Russia (Russian: Россия,
tr. Rossiya, pronounced
[rɐˈsʲijə]), or the
Russian Federation,
[c] is a
transcontinental country spanning
Eastern Europe and
Northern Asia. It is the
largest country in the world by area, 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
borders sixteen sovereign nations, the
most of any country in the world.
[d] It is the
ninth-most populous country and the
most populous country in
Europe, with a population of 145.5 million.
Moscow, the capital, is the
largest city entirely within Europe, while
Saint Petersburg is the country's
second-largest city and cultural centre. Other major urban areas include
Novosibirsk,
Yekaterinburg,
Nizhny Novgorod and
Kazan.
The
East Slavs emerged as a recognisable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. The
medieval state of
Kievan Rus' arose in the 9th century. In 988, it adopted
Orthodox Christianity from the
Byzantine Empire. Rus' ultimately disintegrated, and among its principalities, the
Grand Duchy of Moscow rose. By the early 18th century, Russia 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 the principal
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 into space.
Following the
dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the newly independent Russian SFSR renamed itself 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. Since his
election in 2000,
Vladimir Putin has dominated Russia's political system and Russia has experienced
democratic backsliding, shifting
into an authoritarian state.
Russia is a
great power and a
potential superpower. It is ranked 52nd on the
Human Development Index, with a
universal healthcare system and
free university education. Russia's
economy is the world's
eleventh-largest by nominal GDP and the
sixth-largest by GDP (PPP). It is a recognized
nuclear-weapons state, possessing the world's
largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, with the
second-most powerful military[13] 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,
[e] 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.
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