Russia
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Russia,[lower-alpha 2] or the Russian Federation,[lower-alpha 3] is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area, extending across eleven time zones. It shares land boundaries with fourteen countries.[lower-alpha 4] It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country. The country's capital as well as its largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's second-largest city and cultural capital. Other major urban areas in the country include Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Chelyabinsk, Krasnoyarsk, Kazan, Krasnodar and Rostov-on-Don.
Russian Federation | |
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Anthem: Государственный гимн Российской Федерации Gosudarstvennyy gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii "State Anthem of the Russian Federation" | |
Recognized territory of Russia is shown in dark green; claimed and disputed territory is shown in light green.[lower-alpha 1]
Show globe | |
Capital and largest city | Moscow 55°45′21″N 37°37′02″E |
Official and national language | Russian[3] |
Recognised regional languages | 35 regional official languages[4] |
Ethnic groups (2021; including Russia and Crimea)[5] | |
Religion |
|
Demonym(s) | Russian |
Government | Federal semi-presidential republic under an authoritarian dictatorship[9][10][11][12] |
Vladimir Putin | |
Mikhail Mishustin | |
Valentina Matviyenko | |
Vyacheslav Volodin | |
Pyotr Serkov (acting)[13] | |
Legislature | Federal Assembly |
Federation Council | |
State Duma | |
Formation | |
882 | |
1157 | |
1282 | |
16 January 1547 | |
2 November 1721 | |
15 March 1917 | |
30 December 1922 | |
12 June 1990 | |
12 December 1991 | |
12 December 1993 | |
8 December 1999 | |
Area | |
• Total | 17,098,246 km2 (6,601,670 sq mi)[14] (within internationally recognised borders) |
• Water (%) | 13[15] (including swamps) |
Population | |
• 2022 estimate |
|
• Density | 8.4/km2 (21.8/sq mi) (187th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $5.056 trillion[18] (6th) |
• Per capita | $35,310[18] (60th) |
GDP (nominal) | 2023 estimate |
• Total | $1.862 trillion[18] (11th) |
• Per capita | $13,006[18] (72nd) |
Gini (2020) | 36.0[19] medium |
HDI (2022) | 0.821[20] very high (56th) |
Currency | Ruble (₽) (RUB) |
Time zone | UTC+2 to +12 |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +7 |
ISO 3166 code | RU |
Internet TLD |
The East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE. The first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Rus' ultimately disintegrated, with the Grand Duchy of Moscow growing to become the Tsardom of Russia. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers, developing into the Russian Empire, which remains the third-largest empire in history. However, with the Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule was abolished and eventually replaced by the Russian SFSR—the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, the Russian SFSR established the Soviet Union with three other Soviet republics, within which it was the largest and principal constituent. At the expense of millions of lives, the Soviet Union underwent rapid industrialisation in the 1930s and later played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. With the onset of the Cold War, it competed with the United States for global ideological influence. The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space.
In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union as the independent Russian Federation. A new constitution was adopted, which established a federal semi-presidential system. Since the turn of the century, Russia's political system has been dominated by Vladimir Putin, under whom the country has experienced democratic backsliding and a shift towards authoritarianism. Russia has been militarily involved in a number of conflicts in former Soviet states and other countries, including its war with Georgia in 2008 and annexation of Crimea in 2014 from neighbouring Ukraine, followed by the further annexation of four other regions in 2022 during an ongoing invasion.
Internationally, Russia ranks among the lowest in measurements of democracy, human rights and freedom of the press; the country also has high levels of perceived corruption. The Russian economy ranks 11th by nominal GDP, relying heavily on its abundant natural resources, and 68th by GDP per capita. Its mineral and energy sources are the world's largest, and its figures for oil production and natural gas production rank highly globally. Russia possesses the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons and has the third-highest military expenditure. The country is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council; a member state of the G20, SCO, BRICS, APEC, OSCE, and WTO; and the leading member state of post-Soviet organisations such as CIS, CSTO, and EAEU/EEU. Russia is home to 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the English name Russia first appeared in the 14th century, borrowed from Medieval Latin: Russia, used in the 11th century and frequently in 12th-century British sources, in turn derived from Russi, 'the Russians' and the suffix -ia.[22][23] In modern historiography, this state is usually denoted as Kievan Rus' after its capital city.[24] Another Medieval Latin name for Rus' was Ruthenia.[25]
In Russian, the current name of the country, Россия (Rossiya), comes from the Byzantine Greek name for Rus', Ρωσία (Rosía).[26] A new form of the name Rus', Росия (Rosiya), was borrowed from the Greek term and first attested in 1387.[27][failed verification] The name Rossiia appeared in Russian sources in the late 15th century, but until the end of the 17th century the country was more often referred to by its inhabitants as Rus', the Russian land (Russkaia zemlia), or the Muscovite state (Moskovskoe gosudarstvo), among other variations.[28][29][30] In 1721, Peter the Great changed the name of the state from Tsardom of Russia (Russian: Русское царство, romanized: Russkoye tsarstvo) or Tsardom of Muscovy (Russian: Московское царство, romanized: Moskovskoye tsarstvo)[31][32] to Russian Empire (Rossiiskaia imperiia).[28][30]
There are several words in Russian which translate to "Russians" in English. The noun and adjective русский, russkiy refers to ethnic Russians. The adjective российский, rossiiskiy denotes Russian citizens regardless of ethnicity. The same applies to the more recently coined noun россиянин, rossiianyn, "Russian" in the sense of citizen of the Russian state.[29][33]
According to the Primary Chronicle, the word Rus' is derived from the Rus' people, who were a Swedish tribe, and where the three original members of the Rurikid dynasty came from.[34] The Finnish word for Swedes, ruotsi, has the same origin.[35] Later archeological studies mostly confirmed this theory.[36][better source needed]