Russia

There are several words in Russian which translate to "Russians" in English. The noun and adjective русский, russkiy refers to ethnic Russians. The adjective российский, rossiiskiy denotes Russian citizens regardless of ethnicity. The same applies to the more recently coined noun россиянин, rossiianyn, "Russian" in the sense of citizen of the Russian state.^[28][32]

According to the

Early history

The first human settlement on Russia dates back to the

The first trace of an early modern human in Russia dates back to 45,000 years, in Western Siberia.^[41] The discovery of high concentration cultural remains of anatomically modern humans, from at least 40,000 years ago, was found at Kostyonki–Borshchyovo,^[42] and at Sungir, dating back to 34,600 years ago—both in western Russia.^[43] Humans reached Arctic Russia at least 40,000 years ago, in Mamontovaya Kurya.^[44] Ancient North Eurasian populations from Siberia genetically similar to Mal'ta–Buret' culture and Afontova Gora were an important genetic contributor to Ancient Native Americans and Eastern Hunter-Gatherers.^[45]

The

In the 3rd to 4th centuries CE, the Gothic kingdom of Oium existed in southern Russia, which was later overrun by Huns. Between the 3rd and 6th centuries CE, the Bosporan Kingdom, which was a Hellenistic polity that succeeded the Greek colonies,^[55] was also overwhelmed by nomadic invasions led by warlike tribes such as the Huns and Eurasian Avars.^[56] The Khazars, who were of Turkic origin, ruled the steppes between the Caucasus in the south, to the east past the Volga river basin, and west as far as Kyiv on the Dnieper river until the 10th century.^[57] After them came the Pechenegs who created a large confederacy, which was subsequently taken over by the Cumans and the Kipchaks.^[58]

The ancestors of

The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of

Led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the invading Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240,^[67] as well as the Germanic crusaders in the Battle on the Ice in 1242.^[68]

Kievan Rus' finally fell to the

In development of the

Under Peter the Great, Russia was proclaimed an empire in 1721, and established itself as one of the European great powers. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War (1700–1721), securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade. In 1703, on the Baltic Sea, Peter founded Saint Petersburg as Russia's new capital. Throughout his rule, sweeping reforms were made, which brought significant Western European cultural influences to Russia.^[87] He was succeeded by Catherine I (1725–1727), followed by Peter II (1727–1730), and Anna. The reign of Peter I's daughter Elizabeth in 1741–1762 saw Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756–1763). During the conflict, Russian troops overran East Prussia, reaching Berlin.^[88] However, upon Elizabeth's death, all these conquests were returned to the Kingdom of Prussia by pro-Prussian Peter III of Russia.^[89]

The officers who pursued Napoleon into Western Europe brought ideas of liberalism back to Russia, and attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825.^[101] At the end of the conservative reign of Nicholas I (1825–1855), a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe, was disrupted by defeat in the Crimean War.^[102]

Great liberal reforms and capitalism

Nicholas's successor Alexander II (1855–1881) enacted significant changes throughout the country, including the emancipation reform of 1861.^[103] These reforms spurred industrialisation, and modernised the Imperial Russian Army, which liberated much of the Balkans from Ottoman rule in the aftermath of the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War.^[104] During most of the 19th and early 20th century, Russia and Britain colluded over Afghanistan and its neighbouring territories in Central and South Asia; the rivalry between the two major European empires came to be known as the Great Game.^[105]

The late 19th century saw the rise of various socialist movements in Russia. Alexander II was assassinated in 1881 by revolutionary terrorists.^[106] The reign of his son Alexander III (1881–1894) was less liberal but more peaceful.^[107]

Constitutional monarchy and World War

Under last Russian emperor,

In 1914,

The Allied powers launched an unsuccessful military intervention in support of anti-communist forces.^[118] In the meantime, both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror.^[119] By the end of the violent civil war, Russia's economy and infrastructure were heavily damaged, and as many as 10 million perished during the war, mostly civilians.^[120] Millions became White émigrés,^[121] and the Russian famine of 1921–1922 claimed up to five million victims.^[122]

