235] 279,906 migrants arrived to the Russian Federation the same year, of which 93% came from CIS countries.[235] The number of Russian emigrants steadily declined from 359,000 in 2000 to 32,000 in 2009.[235] There are also an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants from the ex-Soviet states in Russia.[236] Russia is home to approximately 116 million ethnic Russians[231] and about 20 million ethnic Russians live outside Russia in the former republics of the Soviet Union,[237] mostly in Ukraine and Kazakhstan.[238]


Russia's birth rate is higher than that of most European countries (12.6 births per 1000 people in 2010[235] compared to the European Union average of 9.90 per 1000),[239] but its death rate is also substantially higher (in 2010, Russia's death rate was 14.3 per 1000 people[235] compared to the EU average of 10.28 per 1000).[240] The Russian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs predicted that by 2011 the death rate would equal the birth rate because of increase in fertility and decline in mortality.[241] The government is implementing a number of programs designed to increase the birth rate and attract more migrants. Monthly government child-assistance payments were doubled to US$55, and a one-time payment of US$9,200 was offered to women who had a second child since 2007.[242]

In 2006, in a bid to compensate for the country's demographic decline, the Russian government started simplifying immigration laws and launched a state program "for providing assistance to voluntary immigration of ethnic Russians from former Soviet republics".[243] In 2009 Russia experienced its highest birth rate since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.[235][244] In 2012, the birth rate increased again. Russia recorded 1,896,263 births, the highest number since 1990, and even exceeding annual births during the period 1967–1969, with a TFR of about 1.7, the highest since 1991. (Source: Vital statistics table below)


Largest cities


Area where Russian language is spoken

Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages.[11] According to the 2002 Census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3 million and Ukrainian with 1.8 million speakers.[248] Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individual republics the right to establish their own state languages in addition to Russian.[249]


Russian is the second-most used language on the Internet after English,[252] one of two official languages aboard the International Space Station[253] and is one of the six official languages of the UN.[254]


Main article: Religion in Russia
Church of the Transfiguration, Kizhi Pogost in the Republic of Karelia

There is no official census of religion in Russia, and estimates are based on surveys only. In August 2012, ARENA[255] estimated that about 46.8% of Russians are Christians (including Orthodox, Catholic, Protestant, and non-denominational), which is slightly less than an absolute 50%+ majority. However, later that year, the Levada Center estimated that 76% of Russians are Christians,[256] and in June 2013, the Public Opinion Foundation[257] estimated that 65% of Russians are Christians. These findings are in line with Pew Research Center's 2011 survey,[258] which estimated that 73.6% of Russians are Christians, with Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTSIOM)'s 2010 survey (~77% Christian),[259] and with Ipsos MORI's 2011 survey (69%). [260] Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism and Buddhism are Russia's traditional religions, and are all legally a part of Russia's "historical heritage".[261]




Various reports put the number of non-religious in Russia at between 16–48% of the population.[268] The number of atheists has decreased significantly; according to the recent statistic, only seven percent declared themselves atheists, a decrease of 5% in three years.[269]


Main article: Healthcare in Russia
A mobile clinic used to provide health care at remote railway stations

The Russian Constitution guarantees free, universal health care for all its citizens.[270] In practice, however, free health care is partially restricted because of mandatory registration.[271] While Russia has more physicians, hospitals, and health care workers than almost any other country in the world on a per capita basis,[272] since the dissolution of the Soviet Union the health of the Russian population has declined considerably as a result of social, economic, and lifestyle changes;[273] the trend has been reversed only in the recent years, with average life expectancy having increased 5.2 years for males and 3.1 years for females between 2006–14.[274]

As of 2014, the average life expectancy in Russia was 65,29 years for males and 76,49 years for females.[274] The biggest factor contributing to the relatively low life expectancy for males is a high mortality rate among working-age males. Deaths mostly occur because of preventable causes (e.g., alcohol poisoning, smoking, traffic accidents, violent crime).[235] As a result of the large gender difference in life expectancy, and also because of the lasting effect of high casualties in World War II, the gender imbalance remains to this day; there are 0.859 males to every female.[93]


Main article: Education in Russia

Russia have the most college-level or higher graduates in percentage of population in the world.[275] Russia has a free education system, which is guaranteed for all citizens by the Constitution,[276] however entry to subsidized higher education is highly competitive.[277] As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and aerospace research is generally of a high order.[278]


In 2004, state spending for education amounted to 3.6% of the GDP, or 13% of the consolidated state budget.[280] The Government allocates funding to pay the tuition fees within an established quota or number of students for each state institution. In higher education institutions, students are paid a small stipend and provided with free housing if they are from out of town.[281]



Main article: Russian culture

Folk culture and cuisine

The Merchant's Wife by Boris Kustodiev, showcasing the Russian tea culture

There are over 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples in Russia.[231] Ethnic Russians with their Slavic Orthodox traditions, Tatars and Bashkirs with their Turkic Muslim culture, Buddhist nomadic Buryats and Kalmyks, Shamanistic peoples of the Extreme North and Siberia, highlanders of the Northern Caucasus, Finno-Ugric peoples of the Russian North West and Volga Region all contribute to the cultural diversity of the country.








