The Russian Federation is the largest country on the planet. The area of the largest state is just over seventeen million square kilometers. This is approximately 11.5% of the entire earth's surface. Our country is located on the Eurasian continent and is crossed by nine time zones. Russia has a rich history, and the year 862 marks the beginning of national statehood.
Population and composition
Speaking about which state is the largest on the planet, it should be noted that gradation can also be made according to such an indicator as population. In this regard, China is the largest. As for our country, the total number of inhabitants who inhabit it is about 144 million people. Regardless of religion and nationality, all citizens of the Federation are officially called Russians. Representatives of more than two hundred nationalities, speaking one hundred different languages, live on the territory of the state. Speaking ofnational composition, it should be noted that approximately 81% of all residents are Russians, 3.87% are Tatars, 1.41% are Ukrainians, 1.15% are Bashkirs. In such an indicator as population density, the largest state in terms of area is in ninth place in the world. In terms of religion, Orthodoxy is the most widespread. To a much lesser extent, the inhabitants of the country adhere to Catholicism, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism.
Major cities
As for cities with a population of more than one million people, there are officially fourteen of them in Russia. Few people will be a secret that the largest of them is the capital of the country, Moscow. Based on the latest census, almost 11.5 million inhabitants live here. If we take into account unofficial (real) data, then this figure can be safely multiplied by one and a half or even two times. Other major cities include St. Petersburg, Volgograd, Vladivostok, Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Yakutsk and Kaliningrad.
Ports are of no small importance for the development of the economy of any country. The largest state in the world was no exception. The main ports on its territory are located in Arkhangelsk (White Sea), Kaliningrad, St. Petersburg, B altiysk, Vyborg (B altic Sea), Murmansk (Barents Sea), Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Pacific Ocean), Vladivostok (Sea of Japan), Astrakhan (Caspian Sea), Sochi (Black Sea), Taganrog (Azovsea).
Geography
Russia has the largest number of neighbors in the world. In particular, by sea it borders on four states, including the United States, Japan, Turkey and Sweden. In addition, there are fourteen other countries with which we have a land border. These include Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Finland, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Mongolia and North Korea.
The world's largest state, mainly lies on the plains and lowlands. Along with this, there are many large mountain ranges. Among them are the Sikhote-Alin and the Greater Caucasus ranges. It should be noted that the second of them divides the mainland into European and Asian parts. In addition, there are many volcanoes in Russia, some of which are active.
Transport system
The world's largest state has a fairly developed transport network. It includes more than 120 thousand kilometers of railways, one million kilometers of highways, about 230 thousand kilometers of pipelines (main), as well as over one hundred thousand kilometers of navigable river routes. Due to the harsh climate and huge size, the first of the above species is of paramount importance for the national economy. The main volume of all cargo work falls on it. Due to the short navigation period, water transport is not so important for the country's economy.
WhatAs for passenger transportation, there are subways in seven settlements. Many cities have trams and trolleybuses. In almost every, even the smallest, settlement, fixed-route taxis and buses run. When it comes to long-distance travel, the railroad is the most commonly used.
Climate
The world's largest state has a cold continental climate, which is typical for most of its territory. Spring and autumn are quite short here. Cold air currents that form over Antarctica have a great influence on the western and northern regions of the country. In addition, the movement of warm air masses from the Indian and Atlantic Oceans to Russia is hindered by mountain ranges located in the south and east. As a result, most areas experience severe winters.
Natural resource endowment
The largest state boasts the world's largest supply of fresh water. On its territory there is also the largest freshwater lake on Earth - Baikal. Its area is 31.7 thousand square kilometers. In addition, in Russia there are about a hundred thousand rivers of various sizes, including the Volga, the longest in Europe. The bowels of the earth on which the territory of the Russian Federation is located are very rich in minerals. The most valuable of them are natural gas and oil. It should be noted that in one quantity or another, both of these species are found in almost all regions.
Flora and fauna
Most of the plants(there are more than 25 thousand varieties in our state) are found in the Far East and the Caucasus. It is not surprising that the largest state is often called the “lungs of Europe”, because a significant amount of forest land is concentrated here. In addition, approximately 780 species of birds and 266 species of mammals live in Russia. Most often they are found in the taiga.
Approximately one tenth of all arable land in the world is located in the Russian Federation. In addition, we have concentrated almost half of all chernozems. At the same time, local farmers are constantly at risk, because their growing season lasts a maximum of four months, while in Europe and America it is almost nine.
