Portal:Russia

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File:Flag of Russia.svg The flag of Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country in Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the largest country in the world, spanning eleven time zones and sharing land borders with fourteen countries. With a population of over 140 million, Russia is the most populous country in Europe and the ninth-most populous in the world. It is a highly urbanised country, with sixteen of its urban areas having more than 1 million inhabitants. Moscow, the most populous metropolitan area in Europe, is the capital and largest city of Russia, while Saint Petersburg is its second-largest city and a major cultural centre. Human settlement on modern Russian territory dates back to the Lower Paleolithic. The emergence of the East Slavs as a prominent group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD led to the establishment of Kievan Rus' in the 9th century, which adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire in 988. Following the disintegration of Kievan Rus' in the 12th century, the Grand Principality of Moscow became the dominant Russian principality and led the unification of Russian lands during the late medieval period, culminating in the formation of the Tsardom of Russia in 1547. By the early 18th century, Russia had expanded vastly through conquest, annexation, and the efforts of Russian explorers. It was proclaimed as the Russian Empire in 1721, which became the third-largest empire in history. The Russian Revolution of 1917 led to the abolition of the Russian monarchy and the creation of the Russian SFSR, the first socialist state. Following the Russian Civil War, Russia became the largest and principal constituent of the newly established Soviet Union in 1922. Amidst rapid industrialisation in the 1930s, millions died under Joseph Stalin. The Soviet Union played a decisive role for the Allies in World War II by leading large-scale efforts on the Eastern Front. During the Cold War, it emerged as a superpower and competed with the United States for geopolitical dominance. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant Russian technological achievements, including the first human-made satellite and the first human expedition into outer space. (Full article...) Portal:Russia/box-header File:Cscr-featured.svg  Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia. Portal:Russia/box-header Portal:Russia/box-header2 File:Nuvola apps filetypes.svg Extended content The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject: Wikimedia Commons logo Commons Free media repository Wikibooks logo Wikibooks Free textbooks and manuals File:Wikidata-logo.svg Wikidata Free knowledge base File:Wikiquote-logo.svg Wikiquote Collection of quotations Wikisource logo Wikisource Free-content library Wikiversity logo Wikiversity Free learning tools Wikivoyage logo Wikivoyage Free travel guide Wiktionary logo Wiktionary Dictionary and thesaurus Discover Wikipedia using portals icon List of all portals icon The arts portal File:P vip.svg Biography portal File:Ambox globe.svg Current events portal icon Geography portal File:P history.svg History portal icon Mathematics portal icon Science portal icon Society portal icon Technology portal icon Random portal icon WikiProject Portals