Russia: Regions, Cities & Travel Guide

What is Russia known for?

The Russian Federation is known as the largest country in the world, a land of eleven time zones spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. Its cities lie in the west. Moscow stands as the capital and Saint Petersburg as its great cultural centre, while the country reaches east across North Asia through some of the most remote land on Earth.

Where is Russia?

The Russian Federation covers more of the Earth than any other country, a single state spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. Its scale is hard to grasp. The land runs across eleven time zones, from the western plains around Moscow and Saint Petersburg to the far reaches of North Asia, holding more than an eighth of the world's inhabited ground.

The north lies cold and empty. Across the top of the country the land thins into remote, sparsely settled reaches that stretch on for thousands of miles. Its far east was settled late and slowly.

The Russian Federation shares its borders with fourteen countries around its vast edge. The neighbours ring it on all sides. Along its western and southern rim the country meets a long line of states across Eastern Europe and North Asia, while to the north and east it opens onto ocean and empty coast far from any border.

The distances dwarf everything. No single country reaches so far. From Moscow and Saint Petersburg in the west the land reaches eastward across North Asia, eleven time zones from one edge of the Russian Federation to the other.

What is the history of Russia?

The Russian Federation took its present form in 1991, though the Russian state reaches back many centuries before it. Its heart lay in the west. From the old centre around Moscow the country grew outward over generations, pushing east across North Asia until it became the largest country in the world, a realm of eleven time zones.

The land shaped the story. Distance, cold, and the sheer reach of the territory marked every stage of its history across Eastern Europe and North Asia. The east came late, and it came slowly.

Moscow and Saint Petersburg carried the country through its modern age. The two cities led the way. Moscow held the seat of power at the heart of the country, while Saint Petersburg rose in the west as a great cultural centre, and the two anchored a state that stretched across half the world.

The federation drew it together. When the Russian Federation took shape in 1991, it gathered the vast lands of Eastern Europe and North Asia under one name, from Moscow in the west to the far edge of North Asia.

What is Russia like?

The Russian Federation draws its culture from the Russian language and the life of its great western cities. The word carries far. Spoken across eleven time zones from Eastern Europe to North Asia, Russian binds a vast and varied country into one cultural sphere, its literature, music, and faith reaching from Moscow to the far east.

Saint Petersburg sets the tone. The western city stands as a great cultural centre, its theatres and galleries among the finest in the country. Moscow answers with its own stages and museums.

Beyond the two great cities, the country holds many peoples and traditions. The map holds a hundred homelands. Across the eleven time zones of the Russian Federation, the customs, food, and faith of Eastern Europe give way to those of North Asia, each region keeping its own character under the shared Russian tongue.

The land is too wide for one mould. One language ties it together. From Moscow and Saint Petersburg in the west to the remote east, Russian carries the culture of the largest country in the world across two continents.

What is the climate of Russia?

The Russian Federation lies largely in the cold northern band of the world, its climate hardening toward the north and east. Winter rules the year. Long, hard winters grip most of the country, brief summers warm the west around Moscow and Saint Petersburg, and the far north stays frozen and snow-bound across much of the year.

How do you get to Russia?

The Russian Federation is reached mainly by air into Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the great entry points of the country in the west. Flights lead the way. Trains then run east across North Asia over some of the longest rail lines on Earth, while roads and borders link the country to its neighbours across Eastern Europe.