Interesting Facts About Russia - Fun Facts About Russia

The moment someone mentions Russia, the names that come in mind are Moscow, St. Petersburg and Murmansk. These cities epitomize Russia for most of the people around the world and remain the focus of tourist attention. However, with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, people have also started to look beyond these three cities and started exploring the country on a much wider basis. The largest country in the world, Russia encompasses so many attractions, right from freshwater lakes, soaring mountains rivers and forests to beautiful monuments, rich wildlife and awe inspiring volcanoes, within its precincts. Globally, Russia is also the producer of natural gas and oil and contains approximately one-quarter of the world’s fresh water. Formerly known as the USSR, Russia grew to become the first constitutional socialist state and one of the first recognized superpowers. In this article, we have listed a number of fun and interesting facts about Russia.

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Fast Facts

Continent: Eurasia (Europe and Asia)

Area: 17,075,400 km²

Capital: Moscow

Population: 143,300,000 (2011)

Currency: Russian ruble

Calling Code: +7

Official Languages: Russian

Type Of Government: Federal, semi-presidential, constitutional republic

Fun & Interesting Facts About Russia

The official name of Russia is the Russian Federation.
Russian Federation came into being after former Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991, into 15 separate geopolitical entities.
Russia is the largest country in the world, stretching over an area of 17.1 million square kilometer.
It covers 1/7th of the total land of our planet and neighbors more countries than any other country on earth.
Russia is a transcontinental country, extending halfway around the northern hemisphere and covering much of eastern and north-eastern Europe and the whole of northern Asia.
The official language of Russia is Russian and the country’s main religion is Russian Orthodoxy.
There are 221 museums, 2,000 libraries, more than 80 theaters, 100 concert organizations, 45 art galleries, 62 movie theaters and 80 nightclubs in St. Petersburg alone.
Russia has some of the best art institutions in the world, like Bolshoi Theater and Pushkin Art Gallery in Moscow, and Mariinsky Theater and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.
It is believed that Russian weapon brands are some of the most recognized in the world.
St Petersburg plays host to as many as 100 cultural and art festivals every year, including 50 international ones.
Ladoga Lake of Russia claims the distinction of being the largest lake in Europe. It spreads over 18 400 sq. km and is around 51 m deep.
Do you know Russians adopted equal rights for men and women before the United States of America?
Russia boasts of the Urals, the oldest mountains in the world, and Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest lake and the largest reservoir of fresh water on earth.
Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world.
Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's fresh water.
Russia is so vast that it spans nine time zones.
Telecommunications, finances, construction and energy production are some sectors in the Russian economy that are growing rapidly.
The administrative divisions in Russia include 21 autonomous republics, 49 oblasts or provinces, 6 territories (kray), 10 autonomous regions (okrug) and 1 autonomous oblast.
As per the 1993 constitution, Russia has a democratic and federal government system, which stands divided into executive, legislative and judicial branches.
Russia houses more than 100 different ethnic groups, representing a multiplicity of national histories and cultures and distinct language groups, including Indo-European Slavic, Turkic, Finno-Ugric and others.
In terms of population, Russia is the ninth largest country in the world.
Russia is the only country with 12 seas on its territory.
There are 100 reserves and 35 national parks in Russia.
Turks and Muslims make up only 4-10% of the population. The others are made of Slavs and Russian Orthodox communities.
The Russian economy is the world’s ninth largest economy by nominal GDP around the world.
Russia is the first country to launch a man into space. His name was Yuri Gagarin.
Moscow is officially, the biggest city in Europe.

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