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Russia Geography


Russia, independent republic in eastern Europe and Asia, which was established on December 25, 1991, and includes 21 ethnically based republics, 1 autonomous oblast (region), and 10 autonomous okrugs (national areas). Officially named the Russian Federation (Russian Rossiyskaya Federatsiya), Russia was formerly the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). In geographic extent it is the largest country in the world, with an area of 17,075,400 sq km (about 6,592,850 sq mi), more than one-ninth of the world's land area. From north to south the country extends more than 4000 km (more than 2400 mi) from the southern border along the Caucasus Mountains to Arctic islands in the Barents Sea. From east to west the maximum extent is almost 10,000 km (almost 6200 mi) from the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea to Ratmanov (also known as Big Diomede) Island in the Bering Strait. The country also spans two continents, Europe and Asia.

Russia borders on more countries than any other nation. On the north it is bounded by a number of arms of the Arctic Ocean: the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi seas. On the east it is bounded by several arms of the Pacific Ocean: the Bering Strait (which separates Russia from Alaska), the Bering Sea, and the seas of Okhotsk and Japan. In the extreme southeast Russia abuts on the northeastern tip of North Korea. On the south it is bounded by China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and the Black Sea. On the southwest it is bounded by Ukraine, and on the west it is bounded by Belarus, Latvia, Estonia, the Gulf of Finland, Finland, and Norway.

The principal island possessions of Russia lie in Arctic and Pacific waters. Farthest north, in the Arctic Ocean, is Franz Josef Land, an archipelago consisting of about 100 islands. The other Arctic islands, from west to east, include the two islands that constitute Novaya Zemlya, Vaygach Island, the group of islands called Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands, and Wrangel Island. Between the islands mentioned above are numerous small islands and island chains. In the Pacific Ocean are the Kuril Islands, which extend in an arc southwest from the southern extremity of the Russian peninsula of Kamchatka to Japan, and the large island of Sakhalin, which separates the seas of Okhotsk and Japan.

Russia can be divided into three broad geographic regions: European Russia, consisting of the territory lying west of the Ural Mountains; Siberia, stretching east from the Urals almost to the Pacific Ocean; and Far Eastern Russia (or the Russian Far East), including the extreme southeast and the Pacific coastal fringe.

Land and Resources

Much of Russia lies north of the 50th parallel and thus compares physically more to Canada than to the United States. The agricultural resource base is limited by climate and, to a lesser degree, soils. The vastness of Russia's territory and its varied geologic formations, however, provide a rich mineral resource base unmatched by any other country in the world.

Physiographic Regions

Russia contains a great complexity of geologic structures and surface formations that have evolved separately during different geologic epochs. Very simply, the landmass of the republic consists of a vast plain in the western and northern parts of the country fringed by a discontinuous belt of mountains and plateaus on the south and on the east; this is the most extensive plain in the world. The upland and mountain regions include most of Siberia and extend to the margins of the Pacific.

European Plain

European Russia is primarily a rolling plain with an average elevation of about 180 m (about 590 ft). The terrain has been formed by millions of years of stream, wind, and glacial action on nearly horizontal strata of sedimentary rocks. In some places the softer sedimentary rocks have been eroded away, and the underlying basement complex of hard igneous and metamorphic rocks has been exposed at the surface; the most notable of these areas is the northwest near the border with Finland. The topography is generally rough in these areas of outcropping, particularly in the north, where a maximum elevation of 1191 m (3906 ft) is reached in the Khibiny Mountains of the central Kola Peninsula. Otherwise, the relief of the European Plain, with minor exceptions, is only modest.

Other surface features owe their origins to glaciation. Among these are several broad marshy areas, such as the Meshchera Lowland southeast of Moscow along the Oka River. This flat, poorly drained area was a lake when glacial ice blocked the streams that now partly drain it. The most recent glacial stage, which ended about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, formed a terminal moraine that runs east from the border with Belarus, then north of Moscow to the Arctic coast west of the Pechora River. The region to the north of this boundary is poorly drained and has numerous lakes and swamps.

