Russia 

(Russian: Россия, Rossiya, Rus
sian pronunciation: [rɐˈsʲijə]), or
the Russian Federation,[b] is a country
spanning Eastern Europe and Northern
Asia. It is the largest country in the
world, covering over 17 million square
kilometres (6.6×106 sq mi), and
encompassing more than one-eighth of
Earth's inhabited land area. Russia
extends across eleven time zones, and
has the most borders of any country in
the world, with sixteen sovereign
nations.[c] It has a population of 146.2
million; and is the most populous
country in Europe, and the ninth-most
populous country in the world. Moscow,
the capital, is the largest city in Europe,
while Saint Petersburg is the
nation's second-largest city and cultural
centre. Russians are the
largest Slavic and European nation; they
speak Russian, the most spoken Slavic
language, and the most spoken native
language in Europe.
The East Slavs emerged as a
recognisable group in Europe between
the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.
The medieval state of Rus' arose in the
9th century. In 988, it adopted Orthodox
Christianity from the Byzantine Empire,
beginning the synthesis of Byzantine
and Slavic cultures that defined Russian
culture for the next millennium. Rus'
ultimately disintegrated until it was
finally reunified by the Grand Duchy of
Moscow in the 15th century. By the 18th
century, the nation had greatly
expanded through conquest,
annexation, and exploration to become
the Russian Empire, the third-largest
empire in history. Following the Russian
Revolution, the Russian SFSR became
the largest and leading constituent of
the Soviet Union, the world's first
constitutionally socialist state, which
was a one-party state throughout most
of its existence. The Soviet Union
played a decisive role in
the Allied victory in World War II, and
emerged as a superpower and rival to
the United States during the Cold War.
The Soviet era saw some of the most
significant technological
achievements of the 20th century,
including the world's first human-made
satellite and the launching of the first
human in space. Following
the dissolution of the Soviet Union in
1991, the Russian SFSR reconstituted
itself as the Russian Federation. In the
aftermath of the constitutional crisis of
1993, a new constitution was adopted,
and Russia has since been governed as
a federal semi-presidential republic. Vla
dimir Putin has dominated Russia's
political system since 2000, and his
government has been accused
of authoritarianism, numerous human
rights abuses, and corruption.
Russia is a great power, and is
considered a potential superpower. It is
ranked very high in the Human
Development Index, with a universal
healthcare system, and a free university
education. Russia's economy is the
world's eleventh-largest by nominal
GDP and the sixth-largest by PPP. It is
a recognised nuclear-weapons state,
possessing the world's largest stockpile
of nuclear weapons, with the
world's second-most powerful military,
and the fourth-highest military
expenditure. Russia's extensive mineral
and energy resources are the world's
largest, and it is one of the
leading producers of oil and natural
gas globally. It is a permanent
member of the United Nations Security
Council, a member of the G20,
the SCO, the Council of Europe,
the APEC, the OSCE, the IIB and
the WTO, as well as the leading
member of the CIS, the CSTO, and
the EAEU. Russia is also home to
the ninth-greatest
number of UNESCO World Heritage
Sites.