Russia is situated in the east of Europe and the north of Asia. It is contiguous with 14 states and has the longest borderline in the world.
Since the turn of the century, rising oil prices, increased foreign investment, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have bolstered economic growth in Russia. The country ended 2007 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging 7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. In 2007, Russia's GDP was $2.076 trillion (est. PPP), the 7th highest in the world, with GDP rising 7.4% from the previous year. Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports. Approximately 12.5% of Russians remained below the federally-designated poverty line in 2007, though this is significantly down from 33.5% in 1992. The average salary in Russia was $540 (about $920 PPP) per month in August 2007, up from $65 per month in August 1999. Russia has the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves and the eighth largest oil reserves. It is the world's leading natural gas exporter and the second leading oil exporter. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of Russian exports abroad.
Since 2003, however, exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. Despite higher energy prices, oil and gas only contribute to 5.7% of Russia's GDP and the government predicts this will drop to 3.7% by 2011. Russia is also considered well ahead of most other resource-rich countries in its economic development, with a long tradition of education, science, and industry. In the first half of 2007, foreign investment in the Russian economy doubled year-on-year, reaching $60.3 billion. In 2000 total investment in fixed assets was $40 billion, giving growth of 300% by 2006 when it reached $120 billion. A simpler, more streamlined tax code adopted in 2001 reduced the tax burden on people, and dramatically increased state revenue. Russia has a flat personal income tax rate of 13 percent. This ranks it as the country with the second most attractive personal tax system for single managers in the world after the United Arab Emirates, according to a 2007 survey by investment services firm Mercer Human Resource Consulting.The federal budget has run surpluses since 2001 and ended 2007 with a surplus of 6% of GDP. Oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to some $470 billion at the end of 2007, the third largest reserves in the world.
Its territory is 17,075,400 sq. km.
Russia's climate is very diverse, ranging from sub-tropical at the Black Sea to extremely continental in Siberia, where the temperature drop within a year may exceed 100°C, and arctic in the Far North; but most of the country lies within the zone of temperate climate.

  Most of the Russians historically are Orthodox Christians (the eastern branch of Christianity). Islam, Catholicism, Judaism, and Buddhism are also practiced in Russia.