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Russia - more completely identified as the Russian Federation - is a huge country in Eastern Europe and northern Asia, neighboring Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. Russia is the biggest country in the world by far; spanning eleven time zones, its province covers nearly twice as much of the earth as that of the next biggest country, Canada. Despite its gigantic size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for cultivation. Instead it has vast reserves of some of the world's most imperative resources (oil, gas, coal, platinum, gold, and chrome, asbestos). Mount Elbrus at 5,633 m is Europe's, and Russia's, tallest peak. Weather: Temperature ranges from steppes in the south to moist continental in much of European Russia; sub arctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to chilly in Siberia; summers vary from humid in the steppes to cold along the Arctic coast. Talk: Russian is the authorized language, so wherever you go in Russia, you'll find someone who speaks it. English is becoming a necessity in the business world, and younger people particularly will often know enough to communicate, but by no means is English commonly understood and spoken. In chic hotels almost the whole staff has a working knowledge of foreign languages (including English).

Religion: The Traditional Russian belief is one of the oldest twigs of Christianity in the world and continues to have a incredibly large following, In spite of having been reserved during the communist period. The language spoken in Russian Traditional Church services is Old Church Slavonic, a very old form of Russian which differs considerably from the current version. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia’s traditional religions, deemed part of Russia's "historical custom" in a law passed in 1997. Study: Russia has a long-standing tradition in high-class education for all citizens. It perhaps has also one of the best mass-education systems in the world producing a literacy rate of 99.4%, beyond most Western European countries.

Sports: Russians have been victorious at a number of sports and constantly finishing in the top rankings at the Olympic Games. Soviet and Russian gymnasts, track-and-field athletes, weight lifters, wrestlers, cross country skiers, and boxers have been constantly along with the best in the world. As in most of the world, Association football is the mainly popular sport in Russia. While the end of the Soviet era, tennis has developed in reputation and Russia has shaped a number of eminent tennis players. Chess is a widely popular pastime; from 1927, Soviet and Russian chess grandmasters have held the world championship almost continuously. Skating is another popular sport; in the 1960s, the Soviet Union rose to become a prevailing power in figure skating, particularly in pair skating and ice dancing.