33 Countries of Origin’ Profiles

2 Basic Data about Russia Area: 17 075 200 km² Population: 146 305 000 Life expectancy: females: 59 years; males: 73 years Ethnic groups: over 185 ethnic groups; Russian 81%; Tatars: 3,9%; Ukrainians 1,4%; Bashkirs 1,15% Religion: majority Christiana (orthodox) Unemployment: 5, 2% Capital city: Moscow; 11 504 000 Major cities: Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk Literacy: 99, 7%; female: 99, 7%; male: 99, 7% Language: Russian Government/ President: Federal Semi-Presidential Constitutional Republic of Russia/ Vladimir Putin Russian Flag Abdulrahman Russian flag is composed of three horizontal stripes of equal width. Red, blue and white are considered traditional Pan-Slavic colors and wide number of states adopted them in the 19th century since Russia was at that time the only independent Slavic state. During the rule of the Communist Party, the tricolor was replaced by the red flag with a hammer and a sickle in the upper left part of the flag. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kremlin decided to return to traditional tricolor. There are many theories explaining the symbolism of the tricolor. White can represent the aristocracy, Belarusians, God, peace, purity, or honesty; blue Ukrainians, tsar, persistence, or faith and fortitude; red can stand for Russians, people, power, or blood shed for the country. Geography Justin Dodge Russia i s the world's largest country by size and it stretches across almost half the world. It reaches north almost to the North Pole, west into Europe, south into the Caucus Mountains and the Steppe, and in the east all the way into Asia a nd up to China. It borders the following