Russia is the world's largest country, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia boasts a rich history and culture, as well as a wealth of natural attractions for those willing to head off the beaten path.
Since its founding in 1147,Moscow has been at the crossroads of history as the capital of empires and a frequent target for invaders. As the capital of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union, and, today, the Russian Federation, it has played a central role in the development of the largest country in the world.
Saint Petersburg, known as Petrograd in 1914-1924 and Leningrad in 1924-1991, is the second largest city of Russia, with 5.6 million inhabitants, the fourth most populous city in Europe, the world's northernmost city of at least a million residents, and the former capital of the Russian Empire.
Northwestern Russia is a region of Russia stretching from the major population center ofLeningrad Oblast on the Baltic Sea to vast, remote, and empty lands above the Arctic Circle.
Central Russia is in the country's extreme west, but it casts the main role in Russian history and economics. Pioneer cities were established here more than 1000 years ago.
Siberia is a region in Russia. Historically, the termSiberia includes all Russian territory in northAsia, with theUrals and theRussian Far East; this article however only covers the Siberian Federal District.
The Far Eastern Federal District or Far Eastern Russia is the easternmost part of Russia or unofficial edge of the world, comprising a third of the country's land area, with 6.3 million inhabitants.
TheVolga region, known as the Povolzhye, is a historical region in Russia that encompasses the drainage basin of the Volga River, the longest river in Europe, in central and southernEuropean Russia.
TheUrals is a common geographical name of the area of Russia around the Ural Mountains. It is a vast territory which includes major cities likeYekaterinburg andChelyabinsk, as well as parts of the polar areas.
Chernozem is the exceptionally fertile "Black Earth" belt in European Russia along the border withUkraine, famous for its rich, deep, black soil. Its cities are best known to the English-speaking world for the vital importance they played as the principal battleground around the turning point of World War II, home to the massive tank battle ofKursk.
Kaliningrad Oblast is Russia's only oblast that is separated from the rest of Russia. It is an exclave situated betweenPoland andLithuania on the Baltic Sea.