The Russian Federation occupies one eight of the world's land mass. It is situated simultaneously on two continents - in Europe (western) and in Asia (eastern). Its has the largest area in the world - 17, 075, 400 square kilometres, followed by Canada, China, USA, Brazil and Australia.

Forests cover 45 percent of its territory, water 4 persent, farmlands 13 percent, reindeer pasturelands 19 percent, and other land 19 percent.

In the north Russian lands are washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean, in the east - by the Pacific, in the west - by the Baltic Sea, and in the south - by the Black and Azov Seas.

Russia stretches for 2,500 - 4,000 kilometres from the north to the south, and for 9,000 kilometres from the west to the east. Its westernmost point is located at the border with Polandin the Kaliningrad Region, the easternmost - on Ratmanov Island in the Bering Straits. The southernmost point is found at the border with Azerbaijan, and northernmost on the Franz Iosef Land archipelago.

The largest islands are situated in the Arctic Ocean; they are the Novaya Zemlya archipelago between the Barents and Kara Seas (82,600 square kilometres), and the Novosibirsky archipelago lying between the Laptev and East - Siberian Seas (38,000 square kilometres).

The total expanse of the Russian frontiers exceeds the length of the Equator by nearly 1,5 times. It is 58,562 kilometres, with land frontiers accounting for 14,253, and water frontiers for 44,309 kilometres. Russia borders on Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea.

Natural Zones and Climate

The lion's share of Russia lies in the climatic zone. The islands of the Arctic Ocean and the continental regions of the Far North belong to the Arctic and subarctic belts, while a small part of the Black Sea coast of the Caucasus isfound in the subtropical zone. There is also a wide range of other natural zones - the tundra, forest - tundra, forest - steppe, steppe and semidesert zones.

The climate ranges from the maritime zone in the far north - west to the sharply continental area in the Siberia and the monsoon belt in the Far East. The average temperature in January hovers from one degree to 50 degrees below zero centigrade, and in July - from one to 25 degrees above zero centigrade. Precipitaition fluctuates from 100 to 1,000 millimetres per year.

There is permafrost in many regions of Siberia and the Far East. But at the same times as a thermometer in Verkhoyansk, in the "cold belt" of Yakutie, may indicate 70 degrees below zero, the palms would, as always, be green in the southern resort city of Sochi.