Ural Mountains

The European Plain terminates in the east at the Ural Mountains. An old, worn-down series of mountain ranges, the Urals are topographically unimpressive. The average elevation is only about 600 m (about 1970 ft), and the highest elevation is in the north at Narodnaya Gora (People's Mountain), at 1894 m (6214 ft) above sea level. They are, however, important for a wide variety of mineral deposits, ranging from mineral fuels to iron ore to nonferrous metals and nonmetallic minerals.

West Siberian Lowland

To the east of the Urals the plain region continues in the West Siberian Lowland. This expansive and extremely flat area is poorly drained and is generally marshy or swampy.

Central Siberian Platform

Just east of the Yenisey River begins the rolling upland of the Central Siberian Platform. Elevations here average about 500 to 700 m (about 1650 to 2300 ft) above sea level. In all areas rivers have dissected, or eroded, the surface and in some places have formed deep canyons. The geologic structure of the region is complex; a basement of igneous and metamorphic rocks is topped in many places by thick sedimentary rocks and volcanic lavas. The region is rich in a variety of minerals.

East Siberian Uplands

To the east of the Lena River the topography consists of a series of mountains and basins. The higher ranges in this region, such as the Verkhoyansk, Cherskiy, and Kolyma, generally reach maximum elevations of about 2300 to 3200 m (about 7550 to 10,500 ft). To the east, toward the Pacific Ocean, the mountains are higher and steeper, and volcanic activity becomes prevalent. On Kamchatka Peninsula are 120 volcanoes, 23 of which are currently active. The highest cone, Klyuchevskaya Sopka, reaches an elevation of 4750 m (15,584 ft). The volcanic mountain chain of Kamchatka continues southward in the Kuril Islands, which contain about 100 volcanoes, 35 of which are active.

Southern Mountain Systems

The southern border of European Russia includes the young, seismically active Caucasus Mountains, which extend between the Black and Caspian seas. The Caucasus Mountains comprise two major folded mountain chains divided along their entire extent by a lowland, with the northern Greater Caucasus forming part of Russia's southern border. Geologically complex, the mountain system is composed of limestone and crystalline rocks with some volcanic formations. The Greater Caucasus reach a maximum elevation of 5642 m (18,510 ft) on Mount El'brus, an extinct volcano that is the highest peak in Europe. Other mountain ranges continue northeast along the southern border of central and eastern Siberia to the Pacific Ocean. Among them are the Altay, Sayan, Yablonovyy, and Stanovoy ranges (see ALTAI MOUNTAINS; YABLONOVY RANGE).

Coastline, Rivers, Lakes, and Seas

Russia has the longest continuous coastline of any country in the world. Its coastline stretches more than 32,180 km (more than 20,000 mi) along the Arctic and Pacific oceans; other coasts lie along the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in the south. Because the greater part of its coasts lie in waters frozen for many months of the year, Russia has few year-round oceanic outlets. Despite these limitations, Russian shipping and fishing encompass all the seas.

The longest rivers of Russia are all located in Siberia and Far Eastern Russia. The largest single river system is the Ob'-Irtysh; these rivers together flow 5410 km (3362 mi) from western China north through western Siberia to the Arctic Ocean. The second longest system is the Amur-Shilka-Onon, which flows out of northern Mongolia eastward along the Chinese-Siberian border for 4416 km (2744 mi) to the Pacific coast. Among individual rivers, the Lena River is longest; it flows north through Siberia and Far Eastern Russia for about 4300 km (about 2670 mi) to the Arctic Ocean. The next longest individual rivers are the Irtysh and the Ob'. The fourth longest river is the Volga; with a length of 3531 km (2194 mi), it is, by far, the longest river in Europe. Together with its two main tributaries, the Kama and Oka rivers, it drains a large portion of the eastern European Plain southeast to the Caspian Sea. The fifth longest river, the Yenisey River, flows north from Mongolia through eastern Siberia to the Arctic Ocean. Its main tributary, the Angara River, drains huge Lake Baykal, which imparts a large and steady flow to the lower river system; the Yenisey River delivers 623 cu km (149 cu mi) of water to the Arctic Ocean yearly, a larger flow than any other stream system in the country. In size of flow, the Yenisey is followed by three other Asian rivers?the Lena, the Ob', and the Amur?and by one European river, the Volga. All the other rivers have much smaller flows.