Soviet Union

Command economy and Soviet society

On 30 December 1922, Lenin and his aides

The Soviet Union entered World War II on 17 September 1939 with its invasion of Poland,^[134] in accordance with a secret protocol within the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact with Nazi Germany.^[135] The Soviet Union later invaded Finland,^[136] and occupied and annexed the Baltic states,^[137] as well as parts of Romania.^{[138]: 91–95} On 22 June 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union,^[139] opening the Eastern Front, the largest theater of World War II.^[140]: 7

Eventually, some 5 million

The 1941–1945 period of World War II is known in Russia as the Great Patriotic War.^[149] The Soviet Union, along with the United States, the United Kingdom and China were considered the Big Four of Allied powers in World War II, and later became the Four Policemen, which was the foundation of the United Nations Security Council.^[150]: 27 During the war, Soviet civilian and military death were about 26–27 million,^[151] accounting for about half of all World War II casualties.^[152]: 295 The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation, which caused the Soviet famine of 1946–1947.^[153] However, at the expense of a large sacrifice, the Soviet Union emerged as a global superpower.^[154]

Superpower and Cold War

After World War II, according to the Potsdam Conference, the Red Army occupied parts of Eastern and Central Europe, including East Germany and the eastern regions of Austria.^[155] Dependent communist governments were installed in the Eastern Bloc satellite states.^[156] After becoming the world's second nuclear power,^[157] the Soviet Union established the Warsaw Pact alliance,^[158] and entered into a struggle for global dominance, known as the Cold War, with the rivalling United States and NATO.^[159]

Khrushchev Thaw reforms and economic development

After Stalin's death in 1953 and a short period of collective rule, the new leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced Stalin and launched the policy of de-Stalinization, releasing many political prisoners from the Gulag labour camps.^[160] The general easement of repressive policies became known later as the Khrushchev Thaw.^[161] At the same time, Cold War tensions reached its peak when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the United States Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba.^[162]

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial

Perestroika, democratization and Russian sovereignty

From 1985 onwards, the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who sought to enact liberal reforms in the Soviet system, introduced the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to end the period of economic stagnation and to democratise the government.^[168] This, however, led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements across the country.^[169] Prior to 1991, the Soviet economy was the world's second-largest, but during its final years, it went into a crisis.^[170]

By 1991, economic and political turmoil began to boil over as the

Transition to a market economy and political crises

The economic and political collapse of the Soviet Union led Russia into a deep and prolonged depression. During and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wide-ranging reforms including

In late 1993, tensions between Yeltsin and the Russian parliament culminated in a constitutional crisis which ended violently through military force. During the crisis, Yeltsin was backed by Western governments, and over 100 people were killed.^[184]

Modern liberal constitution, international cooperation and economic stabilization

In December, a

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia assumed responsibility for settling the latter's external debts.[189] In 1992, most consumer price controls were eliminated, causing extreme inflation and significantly devaluing the rouble.^[190] High budget deficits coupled with increasing capital flight and inability to pay back debts, caused the 1998 Russian financial crisis, which resulted in a further GDP decline.^[191]

Movement towards a modernized economy, political centralization and democratic backsliding

On 31 December 1999, president Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned,^[192] handing the post to the recently appointed prime minister and his chosen successor, Vladimir Putin.^[193] Putin then won the 2000 presidential election,^[194] and defeated the Chechen insurgency in the Second Chechen War.^[195]

Putin won a

In June 2023, the Wagner Group, a private military contractor fighting for Russia in Ukraine, declared an open rebellion against the Russian Ministry of Defense, capturing Rostov-on-Don, before beginning a march on Moscow. However, after negotiations between Wagner and the Belarusian government, the rebellion was called off.^[220][221]

Geography

Russia's vast landmass stretches over the easternmost part of Europe and the northernmost part of Asia.^[222] It spans the northernmost edge of Eurasia; and has the world's fourth-longest coastline, of over 37,653 km (23,396 mi).^[f][224] Russia lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W, extending some 9,000 km (5,600 mi) east to west, and 2,500 to 4,000 km (1,600 to 2,500 mi) north to south.^[225] Russia, by landmass, is larger than three continents,^[g] and has the same surface area as Pluto.^[226]

