Russia: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 13, 2026

News •

Ukraine launches nearly 1,200 drones at Russia as US-led talks will consider wider European security • Nov. 13, 2026, 2:14 PM ET (AP)

Correction: Russia-Ukraine-War story • Nov. 13, 2026, 1:30 PM ET (AP)

The European Union says Europe will send a team of diplomats from across the continent to the Ukraine peace talks • Nov. 13, 2026, 12:42 PM ET (AP)

NHL indicates Finland's block on Russian athletes could affect future games there • Nov. 13, 2026, 11:13 AM ET (AP)

Bombings in Russia kill a military officer and injure an adviser to Ukraine's former prime minister • Nov. 13, 2026, 9:07 AM ET (AP)

Facts

Also Known As	Rossija • Russian Federation • Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic • Rossiyskaya Federatsiya • Russian S.F.S.R. • Rossiya
Head Of Government	Prime Minister: Mikhail Mishustin
Capital	Moscow
Population	(2026 est.) 142,557,000
Currency Exchange Rate	1 USD equals 82.798 Russian ruble
Head Of State	President: Vladimir Putin
Form Of Government	federal multiparty republic with a bicameral legislative body (Federal Assembly comprising the Federation Council [170] and the State Duma [450])
Official Language	Russian
Official Religion	none
Official Name	Rossiyskaya Federatsiya (Russian Federation), or Rossia (Russia)
Total Area (Sq Km)	17,075,400
Total Area (Sq Mi)	6,592,846
Monetary Unit	ruble (RUB)
Population Rank	(2026) 9
Population Projection 2030	139,599,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2026) 21.6
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2026) 8.3
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2018) 74% • Rural: (2018) 26%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2020) 66.5 years • Female: (2020) 76.4 years
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2024) 2,236,148
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2024) 15,320

Did You Know?

Peter the Great attempted to modernize Russia and imposed a tax on beards in 1698.
Russia ranks the fourth highest globally in alcohol consumption per capita.
It is customary to gift flowers in odd numbers, as even numbers of flowers are used for funerals.
Since 1745, the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg has housed cats to catch mice that damage artwork.

Photos and Videos

Political map of Russia showing national boundaries, major cities, and neighboring countries across Europe and Asia. The map highlights Russia's extensive borders with countries such as Finland, China, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine, and includes a locator inset in the upper left corner indicating Russia's position on a world map. Major Russian cities like Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok, and Yekaterinburg are labeled, along with surrounding seas such as the Arctic Ocean, Barents Sea,

western Greater Caucasus range

Map highlighting Russia in orange, spanning Eastern Europe and northern Asia from the borders of Europe to the Pacific Ocean. Surrounding countries such as Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and Japan are labeled, as well as nearby bodies of water including the Arctic Ocean and Pacific Ocean. An inset globe in the upper right shows Russia's location within the northern hemisphere.

Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, St. Petersburg, Russia

Map of Russia showing its administrative divisions, including oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs, and autonomous oblasts, each color-coded. The map labels major regions and federal districts, with an inset highlighting Russia's location in Eurasia. A legend and list below the map provide the names and numbers of all administrative divisions by federal district.

Physical map of Russia showing major landforms such as the Ural Mountains, Siberian Plain, Central Siberian Plateau, and key rivers and lakes. Neighboring countries and surrounding seas are labeled, and a small locator map in the top left highlights Russia's position within Eurasia.

Map of western Russia showing major cities, rivers, lakes, mountain ranges, and neighboring countries including Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and Azerbaijan. The map highlights physical features such as the Ural Mountains, Volga River, and Caspian Sea, as well as political boundaries. An inset locator map in the lower left shows the position of the main map area within Europe and western Russia.

typical Russian rural buildings

Lake Baikal: The world's deepest and oldest lake

Why is the village of Shoyna sinking in sand?

What made Russian Tsar Ivan IV so terrible?

The rise and fall of the Russian tsars

The rise and reign of Catherine the Great

National anthem of Russia

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

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One of the greatest Russian writers

Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Russian author

Maxim Gorky

Maxim Gorky

Russian writer

Vladimir Lenin

Vladimir Lenin

prime minister of Soviet Union

President Vladimir Putin speaks at a podium with the Russian coat of arms, with uniformed military personnel standing in formation behind him.

Vladimir Putin

president of Russia

Oil painting of Peter the Great, emperor of Russia, shown from the waist up wearing armor and a sash, with one hand resting on a cane, against a dark background.

Peter I

emperor of Russia

Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin

premier of Soviet Union

default image

Nicholas I

tsar of Russia

Alexander I

Alexander I

emperor of Russia

Portrait of Catherine the Great of Russia by Richard Brompton, showing her in regal attire with a jeweled crown and fur-trimmed robe, set in an ornate oval frame.

Catherine the Great

empress of Russia

Leon Trotsky

Leon Trotsky

Russian revolutionary

Alexei Navalny

Alexei Navalny

Russian lawyer and anti-corruption activist

Alexander II

Alexander II

emperor of Russia

Painting by Viktor Mihajlovic Vasnetsov of Ivan the Terrible standing in ornate, gold-embroidered robes, holding a staff, beside a decorated throne.

Ivan the Terrible

tsar of Russia

Nicholas II

Nicholas II

tsar of Russia

default image

Aleksandr Ivanovich Herzen

Russian writer

Nikon

Nikon

Russian patriarch

default image

Mikhail Mikhaylovich, Count Speransky

Russian statesman

Alexander III

Alexander III

emperor of Russia

Sergey Yulyevich Witte

Sergey Yulyevich, Count Witte

prime minister of Russia

Boris Nemtsov

Boris Nemtsov

Russian physicist and politician

Moscow

Moscow

national capital, Russia

St. Petersburg, Russia

St. Petersburg

Russia

Chechnya

Chechnya

republic, Russia

Dagestan prayer rug

Dagestan

republic, Russia

Königsberg Cathedral, Kaliningrad, Russia.

Kaliningrad

city, Kaliningrad oblast, Russia

Tsamad, North Ossetia−Alania

North Ossetia–Alania

republic, Russia

Veliky Novgorod, Russia

Veliky Novgorod

Russia

Bronnitsy

Moscow

oblast, Russia

Dykh-Tau

Kabardino-Balkariya

republic, Russia

Kotkozero

Karelia

republic, Russia

Bashkortostan: Mount Yamantau

Bashkortostan

republic, Russia

Vladivostok

Vladivostok

Russia

Udachnaya: diamond mine

Sakha

republic, Russia

Volga River

Chuvashiya

republic, Russia

Nizhny Novgorod, Russia

Nizhny Novgorod

Russia

Opened passport with visas, stamps, seals, world map. (travel, tourism)

Guess the Country by Its Neighbors Quiz

Tile on a monument of a hammer and sickle. Communist symbolism, communism, Russian Revolution, Russian history, Soviet Union

Exploring Russian History

10:087 Ocean: The World of Water, two globes showing eastern and western hemispheres

You Name It!

Actual continental drift of plates. Thematic map.

Geography Fun Facts

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The Country Quiz

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7:023 Geography: Think of Something Big, globe showing Africa, Europe, and Eurasia

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Siege of Leningrad. 900-day siege. Defences of Leningrad: Radio Picture from Moscow, 1941-43. Sappers of the Red Army cross area near Leningrad through barbed wire barriers and create fortified zones to stop German invaders. World War II

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