Area: 17,075,400 square kilometers

The Russian Federation covers 76% of the former USSR and is still the world’s largest country in terms of land mass.

It is broken down into provinces and autonomous regions, called either republics, “oblast” or “okroug.”

State: Federation
Government: Republic; multi-party presidential system composed of a president, prime minister and parliament or federal assembly made up of an indissoluble upper chamber and 178 members elected for 4 years, as well as the lower chamber (Duma) which is made up of 450 representatives elected for 4 years.

Capital: Moscow
Currency: Ruble
Languages spoken: Russian

Principal industries: Significant mining activity (one of the largest in the world), particularly in natural gas, petroleum and diamonds.

Agriculture: world’s largest producer of barley; 2nd largest potato producer; 4th largest for grains and pork; 5th for lumber; 6th for fishing, cattle and sheep industries; 8th for wine, and 10th for millet; wheat.

Useful Information for the Traveler
Electricity: 220 V
Shopping: Dolls, fur hats
Temperature: Varies widely because of the size of the country; for example, when we went there was a 24° C difference between Moscow and Irktusk.