diff --git "a/781cbbb6-1050-46d6-8aae-7ded2c939ba6.json" "b/781cbbb6-1050-46d6-8aae-7ded2c939ba6.json" new file mode 100644--- /dev/null +++ "b/781cbbb6-1050-46d6-8aae-7ded2c939ba6.json" @@ -0,0 +1,40 @@ +{ + "interaction_id": "781cbbb6-1050-46d6-8aae-7ded2c939ba6", + "search_results": [ + { + "page_name": "The Biggest Cities in Russia | Russia lounge", + "page_url": "https://russialounge.com/the-biggest-cities-in-russia/", + "page_snippet": "Russia is the biggest country in the world, but not many people know where the 146,8 million Russians live. Of course, most people have heard of the country\u2019s biggest city (Moscow) and the second biggest city (Saint Petersburg). But not many people will be able to tell which are the third, ...Russia is the biggest country in the world, but not many people know where the 146,8 million Russians live. Of course, most people have heard of the country\u2019s biggest city (Moscow) and the second biggest city (Saint Petersburg). But not many people will be able to tell which are the third, fourth and fifth biggest cities in Russia. Russia is the biggest country in the world, but not many people know where the 146,8 million Russians live. Of course, most people have heard\u2026 But when people ask which city is the biggest they won\u2019t always have population in mind. In some cases they may have territory in mind. That\u2019s why we also offer you a list of the largest Russian cities measured in terms of territory. Back to top Obviously population is only one way to measure which cities are the biggest. Sometimes people find it more important which city occupies the largest territory. But if we look at total area instead of population, we don\u2019t see any big surprises for Russia: the two biggest cities in terms of population are also the biggest in term of territory.", + "page_result": "\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\n\tThe Biggest Cities in Russia | Russia lounge\n\t\t\r\n\t\r\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
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Russia lounge

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The Biggest Cities In Russia

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\n\t\t\t\t Written by Ivo van Rhijn in Uncategorized\t\t\t
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Russia is the biggest country in the world, but not many people know where the 146,8 million Russians live. Of course, most people have heard of the country’s biggest city (Moscow) and the second biggest city (Saint Petersburg). But not many people will be able to tell which are the third, fourth and fifth biggest cities in Russia.

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So which are the biggest cities in Russia? According to the latest data available (which is from 2018), there are officially 15 Russian cities with over one million inhabitants. Moscow and Saint Petersburg are still number 1 and 2 respectively. The third-largest city in the country is Novosibirsk.

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But when people ask which city is the biggest they won\u2019t always have population in mind. In some cases they may have territory in mind. That\u2019s why we also offer you a list of the largest Russian cities measured in terms of territory.

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And maybe all these lists and numbers don’t mean much to you. That’s why we also offer you a comparative rating of the biggest cities in Russia with the biggest cities in the US. Both by size and by population. In this way we hope to offer you a comprehensive overview.

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But maybe even more interesting, at least to some of our readers, will be the comparison between the biggest cities in Russia and the biggest cities in China.

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On This Page

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Because at Russialounge we’ve noticed that many sites present old data to their readers we decided to give you the most recent data here:

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The 30 Biggest Cities in Russia by Population

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CityNumber of inhabitants in 2018
1Moscow12 506 468
2Saint Petersburg5 351 935
3Novosibirsk1 612 833
4Yekaterinburg1 468 833
5Nizhny Novgorod1 259 013
6Kazan1 243 500
7Chelyabinsk1 202 371
8Omsk1 172 070
9Samara1 163 399
10Rostov-on-Don1 130 305
11Ufa1 120 547
12Krasnoyarsk1 090 811
13Perm1 051 583
14Voronezh1 047 549
15Volgograd1 013 533
16Krasnodar899 541
17Saratov844 858
18Tyumen768 358
19Tolyatti707 408
20Izhevsk648 213
21Barnaul632 372
22Ulyanovsk626 540
23Irkutsk623 869
24Khabarovsk618 150
25Yaroslavl608 722
26Vladivostok604 901
27Makhachkala596 356
28Tomsk574 002
29Orenburg564 773
30Kemerovo558 973
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source

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15 Russian cities with over a million inhabitants

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As I mentioned, there are currently 15 Russian cities with over 1 million inhabitants. But why is this important? Well, first of all 1 million is an important psychological border. It sounds like a lot. At least to me it does. But secondly, during the era of the Soviet Union it was thought that cities with over one million inhabitants have the right to get a subway. This was never a formal commitment though and whether a city would receive such an important infrastructural project or not would also largely depend on the networking that the head of the region was putting in for such a project. Nevertheless in modern Russia, acquiring the status of a city with over a million inhabitants is still something that local government tries to achieve.

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The 30 Largest Cities in Russia By Area

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Back to top
Obviously population is only one way to measure which cities are the biggest. Sometimes people find it more important which city occupies the largest territory. But if we look at total area instead of population, we don’t see any big surprises for Russia: the two biggest cities in terms of population are also the biggest in term of territory. There is a big gap between the number 1, Moscow and the number 2 (Saint Petersburg).

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CityTotal area (km2)Total area (sq ml)
1Moscow2561,5989
2Saint Petersburg1439555.6
3Volgograd859,4331.8
4Perm799,68308.8
5Ufa707,93273.3
6Tyumen698269.5
7Ulyanovsk622,46240.3
8Orsk621239.8
9Kazan614,16237.1
10Voronezh596,51230.3
11Omsk566,9218.9
12Samara541,4209
13Chita534206.2
14Novosibirsk506,67195.6
15Chelyabinsk501,57193.7
16Makhachkala468,13180.7
17Yekaterinburg468180.7
18Bratsk428165.3
19Novokuznetsk424,27163.8
20Dzerzhinsk421,53162.6
21Nizhny Novgorod410,68158.6
22Saratov393,98152.1
23Kurgan393,03151.7
24Magnitogorsk392,35151.5
25Khabarovsk388,74150.1
26Ulan-Ude377,12145.6
27Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky362,14139.8
28Surgut353,98136.7
29Krasnoyarsk353,9136.6
30Rostov-on-Don348,5134.6
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No, number 8 is not a misspelling. It’s quite funny though that the name of the 8th largest Russian city by population (Omsk) is so similar to the 8th largest city by area (Orsk).

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A Short Description of the 10 Most Populated Cities in Russia

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1 Moscow

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Moscow is in a category of its own in Russia. This is the case when you look at the city’s size, its population and its wealth. No city in Russia can really stand the comparison with Moscow.

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A picture I took from the Ulitsa Borodinsky Bridge in Moscow. This is a bridge across the Moscow river at Moscow’s Kiev Station. Moscow is a true metropolis.
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2 Saint Petersburg

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Saint Petersburg used to be the capital of Russia until the communists decided to move the country’s capital city back to Moscow. Saint Petersburg is huge, but not as huge as Moscow.

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A picture I took of a large apartment building that is typical for the suburbs of Saint Petersburg. Many people who visit the city centre are unaware that this is actually what a large part of the city looks like.
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3 Novosibirsk

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Novosibirsk is the third biggest city of Russia in terms of population, but if you look at territory it only occupies the 14th place in the ranking. Of course the difference in population between the number 2 of Russia (Saint Petersburg with 5,3 million) and the number 3 (Novosibirsk with 1,6 million is very significant. This is probably the reason why many people claim that in Russia there are only 2 cities: Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

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Novosibirsk is a fairly young city, it was founded only in 1893 on the river Ob (which is a nice name for a river). But the city has steadily grown and during Stalin’s industrialization efforts the city became the main industrial centre of Siberia. During the 2nd world war a lot of factories in western Russia were relocated to Novosibirsk, giving a further impulse to the city’s industrial potential.

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Besides industrial achievements, Novosibirsk is also known for academic achievements. On a short distance from the centre of the city, you can find Akademgorodok, the main hub for Siberian sciences.

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A girl sitting on the river Ob embankment in Novosibirsk
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4 Yekaterinburg

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Yekaterinburg is the fourth biggest city in terms of population in Russia and the second biggest city in Siberia. It is located 1.549 km to the west of the largest city in Siberia, which is Novosibirsk. Since the furter to the east Russian land is located, the later it was colonized, it is, therefore, logical that Yekaterinburg was founded much earlier (in 1723 to be exact) than its bigger brother in the east (which was founded only in 1893).

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During the reign of Catherine the Great, the Siberian route, the main road that was to connect Russia to Asia went through the city. The role of the city was envisaged to be the Russian ‘window on Asia’ (an analogy with Saint Petersburg, which was envisaged to be Russia’s ‘window to Europe’.

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During communist times Yekaterinburg was renamed ‘Sverdlovsk’ , after the communist leader Yakov Sverdlovsk. The region in which Yekaterinburg is located is still called the Sverdlovsk Oblast.

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Nowadays Yekaterinburg is one of the most important economical centers of Russia. The average salaries in the region are not that impressive though, as you can check in my blog post about the normal Russian salary.

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5 Nizhny Novgorod

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Nizhny means ‘lower’ in Russian. So, the fact that this particular Novgorod is the lower one already suggests that there is more than one Novgorod in Russia. So you’d better be careful when purchasing a bus or a train ticket. Don’t be lazy and say the city’s full name, otherwise, you might end up in the wrong place!

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Nizhny Novogorod, is an old city that was founded already in 1221 by Prince Yuri II of Vladimir. During the 19th century Nizhny became an important trading center in Russia. The author Maxim Gorky is from Nizhny and during Soviet times the city bore his name: Gorky.

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6 Kazan

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The difference between the number 5 by population, Nizhny Novgorod and the number 6, Kazan, is not significant. These are both cities with a little over a million inhabitants.

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Where Kazan may not be able to distinguish itself in terms of numbers of inhabitants, it certainly is a city with a character of its own. You see, Kazan is a city with a very rich history. It used to be an important city within the golden horde. What is the golden horde you may ask? The golden horde was a huge empire ruled by Mongol conquerors of western, nowadays Russian, territory. The Mongol tribes used to have shamanistic beliefs, but at a later point they adopted islam. Nowadays, the Tartarstan region, of which Kazan is the capital has an estimated 38% muslim population.

