Russia — Capital, Flag and Country Facts

Explore Russia: capital Moscow, population, flag, geography, languages, history and culture.

Russia is in Europe/Asia. Its capital is Moscow.

Climate

Ranges from subtropical on the Black Sea coast to subarctic and arctic in Siberia. Most of the country has harsh, long winters and brief summers.

Broad plains with low hills west of the Urals; vast coniferous forest (taiga) and tundra in Siberia; mountains along the southern borders.

Russia spans 11 time zones, more than any other country.

Lake Baikal in Siberia contains about 20% of the world's unfrozen surface freshwater.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway line in the world, stretching 9,289 km from Moscow to Vladivostok.

862: Rurik founds Novgorod, traditionally marking the birth of Russian statehood

1547: Ivan the Terrible crowned first Tsar of Russia

1703: Peter the Great founds Saint Petersburg as the new capital

1917: Russian Revolution overthrows the Tsar; Soviet Union eventually formed

1957: Sputnik becomes the first artificial satellite launched into orbit

1991: Dissolution of the Soviet Union; Russian Federation established