The marked territories on this global map from theUnited Nations are mostly of countries which aresovereign states with full international recognition (brackets denote the country of a marked territory that is not a sovereign state). Some territories are countries in their own right but arenot recognized as such (e.g.Taiwan ), some few marked territories aredisputed about which country they belong to (e.g.Kashmir ) or if they are countries in their own right (e.g.Western Sahara (territory) orthe state known by the same name ). Acountry state , anation , anation state , or otherpolitical entity . When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to asovereign state , astate with limited recognition , aconstituent country , or adependent territory . Most sovereign states, but not all countries, are members of theUnited Nations . There is no universal agreement onthe number of "countries" in the world, since several states have disputed sovereignty status or limited recognition, and a number of non-sovereign entities are commonly considered countries.
The definition and usage of the word "country" are flexible and have changed over time.The Economist
Areas much smaller than a political entity may be referred to as a "country", such as theWest Country in England, "big sky country" (used in various contexts of theAmerican West ), "coal country" (used to describecoal-mining regions ), or simply "the country" (used to describe arural area ). The term "country" is also used as a qualifier descriptively, such ascountry music orcountry living . (Full article...
Entries here consist ofGood andFeatured articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards. Belarus Republic of Belarus , is alandlocked country inEastern Europe . It is bordered byRussia to the east and northeast,Ukraine to the south,Poland to the west, andLithuania andLatvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an area of 207,600 square kilometres (80,200 sq mi) with a population of9.1 million . The country has ahemiboreal climate and is administratively divided intosix regions .Minsk is the capital andlargest city ; it is administered separately as a city with special status.
For most of the medieval period, the lands of modern-day Belarus was ruled by independent city-states such as thePrincipality of Polotsk . Around 1300 these lands came fully under theGrand Duchy of Lithuania and subsequently by thePolish–Lithuanian Commonwealth ; this period lasted for 500 years until the1792-1795 partitions of Poland-Lithuania placed Belarus within theRussian Empire for the first time. In the aftermath of theRussian Revolution in 1917, different states arose competing for legitimacy amid theCivil War , ultimately ending in the rise of theByelorussian SSR , which became a foundingconstituent republic of theSoviet Union in 1922. After thePolish-Soviet War (1918–1921), Belarus lost almosthalf of its territory to Poland. Much of the borders of Belarus took their modern shape in 1939, when some lands of theSecond Polish Republic were reintegrated into it after theSoviet invasion of Poland , and were finalized after World War II. During World War II, military operations devastated Belarus, which lost about a quarter of its population and half of its economic resources. In 1945, the Byelorussian SSR became a founding member of theUnited Nations , along with the Soviet Union. The republic was home to a widespread and diverseanti-Nazi insurgent movement which dominated politics until well into the 1970s, overseeing Belarus'stransformation from an agrarian to an industrial economy. (Full article...
List of Recognized articles
The following are images from various country-related articles on Wikipedia.
Remaining countries not listed in the Recognized articles section at left are displayed here.
Mozambique Republic of Mozambique , is a country located inSoutheast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east,Tanzania to the north,Malawi andZambia to the northwest,Zimbabwe to the west, andEswatini andSouth Africa to the south and southwest. Thesovereign state is separated from theComoros ,Mayotte , andMadagascar through theMozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city isMaputo .
Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed in the area, which contributed to the development of a distinctSwahili culture and dialect. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia,Egypt , Arabia, Persia, andIndia . The voyage ofVasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of thePortuguese , who began a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries ofPortuguese rule , Mozambiquegained independence in 1975, becoming thePeople's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. After only two years of independence, the country descended into an intense and protractedcivil war lasting from 1977 to 1992 . In 1994, Mozambique held its first multiparty elections and has since remained a relatively stablepresidential republic , although it still faces alow-intensity insurgency mainly in the furthest regions from the southern capital and where Islam is dominant. (Full article...
Top 10 WikiProject Countries Popular articles of the month
Image 1 The
United States of America (
USA ), also known as the
United States (
U.S. ) or
America , is a country primarily located in
North America . It is a
federal republic of 50
states and a federal capital district,
Washington, D.C. The 48
contiguous states border
Canada to the north and
Mexico to the south, with the
semi-exclave of
Alaska in the northwest and the
archipelago of
Hawaii in the
Pacific Ocean . The United States also asserts sovereignty over five
major island territories and
various uninhabited islands in
Oceania and the
Caribbean . It is a
megadiverse country , with the world's
third-largest land area and
third-largest population , exceeding 340 million.
