Russia, which is officially named the Russian Federation, is the largest sovereign nation in the world. The country has a total land area of 17,098,242 square kilometers. It is the ninth most populated nation in the world with a population of 144 million people. Moscow is the capital city of Russia, and it is among the biggest cities in the world. Other large cities in Russia include Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Saint Petersburg, and Yekaterinburg. From north to south of the country, it stretches for about 4,000 km while east to west is approximately 10,000 km. A president heads the state while the prime minister leads the government of Russia.

Russia has two national symbols: the flag and the emblem. The official language is Russian and the currency is the Russian ruble. The main religious groups are Christians (Orthodox) and Muslims. The life expectancy of men is 63 years while that of women is 75 years.

Where Is Russia? Europe Or Asia?

Russia cuts across nine time zones and has coastlines along the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans. The country's land size covers up to a tenth of the world's total landmass. The country shares its international boundaries with sixteen sovereign republics of the world. 77% of the total landmass of Russia is in Asia while the rest is in Europe. Though this is the case, a majority of Russians reside on the European side.

The population density of Russia stands at 27 people per square kilometer on the European part. The Asian region is less populated with a population density of about 2.5 people per square kilometer. During the late 18th and 19th centuries, the question of whether Russia lies in Europe or Asia was more complicated. Russia used to have other territories in North America. It was difficult to explain where Russia lies because it seemed to have territories in three continents. However, the issue of Russia owning land in North American was resolved in 1867 when Russia gave up those territories by selling them to America at the cost of $7.2 million.

There has been an argument about where the European part of Russia ends and the Asian part begins. With many arguing that the Ural Mountains divide the two sides, others also say that the Volga River draws the boundary between the two. It is, therefore, preferred to state that culturally and politically, Russia is European, but geographically it is more Asian.