Aristotle Fioravanti and other Italian architects brought Renaissance trends into Russia since the late 15th century, while the 16th century saw the development of unique tent-like churches culminating in Saint Basil's Cathedral.[283] By that time the onion dome design was also fully developed.[284] In the 17th century, the "fiery style" of ornamentation flourished in Moscow and Yaroslavl, gradually paving the way for the Naryshkin baroque of the 1690s. After the reforms of Peter the Great the change of architectural styles in Russia generally followed that in the Western Europe.



Visual arts

Main article: Russian artists
A piece of Russian Icon art known as Rublev's Trinity







Music and dance




During the early 20th century, Russian ballet dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame, and impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide.[291] Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions,[292] and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced many internationally famous stars, including Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg remain famous throughout the world.[293]


Literature and philosophy

Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher





The Soviet Union was also a major producer of science fiction, written by authors like Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Kir Bulychov, Alexander Belayev and Ivan Yefremov.[298] Traditions of Russian science fiction and fantasy are continued today by numerous writers.

Cinema, animation and media






The late 1980s and 1990s were a period of crisis in Russian cinema and animation. Although Russian filmmakers became free to express themselves, state subsidies were drastically reduced, resulting in fewer films produced. The early years of the 21st century have brought increased viewership and subsequent prosperity to the industry on the back of the economic revival. Production levels are already higher than in Britain and Germany.[302] Russia's total box-office revenue in 2007 was $565 million, up 37% from the previous year.[303] In 2002 the Russian Ark became the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take. The traditions of Soviet animation were developed recently by such directors as Aleksandr Petrov and studios like Melnitsa Animation.



Main article: Sport in Russia



Although ice hockey was only introduced during the Soviet era, the national team managed to win gold at almost all the Olympics and World Championships they contested. Russian players Valery Kharlamov, Sergei Makarov, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Vladislav Tretiak hold four of six positions in the IIHF Team of the Century.[305] Russia has not won the Olympic ice hockey tournament since the Unified Team won gold in 1992. Recently Russia won the 2008, 2009,[306] 2012 and the 2014 IIHF World Championships. Russia dominated the 2012 tournament, winning all of its ten matches—the first time any team had done so since the Soviet Union in 1989.[307]

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) was founded in 2008 as a successor to the Russian Superleague. It is seen as a rival to the National Hockey League (NHL), is ranked the top hockey league in Europe as of 2009,[308] and the second-best in the world.[309] It is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia and consists of 28 teams, of which 21 are based in Russia and 7 more are located in Latvia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Croatia.

Bandy, also known as Russian hockey, is another traditionally popular ice sport.[310] The Soviet Union won all the Bandy World Championships for men between 1957–79[311] and some thereafter too. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has continuously been one of the most successful teams, winning many world championships.

Dmitry Medvedev with the Russia men's national ice hockey team
Opening of the 2014 Winter Olympics




Since the end of the Soviet era, tennis has grown in popularity and Russia has produced a number of famous players, including Maria Sharapova, the world's highest paid female athlete.[315] In martial arts, Russia produced the sport Sambo and renowned fighters, like Fedor Emelianenko. Chess is a widely popular pastime in Russia; from 1927, Russian grandmasters have held the world chess championship almost continuously.[316]


Formula One is also becoming increasingly popular in Russia. In 2010 Vitaly Petrov became the first Russian to drive in Formula One. There had only been two Russian Grands Prix (in 1913 and 1914), but the Russian Grand Prix returned as part of the Formula One season in 2014, as part of a six-year deal.[319]

National holidays and symbols

Scarlet Sails celebration on the Neva river in Saint Petersburg





Matryoshka doll taken apart




Main article: Tourism in Russia
Grand Cascade in Peterhof, a popular tourist destination in Saint Petersburg

Tourism in Russia has seen rapid growth since the late Soviet times, first domestic tourism and then international tourism, fueled by the rich cultural heritage and great natural variety of the country. Major tourist routes in Russia include a journey around the Golden Ring of ancient cities, cruises on the big rivers like the Volga, and long journeys on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway. In 2013, Russia was visited by 28.4 million tourists, it is the ninth most visited country in the world and the seventh most visited in Europe.[321]





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External links