Russia has nine major mountain ranges, and they are found along the

The size of Russia and the remoteness of many of its areas from the sea result in the dominance of the humid continental climate throughout most of the country, except for the tundra and the extreme southwest. Mountain ranges in the south and east obstruct the flow of warm air masses from the Indian and Pacific oceans, while the European Plain spanning its west and north opens it to influence from the Atlantic and Arctic oceans.^[239] Most of northwest Russia and Siberia have a subarctic climate, with extremely severe winters in the inner regions of northeast Siberia (mostly Sakha, where the Northern Pole of Cold is located with the record low temperature of −71.2 °C or −96.2 °F),^[232] and more moderate winters elsewhere. Russia's vast coastline along the Arctic Ocean and the Russian Arctic islands have a polar climate.^[239]

The coastal part of Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea, most notably Sochi, and some coastal and interior strips of the North Caucasus possess a humid subtropical climate with mild and wet winters.^[239] In many regions of East Siberia and the Russian Far East, winter is dry compared to summer; while other parts of the country experience more even precipitation across seasons. Winter precipitation in most parts of the country usually falls as snow. The westernmost parts of Kaliningrad Oblast and some parts in the south of Krasnodar Krai and the North Caucasus have an oceanic climate.^[239] The region along the Lower Volga and Caspian Sea coast, as well as some southernmost slivers of Siberia, possess a semi-arid climate.^[240]

Throughout much of the territory, there are only two distinct seasons, winter and summer; as spring and autumn are usually brief.

Russia, owing to its gigantic size, has diverse ecosystems, including polar deserts, tundra, forest tundra, taiga, mixed and broadleaf forest, forest steppe, steppe, semi-desert, and subtropics.^[244] About half of Russia's territory is forested,^[11] and it has the world's largest area of forest,^[245] which sequester some of the world's highest amounts of carbon dioxide.^[245][246]

Russian biodiversity includes 12,500 species of

Russia, by 1993 constitution, is a

• Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, made up of the 450-member State Duma and the 170-member Federation Council,^[253] adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the president.^[254]
• Executive: The president is the
  commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and appoints the Government of Russia (Cabinet) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.^[252] The president may issue decrees of unlimited scope, so long as they do not contradict the constitution or federal law.^[255]
• Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president,^[253] interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.^[256]

The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term and may be elected no more than twice.^[257][i] Ministries of the government are composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma). United Russia is the dominant political party in Russia, and has been described as "big tent" and the "party of power".^[259][260] Under the administrations of Vladimir Putin, Russia has experienced democratic backsliding,^[261][262] and has become an authoritarian state^[12] under a dictatorship,^[9][263] with Putin's policies being referred to as Putinism.^[264]

Political divisions

Russia, by 1993 constitution, is a symmetric (with the possibility of an asymmetric configuration) federation. Unlike the Soviet asymmetric model of the RSFSR, where only republics were "subjects of the federation", the current constitution raised the status of other regions to the level of republics and made all regions equal with the title "subject of the federation". The regions of Russia have reserved areas of competence, but no regions have sovereignty, do not have the status of a sovereign state, do not have the right to indicate any sovereignty in their constitutions and do not have the right to secede from the country. The laws of the regions cannot contradict federal laws.^[265]

The federal subjects^[j] have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council, the upper house of the Federal Assembly.^[266] They do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.^[267] The federal districts of Russia were established by Putin in 2000 to facilitate central government control of the federal subjects.^[268] Originally seven, currently there are eight federal districts, each headed by an envoy appointed by the president.^[269]

Foreign relations

Russia had the world's fifth-largest diplomatic network in 2019. It maintains diplomatic relations with 190

Russia maintains close relations with neighbouring Belarus, which is a part of the Union State, a supranational confederation of the two states.^[283] Serbia has been a historically close ally of Russia, as both countries share a strong mutual cultural, ethnic, and religious affinity.^[284] India is the largest customer of Russian military equipment, and the two countries share a strong strategic and diplomatic relationship since the Soviet era.^[285] Russia wields influence across the geopolitically important South Caucasus and Central Asia; and the two regions have been described as Russia's "backyard".^[286][287]

