Hello fellow geo students. For the rest of the semester I will be blogging about the Russian Federation, also known as Russia. Russia has an area of 17 million squared kilometers, making it the largest country in the world. Along with it's large area, Russia has a population of 143 million people, which is the eighth most in the world. Russia extends over the northern part of Asia and covers 40% of Europe. It also covers nine different time zones. Russia has the world's largest reserves of mineral and energy resources. It also is the largest oil producer and second largest natural gas producer globally. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain about one-quarter of the world's fresh water. Other large and well-known facts about Russia are their part in Soviet Union, their big role in the victory of World War II by the Allies and their technological achievements such as the world's first human spaceflight. Watch out for more posts about my country!