Russia - The Country with Most Boarders in the World

Quick Facts: By total area, Russia is the largest country in the world. By population, it is the 9th largest country. Russians comprise 80% of the country’s population. The country borders with 18 other countries, which is the highest number of boarders in the world.

It has become popular to learn Russian, and it’s no wonder. The Russian language is spoken by almost 300 million people, and learning it can open the doors to a number of countries and communities. Lessons are available both, as Russian lessons online and in person. One can even find Russian free lessons online. Following is some fascinating information about this country, which may spark your interest in taking Russian lessons.

Quick Facts: By total area, Russia is the largest country in the world. By population, it is the 9th largest country. Russians comprise 80% of the country’s population. The country borders with 18 other countries, which is the highest number of boarders in the world. Almost 3/4 of the population lives in cities. The Russian Federation is in the UN, CIS, CAC, CSTO, SCO, APEC and a number of other global organizations. Russia has 11 cities with over 1 million people: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, and Ufa. The capital of Russia is Moscow; the President is Dmitry Medvedev; the Prime Minister is Vladimir Putin.

Former Names of Russia (in chronological order): the Kievan Rus, Grand Duchy of Vladimir, Principality of Moscow, Grand Duchy of Moscow, Tsardom of Russia, Russian Empire, Russian Republic, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and The Russian Federation (current).

Former Capitals of Russia (in chronological order): Novgorod, Kiev, Vladimir, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Moscow (current).

Natural Resources: Russia has the world’s largest amount of mineral and energy resources, as well as the most forests, and the most fresh water lakes in the world. Russia has the world’s largest gas reserve. It shares the first two positions in global oil production. The country is also rich in coal, iron ore, bauxite, nickel, tin, gold, diamonds, platinum, lead, and zinc.

Russia is located in Eurasia (Eastern Europe and Northern Asia). It is washed by the Pacific and Arctic oceans, as well as the Baltic, Black, Azov and Caspian seas. It has the longest coastline in the world. The country has more than 120 thousand rivers and about 2 million lakes. The largest rivers are Amur, Lena, Yenisei, Irtysh, Ob, Volga, and Kama; the largest lakes are Caspian Sea, Baikal, Ladoga, and Onega. The country’s rivers have traditionally played an essential role as transport routes; most major cities are built on river banks.

More than 2/3 of the territory is plains and lowlands; over 40% of the territory is covered by forest. The country’s climate zones include: arctic, subarctic, temperate, and partly subtopic. The largest part of the country is in the temperate zone. Depending on the region, the average temperature in January ranges from 6 to -50 degrees C (43 to -58 degrees F), and in July it ranges from 1 to 25 degrees C (34 to 77 degrees F). Permafrost areas (Siberia and Far East) take up 65% of the territory. Russia has a very wide animal diversity, including polar bears, walruses, tigers, leopards, and others. The country has 35 national parks and 84 reserves.

Most of the country’s population lives in a triangle with the best climate; that triangle is formed by St. Petersburg in the north, Sochi in the south and Irkutsk in the east. Siberia covers almost 3/4 of Russia, and has the least amount of people living there.

Russia has more than 100 languages and dialects used on its territory. The most widely spoken languages are Russian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Armenian, German, Tatar, Chuvash, Bashkir, and Chechen. Russian is the native language for about 130 million citizens (92% of the population). Russian is the most widespread Slavic language, and one of the most widely spoken languages in the world. It belongs to the East Slavic group, together with Ukrainian and Belarusian. The Russian language uses a Cyrillic alphabet.

The amount of Russian citizens, who consider themselves Orthodox, is 75%. Russia’s most widespread religions are Christianity (mainly Orthodox), Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, paganism and others. Russia’s Constitution guarantees the “freedom of religion, including the right to profess… any religion or profess no religion, to freely choose, possess and distribute religious and other convictions and act in accordance with them.”

The number of radio broadcast stations in the country is almost 2,000; the number of television broadcast stations is over 7,000; the number of Internet users is over 50 million. The country is world-renowned in art, literature, architecture, music, theatre, cinema, animation, and sports.

Knowing the above, it is easy to understand why millions of people have chosen to learn Russian. Some choose to learn Russian online, while others take Russian lessons with private tutors or in classes. While most tutors and classes are paid, one can learn Russian online free at a number of websites.