Russia

The Russian Federation ({{lang-ru|??????????? ??????????}}, transliteration: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya or Rossijskaja Federacija), or Russia (Russian: ???????, transliteration: Rossiya or Rossija), is a country that stretches over a vast expanse of Europe and Asia. With an area of 17,075,400 km² (6,595,600 mi²), it is the largest country in the world, covering almost twice the territory of the next-largest country, Canada. It ranks eighth in the world in population. It shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from NW to SE): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (only through Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It also has maritime borders with the United States, Canada and Japan.

References

• The New Columbia Encyclopedia, Col.Univ.Press, 1975

Sarnov, Benedikt. "Stop Being Surprised: Vignettes of Soviet Literary and Other Life," Infinity Publishing, 2004. ISBN 0-7414-2208-3

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