Russia

Российская Федерация Rossiyskaya Federatsiya Russian Federation
Anthem: Hymn of the Russian Federation
Capital (and largest city)		Moscow 55°45′N, 37°37′E
Official languages		Russian official throughout nation; twenty-seven others co-official in various regions
Demonym		Russian
Government		Federal semi-presidential republic
-	President	Vladimir Putin
-	Prime Minister	Viktor Zubkov
-	President-elect	Dmitry Medvedev from 7th of May 2008
Founded (862)1		Arrival of Rurik to Novgorod
Area
-	Total	17,075,400 km² (1st) 6,592,800 sq mi
-	Water (%)	13
Population
-	2008 estimate	142,000,000 (9th)
-	2002 census	145,274,019
-	Density	8.3/km² (209th) 21.8/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$2.076 trillion (7th)
-	Per capita	$14,600 (55th)
GDP (nominal)		2007 estimate
-	Total	$1.286 trillion (9th)
-	Per capita	$9,056
Gini (2005)		40.5
HDI (2005)		▲ 0.802 (highThe Human Development Index—Going Beyond Income. Human Development Report 2007. United Nations Development Program. Retrieved on 2008-01-27.) (67th)
Currency		Ruble (RUB)
Time zone		(UTC+2 to +12)
-	Summer (DST)	(UTC+3 to +13)
Internet TLD		.ru (.su reserved), (.рф2 proposed)
Calling code		+7
1	1991 - year of establishment in modern form in connection with the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian Federation is the successor to earlier forms of continuous statehood, starting from 9 century AD when Rurik, a viking warrior, establishes "Russ" or "Rhos" state at Novgorod, traditionally taken as the beginning of Russian statehood
2	The .рф Top-level domain has been proposed for the Russian Federation as of 2008 and will only accept domains which use the Cyrillic alphabet.

Russia (pronounced [ˈrʌʃə], Russian: Росси́я, Rossiya), alsoThe Constitution of the Russian Federation. From Article 1: "The names "Russian Federation" and "Russia" shall be equal.". Retrieved on 2007-12-26. the Russian Federation (Росси́йская Федера́ция, Rossiyskaya Federatsiya; listen (help·info)), is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia. It is a semi-presidential republic comprising 83 federal subjects. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from northwest to southeast): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast), Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It is also close to the U.S. state of Alaska, Sweden, Turkey and Japan across relatively small stretches of water (the Bering Strait, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and La Pérouse Strait, respectively).

At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is by far the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. It extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe, spanning 11 time zones and incorporating a great range of environments and landforms. Russia has the world\'s largest mineral and energy resources,Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007. "Russia". Retrieved on 2007-12-26. and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world\'s largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world\'s unfrozen fresh water.

The nation\'s history began with that of the East Slavs. The Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.Russia. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2008-01-31. Founded and ruled by Vikings and their descendants, the first East Slavic state, Kievan Rus\', arose in the 9th century and adopted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium.excerpted from Glenn E. Curtis (ed.) (1998). Russia: A Country Study: Kievan Rus\' and Mongol Periods. Washington, DC: Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2007-07-20. Kievan Rus\' ultimately disintegrated and the lands were divided into many small feudal Russian states. The most powerful successor state to Kievan Rus\' was Moscow, which served as the main force in the Russian reunification process and independence struggle against the Golden Horde. Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus\'. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation and exploration to become the huge Russian Empire, stretching from Poland eastward to the Pacific Ocean.

Russia established worldwide power and influence from the times of the Russian Empire to being the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world\'s first and largest constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower. The nation can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts and sciences. The Russian Federation was founded following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the Soviet Union. Russia is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council and a leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States and the G8. It is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the world\'s largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction.

