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英国 United Kingdom 爱尔兰 Ireland 比利时 Belgium 荷兰 Netherlands 法国 France 西班牙 Spain 葡萄牙 Portugal 意大利 Italy 希腊 Greece 奥地利 Austria 匈牙利 Hungary 德国 Germany 瑞士 Switzerland 罗马尼亚 Romania 俄罗斯 Russia 波兰 Poland 克罗地亚 Croatia (Hrvatska) 捷克 Czech 芬兰 Finland 瑞典 Sweden 挪威 Norway 冰岛 Iceland 土耳其 Turkey 丹麦 Denmark 阿尔巴尼亚 Albania 爱沙尼亚 Republic of Estonia 安道尔 Andorra 白俄罗斯 Belarus 保加利亚 The Republic of Bulgaria 波斯尼亚和黑塞哥维那 Bosnia and Herzegovina 梵蒂冈 Vatican City State (Holy See) 黑山 The Republic of Montenegro 拉脱维亚 Latvia 立陶宛 Republic of Lithuania 列支敦士登 Liechtenstein 卢森堡 Luxembourg 马耳他 Republic of Malta 马其顿 The Republic of Macedonia 摩尔多瓦 The Republic of Moldova 摩纳哥 Monaco 塞尔维亚 the Republic of Serbia 斯洛伐克 The Slovak Republic 斯洛文尼亚 the Republic of Slovenia 圣马力诺 San Marino 乌克兰 Ukraine |
| é luó sī Russia shǒudōu:mò sī kē guógūdàimǎ: ru |
 俄罗斯【 é wén】 Россия 【 yīng wén míng】 TheRussianFederation,TheRussia 【 guó tǔ miàn jī】 1707.54 wàn píng fāng gōng lǐ（ zhàn sū lián lǐng tǔ miàn jī de 76 ％）， jū shì jiè dì yī wèi。 【 dì lǐ wèi zhì】 wèi yú 'ōu zhōu dōng bù hé yà zhōu běi bù， qí 'ōu zhōu lǐng tǔ de dà bù fēn shì dōng 'ōu píng yuán。 běi lín běi bīng yáng， dōng bīn tài píng yáng， xī jiē dà xī yáng。 dōng xī zuì cháng wéi 9000 gōng lǐ， nán běi zuì kuān wéi 4000 gōng lǐ。 【 lù dì lín guó】 xī běi miàn yòu nuó wēi、 fēn lán， xī miàn yòu 'ài shā ní yà、 lā tuō wéi yà、 lì táo wǎn、 bō lán、 bái 'é luó sī， xī nán miàn shì wū kè lán， nán miàn yòu gé lǔ jí yà、 ā sài bài jiāng、 hā sà kè sī tǎn， dōng nán miàn yòu zhōng guó、 měnggǔ hé cháo xiān。 dōng miàn yǔ rì běn hé měi guó gé hǎi xiāng wàng。 hǎi 'àn xiàn cháng 33807 gōng lǐ。 【 qì hòu】 dà bù fēn dì qū chǔyú běi wēn dài， qì hòu duō yàng， yǐ dà lù xìng qì hòu wéi zhù。 wēn chā pǔ biàn jiào dà， １ yuè píng jūn wēn dù wéi － 1 ℃ dào－ 37℃， ７ yuè píng jūn wēn dù wéi１ 1℃ dào 27℃。 nián jiàng shuǐ liàng píng jūn wéi 150-1000 háo mǐ。 【 shǒu dū】 mò sī kē 【 cháng zhù rén kǒu】 1000 wàn， lián tóng wài lái rén kǒu yuē wéi 1200 wàn（ 2002 nián 10 yuè）。 【 píng jūn qì wēn】１ yuè－ 5.2℃，７ yuè 21.4℃。 dì lǐ dōng 'ōu píng yuán de dì lǐ hé qì hòu， mín zú hé bù zú。 cóng bō luó de hǎi dào jūn shì tǎn dīng bǎo de shāng lù。 sī lā fū rén de sān gè fēn zhī yǔ dōng sī lā fū rén de shè huì shēng huó： duō bù zú zá jū yǔ duō shén jiào xìn yǎng。 é luó sī mín zú de xíng chéng hé dōng zhèng jiào。 é yǔ de ruò gān tè diǎn。 lì shǐ fēn qī é guó lì shǐ shàng de jǐ gè shí dài。 liú lǐ kè wáng cháo（ 862-1598 nián）； dà dòng luàn shí qī（ 1598-1613 nián）； luó màn nuò fū wáng cháo（ 1613-1917 nián）； sū wéi 'āi shí qī（ 1917-1991 nián）； xīn 'é luó sī（ 1991 nián yǐ hòu）。 àn zhào tǒng zhì zhōng xīn de biàn qiān huàfēn： jī fǔ luó sī shí qī（ 862-1240 nián） é luó sī guó jiā xíng chéng yú 9 shì jì mò。 862 nián， liú lǐ kè tǒng zhì nuò fū gé luó dé。 882 nián， liú lǐ kè de qīn shǔ、 nuò fū gé luó dé gōng guó de 'ào liè gé dà gōng zhēng fú jī fǔ gōng guó hé qí tā yī xiē bù luò， zhú bù yǐ jī fǔ wéi zhōng xīn jiàn lì qǐ yī gè guó jiā（ shǐ chēng jī fǔ luó sī）， qǔ dé jī fǔ dà gōng chēng hào。 yī gē 'ěr（ 912-945 nián）； ào lì jiā（ yī gē 'ěr zhī qī 945-962 nián）； sī wéi yà tuō sī lā fū（ 965-972 nián）； fú lā jī mǐ 'ěr（ 978-1015 nián zài wèi）。 cóng zhuān zhì tǒng zhì（ 862-1132 nián） dào cǎi yì tǒng zhì guì zú shí qī。 13 shì jì chū， jī fǔ luó sī shuāi luò， fēng jiàn zhì dù yǔ zhū hóu fēn lì。 měnggǔ rén（ dá dá rén） tǒng zhì shí qī（ 1240 héng héng 1480 nián） 1237 nián， jīn zhàng hàn guó rù qīn luó sī， gōng zhàn liáng zàn， 1240 nián gōng zhàn jī fǔ。 zhū hóu gē jù yǔ mò sī kē gōng guó de jué qǐ。 mò sī kē dà gōng yī fán · kǎ lì dá（ 1325-1340 nián） qǔ dé fú lā jī mǐ 'ěr jí quán luó sī dà gōng chēng hào， shǐ chēng “ yī fán yī shì ”。 yī fán 'èr shì（ 1341-1359 nián zài wèi）。 1380 nián， dé mǐ tè lǐ dà gōng（ 1359-1389 nián zài wèi） shuài jūn zài dùn hé píng yuán jī bài měnggǔ jūn， bèi zūn chēng wéi dé mǐ tè lǐ · dùn sī kē yī（ yì jí“ dùn hé de dé mǐ tè lǐ”）。 mò sī kē de wáng gōng hái yòu： wǎ xī lǐ yī shì（ 1389-1425 nián）、 wǎ xī lǐ 'èr shì（ 1425-1462 nián zài wèi）， yī fán sān shì（ 1462-1505 nián zài wèi）。 mò sī kē shí qī / shā huáng 'é guó 〔 1480-1703 nián 〕 yī fán sān shì（ 1462-1505 nián zài wèi） de lì shǐ zuò yòng： 1472 nián， qǔ dōng luó mǎ mò dài huáng dì jūn shì tǎn dīng shí yī shì de zhí nǚ suǒ fēi yà · bā liè 'ào lüè gé wéi qī， yǐ shuāng tóu yīng wèiguó huī， kāi shǐ zì chēng shā huáng。 kāi shǐ huī fù jūn zhù zhì。 yú 1478 nián tūn bìng nuò fū gē luó dé gòng hé guó。 1480 nián yíng zhàn měnggǔ jūn duì， měnggǔ jūn yīn yán hán bù zhàn 'ér tuì， cóng cǐ jié shù liǎo cháng dá 'èr bǎi sì shí nián de yì zú tǒng zhì， xíng chéng yǐ mò sī kē wéi zhōng xīn de dú lì de 'é luó sī guó jiā。 kāi shǐ zhú bù jiàn lì nóng nú zhì dù。 wǎ xī lǐ sān shì（ 1505-1533 nián zài wèi）。 yī fán sì shì（ 1533-1584 nián zài wèi）， 1547 nián zhèng shì jiā miǎn wéi shā huáng， é guó lì shǐ shàng yòu míng de bào jūn， chuò hào“ yī fán léi dì”（ ИванГрозный）。 què lì nóng nú zhì dù。 1547 nián， mò sī kē dà gōng yī fán sì shì zài kè lǐ mǔ lín gōng dài shàng liǎo luó mǎ huáng dì shǐ yòng guò de wáng guān， chéng wéi 'é guó de dì yī gè shā huáng， zài 'é yǔ zhōng“ shā huáng” de yì sī jiù shì“ kǎi sǎ”。 fèi duō 'ěr · yī fán nuò wéi qí（ 1584-1598 nián zài wèi）， yī fán sì shì zhī zǐ。 bào lǐ sī · gē dū nuò fū（ 1598-1605 nián zài wèi） wěi jì mǐ tè lǐ（ 1604-1613 nián zài wèi）“ dà dòng luàn shí qī”， bō lán、 ruì diǎn de rù qīn。 1613 nián 1 yuè， quán 'é jìn shēn huì yì xuǎn jǔ mǐ hā yī 'ěr · fèi duō luó wéi qí · luó màn nuò fū wéi shā huáng（ 1613-1645 nián zài wèi）。 luó màn nuò fū wáng cháo jiàn lì。 zhēng fú xī bó lì yà， bìng shǐ nóng nú zhì dù zài fǎ lǜ shàng dé yǐ què lì。 ā lì kè sài（ 1645-1676 nián zài wèi）， fèi duō 'ěr（ 1676-1682 nián zài wèi）。 fèi duō 'ěr sǐ hòu， tā de liǎng gè 'ér zǐ yī fán hé bǐ dé tóng shí dēng jī wéi dì。 yī fán（ 1682-1696 nián zài wèi） tǐ ruò duō bìng， bǐ dé nián yòu， shí jì quán lì zhǎng wò zài cháng gōng zhù 'ān nà shǒu lǐ。 bǐ dé chéng nián hòu， fàng zhú liǎo 'ān nà， duó qǔ liǎo zhèng quán， bìng bǎ shǒu dū qiān dào bǐ dé bǎo， yóu cǐ kāi shǐ liǎo 'é guó lì shǐ de xīn shí dài。 bǐ dé bǎo shí qī / é luó sī dì guó（ 1703-1917 nián） shā huáng 'é guó jìn shēng wéi 'é luó sī dì guó bǐ dé yī shì（ bǐ dé dà dì 1682-1725 nián zài wèi） de gǎi gé yǔ zhàn zhēng： tōng xiàng xī 'ōu zhī lù。 duì nèi lì jīng tú zhì， jiā qiáng zhōng yāng jí quán zhì， duì wài fā zhǎn yǔ xī 'ōu de guān xì， jiā qiáng 'é guó de shí lì， cóng 'ér shǐ gǔ lǎo de 'é guó zhú jiàn bǎi tuō liǎo zhōng shì jì fēng bì luò hòu de zhuàng tài。 1713 nián， bǐ dé yī shì zuò chū liǎo yī gè duì 'é luó sī lì shǐ chǎn shēng shēn yuǎn yǐng xiǎng de jué dìng， tā fàng qì liǎo yòu zhe bā bǎi duō nián lì shǐ de 'é luó sī gǔ lǎo dū chéng héng héng mò sī kē， zài cóng ruì diǎn shǒu zhōng duó lái de niè wǎ hé kǒu， chóngxīn jiàn lì liǎo yī gè zhǎn xīn de shǒu dū héng héng shèng bǐ dé bǎo。 1721 nián huò dé huáng dì chēng hào。 1725 nián 1 yuè 28 rì， bǐ dé yī shì qù shì liǎo。 nǚ huáng yè kǎ jié lín nà yī shì（ 1725-1727 nián） huáng dì bǐ dé 'èr shì（ 1727-1730 nián） nǚ huáng 'ān nà（ 1730-1740 nián） nǚ huáng yè lì suō wéi tǎ（ 1741-1761 nián） huáng dì bǐ dé sān shì（ 1761-1762 nián bèi shā） huáng dì yī fán（ 1762-1764 nián bèi shā） nǚ huáng yè kǎ jié lín nà 'èr shì（ 1762-1796 nián） de kāi míng zhuān zhì。 1762 nián， yī wèi 33 suì de nǚ huáng dēng shàng liǎo shā huáng de bǎo zuò， shǐ chēng yè kǎ jié lín nà 'èr shì。 tā zài shā hài zhàng fū bǐ dé sān shì hé jìng zhēng zhě yī fán zhī hòu， wéi zhēng qǔ guì zú de zhī chí， jiě fàng guì zú， miǎn chú guì zú de bīng yì， dàn qiáng huà nóng nú zhì dù。 yǐn qǐ pǔ jiā qiáo fū qǐ yì（ 1773-1776 nián）。 bǎo luó yī shì（ 1796-1801 nián bèi shā） yà lì shān dà yī shì（ 1801-1825 nián） de zì yóu zhù yì de xì wēi gǎi gé。 yǔ ná pò lún de zhàn zhēng（ 1812 nián）。 shí 'èr yuè dǎng rén qǐ yì。 é guó xiàng hé chù qù？ ní gǔ lā yī shì（ 1825-1855 nián zài wèi），“ hēi 'àn wáng guó”； kè lǐ mǐ yà zhàn zhēng（ 1853-1856 nián）。 sī lā fū pài yǔ xī 'ōu pài de xíng chéng， sī xiǎng lùn zhàn。 yà lì shān dà 'èr shì（ 1855-1881 nián zài wèi）， nóng nú zhì de fèi chú（ 1861 nián 'é lì 2 yuè 19 rì gǎi gé）， gé mìng mín zhù zhù yì de dàn shēng hé mín cuì pài yùn dòng。 yà lì shān dà sān shì（ 1881-1895 nián zài wèi） de bào zhèng； wú chǎn jiē jí dēng shàng lì shǐ wǔ tái。 ní gǔ lā 'èr shì（ 1895-1917 nián zài wèi） mín cuì pài yǔ wú chǎn jiē jí gé mìng pài de lùn zhàn。 sū wéi 'āi shí qī（ 1917-1991 nián） shè huì zhù yì zhì dù de jiàn lì、 fā zhǎn、 shuāi luò hé lián méng de jiě tǐ。 1917 nián 11 yuè 7 rì， zhèn dòng shì jiè de shí yuè gé mìng bào fā。 yǐ cǐ wéi qǐ diǎn， zhè gè zhàn shì jiè lù dì miàn jī jìn wǔ fēn zhī yī de guó jiā， kāi shǐ liǎo yī cì duì 20 shì jì de lì shǐ chǎn shēng shēn kè yǐng xiǎng de wěi dà shí jiàn。 liè níng（ 1917-1924 nián）； sī dà lín（ 1924-1953 nián）； hè lǔ xiǎo fū（ 1953-1964 nián）； bó liè rì niè fū（ 1964-1982 nián）； ān dé luó bō fū（ 1982-1984 nián）； qì 'ěr nián kē（ 1984-1985 nián）； gē 'ěr bā qiáo fū（ 1985-1991 nián）。 sū lián jiě tǐ hòu de 'é luó sī shè huì gǎi gé： yè lì qīn（ 1990-1999 nián） pǔ jīng（ 2000 nián yǐ hòu） dōng zhèng jiào （ православие,EasternOrthodoxy） dōng zhèng jiào xìn yǎng díquè lì jī fǔ dà gōng fú lā jī mǐ 'ěr（ 978-1015 nián zài wèi） qǔ bài zhàn tíng mǎ huáng zú gōng zhù 'ān nà wéi fēi， 988 nián jiē shòu dōng zhèng jiào， shǐ chēng“ luó sī shòu xǐ”。 1037 nián shè lì luó sī（ jī fǔ） dū zhù jiào， 1037-1448 nián， jī fǔ zhù jiào jūn yóu jūn shì tǎn dīng bǎo“ pǔ shì mù shǒu” rèn mìng； 1448 nián， zì xíng zhào kāi zhù jiào huì yì， xuǎn jǔ liáng zàn zhù jiào、 é luó sī rén yuē nà dān rèn dū zhù jiào。 1453 nián jūn shì tǎn dīng bǎo xiàn luò， é luó sī jiào huì de quán lì zhú bù jiā qiáng， mò sī kē chéng wéi“ dì sān luó mǎ”。 1589 nián 'é luó sī chéng wéi zōng zhù jiào qū（ mù shǒu qū）， qǔ dé liǎo yǔ jūn shì tǎn dīng bǎo、 ān tí 'ā、 yà lì shān dà、 yé lù sǎ lěng píng děng de dì wèi。 jiào quán yǐ fù yú huáng quán， jiào quán hé shā huáng de shì sú quán lì 'èr wèi yī tǐ， xíng chéng“ quán lì jiāo xiǎng qū”， dàn hé zòu dào bǐ dé dà dì wéi zhǐ。 1650 nián jiàn lì xiū dào yuàn yá mén， jiā qiáng duì zōng jiào shì wù de kòng zhì。 mò sī kē zōng zhù jiào（ mù shǒu） ní kāng（ 1652 héng héng 1667 nián zài zhí） de zōng jiào gǎi gé， qǐ tú jiā qiáng jiào huì quán lì， shǐ tā gāo yú huáng quán。 zāo dào chuán tǒng pài hé shā huáng quán lì de fǎn duì， dǎo zhì jiào huì fēn liè： zhèng tǒng pài（ ní kāng） hé jiù lǐ jiào pài（ fēn liè pài）。 