The Russian Federation is a vast country containing numerous natural resources. Natural gas, petroleum, and forest products all have rich deposits in the country. The country also has a large population of people of different nationalities. These resources are used to power the country and to feed its people. There are also numerous industrial facilities in the country.
Russia was once a powerful imperial power that ruled over many different ethnic groups in distant places. They had to deal with people who spoke different languages, worshipped different gods, and were often not even Russian themselves. Britain and other European powers had much harder tasks to govern such large areas, but the Russian empire was the largest and most diverse.
The climate in Russia varies according to location and season. Most of the country is dominated by Type D climates. This type of climate is typical of large landmasses that are not moderated by oceans. The land in this type of climate tends to heat up rapidly during the summer and cool quickly during the winter. In the north, Russia borders the Arctic Ocean, where frigid air masses swoop across the country during the long winter season.
The Russian government is notorious for its aggressive interference in other countries. Through arms sales, private military contractors, and political interventions, Russia seeks to influence global policy. It has even used military force to invade Crimea, a peninsula of southern Ukraine bordering the Black Sea. This war has displaced 13 million people and caused thousands of deaths.
Russia has two distinct geographical regions: the western part is mostly flat and has low hills while the eastern part is mostly mountainous. The western part is covered with lowlands and plains while the eastern portion is dominated by lowland plateaus and highland mountains. The western and eastern parts of Russia can be divided into the Kola-Karelian region, the Russian Plain, and the Ural Mountains.
Southeastern Siberia contains numerous high mountain ranges and vast lowland plains. Mount Narodnaya, at 6,217 feet (1,895 metres), is the highest peak in the Ural Mountains. Most of the area between the Lena River and the Pacific coast is covered by mountain ranges. The Stanovoy Range rises to nearly two thousand feet and separates the Lena and Amur drainage systems from one another. The Dzhugdzhur Range extends into the Chukchi Peninsula.
In 1991, the former Soviet republics were separated into fifteen independent states. The Russian Federation is the largest of these states. The other states include Ukraine, Lithuania, and Belarus. In 1991, Boris Yeltsin was elected President of the Russian Federation. Under this president, the country introduced representative democracy. Private business was also allowed to operate. Yeltsin was re-elected in 1996 but his health prevented him from serving a full term.
Russia has been building up its military capabilities and proving its willingness to intervene in its Black Sea neighbors. As Europe pushes toward a zero carbon target by 2050, the gas market is becoming more competitive. With more European countries competing for liquefied natural gas and Azerbaijani pipeline gas, Russia will have to keep its military assets positioned for eventual conflict.