Basic Information ColumnChinese Name: RussiaEnglish Name: Russian FederationAbbreviation: RussiaContinent: EuropeCapital: MoscowMajor Cities: St. Petersburg, YekaterinburgNational Day: June 12National Anthem: Hymn of the Russian FederationOfficial Language: RussianCurrency: RoublesTime Zone: UTC+2 to +12Country Leader: Medvedev, PutinPopulation: 141 million (2008 Russian government estimates) National Leader: Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin Population: 141 million (2008 government estimate) Population Density: 8.3 people per square kilometer Major Ethnicity: Russian Major Religion: Orthodox Christianity Land Area: 17,075,500 square kilometers Watershed Ratio: 13% Total GDP: 2.076 trillion U.S. dollars (2007) Per Capita GDP: 14,600 USD (2007)International telephone area code: +7International domain abbreviation: .ruFederal districts:

On May 13, 2000, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree that would unite the 89 entities of the Russian Federation (*** and states, krai, and oblasts) on a territorial basis into seven federal districts, with the aim of consolidating national unity and strengthening the system of presidential control over localities. These seven federal districts were: the Central District centered on Moscow, the Northwest District centered on St. Petersburg, the North Caucasus District (later changed to the South District) centered on Rostov-on-Don, the Volga Coastal District centered on Nizhniy Novgorod, the Urals District centered on Yekaterinburg, the Siberian District centered on the city of Novosibirsk, and the Far East District centered on Khabarovsk. (Note: the centers of the federal districts are shown in parentheses)

Central Federal District (Moscow)

Volga Coast Federal District (Nizhny Novgorod)

Northwestern Federal District (St. Petersburg):

Urals Federal District (Yekaterinburg)

Siberian Federal District (Novosibirsk)

North Caucasus Federal District (Don Rostov-on-Don)

The Russian Federation now consists of 89 constituent entities of the Federation:

(1) 21 **** and States: the Adyge **** and State (Adyge), the Altai **** and State, the Bashkortostan **** and State, the Buryatia **** and State, the Dagestani **** and State, the Ingush **** and State, the Kabardino-Balkar **** and State, the Kabardino-Balkar **** and State, the Kabardino-Balkar **** and State, and the Kabardino-Balkar **** and State. -Balkar*** and State, Kalmykia*** and State-Halimgtangochi, Karachay-Cherkess*** and State, Karelia*** and State, Komi*** and State, Mariel*** and State, Moldavia*** and State, Sakha*** and State (Yakutia), North Ossetia*** and State (Yakutia), North Ossetia*** and State (Yakutia), North Ossetia*** and State (Yakutia) ), North Ossetia*** and State, Tatarstan*** and State (Tatarstan), Tuva*** and State, Udmurt*** and State, Khakass*** and State, Chechnya*** and State, and Chuvash-Chavash*** and State;

(2) six krai: Altai Krai, Krasnodar Krai, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Primorsky Krai, Stavropol Krai, Khabarovsk Krai

(3) 49 oblasts: Amur, Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Belgrad, Bryansk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Irkutsk, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka Oblast, Kemerovo Oblast, Kirov Oblast, Kostroma Oblast, Kurgan Oblast, Kursk Oblast, Leningrad Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Magadan Oblast, Moscow Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Novosibirsk Oblast, Orenburg Oblast, Oryol Oblast, Penza Oblast, Perm Oblast, Pskov Oblast, Rostov Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, Samara Oblast, Saratov Oblast, Sakhalin Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Smolensk Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Tver Oblast, Tomsk Oblast, Tula Oblast, Tyumen Oblast, Ulyanovsk Oblast, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Chita Oblast, and Yaroslavl Oblast

(4) 2 municipalities of the federation: Moscow and St. Petersburg

(5) 1 autonomous region: the Jewish Autonomous Oblast

. (6) 10 Autonomous Okrugs: Agaburyat, Komimirmyak, Koryak, Nenets, Temel (Dolgan-Nenets), Ust-Ordensky Buryat, Khanty-Mansi, Chukotka, Evenki, Yamal-Nenets. -Nenets Autonomous Okrug.