President: Dmitry Medvedev (2008)
Government: Constitutional federation
Total land area: 6,592,772 sq mi (17,075,200 sq km)
Population: 142,008,838 (01.01.2008)
Capital: Moscow, 10,470,318 (01.01.2008)
Largest city: St. Petersburg, 4,568,047; Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Kazan, Ufa, Chelyabinsk, Perm, Volgograd
Monetary unit: Ruble. There is no limit to the amount of foriegn currency allowed to be brought into the Russia. However all the money brought into the country (including travelers checks) must be declared upon entering the country.
Languages: Russian. It uses the Cyrillic alphabet (rather than the Latin alphabet used in most Western countries), which contains 33 letters. However, the 120 or so nationalities of the Commonwealth of Independent States speak about 48 other languages. Those of Slavic origin (i.e. Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians) account for approximately 75% of the total population. In Moscow or St. Petersburg, it is not uncommon to meet Russians who speak European languages, especially English.
Ethnicity/race: Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002)
Religions: Russian Orthodoxy is the main religion in Russia, followed to a lesser extent by Islam, Catholicism, Protestantism and Judaism. Religion has gained more popularity in Russia over the past few years as the Russian Orthodox
Literacy rate: 100% (2003 est.)
Weights and Measures: Russia has used the metric system since 1927
Economic summary:In recent years the Russian economy has developed at a high rate, registering 6-7% growth every year, which is much higher than the average growth rate in the world. In terms of GDP calculated in U.S. dollars, it has grown from $260 billion in 2000 to $985 billion in 2006. 2008 year GDP in Russia is set to top the $1.2 trillion mark. Real GDP growth (%)- 7,0. Consumer price inflation (av; %)- 12,5.
Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk.

Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building; defense industries including radar, missile production, and 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.
Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber; note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources.
Geography & Climate
Russia is the largest country in the world, covering 17.1 million square kilometers – it is 70 times the size of the UK and nearly twice the size of the USA. It spans 11 time zones. Russia stretches from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean, from the Arctic Sea to the Altai Mountains.
Russia generally has long cold winters and brief hot summers. In Moscow, January temperatures can easily drop to –20°C (-4°F) while in July and August temperatures of 30°C (86°F) and above are not uncommon.
Cultural & Social Life
Theatre, cinema, music and the arts are important parts of Russian life. But, as in other countries, state funding for the arts has fallen, while private sponsorship has begun to emerge. Russia’s hallmark cultural institutions, whose international renown attracts visitors from all over the world, include the Bolshoi Theater, Pushkin Art Gallery and Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow and the Mariinsky (Kirov) Theater and the Hermitage Art Museum in St. Petersburg, not to mention the country’s countless other cultural treasures.
Russians also spend a considerable amount of their leisure time at the homes of friends and relatives, as they place great importance on friendship and family. Thus, anniversaries, birthdays and other occasions are celebrated with more gusto than expatriates may be used to at home.
National Holidays:
New Year's Day : 1-2 January
Russian Christmas : 7 January
Women's Day : 8 March
Spring & Labor Day : 1-2 May
Victory Day : 9 May
Russian Independence Day : 12 June
Russian Constitution Day : 12 December