- Russia is the largest country in the world.
- Russia occupies two parts of the world – Europe and Asia.
- The biggest freshwater lake in the world – Lake Baikal – is located in Russia (20% of the world’s fresh water).
- The highest peak of Europe is located in Russia – Mount Elbrus.
- The largest European river, Volga, is in Russia.
- Russia is home to the largest forest area on the planet.
- The world’s highest active volcano, Kluchevskaya Sopka (4750 m), is located on Kamchatka.
- Russia was the first socialist state in the world (1918).
- The Soviet Union, which was founded in 1922, included up to 15 countries in different years besides Russia.
- The Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991.
- Russia is the official legal successor of the Soviet Union.
- Russian language – one of the official languages of the UN.
- Russian is the 5th most spoken language in the world.
- Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council (together with the U.S., Britain, France and China).
- In Russia, woman suffrage was granted in 1906 (in the Grand Duchy of Finland) and in 1918 (throughout). For comparison, in the U.S. – only in 1920.
- Russia has right-hand traffic.
- Russia has the world’s longest railway – the Trans-Siberian Railway (9288 km).
- In Russia, more than 17% of electricity comes from renewable sources (water-power plants, geothermal stations, etc.).
- Russian chemist Dmitri Mendeleev created the Periodic Table of the Elements, which is still used by every chemist in the world.
- In 1957, Russia launched the world’s first satellite into space.
- In 1961 Yuri Gagarin became the first man to travel into space.
- The first woman in space was another Russian – Valentina Tereshkova (1963).
- Valentina Tereshkova is the only female to make a three-day trip into space alone.
To discover Russia with Alexey Gureev