russia covers almost one sixth of the earth's landmass. it's no wonder that it's topography, climate and population are so diverse. russia has every type of climate except tropical, and its surface is covered by plains, hills, mountains, volcanoes, deserts and PRAIRIES. one lifetime won't be enough to experience everything this country has to offer, but you definitely shouldn't miss it.
Take a look at our list of 28 Interesting Facts about Russia, and more on topic of Mountains and Adventures.
Mount Elbrus
Factfile.
1. Russia, the largest country in the world, has 11 different time-zones, more than any other country in the world. It’s bigger than former planet Pluto (17M sq. km to 16.6M sq. km). Forests cover almost 60% of the land.
2. Even though almost 2/3 of the country is on the Asian continent, Russia is considered a European country.
3. Baikal Lake in Siberia is the deepest lake in the world, and it’s also the largest fresh unfrozen water reservoir in the world. It contains around 23 cubic kilometres of fresh water – 2% of Earth’s fresh water.
4. The other famous Russian lake is Lake Karachay. It’s unfortunately a dumping ground for nuclear waste, and standing beside it for a longer time would kill you with radioactivity.
5. The Volga River is the longest river in Europe, running for 3,690km (2,293 miles). It has more than 200 tributaries, so the total length would add up to 357,000km (221,800 miles).
6. Ural Mountains, forming the conventional boundary between the continents of Europe and Asia, are the oldest mountains in the world. They extend for 2500km (1,600 mi) from the Kara Sea to the Kazakh Steppe along the northern border of Kazakhstan. Mount Karandash (or “Pencil Mountain”) is believed to be 4.5 billion years old. Mount Narodnaya (or “People’s Mountain”) is the highest peak of the Urals, standing at 1,894 metres (6,214 ft) above sea level.
7. Europe’s highest mountain is Mount Elbrus, located in the Caucasus Mountains in Southern Russia. This 5,642 metres (18,510 ft) high mountain is believed to be one of the technically easiest of the higher peaks in Europe and one of the easiest 7 summits.
8. 70% of Russia is Siberia, famous for its gulags and the longest railway in the world – The Trans-Siberian Railway. It’s connecting Moscow and Vladivostok, and on its length of 9298 km, it crosses eight time zones. The coldest inhabited place in the world is found here – Oymyakon. On February 6, 1933, their weather station recorded -67.7˚C! Russians are so used to the cold that it’s actually considered wimpy to lower the ear flaps on your fur hat (called Ushanka) unless the temperature drops below -20˚C.
9. Siberian taiga and The West Siberian Plain are the largest of its kinds in the world.
10. Laika, a stray dog from the streets of Moscow, was one of the first animals in space, and the first animal to orbit the Earth. She was launched into space in the Soviet spacecraft in 1957, but unfortunately didn’t survive. A small monument was built in her honour near the military research facility in Moscow.
11. As Russia is usually known as the ultimate communist country, one would think that the name of the famous Red Square (“Krásnaya plóshchaď”) in Moscow is named because of it. It also didn’t get its name from the pigment of the surrounding bricks. Its name comes from the word "krasnyi", which means "beautiful".
12. We must mention the Sochi Skybridge (439m) - the longest pure cantenary footbridge suspension span in the world despite the unique design where the main support cables are above the walkway. It’s part of the Skypark filled with the thrill sport attractions: the 207 meter bungee jump, a lower 69 meter bungee jump, a 170 meter swing, the Megatroll zip line, the "Mowgli" rope park and the Via Ferrata fixed tether mountain hiking trail.
13. The largest swamp in the world is Great Vasyugan swamp located in the southwestern part of Siberia. It occupies 53,000 km², about 2% of the whole area of peat bogs of the world.
14. The world’s largest active volcano is Kluchevskoy (4,750 m (15,580 ft)), a stratovolcano. Its first recorded eruption happened in 1697, and it has been continuously erupting ever since. With each eruption it becomes higher and the column of ash from the volcano rises 8 kilometers into the air!
15. Russian leaders are doing some unusual stuff: Mikhail Gorbachev has recorded an album of old Russian romantic ballads entitled Songs for Raisa to raise money for a charity dedicated to his late wife. And Putin, the Russian president, has a judo DVD.
16. The Moscow’s Underground is probably the most beautiful in the world. Nine million people are using it every day – that’s more than all the metro commuters from London and New York combined!
17. The word “vodka” comes from the word “voda”, which means water.
18. Only 4km separate Russia from the USA at the nearest point - between the island Ratmanova (Russia) and the island Krusenstern (USA) in the Bering Strait.