Russia 

(Russian: Россия, Rossiya, Russian pronunciation: [rɐˈsʲijə]), or the Russian Federation,[b] is a

country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world by area,
covering over 17 million square kilometres (6.6×106 sq mi), and encompassing more than one-eighth
of Earth's inhabited land area. Russia extends across eleven time zones, and has the most borders
of any country in the world, with sixteen sovereign nations.[c] It has a population of 146.2 million; and
is the most populous country in Europe, and the ninth-most populous country in the world. Moscow,
the capital, is the largest city in Europe, while Saint Petersburg is the nation's second-largest
city and cultural centre. Russians are the largest Slavic and European nation; they speak Russian,
the most spoken Slavic language, and the most spoken native language in Europe.
The East Slavs emerged as a recognisable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD.
The medieval state of Rus' arose in the 9th century. In 988, it adopted Orthodox Christianity from
the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian
culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated until it was finally reunified by the Grand
Duchy of Moscow in the 15th century. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through
conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, the third-largest empire in
history. Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian SFSR became the largest and
leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first constitutionally socialist state, which had
a one-party system throughout most of its existence. The Soviet Union played a decisive role in
the Allied victory in World War II, and emerged as a superpower and rival to the United States during
the Cold War. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the
20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first human in
space. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself
as the Russian Federation. In the aftermath of the constitutional crisis of 1993, a
new constitution was adopted, and Russia has since been governed as a federal semi-
presidential republic. Vladimir Putin has dominated Russia's political system since 2000, and his
government has been accused of authoritarianism, numerous human rights abuses, and corruption.