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7 Chelyabinsk

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In their summer hit from 2016, drinking in Saint Petersburg (v Pitere pit’) the Saint Petersburg based rock group Leningrad sang that in Chelyabinks the best thing to is to get high. Admittedly, this was merely a funny comparison, in different Russian cities it was supposedly best to take the local drug of choice, but in Saint Petersburg it’s best to drink. Here is the clip.

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A great clip
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People from Chelyabinsk however didn’t take the joke very well. They took offense.

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Chelyabinsk is famous as a worker’s city. It’s a big industrial centre and the most important city in the Southern Ural region. Because of the omnipresence of heavy industry in and around the city, the air in the city is logically not of very good quality.

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With the development of Russia’s railways, Chelyabinsk’s strategic location on the road to Siberia made people call the city ‘the gate to Siberia’.

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8 Omsk

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Omsk is often confused with the city of Tomsk (ranking 28th by population in Russia), admittedly by myself too. But when you realise that Omsk has twice the population of Tomsk you realise this is not fair to Omsk. Maybe because Tomsk has got the extra letter, people assume that it’s also the bigger city, but that’s not the case.

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Omsk was founded in 1716 and owes its name to the river Om (\u041e\u043c\u044c). Close to this place the Om confluences into the larger Irtysh river.

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During the lifetime of Peter the Great many resources were spend in the hope to find gold at this place, at the crossing of the 2 rivers, but without the desired result.

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Omsk has a real land climate. In winter the temperature can reach -40 degrees (both Celsius and Fahrenheit) and in summer temperature can go up to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (40 degrees Celsius).

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9 Samara

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Many years ago I was staying at a hostel in Moscow and I remember a guy from Samara passionately arguing that the most beautiful Russian girls are from Samara. Later I had the chance to visit Samara myself and I must say the girls there are very beautiful indeed. But I don’t know whether they are the most beautiful.

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Like some other large Russian cities, like for example Volgograd, Samara was built alongside the Volga river. In length the city stretches out along this river for 31 miles (50 km), it has a width of about 12.4 miles (20 km). Quite a solid size, so it’s not surprising that Samara also ranks number 12 in the rating of largest Russian cities by area.

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10 Rostov-on-Don

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Rostov-on-Don, in Russian music and semi-criminal jargon also known as Rostov-papa, which means Rostov-dad. Probably Rostov was called the dad, because criminal youth from Rostov didn’t have good relations with Odessa. And the nickname for Odessa is Odessa-mama, meaning Odessa the man. Using the argument of the righteousness of patriarchy, the people from Rostov would they were more important than Odessa, since they represented the male role.

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Rostov-on-Don is a southern city in Russia, at the crosspoint of the Caucasus mountains with the East European Plain. The Don river runs through the city and to that river the city owes part of its name. The part of its name the city owes to the Russian saint Dmitry Rostov.

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In summer it’s great to take a boat trip on the Don River, supposedly. I haven’t been to Rostov myself yet, but would love to go and write an article about the city.

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A Comparison of the Biggest Cities in the USA and Russia by Population

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I think it’s interesting to make a comparison between the biggest cities in the biggest country in the world (Russia) and the biggest economy in the world (the USA). When you look at the table it seems like the biggest cities in the US and Russia are very similar in size.

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Russian cityPopulationAmerican CityPopulation
1Moscow12 506 468New York City8 398 748
2Saint Petersburg5 351 935 Los Angeles3 990 456
3Novosibirsk1 612 833 Chicago 2 705 994
4Yekaterinburg1 468 833 Houston2 325 502
5Nizhny Novgorod1 259 013 Phoenix1 660 272
6Kazan1 243 500 Philadelphia1 584 138
7Chelyabinsk1 202 371 San Antonio1 532 233
8Omsk1 172 070 San Diego1 425 976
9Samara1 163 399 Dallas1 345 047
10Rostov-on-Don1 130 305 San Jose1 030 119
11Ufa1 120 547 Austin964 254
12Krasnoyarsk1 090 811 Jacksonville903 889
13Perm1 051 583 Fort Worth 895 008
14Voronezh1 047 549 Columbus892 533
15Volgograd1 013 533 San Francisco883 305
16Krasnodar899 541 Charlotte 872 498
17Saratov844 858 Indianapolis867 125
18Tyumen768 358 Seattle744 955
19Tolyatti707 408Denver716 492
20Izhevsk648 213 Washington702 455
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A Comparison of the Biggest Cities in the USA and Russia by Area

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When you compare the biggest cities by area in Russia and the USA you see a different dynamic. Whereas in Russia a lot of the biggest cities by population reappear in the list of biggest cities by area, in the US this dynamic is different. In fact to be honest, I was quite surprised about this.

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Russian cityTotal area (sq ml)American cityTotal area (sq ml)
1Moscow989
(2 651,5 km2)		Sitka (Alaska)4,811.4
(12 461 km2)
2Saint Petersburg555.6
(1 439 km2)		Juneau (Alaska)3,253.9
(8,428 km2)
3Volgograd331.8
(859,4 km2)		Wrangell (Alaska) 3,462.1
(8,967 km2)
4Perm308.8
(799,68 km2)		Anchorage (Alaska) 1,961.0
(5 079 km2)
5Ufa273.3
(707,93 km2)		Jacksonville874.6
(2 265 km2)
6Tyumen269.5
(698 km2)		Anaconda (Montana)741.2
(1 920 km2)
7Ulyanovsk240.3
(621 km2)		Butte (Montana)716.8
(1 857 km2)
8Orsk239.8
(621 km2)		 Houston627.5
(1 625 km2)
9Kazan237.1
(614,16 km2)
Oklahoma City
620.8
(1 608 km2)
10Voronezh230.3
(596,5 km2) 		Phoenix517.9
(1 341 km2)
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A Comparison Between the Biggest Cities in Russia and the Biggest Cities in China by Population

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So, at least in terms of population of their cities, the US and Russia are quite similar. What happens, however when you compare the biggest cities by population in Russia with the cities in China? Within a glance it becomes obvious that Russian cities (and also US cities) are dwarfed by the sheer size of the biggest cities in China.

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Probably these huge cities in China are not so good for living though. I’ve been to China for the last time over a decade ago and already then I found the cities to be ‘too much’. And that is coming from a person who loves big cities for all they have to offer. source

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Russian cityPopulationChinese CityPopulation
1Moscow12 506 468Shanghai26 317 104
2Saint Petersburg5 351 935 Beijing21 542 000
3Novosibirsk1 612 833 Guangzhou14 904 400
4Yekaterinburg1 468 833 Shenzhen10 358 381
5Nizhny Novgorod1 259 013 Tianjin 9 583 277
6Kazan1 243 500 Wuhan7 541 527
7Chelyabinsk1 202 371 Dongguan7 271 322
8Omsk1 172 070 Chengdu7,112,045
9Samara1 163 399 Foshan6 771 895
10Rostov-on-Don1 130 305 Chongqing6 263 790
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Conclusion

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I hope this blog post gave you a good understanding of what the biggest cities in Russia are. In some ways these numbers don’t tell so much though. Sometimes in Russia a city of a couple of hundred thousand inhabitants has very little infrastructure. And the infrastructure in a bigger city might only be comparable to the infrastructure in a smaller sized European city.

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But of course numbers do tell us something. Especially when we compare the number of inhabitants in the biggest Chinese cities with those in the biggest Russian cities. Here the numbers do speak for themselves. Which Russian cities mentioned in this article have you visited? Leave a comment below.

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\r\n\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\t\t\r\n\n\n\n", + "page_last_modified": "" + }, + { + "page_name": "Russia - The World Factbook", + "page_url": "https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/russia/", + "page_snippet": "refugees (country of origin): 1,212,585 ... note - Russia's stateless population consists of Roma, Meskhetian Turks, and ex-Soviet citizens from the former republics; between 2003 and 2010 more than 600,000 stateless people were naturalized; most Meskhetian Turks, followers of Islam with origins in Georgia, fled or were evacuated from Uzbekistan after a 1989 pogrom and have lived in Russia ...refugees (country of origin): 1,212,585 (Ukraine) (as of 30 June 2023) IDPs: 7,500 (2022) stateless persons: 56,960 (mid-year 2021); note - Russia's stateless population consists of Roma, Meskhetian Turks, and ex-Soviet citizens from the former republics; between 2003 and 2010 more than 600,000 stateless people were naturalized; most Meskhetian Turks, followers of Islam with origins in Georgia, fled or were evacuated from Uzbekistan after a 1989 pogrom and have lived in Russia for more than the required five-year residency period; they continue to be denied registration for citizenship and basic rights by local Krasnodar Krai authorities on the grounds that they are temporary illegal migrants \u00b7 tier rating: Tier 3 \u2014 Russia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Russia remained on Tier 3; despite the lack of significant efforts, the government facilitated the return of Russian children from Devastating defeats and food shortages in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the ROMANOV Dynasty. The communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. State Duma - United Russia 50.9%, CPRF 19.3%, LDPR 7.7%, A Just Russia 7.6%, New People 5.3% other minor parties and independents 9.2%; seats by party - United Russia 324, CPRF 57, LDPR 21, A Just Russia 27, New People 13; Rodina 1, CP 1, Party of Growth 1, independent 5; composition as of April 2023 - men 376, women 74, percent of women 16.4%; note - total Federal Assembly percent of women 17.8% note 1: the State Duma now includes 3 representatives from the \"Republic of Crimea,\" while the Federation Council includes 2 each from the \"Republic of Crimea\" and the \"Federal City of Sevastopol,\" both regions that Russia occupied and attempted to annex from Ukraine and that the US does not recognize as part of Russia Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Devastating defeats and food shortages in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the ROMANOV Dynasty.", + "page_result": "Russia - The World Factbook
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Introduction

Background

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Devastating defeats\u00a0and food shortages\u00a0in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the ROMANOV Dynasty. The communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. After defeating Germany in World War II as part of an alliance with the US (1939-1945), the USSR expanded its territory and influence in Eastern Europe and emerged as a global power. The USSR was the principal adversary of the US during the Cold War (1947-1991). The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the decades following Stalin's rule, until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991\u00a0led to the dissolution of\u00a0the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent states.

Following economic and political turmoil during President Boris YELTSIN's term (1991-99), Russia shifted toward a centralized authoritarian state under President Vladimir PUTIN (2000-2008, 2012-present) in which the regime seeks to legitimize its rule through managed elections, populist appeals, a foreign policy focused on enhancing the country's geopolitical influence, and commodity-based economic growth.

