Russia (Russian: Россия, tr.

Rossiya, pronounced [rɐˈsʲijə]), or the Russian Federation,[c] is a

transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the
world, covering over 17,098,246 square kilometres (6,601,670 sq mi), and encompassing one-eighth
of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones sharing land boundaries
with fourteen countries,[15] more than any other country but China.[d] It is the ninth-most populous
country in the world and the most populous country in Europe, with a population of 146 million. The
country's capital and largest city is Moscow, the largest city entirely within Europe. Saint Petersburg
is Russia's cultural centre and second-largest city. Other major urban areas include Novosibirsk,
Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod and Kazan.

The East Slavs emerged as a recognisable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries CE.
The medieval state of Kievan Rus' arose in the 9th century, and in 988 adopted Orthodox Christianity
from the Byzantine Empire. Rus' ultimately disintegrated, with the Grand Duchy of Moscow growing
to become the Tsardom of Russia. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through
conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, the third-largest empire in
history. The monarchy was abolished following the Russian Revolution in 1917, and the Russian SFSR
became the world's first constitutionally socialist state. Following a civil war, the Russian SFSR
established the Soviet Union with three other republics, as its largest and the principal constituent.
The country underwent a period of rapid industrialisation at the expense of millions of lives. The
Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, and was 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 into space.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the newly independent Russian SFSR renamed
itself 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. Since his
election in 2000, Vladimir Putin has dominated Russia's political system and Russia has experienced
democratic backsliding, shifting into an authoritarian state. Russia ranks high in international
measurements of standard of living, household income and education; having universal healthcare
and a free university education. However, Russia also ranks low in measurements of human rights,
freedom of the press, economic freedom, and has high levels of perceived corruption.

The Russian economy is the world's ninth-largest by nominal GDP and the sixth-largest by PPP. It has
the world's largest stockpile of nuclear weapons, with the fifth-highest military expenditure. Russia's
extensive mineral and energy resources are the world's largest, and it is among 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, BRICS, the APEC, the OSCE and the WTO, as well as the
leading member of the CIS, the CSTO, and the EAEU. Russia is home to 30 UNESCO World Heritage
Sites.

Contents
1 Etymology

2 History

2.1 Early history

2.2 Kievan Rus'

2.3 Grand Duchy of Moscow

2.4 Tsardom of Russia

2.5 Imperial Russia

2.6 Revolution and civil war

2.7 Soviet Union

2.7.1 World War II

2.7.2 Cold War

2.8 Post-Soviet Russia (1991–present)

3 Geography

3.1 Climate

3.2 Biodiversity

4 Government and politics

4.1 Political divisions

4.2 Foreign relations

4.3 Military

4.4 Human rights and corruption

5 Economy

5.1 Transport and energy

5.2 Agriculture and fishery

5.3 Science and technology

5.3.1 Space exploration

5.4 Tourism

6 Demographics

6.1 Language

6.2 Religion

6.3 Education

6.4 Health
7 Culture

7.1 Holidays

7.2 Art and architecture

7.3 Music

7.4 Literature and philosophy

7.5 Cuisine

7.6 Mass media and cinema

7.7 Sports

8 See also

9 Notes

10 Sources

11 References

12 Further reading

13 External links

Etymology

Main article: Names of Rus', Russia and Ruthenia

The name Russia is derived from Rus', a medieval state populated primarily by the East Slavs.[16]
However, the proper name[which?] became more prominent in later history, and the country
typically was called by its inhabitants "Rus land".[17] This state is denoted as Kievan Rus' after its
capital city by modern historiography. The name Rus' itself comes from the early medieval Rus'
people, a group of Norse merchants and warriors who relocated from across the Baltic Sea and
founded a state centred on Novgorod that later became Kievan Rus'.[18]

A Medieval Latin version of the name Rus' was Ruthenia, which was used as one of several
designations for East Slavic and Eastern Orthodox regions, and commonly as a designation for the
lands of Rus'.[19] The current name of the country, Россия (Rossiya), comes from the Byzantine
Greek designation of the Rus', Ρωσσία Rossía – spelled Ρωσία (Rosía pronounced [roˈsia]) in Modern
Greek.[20] The standard way to refer to the citizens of Russia is "Russians" in English.[21] There are
two words in Russian which are commonly translated into English as "Russians" – one is "русские"
(russkiye), which most often refers to ethnic Russians – and the other is "россияне" (rossiyane),
which refers to citizens of Russia, regardless of ethnicity.[22]

History