Russia
The earliest state in the region that is now Russia was that of the Kievan Rus. In the later Middle Ages it was the Muscovy principality that developed into an empire that – from the 15th century onward – grew slowly eastward into Asia. Under the tsars, Russia then became a major European power as Imperial Russia modernized and expanded westward from the 18th century onward.

However, at the start of the 20th century Russia’s power was declining and growing dissatisfaction amongst the population, combined with the military failure during World War I led to the Russian Revolution in 1917 that was followed by the proclamation of the Soviet Union.

By the late 1980s, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev implemented reforms such as glasnost and perestroika, but these measures were unable to prevent the collapse of the Soviet Union after a failed military coup in 1991. The Russian Soviet Federal Republic declared its independence on August 24 of that year as the Russian Federation. Russia, as the Soviet Union's primary successor state, has since sought to maintain its global influence, but has been hampered by various economic difficulties.

Economy
A decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of reforms and Russia’s industrial base faced a serious decline. The country achieved a slight recovery in 1997. In 1998 a financial crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy subsequently has rebounded, growing by an average of more than 6% annually in 1999-2002 on the back of higher oil prices and a weak ruble. This recovery, along with a renewed government effort to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition.

Geography
Map of RussiaThe Russian Federation stretches across much of the north of the super continent Eurasia and, as such, contains a great variety of landscapes and climates. Most of the landscape consists of vast plains, both in the European part and the Asian part that is largely known as Siberia. These plains are predominantly steppe to the south and heavily forested to the north, with tundra along the northern coast. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, Russia's highest point at 5,633 m) and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes on Kamchatka. Notable are the more central Ural Mountains that form the primary divide between Europe and Asia.

Russia has an extensive coastline of over 37,000 km along the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as inland seas such as the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas. Smaller bodies of water are part of the oceans.
Climate
Ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; sub arctic 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.
Government
The Russian Federation is a federative democracy with a president, directly elected for a four-year term, who holds considerable executive power. The president, who resides in the Kremlin, nominates the highest state officials, including the prime minister, who must be approved by parliament. The legal system is based on the civil law system, and there is judicial review of legislative acts.
People
Russia today is the most populated country in Europe. Most of the roughly 157 million Russians derive from the Eastern Slavic family. Population density is about 22 persons pre square mile. Russia’s education system has produced nearly 100% literacy. The Russian language is the only official state language. Cyrillic alphabet is the only official script, which means that these languages must be written in Cyrillic in official texts.
Religion
The Russian Orthodox Church is the dominant Christian religion in the Federation.
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