In 2014, Russia purported to annex Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula and occupied large portions of two eastern Ukrainian oblasts. In desultory fighting over the next eight years, more than 14,000 civilians were killed or wounded as a result of the Russian invasion in eastern Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, Russia escalated its conflict with Ukraine by invading the country on several fronts in what has become the largest conventional military attack on a sovereign state in Europe since World War II. The invasion has received near universal international condemnation, and many countries have imposed sanctions on Russia and supplied humanitarian and military aid to Ukraine. Russia made substantial gains in the early weeks of the invasion but underestimated Ukrainian resolve and combat capabilities. By the end of 2022, Ukrainian forces had regained all territories in the north and northeast of their country and made some advances in the east and south. Nonetheless, Russia in late September 2022 unilaterally declared its annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts - Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia - even though none were fully under Russian control. The annexations remain unrecognized by the international community.










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Definitions and Notes

Geography

Location

North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean, extending from Eastern Europe (the portion west of the Urals) to the North Pacific Ocean

Geographic coordinates

60 00 N, 100 00 E

Area

total: 17,098,242 sq km

land: 16,377,742 sq km

water: 720,500 sq km

comparison ranking: total 1

Area - comparative

approximately 1.8 times the size of the US

Area comparison map:
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\"Area

Land boundaries

total: 22,407 km

border countries (14): Azerbaijan 338 km; Belarus 1,312 km; China (southeast) 4,133 km and China (south) 46 km; Estonia 324 km; Finland 1,309 km; Georgia 894 km; Kazakhstan 7,644 km; North Korea 18 km; Latvia 332 km; Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 261 km; Mongolia 3,452 km; Norway 191 km; Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 209 km; Ukraine 1,944 km

Coastline

37,653 km

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

contiguous zone: 24 nm

exclusive economic zone: 200 nm

continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate

ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain

broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Elevation

highest point: Gora El'brus (highest point in Europe) 5,642 m

lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m

mean elevation: 600 m

Natural resources

wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, bauxite, reserves of rare earth elements, timber; note - formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Land use

agricultural land: 13.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 7.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 5.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 49.4% (2018 est.)

other: 37.5% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land

43,000 sq km (2012)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Baikal - 31,500 sq km; Lake Ladoga - 18,130 sq km; Lake Onega - 9,720 sq km; Lake Khanka (shared with China) - 5,010 sq km; Lake Peipus - 4,300 sq km (shared with Estonia); Ozero Vygozero - 1,250 sq km; Ozero Beloye - 1,120 sq km

salt water lake(s): Caspian Sea (shared with Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan) - 374,000 sq km; Ozero Malyye Chany - 2,500 sq km; Curonian Lagoon (shared with Lithuania) - 1,620 sq km
note - the Caspian Sea is the World's largest lake

Major rivers (by length in km)

Yenisey-Angara - 5,539 km; Ob-Irtysh - 5,410 km;\u00a0 Amur river mouth (shared with China [s] and Mongolia) - 4,444 km; Lena - 4,400 km; Volga - 3,645 km; Kolyma - 2,513 km; Ural river source (shared with Kazakhstan [m]) - 2,428 km; Dnepr (Dnieper) river source (shared with Belarus and Ukraine [m]) - 2,287 km; Don - 1,870 km; Pechora - 1,809 km
note \u2013 [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Arctic Ocean drainage: Kolyma (679,934 sq km), Lena (2,306,743 sq km), Ob (2,972,493 sq km), Pechora (289,532 sq km), Yenisei (2,554,388 sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea)\u00a0Don (458,694 sq km), Dnieper (533,966 sq km)
Pacific Ocean drainage: Amur (1,929,955 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: (Caspian Sea basin) Volga (1,410,951 sq km)

Major aquifers

Angara-Lena Basin, Pechora Basin, North Caucasus Basin, East European Aquifer System, West Siberian Basin, Tunguss Basin, Yakut Basin

Population distribution

population is heavily concentrated in the westernmost fifth of the country extending from the Baltic Sea, south to the Caspian Sea, and eastward parallel to the Kazakh border; elsewhere, sizeable pockets are isolated and generally found in the south

Natural hazards

permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia

volcanism: significant volcanic activity on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands; the peninsula alone is home to some 29 historically active volcanoes, with dozens more in the Kuril Islands; Kliuchevskoi (4,835 m), which erupted in 2007 and 2010, is Kamchatka's most active volcano; Avachinsky and Koryaksky volcanoes, which pose a threat to the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Bezymianny, Chikurachki, Ebeko, Gorely, Grozny, Karymsky, Ketoi, Kronotsky, Ksudach, Medvezhia, Mutnovsky, Sarychev Peak, Shiveluch, Tiatia, Tolbachik, and Zheltovsky; see note 2 under "Geography - note"

Geography - note

note 1: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture

note 2: Russia's far east, particularly the Kamchatka Peninsula, lies along the Ring of Fire, a belt of active volcanoes and earthquake epicenters bordering the Pacific Ocean; up to 90% of the world's earthquakes and some 75% of the world's volcanoes occur within the Ring of Fire

note 3: Mount El'brus is Europe's tallest peak; Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, is estimated to hold one fifth of the world's fresh surface water

note 4: Kaliningrad oblast is an exclave annexed from Germany following World War II (it was formerly part of East Prussia); its capital city of Kaliningrad - formerly Koenigsberg - is the only Baltic port in Russia that remains ice free in the winter

People and Society

Population

141,698,923 (2023 est.)

comparison ranking: 9

Nationality

noun: Russian(s)

adjective: Russian

Ethnic groups

Russian 77.7%, Tatar 3.7%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Bashkir 1.1%, Chuvash 1%, Chechen 1%, other 10.2%, unspecified 3.9% (2010 est.)

note: nearly 200 national and/or ethnic groups are represented in Russia's 2010 census

Languages

Russian (official) 85.7%, Tatar 3.2%, Chechen 1%, other 10.1%; note - data represent native language spoken (2010 est.)

major-language sample(s):
\u041a\u043d\u0438\u0433\u0430 \u0444\u0430\u043a\u0442\u043e\u0432 \u043e \u043c\u0438\u0440\u0435 \u2013 \u043d\u0435\u0437\u0430\u043c\u0435\u043d\u0438\u043c\u044b\u0439 \u0438\u0441\u0442\u043e\u0447\u043d\u0438\u043a \u0431\u0430\u0437\u043e\u0432\u043e\u0439 \u0438\u043d\u0444\u043e\u0440\u043c\u0430\u0446\u0438\u0438. (Russian)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Russian audio sample:

Religions

Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.)

note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of official atheism under Soviet rule; Russia officially recognizes Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as the country's traditional religions

Age structure

0-14 years: 16.86% (male 12,270,830/female 11,614,990)

15-64 years: 65.99% (male 45,292,734/female 48,217,551)

65 years and over: 17.15% (2023 est.) (male 8,008,126/female 16,294,692)

2023 population pyramid:
\"\"
\"2023

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 50

youth dependency ratio: 26.6

elderly dependency ratio: 23.4

potential support ratio: 4.3 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 41.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 39 years

female: 44.2 years

comparison ranking: total 48

Population growth rate

-0.48% (2023 est.)

comparison ranking: 221

Birth rate

8.5 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

comparison ranking: 211

Death rate

14.1 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

comparison ranking: 9

Net migration rate

0.8 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

comparison ranking: 71

Population distribution

population is heavily concentrated in the westernmost fifth of the country extending from the Baltic Sea, south to the Caspian Sea, and eastward parallel to the Kazakh border; elsewhere, sizeable pockets are isolated and generally found in the south

Urbanization

urban population: 75.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.11% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - population

12.680 million MOSCOW (capital), 5.561 million Saint Petersburg, 1.695 million Novosibirsk, 1.528 million Yekaterinburg, 1.292 million Kazan, 1.251 million Nizhniy Novgorod (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.49 male(s)/female

total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth

25.2 years (2013 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

14 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

comparison ranking: 138

Infant mortality rate

total: 6.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 7.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 5.9 deaths/1,000 live births

comparison ranking: total 162

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 72 years (2023 est.)

male: 67.2 years

female: 77.2 years

comparison ranking: total population 162

Total fertility rate

1.51 children born/woman (2023 est.)

comparison ranking: 199

Gross reproduction rate

0.74 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

68% (2011)

note: percent of women aged 15-44

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 99.1% of population

rural: 93.1% of population

total: 97.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 0.9% of population

rural: 6.9% of population

total: 2.4% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

7.6% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

3.82 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

7.1 beds/1,000 population (2018)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 95.2% of population

rural: 72.3% of population

total: 89.4% of population

unimproved: urban: 4.8% of population

rural: 27.7% of population

total: 10.6% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, tickborne encephalitis

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

23.1% (2016)

comparison ranking: 70

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 7.29 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 3.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0.97 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 3.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0.12 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

comparison ranking: total 56

Tobacco use

total: 26.8% (2020 est.)

male: 40.8% (2020 est.)

female: 12.8% (2020 est.)

comparison ranking: total 41

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 0.3%

women married by age 18: 6.2% (2017 est.)

