Russia

• 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

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

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

• Yenisey-Angara - 5,539 km;
• Ob-Irtysh - 5,410 km;
• 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: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

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) Don (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)

• 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 population pockets are isolated and generally found in the south

• 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 in Siberia and parts of European Russia

volcanism:

• Kamchatka Peninsula is home to 29 historically active volcanoes, with dozens more in the Kuril Islands;
• Kliuchevskoi (4,835 m) 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"

noun:

Russian(s)

adjective:

Russian

total:

42.3 years (2025 est.)

male:

39.4 years

female:

44.5 years

• 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 population pockets are isolated and generally found in the south

at birth:

1.06 male(s)/female

0-14 years:

1.06 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

0.95 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.52 male(s)/female

total population:

0.87 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

total:

6.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)

male:

7.2 deaths/1,000 live births

female:

5.8 deaths/1,000 live births

total population:

72.3 years (2024 est.)

male:

67.4 years

female:

77.4 years

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.)

total:

26.5% (2025 est.)

male:

40.2% (2025 est.)

female:

15.1% (2025 est.)

women married by age 15:

0.3% (2017)

women married by age 18:

6.2% (2017)

• air pollution from heavy industry, 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 agricultural chemicals;
• nuclear waste disposal;
• scattered areas of radioactive contamination;
• groundwater contamination from toxic waste;
• urban solid-waste management;
• abandoned stocks of pesticides

• 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

urban population:

75.3% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization:

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

energy:

13,815.3 kt (2022-2024 est.)

agriculture:

1,972.6 kt (2019-2021 est.)

waste:

4,069.8 kt (2019-2021 est.)

other:

363.2 kt (2019-2021 est.)

municipal solid waste generated annually:

60 million tons (2024 est.)

percent of municipal solid waste recycled:

5.3% (2022 est.)

municipal:

17.15 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

industrial:

29.03 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

agricultural:

18.64 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

total global geoparks and regional networks:

1

global geoparks and regional networks:

Yangan-Tau (2023)

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 referred to as Muscovy until PETER I declared the Empire of All Russias in 1721;
• the new name aimed at identifying the new Russia with European political tradition;
• "Rus" was the Old Finnish name given to Varangians (eastern Vikings) who entered the area in the 9th century

history:

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

amendment process:

• 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’s 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

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

legislature name:

Federal Assembly (Federalnoye Sobraniye)

legislative structure:

bicameral

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

chamber name:

State Duma (Gossoudarstvennaya Duma)

number of seats:

450 (all directly elected)

electoral system:

mixed system

scope of elections:

full renewal

term in office:

5 years

most recent election date:

9/19/2021

parties elected and seats per party:

• United Russia (326);
• Communist Party (KPRF) (57);
• A Just Russia (28);
• Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) (23);
• Other (16)

percentage of women in chamber:

16.4%

expected date of next election:

September 2026

chamber name:

Council of the Federation (Soviet Federatsii)

number of seats:

170 (all appointed)

percentage of women in chamber:

18.5%

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)

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 (the 21 Russian republics have court systems specified by their own constitutions)

• A Just Russia for Truth or SRZP
• Civic Platform or CP
• Communists of Russia or CPCR
• Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF
• Cossack Party of the Russian Federation or CosPRF
• Democratic Party of Russia or DPR
• Green Alternative or GA
• Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR
• New People or NP
• Party for Fairness! or PARZAS!
• Party of Direct Democracy or PDD
• Party of Progress or PP
• Party of Pensioners or RPPSJ
• Party of Russia's Rebirth or PRR
• Party of Social Protection or PSP
• Rodina
• Russian Ecological Party or The Greens
• Russian Party of Freedom and Justice or RPFJ
• Russia United Democratic Party or Yabloko
• United Russia or UR

chief of mission:

Ambassador Alexander Nikitich DARCHIEV (since 11 June 2025)

chancery:

2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 298-5700

FAX:

[1] (202) 298-5735

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://washington.mid.ru/en/

consulate(s) general:

Houston, New York

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Chargé d’Affaires J. Douglas DYKHOUSE (since June 2025)

embassy:

55,75566° N, 37,58028° E

mailing address:

5430 Moscow Place, Washington DC 20521-5430

telephone:

[7] (495) 728-5000

FAX:

[7] (495) 728-5090

email address and website:

[email protected]; https://ru.usembassy.gov/

consulate(s) general:

Vladivostok (suspended status), Yekaterinburg (suspended status)

• 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)

description:

