Russia borders the Baltic Sea and Black Sea to the south, and the Sea of Azov and East Siberian Seas to the north and northeast. Its land area encompasses large parts of Western Europe. The country also borders the Pacific Ocean, which is home to several large islands. It has numerous national parks, including the Siberian Steppe and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. In the west, the country is bordered by the U.S., Canada, and Japan.

The population of Russia is divided into federal and regional regions. The capital city is Moscow. The Eastern Frontier and Barents Sea regions have their own economies and cultures, while most cities in the west were originally established for exploitation of raw materials. The Volga River has been an important transportation route for centuries and is the longest river in Europe. The Siberian region has few people, but it is rich in natural resources. The Caucasus Mountain region is characterized by ethnic and religious diversity and a strong desire for independence.

The asymmetry of power in Russia is apparent. While the federation is a symmetrical system, republics have greater autonomy based on their economic power. Until the 1990s, the government granted the republics more authority through bilateral treaties. However, with the implementation of Vladimir Putin’s centralization reforms, the power of the federal government remained essentially the same, with the exception of Chechnya.

The federal structure of Russia has 86 provinces and republics. Each region has a president elected by the people. The country is a natural resource rich country, with vast reserves of oil, coal, iron ore, gold, and aluminum. The earliest settlements in Russia were around the year 500. In this period, Scandinavians began to migrate south along the upper Volga River. They then mixed with the Slavs of the west to create the Kiev fortress.

The country is also rich in minerals. Its Ural Mountains act as a natural divide between Europe and Asia, and are home to vast deposits of minerals and fossil fuels. These deposits are essential to the manufacturing industry in Russia. Its mineral resources are plentiful and diverse, and it is easy to see why the country is rich in them. Its energy sources are crucial for the economy of the country. Among them are the Ural mountains.

The Russian political system is a unique blend of democracy and a communist system. The largest federal subject in the country is the Sakha Republic, which is home to several billionaires. The second largest federal subject is the Krasnoyarsk Krai, which is a region in the northwest of Russia. The smallest federal subject is the Kaliningrad Oblast, and the smallest is the Republic of Ingushetia. The capital city of Moscow is the Moscow Oblast.