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Info. about the country

     Here we have collected some information about Russia, that can be useful for travellers or just for people who are interested. When you learn the language, it is extremely important that you know something about the country, it's traditions and history - this way it is easier to understand some special expressions and the life in general. If you have any questions regarding the country, I will be very glad to answer them. Feel free to send me a message or find me on ICQ (#48353740).

     Map of Russia: here.
     Map of Moscow Subway: here with names of stations in Russian,
     ...and here - in English.

Flag:

Flag of Russian Federation Russian flag is very easy to remember - it consists of three horizontal lines of equal height. White, Blue and Red.

Geography:

Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean.

Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E

Map references: Asia

Area: total: 17,075,200 sq km

Land: 16,995,800 sq km
Water: 79,400 sq km

Area - comparative: slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US

Land boundaries: total: 19,961 km

Border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km

Coastline: 37,653 km

Maritime claims: continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
Territorial sea: 12 NM

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Elevation extremes: lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m

Highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m

Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber

Note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Land use: arable land: 8%

Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 4%
Forests and woodland: 46%
Other: 42% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 40,000 sq km (1993 est.)

Natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula

Environment - current issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; ground water contamination from toxic waste

Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling

Geography - note: largest country in the world in terms of area.

Population:

Population: 145,470,197 (July 2001 est.)

Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.41% (male 12,915,026; female 12,405,341)

15-64 years: 69.78% (male 49,183,000; female 52,320,962)
65 years and over: 12.81% (male 5,941,944; female 12,703,924) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.35% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 9.35 births/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 13.85 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate: 0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)

Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

Under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.47 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 20.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth: total population: 67.34 years

Male: 62.12 years
Female: 72.83 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.27 children born/woman (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.18% (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (1999 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths: 850 (1999 est.)

Nationality: noun: Russian(s)

Adjective: Russian

Ethnic groups: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%

Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other

Languages: Russian, other

Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Total population: 98%

Male: 100%
Female: 97% (1989 est.)

Transportation:

Railways: total: 149,000 km

note: 86,000 km are in common carrier service; 63,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use; 40,000 km of the railway in common carrier use are electrified
broad gauge: 149,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1998)

Highways: total: 952,000 km

paved: 752,000 km (including, in addition to about 336,000 km of conventionally paved roads, about 416,000 km of roads, the surfaces of which have been stabilized with gravel or other coarse aggregates, making them trafficable in wet weather)
unpaved: 200,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998)

Waterways: 95,900 km (total routes in general use)

note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet-95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids-60,400 km; man-made navigable routes-16,900 km (Jan 1994)

Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (June 1993 est.)

Ports and harbors: Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Saint Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg

Merchant marine: total: 878 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,314,485 GRT/5,344,958 DWT

ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 20, cargo 543, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 7, container 31, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 35, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 164, refrigerated cargo 24, roll on/roll off 17, short-sea passenger 7
note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as a flag of convenience: Reunion 1 (2000 est.)

Airports: 2,743 (2000 est.) Airports - with paved runways: total: 471

over 3,047 m: 56
2,438 to 3,047 m: 178
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 69
under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 2,272

over 3,047 m: 28
2,438 to 3,047 m: 118
1,524 to 2,437 m: 204
914 to 1,523 m: 324
under 914 m: 1,598 (2000 est.)

Communications:

Telephones - main lines in use: 30 million (1998)

Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.5 million (October 2000)

Telephone system: general assessment: the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied

domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density
international: Russia is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems

Telephone country code: 007

Telephone code of Moscow: 095

Fire department (Moscow): 01

Police (Moscow): 02

Ambulance (Moscow): 03

Emergency Gas Service (Moscow): 04

Telephone directory / International (analog calls): 08

International telephone code (exit code): 1

Time: 100

Radio broadcast stations: AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998)

Radios: 61.5 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 7,306 (1998)

Televisions: 60.5 million (1997)

Internet country code: .ru

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 35 (2000)

Internet users: 9.2 million (2000)