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

meaning:

colors may have been based on the Dutch flag, but no official meaning is assigned

history:

created when Russia built its first naval vessels, and was used mostly as a naval flag until the 19th century

note: inspired several other Slavic countries to adopt horizontal tricolors of the same colors in different arrangements

• the current coat of arms of Russia was adopted by presidential decree on 30 November 1993;
• the double-headed eagle was adopted as a Russian symbol in 1472 when Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina, niece of the last Byzantine emperor in Constantinople -- the eagle was her family's emblem

title:

“Gosudarstvenny Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii” (National Anthem of the Russian Federation)

lyrics/music:

Sergey Vladimirovich MIKHALKOV/Aleksandr Vasilyevich ALEKSANDROV

history:

• adopted 2000;
• Russia adopted the tune of the Soviet Union's anthem (composed in 1939), as well as new lyrics;
• MIKHALKOV, who wrote the new lyrics, also authored the Soviet lyrics in 1943

total World Heritage Sites:

33 (22 cultural, 11 natural)

selected World Heritage Site locales:

• Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments (c);
• Kizhi Pogost (c);
• Kremlin and Red Square, Moscow (c);
• Historic Monuments of Novgorod and Surroundings (c);
• White Monuments of Vladimir and Suzdal (c);
• Architectural Ensemble of the Trinity Sergius Lavra in Sergiev Posad (c);
• Church of the Ascension, Kolomenskoye (c);
• Lake Baikal (n);
• Volcanoes of Kamchatka (n);
• Ensemble of the Ferapontov Monastery (c);
• Historic and Architectural Complex of the Kazan Kremlin (c);
• Citadel, Ancient City and Fortress Buildings of Derbent (c);
• Uvs Nuur Basin (n);
• Ensemble of the Novodevichy Convent (c);
• Natural System of Wrangel Island Reserve (n);
• Historical Centre of the City of Yaroslavl (c);
• Lena Pillars Nature Park (n);
• Bolgar Historical and Archaeological Complex (c);
• Assumption Cathedral and Monastery of the town-island of Sviyazhsk (c);
• Churches of the Pskov School of Architecture (c);
• Petroglyphs of Lake Onega and the White Sea (c);
• Rock Paintings of Shulgan-Tash Cave (c)

• 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

agriculture:

2.7% (2024 est.)

industry:

30.7% (2024 est.)

services:

57.5% (2024 est.)

note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

• 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

total:

9.3% (2024 est.)

male:

8.8% (2024 est.)

female:

9.8% (2024 est.)

note: % of labor force ages 15-24 seeking employment

on food:

25.3% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco:

5.9% of household expenditures (2023 est.)

lowest 10%:

2.7% (2021 est.)

highest 10%:

26.6% (2021 est.)

note: % share of income accruing to lowest and highest 10% of population

Number of operational nuclear reactors:

36 (2025)

Number of nuclear reactors under construction:

4 (2025)

Net capacity of operational nuclear reactors:

26.8GW (2025 est.)

Percent of total electricity production:

18.4% (2023 est.)

Number of nuclear reactors permanently shut down:

11 (2025)

production:

531.13 million metric tons (2023 est.)

consumption:

290.763 million metric tons (2023 est.)

exports:

211.944 million metric tons (2023 est.)

imports:

20.765 million metric tons (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

162.166 billion metric tons (2023 est.)

total petroleum production:

10.879 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

refined petroleum consumption:

3.863 million bbl/day (2023 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves:

80 billion barrels (2021 est.)

production:

613.447 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

consumption:

474.448 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

exports:

124.479 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

imports:

5.724 billion cubic meters (2023 est.)

proven reserves:

47.805 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

• 13 national TV stations: the federal government owns 1 and controls a second, state-owned Gazprom controls 2, state-affiliated Bank Rossiya controls 2, Moscow city administration runs 1, the Russian Orthodox Church owns 1, and the Russian military owns 1;
• around 3,300 national, regional, and local TV stations, with over two-thirds completely or partially state-controlled;
• satellite TV available;
• 2 state-run national radio networks, with a third majority-owned by Gazprom;
• around 2,400 public and commercial radio stations

total:

85,494 km (2019)

narrow gauge:

957 km

total ports:

67 (2024)

large:

4

medium:

5

small:

19

very small:

38

size unknown:

1

ports with oil terminals:

32

key ports:

Arkhangels'k, De Kastri, Dudinka, Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Novorossiysk, Sankt-Peterburg, Vladivostok, Vyborg

• the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically produced weapons systems, although in recent years Russia has imported military hardware from external suppliers such as Iran and North Korea to support its war on Ukraine;
• the Russian defense industry is capable of producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems;
• Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of military hardware (2025)