Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
17,075,200 sq km
land area:
16,995,800 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total 20,139 km, Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast)
3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland 1,313 km,
Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km,
Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167
km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline:
37,653 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
inherited disputes from former USSR including: sections of the
boundary with China; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and
the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered
by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime dispute with Norway over portion
of the Barents Sea; Russia may dispute current de facto maritime
border of midpoint of Caspian Sea from shore; potential dispute with
Ukraine over Crimea; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but
has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of
any other nation
Climate:
ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of
European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar
north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in
Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic
coast
Terrain:
broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and
tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
Natural resources:
wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural
gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
note:
formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder
exploitation of natural resources
Land use:
arable land:
8%
permanent crops:
NA%
meadows and pastures:
NA%
forest and woodland:
NA%
other:
NA%
note:
agricultural land accounts for 13% of the total land area
Irrigated land:
56,000 sq km (1992)
Environment:
current issues:
air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric
plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial and
agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts;
deforestati