Contents 1 Geography 1.1 Topography 1.2 Climate 2 History 2.1 Early periods 2.2 Kievan Rus 2.3 Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia 2.4 Imperial Russia 2.5 Soviet Russia 2.6 Russian Federation 3 Government and politics 4 Subdivisions 5 Foreign relations and military 6 Economy 7 Demographics 7.1 Education 7.2 Health 7.3 Language 7.4 Religion 8 Culture 8.1 Classical music and ballet 8.2 Literature 8.3 Motion pictures 8.4 Visual arts 8.5 Sports 9 See also 10 References 11 External links

Geography

Main article: Geography of Russia

The Russian Federation stretches across much of the north of the super-continent of Eurasia. Because of its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances.Russia::Climate and vegetation. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-07-03. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate. Siberia supports a similar sequence but is taiga. The country contains 23 World Heritage SitesUNESCO World Heritage Centre. Russian Federation. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. and 39 UNESCO Biosphere reserves.The World Network of Biosphere Reserves - UNESCO. Russian Federation. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.

Topography

The two widest separated points in Russia are about 8,000 km (5,000 mi) apart along a geodesic line. These points are: the boundary with Poland on a 60 km long (40-mi long) spit of land separating the Gulf of Gdańsk from the Vistula Lagoon; and the farthest southeast of the Kuril Islands, a few miles off Hokkaidō Island, Japan. The points which are furthest separated in longitude are 6,600 km (4,100 mi) apart along a geodesic. These points are: in the West, the same spit; in the East, the Big Diomede Island (Ostrov Ratmanova). The Russian Federation spans 11 time zones.

Russia has the world\'s largest forest reservesLibrary of Congress. Topography and Drainage. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. and is known as "the lungs of Europe,"Walsh, Nick Paton. It\'s Europe\'s lungs and home to many rare species. But to Russia it\'s £100bn of wood. Guardian (UK). Retrieved on 2007-12-26. second only to the Amazon Rainforest in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs. It provides a huge amount of oxygen for not just Europe, but the world. With access to three of the world\'s oceans—the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific—Russian fishing fleets are a major contributor to the world\'s fish supply. (August 2006) Fish Industry of Russia - Production, Trade, Markets and Investment. Eurofish, Copenhagen, Denmark, 211. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.  The Caspian is the source of what is considered the finest caviar in the world.

Map of the Russian Federation

Topography

Most of Russia consists of vast stretches of plains that 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 and Europe\'s highest point at 5,642 m / 18,511 ft) and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes on Kamchatka. The Ural Mountains form a north-south range that divides Europe and Asia, rich in mineral resources. Russia possesses 10% of the world\'s arable land.Oil prices drive the cost of food. RIA Novosti. Retrieved on 2009-02-22.

Russia has an extensive coastline of over 37,000 kilometers (23,000 mi) along the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Baltic, Black and Caspian seas.The World Factbook. CIA. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. The Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan are linked to Russia. Major islands and archipelagos include Novaya Zemlya, the Franz Josef Land, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. The Diomede Islands (one controlled by Russia, the other by the United States) are just three kilometers (1.9 mi) apart, and Kunashir Island is about twenty kilometers (12 mi) from Hokkaidō.

Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water, providing it with one of the world\'s largest surface water resources. The most prominent of Russia\'s bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world\'s deepest, purest and most capacious freshwater lake.Lake Baikal—A Touchstone for Global Change and Rift Studies. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. Lake Baikal alone contains over one fifth of the world\'s fresh surface water.Lake Baikal. UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. Of its 100,000 rivers,Angara River. Encyclopædia Britannica (2007). Retrieved on 2007-12-26. The Volga is the most famous—not only because it is the longest river in Europe but also because of its major role in Russian history. Major lakes include Lake Baikal, Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega. Russia has a wide natural resource base unmatched by any other country, including major deposits of petroleum, natural gas, coal, timber and mineral resources.Russian Federation: Country Brief. The World Bank. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.

Climate

The climate of the Russian Federation formed under the influence of several determining factors. The enormous size of the country and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the continental climate, which is prevalent in European and Asian Russia except for the tundra and the extreme southeast. Mountains in the south obstructing the flow of warm air masses from the Indian Ocean and the plain of the west and north makes the country open to Arctic and Atlantic influences.Climate. Library Of Congress. Retrieved on 2007-12-26.

Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons — winter and summer; spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low temperatures and extremely high. The coldest month is January (on the shores of the sea—February), the warmest usually is July. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot and humid, even in Siberia. A small part of Black Sea coast around Sochi is considered in Russia to have subtropical climate.Drozdov, V. A.; et al (1992). "Ecological and Geographical Characteristics of the Coastal Zone of the Black Sea". GeoJournal. 27.2, pp. 169–178: Springer Netherlands.  The continental interiors are the driest areas.