1667 nián， zōng jiào huì yì bà chù liǎo ní kāng， què lì liǎo“ shā huáng quán lì gāo yú mù shǒu hé yī qiē zhù jiào”， dàn zuò wéi tuǒ xié， chè xiāo liǎo xiū dào yuàn yá mén， chéng rèn jiào huì yòu zì zhù de jīng jì xíng zhèng、 sī fǎ quán。 1701 nián， huī fù shè lì xiū dào yuàn yá mén， jiào huì cái chǎn guó yòu huà。 1721 nián， bǐ dé“ zhào shū” hé《 zōng jiào zhāng chéng》 jué dìng 'àn xīn jiào yuán zé shè lì zōng jiào wěi yuán huì（ zhù jiào gōng huì）， yǐ qǔ dài mù shǒu zhì。 zōng jiào wěi yuán huì chéng yuán yóu huáng dì rèn mìng。 yè kǎ jié lín nà 'èr shì（ 1762 héng héng 1796 nián） jìn yī bù qiáng huà liǎo duì jiào huì de kòng zhì。 tóng shí， dōng zhèng jiào huì chéng wéi shā huáng zhuān zhì zhì dù de zhī zhù zhī yī。 ní gǔ lā yī shì（ 1825-1855 nián） shí qī， tí chū“ zhèng jiào、 zhuān zhì、 mín zú jīng shén” sān wèi yī tǐ shuō。 zhì 1917 nián shí yuè gé mìng qián， 70％ de guó mín xìn yǎng dōng zhèng jiào。 sū wéi 'āi shí qī dōng zhèng jiào de shuāi luò yǔ sū lián jiě tǐ hòu de zhèng jiào fù xīng。 1918 nián xuān bù“ zhèng jiào fēn lí”。 1923 nián fèi chú mù shǒu zhì。 1943 nián huī fù mù shǒu zhì。 jī dū jiào（ dōng zhèng jiào） xìn yǎng shǐ 'é luó sī rén chōng mǎn liǎo jī dū jiào jīng shén lǐ xiǎng de jiù shì zhù yì hé jí duān zhù yì。 dì yù yǔ tiān táng zhī jiān méi yòu liàn yù。 é yǔ zhōng de христианин-крестьянин“ jī dū tú héng nóng mín”。 é luó sī dōng zhèng jiào de tè sè ① jiān chí yī chéng bù biàn de jiào yì zhèng tǒng xìng。 méi yòu jīng guò dà de zōng jiào gǎi gé。 é luó sī jiào huì lǐ bài shí shǐ yòng jiào huì sī lā fū yǔ。 1820 nián chū bǎn 'é wén bǎn《 xīn yuē》， 1876 nián chū bǎn《 shèng jīng》 é wén bǎn quán běn。 gǔ dài méi yòu chǎn shēng zhòng yào de zōng jiào zhé xué jiā。 ② nóng hòu de kǔ xiū zhù yì hé shén mì zhù yì。“ shèng yú” wèn tí。 tā men de shèng tú bù shì zōng jiào sī xiǎng jiā， ér shì kǔ xíng sēng hé“ shèng yú”。 é guó shā huáng ní gǔ lā 'èr shì hé tā de huáng hòu zài dì yī cì shì jiè dà zhàn qī jiān， céng jīng bǎ lái zì xī bó lì yà de nóng fū lā sī pǔ jīng dāng zuò“ xiān zhī”， bǎ tā fèng wéi zuò shàng bīn， shì shì tīng tā zhǐ diǎn， bù jiǔ zhī hòu jiù bù zhè wèi diān sēng de hòu chén xiāo shì yú xū wú， hái suí shēn xié dài zhe zì jǐ de bǎo zuò hé zhěng gè 'é luó sī dì guó。 ③ shèng xiàng chóng bài。 843 nián zōng jiào huì yì què rèn shèng xiàng chóng bài hé fǎ。 1493 nián jiàn zào de mò sī kē kè lǐ mù lín gōng de shèng mǔ shēng tiān dà jiào táng de shèng xiàng shì dōng zhèng jiào tè sè de shèng xiàng chóng bài。 ④ jiào quán yǐ fù yú wáng quán。 lì rú， 1395 nián， jūn shì tǎn dīng bǎo zōng zhù jiāogěi mò sī kē dà gōng wǎ xī lǐ de xìn zhōng shuō：“ zhè gè shén shèng de huáng dì zài jiào huì zhōng jù yòu zhì gāo wú shàng de dì wèi， tā hé qí tā tǒng zhì zhě jí bié de dì qū de guǎn xiá zhě bù yī yàng， yīn wéi shì tā cóng yī kāi shǐ jiù zài suǒ yòu rén jū zhù de dì qū jiàn lì hé gǒng gù liǎo zhēn zhèng de zōng jiào …… duì jī dū tú lái shuō， yōng yòu yī gè jiào huì 'ér bù yōng yòu yī gè huáng dì shì bù kě néng de。 jiào huì hé huáng dì jù yòu wěi dà de tǒng yī xìng， tóng zài yī gè wěi dà de gòng tóng tǐ zhī zhōng； tā men bù kě néng bèi xiāng hù fēn gē kāi lái。 xíng zhèng qū huá é luó sī gòng shè 89 gè lián bāng zhù tǐ， jí： 21 gè gòng hé guó、 1 gè zì zhì zhōu、 6 gè biān jiāng qū、 49 gè zhōu、 10 gè mín zú zì zhì qū（ qí zhōng 9 gè shǔ yú xíng zhèng qū huá jiǎo dù shàng de 'èr jí xíng zhèng qū） hé 2 gè lián bāng zhí xiá shì。 2000 nián 5 yuè 13 rì 'àn dì yù lián hé chéng 7 gè lián bāng qū héng héng zhōng yāng qū、 běi gāo jiā suǒ qū、 fú 'ěr jiā yán 'àn qū、 wū lā 'ěr qū、 xī bó lì yà qū、 yuǎn dōng qū。 xià biǎo zhōng gè xíng zhèng qū rén kǒu wéi 1996 nián gū jì shù zì， gè chéng shì rén kǒu wéi 1996 nián shù zì。 yī jí xíng zhèng qū， bāo kuò gòng hé guó、 biān jiāng qū、 zhōu、 zì zhì zhōu hé zì zhì zhuān qū、 lián bāng zhí xiá shì， gòng ８ ０ gè。 xíng zhèng qū míng miàn jī（ wàn km2） rén kǒu（ wàn rén） shǒu fǔ shǒu fǔ rén kǒu gòng hé guó（ 21 gè） ０１ ā dí gé gòng hé guó０ .７ ６ ４ ５ mài kē pǔ１７ .７ ０ ２ bā shí kē 'ěr tuō sī tǎn gòng hé guó１４ . ３６４０８ . ９ wū fǎ１０９ .４ ０３ bù lǐ yà tè gòng hé guó３５ .１３１０５ wū lán wū dé３６ .７ ０４ ā 'ěr tài gòng hé guó９ .２６２０ .１ gē 'ěr nuò－ ā 'ěr tài sī kè４ .７９ ０５ dá jí sī tǎn gòng hé guó５ .０３２０９ .７ mǎ hā qí kǎ lā３４ .４ ０６ kǎ bā 'ěr dá－ bā 'ěr kǎ 'ěr gòng hé guó１ .２５７８ .４ nà 'ěr qí kè２３ .３ ０７ kǎ 'ěr méi kè gòng hé guó７ .６１３１ .８ āi lì sī tǎ９ .９９ ０８ kǎ lā qià yī－ qiē 'ěr kè sī gòng hé guó１ .４１４３ .４ qiē 'ěr kè sī kè１１ .９ ０９ kǎ lěi lì 'ā gòng hé guó１７ .２４７８ .４ bǐ dé luó zhā wò cí kè２８ .３ １０ kē mǐ gòng hé guó４１ .５９１１８ .５ sè kè tè fū kǎ 'ěr２２ .９ １１ mǎ lǐ 'āi 'ěr gòng hé guó２ .３２７６ .６ yuē shí kǎ 'ěr 'ào lā２７ .９ １２ mò 'ěr duō wǎ gòng hé guó２ .６２９５ .５ sà lán sī kè３２ １３ běi 'ào sài tī－ ā lán shè huì zhù yì gòng hé guó０ .８６６ .１ fú lā jì gāo jiā suǒ３１ .２ １４ sà hā（ yǎ kù tè） gòng hé guó３１０ .３２１０３ .６ yǎ kù cí kè１９ .２ １５ dá dá sī tǎn gòng hé guó６ .８３７６ .４ kā shān１０７ .６ １６ tú wǎ gòng hé guó１７ .０５３０ .９ kè zī lè９ .４６ １７ wū dé mù 'ěr tè gòng hé guó４ .２１１６３ .６ yī rè fū sī kè６５ .４ １８ hā kǎ sī gòng hé guó６ .１９５８ .４ ā bā kǎn１６ .２ １９ chǔ wǎ shí gòng hé guó１ .８３１３６ .３ qiē bó kè sà léi４５ .２ ２０ chē chén gòng hé guó１ .９３１２３ .５（１９８７ nián） gé luó cí ní１８ .３ ２１ yìn gǔ shí gòng hé guó nà cí lán７ .１７ biān jiāng qū（ 8 gè） ０１ ā 'ěr tài biān jiāng qū１６ .９１２６９ .１ bā 'ěr nǎo 'ěr５９ .０ ０２ kè lā sī nuò dá 'ěr biān jiāng qū７ .６４９８ .４ kè lā sī nuò dá 'ěr６４ .７ ０３ kè lā sī nuò yà 'ěr sī kè biān jiāng qū２３３ .９７３１８ .６ kè lā sī nuò yà 'ěr sī kè８７ .１ ０４ bīn hǎi biān jiāng qū１６ .５９２２５ .３ fú lā dí wò sī tuō kè（ hǎishēn wǎi）６２ .４ ０５ sī tǎ fū luó bō 'ěr biān jiāng qū６ .６５２６３ .８ sī tǎ fū luó bō 'ěr３４ .３ ０６ hǎbā luó fū sī kè biān jiāng qū７８ .８６１５６ .０ hǎbā luó fū sī kè（ bó lì）６１ .４ zhōu（ 49 gè） ０１ ā mù 'ěr zhōu３６ .３７１０３ .０ bù lā gē wéi shēn sī kè（ hǎi lán pào）２１ .７ ０２ ā 'ěr hàn gé 'ěr sī kè zhōu５８ .７４１５６ .７６ ā 'ěr hàn gé 'ěr sī kè３８ .１ ０３ ā sī tè lā hǎn zhōu４ .４１１０２ .２ ā sī tè lā hǎn４８ .４ ０４ bié 'ěr gē luó dé zhōu２ .７１１４６ .７ bié 'ěr gē luó dé３２ .４ ０５ bù liáng sī kè zhōu３ .４９１４７ .５ bù liáng sī kè４５ .９ ０６ fú lā jī mǐ 'ěr zhōu２ .９１６４ .０ fú lā jī mǐ 'ěr３３ .７ ０７ fú 'ěr jiā gé lè zhōu１１ .３９２７０ .３ fú 'ěr jiā gé lè９９ .９ ０８ wò luò gé dá zhōu１４ .５７１３４ .５ wò luò gé dá２９ .７ ０９ wò luó niè rì zhōu５ .２４２５０ .１ wò luó niè rì９０ .４ １０ xià nuò fū gē luó dé zhōu７ .６９３７３ .２ xià nuò fū gē luó dé１３７ .２ １１ yī wàn nuò wò zhōu２ .１８１２６ .３ yī wàn nuò wò４６ .９ １２ yī 'ěr kù cí kè zhōu７６ .７９２９３ .１ yī 'ěr kù cí kè５８ .３ １３ jiā lǐ níng gé lè zhōu１ .５１９３ .２ jiā lǐ níng gé lè４２ .１ １４ tè wéi 'ěr zhōu８ .４１１６４ .４４ tè wéi 'ěr４５ .２ １５ kǎ lú jiā zhōu２ .９９１０９ .５ kǎ lú jiā３６ .３ １６ kān chá jiā zhōu４７ .２３４５ .０ kān chá jiā bǐ dé luó bā fǔ luò fū sī kè２０ .８ １７ kè mài luó wò zhōu９ .５５３０５ .８ kè mài luó wò４９ .９ １８ jī luò fū zhōu１２ .０８１６３ .６ jī luò fū４６ .４ １９ kē sī tè luó mǎ zhōu６ .０１８０ .０ kē sī tè luó mǎ２８ .８ ２０ sà mǎ lā zhōu５ .３６３３０ .９ sà mǎ lā１１７ .９ ２１ kù 'ěr gān zhōu７ .１１１１ .１ kù 'ěr gān３６ .７ ２２ kù 'ěr sī kè zhōu２ .９８１３４ .３ kù 'ěr sī kè４３ .８ ２３ liè níng gé lè zhōu８ .５９１６６ .８ shèng bǐ dé bǎo４７６ .９ ２４ lì pèi cí kè zhōu２ .４１１２５ .０ lì pèi cí kè４７ .３ ２５ mǎ jiā dān zhōu４６ .１４２６ .４ mǎ jiā dān１２ .４ ２６ mò sī kē zhōu４ .７６５５ .０３ mò sī kē８５７ .２ ２７ mó 'ěr màn sī kè zhōu１４ .４９１０６ .６８ mó 'ěr màn sī kè３９ .８ ２８ nuò fū gē luó dé zhōu５ .５３７５ .１ nuò fū gē luó dé２３ .１ ２９ xīn xī bó lì yà zhōu１７ .８２２７４ .５ xīn xī bó lì yà１３６ .７ ３０ è mù sī kè zhōu１３ .９７２１７ .８ è mù sī kè１１６ .０ ３１ ào lún bǎo zhōu１２ .４２２２ .４ ào lún bǎo５３ .０ ３２ ào liào 'ěr zhōu２ .４７９１ .２ ào liào 'ěr３４ .４ ３３ bēn sà zhōu４ .３２１５６ .２ bēn sà５３ .０ ３４ bǐ 'ěr mǔ zhōu１６ .０６３１５ .６ bǐ 'ěr mǔ１０２ .９ ３５ pǔ sī kē fū zhōu５ .５３８３ .１ pǔ sī kē fū２０ .７ ３６ luó sī tuō fū zhōu１０ .０８４４０ .９ luó sī tuō fū１０１ .３ ３７ liáng zàn zhōu３ .９６１３２ .７ liáng zàn５３ .３ ３８ sà lā tuō fū zhōu１０ .０２２７３ .８ sà lā tuō fū８８ .９ ３９ sà hā lín zhōu８ .７１６４ .８ nán sà hā lín sī kè１７ .８ ４０ sī wéi 'ěr dé luò fū sī kè zhōu１９ .４８４６７ .７ yè kǎ jié lín bǎo１２７ .６ ４１ sī mó lēng sī kè zhōu４ .９８１１６ .８ sī mó lēng sī kè３５ .３ ４２ tǎn bō fū zhōu３ .４３１３１ .２ tǎn bō fū３１ .７ ４３ tuō mù sī kè zhōu３１ .６９１０７ .８ tuō mù sī kè４７ .３ ４４ tú lā zhōu２ .５７１８０ .９ tú lā５２ .５ ４５ qiū míng zhōu１４３ .５２３１８ .７ qiū míng４９ .５ ４６ wū lǐ yáng nuò fū sī kè zhōu３ .７３１４９ .１ xīn bǐ 'ěr sī kè７０ .０ ４７ chē lǐ yǎ bīn sī kè zhōu８ .７９３６８ .３ chē lǐ yǎ bīn sī kè１０８ .３ ４８ chì tǎ zhōu４３ .１５１３７ .１ chì tǎ３１ .８ ４９ yǎ luó sī lā fū 'ěr zhōu３ .６４１４５ .０ yǎ luó sī lā fū 'ěr６２ .３ sì zì zhì zhōu hé zì zhì zhuān qū（２ gè） ０１ yóu tài zì zhì zhōu３ .６２０ .８ bǐ luó bǐ zhān８ .３２ ０２ chǔ kē qí zì zhì zhuān qū７３ .７７９ .７ ā nà dé 'ěr１ .３９ wǔ lián bāng zhí xiá shì（２ gè） ０１ mò sī kē shì０ .０８７９８６７ .６ ０２ shèng bǐ dé bǎo shì０ .０６０６５００ .０ èr jí xíng zhèng qū zhōng， bāo hán９ gè mín zú zì zhì qū yù， chēng wéi zì zhì qū。 xù hào míng chēng lì shǔ miàn jī（ wàn km2） rén kǒu（ wàn rén） shǒu fǔ shǒu fǔ rén kǒu ０１ ā jiā bù lǐ yà tè zì zhì qū chì tǎ zhōu１ .９７ .９ ā jīn sī kē yé０ .９２ ０２ kē mǐ－ bǐ 'ěr mǐ yà kè zì zhì qū bǐ 'ěr mǔ zhōu３ .２９１６ .１ kù dé mǔ kǎ 'ěr３ .３８ ０３ kē lǐ yà kè zì zhì qū kān chá jiā zhōu３０ .１５３ .３ pà lā nà０ .４２ ０４ niè niè cí zì zhì qū 'ā 'ěr hàn gé 'ěr sī kè zhōu１７ .６７４ .７ nà lǐ yáng mǎ 'ěr１ .９ ０５ tài méi 'ěr（ duō 'ěr gān－ niè niè cí） zì zhì qū kè lā sī nuò yà 'ěr sī kè biān jiāng qū８６ .２１４ .７ dù jīn kǎ３ .４ ０６ āi wén jī zì zhì qū kè lā sī nuò yà 'ěr sī kè biān jiāng qū７６ .７６２ .１ tú lā０ .６１ ０７ wū sī jì 'ào 'ěr dēng sī jī bù lǐ yà tè zì zhì qū yī 'ěr kù cí kè zhōu２ .２４１４ .２ wū sī jì 'ào 'ěr dēng sī jī１ .１９ ０８ hàn tè－ màn xī zì zhì qū qiū míng zhōu５２ .３１１３４ .５ hàn tè－ màn xī sī kè３ .５６ ０９ yà mǎ 'ěr－ niè niè cí zì zhì qū qiū míng zhōu７５ .０３４９ .７ sà liè hā 'ěr dé３ .０７ zhù： １ ． dì yī biǎo zhōng gè gè xíng zhèng qū de miàn jī rén kǒu shù jù jūn bāo kuò dì 'èr biǎo zhōng gè gè zì zhì qū de miàn jī rén kǒu shù jù。 ２． dì yī biǎo zhōng， chē chén gòng hé guó hé yìn gǔ shí gòng hé guó yuán wéi yī gè gòng hé guó（ chē chén－ yìn gǔ shí gòng hé guó）， fēn zhì yǐ hòu de shù jù bù xiáng， zàn liè shù jù wéi fēn zhì yǐ qián de shù jù。 ３． dì yī biǎo zhōng， mò sī kē zhōu hé liè níng gé lè zhōu de miàn jī rén kǒu shù jù jūn bù bāo kuò gè zì shǒu fǔ（ mò sī kē shì hé shèng bǐ dé bǎo shì） de shù jù。 ４． mò sī kē shì hé shèng bǐ dé bǎo shì de rén kǒu shù jù， yǔ mò sī kē zhōu hé liè níng gé lè zhōu shǒu fǔ chù suǒ liè rén kǒu shù jù bù yī zhì。 zī liào yuán wén rú cǐ， wèi zuò biàn dòng， yuán wén zhào dēng。 5. yìn gǔ shí gòng hé guó shǒu fǔ yǐ jīng qiān yí， jiù dū nà cí lán， xīn dū yīng wén wéi magas， é wén wéi Магас。 