Paleo-Indians first migrated from North Asia to North America over 12,000 years ago, and formed various civilizations.
Spanish colonization established
Spanish Florida in 1513, the first European colony in what is now the continental United States.
British colonization followed with the 1607 settlement of
Virginia , the first of the
Thirteen Colonies .
Enslavement of Africans was practiced in all colonies by 1770 and supplied most of the labor for the
Southern Colonies '
plantation economy . Clashes with the
British Crown over taxation and lack of
parliamentary representation sparked the
American Revolution , leading to the
Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Victory in the 1775–1783
Revolutionary War brought international recognition of U.S. sovereignty and fueled
westward expansion , dispossessing
native inhabitants . As more states
were admitted , a North–South
division over slavery led the
Confederate States of America to attempt secession and fight
the Union in the 1861–1865
American Civil War . With the United States' victory and reunification,
slavery was abolished nationally . By 1900, the country had established itself as a
great power , a status solidified after its involvement in
World War I . Following
Japan 's
attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, the U.S.
entered World War II .
Its aftermath left the U.S. and the
Soviet Union as rival
superpowers , competing for
ideological dominance and
international influence during the
Cold War . The
Soviet Union's collapse in 1991 ended the Cold War, leaving the U.S. as the world's sole superpower.
The
U.S. national government is a
presidential constitutional federal republic and
representative democracy with
three separate branches :
legislative ,
executive , and
judicial . It has a
bicameral national legislature composed of the
House of Representatives (a
lower house based on population) and the
Senate (an
upper house based on equal representation for each state).
Federalism grants substantial autonomy to the 50 states. In addition, 574 Native American tribes have
sovereignty rights , and there are 326
Native American reservations . Since the 1850s, the
Democratic and
Republican parties have dominated
American politics , while
American values are based on a democratic tradition inspired by the
American Enlightenment movement. (
Full article... )
Image 2 India , officially the
Republic of India , is a country in
South Asia . It is the
seventh-largest country by area ; the
most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by the
Indian Ocean on the south, the
Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the
Bay of Bengal on the southeast, it shares land borders with
Pakistan to the west;
China ,
Nepal , and
Bhutan to the north; and
Bangladesh and
Myanmar to the east. In the
Indian Ocean , India is near
Sri Lanka and the
Maldives ; its
Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a
maritime border with Myanmar,
Thailand , and
Indonesia .
Modern humans arrived on the
Indian subcontinent from
Africa no later than 55,000 years ago. Their long occupation, predominantly in isolation as hunter-gatherers, has made the region highly diverse.
Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the
Indus river basin 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the
Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BCE. By 1200
BCE , an
archaic form of
Sanskrit , an
Indo-European language , had
diffused into India from the northwest.
Its hymns recorded the
early dawnings of
Hinduism in India. India's pre-existing
Dravidian languages were supplanted in the northern regions. By 400
BCE ,
caste had emerged within Hinduism, and
Buddhism and
Jainism had arisen, proclaiming
social orders unlinked to heredity. Early political consolidations gave rise to the loose-knit
Maurya and
Gupta Empires . Widespread creativity suffused this era, but the status of women declined, and
untouchability became an organised belief. In
South India , the
Middle kingdoms exported Dravidian language scripts and religious cultures to the kingdoms of
Southeast Asia .
In the
1st millennium ,
Islam ,
Christianity ,
Judaism , and
Zoroastrianism became established on India's southern and western coasts. In the early centuries of the
2nd millennium Muslim armies from
Central Asia intermittently overran India's northern plains. The resulting
Delhi Sultanate drew northern India into the cosmopolitan
networks of medieval Islam . In south India, the
Vijayanagara Empire created a long-lasting composite Hindu culture. In the
Punjab ,
Sikhism emerged, rejecting institutionalised religion. The
Mughal Empire ushered in two centuries of economic expansion and relative peace, and left a
a rich architectural legacy . Gradually expanding
rule of the British East India Company turned India into a colonial economy but consolidated its
sovereignty .
British Crown rule began in 1858. The rights promised to Indians were granted slowly, but
technological changes were introduced, and modern ideas of education and the public life took root.
