Location:
Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes
included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean,
between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Geographic
coordinates: 60
00 N, 100 00 E
Map
references:
Asia
Area:
total: 17,075,200 sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km
Area—comparative:
slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land
boundaries:
total: 19,917 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959
km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km,
Estonia 294 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) 206 km,
Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline:
37,653 km
Maritime
claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of
exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
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
Elevation
extremes:
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Mount El'brus 5,633 m
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: 0%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 46%
other: 42% (1993 est.)
Irrigated
land: 40,000 sq
km (1993 est.)
Natural
hazards:
permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to
development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands;
volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula
Environment—current
issues: air
pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired
electric plants, and transportation in major cities;
industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of
inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil
erosion; soil contamination from improper application of
agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes
intense radioactive contamination
Environment—international
agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen
Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species,
Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83,
Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
Geography—note:
largest country in the world in terms of area but
unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of
the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks
proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry)
for agriculture
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