Russia Fact Summary Official Name. Russian Federation. Capital. Moscow. NATURAL FEATURES Natural Regions. East European Plain, West Siberian Plain, Central Siberian Plateau. Major Ranges. Altai, Carpathians, Caucasus, Cherskiy, Kolyma, Pamir, Sayan, Stanovoy, Tian Shan, Ural, Yablonovyy. Highest Peak. El'brus, 18,481 feet (5,633 meters). Major Rivers. Amur, Angara, Irtysh, Lena, Ob', Volga, Yenisey. Major Lakes. Baikal, Caspian Sea, Ladoga, Onega. Climate. Diversified tundra (along Arctic coast), long, bitter winters and short summers; taiga (north-central half of country), long, severe winters and short springs and summers; steppe (European Russia), cold winters and hot, dry summers; subtropical (Black Sea coast), heavy annual rainfall. PEOPLE Population (1991 estimate). 148,542,700; 22.5 persons per square mile (8.7 persons per square kilometer); 74 percent urban, 26 percent rural. Major Religions. Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Protestantism, Roman Catholicism, Judaism. Major Languages. Russian, Ukrainian. Literacy. About 99 percent of population. Major Cities (1991 estimate) Moscow (8,801,500). Capital of nation; industrial, cultural, political, scientific, and educational center (see Moscow). St. Petersburg (4,466,800). Major seaport, on Neva River; cultural, educational, and industrial center (see St. Petersburg). Novosibirsk (1,446,300). Administrative center of Novosibirsk province; industrial, educational, and scientific center; Akademgorodok science center (see Novosibirsk). Nizhni Novgorod (1,438,000). Manufacturing and educational center; fortress and cathedral (see Nizhni Novgorod). Ekaterinburg (1,375,400). Administrative, transportation, educational, and industrial center (see Ekaterinburg). Samara (1,257,300). Administrative, transportation, educational, and industrial center on Volga River (see Samara). Leading Universities. Moscow State University, St. Petersburg State University, Gorky State University.
GOVERNMENT Form of Government. Federal republic. Chief of State and Head of Government. President. Legislature. Congress of People's Deputies, with 845 members. Voting Qualification. Age 18. Political Divisions. 20 minority republics, 1 autonomous oblast, 10 autonomous okrugs, 6 krays, and 49 oblasts.
ECONOMY Chief Agricultural Products. Crops sugar beets, wheat, potatoes, barley, rye, oats, corn (maize), grapes, cabbage, seed cotton, dry peas, tomatoes, sunflowers. Livestock and fish sheep and goats, cattle, pigs, horses, poultry, freshwater fish and seafood. Chief Mined Products. Coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphate rock, salt, potash, bauxite, chromite, manganese, asbestos, magnesite, zinc, copper, lead, nickel, molybdenum. Chief Manufactured Products. Petroleum products, iron and steel, cement, mineral fertilizers, chemicals, food products, wood products, machine tools, food processing equipment, chemical equipment, petroleum equipment. Monetary Unit. 1 ruble = 100 kopecks.
PLACES OF INTEREST Bolshoi Theater of Opera and Ballet. In Moscow; internationally renowned company, founded 1776. Gorky Park of Culture and Leisure. In Moscow; largest of city parks, located on Moskva River; lawns, flowers, fun fair. Great Palace of Peter the Great. Near St. Petersburg, in Petrodvorets; built 1714-28, reconstructed in mid-1700s. Hermitage. In St. Petersburg; world renowned art museum, founded in 1764 by Catherine the Great as a court museum. Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater. In St. Petersburg. Kremlin. In Moscow; center of city, on bank of Moskva River; built in 12th century as fort; largest concentration of historic buildings in Russia. Lake Baikal. Near Irkutsk; world's largest lake, by volume; 390 miles (630 kilometers) long . Peter and Paul Fortress. In St. Petersburg; city's first structure, founded in 1703; Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul. Red Square. In Moscow; center for political events; originally a marketplace; St. Basil's Cathedral; nearby are Kremlin, Lenin Mausoleum, state historical museum.
