INTRODUCTION TO RUSSIA

Geography:
Russia, country in eastern Europe and northern Asia, bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean and on the east by the Pacific Ocean. Formerly the largest republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), Russia as it is today was established in 1991, but the history of the Russian empire extends back more than 1100 years. Russia's total area is 17,075,200 sq km (about 6,592,770 sq mi). The capital and largest city is Moscow.

Land and Resources
In geographic size, Russia is the largest country in the world, with more than one-ninth of the world's land area. The country can be divided into three broad geographic regions: European Russia, consisting of the territory west of the Ural Mountains;Siberia, stretching east from the Urals almost to the Pacific Ocean; and far eastern Russia, including the extreme southeast and the Pacific coast. European Russia is primarily a rocky, rolling plain with broad marshy areas. Its southern border includes the Caucasus Mountains, which extend between the Black Sea and Caspian Sea. The region ends in the east at the Ural Mountains. Siberia lies east of the Urals and begins as a flat, generally marshy or swampy area. The terrain rises gradually, going eastward through the rolling upland of the Central Siberian Platform. Rivers and deep canyons characterize this central region, which is rich in minerals. Far eastern Russia includes the East Siberia Uplands, which contain complex mountain systems culminating in steep, volcanic peaks near the Pacific Ocean. The Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands along the coast contain more than 200 volcanoes, more than 50 of which are currently active. Japan claims ownership of the southernmost Kuril Islands, but Russia disputes this claim.

Russia has the longest continuous coastline (37,650 km/23,400 mi) of any country in the world. Most of the coast borders waters that are frozen for many months of the year, so Russia has few year-round oceanic outlets. The country has numerous important rivers and lakes. The Caspian Sea in the south is actually a salt lake. It has the largest surface area of any lake in the world, 371,000 sq km (143,000 sq mi). The second largest body of water in Russia is Lake Baikal, which is the deepest freshwater lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1637 m (5371 ft).

Russia's climate is generally harsh, with long, cold winters and short, cool summers. The coldest winter temperatures occur in eastern Siberia; in January, temperatures there average -51^° C (-59^° F) and have reached -68^° C (-90^° F). Most of European Russia has a more temperate climate.

Natural vegetation and soils correspond with the country's distinct climate zones.Permafrost, or permanently frozen subsoil, is found throughout the northern region, providing limited sustenance to plants. Forests cover 45 percent of Russia, accounting for nearly one-fourth of the world's forest area. The boreal forest, or taiga, in the north contains the world's largest coniferous forest, representing about one-half of the earth's softwood timber. The lowland areas have a natural vegetation of grasslands with scattered groves of trees. Animal life is abundant and varied throughout many parts of Russia. Polar bears, seals, walruses, and reindeer live along the Arctic coast and the northern Pacific coast, and on the offshore islands. The southeastern forests are known for large Ussuri tigers, leopards, and bears.