A nationalist movement emerged in India, the first in the non-European
British Empire and an influence on other nationalist movements. Noted for nonviolent resistance after 1920, it became the primary factor in ending British rule. In 1947, the
British Indian Empire was
partitioned into two independent
dominions , a Hindu-majority
dominion of India and a Muslim-majority
dominion of Pakistan . A large-scale loss of life and an unprecedented migration accompanied the partition. (
Full article... )
Image 3 Gross domestic product (GDP) is the
market value of all final goods and services from a nation in a given year. Countries are sorted by nominal GDP estimates from financial and statistical institutions, which are calculated at market or government official
exchange rates . Nominal GDP does not take into account differences in the
cost of living in different countries, and the results can vary greatly from one year to another based on fluctuations in the exchange rates of the country's
currency . Such fluctuations may change a country's ranking from one year to the next, even though they often make little or no difference in the standard of living of its population.
Comparisons of national wealth are also frequently made based on
purchasing power parity (PPP), to adjust for differences in the cost of living in different countries. Other metrics,
nominal GDP per capita and a corresponding
GDP (PPP) per capita , are used for comparing national
standard of living . On the whole, PPP per capita figures are less spread than nominal GDP per capita figures.
The rankings of national economies have changed significantly over time. For instance, the United States overtook the British Empire around 1916; Japan rose rapidly in the post-World War II period to become the world’s second-largest economy by the 1970s; China moved from ninth place in 1978 to second in 2010 following market reforms. These shifts reflect long-term changes in global economic output. (
Full article... )
Image 4 The
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the
United Kingdom (
UK ) or
Britain , is a country in
Northwestern Europe , off the coast of
the continental mainland . It comprises
England ,
Scotland ,
Wales and
Northern Ireland , with a population of over 69 million in 2024. The UK includes the island of
Great Britain , the north-eastern part of the island of
Ireland , and most of
the smaller islands within the
British Isles , covering 94,354 square miles (244,376 km
2 ). It shares
a land border with the
Republic of Ireland and is otherwise surrounded by the
Atlantic Ocean , the
North Sea , the
English Channel , the
Celtic Sea and the
Irish Sea , while maintaining sovereignty over the
British Overseas Territories . The capital and largest city of both England and the UK is
London ;
Edinburgh ,
Cardiff and
Belfast are the national capitals of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Britain has been inhabited since the
Neolithic . In AD 43 the
Roman conquest of Britain began. The
Roman departure between 383 and 410 was followed by
Anglo-Saxon settlement beginning around 450. In 1066
the Normans conquered England . After the
Wars of the Roses , the
Kingdom of England began to flourish, resulting in the 16th-century
annexation of Wales and the establishment of the
British Empire . Over the 17th century the role of the
British monarchy was reduced, particularly as a result of the
English Civil War . In 1707 the Kingdom of England and the
Kingdom of Scotland united under the
Treaty of Union to create the
Kingdom of Great Britain . In the
Georgian era the office of
prime minister became established. The
Acts of Union 1800 incorporated the
Kingdom of Ireland to create the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland in 1801. Most of Ireland
seceded from the UK in 1922 as the
Irish Free State , and the
Royal and Parliamentary Titles Act 1927 created the present United Kingdom.
The UK
became the first industrialised country and was the world's
foremost power for the majority of the 19th and early 20th centuries, particularly during the
Pax Britannica between 1815 and 1914. The British Empire was the leading
economic power for most of the 19th century, a position supported by
its agricultural prosperity , its role as a dominant
trading nation , a massive industrial capacity,
significant technological achievements , and the rise of
19th-century London as the world's principal financial centre. At its height in the 1920s, the empire encompassed almost a quarter of the world's landmass and population, and was the
largest empire in history . However,
its involvement in the First World War and
in the Second World War damaged
Britain's economic power , and a global wave of
decolonisation led to the independence of most British colonies. (
Full article... )
Image 5 Israel , officially the
State of Israel , is a country in the
Southern Levant region of
West Asia . It
borders Lebanon to the north,
Syria to the northeast,
Jordan to the east and
Egypt to the southwest.
Israel occupies the
Palestinian territories of the
West Bank in the east and the
Gaza Strip in the southwest, as well as the Syrian
Golan Heights in the northeast. Israel's
western coast lies on the
Mediterranean Sea , the southern tip reaches the
Red Sea , and the east includes the
Earth's lowest point near the
Dead Sea .
Jerusalem is the government seat and
proclaimed capital , while
Tel Aviv is Israel's
largest urban area and
economic centre .
The
Land of Israel is synonymous with
Palestine or the
Holy Land . In
antiquity it was home to the
Canaanites and later the
kingdoms of Israel and Judah . Its location at a
continental crossroads brought
demographic shifts under various empires. Nineteenth-century
European antisemitism fuelled the
Zionist movement for a
Jewish homeland .