The

Violations of human rights in Russia have been increasingly reported by leading democracy and human rights groups. In particular, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say that Russia is not democratic and allows few political rights and civil liberties to its citizens.^[309][310]

Since 2004,

Russia has introduced several restrictions on LGBT rights, including a 2020 ban on same-sex marriage and the designation of LGBT+ organisations such as the Russian LGBT Network as "foreign agents".^[332][333]

Corruption

Russia's autocratic^[334] political system has been variously described as a kleptocracy,^[335] an oligarchy,^[336] and a plutocracy.^[337] It was the lowest rated European country in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index for 2023, ranking 141th out of 180 countries.^[338] Russia has a long history of corruption, which is seen as a significant problem.^[339] It impacts various sectors, including the economy,^[340] business,^[341] public administration,^[342] law enforcement,^[343] healthcare,^[344][345] education,^[346] and the military.^[347]

Law and crime

The primary and fundamental statement of laws in Russia is the

Russia has the world's second largest illegal arms trade market, after the United States, is ranked first in Europe and 32nd globally in the Global Organized Crime Index, and is among the countries with the highest number of people in prison.[351]^[352][353]

Economy

Russia has a

Russia is the world's thirteenth-largest exporter and the 21st-largest importer.^[359][360] It relies heavily on revenues from oil and gas-related taxes and export tariffs, which accounted for 45% of Russia's federal budget revenues in January 2022,^[361] and up to 60% of its exports in 2019.^[362] Russia has one of the lowest levels of external debt among major economies,^[363] although its inequality of household income and wealth is one of the highest among developed countries.^[364] High regional disparity is also an issue.^[365][366]

After over a decade of post-Soviet rapid economic growth, backed by high oil-prices and a surge in foreign exchange reserves and investment,

Railway transport in Russia is mostly under the control of the state-run Russian Railways. The total length of common-used railway tracks is the world's third-longest, and exceeds 87,000 km (54,100 mi).^[373] As of 2016^[update], Russia has the world's fifth-largest road network, with 1.5 million km of roads,^[374] while its road density is among the world's lowest.^[375] Russia's inland waterways are the world's longest, and total 102,000 km (63,380 mi).^[376] Among Russia's 1,218 airports,^[377] the busiest is Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. Russia's largest port is the Port of Novorossiysk in Krasnodar Krai along the Black Sea.^[378]

Russia was widely described as an

In the mid-2000s, the share of the oil and gas sector in GDP was around 20%, and in 2013 it was 20–21% of GDP.[390] The share of oil and gas in Russia's exports (about 50%) and federal budget revenues (about 50%) is large, and the dynamics of Russia's GDP are highly dependent on oil and gas prices,^[391] but the share in GDP is much less than 50%. According to the first such comprehensive assessment published by the Russian statistics agency Rosstat in 2021, the maximum total share of the oil and gas sector in Russia's GDP, including extraction, refining, transport, sale of oil and gas, all goods and services used, and all supporting activities, amounts to 19.2% in 2019 and 15.2% in 2020. This is comparable to the share of GDP in Norway and Kazakhstan. It is much lower than the share of GDP in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.^{[392][393][394][395][396]}

Russia ratified the

Russia's agriculture sector contributes about 5% of the country's total GDP, although the sector employs about one-eighth of the total labour force.^[403] It has the world's third-largest cultivated area, at 1,265,267 square kilometres (488,522 sq mi). However, due to the harshness of its environment, about 13.1% of its land is agricultural,^[11] and only 7.4% of its land is arable.^[404] The country's agricultural land is considered part of the "breadbasket" of Europe.^[405] More than one-third of the sown area is devoted to fodder crops, and the remaining farmland is devoted to industrial crops, vegetables, and fruits.^[403] The main product of Russian farming has always been grain, which occupies considerably more than half of the cropland.^[403] Russia is the world's largest exporter of wheat,^[406][407] the largest producer of barley and buckwheat, among the largest exporters of maize and sunflower oil, and the leading producer of fertilizer.^[408]