History

Main article: History of Russia

Early periods

Main articles: Proto-Indo-Europeans, Scythians, Bosporan Kingdom, and Khazaria

Kurgan hypothesis: South Russia as the urheimat of Indo-European peoples

The vast steppes of Southern Russia were home to disunited tribes, such as Proto-Indo-EuropeansDienekes Pontikos (2004-10-02). Indo-European Origins in Southeast Europe. Anthropological Research Page. Retrieved on 2007-07-20. and Scythians.Belinskij, Andrej; H. Härke (March/April 1999). "The \'Princess\' of Ipatovo". Archeology 52 (2). Retrieved on 2007-12-26.  Remnants of these steppe civilizations were discovered in the course of the 20th century in such places as Ipatovo, Sintashta,Drews, Robert (2004). Early Riders: The beginnings of mounted warfare in Asia and Europe. New York: Routledge, 50.  Arkaim,Koryakova, Dr. Ludmila. Sintashta-Arkaim Culture. The Center for the Study of the Eurasian Nomads (CSEN). Retrieved on 2007-07-20. and Pazyryk.1998 NOVA documentary: "Ice Mummies: Siberian Ice Maiden". Transcript. Retrieved on 2007-12-26. In the latter part of the eighth century BC, Greek traders brought classical civilization to the trade emporiums in Tanais and Phanagoria.Jacobson, Esther (1995). The Art of the Scythians: The Interpenetration of Cultures at the Edge of the Hellenic World. p. 38: Brill. ISBN 9004098569.  Between the third and sixth centuries BC, the Bosporan Kingdom, a Hellenistic polity which succeeded the Greek colonies,Tsetskhladze, Gocha R. (1998). The Greek Colonisation of the Black Sea Area: Historical Interpretation of Archaeology. p. 48: F. Steiner. ISBN 3515073027.  was overwhelmed by successive waves of nomadic invasions,Turchin, Peter (2003). Historical Dynamics: Why States Rise and Fall. pp. 185–186: Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691116695.  led by warlike tribes, such as the Huns and Turkic Avars. A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the lower Volga basin steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas until the 8th century.Christian, David (1998). A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia. pp. 286–288: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0631208143. 

An approximate map of the cultures in European Russia at the arrival of the Varangians

The ancestors of modern Russians are the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought by some scholars to have been the wooded areas of the Pinsk Marshes.For a discussion of the origins of Slavs, see Barford, Paul M.. The Early Slavs. pp. 15–16: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801439779.  Moving into the lands vacated by the migrating Germanic tribes, the Early East Slavs gradually settled Western Russia in two waves: one moving from Kiev toward present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk toward Novgorod and Rostov.Christian, David (1998). A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia. pp. 6–7: Blackwell Publishing.  From the 7th century onwards, the East Slavs constituted the bulk of the population in Western Russia and slowly but peacefully assimilated the native Finno-Ugric tribes, including the Merya,Paszkiewicz, Henry K (1963). The Making of the Russian Nation. p. 262: Darton, Longman & Todd.  the Muromians,McKitterick, Rosamond (1995). The New Cambridge Medieval History. p. 497: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521364477.  and the Meshchera.Mongaĭt, Aleksandr Lʹvovich (1959). Archeology in the U.S.S.R.. p. 335: Foreign Languages Publishing House. 

Kievan Rus

Main article: Kievan Rus

Kievan Rus\' in the 11th century

Scandinavian Norsemen, called "Vikings" in Western Europe and "Varangians" in the East,See, for instance,. Viking (Varangian) Oleg. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. combined piracy and trade in their roamings over much of Northern Europe. In the mid-9th century, they ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas.Obolensky, Dimitri (1994). Byzantium and the Slavs. p. 42: St Vladimir\'s Seminary Press. ISBN 088141008X.  According to the earliest Russian chronicle, a Varangian named Rurik was elected ruler (konung or knyaz) of Novgorod around the year 860; his successors moved south and extended their authority to Kiev,Thompson, James Westfall; E. N. Johnson (1937). An Introduction to Medieval Europe, 300–1500. p. 268: W. W. Norton & Co.. ISBN 0415346991.  which had been previously dominated by the Khazars.Christian, David (1998). A History of Russia, Central Asia and Mongolia. p. 343: Blackwell Publishing. ISBN 0631208143. 

