The Russian Federation
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. It occupies most of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. Russia is bordered by Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Litva, Belarus, the Ukraine, Azerbaijan and China.
Russian Federation is located on two plains, the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. The longest mountain chains are the Urals, the Caucasus and the Altai. Russia's most important rivers are the Volga, the main Siberian rivers and the Amur. The total number of rivers in Russia is over two million. The world's deepest lake - Lake Baikal, with the deeps of 1600 metres, is situated in Russia, too. The climate in Russia varies from the arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. The current population of Russia is about 150 million people.
Russia is a highly-developed-agrarian republic. Its vast mineral resources include oil, natural gas, coal, iron, zinc, lead nickel, aluminum, gold and other non-ferrous metals.
The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with the population of about 10 million people.
Russia is a constitutional republic with president as Head of State. The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly, consisting of the Council of Federation and the State Duma.