- Russia is the largest country on the planet – spanning eleven time zones from West to East – and, with well over 144 million people, the 9th most populous country.
- Russia has 23 Nobel prize laureates
- Russia has a very high literacy rate – with 99.7% of the population able to read and write by age 15.
- Moscow is home to more billionaires than anywhere else in the world. The latest count is 74.
- Russia has a per capita income of about $14,000.
- Russia’s economy is the eighth largest in the world.
- Moscow is the capital and the largest city in Russia.
- Approximately 73.8% of the population lives in urban centers. The largest cities are Moscow (10.523 million), St. Petersburg (4.575 million), Novosibirsk (1.397 million), Yekaterinburg (1.344 million) and Nizhniy Novgorod (1.267 million.)
- The land border of Russia is 20,241 kilometres long, the second longest of any country.
- Russia is the largest country in the world – and is approximately 1.8 times the size of the US.
- Russia has a seat on the United Nations Security Council.
- Russia shares a border with 14 countries including Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, China, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and North Korea. No other country has as many borders.
- The lowest point in Russia is the Caspian Sea – at 28 metres below sea level.
- The highest point is Mt. Elbrus at 5, 633 metres above sea level. It’s the highest mountain in Europe. A chairlift takes you to the 3000 metre mark so the climbing really starts there.
- Russian is one of the five most spoken languages in the world. Russians use the Cryillic alphabet instead of the Latin alphabet.
- Lake Baikal contains about 20% of the world’s fresh water and is the deepest lake in the world. About 1,700 species of plants and animals live in the lake, two thirds of which can be found nowhere else in the world.
- Life expectancy at birth for males is 64.04 years, and 76.02 years for females.
- The median age in Russia is 38.8 years. The population is declining at a rate of -0.02% per year.
- There are 46,812,553 million people between the ages of 16 and 49 that are fit for military service, and 22,304,718 million that are unfit for military service, principally because of health problems. Males are registered for the draft at 17.
- An amazing 25% of Russian males die before they turn 55.
- Russia has 12 active volcanoes. The Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano in Kamchatka Territory has had 50 major eruptions in the last 270 years.
- Russia is the second largest producer of natural gas. It boasts the second largest coal reserve. This makes the country very susceptible to boom and bust cycles.
- There are approximately 261.9 million cellphones in use and 42.9 million land lines. There are 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication systems.
- The Trans- Siberian Railroad connects Moscow to the Russia Far East. It’s the longest railway line in the world.