In the 10th to 11th centuries this state of Kievan Rus\' became the largest and most prosperous in Europe.Ukraine: Security Assistance. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north, particularly to the area known as Zalesye.Klyuchevsky, Vasily. The course of the Russian history. ISBN 5-244-00072-1.  Like many other parts of Eurasia, these territories were overrun by the Mongols. The invaders, later known as Tatars, formed the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the Russian principalities and ruled the southern and central expanses of Russia for over three centuries. Mongol rule retarded the country\'s economic and social development.Рыбаков, Б. А. (1948). Ремесло Древней Руси.  However, the Novgorod Republic together with Pskov retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the Mongol yoke and was largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Led by Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the Germanic crusaders who attempted to colonize the region. Kievan Rus\' ultimately disintegrated as a state because of in-fighting between members of the princely family that ruled it collectively. Kiev\'s dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod in the north-west, and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west. Conquest by the Golden Horde in the 13th century was the final blow and resulted in the destruction of Kiev in 1240.Hamm, Michael Franklin. Kiev: A Portrait, 1800–1917. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0691025851.  Galicia-Volhynia was eventually absorbed into the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, while the Mongol-dominated Vladimir-Suzdal and the independent Novgorod Republic, two regions on the periphery of Kiev, established the basis for the modern Russian nation.

Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia

Main articles: Grand Duchy of Moscow and Tsardom of Russia

The growth of Russia, 1300—1796

A scene from medieval Russian history

The most powerful successor state to Kievan Rus\' was Grand Duchy of Moscow. It would annex rivals such as Tver and Novgorod, and eventually become the basis of the modern Russian state. After the downfall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire. While still under the domain of the Mongol-Tatars and with their connivance, the Duchy of Moscow (or "Muscovy") began to assert its influence in Western Russia in the early 14th century. Assisted by the Russian Orthodox Church and Saint Sergius of Radonezh\'s spiritual revival, Russia inflicted a defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo (1380). Ivan III (Ivan the Great) eventually tossed off the control of the invaders, consolidated surrounding areas under Moscow\'s dominion and first took the title "grand duke of all the Russias".May, Dr. Timothy. Khanate of the Golden Horde. Retrieved on 2007-12-27.

In 1547, Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) was officially crowned the first Tsar of Russia. During his long reign, Ivan IV annexed the Tatar khanates (Kazan, Astrakhan) along the Volga River and transformed Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state. Ivan IV promulgated a new code of laws (Sudebnik of 1550), established the first Russian feudal representative body (Zemsky Sobor) and introduced local self-management into the rural regions.Solovyov, Sergey (2001). History of Russia from the Earliest Times. pp.562–604, volume 6: AST. ISBN 5170021429. Skrynnikov, R. (1981). Ivan the Terrible. p.58: Academic Intl Pr (March 1981), 219. ISBN 0875690394.  But Ivan IV\'s rule was also marked by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of Poland, Lithuania, Sweden for the access to the Baltic coast and sea trade.Solovyov, Sergey (2001). History of Russia from the Earliest Times. v.6, pp.751–908: AST. ISBN 5170021429.  The military losses, epidemics and poor harvestsBorisenkov E, Pasetski V. The thousand-year annals of the extreme meteorological phenomena. ISBN 5-244-00212-0, p.190 weakened the state, and the Crimean Tatars were able to burn down Moscow.Solovyov, Sergey (2001). History of Russia from the Earliest Times. v.6, pp.751–809: AST. ISBN 5170021429.  The death of Ivan\'s sons, combined with famine (1601–1603),Nighttime temperatures in all summer months, often below freezing, wrecked crops. Borisenkov E, Pasetski V. The thousand-year annals of the extreme meteorological phenomena. ISBN 5-244-00212-0, p.190 led to the civil war and foreign intervention of the Time of Troubles in the early 1600s.Solovyov, Sergey (2001). History of Russia from the Earliest Times. v.7, pp.461–568: AST. ISBN 5170021429.  By the mid-17th century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on the Chukchi Peninsula, along the Amur River, and on the Pacific coast. The Bering Strait between North America and Asia was first sighted by a Russian explorer in 1648.

