The transport network of the Russian Federation is one of the world's most extensive transport networks. The national web of roads, railways and airways stretches almost 7,700 km (4,800 mi) from Kaliningrad in the west to the Kamchatka Peninsula in the east, and major cities such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg are served by extensive rapid transit systems.
The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, also known as Byelorussia, Soviet Belarus, or simply Belarus, was a republic of the Soviet Union (USSR). It existed between 1920 and 1991 as one of fifteen constituent republics of the USSR, with its own legislation from 1990 to 1991. The republic was ruled by the Communist Party of Byelorussia and was also referred to as Soviet Byelorussia or Soviet Belarus by a number of historians. Other names for Byelorussia included White Russia or White Russian Soviet Socialist Republic and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.
In Russia, the oblasts are 46 administrative territories; they are one type of federal subject, the highest-level administrative division of Russian territory.
Autonomous okrugs are a type of federal subject of the Russian Federation and simultaneously an administrative division type of some federal subjects. As of 2024, Russia has four autonomous okrugs of its 83 federal subjects. The Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is the only okrug which is not subordinate to an oblast. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a part of Arkhangelsk Oblast, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug are parts of Tyumen Oblast.
The coat of arms of Russia derives from the earlier coat of arms of the Russian Empire. Though modified more than once since the reign of Ivan III (1462–1505), the current coat of arms is directly derived from its medieval original, with the double-headed eagle having Byzantine and earlier antecedents. The general tincture corresponds to the fifteenth-century standard.
The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus is the national academy of Belarus.
The borders of Russia changed through military conquests and by ideological and political unions in the course of over five centuries (1533–present).
Scouting in Russia comprises several dozen Scout associations, based on religion, politics and geography.
Mitrofan Viktorovich Dovnar-Zapol'skiy was a historian, ethnographer, and diplomat of Belarusian origin. He hailed from the family of land-less smaller nobility and was the son of Collegiate Secretary.
The Russian census identified that there were more than 5,864,000 Ukrainians living in Russia in 2015, representing over 4.01% of the total population of the Russian Federation and comprising the eighth-largest ethnic group. On 2022 February there were roughly 2.8 million Ukrainians who fled to Russia.
Belarus and Russia share a land border and constitute the supranational Union State. Several treaties have been concluded between the two nations bilaterally. Russia is Belarus' largest and most important economic and political partner. Both are members of various international organizations, including the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Eurasian Economic Union, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, and the United Nations.
Sibiryak was a passenger train which linked Berlin to some of main routes and cities of Russia. The train passed through Germany, Poland, Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan, partly traveling on the Trans-Siberian Railway. With 5,130 km from Berlin to Novosibirsk it was the longest route of any that depart from a station within the European Union. The train service was discontinued with effect from 14 December 2013, due to lack of demand. The line was not actively promoted to potential customers by the Deutsche Bahn, but it was available in their search engine.
There are currently more than 47,000 ethnic Poles living in the Russian Federation. This includes native Poles as well as those forcibly deported during and after World War II. When including all of the countries of the former Soviet Union, the total number of Poles is estimated at up to 3 million.
The Belarusian diaspora refers to emigrants from the territory of Belarus as well as to their descendants.
Northern Lights is a natural gas pipeline system in Russia and Belarus. It is one of the main pipelines supplying north-western Russia and is an important transit route for Russian gas to Europe.
Vitebsk Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (guberniya) of the Russian Empire, with the seat of governorship in Vitebsk. It was established in 1802 by splitting Belarusian Governorate and existed until 1924. Today most of the area belongs to Belarus, the northwestern part to Latvia and the northeastern part to Pskov and Smolensk Oblasts of Russia.Together with the Vilna, Kovno, Grodno, Minsk, and Mogilev Governorates, it formed the Northwestern Krai. The provincial city was Vitebsk, the largest city was Dvinsk.
In Russia, Latvians are a small ethnic minority scattered across its various regions. In the 2010 census, 18,979 in Russia identified as ethnic Latvian, down from 28,520 in 2002.
Separatism in Russia refers to bids for secession or autonomy for certain federal subjects or areas of the Russian Federation. Historically there have been many attempts to break away from the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union but modern separatism took shape in Russia after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the annexation of Crimea. Separatism in modern Russia was at its biggest in the 1990s and early 2000s. The topic became relevant again after the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. The primary causes of separatism are nationalism in the republics, economic dependency, and geographic isolation.
Aliaksandar Burbis, better known as Aleś Burbis, was a Russian-Belarusian journalist, historian, political figure, actor, director, and ethnologist. He was a founder of Belarusian theatre. He served as the first Chairman of the Belarusian Rada of the Belarusian Democratic Republic.