Education expenditures

3.7% of GDP (2020 est.)

comparison ranking: 132

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 99.7%

male: 99.7%

female: 99.7% (2018)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

total: 16 years

male: 16 years

female: 16 years (2019)

Environment

Environment - current issues

air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; nuclear waste disposal; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides

Environment - international agreements

party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protection, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping-London Convention, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling

signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94

Climate

ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Land use

agricultural land: 13.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 7.3% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.1% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 5.7% (2018 est.)

forest: 49.4% (2018 est.)

other: 37.5% (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 75.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 0.11% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Revenue from forest resources

0.29% of GDP (2018 est.)

comparison ranking: 81

Revenue from coal

0.53% of GDP (2018 est.)

comparison ranking: 11

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 8.88 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 1,732.03 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 851.52 megatons (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 60 million tons (2012 est.)

municipal solid waste recycled annually: 2.7 million tons (2012 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled: 4.5% (2012 est.)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Baikal - 31,500 sq km; Lake Ladoga - 18,130 sq km; Lake Onega - 9,720 sq km; Lake Khanka (shared with China) - 5,010 sq km; Lake Peipus - 4,300 sq km (shared with Estonia); Ozero Vygozero - 1,250 sq km; Ozero Beloye - 1,120 sq km

salt water lake(s): Caspian Sea (shared with Iran, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan) - 374,000 sq km; Ozero Malyye Chany - 2,500 sq km; Curonian Lagoon (shared with Lithuania) - 1,620 sq km
note - the Caspian Sea is the World's largest lake

Major rivers (by length in km)

Yenisey-Angara - 5,539 km; Ob-Irtysh - 5,410 km;\u00a0 Amur river mouth (shared with China [s] and Mongolia) - 4,444 km; Lena - 4,400 km; Volga - 3,645 km; Kolyma - 2,513 km; Ural river source (shared with Kazakhstan [m]) - 2,428 km; Dnepr (Dnieper) river source (shared with Belarus and Ukraine [m]) - 2,287 km; Don - 1,870 km; Pechora - 1,809 km
note \u2013 [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Arctic Ocean drainage: Kolyma (679,934 sq km), Lena (2,306,743 sq km), Ob (2,972,493 sq km), Pechora (289,532 sq km), Yenisei (2,554,388 sq km)
Atlantic Ocean drainage: (Black Sea)\u00a0Don (458,694 sq km), Dnieper (533,966 sq km)
Pacific Ocean drainage: Amur (1,929,955 sq km)
Internal (endorheic basin) drainage: (Caspian Sea basin) Volga (1,410,951 sq km)

Major aquifers

Angara-Lena Basin, Pechora Basin, North Caucasus Basin, East European Aquifer System, West Siberian Basin, Tunguss Basin, Yakut Basin

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 17.15 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 29.03 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 18.64 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources

4.53 trillion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Geoparks

total global geoparks and regional networks: 1

global geoparks and regional networks: Yangan-Tau (2023)

Government

Country name

conventional long form: Russian Federation

conventional short form: Russia

local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya

local short form: Rossiya

former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

etymology: Russian lands were generally referred to as Muscovy until PETER I officially declared the Russian Empire in 1721; the new name sought to invoke the patrimony of the medieval eastern European Rus state centered on Kyiv in present-day Ukraine; the Rus were a Varangian (eastern Viking) elite that imposed their rule and eventually their name on their Slavic subjects

Government type

semi-presidential federation

Capital

name: Moscow

geographic coordinates: 55 45 N, 37 36 E

time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

daylight saving time: does not observe daylight savings time (DST)

time zone note: Russia has 11 time zones, the largest number of contiguous time zones of any country in the world; in 2014, two time zones were added and DST dropped

etymology: named after the Moskva River; the origin of the river's name is obscure but may derive from the appellation "Mustajoki" given to the river by the Finno-Ugric people who originally inhabited the area and whose meaning may have been "dark" or "turbid"

Administrative divisions

46 provinces (oblasti, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respubliki, singular - respublika), 4 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnyye okrugi, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 9 krays (kraya, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (goroda, singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast (avtonomnaya oblast')

oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad (Gatchina), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan, Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver, Tyumen, Ulyanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl

republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)

autonomous okrugs: Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi-Yugra (Khanty-Mansiysk), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)

krays: Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm, Primorskiy [Maritime] (Vladivostok), Stavropol, Zabaykalsk [Transbaikal] (Chita)

federal cities: Moscow [Moskva], Saint Petersburg [Sankt-Peterburg]

autonomous oblast: Yevreyskaya [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)

note 1: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

note 2: the United States does not recognize Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the municipality of Sevastopol, nor their redesignation as the "Republic of Crimea" and the "Federal City of Sevastopol"; it similarly does not recognize the annexation of the Ukrainian oblasts Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson

Independence

25 December 1991 (from the Soviet Union; Russian SFSR renamed Russian Federation); notable earlier dates: 1157 (Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal created); 16 January 1547 (Tsardom of Muscovy established); 22 October 1721 (Russian Empire proclaimed); 30 December 1922 (Soviet Union established)

National holiday

Russia Day, 12 June (1990); note - commemorates the adoption of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (RSFSR)

Constitution

history: several previous (during Russian Empire and Soviet era); latest drafted 12 July 1993, adopted by referendum 12 December 1993, effective 25 December 1993

amendments: proposed by the president of the Russian Federation, by either house of the Federal Assembly, by the government of the Russian Federation, or by legislative (representative) bodies of the Federation's constituent entities; proposals to amend the government\u2019s constitutional system, human and civil rights and freedoms, and procedures for amending or drafting a new constitution require formation of a Constitutional Assembly; passage of such amendments requires two-thirds majority vote of its total membership; passage in a referendum requires participation of an absolute majority of eligible voters and an absolute majority of valid votes; approval of proposed amendments to the government structure, authorities, and procedures requires approval by the legislative bodies of at least two thirds of the Russian Federation's constituent entities; amended several times, last in 2020 (major revisions)

Legal system

civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts

International law organization participation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Russia

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 3-5 years

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive branch

chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 7 May 2012); no vice president position

head of government: Premier Mikhail Vladimirovich MISHUSTIN (since 16 January 2020); First Deputy Premier Andrey Removich BELOUSOV (since 21 January 2020); Deputy Premiers Yuriy TRUTNEV (since 31 August 2013), Tatiana Alekseyevna GOLIKOVA (since 18 May 2018), Dmitriy Yuriyevich GRIGORENKO, Viktoriya Valeriyevna ABRAMCHENKO, Aleksey Logvinovich OVERCHUK, Marat Shakirzyanovich KHUSNULLIN, Dmitriy Nikolayevich CHERNYSHENKO (all since 21 January 2020), Aleksandr NOVAK (since 10 November 2020), Denis Valentinovich MANTUROV (since 15 July 2022)

cabinet: the "Government" is composed of the premier, his deputies, and ministers, all appointed by the president; the premier is also confirmed by the Duma

elections/appointments: president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (2020 constitutional amendments allow a second consecutive term); election last held on 18 March 2018 (next to be held 15 to 17 March 2024); note - for the 2024 presidential election, previous presidential terms are discounted

election results:
2018: Vladimir PUTIN reelected president; percent of vote - Vladimir PUTIN (independent) 77.5%, Pavel GRUDININ (CPRF) 11.9%, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY (LDPR) 5.7%, other 4.9%; Mikhail MISHUSTIN (independent) approved as premier by Duma; vote - 383 to 0

2012: Vladimir PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - Vladimir PUTIN (United Russia) 63.6%, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV (CPRF) 17.2%, Mikhail PROKHOROV (CP) 8%, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY (LDPR) 6.2%, Sergey MIRONOV (A Just Russia) 3.9%, other 1.1%; Dmitriy MEDVEDEV (United Russia) approved as premier by Duma; vote - 299 to 144

note: there is also a Presidential Administration that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president

Legislative branch

description: bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of:
Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (170 seats statutory, 169 as of April 2023; 2 members in each of the 83 federal administrative units (see note below) - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg - appointed by the top executive and legislative officials; members serve 4-year terms)
State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats (see note below); as of February 2014, the electoral system reverted to a mixed electoral system for the 2016 election, in which one-half of the members are directly elected by simple majority vote and one-half directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)

elections:
State Duma - last held 17 - 19 September 2021 (next to be held in September 2026)

election results:
Federation Council (members appointed); composition (as of April 2023) - men 133, women 36, percent of women 21.3%

State Duma - United Russia 50.9%, CPRF 19.3%, LDPR 7.7%, A Just Russia 7.6%, New People 5.3% other minor parties and independents 9.2%; seats by party - United Russia 324, CPRF 57, LDPR 21, A Just Russia 27, New People 13; Rodina 1, CP 1, Party of Growth 1, independent 5; composition as of April 2023 - men 376, women 74, percent of women 16.4%; note - total Federal Assembly percent of women 17.8%



note 1: the State Duma now includes 3 representatives from the "Republic of Crimea," while the Federation Council includes 2 each from the "Republic of Crimea" and the "Federal City of Sevastopol," both regions that Russia occupied and attempted to annex from Ukraine and that the US does not recognize as part of Russia

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (consists of 170 members organized into the Judicial Panel for Civil Affairs, the Judicial Panel for Criminal Affairs, and the Military Panel); Constitutional Court (consists of 11 members, including the chairperson and deputy); note - in February 2014, Russia\u2019s Higher Court of Arbitration was abolished and its former authorities transferred to the Supreme Court, which in addition is the country\u2019s highest judicial authority for appeals, civil, criminal, administrative, and military cases, and the disciplinary judicial board, which has jurisdiction over economic disputes

judge selection and term of office: all members of Russia's 3 highest courts nominated by the president and appointed by the Federation Council (the upper house of the legislature); members of all 3 courts appointed for life

subordinate courts: regional (kray) and provincial (oblast) courts; Moscow and St. Petersburg city courts; autonomous province and district courts; note - the 21 Russian Republics have court systems specified by their own constitutions

Political parties and leaders

A Just Russia or SRZP [Sergey MIRONOV]
Civic Platform or CP [Rifat SHAYKHUTDINOV]
Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy ZYUGANOV]
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Leonid SLUTSKY]
New People [Alexey NECHAYEV]
Party of Growth [Boris TITOV]
Rodina [Aleksei ZHURAVLYOV]
United Russia [Dmitriy MEDVEDEV]

note: 31 political parties are registered with Russia's Ministry of Justice (as of September 2021); 14 participated in the 2021 election, but only 8 parties maintain representation in Russia's national legislature

International organization participation

APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, BSEC, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAEU, EAPC, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UN Security Council (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, Wassenaar Arrangement, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Anatoly Ivanovich ANTONOV (since 8 September 2017)

chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700

FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735

email address and website:
rusembusa@mid.ru

https://washington.mid.ru/en/

consulate(s) general: Houston, New York

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Lynne M. TRACY (30 January 2023)

embassy: 55,75566\u00b0 N, 37,58028\u00b0 E

mailing address: 5430 Moscow Place, Washington DC\u00a0 20521-5430

telephone: [7] (495) 728-5000

FAX: [7] (495) 728-5090

email address and website:
MoscowACS@state.gov

https://ru.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general: Vladivostok (suspended status), Yekaterinburg (suspended status)