Imperial Russia

Main article: Russian Empire

Peter the Great officially proclaimed the existence of the Russian Empire in 1721

Under the Romanov dynasty and Peter I (Peter the Great), the Russian Empire was officially founded. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War, forcing it to cede West Karelia and Ingria (two regions lost by Russia in the Time of TroublesSolovyov, Sergey (2001). History of Russia from the Earliest Times. v.9, ch.1: AST. ISBN 5170021429. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. ), Estland, and Livland, securing Russia\'s access to the sea and sea trade.Solovyov, Sergey (2001). History of Russia from the Earliest Times. v.15, ch.1: AST.  It was in Ingria that Peter founded a new capital, Saint Petersburg. Peter\'s reforms brought considerable Western European cultural influences to Russia. Catherine II (Catherine the Great), who ruled from 1762 to 1796, continued the efforts at establishing Russia as one of the Great Powers of Europe. In alliance with Prussia and Austria, Russia stood against Napoleon\'s France and eliminated its rival Poland-Lithuania in a series of partitions, gaining large areas of territory in the west. As a result of its victories in the Russo-Turkish War, by the early 19th century Russia had made significant territorial gains in Transcaucasia. Napoleon\'s invasion failed miserably as obstinate Russian resistance combined with the bitterly cold Russian winter dealt him a disastrous defeat, from which more than 95% of his invading force perished.Ruling the Empire. Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. However, the officers of the Napoleonic Wars brought back to Russia the ideas of liberalism and even attempted to curtail the tsar\'s powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825, which was followed by several decades of political repression.

Napoleon\'s retreat from Moscow

The Russian Empire in 1866 and its spheres of influence

The prevalence of serfdom and the conservative policies of Nicolas I impeded the development of Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. Nicholas\'s successor Alexander II (1855–1881) enacted significant reforms, including the abolition of serfdom in 1861; these "Great Reforms" spurred industrialization. However, many socio-economic conflicts were aggravated during Alexander III’s reign and under his son, Nicholas II. Harsh conditions in factories created mass support for the revolutionary socialist movement. In January, 1905 striking workers peaceably demonstrated for reforms in Saint Petersburg but were fired upon by troops, killing and wounding hundreds. The event, known as "Bloody Sunday", ignited the Russian Revolution of 1905. Although the uprising was swiftly put down by the army and he retained much of his power, Nicholas II was forced to concede major reforms including granting the freedoms of speech and assembly, legalization of political parties and the creation of an elected legislative assembly, the Duma, however basic improvements in the lives of industrial workers were unfulfilled.

Russia entered World War I in the aid of its ally Serbia and fought a war across three fronts while isolated from its allies. Russia did not want war but felt that only alternative was German domination of Europe. Although the army was far from defeated in 1916, the already existing public distrust of the regime was deepened by the rising costs of war, casualties (Russia suffered the highest amount of both military and civilian deaths of the Entente Powers), and tales of corruption and even treason in high places, leading to the outbreak of the Russian Revolution of 1917. A series of uprisings were organized by workers and peasants throughout the country, as well as by soldiers in the Russian army, who were mainly of peasant origin. Many of the uprisings were organized and led by democratically elected councils called Soviets. The February Revolution overthrew the Russian monarchy, which was replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared itself the Provisional Government. The abdication marked the end of imperial rule in Russia, and Nicholas and his family were imprisoned and later executed during the Civil War. While initially receiving the support of the Soviets, the Provisional Government proved unable to resolve many problems which had led to the February Revolution. The second revolution, the October Revolution, led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and created the world’s first Communist state.

