Russia is the largest country in the world spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It borders 18 countries and has a population of over 100 million people. Russia was formerly the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union and was the largest and most powerful republic. Today it is a leading member of international organizations and plays an important global role. The name Russia comes from the ancient Rus people who founded Kievan Rus. European Russia consists mainly of low plains and low hills with a continental climate, while Siberia and the Russian Far East are larger and more diverse with Siberia containing the largest freshwater lake, the Yenisei and Lena rivers, and the Siberian taiga forest.

1. RUSSIA
Russian Federation or Russia is a federal state that is spread
across the vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia.
With an area of 17,075,400 km ², Russia is the largest country
in the world, covering almost twice the territory of Canada,
China, or the United States. It borders with 18 countries.In
terms of population is in ninth place in the world. The official
language is Russian and the capital and largest city of Moscow
is a city hero. In Russia, 12 cities have more than one million
inhabitants.
During the Soviet rule (1917-1991) was called the Russian
Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR) and was the
largest republic within the USSR. RSFSR was territorially and
economically most powerful of the former superpower. Today is
a leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent
States, and OUZB sauce. Russia is playing an important role on
the world stage, a member of the Group of Eight leading
nations of the world G8, a permanent member of the UN
Security Council, and a member of the BRIC group.
Name:
Name of Russia comes from the old Russian people, groups
Varjaga (possibly Swedish Vikings) who founded Kievan Rus.
Old Latin name of KievanRus 'was Ruthenia, and today is the
name generally refers to the western and southern parts of
KievanRus' that were closest to Catholic Europe. The present
form of the name of the state derives from the ancient Greek

2. name for the Kievan Rus.
Geography:
Russia is commonly divided into Western Europe (about
3.500.0000 km ²) and the eastern part of the Asian - Siberia
(13.500.0000 km ²). Natural boundary between these two parts
makes the Ural Mountains, which extends in the direction of
north - south over a length of about 2,100 km from the Arctic
Ocean to the border with Kazakhstan.
Russia has 37,000 kilometers of coastline in and out of the
three oceans: the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific oceans. The
largest islands and archipelagoes are: New Land, Franz Joseph
Land, Novosibirsk Islands, Sakhalin, Kurile Islands, etc..
Most regions of the Russian plains, which in southern steppes,
while in northern forested.In the far north the tundra
landscapes.Besides the Ural Mountains of Russia the
Caucasus (Elbrus peak with 5642 meters the highest peak of
Europe and Russia), Altai Mountains and volcanoes in
Kamchatka.
In Russia, the largest freshwater lake in the world by volume -
Baikal. Russia's largest river Volga and Don are in the
European part, the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisey, Lena and Amur in Asia.
European Russia:

3. Most of the European part of Russia occupies the East
European Plain, with lowland relief that only sometimes exceed
the elevations (ValdajskaSrednjeruska and in the west, along
the middle course of Privolžje Volga) whose peaks do not
exceed 200 - 400 m. Through this plain flows Volga (3688 km),
the economically and symbolically the most important rivers of
Russia. Has a continental climate in the extreme north of the
polar crossing, and the narrow Black Sea coast in the
Mediterranean. From north to south collated belt of coniferous
forest, mixed forest, transitional forest-steppe zone, the steppe
covered with fertile black soil (chernozem). Along the coast of
the Caspian Sea due to strong evaporation is present, and
semi-deserts.
In the far south of European Russia borders with Georgia and
Azerbaijan Caucasus mountains makes the highest point of
Russia, Elbrus (5642 m).
Siberia and Far East:
To the west lies the vast Siberian West Siberian Plain, through
which flows the longest Russian river Ob (Irtysh with 5568
miles, 5 in the world). Between the Yenisei River in the west to
the east and Lena is Srednjesibirska plateau with peaks up to
1,700 meters. Srednjejakutska valley through which flows the
Lena shared this plateau of the mountain ranges of eastern
Siberia.

4. In the south and east coast of Siberia to the Pacific Ocean to
the mountainous terrain dominated by chains whose vertices
are generally above 2,000 m (Beluha in the Altai chain - 4506
m, KlyuchevskayaSopka in Kamchatka - 4750 m). Here is the
largest and deepest lake Russia - Baikal (31.500 km ², 1637 m
depth, the deepest in the world).
Air much of Siberia is a very harsh continental climate in the
north, which turns into a polar, and at higher elevations in the
mountains. Prevailing dense evergreen forests - taiga, with
sparse vegetation zones - tundra - and permafrost areas in the
far north. Russia's Far East has a monsoon climate.