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red

note: the Russian flag was created when Russia built its first naval vessels, and was used mostly as a naval ensign until the nineteenth century; the colors may have been based on those of the Dutch flag; despite many popular interpretations, there is no official meaning assigned to the colors of the Russian flag; the flag inspired several other Slavic countries to adopt horizontal tricolors of the same colors but in different arrangements, and so red, blue, and white became the Pan-Slav colors

National symbol(s)

bear, double-headed eagle; national colors: white, blue, red

Coat of Arms of Russia:
\"\"
\"Coat

National anthem

name: "Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii" (National Anthem of the Russian Federation)

lyrics/music: Sergey Vladimirovich MIKHALKOV/Aleksandr Vasilyevich ALEKSANDROV

note: in 2000, Russia adopted the tune of the anthem of the former Soviet Union (composed in 1939); the lyrics, also adopted in 2000, were written by the same person who authored the Soviet lyrics in 1943

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 31 (20 cultural, 11 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales: Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow (c); Historic Saint Petersburg (c); Novodevichy Convent (c); Historic Monuments of Novgorod (c); Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad (c); Volcanoes of Kamchatka (n); Lake Baikal (n); Central Sikhote-Alin (n); Historic Derbent (c); Kazan Kremlin (c)

Economy

Economic overview

natural resource-rich Eurasian economy; leading energy exporter to Europe and Asia; decreased oil export reliance; endemic corruption, Ukrainian invasion, and lack of green infrastructure limit investment and have led to sanctions

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$4.027 trillion (2022 est.)
$4.078 trillion (2021 est.)
$3.893 trillion (2020 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

comparison ranking: 6

Real GDP growth rate

4.75% (2021 est.)
-2.66% (2020 est.)
2.2% (2019 est.)

comparison ranking: 95

Real GDP per capita

$27,500 (2022 est.)
$28,000 (2021 est.)
$26,600 (2020 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

comparison ranking: 75

GDP (official exchange rate)

$1,702,361,000,000 (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.69% (2021 est.)
3.38% (2020 est.)
4.47% (2019 est.)

comparison ranking: 180

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: BBB (2019)

Moody's rating: Baa3 (2019)

Standard & Poors rating: BBB- (2018)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 4.7% (2017 est.)

industry: 32.4% (2017 est.)

services: 62.3% (2017 est.)

comparison rankings: services 105; industry 64; agriculture 130

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 52.4% (2017 est.)

government consumption: 18% (2017 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 21.6% (2017 est.)

investment in inventories: 2.3% (2017 est.)

exports of goods and services: 26.2% (2017 est.)

imports of goods and services: -20.6% (2017 est.)

Agricultural products

wheat, sugar beets, milk, potatoes, barley, sunflower seed, maize, poultry, oats, soybeans

Industries

complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; defense industries (including radar, missile production, advanced electronic components), shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate

4.9% (2021 est.)

comparison ranking: 94

Labor force

72.444 million (2021 est.)

comparison ranking: 7

Unemployment rate

5.01% (2021 est.)
5.59% (2020 est.)
4.5% (2019 est.)

comparison ranking: 77

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 16.9% (2021 est.)

male: 15.7%

female: 18.4%

comparison ranking: total 102

Average household expenditures

on food: 28% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco: 7.4% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 2.3%

highest 10%: 32.2% (2012 est.)

Remittances

0.54% of GDP (2021 est.)
0.67% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.62% of GDP (2019 est.)

Budget

revenues: $604.135 billion (2019 est.)

expenditures: $571.465 billion (2019 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-1.4% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

comparison ranking: 88

Public debt

23.05% of GDP (2020 est.)
17.28% of GDP (2019 est.)
16.17% of GDP (2018 est.)

note: data cover general government debt and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as intragovernmental debt; intragovernmental debt consists of treasury borrowings from surpluses in the social funds, such as for retirement, medical care, and unemployment, debt instruments for the social funds are not sold at public auctions

comparison ranking: 183

Taxes and other revenues

10.83% (of GDP) (2020 est.)

comparison ranking: 189

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

$122.27 billion (2021 est.)
$35.373 billion (2020 est.)
$65.627 billion (2019 est.)

comparison ranking: 4

Exports

$631.551 billion (2022 est.)
$550.035 billion (2021 est.)
$381.49 billion (2020 est.)

note: data are in current year dollars

comparison ranking: 14

Exports - partners

China 15%, Netherlands 8%, United States 6%, United Kingdom 5%, Italy 5% (2021)

Exports - commodities

crude petroleum, refined petroleum, natural gas, coal, wheat, iron (2019)

Imports

$349.175 billion (2022 est.)
$379.947 billion (2021 est.)
$304.837 billion (2020 est.)

note: data are in current year dollars

comparison ranking: 21

Imports - partners

China 25%, Germany 12%, Belarus 6%, South Korea 4%, Poland 3% (2021)

Imports - commodities

cars and vehicle parts, packaged medicines, broadcasting equipment, aircraft, computers (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$632.242 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$596.77 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$555.179 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

comparison ranking: 6

Debt - external

$479.844 billion (2019 est.)
$484.355 billion (2018 est.)

comparison ranking: 26

Exchange rates

Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
73.654 (2021 est.)
72.105 (2020 est.)
64.738 (2019 est.)
62.668 (2018 est.)
58.343 (2017 est.)

Energy

Electricity access

electrification - total population: 100% (2021)

Electricity

installed generating capacity: 276.463 million kW (2020 est.)

consumption: 942.895 billion kWh (2019 est.)

exports: 12.116 billion kWh (2020 est.)

imports: 1.377 billion kWh (2020 est.)

transmission/distribution losses: 99.077 billion kWh (2019 est.)

comparison rankings: imports 66; exports 19; installed generating capacity 5; transmission/distribution losses 209; consumption 4

Electricity generation sources

fossil fuels: 59.4% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

nuclear: 21% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

solar: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

hydroelectricity: 19.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

biomass and waste: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Nuclear energy

Number of operational nuclear reactors: 37 (2023)

Number of nuclear reactors under construction: 3

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors: 27.73GW (2021)

Percent of total electricity production: 20.7% (2021)

Percent of total energy produced: 3.6% (2021)

Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down: 4

Coal

production: 447.332 million metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption: 266.038 million metric tons (2020 est.)

exports: 224.324 million metric tons (2020 est.)

imports: 24.027 million metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves: 162.166 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum

total petroleum production: 10,749,500 bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption: 3.699 million bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports: 5.196 million bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports: 14,200 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves: 80 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Refined petroleum products - production

6.076 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

comparison ranking: 3

Refined petroleum products - exports

2.671 million bbl/day (2015 est.)

comparison ranking: 2

Refined petroleum products - imports

41,920 bbl/day (2015 est.)

comparison ranking: 88

Natural gas

production: 701.544 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

consumption: 460.612 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

exports: 250.855 billion cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports: 16.112 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves: 47.805 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

1,848,070,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from coal and metallurgical coke: 456.033 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from petroleum and other liquids: 470.289 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from consumed natural gas: 921.748 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

comparison ranking: total emissions 4

Energy consumption per capita

227.898 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

comparison ranking: 18

Communications

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 23,864,124 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16 (2021 est.)

comparison ranking: total subscriptions 11

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 250 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 170 (2021 est.)

comparison ranking: total subscriptions 5

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: the telecom market is the largest in Europe, supported by a population approaching 147 million; the overall market is dominated by the western regions, particularly Moscow and St Petersburg which are the main cities and economic centers; all sectors of the market have been liberalized, with competition most prevalent in the two largest regional markets; the fiber broadband sector has shown considerable growth, supported by the government\u2019s program to extend the reach of broadband to outlying regions; the development of 5G services has been stymied by the lack of spectrum; although MNOs have licenses to use 700MHz spectrum for 5G, this spectrum has yet to be released by broadcasters; spectrum in the 3.4GHz range commonly used for 5G in Europe has been restricted for use in Russia by the military and intelligence agencies; despite these limitations, the four principal MNOs each have an equal share in a joint venture aimed at developing a strategy to deploy 5G using shared network and spectrum assets (2022)

domestic: 16 per 100 for fixed-line and mobile-cellular is 170 per 100 persons (2021)

international: country code - 7; landing points for the Far East Submarine Cable System, HSCS, Sakhalin-Kuril Island Cable, RSCN, BCS North-Phase 2, Kerch Strait Cable and the Georgia-Russian submarine cable system connecting Russia, Japan, Finland, Georgia and Ukraine; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems (2019)

Broadcast media

13 national TV stations with the federal government owning 1 and holding a controlling interest in a second; state-owned Gazprom maintains a controlling interest in 2 of the national channels; government-affiliated Bank Rossiya owns controlling interest in a fourth and fifth, while a sixth national channel is owned by the Moscow city administration; the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian military, respectively, own 2 additional national channels; roughly 3,300 national, regional, and local TV stations with over two-thirds completely or partially controlled by the federal or local governments; satellite TV services are available; 2 state-run national radio networks with a third majority-owned by Gazprom; roughly 2,400 public and commercial radio stations

Internet country code

.ru; note - Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain ".su" that was allocated to the Soviet Union and is being phased out

Internet users

total: 132 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 88% (2021 est.)

comparison ranking: total 6

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 33,893,305 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 23 (2020 est.)

comparison ranking: total 6

Transportation

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 32 (2020)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 958

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 99,327,311 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 6,810,610,000 (2018) mt-km

Airports

904 (2024)

comparison ranking: 7

Heliports

383 (2024)

Pipelines

177,700 km gas, 54,800 km oil, 19,300 km refined products (2017)

Railways

total: 85,494 km (2019)

narrow gauge: 957 km

comparison ranking: total 3

Roadways

total: 1,283,387 km (2012)

paved: 927,721 km (2012) (includes 39,143 km of expressways)

unpaved: 355,666 km (2012)

comparison ranking: total 5

Waterways

102,000 km (2009) (including 48,000 km with guaranteed depth; the 72,000-km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea)

comparison ranking: 1

Merchant marine

total: 2,910 (2023)

by type: bulk carrier 15, container ship 20, general cargo 976, oil tanker 387, other 1,512

comparison ranking: total 9

Ports and terminals

major seaport(s):
Arctic Ocean: Arkhangelsk, Murmansk
Baltic Sea: Kaliningrad, Primorsk, Saint Petersburg
Black Sea: Novorossiysk
Pacific Ocean: Nakhodka, Vladivostok, Vostochnyy

oil terminal(s): Kavkaz oil terminal, Primorsk

container port(s) (TEUs): Saint Petersburg (2,042,358) (2021)