Britain endorsed this goal in the 1917
Balfour Declaration and ruled
Mandatory Palestine from 1920.
Jewish immigration and
British policies intensified
Arab-Jewish tensions , and the 1947
United Nations (UN)
Partition Plan led to
a civil war .
Israel
declared independence at the
end of the British Mandate on 14 May 1948, and neighbouring
Arab states invaded the next day. A
1949 armistice left Israel with territory beyond the UN plan; no Arab state was created, as the
Gaza Strip and the
West Bank came under Egyptian and Jordanian control. Most
Palestinian Arabs fled or were expelled during the
Nakba , leaving
a minority in Israel, while
the country's population grew in later decades as
Jews fled or were expelled from the Muslim world . After the 1967
Six-Day War , Israel occupied the West Bank, Gaza Strip, the Egyptian
Sinai , and the Syrian
Golan Heights , later annexing
East Jerusalem and the Golan—actions that, along with
settlement expansion, are considered
violations of international law . Peace was signed
with Egypt in 1979 (Sinai returned in 1982) and
with Jordan in 1994. The 1993
Oslo Accords with the Palestinians established mutual recognition and limited
self-rule , and the 2020
Abraham Accords normalised ties with more Arab states. The
Israeli–Palestinian conflict remains
unresolved , with
wars and clashes with
Palestinian militant groups . Israel's practices in its occupation of the Palestinian territories have drawn sustained international
criticism , along with accusations from human rights organisations and UN officials that it has committed
war crimes , crimes against humanity, and
genocide against the Palestinians during the
Gaza war . (
Full article... )
Image 6 Palestine , officially the
State of Palestine , is a country in
West Asia . It encompasses the
Israeli-occupied West Bank , including
East Jerusalem , and the
Gaza Strip , collectively known as the
Palestinian territories . The territories share the vast majority of their borders with
Israel , with the West Bank bordering
Jordan to the east and the Gaza Strip bordering
Egypt to the southwest. It has a total land area of 6,020 square kilometres (2,320 sq mi) while
its population exceeds five million. Its
proclaimed capital is
Jerusalem , while
Ramallah serves as its
de facto administrative center.
Gaza was its largest city prior to
evacuations in 2023 .
Situated at
a continental crossroad , the
Palestine region was ruled by various empires and experienced
various demographic changes from antiquity to the modern era. It was treading ground for the
Nile and
Mesopotamian armies and merchants from North Africa, China and India. The region
has religious significance . The ongoing
Israeli–Palestinian conflict dates back to the rise of the
Zionist movement , supported by the United Kingdom during
World War I . The war saw Britain occupying Palestine from the
Ottoman Empire , where it set up
Mandatory Palestine under the auspices of the
League of Nations . Increased
Jewish immigration led to
intercommunal conflict between Jews and
Palestinian Arabs , which escalated into
a civil war in 1947 after
a proposed partitioning by the United Nations was rejected by the Palestinians and other
Arab nations .
The
1948 Palestine war saw the
forcible displacement of a majority of the Arab population, and consequently the establishment of Israel; these events are referred to by Palestinians as the
Nakba ('catastrophe'). In the
Six-Day War in 1967, Israel
occupied the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip , which had been held by
Jordan and
Egypt respectively. The
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
declared independence in 1988. In 1993, the PLO signed the
Oslo Accords with Israel, creating limited PLO governance in the West Bank and Gaza Strip through the
Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel withdrew from Gaza in
its unilateral disengagement in 2005, but the territory is still considered to be under military occupation and
has been blockaded by Israel. In 2007,
internal divisions between political factions led to a
takeover of Gaza by
Hamas . Since then, the West Bank has been governed in part by the
Fatah -led PA, while the Gaza Strip has remained under the
control of Hamas . (
Full article... )
Image 7 Japan is an
island country in
East Asia . Located in the
Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the
Asian mainland , it is bordered to the west by the
Sea of Japan and extends from the
Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the
East China Sea in the south. The
Japanese archipelago consists of four major islands alongside
14,121 smaller islands . Japan is divided into
47 administrative prefectures and
eight traditional regions , and around 75% of
its terrain is mountainous and heavily forested, concentrating
its agriculture and
highly urbanized population along its eastern
coastal plains . With a population of over 123 million as of 2025, it is the world's
11th most populous country .