At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is by far the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 11 time zones and incorporating a great range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world's largest mineral and energy resources, and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's unfrozen fresh water. The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs. The Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by Vikings and their descendants, the first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus', arose in the 9th century and adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated and the lands were divided into many small feudal Russian states. The most powerful successor state to Kievan Rus' was Moscow, which served as the main force in the Russian reunification process and independence struggle against the Golden Horde. Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation and exploration to become the huge Russian Empire, stretching from Poland eastward to the Pacific Ocean. Russia established worldwide power and influence from the times of the Russian Empire to being the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first and largest constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower. The nation can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts and sciences. The Russian Federation was founded following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the Soviet Union. Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the G8. It is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. The Russian Federation stretches across much of the north of the super-continent of Eurasia. Because of its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is taiga. The country contains 23 World Heritage Sites and 40 UNESCO Biosphere reserves. Topography The two widest separated points in Russia are about 8,000 km (5,000 mi) apart along a geodesic line. These points are: the boundary with Poland on a 60 km long (40-mi long) spit of land separating the Gulf of Gdańsk from the Vistula Lagoon; and the farthest southeast of the Kuril Islands, a few miles off Hokkaidō Island, Japan. The points which are furthest separated in longitude are 6,600 km (4,100 mi) apart along a geodesic. These points are: in the West, the same spit; in the East, the Big Diomede Island (Ostrov Ratmanova). The Russian Federation spans 11 time zones. Central Russian Upland, Zaraysk Saranpaul, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug Sochi, Krasnodar KraiRussia has the world's largest forest reserves and is known as "the lungs of Europe," second only to the Amazon Rainforest in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs. It provides a huge amount of oxygen for not just Europe, but the world. With access to three of the world's oceans—the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific—Russian fishing fleets are a major contributor to the world's fish supply. The Caspian is the source of what is considered the finest caviar in the world. The plains of Western Siberia, Vasyugan RiverMost of Russia consists of vast stretches of plains that are predominantly steppe to the south and heavily forested to the north, with tundra along the northern coast. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,642 m / 18,511 ft) and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes on Kamchatka. The Ural Mountains form a north-south range that divides Europe and Asia, rich in mineral resources. Russia possesses 10% of the world's arable land. Russia has an extensive coastline of over 37,000 kilometers (23,000 mi) along the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Baltic, Black and Caspian seas. The Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan are linked to Russia. Major islands and archipelagos include Novaya Zemlya, the Franz Josef Land, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. The Diomede Islands (one controlled by Russia, the other by the United States) are just three kilometers (1.9 mi) apart, and Kunashir Island is about twenty kilometers (12 mi) from Hokkaidō. Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water, providing it with one of the world's largest surface water resources. The most prominent of Russia's bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world's deepest, purest and most capacious freshwater lake. Lake Baikal alone contains over one fifth of the world's fresh surface water. Of its 100,000 rivers, The Volga is the most famous—not only because it is the longest river in Europe but also because of its major role in Russian history. Major lakes include Lake Baikal, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Russia has a wide natural resource base unmatched by any other country, including major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, timber and mineral resources. Climate The climate of the Russian Federation formed under the influence of several determining factors. The enormous size of the country and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the continental climate, which is prevalent in European and Asian Russia except for the tundra and the extreme southeast. Mountains in the south obstructing the flow of warm air masses from the Indian Ocean and the plain of the west and north makes the country open to Arctic and Atlantic influences. Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons — winter and summer; spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low temperatures and extremely high. The coldest month is January (on the shores of the sea—February), the warmest usually is July. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot and humid, even in Siberia. A small part of Black Sea coast around Sochi is considered in Russia to have subtropical climate. The continental interiors are the driest areas. History Early periods Kurgan hypothesis: South Russia as the urheimat of Indo-European peoplesIn prehistoric times, the vast steppes of Southern Russia were home to disunited tribes of nomadic pastoralists. In classical antiquity, the Pontic Steppe was known as Scythia. Remnants of these steppe civilizations were discovered in the course of the 20th century in such places as Ipatovo, Sintashta, Arkaim, and Pazyryk. In the latter part of the eighth century BC, Greek traders brought classical civilization to the trade emporiums in Tanais and Phanagoria. Between the third and sixth centuries BC, the Bosporan Kingdom, a Hellenistic polity which succeeded the Greek colonies, was overwhelmed by successive waves of nomadic invasions, led by warlike tribes, such as the Huns and Turkic Avars. A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the lower Volga basin steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas until the 8th century. An approximate map of the cultures in European Russia at the arrival of the VarangiansThe ancestors of modern Russians are the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought by some scholars to have been the wooded areas of the Pinsk Marshes. Moving into the lands vacated by the migrating Germanic tribes, the Early East Slavs gradually settled Western Russia in two waves: one moving from Kiev toward present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk toward Novgorod and Rostov. From the 7th century onwards, the East Slavs constituted the bulk of the population in Western Russia and slowly but peacefully assimilated the native Finno-Ugric tribes, including the Merya, the Muromians, and the Meshchera. Kievan Rus Kievan Rus' in the 11th centuryScandinavian Norsemen, called "Vikings" in Western Europe and "Varangians" in the East, combined piracy and trade in their roamings over much of Northern Europe. In the mid-9th century, they ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas. According to the earliest Russian chronicle, a Varangian named Rurik was elected ruler (konung or knyaz) of Novgorod around the year 860; his successors moved south and extended their authority to Kiev, which had been previously dominated by the Khazars. In the 10th to 11th centuries this state of Kievan Rus' became the largest and most prosperous in Europe. In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north, particularly to the area known as Zalesye. Like many other parts of Eurasia, these territories were overrun by the Mongols. The invaders, later known as Tatars, formed the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the Russian principalities and ruled the southern and central expanses of Russia for over three centuries. Mongol rule retarded the country's economic and social development. However, the Novgorod Republic together with Pskov retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the Mongol yoke and was largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Led by Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the Germanic crusaders who attempted to colonize the region. Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated as a state because of in-fighting between members of the princely family that ruled it collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod in the north-west, and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west. Conquest by the Golden Horde in the 13th century was the final blow and resulted in the destruction of Kiev in 1240. Galicia-Volhynia was eventually absorbed into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while the Mongol-dominated Vladimir-Suzdal and the independent Novgorod Republic, two regions on the periphery of Kiev, established the basis for the modern Russian nation. Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia The growth of Russia, 1300—1796 A scene from medieval Russian historyThe most powerful successor state to Kievan Rus' was Grand Duchy of Moscow. It would annex rivals such as Tver and Novgorod, and eventually become the basis of the modern Russian state. After the downfall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire. While still under the domain of the Mongol-Tatars and with their connivance, the Duchy of Moscow (or "Muscovy") began to assert its influence in Western Russia in the early 14th century. Assisted by the Russian Orthodox Church and Saint Sergius of Radonezh's spiritual revival, Russia inflicted a defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). Ivan III (Ivan the Great) eventually tossed off the control of the invaders, consolidated surrounding areas under Moscow's dominion and first took the title "grand duke of all the Russias". In 1547, Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) was officially crowned the first Tsar of Russia. During his long reign, Ivan IV annexed the Tatar khanates (Kazan, Astrakhan) along the Volga River and transformed Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state. Ivan IV promulgated a new code of laws (Sudebnik of 1550), established the first Russian feudal representative body (Zemsky Sobor) and introduced local self-management into the rural regions. But Ivan IV's rule was also marked by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of Poland, Lithuania, Sweden for the access to the Baltic coast and sea trade. The military losses, epidemics and poor harvests weakened the state, and the Crimean Tatars were able to burn down Moscow. The death of Ivan's sons, combined with famine (1601–1603), led to the civil war and foreign intervention of the Time of Troubles in the early 1600s. By the mid-17th century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on the Chukchi Peninsula, along the Amur River, and on the Pacific coast. The Bering Strait between North America and Asia was first sighted by a Russian explorer in 1648. Imperial Russia Peter the Great officially proclaimed the existence of the Russian Empire in 1721Under the Romanov dynasty and Peter I (Peter the Great), the Russian Empire was officially founded. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War, forcing it to cede West Karelia and Ingria (two regions lost by Russia in the Time of Troubles), Estland, and Livland, securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade. It was in Ingria that Peter founded a new capital, Saint Petersburg. Peter's reforms brought considerable Western European cultural influences to Russia. Catherine II (Catherine the Great), who ruled from 1762 to 1796, continued the efforts at establishing Russia as one of the Great Powers of Europe. In alliance with Prussia and Austria, Russia stood against Napoleon's France and eliminated its rival Poland-Lithuania in a series of partitions, gaining large areas of territory in the west. As a result of its victories in the Russo-Turkish War, by the early 19th century Russia had made significant territorial gains in Transcaucasia. Napoleon's invasion failed miserably as obstinate Russian resistance combined with the bitterly cold Russian winter dealt him a disastrous defeat, from which more than 95% of his invading force perished. The officers of the Napoleonic Wars brought back to Russia the ideas of liberalism and even attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825, which was followed by several decades of political repression. Napoleon's retreat from Moscow The Russian Empire in 1866 and its spheres of influenceThe prevalence of serfdom and the conservative policies of Nicolas I impeded the development of Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. Nicholas's successor Alexander II (1855–1881) enacted significant reforms, including the abolition of serfdom in 1861; these "Great Reforms" spurred industrialization. However, many socio-economic conflicts were aggravated during Alexander III’s reign and under his son, Nicholas II. Harsh conditions in factories created mass support for the revolutionary socialist movement. In January, 1905 striking workers peaceably demonstrated for reforms in Saint Petersburg but were fired upon by troops, killing and wounding hundreds. The abject failure of the Tsar's military forces in the initially-popular Russo-Japanese War, and the event, known as "Bloody Sunday", ignited the Russian Revolution of 1905. Although the uprising was swiftly put down by the army and he retained much of his power, Nicholas II was forced to concede major reforms including granting the freedoms of speech and assembly, legalization of political parties and the creation of an elected legislative assembly, the Duma, however basic improvements in the lives of industrial workers were unfulfilled. Russia entered World War I in the aid of its ally Serbia and fought a war across three fronts while isolated from its allies. Russia did not want war but felt that only alternative was German domination of Europe. Although the army was far from defeated in 1916, the already existing public distrust of the regime was deepened by the rising costs of war, casualties (Russia suffered the highest amount of both military and civilian deaths of the Entente Powers), and tales of corruption and even treason in high places, leading to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917. A series of uprisings were organized by workers and peasants throughout the country, as well as by soldiers in the Russian army, who were mainly of peasant origin. Many of the uprisings were organized and led by democratically elected councils called Soviets. The February Revolution overthrew the Russian monarchy, which was replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared itself the Provisional Government. The abdication marked the end of imperial rule in Russia, and Nicholas and his family were imprisoned and later executed during the Civil War. While initially receiving the support of the Soviets, the Provisional Government proved unable to resolve many problems which had led to the February Revolution. The second revolution, the October Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and created the world’s first Communist state. Soviet Russia Vladimir LeninFollowing the October Revolution, a civil war broke out between the new regime and the Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and the White movement. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk concluded hostilities with the Central Powers in World War I. Russia lost the Ukraine, its Polish and Baltic territories, and Finland by signing the treaty. The Allied powers launched a military intervention in support of anti-Communist forces and both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror. At the end of the Civil War, the economy and infrastructure were devastated. Following victory in the Civil War, the Russian SFSR together with three other Soviet republics formed the Soviet Union on December 30, 1922. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic dominated the Soviet Union for its entire 74-year history; the USSR was often referred to as "Russia" and its people as "Russians." The largest of the republics, Russia contributed over half the population of the Soviet Union. The Bolsheviks introduced free universal health care, education and social-security benefits, as well as the right to work and housing. Women's rights were greatly increased through new laws aimed to wipe away centuries-old inequalities. Notably, Russia became the first country in the world with full freedom of divorce and legalized abortion. After Lenin's death in 1924 Joseph Stalin consolidated power and became dictator. Stalin launched a command economy, rapid industrialization of the largely rural country and collectivization of its agriculture and the Soviet Union transformed from an agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in a short span of time. Stalingrad, 1942. The majority of the fighting in World War II took place on the Eastern Front. Nazi Germany suffered 80% to 93% of all casualties thereOn June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union with the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history, opening the largest theater of the Second World War. Although the German army had considerable success early on, they suffered defeats after reaching the outskirts of Moscow and were dealt their first major defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943. Soviet forces drove through Eastern Europe in 1944–45 and captured Berlin in May, 1945. In the conflict, Soviet military and civilian death toll were 10.6 million and 15.9 million respectively, accounting for half of all World War II casualties. The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation but the Soviet Union emerged as an acknowledged superpower. The Red Army occupied Eastern Europe after the war, including the eastern half of Germany; Stalin installed communist governments in these satellite states. Becoming the world's second nuclear weapons power, the USSR established the Warsaw Pact alliance and entered into a struggle for global dominance with the United States, which became known as the Cold War. First human in space, Yuri GagarinUnder Stalin's successor Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1 and the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to orbit the Earth aboard the first manned spacecraft, Vostok 1. Tensions with the United States heightened when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba. Following the ousting of Khrushchev, another period of rule by collective leadership ensued until Leonid Brezhnev established himself in the early 1970s as the pre-eminent figure in Soviet politics. Brezhnev's rule oversaw economic stagnation and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which dragged on without success and with continuing casualties inflicted by insurgents. Soviet citizens became increasingly discontented with the war, ultimately leading to the withdrawal of Soviet forces by 1989. From 1985 onwards, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize the country. The USSR economy was the second largest in the world prior to the Soviet collapse. During its last years, the economy was afflicted by shortages of goods in grocery stores, huge budget deficits and explosive growth in money supply leading to inflation. In August 1991, an unsuccessful military coup against Gorbachev aimed at preserving the Soviet Union instead led to its collapse. In Russia, Boris Yeltsin came to power and declared the end of Communist rule. The USSR splintered into fifteen independent republics and was officially dissolved in December 1991. Boris Yeltsin was elected the President of Russia in June 1991, in the first direct presidential election in Russian history. Russian Federation During and after the disintegration of the USSR when wide ranging reforms including privatisation and market and trade liberalization were being undertaken, the Russian economy went through a major crisis. This period was characterized by deep contraction of output, with GDP declining by roughly 50 percent between 1990 and the end of 1995 and industrial output declining by over 50 percent. In October 1991, Yeltsin announced that Russia would proceed with radical, market-oriented reform along the lines of "shock therapy", as recommended by the United States and International Monetary Fund. Price controls were abolished, privatization was started. Millions were plunged into poverty. According to the World Bank, whereas 1.5% of the population was living in poverty in the late Soviet era, by mid-1993 between 39% and 49% of the population was living in poverty. Delays in wage payment became a chronic problem with millions being paid months, even years late. Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's external debts, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution. The privatization process largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to groups of individuals with inside connections in the Government and the mafia. Violent criminal groups often took over state enterprises, clearing the way through assassinations or extortion. Corruption of government officials became an everyday rule of life. Many of the newly rich mobsters and businesspeople took billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight. The long and wrenching depression was coupled with social decay. Social services collapsed and the birth rate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed. The early and mid-1990s was marked by extreme lawlessness. Criminal gangs and organized crime flourished and murders and other violent crime spiraled out of control. Moscow-City under construction. Moscow is the world's most expensive city to live in.In 1993 a constitutional crisis resulted in the worst civil strife in Moscow since the October Revolution. President Boris Yeltsin illegally dissolved the country's legislature which opposed his moves to consolidate power and push forward with unpopular neo-liberal reforms; in response, legislators barricaded themselves inside the White House, impeached Yeltsin and elected a new President and major protests against Yeltsin's government resulted in hundreds killed. With military support, Yeltsin sent the army to besiege the parliament building and disperse its defenders and used tanks and artillery to eject the legislators. The 1990s were plagued by armed ethnic conflicts in the North Caucasus. Such conflicts took a form of separatist Islamist insurrections against federal power (most notably in Chechnya), or of ethnic/clan conflicts between local groups (e.g., in North Ossetia-Alania between Ossetians and Ingushs, or between different clans in Chechnya). Since the Chechen separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent guerrilla war (First Chechen War, Second Chechen War) has been fought between disparate Chechen rebel groups and the Russian military. Terrorist attacks against civilians carried out by Chechen separatists, most notably the Russian apartment bombings, Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school siege, caused hundreds of deaths and drew worldwide attention. High budget deficits and the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis caused the financial crisis of 1998 and resulted in further GDP decline. On December 31, 1999 Boris Yeltsin resigned from the presidency, handing the post to the recently appointed prime minister, Vladimir Putin, who then won the 2000 election. Putin won popularity for suppressing the Chechen insurgency, although sporadic violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus. High oil prices and initially weak currency followed by increasing domestic demand, consumption and investments has helped the economy grow for nine straight years, alleviating the standard of living and increasing Russia's clout on the world stage. While many reforms made under Putin’s rule have been generally criticized by Western nations as un-democratic, Putin's leadership over the return of order, stability and progress has won him widespread popularity in Russia, as well as recognition abroad. Government and politics The State Duma buildingAccording to the Constitution, which was adopted by national referendum on December 12, 1993 following the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, Russia is a federation and a semi-presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. The Russian Federation is fundamentally structured as a representative democracy. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Federal Assembly. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which serves as the country's supreme legal document and as a social contract for the people of the Russian Federation. Interior courtyard of the Kremlin Senate, part of the Moscow Kremlin and the working residence of the Russian presidentThe federal government is composed of three branches: Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly, made up of the State Duma and the Federation Council makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has power of impeachment, by which it can remove sitting members of the government. Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies. Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Arbitration and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional. According to the Constitution of Russia, constitutional justice in the court is based on the equality of all citizens, judges are independent and subject only to the law, trials are to be open and the accused is guaranteed a defense. Since 1996, Russia has instituted a moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, although capital punishment has not been abolished by law. The president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term but constitutionally barred for a third consecutive term); election last held 2 March 2008. Ministries of the government are composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president. The national legislature is the Federal Assembly, which consists of two chambers; the 450-member State Duma and the 176-member Federation Council. Leading political parties in Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and Fair Russia. Subdivisions Federal subjects The Russian Federation comprises 83 federal subjects. These subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council. However, they differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy. 46 oblasts (provinces): most common type of federal subjects, with federally appointed governor and locally elected legislature. 21 republics: nominally autonomous; each has its own constitution, president, and parliament. Republics are allowed to establish their own official language alongside Russian but are represented by the federal government in international affairs. Republics are meant to be home to specific ethnic minorities. Nine krais (territories): essentially the same as oblasts. The "territory" designation is historic, originally given to frontier regions and later also to administrative divisions that comprised autonomous okrugs or autonomous oblasts. Four autonomous okrugs (autonomous districts): originally autonomous entities within oblasts and krais created for ethnic minorities, their status was elevated to that of federal subjects in the 1990s. With the exception of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, all autonomous okrugs are still administratively subordinated to a krai or an oblast of which they are a part. One autonomous oblast (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast): originally autonomous oblasts were administrative units subordinated to krais. In 1990, all of them except the Jewish AO were elevated in status to that of a republic. Two federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg): major cities that function as separate regions. Federal districts and economic regions Federal subjects are grouped into seven federal districts, each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia. Unlike the federal subjects, the federal districts are not a subnational level of government, but are a level of administration of the federal government. Federal districts' envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws. Foreign relations and military President Dmitry MedvedevThe Russian Federation is recognized in international law as continuing the legal personality of the former Soviet Union. Russia continues to implement the international commitments of the USSR, and has assumed the USSR's permanent seat on the UN Security Council, membership in other international organizations, the rights and obligations under international treaties and property and debts. Russia has a multifaceted foreign policy. It maintains diplomatic relations with 178 countries and has 140 embassies. Russia's foreign policy is determined by the President and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia plays a major role in maintaining international peace and security, and plays a major role in resolving international conflicts by participating in the Quartet on the Middle East, the Six-party talks with North Korea, promoting the resolution of the Kosovo conflict and resolving nuclear proliferation issues. Russia is a member of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations, the Council of Europe, OSCE and APEC. Russia usually takes a leading role in regional organizations such as the CIS, EurAsEC, CSTO, and the SCO. President Vladimir Putin has advocated a strategic partnership with close integration in various dimensions including establishment of four common spaces between Russia and the EU. