Russia
Interesting facts about Russia:
- Russian currency is ruble. The ruble was also a national currency in the USSR and the Russian Empire. The code in the standard ISO 4217 - RUB, digital - 643. One ruble consists of 100 kopecks. The ruble is the oldest national currency in the world after the British pound.
- There are eleven time zones in Russia, which currently observe times ranging from UTC+02:00 to UTC+12:00.
- Russia is the largest country in the world by area. It’s total area is 17,075,400 square kilometers and it covers more than a ninth of the Earth’s land area. The area of the land in Russia is 1.8 times larger than the total size of the United States.
- Russia shares a border with 14 countries including Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, China, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and North Korea. No other country has as many borders.
- Russia has the world’s longest railway. The Trans-Siberian spans nearly the whole country, departing Moscow in the west and travelling to Vladivostok in the east. The entire journey is 9,200km long (5,700mi) and would take 152 hours and 27 minutes to complete non-stop.
- Russia lies in both Europe and Asia: one quarter of its territory is in Europe and three quarters in Asia. Notably, only 22% of the population resides in the Asian section.
- As of 2012, Russia is second largest producer of oil in the world, producing an average of 9,900,000 barrels of crude per day. Saudi Arabia landed the top position with 10,900,000 barrels per day, however, it is estimated that the US will surpass both Russa and Saudi Arabia by 2020 to become the world’s largest oil producer (the US is currently in third position).
- Russia’s economy is the eighth largest in the world.
- Russia has a per capita income of about $14,000.
- Moscow’s amazing metro system is the fastest means of transport. During rush hour, trains are scheduled for every 90 seconds. It is estimated that over 9 million passengers ride the Meto every day. The Metro of St. Petersburg is also the deepest subway in the world, clocking in at a whopping 100m deep.