Russia, also known officially as the Russian Federation, is the largest country in the world, with a land area of approximately 16.38 Million square kilometres. The country has a population of some 142.35 Million people (July 2016 estimate) and is hence the 9th most populous country. Russia is widely acknowledged for its contribution to culture (literature, music, etc), sciences (mathematics, engineering, etc), as also for being the first country to send man into orbit around the Earth (the iconic Yuri Gagarin).
The country is located in North Eurasia and can be seen as a ‘transcontinental’ country, since it occupies large portions of both the European and Asian continents. In order to achieve the better administration of this vast country at the administrative/regional level, it is split into 85 federal subjects, 2 of which (i.e. the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol), were added only in 2014 to the country’s constitution. Although each of these federal subjects has the same representation in the Federal Council (2 representatives each), the degree of autonomy enjoyed by each, differs significantly.
The mere size of the Russian Federation is such that it means that it borders with numerous countries both in the European continent, as also in the Asian one. More specifically, to the West, the country borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine, to the South with Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea, while to the East, across the Sea of Japan, it borders with Japan.
The country’s capital city is Moscow, with an estimated population of 12.16 million (2015). Other major cities of the country include Saint Petersburg (4.99 million), Novosibirsk (1.5 million), Yekaterinburg (1.38 million), Nizhniy Novgorod (1.21 million) and Samara (1.16 million). In the 2010 census of Russia, the country’s population was found to comprise of nearly 200 national and/or ethnic groups, however the vast majority are Russians (77.7%), followed by Tatars (3.7%), Ukrainians (1.4%), Bashkirs (1.1%), Chuvash (1%), Chechens (1%), Other (10.2%) and unspecified (3.9%).
The country’s currency is known as the Russian Ruble/Rouble or “RUB”, as frequently abbreviated. The official language is Russian, spoken by some 85.7% of the population, while Tatar (3.2%), Chechen (1%) and other (10.1%), are spoken by smaller minority groups. Religion in the country is quite diverse, nevertheless, according to estimates of 2005, Russian Orthodox with 53.1%, is the most common religious belief. Muslim, Jewish and other Christian religious affiliations are also encountered in notable sizes.
Russia is a Federal Presidential Republic, where the executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, but the President is by far the dominant figure, since he appoints the Prime Minister, with the State Duma’s approval. The State Duma (the lower house), along with the Federation Council (the upper house), constitute the Federal Assembly, which exercises legislative powers. The President is the Head of State and is elected every 6 years, by vote of the general public. The Federation Council was only created through the 1993 constitution, as the voice of the federal subjects.
As would be expected due to the vast size of the country, its terrain exhibits large diversity; from broad plains with low hills to the west of the Urals, to vast coniferous forests and tundra in Siberia, to uplands and mountains along the southern border regions. Likewise, the climate of the country also differs greatly, both across the country’s various regions, as also from winter to summer temperatures and environmental conditions. Much of the European continent part of the country, experiences a humid continental climate (hence it is by far the most densely populated part of the country), whereas the majority of the southern part of Russia experiences a typical steppe climate, Siberia in turn is known for its subarctic conditions and the polar north for its tundra climate. As a result, winters vary from cool in regions surrounding the Black Sea in the southwest of the country, to frigid in Siberia. On the other hand, summers vary from quite warm in the steppes, to mild along the Arctic coast, in the north of the country.
In terms of the Human Development Index (HDI), a composite index measuring average achievement in three basic dimensions of human development, i.e. a long and healthy life, the level of knowledge and the standard of living of an individual, the UN’s 2015 Human Development Report (referring to 2014 data), ranks Russia as a “High” Human Development country, in 50th place worldwide, with an HDI of 0.798. Nevertheless, the fact that Russia ranks in the 2nd quarter of the related list (50th out of 188 countries), indicates that there is still considerable room for improvement with regards to this measure. Nevertheless, the improvement since the 0.729 value back in 1990, is very significant (some 9.4%) and reflect the social development of the country.
On the other side, as far as the Gini index, a measure of the degree of inequality in the distribution of family income in a country, Russia ranks in 53rd position (out of a list of 145 countries), with a score of 42.0 (for 2014). This reflects the fact that there are quite sizable inequalities in terms of family income across the country’s population, since a Gini index score of ‘0’ stands for “total equality”, whereas a score of ‘100’ would stand for “total inequality”.
In terms of the academic qualifications of the population of Russia, the associated figures released in 2012 by the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), are very impressive. In 2010, the overwhelming majority of the country’s population, had at least an ‘upper secondary’ education; specifically, some 88%, while only 74% was the average of the OECD countries and 56% the average among the G20 countries. Furthermore, some 54% overall, had been awarded a ‘tertiary level’ education degree or certificate, compared to a mere 31% on average for the OECD countries and 26% on average for the G20 countries. More specifically, in the age group of 25-34 years old, only 3 countries (South Korea, Japan and Canada) have a higher ‘tertiary level’ of education than the Russian Federation (with 55%). Much of this impressive achievement, is due to Russia’s historic commitment to education and culture. Another reason for this result, is the strong link maintained between academic studies and vocational/technical certification; some 33% of the population have attained such a qualification, in contrast to the 10% and 13% on average for the OECD and G20 countries.