Various analysts of climate change adaptation foresee large opportunities for Russian agriculture during the rest of the 21st century as arability increases in Siberia, which would lead to both internal and external migration to the region.^[409] Owing to its large coastline along three oceans and twelve marginal seas, Russia maintains the world's sixth-largest fishing industry; capturing nearly 5 million tons of fish in 2018.^[410] It is home to the world's finest caviar, the beluga; and produces about one-third of all canned fish, and some one-fourth of the world's total fresh and frozen fish.^[403]

Science and technology

Russia spent about 1% of its GDP on

Russia had 172 active satellites in space in April 2022, the world's third-highest.[442] Between the final flight of the Space Shuttle program in 2011 and the 2020 SpaceX's first crewed mission, Soyuz rockets were the only launch vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to the ISS.^[443] Luna 25 launched in August 2023, was the first of the Luna-Glob Moon exploration programme.^[444]

Tourism

According to the

Ethnic groups across Russia

Ethnic groups in Russia with a population of over one million according to the 2010 census

Percentage of ethnic Russians by region according to the 2021 census

Russia is one of the world's

2021 Census[471]
	Rank	Name	Federal subject	Pop.	Rank	Name	Federal subject	Pop.
Moscow Saint Petersburg	1	Moscow	Moscow	13,010,112	11	Rostov-on-Don	Rostov Oblast	1,142,162	Novosibirsk Yekaterinburg
	2	Saint Petersburg	Saint Petersburg	5,601,911	12	Omsk	Omsk Oblast	1,125,695
	3	Novosibirsk	Novosibirsk Oblast	1,633,595	13	Krasnodar	Krasnodar Krai	1,099,344
	4	Yekaterinburg	Sverdlovsk Oblast	1,544,376	14	Voronezh	Voronezh Oblast	1,057,681
	5	Kazan	Tatarstan	1,308,660	15	Perm	Perm Krai	1,034,002
	6	Nizhny Novgorod	Nizhny Novgorod Oblast	1,228,199	16	Volgograd	Volgograd Oblast	1,028,036
	7	Chelyabinsk	Chelyabinsk Oblast	1,189,525	17	Saratov	Saratov Oblast	901,361
	8	Krasnoyarsk	Krasnoyarsk Krai	1,187,771	18	Tyumen	Tyumen Oblast	847,488
	9	Samara	Samara Oblast	1,173,299	19	Tolyatti	Samara Oblast	684,709
	10	Ufa	Bashkortostan	1,144,809	20	Barnaul	Altai Krai	630,877

Language

Russian is the official and the predominantly spoken language in Russia.^[3] It is the most spoken native language in Europe, the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, as well as the world's most widely spoken Slavic language.^[473] Russian is one of two official languages aboard the International Space Station,^[474] as well as one of the six official languages of the United Nations.^[473]

Russia is a

Russia is a

Russia has an adult

Admission to an institute of higher education is selective and highly competitive:[496] first-degree courses usually take five years.^[500] The oldest and largest universities in Russia are Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University.^[501] There are ten highly prestigious federal universities across the country. Russia was the world's fifth-leading destination for international students in 2019, hosting roughly 300 thousand.^[502]

Health

Russia, by constitution, guarantees free, universal health care for all Russian citizens, through a compulsory state health insurance program.^[504] The Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation oversees the Russian public healthcare system, and the sector employs more than two million people. Federal regions also have their own departments of health that oversee local administration. A separate private health insurance plan is needed to access private healthcare in Russia.^[505]

Russia spent 5.65% of its GDP on healthcare in 2019.^[506] Its healthcare expenditure is notably lower than other developed nations.^[507] Russia has one of the world's most female-biased sex ratios, with 0.859 males to every female,^[11] due to its high male mortality rate.^[508] In 2021, the overall life expectancy in Russia at birth was 70.06 years (65.51 years for males and 74.51 years for females),^[509] and it had a very low infant mortality rate (5 per 1,000 live births).^[510]

The principal cause of death in Russia are cardiovascular diseases.

