With a total area of 17 million square kilometers, Russia is the largest country in the world. It spans two continents (Europe and Asia) and borders Poland, Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic countries to the west, Finland to the north, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Mongolia and China to the south, and North Korea to the east. The United States and Japan are not far from the eastern coast of Russia.
The extreme northernmost point of the country's mainland is Cape Fligely on Rudolf Island of Franz Josef Land archipelago; the southernmost point is located in the Republic of Dagestan on the border with Azerbaijan. The distance between the western and the eastern borders of Russia is 9,000 km (from the Vistula Spit in Kaliningrad Bay to Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka); the easternmost point is Rotmanov Island in the Bering Strait. Thus, Russia's territory spans over 4,000 km from north to south, and almost 10,000 km from west to east.
Russia has the longest border in the world, a total of 60,932 km, including 38,808 km of maritime borders (in the north and east) and 14,508 of land borders (in the south and west). Russia borders Kazakhstan (6,846 km), China (3,645 km), Mongolia (3,485 km), Ukraine (1,576 km), Finland (1,340 km), Belarus (959 km), Georgia (723 km), Estonia (294 km), Azerbaijan (284 km), Lithuania (280.5 km), Poland (232 km), Latvia (217 km), Norway (196 km), and North Korea (19 km).
Russia has about 120,000 rivers over 10 kilometers long. The total length of these rivers is 2.3 million kilometers. The largest rivers are the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisey, Amur, and Volga in the European part of the country. There are about 2 million freshwater and salt lakes in Russia. The largest lakes are Lake Baikal (which holds about 20% of the world's total freshwater supply, not counting the fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps and glaciers), Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega, and Lake Taimyr.
The forest zone covers 41% of Russia's plainlands; the share of the forest-steppe zone is 11.2% and the tundra forest belt 20.5%.
The coasts of Russia are washed by 12 seas of three ocean basins: the Atlantic Ocean (the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov), the Arctic Ocean (the Barents Sea, the White Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchee Sea) and the Pacific Ocean (the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan), as well the Caspian Sea, which is a closed basin. Climate
Due to its vast territory, Russia is a country of natural contrasts. The northern part of the country is located in the arctic and subarctic climate zones, while the southern regions have a subtropical climate. The climate of other regions of the country is moderate.
Russian time zones
There are eleven time zones in Russia (more than in any other country in the world): from UTC +1 in Kalinigrad to UTC +12 in Kamchatka.
Моего друга зовут Алексей и ему 17 лет. Наша дружба очень крепкая и мы всегда помагаем друг другу. У нас совпадает много интересов с Алексеем. Мы оба любим играть в компьютерные игры, часто собираемся вместе, чтобы опробовать новую игру. Также, я разделяю его увлечение футболом. Мы болеем за одну и ту же команду, смотрим футбольные матчи и совместно празднуем победу нашей команды. Но мы любим не только смотреть футбол, а и играть в него. Надеюсь, в будущем мы так же будем играть, а возможно и в профессиональном футболе. Помимо футбола Алексей увлекается боксом, его любимый боксер (напишешь тут имя). Алексей часто зовёт меня посмотреть вместе с ним бокс, и когда у меня есть свободное время, я с радостью соглашаюсь. Мы дружим уже довольно долго. С Алексеем никогда не бывает скучно, потому что он всегда шутит очень смешно. Но он также может поддержать меня в трудную минуту, за что я ему очень благодарен. Алексей очень добрый и хороший человек, и я очень горд, что нашёл себе такого друга!
My friend's name is Alexey and he is 17 years old. Our friendship is very strong and we always help each other. We have a lot of same interests with Alexey. We both like to play computer games, we often hang out to try new games together. I also share with him his interest to play football. We are rooting for the same team, watching football games and celebrate the victory together. But we also like to play football, not just watching it. I hope we will play football in future, maybe even professional. Besides football Alexey is also keen on boxing, his favorite boxer is (имя боксера). Alexey often calls me to watch boxing matches with him, and when I have a free tima, of course I will agree. We have been friends for quite a long time. I will never be bored with Alexey becouse his jokes are very funny. But he also can support me in difficult times, and I'm very thankful to him becouse of it. Alexey is very kind and good person and I'm so proud that I found such a friend!