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia has developed a friendlier, albeit volatile relationship with NATO. The NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 to allow the 26 Allies and Russia to work together as equal partners to pursue opportunities for joint collaboration. Russian paratroopers at an exercise in KazakhstanRussia assumed control of Soviet assets abroad and most of the Soviet Union's production facilities and defense industries are located in the country. The Russian military is divided into the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force. There are also three independent arms of service: Strategic Rocket Forces, Military Space Forces, and the Airborne Troops. In 2006, the military had 1.037 million personnel on active duty. Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It has the second largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and is the only country apart from the U.S. with a modern strategic bomber force. The country has a large and fully indigenous arms industry, producing all of its own military equipment. Russia is the world's top supplier of weapons, a spot it has held since 2001, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales and exporting weapons to about 80 countries. Following the Soviet practice, it is mandatory for all male citizens aged 18–27 to be drafted for two years' Armed Forces service, though various problems associated with this is why the armed forces are from 2008 reducing the conscription term from 18 months to 12, and plan to increase contract servicemen to compose 70% of the armed forces by 2010. Defense expenditure has quadrupled over the past six years. Official government military spending for 2008 is $40 billion, though various sources, including US intelligence, and the International Institute for Strategic Studies, have estimated Russia’s military expenditures to be considerably higher. Currently, the military is undergoing a major equipment upgrade with about $200 billion (what equals to about $400 billion in PPP dollars) on procurement of military equipment between 2006 and 2015. Economy Sukhoi Superjet, an example of the resurging civil aviation industrySince the turn of the century, rising oil prices, increased foreign investment, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have bolstered economic growth in Russia. The country ended 2007 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging 7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. In 2007, Russia's GDP was $2.076 trillion (est. PPP), the 7th largest in the world, with GDP growing 8.1% from the previous year. Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports. The average salary in Russia was $640 per month in early 2008, up from $80 in 2000. Approximately 14% of Russians lived below the national poverty line in 2007, significantly down from 40% in 1998 at the worst of the post-Soviet collapse. Unemployment in Russia was at 6% in 2007, down from about 12.4% in 1999. A Rosneft petrol station. Russia is the world's leading natural gas exporter and the second leading oil exporter. Soyuz TMA-2 moves to launch pad, about to carry the first resident crew to the International Space StationRussia has the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves and the eighth largest oil reserves. It is the world's leading natural gas exporter and the second leading oil exporter. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of Russian exports abroad. Since 2003, however, exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. Despite higher energy prices, oil and gas only contribute to 5.7% of Russia's GDP and the government predicts this will drop to 3.7% by 2011. Russia is also considered well ahead of most other resource-rich countries in its economic development, with a long tradition of education, science, and industry. The country has more higher education graduates than any other country in Europe. In the first half of 2007, foreign investment in the Russian economy doubled year-on-year, reaching $60.3 billion. In 2000 total investment in fixed assets was $40 billion, giving growth of 300% by 2006 when it reached $120 billion. A simpler, more streamlined tax code adopted in 2001 reduced the tax burden on people, and dramatically increased state revenue. Russia has a flat personal income tax rate of 13 percent. This ranks it as the country with the second most attractive personal tax system for single managers in the world after the United Arab Emirates, according to a 2007 survey by investment services firm Mercer Human Resource Consulting. The federal budget has run surpluses since 2001 and ended 2007 with a surplus of 6% of GDP. Over the past several years, Russia has used oil revenues from its Stabilization Fund of the Russian Federation to prepay all Soviet-era sovereign debt to Paris Club creditors and the IMF. Oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to some $470 billion at the end of 2007, the third largest reserves in the world. The country has also been able to substantially reduce its formerly massive foreign debt. The economic development of the country though has been uneven geographically with the Moscow region contributing a disproportionately high amount of the country's GDP. Much of Russia, especially indigenous and rural communities in Siberia, lags significantly behind. Nevertheless, the middle class has grown from just 8 million persons in 2000 to 55 million persons in 2006. Russia is home to the second largest number of billionaires in the world after the United States, gaining 50 billionaires in 2007 for a total of 110. Over the last five years, fixed capital investments have averaged real gains greater than 10% per year and personal incomes have achieved real gains more than 12% per year. During this time, poverty has declined steadily and the middle class has continued to expand. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis. A principal factor in Russia's growth has been the combination of strong growth in productivity, real wages, and consumption. Despite the country's strong economic performance since 1999, however, the World Bank lists several challenges facing the Russian economy including diversifying the economy, encouraging the growth of small and medium enterprises, building human capital and improving corporate governance. Inflation grew to about 12% by the end of 2007, up from 9% in 2006. The upward trend continued in the first quarter of 2008, driven largely by rising food costs. Demographics Ethnic composition (2002) Russians 79.8% Tatars 3.8% Ukrainians 2.0% Chuvash 1.1% Chechen 0.9% Armenians 0.8% Other/unspecified 10.3% Population 1992–2008. Number of inhabitants in millionsAccording to preliminary estimates, the resident population of the Russian Federation on 1 January 2008 was 142 million people. In 2007, the population shrank by 237,800 people, or by 0.17% (in 2006 - by 532,600 people, or by 0.37%). Migration grew by 50.2% in 2007 to reach 274,000. The vast majority of migrants came from CIS states and were Russians or Russian-speaking. The Russian Federation is a diverse, multi-ethnic society, home to as many as 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples. Though Russia's population is comparatively large, its population density is low because of the country's enormous size. Population is densest in European Russia, near the Ural Mountains, and in the southwest Siberia. 73% of the population lives in urban areas. As of the 2002 Census, the two largest cities in Russia are Moscow (10,126,424 inhabitants) and Saint Petersburg (4,661,219). Eleven other cities have between one and two million inhabitants: Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Omsk, Perm, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Ufa, Volgograd, and Yekaterinburg. In 2006, 186,380 migrants arrived to the Russian Federation of which 95% came from CIS countries. There are also an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants from the ex-Soviet states in Russia. Russia's population peaked in 1991 at 148,689,000. The number of deaths during 2007 was 477,700 greater than the number of births. This is down from 687,100 in 2006. According to data published by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service, the mortality rate in Russia declined 4% in 2007, as compared to 2006, reaching some 2 million deaths, while the birth rate grew 8.3% year-on-year to an estimated 1.6 million live births. The primary causes of Russia's population decrease are a high death rate and low birth rate. While Russia's birth-rate is comparable to that of other European countries (11.3 births per 1000 people in 2007 compared to the European Union average of 10.00 per 1000) its population declines at much greater rate due to a substantially higher death rate (In 2007, Russia's death rate was 14.7 per 1000 people compared to the European Union average of 10.00 per 1000). However, the Russian health ministry predicts that by 2011, the death rate will equal the birth rate due to increases in fertility and decline in mortality. Rank Core City Federal Subject Pop. Rank Core City Federal Subject Pop. view • talk • edit Moscow Saint Petersburg 1 Moscow Moscow 10,126,424 11 Ufa Bashkortostan 1,042,437 2 Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg 4,661,219 12 Volgograd Volgograd 1,011,417 3 Novosibirsk Novosibirsk 1,425,508 13 Perm Perm 1,001,653 4 Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod 1,311,252 14 Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk 909,341 5 Yekaterinburg Sverdlovsk 1,293,537 15 Saratov Saratov 873,055 6 Samara Samara 1,157,880 16 Voronezh Voronezh 848,752 7 Omsk Omsk 1,134,016 17 Tolyatti Samara 702,879 8 Kazan Tatarstan 1,105,289 18 Krasnodar Krasnodar 646,175 9 Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk 1,077,174 19 Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk 635,947 10 Rostov-on-Don Rostov 1,068,267 20 Izhevsk Udmurtia 632,140 2002 Census Education Moscow State UniversityRussia has a free education system guaranteed to all citizens by the Constitution, and has a literacy rate of 99.4%. The country came first in the world in the 2006 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study conducted by Boston College. Entry to higher education is highly competitive. As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and