Russia Country Report
By: Christian Neff
Geographic Information
Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. Due to its sheer size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. This massive country is located on the northern point of Eurasia. This comprises much of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Russia's size adds up to 17.1 million square kilometers. A surprising detail about Russia's climate is even with the large land mass being located more in the northern hemisphere it can still get very humid. This is because of Russia's exposure to several oceans and seas. But the further north you go the colder it will be. Russia is also known for several tundras of just complete ice and snow. Russia's total cultivated land is estimated at 1,237,294 square kilometers, this is the fourth largest in the world. Russia's capital city is Moscow, thus being one of the largest cities in Russia alone (12,100,000 population). The second largest city in Russia Saint Petersburg holding around 5,190,000 residents. The third largest city is Novosibirsk with 1,560,000 residents.
Demographic Information
One advantage Russia has over other countries is its size. Because of this, Russia's holds a population of 143.5 million people. There are 8.4 people per square kilometer. Russia has an annual population growth of .2%. Although Russia is so big only half of it is hospitable. Russia is ranked 124 overall in life expectancy. The overall life expectancy of people in Russia is 69 years old. 980,000 or 1.1% of all people in Russia have Aids. With all of these people in Russia; there must be a lot of languages spoken. Russian, believe it or not, is the official language. On top of Russian, there are up to 35 popular languages spoken there too.
Cultural Information
Russia might seem like a communist jailhouse. It may seem like it is not filled with culture at all, but on the contrary, it is. Russia has a very extravagant and rich cultural history. It has many cultural activities such as; ballet, classical music, colorful costumes, and majestic religious symbols. One of the finest foods you can find in Russia is borshch. It is a vegetable and meat filled beet soup. This dish can and is usually served with a little sour cream. In Russian culture, there isn't a whole lot of money for fancy clothing. They normally just wear whatever they can afford. They do however try to save up for fancy dresses and clothing for parties or events of significant importance. Russian culture loves to dance. They have parties in their houses and drink and dance till the morning. They also love to go to movies, museums, plays, and musicals. There are about 4,700 different religions in Russia. Almost half the population follow the Russian Orthodox Church. Islam is the second largest religion in the country.
Political Information
Russia has a federal republic form of government. A federal republic is a federation of states with a democratic form of government. The Freedom House Political Rights Score is 6 for Russia. It was also given a 6 for civil rights score. There is no freedom of press in Russia. The score that Russia is given for a corrupt government is 29. It is ranked 119/168 globally for corruption. There is a big problem with Russia reabsorbing Urkaine into itself. There is also a problem with freedom of speech in the country.
Economic Information
Russia is doing pretty good economically. It is ranked 5th in GDP. Its GDP is 3.4 trillion. The percentages of labor are; agriculture: 9.4%, industry: 27.6%, and services: 63%. The unemployment rate of Russia is 5.4%. 11.2% of people in Russia are below the poverty level. On Happy Planet Index, Russia received a ranking of 122 out of 151 countries.