Russia is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Bering Strait. It is the largest country in the world and the country with the most land borders in the world.
Ethnic Russians make up the dominant ethnic group in the country. They originated in Northeastern Europe and they descended from Slavic tribes. They gradually expanded eastward, with Norsemen and Finnic peoples having assimilated into the East Slavic population between the 8th and 11th centuries. After the 13th century, the city of Moscow became a major political and cultural center.
From the 16th century onward, the Russian Empire pursued an expansionist policy and expanded into Central Europe, Finland and the Baltic states, all of Siberia, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and even Alaska. Many of their people assimilated even more ethnicities. At certain points, their military has also tried to invade Afghanistan, Iran, the Ottoman Empire, Sweden, China, and Japan. Some Russians even entered Hawaii, California, and Eritrea.
After revolutionary Vladimir Lenin led a revolt against the Tsars, the Soviet Union was established. Russia was known as the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic during this time. In 1991, the USSR collapsed and communism ended. Boris Yeltsin continued to rule Russia during its transition to a free market economy. Today, it is ruled by Vladimir Putin under an authoritarian dictatorship.
All items (24)