Tokyo is
the country's capital and
largest city .
The first known habitation of the
archipelago dates to the
Upper Paleolithic , with the beginning of the
Japanese Paleolithic dating to
c. 36,000 BC . Between the 4th and 6th centuries, its kingdoms were united under an emperor in
Nara and later
Heian-kyō . From the 12th century, actual power was held by military aristocrats known as
shōgun and feudal lords called
daimyō , enforced by warrior nobility named
samurai . After rule by the
Kamakura and
Ashikaga shogunates and
a century of warring states , Japan was unified in 1600 by the
Tokugawa shogunate , which implemented
an isolationist foreign policy . In 1853,
an American fleet forced Japan to
open trade to the West , which led to the
end of the shogunate and the
restoration of imperial power in 1868.
The
Meiji period saw Japan pursue rapid
industrialization ,
modernization ,
militarism , and
overseas colonization . The country
annexed Korea in 1910,
invaded China in 1937, and
attacked the U.S. and
European colonial powers in 1941, thus
entering World War II as an
Axis power . After being defeated in the
Pacific War and suffering the U.S.
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki , Japan
surrendered in 1945 and
came under Allied occupation . It underwent
rapid economic growth in the following decades and became one of the first
major non-NATO allies of the U.S. Since the collapse of the
Japanese asset price bubble in the early 1990s, it has experienced a prolonged period of
economic stagnation referred to as the
Lost Decades . (
Full article... )
Image 8 China , officially the
People's Republic of China (
PRC ), is a country in
East Asia . With
a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the
second-most populous country after
India , representing 17% of the world population. China
borders fourteen countries by land across an area of 9.6 million square kilometers (3,700,000 sq mi), making it the
third-largest country by area . The country is divided into 33
province-level divisions : 22
provinces , 5
autonomous regions , 4
municipalities , and 2 semi-autonomous
special administrative regions .
Beijing is the capital, while
Shanghai is the
most populous city by urban area and largest
financial center .
China saw the first humans in the region arriving during the
Paleolithic era. By the 2nd millennium BCE
dynastic states had emerged in the
Yellow River basin. The 8th–3rd centuries BCE saw a breakdown in the authority of the
Zhou dynasty , accompanied by the emergence of administrative and military techniques,
literature and
philosophy . In 221 BCE, China was unified under
an emperor , ushering in two millennia of imperial dynasties. With the
invention of gunpowder and
paper , the establishment of the
Silk Road , and the
Great Wall ,
Chinese culture flourished and has
heavily influenced its neighbors and lands further afield. China began to cede
parts of the country in the 19th century, to European powers by a series of
unequal treaties . The
1911 Revolution overthrew the
Qing dynasty and the
Republic of China was established the following year. The country was unstable and fragmented during the
Warlord Era , which ended upon the
Northern Expedition conducted by the
Kuomintang to reunify the country.
The
Chinese Civil War began in 1927, when Kuomintang forces
purged members of the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP). China was invaded by the
Empire of Japan in 1937, leading the CCP and Kuomintang to form the
Second United Front to fight the Japanese. The
Second Sino-Japanese War ended in a Chinese victory; however, the CCP and the Kuomintang resumed their civil war. In 1949, the CCP
proclaimed the People's Republic of China and forced the
Kuomintang-led government to retreat to the
island of Taiwan . The country was split, with
both sides claiming to be the
legitimate government . Following the implementation of
land reforms , attempts by the CCP to realize
communism failed: the
Great Leap Forward was responsible for the
Great Chinese Famine which resulted in millions of deaths, and the
Cultural Revolution was a period of turmoil and persecution. The
reform and opening up that began in 1978 moved the country away from a socialist
planned economy towards a
market-based economy , spurring an economic boom. A movement for political liberalization stalled after the
1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre . (
Full article... )
Image 9 Singapore , officially the
Republic of Singapore , is an
island country and
city-state in
Southeast Asia . Its territory comprises
one main island ,
63 satellite islands and islets , and
one outlying islet . The country is about one
degree of latitude (137 kilometres or 85 miles) north of the
equator , off the southern tip of the
Malay Peninsula , bordering the
Strait of Malacca to the west, the
Singapore Strait to the south along with the
Riau Islands in
Indonesia , the
South China Sea to the east and the
Straits of Johor along with the
State of Johor in
Malaysia to the north.
