Interesting Facts About Russia
Hello and welcome to my Interesting Facts about Russia page. There are so many amazing information about Russia, so enjoy! Geography of Russia, time zones in Russia, money and economy of Russia, population of Russia and many more…
Let’s start from Facts about Russia
1st place in the world in natural gas extraction and export. Western Europe currently depends on Russia for nearly a third of its domestic gas supplies; Germany depends on Russia for 42% of its natural gas and Bosnia, Slovakia and Macedonia get 100% of their gas from Russia.
1st place in the world in oil production
1st place in the world by per capita natural resources supply
1st place in the world reserves of peat (47% world reserves)
1st place in the world in reserves of forest resources (23% world reserves)
1st place in the world in reserves of salt
1st place in the world in reserves of drinking water and 2nd place in reserves of fresh water
1st place in the world in reserves of crab and sturgeon in the 200 mile economic area, ànd 2nd-3rd place in reserves of cod, herring, capelin, salmon, etc.
1st place in the world in explored reserves of tin, zinc, titanium, niobium
1st place in the world in reserves (40% world reserves) and production (22% world production) of nickel
1st place in the world in explored reserves of iron ore (about 28% world reserves). Nearly a third of all tin and iron ores are in Russia, as are over 40% of all platinum group minerals and over a third of all nickel reserves.
1st place in the world in export of steel and 3rd place in export of metal-roll
1st place in the world in production and export of primary aluminium
1st place in the world in export of nitric fertilizers, 2nd and 3rd in export of phosphoric and potash fertilizers
1st place in the world in reserves of diamonds and 2nd in their production
1st place in the world in physical volume of export of diamonds
1st place in the world in explored reserves of silver
2nd place in the world in explored reserves of gold
2nd place in the world in explored reserves of platinum and 1st in its export
3rd place in world reserves of coal (30% of world reserves)
3rd place in the world in explored reserves of copper and lead
3rd place in the world in explored reserves of tungsten and molybdenum
7th place in world reserves of oil (18% of world reserves). Well let’s put this way – 20% of the world’s known oil reserves are in Russia. Russia currently supplies the US with 4% of its oil.
9th place in world reserves of uranium (10% of world reserves)
Russian Money
The Russian ruble is the official currency of the Russian Federation. It consists of 100 kopecks and has been in use more than 500 years. Currency relations of all participants of foreign trade activities in the Russian Federation are regulated by the federal law “On Currency Regulation and Currency Control,” according to which currency control in Russia is carried out by the Government of the Russian Federation. The principal body of currency control is the Bank of Russia, well actually more correct is Central Bank of the Russian Federation.
When you travel to Russia, you will probably need to bring a certain amount of cash in euros or dollars, because it is impossible to buy rubles outside of Russia. Changing money is easy. Moscow has enormous amount of exchange centers and many of them operation 24-hour and seven days a week.
Also you will be able to access your funds through ATM machines once you get to Moscow, which are located literally everywhere – in the lobbies of most hotels, in metro stations and, of course, next to banks. The flat-rate charges are small, and exchange rates are reasonable.
Geography of Russia
Russia is the largest country in the World with a total area of 17.1 million square kilometers. It spans two continents – Europe and Asia. Russia borders with sixteen countries: Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic countries to the west, Finland to the north, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia and China to the south, and North Korea to the east. The United States and Japan are not far from the eastern coast of Russia. Russia has the longest border in the world, a total of 60,932 km, including 38,808 km of maritime borders (in the north and east) and 14,508 of land borders (in the south and west). Russia borders Kazakhstan (6,846 km), China (3,645 km), Mongolia (3,485 km), Ukraine (1,576 km), Finland (1,340 km), Belarus (959 km), Georgia (723 km), Estonia (294 km), Azerbaijan (284 km), Lithuania (280.5 km), Poland (232 km), Latvia (217 km), Norway (196 km), and North Korea (19 km).
The extreme northernmost point of the country’s mainland is Cape Fligely on Rudolf Island of Franz Josef Land archipelago; the southernmost point is located in the Republic of Dagestan on the border with Azerbaijan. The distance between the western and the eastern borders of Russia is 9,000 km (from the Vistula Spit in Kaliningrad Bay to Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka); the easternmost point is Rotmanov Island in the Bering Strait. Thus, Russia’s territory spans over 4,000 km from north to south, and almost 10,000 km from west to east.
Russia has about 120,000 rivers over 10 kilometers long. The total length of these rivers is 2.3 million kilometers. The largest rivers are the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisey, Amur, and Volga in the European part of the country. There are about 2 million freshwater and salt lakes in Russia. The largest lakes are Lake Baikal (which holds about 20% of the world’s total freshwater supply, not counting the fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps and glaciers), Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega, and Lake Taimyr. Lake Baikal is the world’s deepest (1,620 meters) fresh water lake. It holds some 20% of the world’s surface fresh water. If drained, it would take the water of all five Great Lakes (Ontario, Erie, Huron, Michigan, and Superior) to refill it. Best estimates are that Russia owns about 25% of the world’s fresh water.