LNG terminal(s) (export): Sabetta, Sakhalin Island

river port(s): Astrakhan, Kazan (Volga River); Rostov-on-Don (Don River); Saint Petersburg (Neva River)

Transportation - note

Russia operates the largest polar class icebreaker fleet in the World with 52 vessels, including the World's only seven nuclear powered heavy icebreakers; the primary missions of Russia's fleet includes keeping open the Northern Sea Route (NSR) in the Arctic Ocean (see Arctic Ocean map) along with Russia's Arctic ports and terminals, maintaining shipping lanes in the Baltic Sea, and supporting ports, terminals, and shipping in the Russian Far East including the Sea of Okhotsk; Russia operates seven PC 1 or 2 heavy icebreakers, 31 PC 3 or 4 medium icebreakers, and 14 PC 5 or 6 light icebreakers
note - PC indicates a Polar Class vessel: PC 1 - year-round operation in all polar waters (ice thickness >3 m); PC 2 - year-round operation in moderate multi-year ice conditions (ice thickness up to 3 m); PC 3 - year-round operation in second-year ice which may include multi-year ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 2.5 m); PC 4 - year-round operation in thick first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 120 cm); PC 5 - year-round operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 70-120 cm); PC 6 - summer/autumn operation in medium first-year ice which may include old ice inclusions (ice thickness up to 30-70 cm)

Russian icebreaker Yamal:
\"\"
\"Russian

Military and Security

Military and security forces

Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Ground Troops (Sukhoputnyye Voyskia, SV), Navy (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot, VMF), Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS); Airborne Troops (Vozdushno-Desantnyye Voyska, VDV), and Missile Troops of Strategic Purpose (Raketnyye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN) referred to commonly as Strategic Rocket Forces, are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to any of the three branches

Federal National Guard Troops Service of the Russian Federation (FSVNG, National Guard, Russian Guard, or Rosgvardiya)

Federal Security Services (FSB): Federal Border Guard Service (includes land and maritime forces) (2023)

note 1: the Air Force and Aerospace Defense Forces were merged into the VKS in 2015; VKS responsibilities also include launching military and dual\u2010use satellites, maintaining military satellites, and monitoring and defending against space threats

note 2: the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Federal Security Service, Investigative Committee, Office of the Prosecutor General, and National Guard are responsible for law enforcement; the Federal Security Service is responsible for state security, counterintelligence, and counterterrorism, as well as for fighting organized crime and corruption; the national police force, under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, is responsible for combating all crime

note 3: the National Guard was created in 2016 as an independent agency for internal/regime security, combating terrorism and narcotics trafficking, protecting important state facilities and government personnel, and supporting border security; it also participates in armed defense of the country\u2019s territory in coordination with the Armed Forces; forces under the National Guard include the Special Purpose Mobile Units (OMON), Special Rapid Response Detachment (SOBR), and Interior Troops (VV); these troops were originally under the command of the Interior Ministry (MVD); also nominally under the National Guard\u2019s command are the forces of Chechen Republic head Ramzan KADYROV

Military expenditures

4% of GDP (2022 est.)
4% of GDP (2021 est.)
4% of GDP (2020 est.)
3.8% of GDP (2019 est.)
3.7% of GDP (2018 est.)

comparison ranking: 19

Military and security service personnel strengths

prior to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, approximately 900,000 active-duty troops (350,000 Ground Troops; 40,000 Airborne Troops; 150,000 Navy; 160,000 Aerospace Forces; 70,000 Strategic Rocket Forces; approximately 20,000 special operations forces; approximately 100,000 other uniformed personnel (command and control, cyber, support, logistics, security, etc.); estimated 350,000-plus Federal National Guard Troops (2023)

note 1: in December 2022, the Russian Government announced a target level of 1.15 million total troops and subsequently announced further plans to expand the size of the armed forces to 1.5 million by 2026

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically produced weapons systems, although in recent years Russia has imported limited amounts of military hardware from external suppliers; the Russian defense industry is capable of designing, developing, and producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems; Russia is the world's second largest exporter of military hardware (2023)

Military service age and obligation

18-27 years of age for compulsory service for men; 18-40 for voluntary/contractual service; women and non-Russian citizens (18-30) may volunteer; men are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; 12-month service obligation (Russia offers the option of serving on a 24-month contract instead of completing a 12-month conscription period); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50 (Russian men who have completed their compulsory service to re-enter the army up to the age of 55); enrollment in military schools from the age of 16 (2023)

note 1: in May 2022, Russia's parliament approved a law removing the upper age limit for contractual service in the military; in November 2022, President Vladimir PUTIN signed a decree allowing dual-national Russians and those with permanent residency status in foreign countries to be drafted into the army for military service

note 2: the Russian military takes on about 260,000 conscripts each year in two semi-annual drafts (Spring and Fall); as of 2021, conscripts comprised an estimated 30% of the Russian military's active duty personnel and most reserve personnel were former conscripts; in April of 2019, the Russian Government pledged its intent to end conscription as part of a decade-long effort to shift from a large, conscript-based military to a smaller, more professional force; an existing law allows for a 21-month alternative civil service for conscripts in hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities for those who view military duty as incompatible with their beliefs, but military conscription offices reportedly often broadly ignore requests for such service

note 3: as of 2020, women made up about 5% of the active-duty military

note 4: since 2015, foreigners 18-30 with a good command of Russian have been allowed to join the military on 5-year contracts and become eligible for Russian citizenship after serving 3 years; in October 2022, the Interior Ministry opened up recruitment centers for foreigners to sign a 1-year service contract with the armed forces, other troops, or military formations participating in the invasion of Ukraine with the promise of simplifying the process of obtaining Russian citizenship

Military deployments

information varies and may not reflect troops transferred to support Russian military operations in Ukraine; approximately 3,000 Armenia; approximately 2,000 Azerbaijan; up to 5,000 Belarus; up to 10,000 Georgia; approximately 500 Kyrgyzstan; approximately 1,500 Moldova (Transnistria); estimated 2,000-5,000 Syria; approximately 3-5,000 Tajikistan (2023)

note 1: in February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine with an estimated 150,000 troops, some of which were staged out of Belarus; prior to the invasion, it maintained an estimated 30,000 troops in areas of Ukraine occupied since 2014; in 2023, the Russian Government claimed to have over 650,000 troops in occupied Ukraine

note 2: as of 2023, Russia was assessed to have about 3,000-5,000 private military contractors conducting military and security operations in Africa and the Middle East, including in the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, Sudan, and Syria

Military - note

the Russian military is a mixed force of conscripts and professionals (contract servicemen) that is capable of conducting the full range of air, land, maritime, and strategic missile operations; it is also active in the areas of cyber warfare, electronic warfare, and space; in addition to protecting Russia\u2019s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the military supports Moscow\u2019s national security objectives, which include maintaining and projecting influence and power outside Russia, particularly in the former Soviet republics, and deterring perceived external threats from the US and NATO; in recent years, the Russian military has conducted combat operations in both Syria and Ukraine; in February 2022, Russia launched an unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and the military, particularly the ground forces, continues to be heavily engaged there in what is the largest war in Europe since World War II ended in 1945; Russia has occupied Ukraine\u2019s province of Crimea and backed separatist forces in the Donbas region of Ukraine since 2014 with arms, equipment, and training, as well as special operations forces and troops, although Moscow denied their presence prior to 2022; Russia intervened in the Syrian civil war at the request of the ASAD government in September 2015 in what was Moscow\u2019s first overseas expeditionary operation since the Soviet era; Russian assistance has included air support, arms and equipment, intelligence, military advisors, private military contractors, special operations forces, and training; it seized the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008; separately, Russia has provided military personnel and private military contractors to conduct missions in Africa, including in the Central African Republic, Libya, Mali, and Sudan\u00a0

Russian forces are organized into five military districts and operational/joint strategic commands; the Ground Troops are configured into at least 11 combined arms armies, one tank army, and four army corps, each comprised of a mixture of tank or \u201cmotorized rifle\u201d (mechanized or motorized infantry) division and brigade structures supplemented by artillery, tactical missile, and air defense forces; the most capable ground forces are the special forces (Spetsial\u2019noye naznacheniye or Spetsnaz) brigades and Airborne and Air Assault Troops (VDV), which are considered strategic-level assets; prior to the 2022 invasion, the Spetsnaz forces had eight brigades, while the VDV had four airborne and air assault divisions, plus some independent air assault and Spetsnaz brigades

the Navy conducts operations globally and has four fleets (Baltic, Black Sea, Pacific, and Northern), as well as a flotilla in the Caspian Sea; the principal surface warships are an aircraft carrier (under repair until at least 2024), four battlecruisers or cruisers, and over 20 destroyers and frigates; the backbone of the Navy is its submarine force, which has approximately 50-60 nuclear ballistic missile, nuclear cruise missile, nuclear attack-type, and conventional attack submarines; the ballistic missile submarines are an essential arm of Russia\u2019s nuclear triad; the Navy has an aviation force with fighters, multipurpose fighters, and surface attack aircraft, as well as anti-submarine warfare and attack helicopters; it also has coastal defense forces and a ground force of several naval infantry brigades, which have been used as ground troops in Ukraine

the Aerospace Forces include as sub-branches the Air Force, the Air and Missile Defense Forces, and Space Forces; the Air and Air/Missile Defense elements are typically organized into armies, commands, bases, brigades, and regiments; the Air Forces are some of the largest in the world, and prior to the 2022 invasion of Ukraine included nearly 1,500 fighters, multirole fighters, and bombers, as well as nearly 1,500 combat helicopters

the Strategic Rocket Forces have both road-mobile and silo-based intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and are organized into three armies with 12 subordinate divisions, each further broken down into regiments

the paramilitary Russian National Guard is organized into regions or districts with subordinate divisions and brigades, which include a mix of security, special purpose, protective, and motorized units, as well as some artillery and aviation forces (2023)

