 Russia is the largest state with area of 17075,5 thousand sq. km. There are 1030 cities, 2153 settlements of city type. It is located in the Eastern part of Europe and Northern part of Asia. Russia borders upon Korea, Chinese People's Republic, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Byelorussia, Lithuania, Poland, Latvia, Estonia, Finland and Norway. Capital of the state is Moscow. The largest cities are Moscow (9,408,100 people), Saint-Petersburg (4,436,700 people), Samara (1,223,000), Omsk (1,161,000), Chelyabinsk (1,125,000), Kazan (1,092,000), Ufa (1,092,000), Perm (1,086,000). The state language is Russian, there are also some other languages depending on the region. The state structure is a Federal State with republican form of government. The head of the state is the President elected for a 4-year term. The head of the government is the Prime-Minister. Legislature is Federal Assembly (two-chamber parliament - State Duma and Council of Federation). 146,3 million of people - 68,854,000 men and 78,377,000 women - live in Russia (data of 2000). There a re more than 100 nationalities living in Russia: Russian - 81,5%, Tatar - 3,8%, Ukrainian - 3%, Chuvash - 1,2%, Bashkir - 0,9%, Byelorussian - 0,8%, Mordvinian - 0,7%, German -0,6%, Chechen - 0,6%, Avar, Armenian, Jewish - in 0,4% and others. Currency is ruble (100 kopecks). In the circulation there are coins of 1, 2 and 5 rubles denomination and also bank notes of 5, 10, 50, 100, 500 and 1000 rubles. Trade bar-code is 460-469. Religions: Orthodoxy, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism and others.
Russia has centuries-old history and luxuriant culture. Some of architectural, historical and cultural monuments on the territory of Russia are included in the list of Universal Heritage Objects of UNESCO. They are Moscow Kremlin and Red Square, historical center of Saint-Petersburg with its palaces and park suburban complexes, historical monuments of Novgorod, historical and cultural complexes of Solovetskie Islands, whitestone monuments of Vladimir-Suzdal land and cities of 'Russian Gold en Ring', Boris and Gleb Church in Kideksha, Troitse-Sergieva Lavra in Sergiev Posad, Ascension Church in Kolomenskoye, State Historical Architectural and Ethnographic Museum-Reserve 'Kizhi', Kazan Kremlin and others. Russian territory is very vast, therfore, there are a lot of native zones that are very multifarious: Ladozhskoye and Onezhskoye Lakes, the deepest in the world Baikal Lake, relict Siberian taiga, beautiful mountain systems of Caucasus and Altai, volcanos and geysers of Kamchatka, reserve Meshera forests, marvelous lacustrine land of Karelia, Sayany, Valdai Hills, Volga and Akhtuba, ancient Ural mountains, great Siberian rivers, resort Black Sea coast with adjacent Caucasian spurs, inclement Russian North and so many others! The country is an excellent place for active rest because of rivers, lakes, mountain systems and luxuriant nature. You'll find so many interesting things to see in our historical places - Moscow, Novgorod, Borodino, Veliky Rostov, Smolensk, Pskov, Tula, Ryazan, Orel, Volgograd. We advise to visit Siberia as well as other places of our Great Country!
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