The forest zone covers 41% of Russia’s plainlands; the share of the forest-steppe zone is 11.2% and the tundra forest belt 20.5%. 22% of the world’s forest are in Russia. As such, Russia – which has been called the “lungs of Europe” – is second only to the Amazon in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs. 15% of all the carbon dioxide in the world is absorbed here.
Russia has 100 strictly protected natural arias – cover 83 million acres, or about 1.6% of the country; in addition, Russia’s 35 national parks cover another 0.4% of the country. Taken together, they are the largest protected land area of any country.
The coasts of Russia are washed by 12 seas of three ocean basins: the Atlantic Ocean (the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov), the Arctic Ocean (the Barents Sea, the White Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchee Sea) and the Pacific Ocean (the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan), as well the Caspian Sea, which is a closed basin.
Russia Climate
Due to its vast territory, Russia is a country of natural contrasts. The northern part of the country is located in the arctic and subarctic climate zones, while the southern regions have a subtropical climate. The climate of other regions of the country is moderate. For example, winter temperature in Sochi (the capital of Winter Olympic 2014) usually about +5C; at the same time regular temperature in Novosibirsk (one of the largest city in Siberia) is -15C. There is the “Pole of Cold” located in Oymyakonskiy region in Yakutia. Average monthly temperature there is -61C!!! There is no other place in the world exist where people live and work in such cold weather.
Time in Russia
There are eleven time zones in Russia (more than in any other country in the world): from UTC +1 in Kalinigrad to UTC +12 in Kamchatka.
Russian City’s Facts
City-factories were a unique creation of the Soviet time: whole cities created to serve a monopolithic industrial enterprise. Some of the lagest are Lipetsk (population 506,000 – Novolipetsk Metal), Norilsk (134,000 – Norilsk Nickel), Cherepovetsk (312,000 – Severstal), Nizhniy Novgorod (1,311,000 – GAZ), and Tolyatti (718,000 – VAZ). Some 20% Russia’s population lives in these cities.
A dozen Russian cities have over one million inhabitant. This compares with nine for the United States. They are the largest cities in Russia. Those cities (in declining order of size) are Moscow, St. Peterburg, Novosibirsk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Kazan, Perm, Ufa, Rostov-on-Don, and Volgograd. Moscow and St. Petersburg are the first and seventh lagest cities in Europe!!!The oldest city in Russian Federation is Derbent, Dagestan, which supposedly dates back some 5,000 years as an urban center.
Russian Historical Fact
In 1917 Russia two revolutions happened: in February was bourgeois-democratic, which ruling shifted 300 years of monarchy, and in October – the socialist revolution, which has shifted to the interim government and established a communist regime until 1991. In the next 3 years the country was in a civil war. The war brought enormous destruction, millions of dead, more than three million people were forced to leave the country forever.
Today, 20 years after the Soviet Union collapse, there is no common view in Russian society on those events and the subsequent Stalin’s rule. For some, this is repression of millions innocent people, the suppression of any dissent and the destruction of any private property; for others this is the country’s industrialization, free health care and education, the victory over Nazi Germany.
Fun, Weird, and Fascinating Facts About Russia and Russians
- According to Levada.ru, 28% Russian never drink, 26% drink less than once a month, 16% once a month, 14% 2-4 times per month, 9% drink once a week, and just 6% drink several times a week. So, as you see, Russians drinking habit is nothing but a tale. When Russians drink, they consume on one evening: 18% less than one drink, 34% one drink, 27% two drinks, 14% a glass of vodka / bottle of wine / two liters of beer, and 4% a bottle of vodka/ two bottles of wine / four liters of beer.
- Unlike in Europe, in Russia, historically, collectivism has a greater impact than individualism. Russian people like to take collective decisions to consult. However, many people sincerely believe that democracy does not suit Russia.
- Russia is a European country, however two thirds of the country is located in Asia.
- There are 1000 males for 1147 women. The predominance of the number of women over the number of men notes ranging from 33 years of age.
- The most popular holidays in Russia are New Year (January 1), Victory Day (May 9), and the International Women’s Day (May 8).
- Russian people do not consider themselves to be the most intelligent, but the most spiritual in the world
- The literacy rate in Russia is 99%. The country has about 3 million students and 567 schools (48 of them universities). According to Finans magazine, due to demographic trends, Russia’s student population will fall to 700,000 in 2012, from 1.3 million in 2006. The number of foreign students in Russia has grown by 10% since 2006 and is now over 70,000. 1.4% of students are attending Russian universities on an international agreement, making Russia 9th among nations educating foreign students. On average, foreign students pay $2-3000 per year.
- According to top health official Gennady Onishenk, Russia is the world’s hardest smoking country, puffing through an average of 17 cigarettes per person per day! The average price of a pack of cigarettes is about 40 rubles. Most Russia bars and restaurant are smoker-friendly, which exposes all people there to secondhand smoke. However, more and more people spoke out in favor of banning smoking in public places.
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