Space

Space agency/agencies

State Space Corporation of the Russian Federation (Roscosmos); Roscosmos was established in 2015 from a merger of the Federal Space Agency and the state-owned United Rocket and Space Corporation; began as the Russian Space Agency (RSA or RKA) in 1992 and restructured in 1999 and 2004 as the Russian Aviation and Space Agency and then the Federal Space Agency); the Russian Space Forces (Kosmicheskie voyska Rossii, KV) are part of the Russian Aerospace Forces (Vozdushno-Kosmicheskiye Sily, VKS)\u00a0 (2023)

note: Russia\u2019s space strategy is defined jointly by Roscosmos and the Ministry of Defense; prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991, the USSR\u2019s space program was dispersed amongst several civil and military organizations

Space launch site(s)

Baikonur Cosmodrome (Kazakhstan; Russia leases the enclave for approximately $115 million annually); Vostochny Cosmodrome (Amur Oblast; first launch was in 2016); Plesetsk Cosmodrome (Arkhangel'sk Oblast) (2023)

Space program overview

has one of the world\u2019s largest space programs and is active across all areas of the space sector; builds, launches, and operates rockets/space launch vehicles (SLVs), satellites, space stations, interplanetary probes, and manned, robotic, and re-usable spacecraft; has astronaut (cosmonaut) training program and conducts human space flight; researching and developing a broad range of other space-related technologies; participates in international space programs such as the International Space Station (ISS); prior to Russia\u2019s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia had relations with dozens of foreign space agencies and commercial entities, including those of China, the European Space Agency (ESA), India, Japan, and the US; Roscosmos and its public subsidiaries comprise the majority of the Russian space industry; Roscosmos has eight operating areas, including manned space flights, launch systems, unmanned spacecraft, rocket propulsion, military missiles, space avionics, special military space systems, and flight control systems; private companies are also involved in a range of space systems, including satellites, telecommunications, remote-sensing, and geo-spatial services (2023)

note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country\u2019s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S

Terrorism

Terrorist group(s)

Terrorist group(s): Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS)

note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international

Russia-China: in 2023, Russia rejected a new PRC map that laid claim to Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island in its entirety as Chinese territory; this move undermined a 2004 Agreement in which Russia and China demarcated long-disputed islands at the Amuri and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River

Russia-Denmark-Norway: Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS), and Russia is collecting additional data to augment its 2001 CLCS submission

Russia and Estonia: Russia and Estonia signed a technical border agreement in May 2005, but Russia recalled its signature in June 2005 after the Estonian parliament added to its domestic ratification act a historical preamble referencing the Soviet occupation and Estonia's pre-war borders under the 1920 Treaty of Tartu; Russia contends that the preamble allows Estonia to make territorial claims on Russia in the future, while Estonian officials deny that the preamble has any legal impact on the treaty text; negotiations were reopened in 2012, and a treaty was signed in 2014 without the disputed preamble, but neither country has ratified it as of 2020

Russia-Finland: various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following World War II but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands

Russia-Georgia: Russia's military support and subsequent recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia independence in 2008 continue to sour relations with Georgia; in 2011, Russia began to put up fences and barbed wire to fortify South Ossetia, physically dividing villages in the process; Russia continues to move the South Ossetia border fences further into Georgian territory

Russia-Japan: the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities

Russia-Kazakhstan: Russia boundary delimitation was ratified on November 2005; field demarcation commenced in 2007 and was expected to be completed by 2013

Russia-Lithuania: Russia and Lithuania committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; border demarcation was completed in 2018; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still conforming, as an EU member state with an EU external border, where strict Schengen border rules apply

Russia-North Korea: none identified

Russia-Norway: Russia and Norway signed a comprehensive maritime boundary agreement in 2010, opening the disputed territory for oil and natural gas exploration; a visa-free travel agreement for persons living near the border went into effect in May 2012

Russia-Ukraine: Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014 and launched a full-scale invasion in 2022; in 2014, Russia purported to annex Ukraine\u2019s territory of Crimea, while in 2022, Russia purported to annex parts of Ukraine\u2019s Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk oblasts; as of 2024, Russia continued to wage a war of aggression against Ukraine and make illegal claims to Ukraine\u2019s sovereign territory \u00a0

Russia-US: Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Bering Sea Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US; the southwesterly "Western Limit" places about 70% of the Bering Sea under U.S. maritime jurisdiction

Russia-various: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea

\u00a0

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 1,212,585 (Ukraine) (as of 30 June 2023)

IDPs: 7,500 (2022)

stateless persons: 56,960 (mid-year 2021); note - Russia's stateless population consists of Roma, Meskhetian Turks, and ex-Soviet citizens from the former republics; between 2003 and 2010 more than 600,000 stateless people were naturalized; most Meskhetian Turks, followers of Islam with origins in Georgia, fled or were evacuated from Uzbekistan after a 1989 pogrom and have lived in Russia for more than the required five-year residency period; they continue to be denied registration for citizenship and basic rights by local Krasnodar Krai authorities on the grounds that they are temporary illegal migrants

Trafficking in persons

tier rating: Tier 3 \u2014 Russia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore, Russia remained on Tier 3; despite the lack of significant efforts, the government facilitated the return of Russian children from Syria, some of whom may have been trafficking victims; however, a government policy or pattern of trafficking of Ukrainian citizens and North Korean workers continued; officials reportedly forced, deceived, or coerced foreign national adults to fight in Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine or subjected some to forced labor in detention; the government continued to perpetuate North Korea\u2019s imposition of forced labor on North Korean workers and circumvented UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korean overseas labor; officials did not identify any trafficking victims, and efforts to prosecute and convict traffickers decreased; the government offered no funding or programs to provide services for trafficking victims and routinely penalized victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; officials did not draft a national strategy or assign roles and responsibilities within the government to combat human trafficking; the government's forced transfer of thousands of Ukrainian children to Russia\u2014including separating some children from parents or guardians\u2014greatly increased their vulnerability to trafficking; Russia\u2019s war against Ukraine has created millions of Ukrainian refugees and internally displaced persons who are highly vulnerable to trafficking (2023)

trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Russia and Russians abroad; although labor trafficking is the predominant problem, sex trafficking also occurs; victims from Russia and other countries in Europe, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, China, and North Korea are subjected to forced labor in Russia\u2019s construction, manufacturing, textile, agriculture, farming, maritime, grocery and retail store, restaurant, and domestic services industries, among many other tasks; traffickers also exploit victims in criminal activities such as drug trafficking, facilitation of illegal migration, and production of counterfeit goods; undocumented migrants and refugees reportedly face particularly high risk of trafficking; the government increased the use of convict labor to offset a shortage of labor migrants; women and children from Europe (predominantly Ukraine and Moldova), East and Southeast Asia (primarily China and the Philippines), Africa (particularly Nigeria), and Central Asia are victims of sex trafficking in Russia; Russian women and children reportedly are victims of sex trafficking in Russia and abroad, including Northeast Asia, Europe, Central Asia, Africa, the US, and the Middle East; some corrupt officials facilitate victims\u2019 entry into Russia, protect traffickers, and in some cases engage directly in trafficking crimes; observers note a growing use of non-labor visas to bring North Korean workers to Russia, where the North Korean Government subjects many of these citizens to forced labor conditions; Russian-led forces in Ukraine reportedly forcibly conscript adults to fight against their country and recruit children for fighting or support roles in eastern Ukraine; Ukrainians forcibly displaced to Russia following the invasion of Ukraine and Ukrainians in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine are highly vulnerable to forced labor; widespread reports indicate Russian authorities transported without consent Ukrainian orphans and foster children to Russia and gave them to Russian families; the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group reportedly recruited and used children in the Central African Republic, and Russian-led forces reportedly recruit Syrian child soldiers to guard installations and fight in Libya (2023)

Illicit drugs

a destination country for heroin and other Afghan opiates; a transit country for cocaine\u2009from South America, especially Ecuador to Europe,\u2009Belgium and Netherlands; synthetic drugs are produced in clandestine drug laboratories\u2009throughout\u2009the country; marijuana cultivated in Russian Far East and the North Caucasus; the majority of hashish is smuggled in from Northern Africa

\u00a0

", + "page_last_modified": " Thu, 07 Mar 2024 07:32:30 GMT" + }, + { + "page_name": "Why are there so many million-plus cities in Russia? - Russia Beyond", + "page_url": "https://www.rbth.com/lifestyle/334740-million-plus-cities-russia", + "page_snippet": "A quarter of Russia\u2019s population lives in the country's 15 largest cities, which are getting bigger every year. Is there really not enough space...A quarter of Russia\u2019s population lives in the country's 15 largest cities, which are getting bigger every year. Is there really not enough space in Russia for people to live in? Climate also plays a big role in many Russians\u2019 desire to live in megapolises. Big cities are more comfortable in the winter and during severe weather. Commuting to work and back is far more convenient thanks to good public transport and clear roads. Plus, these large cities have a wide range of malls, cafes and entertainment centers with warm areas where people can spend time with friends or family when the weather is bad. The thing is that before the 1917 Revolution just 15% of Russians lived in urban areas while the rest lived in villages and engaged in agriculture. This changed in the early Soviet years when the government made a push for industrialization. By the 1920s, cities were already popping up around factories and mining sites around the country. These were meant not only to provide the Soviet people with work and housing, but also to give them interesting leisure and social activities. Is there really not enough space in Russia for people to live in? Russia ranks fourth in the world for the number of cities with populations over 1 million people\u2014only China, India and Brazil have more. In general, the level of urbanization in the country has been consistently above 70% for several decades.", + "page_result": "", + "page_last_modified": "" + }, + { + "page_name": "Largest cities in Russia 2023 | Statista", + "page_url": "https://www.statista.com/statistics/1090061/largest-cities-in-russia/", + "page_snippet": "In 2022, around 109 million Russian residents lived in cities. That was approximately three quarters of the country\u2019s population. The urbanization rate increased steadily over the 20th century, leading to a decline in rural population. Among the country\u2019s regions, the Northwestern Federal ...In 2022, around 109 million Russian residents lived in cities. That was approximately three quarters of the country\u2019s population. The urbanization rate increased steadily over the 20th century, leading to a decline in rural population. Among the country\u2019s regions, the Northwestern Federal District had the highest share of residents in urban areas, measured at 85 percent. In the Central Federal District, the tendency was that more people moved to Moscow and cities in the Moscow Oblast. Furthermore, the number of people living in Moscow was forecast to continue rising, exceeding 12.8 million by 2035. In 2022, around 109 million Russian residents lived in cities. That was approximately three quarters of the country\u2019s population. The urbanization rate increased steadily over the 20th century, leading to a decline in rural population. Premium Statistic Average number of years people have lived in the city in France 2019, by city size ... Statista Accounts: Access All Statistics. Starting from $2,388 USD / Year \u00b7 Learn more about how Statista can support your business. Russian Federal State Statistics Service. The Russian capital is the center of political, industrial, business, and cultural life in Russia. Despite being one of the most expensive cities worldwide, it continues to attract people from Russia and abroad, with its resident population following a generally upward trend over the past decade.", + "page_result": "\nLargest cities in Russia 2023 | Statista
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    • \n Largest cities by population in Russia 2023\n
    \n Published by\n Statista Research Department,\n \n Sep 7, 2023\n
    \n Russia's capital Moscow was the largest city of the country with over 13.1 million residents as of January 1, 2022. Less than a half of Moscow's population resided in Saint Petersburg, the second most populous city of the country. The third-largest city, Novosibirsk, was located in the Siberian Federal District, being the highest populated city in the Asian part of Russia. \r\n\r\n

    Why is Moscow so populated?

