Russia and its 66 important Details for UPSC, PSC and Other Competitive Exams

Russia and its Details Like , Capital, GDP, Currency, Geography, Economy, Defence, Culture, Natural resources, Habitat, Sports and all you want to know for UPSC, PSC and Other Competitive Exams.

Russia and its Basic Details :

Category	Information
Name of the Country	Russia
Capital	Moscow
Independence Day	June 12, 1990 (Declaration of Sovereignty); December 25, 1991 (Dissolution of the Soviet Union)
Major Religions	Russian Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism, and others
Currency	Russian Ruble (RUB)
Continent	Europe and Asia (Eurasia)
Top 5 Famous Cities	1. Moscow
	2. Saint Petersburg
	3. Novosibirsk
	4. Yekaterinburg
	5. Kazan
Top 10 Famous Persons	1. Vladimir Putin (President)
	2. Leo Tolstoy (Writer)
	3. Fyodor Dostoevsky (Writer)
	4. Catherine the Great (Empress)
	5. Ivan the Terrible (Tsar)
	6. Yuri Gagarin (Astronaut)
	7. Peter the Great (Tsar)
	8. Mikhail Gorbachev (Former Soviet Leader)
	9. Anton Chekhov (Writer)
	10. Sergey Brin (Co-Founder of Google)
Type of Government	Federal Semi-Presidential Republic
Main Wars Fought	World War I, Russian Civil War, World War II, Cold War, Afghan War, Chechen Wars, and others
GDP	Approximately $1.7 trillion (2021)
5 Popular Tourist Places	1. Red Square, Moscow
	2. Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg
	3. Lake Baikal, Siberia
	4. Trans-Siberian Railway
	5. Kamchatka Peninsula

Geography of Russia :

Category	Information
Area of the Country	Approximately 17.1 million square kilometers
Population	Approximately 145 million (2021)
5 Main Mountain Ranges	1. Ural Mountains
	2. Caucasus Mountains
	3. Altai Mountains
	4. Sayan Mountains
	5. Uralskiye Mountains
5 Main Mountain Peaks	1. Mount Elbrus (Caucasus Mountains)
	2. Mount Gora Belukha (Altai Mountains)
	3. Mount Narodnaya (Ural Mountains)
	4. Mount Pik Pobedy (Sayan Mountains)
	5. Mount Klyuchevskaya Sopka (Kamchatka Peninsula)
5 Main Rivers	1. Volga River
	2. Lena River
	3. Amur River
	4. Yenisei River
	5. Ob River
Main Lakes	1. Lake Baikal
	2. Lake Ladoga
	3. Lake Onega
	4. Caspian Sea (partly within Russian territory)
	5. Lake Teletskoye
Deserts	The Caspian Depression (low-lying area)
Plateaus	Central Siberian Plateau
Volcanoes	Kamchatka Peninsula (Numerous volcanoes)
5 Main Crops and Vegetation	1. Wheat, 2. Barley, 3. Potatoes, 4. Sugar Beets, 5. Sunflowers
Main Beaches	Sochi Beaches (Black Sea), Crimea Beaches (Black Sea)
Neighboring Countries	1. Kazakhstan
	2. China
	3. Mongolia
	4. Ukraine
	5. Belarus
Nearby Seas and Oceans	Arctic Ocean, Pacific Ocean, Black Sea, Caspian Sea
Length of Coastline	Approximately 37,653 kilometers
Top 5 Natural Resources	1. Natural Gas
	2. Petroleum
	3. Coal
	4. Iron Ore
	5. Timber

Economy of Russia :

Category	Information
5 Major Industries	1. Oil and Gas
	2. Manufacturing
	3. Agriculture
	4. Mining
	5. Defense and Aerospace
5 Main Revenue Sources	1. Energy exports (oil and gas)
	2. Natural resources exports
	3. Arms exports
	4. Agriculture exports
	5. Machinery and equipment exports
Top 10 Companies	1. Gazprom (Energy)
	2. Rosneft (Energy)
	3. Lukoil (Energy)
	4. Sberbank (Finance)
	5. Rostec (Defense and Technology)
	6. Norilsk Nickel (Mining)
	7. Novatek (Energy)
	8. VTB Bank (Finance)
	9. Severstal (Manufacturing)
	10. Tatneft (Energy)
Per Capita Income	Approximately $11,000 (2021)
Top 5 Imports	1. Machinery and equipment
	2. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals
	3. Food products
	4. Consumer goods
	5. Metals and metal products
Top 5 Exports	1. Energy products (oil, gas, and coal)
	2. Machinery and equipment
	3. Metals and metal products
	4. Chemicals and pharmaceuticals
	5. Agricultural products
Total Gold Reserves	Approximately 2,300 tons (as of 2021)

Defence Power of Russia :

Category	Details
Defence Policy	Active defense policy
Defence Budget	$86.4 billion (2023)
Total Army Personnel	900,000 active personnel
Total Air Force Personnel	165,000 active personnel
Total Navy Personnel	150,000 active personnel
Total Defence Imports	$15.1 billion (2021)
Total Defence Export	$15.8 billion (2021)

Cultural of Russia :

