Russian Blog

Russia or the Russian Federation is a great country extending over much of northern Eurasia. It is a federation and a presidential republic comprising 84 federal subjects. Russia borders on sixteen countries. Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea, and also has sea-borders with the USA and Japan.

At about 17 million square kilometers, 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 eastern part of Europe, spanning 11 time zones and including a great range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world’s largest forest reserves, mineral and energy resources, its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world’s unfrozen fresh water. On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of Russia the climate is temperate and continental. There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. There are several steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.

Russia has a rich cultural heritage that is expressed in the cities of Moscow with its Tretyakov Gallery, Bolshoi Theatre or the Kremlin, and Saint Petersburg on the river Neva, close to the Baltic Sea, with its famous “white nights”, the art collections of the Hermitage Museum and the Russian Museum.

St Petersburg is proud of its rich architecture that includes the cathedral of the Peter-Paul Fortress, the Summer Palace, the Winter Palace, the Smolny Convent, the Kazan and St. Isaac’s cathedrals, the Smolny Institute, the new Admiralty, and the Senate.

The «Golden Ring» is also a very popular tourist route. It includes towns and villages in the north-eastern part of the former State of Muscovy. It is rich in historical and architectural monuments. Among the most notable towns of the «Golden Ring» route are Pereslavl-Zalessky, Rostov Veliky, Borisoglebsky, Uglich, Kostroma, known for their elaborate churches and cathedrals, Yaroslavl, Vladimir, Suzdal, and others. The richness and brightness of Russian culture are embodied in very interesting and unique art, literature and classical music which have influenced greatly the world culture.

The very rich cultural heritage and rather tumultuous history of Russia make the country attractive and worth visiting.