Soviet Russia

Main articles: History of the Soviet Union and Russian SFSR

Vladimir Lenin

Following the October Revolution, a civil war broke out between the new regime and the Socialist Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and the White movement. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk concluded hostilities with the Central Powers in World War I. The Allied powers launched a military intervention in support of anti-Communist forces and both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror. At the end of the Civil War, the economy and infrastructure were devastated. Following victory in the Civil War, the Russian SFSR together with three other Soviet republics formed the Soviet Union on December 30, 1922.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2007. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. The Bolsheviks introduced free universal health care, education and social-security benefits, as well as the right to work and housing. Women\'s rights were greatly increased through new laws aimed to wipe away centuries-old inequalities.Cliff, Tony (1984). Class Struggle and Women’s Liberation. pp. 138–139: Bookmarks. ISBN 0906224128.  Notably, Russia became the first country in the world with full freedom of divorce and legalized abortion. After Lenin\'s death in 1924 Joseph Stalin consolidated power and became dictator. Stalin launched a command economy, rapid industrialization of the largely rural country and collectivization of its agriculture and the Soviet Union transformed from an agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in a short span of time.

Soviet soldiers raising the Soviet flag over the Reichstag during the Battle of Berlin on April 30, 1945; symbolic of the fall of Nazi Germany

On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union with the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history,{{cite web|title=World War II|publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica|accessdate=2008-03-09|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-53552 opening the largest theater of the Second World War. Although the German army had considerable success early on, they suffered defeats after reaching the outskirts of Moscow and were dealt their first major defeat at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–1943.The Allies\' first decisive successes > Stalingrad and the German retreat, summer 1942–February 1943. Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved on 2008-03-12. Soviet forces drove through Eastern Europe in 1944–45 and captured Berlin in May, 1945. In the conflict, Soviet military and civilian death toll were 10.6 million and 15.9 million respectively,Erlikman, Vadim (2004). Poteri narodonaseleniia v XX veke : spravochnik. Note: Estimates for Soviet World War II casualties vary between sources. ISBN 5-93165-107-1.  accounting for half of all World War II casualties. The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastationReconstruction and Cold War. Library of Congress. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. but the Soviet Union emerged as an acknowledged superpower. The Red Army occupied Eastern Europe after the war, including the eastern half of Germany; Stalin installed communist governments in these satellite states. Becoming the world\'s second nuclear weapons power, the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact alliance and entered into a struggle for global dominance with the United States, which became known as the Cold War.

First human in space, Yuri Gagarin

Under Stalin\'s successor Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Union launched the world\'s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1 and the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human being to orbit the Earth aboard the first manned spacecraft, Vostok 1. Tensions with the United States heightened when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the U.S. Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba. Following the ousting of Khrushchev, another period of rule by collective leadership ensued until Leonid Brezhnev established himself in the early 1970s as the pre-eminent figure in Soviet politics. Brezhnev\'s rule oversaw economic stagnation and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, which dragged on without success and with continuing casualties inflicted by insurgents, and Soviet citizens became increasingly discontented with the war, ultimately leading to the withdrawal of Soviet forces by 1989.

From 1985 onwards, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize the country. The USSR economy was the second largest in the world prior to the Soviet collapse.1990 CIA World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved on 2008-03-09. During its last years, the restructuring of the economy (perestroika) had unforeseen results that resulted in shortages of goods in grocery stores, huge budget deficits and explosive growth in money supply leading to inflation.Russia Unforeseen Results of Reform. The Library of Congress Country Studies; CIA World Factbook. Retrieved on 2008-03-10. In August 1991, an unsuccessful military coup against Gorbachev aimed at preserving the Soviet Union instead led to its collapse. In Russia, Boris Yeltsin came to power and declared the end of Communist rule. The USSR splintered into fifteen independent republics and was officially dissolved in December 1991. Boris Yeltsin was elected the President of Russia in June 1991, in the first direct presidential election in Russian history.