In
its early history , Singapore was a maritime
emporium known as
Temasek ; subsequently, it was a major constituent of several successive
thalassocratic empires. Its contemporary era began in 1819, when
Stamford Raffles established Singapore as an
entrepôt trading post of the
British Empire . In 1867, Singapore came under direct British control as part of the
Straits Settlements . During
World War II , Singapore was
occupied by Japan in 1942 and returned to Britain as a
Crown colony following
Japan's surrender in 1945. Singapore gained
self-governance in 1959 and in
1963 became part of the new federation of
Malaysia , alongside
Malaya ,
North Borneo and
Sarawak .
Ideological differences led to Singapore's expulsion from the federation two years later; it became an independent
sovereign country in 1965. After early years of
turbulence and despite lacking natural resources and a
hinterland , the nation rapidly developed to become one of the
Four Asian Tigers .
As a highly
developed country , Singapore has the
highest PPP-adjusted GDP per capita in the world and is the only country in Asia with a AAA
sovereign credit rating from
all major rating agencies . Identified as a
tax haven , it is a major
aviation ,
financial and
maritime shipping hub and has consistently been ranked as one of the
most expensive cities for
expatriates and
foreign workers . Singapore ranks highly in key social indicators:
education ,
healthcare ,
housing ,
peacefulness ,
passport strength ,
personal safety and
infrastructure , with a high
home-ownership rate .
Singaporeans enjoy one of the
longest life expectancies ,
fastest Internet connection speeds ,
lowest infant mortality rates and
lowest levels of corruption in the world. Singapore is
organised into five
regions , 55
planning areas and hundreds of
subzones . It has the
third highest population density of any country , although there are numerous green and recreational spaces as a result of
urban planning . With a multicultural population and in recognition of the cultural identities of the country's major ethnic groups, Singapore has four
official languages :
English ,
Malay ,
Mandarin and
Tamil . English is the
common language , with exclusive use in numerous
public services .
Multi-racialism is enshrined in the constitution and continues to shape
national policies . (
Full article... )
Image 10 Russia , or the
Russian Federation , is a country in
Eastern Europe and
North Asia . It is the
largest country in the world , spanning
eleven time zones and sharing
land borders with fourteen countries . With a population of over 140 million, Russia is the
most populous country in Europe and the
ninth-most populous country in the world . It is a
highly urbanised country , with sixteen of its urban areas having more than 1 million inhabitants.
Moscow , the
most populous metropolitan area in Europe , is the capital and
largest city of Russia ; and
Saint Petersburg is its second-largest city and
cultural centre .
Human settlement on the territory of modern Russia dates back to the
Lower Paleolithic . The
East Slavs emerged as a recognised group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. The first East Slavic state,
Kievan Rus' , arose in the 9th century, and in 988, it adopted
Orthodox Christianity from the
Byzantine Empire . Kievan Rus' ultimately disintegrated; the
Grand Duchy of Moscow led the unification of Russian lands, leading to the proclamation of the
Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had vastly expanded through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of
Russian explorers , developing into the
Russian Empire , which remains the
third-largest empire in history . However, with the
Russian Revolution in 1917, Russia's monarchic rule
was abolished and eventually replaced by the
Russian SFSR —the world's first constitutionally
socialist state . Following the
Russian Civil War , the Russian SFSR established the
Soviet Union with three other
Soviet republics , within which it was the largest and principal constituent. The Soviet Union underwent
rapid industrialisation in the 1930s , amidst the
deaths of millions under
Joseph Stalin 's rule, and later played a decisive role for the
Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the
Eastern Front —rising as a global
superpower . With the onset of the
Cold War , it competed with the
United States for
ideological dominance and
international influence . The Soviet era of the 20th century saw some of the
most significant Russian technological achievements , including the
first human-made satellite and the
first human expedition into outer space .
In 1991, the Russian SFSR emerged from the
dissolution of the Soviet Union as the Russian Federation. Following the
1993 Russian constitutional crisis , the Soviet government structure was abolished and a
new constitution was adopted, which established a
federal semi-presidential system . Since the turn of the century, Russia's
political system has been dominated by
Vladimir Putin ,
under whom the country has experienced
democratic backsliding and has transformed from an
authoritarian regime to an
autocratic dictatorship . Post-Soviet Russia
has been militarily involved in
numerous conflicts , including
its war with Georgia in 2008 and
its war with Ukraine since 2014. The latter has involved the internationally unrecognised
annexations of Ukrainian territory, including
Crimea in 2014 and
four other regions in 2022 , during
an ongoing war . (
Full article... )
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