Russian

Russia has eight—public, patriotic, and religious—official holidays.^[531] The year starts with New Year's Day on 1 January, soon followed by Russian Orthodox Christmas on 7 January; the two are the country's most popular holidays.^[532] Defender of the Fatherland Day, dedicated to men, is celebrated on 23 February.^[533] International Women's Day on 8 March, gained momentum in Russia during the Soviet era. The annual celebration of women has become so popular, especially among Russian men, that Moscow's flower vendors often see profits of "15 times" more than other holidays.^[534] Spring and Labour Day, originally a Soviet era holiday dedicated to workers, is celebrated on 1 May.^[535]

There are many popular non-public holidays. Old New Year is celebrated on 14 January.^[540] Maslenitsa is an ancient and popular East Slavic folk holiday.^[541] Cosmonautics Day on 12 April, in tribute to the first human trip into space.^[542] Two major Christian holidays are Easter and Trinity Sunday.^[543]

Art and architecture

Until the 18th century, music in Russia consisted mainly of church music and folk songs and dances.

During the Soviet era, popular music also produced a number of renowned figures, such as the two balladeers—Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava,^[569] and performers such as Alla Pugacheva.^[571] Jazz, even with sanctions from Soviet authorities, flourished and evolved into one of the country's most popular musical forms.^[569] By the 1980s, rock music became popular across Russia, and produced bands such as Aria, Aquarium,^[572] DDT,^[573] and Kino;^[574] the latter's leader Viktor Tsoi, was in particular, a gigantic figure.^[575] Pop music has continued to flourish in Russia since the 1960s, with globally famous acts such as t.A.T.u.^[576]

Literature and philosophy

Leo Tolstoy (1828–1910), is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time, with works such as War and Peace.^[577]

Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881), one of the great novelists of all time, whose masterpieces include Crime and Punishment^[578]

Russian literature is considered to be among the world's most influential and developed.^[518] It can be traced to the Middle Ages, when epics and chronicles in Old East Slavic were composed.^[579] By the Age of Enlightenment, literature had grown in importance, with works from Mikhail Lomonosov, Denis Fonvizin, Gavrila Derzhavin, and Nikolay Karamzin.^[580] From the early 1830s, during the Golden Age of Russian Poetry, literature underwent an astounding golden age in poetry, prose and drama.^[581] Romanticism permitted a flowering of poetic talent: Vasily Zhukovsky and later his protégé Alexander Pushkin came to the fore.^[582] Following Pushkin's footsteps, a new generation of poets were born, including Mikhail Lermontov, Nikolay Nekrasov, Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, Fyodor Tyutchev and Afanasy Fet.^[580]

The first great Russian novelist was

Russian cuisine has been formed by climate, cultural and religious traditions, and the vast geography of the nation; and it shares similarities with the cuisines of its neighbouring countries. Crops of

Russia's national non-alcoholic drink is kvass,^[621] and the national alcoholic drink is vodka; its production in Russia (and elsewhere) dates back to the 14th century.^[622] The country has the world's highest vodka consumption,^[623] while beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage.^[624] Wine has become increasingly popular in Russia in the 21st century.^[625] Tea has been popular in Russia for centuries.^[626]

Mass media and cinema

There are 400 news agencies in Russia, among which the largest internationally operating are TASS, RIA Novosti, Sputnik, and Interfax.^[628] Television is the most popular medium in Russia.^[629] Among the 3,000 licensed radio stations nationwide, notable ones include Radio Rossii, Vesti FM, Echo of Moscow, Radio Mayak, and Russkoye Radio. Of the 16,000 registered newspapers, Argumenty i Fakty, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Rossiyskaya Gazeta, Izvestia, and Moskovskij Komsomolets are popular. State-run Channel One and Russia-1 are the leading news channels, while RT is the flagship of Russia's international media operations.^[629] Russia has the largest video gaming market in Europe, with over 65 million players nationwide.^[630]

Russian and later

• Outline of Russia

Notes