fun facts about russia

Now in S.-Petersburg there are 221 museums, 2 000 libraries, more than 80 theaters, 100 concert organizations, 45 galleries, show-rooms, 62 cinemas, 80 club establishments of culture. About 100 festivals and competitions of different trends of culture and art including 50 international ones are held every year.

Ladoga lake is the largest one in Europe. Its area makes 18 400 sq km, average depth is 51 m, the largest one is up to 23 m.

Baikal lake area is 31.5 thousand sq km. The Baikal is the deepest lake in Russia, it is a large reservoir for fresh water (23 thousand km³).
The Ural mountains are ones of the first mountains in the world.

It seems as if Kamchatka volcanoes are turned into ski slopes.

Ski resort Dombai has about 20 km of prepared ski routes

Russian Federation came into being after former Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, into 15 separate geopolitical entities.

Russian HDI

Cuisine

Russia is mainly a northern country with long-lasting cold winter. The food should give them much energy and warmth to survive during the winter time. So, the essential components of Russian cuisine are the ones, which provide more carbohydrates and fat rather than proteins. Fresh fruits and vegetables are rarely used in food. So, the top five components of a Russian meal are potatoes, bread, eggs, meat (especially beef) and butter. Other popular foods include cabbage, milk, sour cream, curds, mushrooms, lard, cucumbers, tomatoes, apples, berries, honey, sugar, salt, garlic, and onions.

Public Holidays

There are seven public holidays in Russia, except those always celebrated on Sunday. The New Year is the first in calendar and in popularity. Russian New Year traditions resemble those of the Western Christmas, with New Year Trees and gifts, and Ded Moroz (Father Frost) playing the same role as Santa. Orthodox Christmas falls on 7 January, because Russian Orthodox Church still follows the Julian calendar and all Orthodox holidays are 13 days after Catholic ones. Another two major Christian holidays are Easter and Trinity Sunday. Kurban Bayram and Uraza Bayram are celebrated by Russian Muslims.

Physical Features

Russain physical features are divided basically into 3 parts :
European Russia
Western Siberia - Between Ural Mountains and the Yenisei River. It contains both forests and swamps.
Eastern Siberia - Between The Yenisei River and the Pacific Ocean. It contains the Siberian Plateau and other mountain ranges.
The mountain ranges are -
Ural Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
Yablanovy Mountains
Kolyma Mountains
Cherskogo Range

Location

Population

Population:	141,927,297 (1 January 2010)
Growth rate:	0.002% (2009)
Birth rate:	12.4 births/1,000 population (2009)
Death rate:	14.2 deaths/1,000 population (2009)
Life expectancy:	68.67 years (2009)
–male:	62.77 years
–female:	74.67 years
Fertility rate:	1.54 children born/woman (2009)
Infant mortality rate:	8.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2009)
Net migration rate:	1.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008)

Illicit drugs:

limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; major consumer of opiates

Area - comparative:

approximately 1.8 times the size of the US

Area:

total: 17,098,242 sq km country comparison to the world: 1 land: 16,377,742 sq km water: 720,500 sq km

Map references:

Asia

Geographic coordinates:

60 00 N, 100 00 E

Location:

Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean

Background:

Introduction ::Russia

Background: Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state whose legitimacy is buttressed, in part, by carefully managed national elections, former President PUTIN's genuine popularity, and the prudent management of Russia's windfall energy wealth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.