9781422275771

The grand palaces and gardens in Saint Petersburg are an enduring symbol of the enlightened 18th-century tsars, Peter the Great and Catherine the Great.

Russia at a Glance

Total Land Area

6,601,668 square miles

Climate

Humid continental (European Russia west of the Ural Mountains); subarctic (Siberia); tundra (polar north); temperate (southern steppes)

Natural Resources

Oil, natural gas, strategic minerals, rare earth elements, timber

Land Use

Agricultural land: 13.1 percent (7.3 percent arable land, 5.7 percent permanent pasture, 0.1 percent permanent crops); forest: 49.4 percent; other usage: 37.5 percent

Urban Population

74.4 percent of total population

Major Urban Areas

Moscow (12.41 million); Saint Petersburg (5.38 million); Novosibirsk (1.63 million); Yekaterinburg (1.48 million); Nizhniy Novgorod (1.26 million); Samara (1.16 million) North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean from Europe west of the Ural Mountains to the North Pacific Ocean; broad plains with low hills west of the Urals, coniferous forest and tundra across Siberia, uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Geography

6