Category	Information
Main Festivals	Maslenitsa, Victory Day, New Year, Russian Orthodox Christmas, International Women’s Day
Main Religious Places	Saint Basil’s Cathedral, Kazan Cathedral, Christ the Savior Cathedral, Saint Petersburg Mosque, Novodevichy Convent
Main Arts and Dances	Ballet, Matryoshka dolls, Icon painting, Russian classical music, Russian folk dance
Main Languages	Russian, Tatar, Ukrainian, Chuvash, Bashkir
Famous Food and Cuisines	Borscht, Pelmeni, Blini, Beef Stroganoff, Caviar
UNESCO Protected Buildings	Saint Petersburg Historic Centre, Kremlin and Red Square, Kizhi Pogost, Church of the Ascension, Trinity-Sergius Lavra

Sports in Russia :

Category	Information
National Game	Bandy
Main Sports	Football, Ice Hockey, Wrestling, Tennis, Figure Skating
Top Athletes	Maria Sharapova, Alexander Ovechkin, Fedor Emelianenko, Yelena Isinbayeva, Alexander Karelin
Top Sports Achievements	Multiple Olympic gold medals in various sports, FIFA World Cup win (1966), numerous world championships in ice hockey and wrestling

Natural Habitat and wild life of Russia :

Category	Information
National Animal	Eurasian Brown Bear
National Bird	Eagle (Double-headed Eagle)
Main Forests	Taiga (Boreal Forest), Russian Far East Forests, Siberian Forests
Main Recognized Natural Habitats	Lake Baikal, Kamchatka Peninsula, Altai Mountains, Caucasus Mountains, Wrangel Island

Biggest in the Russia :

Category	Name	Description
Biggest Lake	Lake Baikal	Largest freshwater lake by volume in the world, holding 20% of the world’s unfrozen freshwater.
Biggest Forest	Taiga	Largest land biome on Earth, covering 11% of the planet’s land surface.
Longest River	Volga River	Longest river in Europe, spanning 3,530 km (2,194 miles).
Tallest Mountain	Mount Elbrus	Highest mountain in Europe, with a peak elevation of 5,642 meters (18,510 feet).
Biggest Bridge	Russky Bridge	Longest suspension bridge in Europe, with a total length of 3,100 meters (10,170 feet).
Tallest Statue	The Motherland Calls	Tallest statue in Europe, standing 87 meters (285 feet) tall.
Biggest Company	Gazprom	Largest company in Russia by revenue, and a major global energy producer.
Richest Man	Vladimir Potanin	Richest person in Russia, with a net worth of $29.5 billion (as of October 26, 2023).

Brief History Of Russia :

A brief history of this Country, highlighting key periods: Ancient Russia, Medieval Period, Modern Era, and Recent History.

Ancient Russia (9th Century – 16th Century):

• Ancient Russia’s history began with the establishment of the East Slavic state of Kievan Rus in the 9th century. It was centered around Kiev, in present-day Ukraine.
• Kievan Rus adopted Christianity in the 10th century, with Prince Vladimir I converting to Orthodox Christianity in 988, leading to the Christianization of the region.
• The Mongol invasion in the 13th century, led by Genghis Khan and his successors, resulted in the subjugation of Kievan Rus by the Golden Horde, a Mongol state.
• In the 15th century, Ivan III (Ivan the Great) of Moscow managed to free Moscow from Mongol rule and unite various Russian principalities under Moscow’s leadership, marking the emergence of the Russian state.

Medieval Period (16th Century – 17th Century):

• Ivan IV, also known as Ivan the Terrible, expanded this Country’s territory significantly in the 16th century and declared himself the first Tsar of Russia.
• In the late 16th and early 17th centuries, This Country faced the Time of Troubles, a period of political instability and foreign intervention.
• The Romanov dynasty, starting with Tsar Michael Romanov in 1613, brought stability and ruled this Country for centuries.

Modern Era (18th Century – Early 20th Century):

• Under the reign of Peter the Great (1682-1725), this Country modernized rapidly. He introduced Western European reforms and expanded this Country’s territory, including gaining access to the Baltic Sea.
• Catherine the Great (1762-1796) continued Peter’s modernization efforts and expanded this Country’s empire further, annexing Crimea and parts of Poland.
• This Country became a major European power and played a significant role in European politics during this period.
• The 19th century saw the emancipation of serfs in 1861, but also witnessed social and political unrest.

Recent History (Early 20th Century – Present):

• This Country was part of the Russian Empire until the Russian Revolution of 1917, which led to the overthrow of the monarchy and the establishment of a socialist government.
• The Russian Civil War (1917-1923) followed, resulting in the victory of the Bolsheviks and the formation of the Soviet Union in 1922.
• The Soviet Union, led by Joseph Stalin, played a major role in World War II and emerged as a superpower after the war.
• The Cold War rivalry with the United States dominated international relations for decades.
• The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991, and this Country became an independent nation under the leadership of President Boris Yeltsin.
• Vladimir Putin came to power in 1999 and has remained a dominant figure in Russian politics.

This overview covers significant periods in this Country’s history, from its ancient roots to its emergence as a modern nation and its role in the contemporary world.

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