First of all I want to tell you that my best friend's name is Alexey and he is 17. He is the best person I have ever met. A few words about his appearance. His height is nearly 167 cm. But he'd like to be a bit taller. Alexey has a round face as everyone has, a bit long nose and big cheerful grey eyes. His hair isn't very short but it's not long either. It is straight and black. I think that he looks like his father. Alexey likes to play computer games. My friend is very active and creative, cheerful and curious. But the best thing is that he is reliable. We spend much time together. We go for a walk, we play tennis, listen our favorite music, play computer games, watch TV, do things which we like. We love to go to the stadium to watch football matches. I love my friend. Прежде всего, я хочу сказать вам, что моего друга зовут Алексей и ему 17. Он самый лучший человек, которого я когда-либо встречал. Несколько слов об его внешности. Его рост около 167 см. Но он хотел бы быть немного выше. У Алексея круглое лицо, как и у всех, немного длинный нос и большие радостные серые глаза. Его волосы не очень короткие, но это не длинные. Они прямые и черные. Я думаю, что он похож на своего отца. Алексей любит играть в компьютерные игры. Мой друг очень активный и творческий, жизнерадостный и любознательный. Но самое главное - он надежный. Мы проводим много времени вместе. Мы ходим гулять, играем в теннис, слушаем нашу любимую музыку, играем в компьютерные игры, смотрим телевизор, делаем вещи, которые нам нравятся. Мы любим ходить на стадион смотреть футбольные матчи. Я люблю моего друга.
The extreme northernmost point of the country's mainland is Cape Fligely on Rudolf Island of Franz Josef Land archipelago; the southernmost point is located in the Republic of Dagestan on the border with Azerbaijan. The distance between the western and the eastern borders of Russia is 9,000 km (from the Vistula Spit in Kaliningrad Bay to Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka); the easternmost point is Rotmanov Island in the Bering Strait. Thus, Russia's territory spans over 4,000 km from north to south, and almost 10,000 km from west to east.
Russia has the longest border in the world, a total of 60,932 km, including 38,808 km of maritime borders (in the north and east) and 14,508 of land borders (in the south and west). Russia borders Kazakhstan (6,846 km), China (3,645 km), Mongolia (3,485 km), Ukraine (1,576 km), Finland (1,340 km), Belarus (959 km), Georgia (723 km), Estonia (294 km), Azerbaijan (284 km), Lithuania (280.5 km), Poland (232 km), Latvia (217 km), Norway (196 km), and North Korea (19 km).
Russia has about 120,000 rivers over 10 kilometers long. The total length of these rivers is 2.3 million kilometers. The largest rivers are the Ob, Irtysh, Yenisey, Amur, and Volga in the European part of the country. There are about 2 million freshwater and salt lakes in Russia. The largest lakes are Lake Baikal (which holds about 20% of the world's total freshwater supply, not counting the fresh water frozen in the polar ice caps and glaciers), Lake Ladoga, Lake Onega, and Lake Taimyr.
The forest zone covers 41% of Russia's plainlands; the share of the forest-steppe zone is 11.2% and the tundra forest belt 20.5%.
The coasts of Russia are washed by 12 seas of three ocean basins: the Atlantic Ocean (the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov), the Arctic Ocean (the Barents Sea, the White Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchee Sea) and the Pacific Ocean (the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan), as well the Caspian Sea, which is a closed basin.
Climate
Due to its vast territory, Russia is a country of natural contrasts. The northern part of the country is located in the arctic and subarctic climate zones, while the southern regions have a subtropical climate. The climate of other regions of the country is moderate.
Russian time zones
There are eleven time zones in Russia (more than in any other country in the world): from UTC +1 in Kalinigrad to UTC +12 in Kamchatka.