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RUSSIA TODAY
Russia (or the Russian Federation) is a modern industrialised country located in the eastern part of Europe and northern Asia. Measuring almost twice the size of the United States. Russia stretches 10,000km from west to east, equaling a quarter of the equator, while the distance between the southern and northern borders of the country is about 4,000km.
Russia encompasses 11 time zones. The western and eastern borders are so distant from each other that at the time when the sun rises in the east, darkness of late evening is already falling over the western regions.
The geographical location of the country is such that the natural and climate conditions of Russia are very diverse. Russia has three climatic zones. These are the arctic, sub arctic and the temperate zone. Winters vary from cool along the Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia and the northern parts, while summer varies from warm in the steppes to cool along the Arctic coast.
The country with a population of about 145 million is home to over 100 nationalities and ethnic groups, as well as different religions. Russians are the majority of the population and the Russian Orthodox Church is the largest denomination. Muslims constitute the second largest religious group of about 20 million.
About three-quarters of the population live in urban areas. There are about 1,000 towns within the Federation. Apart from Moscow, seven of the towns have a population of over 1mil people. These are St Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk and Omsk
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Russia is a rich architectural, cultural and natural wonder to experience. Students should take the time to visit the many fine art galleries, concert halls, historical monuments, museums, parks, theatres and sport centers.
Traveling within Russia and to neighboring countries is never a problem with the extensive air, road, railway and river transport system.
