Changes

Russia is theoretically a federation of constituent governments. In reality, it has a highly centralized government, largely due to President  [[Vladimir Putin]]. Putin has nationalized the nation's oil and gas companies, seized foreign investments, imprisoned top businessmen, and brought an autocratic, anti-democratic style that resembles--in milder form--the czars and Soviets. Thanks to oil revenue, it has the money to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, which is mildly hostile to the United States and to [[NATO]].

Russia is theoretically a federation of constituent governments. In reality, it has a highly centralized government, largely due to President  [[Vladimir Putin]]. Putin has nationalized the nation's oil and gas companies, seized foreign investments, imprisoned top businessmen, and brought an autocratic, anti-democratic style that resembles--in milder form--the czars and Soviets. Thanks to oil revenue, it has the money to pursue an aggressive foreign policy, which is mildly hostile to the United States and to [[NATO]].

==Geography==

==Geography==

[[File:Saint Petersburg Russia.jpg|thumb|Saint Petersburg.]]

[[File:Aerial view of the Caucasus Mountains.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of the Caucasus Mountains.]]

*Area: 17 million sq. km. (6.5 million sq. mi.); about 1.8 times the size of the United States.

*Area: 17 million sq. km. (6.5 million sq. mi.); about 1.8 times the size of the United States.

*Cities: Capital--Moscow (pop. 8.3 million). Other cities--St. Petersburg (4.6 million), Novosibirsk (1.4 million), Nizhniy Novgorod (1.3 million). Numerous other cities over 1 million inhabitants.

*Cities: Capital--Moscow (pop. 8.3 million). Other cities--St. Petersburg (4.6 million), Novosibirsk (1.4 million), Nizhniy Novgorod (1.3 million). Numerous other cities over 1 million inhabitants.

*Terrain: Broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains (Caucasus range) along southern borders.

*Terrain: Broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains (Caucasus range) along southern borders.

*Climate: Huge variation from humid sub-tropical in Krasnodar krai, to desert/semi-desert in the Altai republic, and arctic tundra in north eastern Siberia, which is one of the coldest areas on the planet.

*Climate: Huge variation from humid sub-tropical in Krasnodar krai, to desert/semi-desert in the Altai republic, and arctic tundra in north eastern Siberia, which is one of the coldest areas on the planet.

==Religion==

==Religion==

==Cities==

==Cities==

[[Moscow]] is Russia's capital and largest city (population 8.3 million). [[Moscow]] is also increasingly important as an economic and business center; it has become Russia's principal magnet for foreign investment and business presence. Its cultural tradition is rich, and there are many museums devoted to art, literature, music, dance, history, and science, as well as hundreds of churches and dozens of notable [[cathedral]]s.  

[[Moscow]] is Russia's capital and largest city (population 8.3 million). [[Moscow]] is also increasingly important as an economic and business center; it has become Russia's principal magnet for foreign investment and business presence. Its cultural tradition is rich, and there are many museums devoted to art, literature, music, dance, history, and science, as well as hundreds of churches and dozens of notable [[cathedral]]s.  

[[Image:Traffic in Moscow.jpg|thumb|240px|Traffic in Moscow.]]

[[Image:Traffic in Moscow.jpg|thumb|left|240px|Traffic in Moscow.]]

The second-largest city in Russia is [[St. Petersburg]] (formerly '''Leningrad'''), which was established by [[Tsar]] [[Peter the Great]] in 1703 to be the capital of the Russian Empire as part of his Western-looking reforms. The city was called Petrograd during [[World War I]] and Leningrad after 1924. In 1991, as the result of a city referendum, it was renamed St. Petersburg. Under the tsars, the city was Russia's cultural, intellectual, commercial, financial, and industrial center. After [[Lenin]] moved the capital back to [[Moscow]] in 1918, the city's political significance declined, but it remained a cultural, scientific, and military-industrial center. The [[State Hermitage Museum|Hermitage]], formerly the Winter Palace of the tsars, is one of the world's great fine arts museums.

The second-largest city in Russia is [[St. Petersburg]] (formerly '''Leningrad'''), which was established by [[Tsar]] [[Peter the Great]] in 1703 to be the capital of the Russian Empire as part of his Western-looking reforms. The city was called Petrograd during [[World War I]] and Leningrad after 1924. In 1991, as the result of a city referendum, it was renamed St. Petersburg. Under the tsars, the city was Russia's cultural, intellectual, commercial, financial, and industrial center. After [[Lenin]] moved the capital back to [[Moscow]] in 1918, the city's political significance declined, but it remained a cultural, scientific, and military-industrial center. The [[State Hermitage Museum|Hermitage]], formerly the Winter Palace of the tsars, is one of the world's great fine arts museums.

Russia has an area of about 17 million square kilometers (6.5 million sq. mi.); in geographic terms, this makes Russia the largest country in the world by more than 2.5 million square miles. But with a population density of about 22 persons per square mile (9 per sq. km.), it is sparsely populated, and most of its residents live in urban areas.

Russia has an area of about 17 million square kilometers (6.5 million sq. mi.); in geographic terms, this makes Russia the largest country in the world by more than 2.5 million square miles. But with a population density of about 22 persons per square mile (9 per sq. km.), it is sparsely populated, and most of its residents live in urban areas.

==Government and Political Conditions==  

==Government and Political Conditions==