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More Information about Russia

With its 139,390,205 people Russia is the 9th largest country in the world by population. It is the 1st largest country by area with 17,098,242 square kilometers. Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state whose legitimacy is buttressed, in part, by carefully managed national elections, former President PUTIN's genuine popularity, and the prudent management of Russia's windfall energy wealth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.

Reading about Russia

Check out the recommended reading list below for great sources of information on Russia.

• Russia - Culture Smart!: the essential guide to customs & culture Anna King
• The Last Man in Russia: The Struggle to Save a Dying Nation Oliver Bullough
• Russia: Belarus & Ukraine (Insight Guides) Insight Guides
• Russia: A Crossroads Between History and Nature (Exploring Countries of the World) Arnaldo Alberti
• Russia 1:6,000,000 Travel Map ITM Canada
• Lonely Planet Russia (Country Guide) Simon Richmond
• The Russia Reader: History, Culture, Politics (The World Readers)
• A Traveller's History of Russia Peter Neville
• DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Russia DK Publishing
• Russia/CIS Map (English, French, Italian, German and Russian Edition) Freytag-Berndt