The Russian Federation is made up of 21 republics, 6 territories, 48 regions, the cities of federal import of Moscow and Sant Petersburg, an autonomous region and 9 autonomous districts. Moscow is the capital of Russia (with more than 10 million inhabitants). The cities with more than 1 million inhabitants are: Moscow (11.5 million), Sant Petersburg (4.8 million), Novosibirsk (1.4 million), Ekaterinburg (1.3 million), Nizhny Novgorod (1 , 2 million), Samara (1.1 million), Omsk (1.1 million), Chelyabinsk (1.1 million), Kazan (1.1 million), Ufa (1 million), Rostov de Don (1 million) i Volgograd (1 milio).

Russia is a democratic federal statute with a republican form of government. The current Constitution of Russia will be approved in the national referendum held on December 12, 1993. The Cap de l’Estat is the President elected the citizens of Russia for a period of 4 years. As of March 2004, Vladimir Putin will be reelected for a second term of four years. The president at mateix temps is the Commander in Cap de les Forces Armades of the Russian Federation. The executive power to the country is excerpted by the Government, encapsulated by the Prime Minister, while the legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly, which consists of two chambers: the Consell de la Federació (High Chamber) and the Duma de l’Estat ( Cambra Baixa).

The extension of Russia d’oest to this is approximately 9 thousand kilometers, and the country comprises 11 hours. When the inhabitants of the Extreme East wake up, the people of Moscow and Saint Petersburg are ready to sleep. It is measured from +2 GMT to Kaliningrad fins + 12 in Kamchatka and Txukotka. To Moscow and Sant Petersburg are +3 GMT. At the end of March, the rellotges went to l’horari d’estiu (advance one hour) and at the end of October at l’horari d’hivern (endarrerint an hour).

The climate of Russia is highly variable: subtropical on the Black Sea coast, strongly continental to South Siberia, arctic in the Extreme North, maritime on the Baltic Sea coast and monsonic temperature to the south of the Extreme East. The day on the coast of the Black Sea on the beach season and on the coast of the Eastern Sea of Sibèria is triggered by a storm of neu. The most populated part of the territory of Russia is located in the temperate climatic zone. To Moscou, Sant Petersburg, to the area of l’Anell d’Or and the river Volga l’estiu is hot and l’hivern is suau and nevós, the one that attracted the tourists d’arreu del món.

Russia is a country with a culture of over a thousand years. Most of the cities conserve ancient temples and monuments and are currently being built and overgrown. The talented people of Russia will donate to the mon scriptors such as Tolstoi and Dostoevskiy, Gorki and Chekhov. Five representatives of the Poble Rus will obtain the Nobel Prize for literature: Bunin, Sholokhov, Pasternak, Soljenitsin and Brodskiy. Tothom coneix the music of the Russian composers Tchaikovskiy, Rakhmàninov, Stravinsky, Prokofiev, Shostakovich, Shnitke. Malèvitx and Kandinsky, representatives of the Russian avant-garde, are going to stand out for embodying the noves idees in painting and Serguei Eisenstein, Andrey Tarkovsky in cinematic art. The discoveries and inventions of Russian scientists in the fields of chemistry, nuclear physics, aviation and the military industry are connected to the whole world. From 1961 to Russia (at that time the Soviet Union) is going to be portat to practice the first volume of l’home a l’espai cosmic. Gaudeix of world fame the classical ballet rus amb les seves standout stars Anna Pávlova, Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, Rodolfo Nureev, Mikhail Baryshnikov. Tots connected with the successes of Russian sportsmen: athletes, athletes, gymnasts, squatters, artistic skating camps and shock players.

The most traditional of Russian cuisine are soups (schi and borsch), blinis, kasha, pirozhki and of course bread, for the consumption of which Russia has always ranked first in the world. Russian black caviar is known around the world just like 40-degree vodka. Of the milder alcoholic beverages the Russians prefer fruit and berry liqueurs and of non-alcoholic beverages bread kvass. In Moscow, St. Petersburg in most cities and resorts there are many restaurants and cafes for all tastes and all budgets.

The main means of long-distance communication in the gigantic Russian territory are the train and the plane. The journey from Moscow to St. Petersburg takes 5-7 hours by train and one hour by plane, but the flight from Moscow to Kamchatka takes 9 hours. The capital has 5 airports and 9 railway stations. Communication between neighboring cities and regions is done by electric trains or intercity buses. In Moscow and other major cities there are several types of transport: subway, buses, “trolleybuses”, taxis and collective taxis. In Moscow the most popular transport is the metro, some of the stations represent real works of art that can be visited with organized excursions.

Russia’s national currency is the ruble. One ruble equals 100 kopecks. Currency (dollars, euros) can be exchanged at banks or exchange offices on streets, hotels, supermarkets, stations and airports. The exchange rate is determined by the Central Bank of Russia. Exchange offices exist in virtually every city. In the capital and large cities there are offices that remain open 24 hours a day.

Credit cards are currently accepted mainly in major cities and resorts.