space and aviation research is still generally of a high order. The Russian Constitution grants a universal right to higher education free of charge and through competitive entry. The Government allocates funding to pay the tuition fees within an established quota, or number of students for each state institution. This is considered crucial because it provides access to higher education to all skilled students, as opposed to only those who can afford it. In addition, students are provided with a small stipend and free housing. However, the institutions have to be funded entirely from the federal and regional budgets; institutions have found themselves unable to provide adequate teachers' salaries, students' stipends, and to maintain their facilities. To address the issue, many state institutions started to open commercial positions, which have been growing steadily since. Many private higher education institutions have emerged to address the need for a skilled work-force for high-tech and emerging industries and economic sectors. Health Russia's constitution guarantees free, universal health care for all citizens. While Russia has more physicians, hospitals, and health care workers than almost any other country in the world, since the collapse of the Soviet Union the health of the Russian population has declined considerably as a result of social, economic, and lifestyle changes. As of 2007, the average life expectancy in Russia is 61.5 years for males and 73.9 years for females. The average Russian life expectancy of 67.7 years at birth is 10.8 years shorter than the overall figure in the European Union. The biggest factor contributing to this relatively low life expectancy for males is a high mortality rate among working-age males from preventable causes (e.g., alcohol poisoning, stress, smoking, traffic accidents, violent crimes). Mortality among Russian men rose by 60% since 1991, four to five times higher than in Europe. As a result of the large difference in life expectancy between men and women and because of the lasting effect of World War II, where Russia lost more men than any other nation in the world, the gender imbalance remains to this day and there are 0.859 males to every female. Heart diseases account for 56.7% of total deaths, with about 30% involving people still of working age. About 16 million Russians suffer from cardiovascular diseases, placing Russia second in the world, after Ukraine, in this respect. Death rates from homicide, suicide and cancer are also especially high. According to a 2007 survey by Romir Monitoring, 52% of men and 15% of women smoke. More than 260,000 lives are lost each year as a result of tobacco use. HIV/AIDS, virtually non-existent in the Soviet era, rapidly spread following the collapse, mainly through the explosive growth of intravenous drug use. According to official statistics, there are currently more than 364,000 people in Russia registered with HIV, but independent experts place the number significantly higher. In increasing efforts to combat the disease, the government increased spending on HIV control measures 20-fold in 2006, and the 2007 budget doubled that of 2006. Since the Soviet collapse, there has also been a dramatic rise in both cases of and deaths from tuberculosis, with the disease being particularly widespread amongst prison inmates. In an effort to stem Russia’s demographic crisis, the government is implementing a number of programs designed to increase the birth rate and attract more migrants to alleviate the problem. The government has doubled monthly child support payments and offered a one-time payment of 250,000 Rubles (around US$10,000) to women who had a second child since 2007. In 2007, Russia saw the highest birth rate since the collapse of the USSR. The First Deputy PM also said about 20 billion rubles (about US$1 billion) will be invested in new prenatal centres in Russia in 2008–2009. Immigration is increasingly seen as necessary to sustain the country's population. Language Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages. According to the 2002 census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3 million and German with 2.9 million speakers. Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individual republics the right to make their native language co-official next to Russian. Despite its wide dispersal, the Russian language is homogeneous throughout Russia. Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken Slavic language. Russian belongs to the Indo-European language family and is one of three (or, according to some authorities, four) living members of the East Slavic languages; the others being Belarusian and Ukrainian (and possibly Rusyn). Written examples of Old East Slavic (Old Russian) are attested from the 10th century onwards. Over a quarter of the world's scientific literature is published in Russian. Russian is also applied as a means of coding and storage of universal knowledge—60–70% of all world information is published in English and Russian languages. The language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Religion Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, demolished during the Soviet period, was reconstructed from 1990–2000Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia’s traditional religions, deemed part of Russia's "historical heritage" in a law passed in 1997. Estimates of believers widely fluctuate among sources, and some reports put the number of non-believers in Russia as high as 16–48% of the population. Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in Russia. 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox Churches. However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Nonetheless, the church is widely respected by both believers and nonbelievers, who see it as a symbol of Russian heritage and culture. Smaller Christian denominations such as Roman Catholics, Armenian Gregorian and various Protestants exist. The ancestors of many of today’s Russians adopted Orthodox Christianity in the 10th century. The 2007 International Religious Freedom Report published by the US Department of State said that approximately 100 million citizens consider themselves Russian Orthodox Christians. According to a poll by the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 63% of respondents considered themselves Russian Orthodox, 6% of respondents considered themselves Muslim and less than 1% considered themselves either Buddhist, Catholic, Protestant or Jewish. Another 12% said they believe in God, but did not practice any religion, and 16% said they are non-believers. It is estimated that Russia is home to some 15–20 million Muslims. However, surveys say that there are only 7 to 9 million people who adhere to the Islamic faith in Russia. Russia also has an estimated 3 million to 4 million Muslim migrants from the ex-Soviet states. Most Muslims live in the Volga-Ural region, as well as in the North Caucasus, Moscow, Saint Petersburg and western Siberia. Buddhism is traditional for three regions of the Russian Federation: Buryatia, Tuva and Kalmykia. Some residents of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions, Yakutia, Chukotka, etc., practice pantheistic and pagan rites, along with the major religions. Induction into religion takes place primarily along ethnic lines. Slavs are overwhelmingly Orthodox Christian. Turkic speakers are predominantly Muslim, although several Turkic groups in Russia are not. Culture Classical music and ballet Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), composerRussia's large number of ethnic groups have distinctive traditions of folk music. Music in 19th century Russia was defined by the tension between classical composer Mikhail Glinka and his followers, who embraced Russian national identity and added religious and folk elements to their compositions, and the Russian Musical Society led by composers Anton and Nikolay Rubinstein, which was musically conservative. The later Romantic tradition of Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era whose music has come to be known and loved for its distinctly Russian character as well as its rich harmonies and stirring melodies, was brought into the 20th century by Sergei Rachmaninoff, one of the last great champions of the Romantic style of European classical music. World-renowned composers of the 20th century included Scriabin, Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, and Shostakovich. During most of the Soviet Era, music was highly scrutinized and kept within a conservative, accessible idiom in conformity with the Stalinist policy of socialist realism. Russian conservatories have turned out generations of world-renowned soloists. Among the best known are violinists David Oistrakh and Gidon Kremer, cellist Mstislav Rostropovich, pianists Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Gilels, and vocalist Galina Vishnevskaya. The Bolshoi Theatre. Currently, it is undergoing a four-year, $730 million restorationRussian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky composed the world's most famous works of ballet—Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and Sleeping Beauty. During the early 20th century, Russian dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame, and impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide. Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions, and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced one internationally famous star after another, including Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Kirov in Saint Petersburg remain famous throughout the world. Literature Russian literature is considered to be among the most influential and developed in the world, contributing much of the world's most famous literary works. Russia's literary history dates back to the 10th century and by the early 19th century a native tradition had emerged, producing some of the greatest writers of all time. This period began with Alexander Pushkin, considered to be the founder of modern Russian literature and often described as the "Russian Shakespeare". Amongst Russia's most renowned poets and writers of the 19th century are Anton Chekhov, Mikhail Lermontov, Leo Tolstoy, Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Ivan Goncharov, Mikhail Saltykov, Aleksey Pisemsky, and Nikolai Leskov made lasting contributions to Russian prose. Tolstoy and Dostoevsky in particular were titanic figures to the point that many literary critics have described one or the other as the greatest novelist ever. Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), writerBy the 1880s Russian literature had begun to change. The age of the great novelists was over and short fiction and poetry became the dominant genres of Russian literature for the next several decades which became known as the "Silver Age". Previously dominated by realism, symbolism dominated Russian literature in the years between 1893 and 1914. Leading writers of this age include Valery Bryusov, Andrei Bely, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Aleksandr Blok, Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Fyodor Sologub, Anna Akhmatova, Osip Mandelstam, Leonid Andreyev, Ivan Bunin and Maxim Gorky. Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the ensuing civil war, Russian cultural life in was left in chaos. Some established writers left Russia while a new generation of talented writers who had at least some sympathy for the ideals of the revolution was emerging. The most ardent of these joined together in writers organizations with the aim of creating a new and distinctive proletarian (working-class) culture appropriate to the new state. Throughout the 1920s writers enjoyed broad tolerance. In the 1930s censorship over literature was tightened in line with Joseph Stalin's policy of socialist realism. After his death several thaws took place and restrictions on literature were eased. By the 1970s and 1980s, writers were increasingly ignoring the guidelines of socialist realism. The leading writers of the Soviet era included Yevgeny Zamiatin, Isaac Babel, Ilf and Petrov, Yury Olesha, Vladimir Nabokov, Mikhail Bulgakov, Boris Pasternak, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mikhail Sholokhov, Yevgeny Yevtushenko and Andrey Voznesensky. Motion pictures The world's oldest film school, the Russian State Institute of CinematographyWhile in the industrialized nations of the West, motion pictures had first been accepted as a form of cheap recreation and leisure for the working class, Russian filmmaking came to prominence following the 1917 revolution when it explored editing as the primary mode of cinematic expression. Russian and later Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention in the period immediately following the 1917 revolution, resulting in world-renowned films such as Battleship Potemkin. Soviet-era filmmakers, most notably Sergei Eisenstein and Andrei Tarkovsky, would become some of the world's most innovative and influential directors. Eisenstein also was a student of filmmaker and theorist Lev Kuleshov, who formulated the groundbreaking editing process called montage at the world's first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography in Moscow. Dziga Vertov, whose kino-glaz (“film-eye”) theory—that the camera, like the human eye, is best used to explore real life—had a huge impact on the development of documentary film making and cinema realism. In 1932, Stalin made socialist realism the state policy; this stifled creativity but many Soviet films in this style were artistically successful, including Chapaev, The Cranes Are Flying and Ballad of a Soldier. Leonid Gaidai's comedies of the 1960s and 1970s were immensely popular, with many of the catch phrases still in use today. In 1969, Vladimir Motyl's White Sun of the Desert was released, starting a genre known as 'osterns'. The film is watched by cosmonauts before any trip into space. The 1980s and 1990s were a period of crisis in Russian cinema. Although Russian filmmakers became free to express themselves, state subsidies were drastically reduced, resulting in fewer films produced. The early years of the 21st century have brought increased viewership and subsequent prosperity to the industry on the back of the economy's rapid development, and production levels are already higher than in Britain and Germany. Russia's total box-office revenue in 2007 was $565 million, up 37% from the previous year (by comparison, in 1996 revenues stood at $6 million). Russian cinema continues to receive international recognition. Russian Ark (2002) was the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take. Visual arts Early Russian painting focused on icon painting and vibrant fresco's inherited by Russians from Byzantium. As Moscow rose to power, Theophanes the Greek and Andrei Rublev are vital names associated with the beginning of a distinctly Russian art. The Russian Academy of Arts was created in 1757, aimed to give Russian artists an international role and status. Notable portrait painters from the Academy include Ivan Argunov, Fyodor Rokotov, Dmitry Levitzky and Vladimir Borovikovsky. Realism flourished in the 19th century and the realists captured Russian identity. Russian landscapes of wide rivers, forests, and birch clearings, as well as vigorous genre scenes and robust portraits of their contemporaries asserted a sense of identity. Other artists focused on social criticism, showing the conditions of the poor and caricaturing authority while critical realism flourished under the reign of Alexander II. Rus': The Soul of the People by Mikhail Nesterov, symbolic of Russia's historical spiritual questAfter the abolition of serfdom in 1861 some artists made the circle of human suffering their focus. Artists sometimes created wide canvasses to depict dramatic moments in Russian history. The Peredvizhniki (wanderers) group of artists broke with Russian Academy and initiated a school of art liberated from Academic restrictions. Their paintings had deep social and political meaning. Leading realists include Ivan Shishkin, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ivan Kramskoi, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, and Ilya Repin. By the 1830s the Academy was sending painters overseas to learn. The most gifted of these were Aleksander Ivanov and Karl Briullov, both of whom were noted for the Romantic historical canvasses. Uniquely Russian styles of painting emerged by the late 19th century that was intimately engaged with the daily life of Russian society. The Russian avant-garde is an umbrella term used to define the large, influential wave of modernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930. The term covers many separate, but inextricably related, art movements that occurred at the time; namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, rayonism and futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, Vladimir Tatlin, Alexander Rodchenko, and Marc Chagall amongst others. The Russian avant-garde reached its creative and popular height in the period between the Russian Revolution of 1917 and 1932, at which point the ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged conservative Stalinist direction of socialist realism. The Motherland CallsBy the late 1920s the rigid policy of socialist realism enveloped the visual arts as it did literature and motion pictures and soon the avant-garde had faded from sight. Some artists combined innovation with socialist realism including Ernst Neizvestny, Ilya Kabakov, Mikhail Shemyakin, Erik Bulatov and Vera Mukhina. They employed techniques as varied as primitivism, hyperrealism, grotesque, and abstraction, but they shared a common distaste for the canons of socialist realism. Soviet artists produced works that were furiously patriotic and anti-fascist in the 1940s. Events and battles from the Great Patriotic War were depicted with stirring patriotism and after the war sculptors made many monuments to the war dead, the greatest of which have a great restrained solemnity. In the 20th century many Russian artists made their careers in Western Europe, due in part to the traumas of the Revolution. Russian artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, and Naum Gabo spread their work and ideas internationally. These Russian artists studied internationally in Paris and Munich and their involuntary exile spread the impact of Russian art globally. Sports The Ice Palace in Moscow was a venue for the 2007 Men's World Ice Hockey ChampionshipsRussians have been successful at a number of sports and continuously finishing in the top rankings at the Olympic Games. During the Soviet era, the national team placed first in the total number of medals won at 14 of its 18 appearances; with these performances, the USSR was the dominant Olympic power of its era. Since the 1952 Olympic Games, Soviet and later Russian athletes have always been in the top three for the number of gold medals collected at the Summer Olympics. The 1980 Summer Olympic Games were held in Moscow while the 2014 Winter Olympics will be hosted by Sochi. Soviet gymnasts, track-and-field athletes, weight lifters, wrestlers, cross country skiers, and boxers were consistently among the best in the world. Even since the collapse of the Soviet empire, Russian athletes have continued to dominate international competition in these areas. As in most of the world, Association football enjoys wide popularity in Russia. Although ice hockey was only introduced during the Soviet era, the national team soon dominated the sport internationally, winning gold at almost all the Olympics and World Championships they contested, most recently in the 2008 World Championship. Figure skating is another popular sport; in the 1960s, the Soviet Union rose to become a dominant power in figure skating, especially in pair skating and ice dancing. At every Winter Olympics from 1964 until the present day, a Soviet or Russian pair has won gold, often considered the longest winning streak in modern sports history. Since the end of the Soviet era, tennis has grown in popularity and Russia has produced a number of famous tennis players. Chess is a widely popular pastime; from 1927, Soviet and Russian chess grandmasters have held the world championship almost continuously. |
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