Russia

Российская Федерация Rossiyskaya Federatsiya Russian Federation
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: none
Anthem: Hymn of the Russian Federation
Capital (and largest city)	Moscow 55°45′N 37°37′E
Official languages	Russian official throughout nation; 30 others co-official in particular regions
Government	Semi-presidential federal republic
- President	Vladimir Putin
- Prime Minister	Mikhail Fradkov
Independence	from the Soviet Union
- Declared	June 12, 1990
- Finalized	December 25, 1991
Area
- Total	17,075,400 km² (1st) 6,592,800 sq mi
- Water (%)	13
Population
- 2006 estimate	142,400,000 (8th)
- 2002 census	145,184,000
- Density	8.3 /km² (209th) 21.8 /sq mi
GDP (PPP)	2006 estimate
- Total	$1.723 trillion (9th1)
- Per capita	$12,100 (62nd)
HDI (2004)	0.797 (medium) (65th)
Currency	Ruble (RUB)
Internet TLD	.ru (.su reserved)
Calling code	+7
1 Rank based on November 2006 CIA data (IMF and Worldbank data is available only for 2005 year).

Russia (Russian: Росси́я, Rossiya; pronounced ), also the Russian Federation (Росси́йская Федера́ция, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; , listen (help·info)), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Asia and Europe. With an area of 17,075,400 km², Russia is the largest country in the world, covering almost twice the territory of the next-largest country, Canada, and has the world's eighth-largest population. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from northwest to southeast): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It is also close to the United States and Japan across relatively small stretches of water (the Bering Strait and La Pérouse Strait, respectively).

Formerly the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR), a republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russia is now the Federation of Russia since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991. After the Soviet era, the area, population, and industrial production of the Soviet Union (then one of the world's two Cold War superpowers) that were located in Russia passed on to the Russian Federation.

After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia went from a superpower to a great power(Although it is sometimes considered to be an energy superpower). Russia is considered the Soviet Union's successor state in diplomatic matters (see Russia's membership in the United Nations) and is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. It is also one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction (see Russia and weapons of mass destruction). Russia is the leading nation of the Commonwealth of Independent States, a member of the G8 as well as other international organisations.

History

Ancient Rus

Prior to the 1st century, the vast lands of southern Russia were home to scattered tribes, such as Proto-Indo-Europeans and Scythians. Recent archaeological evidence excavated in the Volga region points to the Vedic heritage. Between the 3rd and 6th centuries, the steppes were overwhelmed by successive waves of nomadic invasions, led by warlike tribes which would often move on to Europe, as was the case with Huns and Turkish Avars. A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled southern Russia through the 8th century. They were important allies of the Byzantine Empire and waged a series of successful wars against the Arab caliphates.

In this era, the term "Rhos" or "Rus" first came to be applied to the Varangians and later also to the Slavs who peopled the region. As well as one of the rulers who contributed to the name "rus" In the tenth to eleventh centuries this state of Kievan Rus became the largest in Europe and one of the most prosperous, due to diversified trade with both Europe and Asia. The opening of new trade routes with the Orient at the time of the Crusades contributed to the decline and fragmentation of Kievan Rus by the end of the twelfth century.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, the constant incursions of nomadic Turkish tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, led to the massive migration of Slavic populations from the fertile south to the heavily forested regions of the north, known as Zalesye. The medieval states of Novgorod Republic and Vladimir-Suzdal emerged as successors to Kievan Rus on those territories, while the middle course of the Volga River came to be dominated by the Muslim state of Volga Bulgaria. Like many other parts of Eurasia, these territories were overrun by the Mongol invaders, who formed the state of Golden Horde which would pillage the Russian principalities for over three centuries. Later known as the Tatars, they ruled the southern and central expanses of present-day Russia, while the territories of present-day Ukraine and Belarus were incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland, thus dividing the Russian people in the north from the Belarusians and Ukrainians in the west.

Similarly to the Balkans and Asia Minor, long-lasting nomadic rule retarded the country's economic and social development. However, the Novgorod Republic together with Pskov retained som