    \r\n\r\nThe Russian capital is the center of political, industrial, business, and cultural life in Russia. Despite being one of the most expensive cities worldwide, it continues to attract people from Russia and abroad, with its resident population following a generally upward trend over the past decade. Wages in Moscow are higher than in Russia on average, and more opportunities for employment and investment are available in the capital. Furthermore, the number of people living in Moscow was forecast to continue rising, exceeding 12.8 million by 2035. \r\n\r\n

    Urbanization in Russia

    \r\n\r\nIn 2022, around 109 million Russian residents lived in cities. That was approximately three quarters of the country\u2019s population. The urbanization rate increased steadily over the 20th century, leading to a decline in rural population. Among the country\u2019s regions, the Northwestern Federal District had the highest share of residents in urban areas, measured at 85 percent. In the Central Federal District, the tendency was that more people moved to Moscow and cities in the Moscow Oblast.\n
    \n Read more\n

    \n Largest cities in Russia as of January 1, 2023, by population \n \n (in 1,000s)\n

    \n table\n \n column chart\n
    CharacteristicPopulation in thousands
    Moscow13,104.18
    Saint Petersburg5,600.04
    Novosibirsk1,635.34
    Yekaterinburg1,539.37
    Kazan1,314.69
    Nizhny Novgorod1,213.48
    Krasnoyarsk1,196.91
    Chelyabinsk1,182.52
    Samara1,163.65
    Ufa1,157.99
    Rostov-on-Don1,135.97
    Krasnodar1,121.29
    Omsk1,110.84
    Voronezh1,052
    Perm1,027.15
    \n Loading statistic... \n

    \n Additional Information\n

    © Statista 2024
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    Source

    \n Show sources information\n \n Show publisher information\n \n Use Ask Statista Research Service\n

    \n Release date\n

    August 2023

    More information
    \n Region\n

    Russia

    Survey time period

    As of January 1, 2023

    \n Supplementary notes\n

    Takes into account the resident population, including persons constantly living on a particular territory and those temporary absent on the date of survey.

    \r\n\r\nFigures have been rounded.\r\n

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    \n Statistics on\n \n \"\n \n Demographics of Russia\n \n \"\n
    The most important statistics
    • Distribution of the global population by continent 2023
    • Countries with the largest population 2023
    • Population of Europe in 2023 by country
    • Total population of Russia 2028
    • Population of Russia 1960-2022, by gender
    • National and international migratory flows in Russia 1990-2021
    The most important statistics
    • Population density in Russia 2011-2021
    • Russian urban and rural population size 1970-2023
    • Population growth rate in Russia 1990-2022, by area
    • Population of Russia 2023, by gender and age group
    • Russian population distribution 2022, by gender and age
    • Female-to-male ratio in Russia 2023, by age group
    • Average population age in Russia 1990-2022
    • Median age of the population in Russia 1950-2100
    The most important statistics
    • Population of Russia 2023, by federal district
    • Urbanization in Russia 2022, by federal district
    • Population age distribution in Russia 2021, by federal district
    • Largest cities by population in Russia 2023
    The most important statistics
    • Natural change in population in Russia 1990-2022
    • Fertility rate in Russia 2000-2022, by type of area
    • Live births in Russia 2022, by mother's age and order
    • Life expectancy at birth in Russia 2022, by federal district
    • Number of healthy years at birth in Russia 2019-2021
    • Death rate in Russia 1950-2022
    • Death rates by main cause in Russia 2022
    • Deaths of COVID-19 patients in Russia monthly 2020-2022, by cause
    The most important statistics
    • Number of marriages and divorces in Russia 2000-2022
    • Marriage and divorce rates in Russia 2000-2022
    • Regions with the highest growth in marriages in Russia 2021
    • Number of marriages in Russia 2022, by age and gender
    • Attitude to family and marriage in Russia 2021, by age
    The most important statistics
    • Russian population living abroad 1990-2020
    • Leading countries of destination of emigrants from Russia 2022
    • Russian citizens living in Europe 2021, by country
    • Leading countries of origin of immigrants in Russia 2022
    • Number of citizenships granted in Russia 2015-2021
    • Russian citizenship acquisitions 2021, by country of origin
    • Number of residence permits issued in Russia 2015-2021, by type
    • Total internal migration within Russia 2000-2021

    Other statistics that may interest you Demographics of Russia

    \n Overview\n

    \n 6\n
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Distribution of the global population by continent 2023
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Countries with the largest population 2023
    • \n Premium Statistic\n Population of Europe in 2023 by country
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Total population of Russia 2028
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Population of Russia 1960-2022, by gender
    • \n Basic Statistic\n National and international migratory flows in Russia 1990-2021

    \n Population\n

    \n 8\n
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Population density in Russia 2011-2021
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Russian urban and rural population size 1970-2023
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Population growth rate in Russia 1990-2022, by area
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Population of Russia 2023, by gender and age group
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Russian population distribution 2022, by gender and age
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Female-to-male ratio in Russia 2023, by age group
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Average population age in Russia 1990-2022
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Median age of the population in Russia 1950-2100

    \n Regions\n

    \n 4\n
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Population of Russia 2023, by federal district
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Urbanization in Russia 2022, by federal district
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Population age distribution in Russia 2021, by federal district
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Largest cities by population in Russia 2023

    \n Births and deaths\n

    \n 8\n
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Natural change in population in Russia 1990-2022
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Fertility rate in Russia 2000-2022, by type of area
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Live births in Russia 2022, by mother's age and order
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Life expectancy at birth in Russia 2022, by federal district
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Number of healthy years at birth in Russia 2019-2021
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Death rate in Russia 1950-2022
    • \n Premium Statistic\n Death rates by main cause in Russia 2022
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Deaths of COVID-19 patients in Russia monthly 2020-2022, by cause

    \n Marriages and divorces\n

    \n 5\n
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Number of marriages and divorces in Russia 2000-2022
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Marriage and divorce rates in Russia 2000-2022
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Regions with the highest growth in marriages in Russia 2021
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Number of marriages in Russia 2022, by age and gender
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Attitude to family and marriage in Russia 2021, by age

    \n Migration\n

    \n 8\n
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Russian population living abroad 1990-2020
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Leading countries of destination of emigrants from Russia 2022
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Russian citizens living in Europe 2021, by country
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Leading countries of origin of immigrants in Russia 2022
    • \n Premium Statistic\n Number of citizenships granted in Russia 2015-2021
    • \n Premium Statistic\n Russian citizenship acquisitions 2021, by country of origin
    • \n Premium Statistic\n Number of residence permits issued in Russia 2015-2021, by type
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Total internal migration within Russia 2000-2021

    Further related statistics

    \n 17\n
    • \n Basic Statistic\n Largest cities in Australia 2021
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    • \n Basic Statistic\n Largest cities in the Netherlands 2018
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    • \n Premium Statistic\n Share of men in a relationship with another man in France 2018, by city size
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    ", + "page_last_modified": "" + }, + { + "page_name": "10 Russian cities with more than a million population - Russia Beyond", + "page_url": "https://www.rbth.com/travel/329794-largest-russian-cities", + "page_snippet": "The Russian capital is the biggest Russian city. According to official data, the population comes out at \u201cjust\u201d 12.5 million, but locals think it is much higher than that in reality. First, Moscow continues to grow each year. In recent years, the city has almost doubled in size, and these territories are now collectively called \u201cNew Moscow.\u201d Second, the official statistics don\u2019t include people who live ...What are the major Russian cities people live in? ... The Russian capital is the biggest Russian city. According to official data, the population comes out at \u201cjust\u201d 12.5 million, but locals think it is much higher than that in reality. First, Moscow continues to grow each year. In recent years, the city has almost doubled in size, and these territories are now collectively called \u201cNew Moscow.\u201d Second, the official statistics don\u2019t include people who live in the surrounding regions but commute to the city each day. What are the major Russian cities people live in? ... The Russian capital is the biggest Russian city. According to official data, the population comes out at \u201cjust\u201d 12.5 million, but locals think it is much higher than that in reality. First, Moscow continues to grow each year. In recent years, the city has almost doubled in size, and these territories are now collectively called \u201cNew Moscow.\u201d Second, the official statistics don\u2019t include people who live in the surrounding regions but commute to the city each day. The vast majority of the world\u2019s population lives in urban areas, and big cities continue to grow each year. What are the major Russian cities people live in? In recent years, the city has almost doubled in size, and these territories are now collectively called \u201cNew Moscow.\u201d Second, the official statistics don\u2019t include people who live in the surrounding regions but commute to the city each day. In total, the number of people in Moscow could well be over 20 million. And more and more people are resettling in Moscow from other regions and countries every day. ... Before the 1917 Revolution (which started there), the city was the capital of the Russian Empire.", + "page_result": "", + "page_last_modified": "" + } + ] +} \ No newline at end of file