Russian Federation

Main article: History of post-Soviet Russia

During and after the disintegration of the USSR when wide ranging reforms including privatisation and market and trade liberalization were being undertaken, the Russian economy went through a major crisis. This period was characterized by deep contraction of output, with GDP declining by roughly 50 percent between 1990 and the end of 1995 and industrial output declining by over 50 percent.Russia: Economic Conditions in Mid-1996. Library of Congress. In October 1991, Yeltsin announced that Russia would proceed with radical, market-oriented reform along the lines of "shock therapy", as recommended by the United States and International Monetary Fund.Melvin Fagen. Russia: Shock Therapy Isn\'t the Way to Promote Democracy. International Herald Tribune. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.Elaine Sciolino. U.S. is abandoning \'shock therapy\' for the Russians. The New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-20. Price controls were abolished, privatization was started. Millions were plunged into poverty. Delays in wage payment became a chronic problem with millions being paid months, even years late. According to the World Bank, whereas 1.5% of the population was living in poverty in the late Soviet era, by mid-1993 between 39% and 49% of the population was living in poverty.Branko Milanovic (1998). Income, Inequality, and Poverty During the Transformation from Planned to Market Economy. The World Bank, 186–189.  Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR\'s external debts, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution.Russia pays off USSR’s entire debt, sets to become crediting country. Pravda.ru. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. The privatization process largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to groups of individuals with inside connections in the Government and the mafia. Violent criminal groups often took over state enterprises, clearing the way through assassinations or extortion. Corruption of government officials became an everyday rule of life. Many of the newly rich mobsters and businesspeople took billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight.Russia: Clawing Its Way Back to Life (int\'l edition). BusinessWeek. Retrieved on 2007-12-27. The long and wrenching depression was coupled with social decay. The early and mid-1990s was marked by extreme lawlessness. Criminal gangs and organized crime flourished and murders and other violent crime spiraled out of control.Sokolov, Vsevolod (Spring 2004). "From Guns to Briefcases: The Evolution of Russian Organized Crime". World Policy Journal XXI (No 1).  The severe hardships and decline in the standard of living suffered by the population led to a resurgence of support for the Communist Party. In 1993 a constitutional crisis pushed Russia to the brink of civil war. President Boris Yeltsin illegally dissolved the country\'s legislature which opposed his moves to consolidate power and push forward with unpopular neo-liberal reforms; in response, legislators barricaded themselves inside the White House and major protests against Yeltsin\'s government resulted in the most deadly street fighting seen in Moscow since the October Revolution. With military support, Yeltsin sent the army to besiege the parliament building and used tanks and artillery to eject the legislators.

Moscow International Business Center under construction. Moscow is the world\'s most expensive city to live in.Sahadi, Jeanne. Moscow remains the world’s most expensive city while London moves up from fifth to second place. CNN. Retrieved on 2008-03-09.

The 1990s were plagued by armed ethnic conflicts in the North Caucasus. Such conflicts took a form of separatist Islamist insurrections against federal power (most notably in Chechnya), or of ethnic/clan conflicts between local groups (e.g., in North Ossetia-Alania between Ossetians and Ingushs, or between different clans in Chechnya). Since the Chechen separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent guerrilla war (First Chechen War, Second Chechen War) has been fought between disparate Chechen rebel groups and the Russian military. Terrorist attacks against civilians carried out by Chechen separatists, most notably the Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school siege, caused hundreds of deaths and drew worldwide attention. High budget deficits and the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis caused the financial crisis of 1998Aslund, Anders. Russia\'s Capitalist Revolution. and resulted in further GDP decline.Russian Federation. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Retrieved on 2008-02-24. On December 31, 1999 Boris Yeltsin resigned from the presidency, handing the post to the recently appointed prime minister, Vladimir Putin, who then won the 2000 election. Putin won popularity for suppressing the Chechen insurgency, although sporadic violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus. High oil prices and initially weak currency followed by increasing domestic demand, consumption and investments has helped the economy grow for nine straight years, alleviating the standard of living and increasing Russia\'s clout on the world stage. While many reforms made under Putin’s rule have been generally criticized by Western nations as un-democratic,Treisman, Daniel. Is Russia\'s Experiment with Democracy Over?. UCLA International Institute. Retrieved on 2007-12-31. Putin\'s leadership over the return of order, stability and progress has won him widespread popularity in Russia.Stone, Norman. No wonder they like Putin. The Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-31.

Government and politics

Main articles: Government of Russia and Politics of Russia

The State Duma

According to the Constitution, which was adopted by national referendum on December 12, 1993 following the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, Russia is a federation and a presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of stateThe Constitution of the Russian Federation. (Article 80, para. 1). Retrieved on 2007-12-27. and the