GEOGRAPHY

General Information

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world by area (17 075,4 thousand sq. km). It is located both in Europe (about 23% of the entire country) and in Asia (approximately 76%). The conventional border between the European and Asian parts of Russia is the Ural Mountains and the Kuma-Manych Depression. The Asian part of Russia includes Siberia, the Far East, and the territories of the North Caucasus. The geographical center of the Russian Federation is located in the territory of the Krasnoyarsk Krai.

More than a half of the country's area is occupied by plains, the largest of which are: the East European (Russian) Plain, the West Siberian Plain, and the Central Siberian Plateau. Besides the Ural Mountains, there are other mountain complexes occupying about one-third of the country's territory. Between the Black and Caspian Seas are the Caucasus Mountains. The belt of mountains of Southern Siberia is located in the Asian part of the country. The northeastern part of the Central Siberian Plateau is framed by the mountains of Northeastern Siberia. Along the Pacific Ocean runs the Far Eastern mountain chain.

The largest river in Russia is considered the Ob River, which is usually considered together with its tributaries the Irtysh (5410 km) and the Chulym (4565 km). The highest point is Mount Elbrus, height 5642 m.

Unique geographical features are located in Russia: Baikal – the deepest freshwater lake in the world, the Volga – the longest river in Europe, Lake Ladoga, which is the largest lake in Europe.

Time zone – UTC+3 (in the capital), from UTC+2 to UTC+12.

State Borders

According to the Border Service of Russia, the total length of the country's borders is 60 933 km. The length of the land borders is 22 125,3 km, maritime borders – 38 807 km. The maritime borders of Russia include segments along seas and oceans:

Baltic Sea (126,1 km);
Black Sea (389,5 km);
Pacific Ocean (16 997,9 km);
Caspian Sea (580 km);
Arctic Ocean (19 724,1 km).

Russia borders 18 countries. The length of the border sections of the Russian Federation with neighboring countries:

Norway (219,1 km);
Finland (1325,8 km);
Estonia (466,8 km);
Latvia (270,5 km);
Lithuania (288,4 km);
Poland (236,3 km);
Belarus (1239 km);
Ukraine (2660,6 km);
Abkhazia (255,4 km);
Georgia (572,5 km);
South Ossetia (70 km);
Azerbaijan (350 km);
Kazakhstan (7598,6 km);
China (4209,3 km);
Mongolia (3485 km);
North Korea (39,4 km);
Japan (194,3 km);
USA (49 km).

Climate

Large temperature fluctuations and a division into warm and cold seasons are characteristic of the entire territory of Russia. Most of the country lies in the temperate zone. The islands in the Arctic Ocean and the northern regions on the mainland are in the Arctic and Subarctic zones. The Black Sea coast of Russia is in the Subtropical zone.

The average annual air temperature in the country is -5.5°C. The range of the average annual temperature at individual points in Russia is 36°C (from -23 to +13 depending on the region).

The coldest region is considered to be Yakutia, the village of Oymyakon, where the average temperature in January, according to weather observations at the Oymyakon airport, is -46°C. The average temperature in July, the warmest month, rarely exceeds +15°C.

The warmest region of Russia is considered to be the Krasnodar Krai, where in the city of Sochi the temperature in January, according to the Unified State System of Information on the Situation in the World Ocean (ESIMO), averages +6.1°C. The average temperature in July is +23.6°C.