Many other streams are also significant, either because they serve as transportation routes or power sources in densely populated areas or because they flow through arid regions where irrigation is essential for agriculture. Outstanding among these is the Don River, which is on the populous southern European Plain and drains south to the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov. On the northern European Plain, the Narva and Daugava (Western Dvina) rivers flow northwest to the Baltic Sea; the Pechora, Northern Dvina, Mezen, and Onega rivers flow to the Arctic Ocean and the White Sea. On the North Caucasian Plain the two most important streams for irrigation purposes are the Kuban River, which flows west to the Sea of Azov, and the Terek River, which flows east to the Caspian Sea.

The Soviet government took an active role in building large dams for electrical power, irrigation, flood control, and navigation purposes, and some river basins have been almost completely transformed by the formation of series of huge reservoirs. The most extensive construction has taken place on the Volga-Kama system and the Don River on the European Plain, and on the upper portions of the Yenisey-Angara system and Ob'-Irtysh system in Siberia.

Many natural lakes occur in Russia, particularly in the glaciated northwestern portion of the country. The Caspian Sea in the south, however, is the largest by far in terms of surface area. Although called a sea, it is actually a saline lake that occupies a land depression; rivers drain into it, but because of the dry climate the deep basin does not fill up with water and overflow into the sea. Water escapes only through evaporation, and over a period of time salt accumulates. The Caspian Sea has the largest surface area of any lake in the world, about 371,000 sq km (about 143,250 sq mi). The second largest body of water in Russia is Lake Baykal, which has a surface area of 31,468 sq km (12,150 sq mi). Lake Baykal is the deepest freshwater lake in the world, with a maximum depth of 1741 m (5712 ft), and has a greater volume of water (about 23,000 cu km/5520 cu mi) than any other lake in the world; it is estimated that the lake contains about one-fifth of the earth's fresh surface water. The next two largest lakes, Ladoga and Onega, lie in the so-called Great Lakes Region of northwestern European Russia. Both are freshwater lakes of glacial origin, and both have outlets to the Gulf of Finland.

Climate

The harsh climate prevalent in Russia reflects its high latitude and the absence of moderating maritime influences. Winters are long and cold, and summers are short and relatively cool. High mountains along the southern boundary of Russia and Central Asia largely rule out penetration by maritime tropical air masses. During winter the Arctic Ocean is frozen right up to the coast and acts much as a snow-covered, frozen landmass rather than as a relatively warm ocean influence. Because the territory lies in a westerly wind belt, warm influences from the Pacific Ocean do not reach far inland. This is particularly true in winter, when a large, cold high-pressure cell, which is centered in Mongolia, spreads over much of Siberia and Far Eastern Russia.

The primary marine influence comes from the Atlantic Ocean in the west, but by the time Atlantic air reaches Russia it has crossed the entire western part of Europe and undergone considerable modification. It penetrates the landmass most easily during summer, when a low-pressure system generally exists over the land. At that time warm, moist Atlantic air may push east well into central Siberia. This is the principal moisture-bearing air mass to reach Russia, and most of the territory consequently receives a fairly pronounced summer maximum of precipitation. The summer maximum of precipitation is fortunate for agriculture, because in most of the better farming areas the moisture supply is limited. In many areas, however, the distribution of rainfall during the summer is not advantageous?early summer is often subject to drought, and middle and late summer may bring considerable rain and clouds that interfere with the harvest. This is particularly true in the far eastern region, where a monsoonal inflow of Pacific air occurs during middle and late summer. In northern regions, especially from Moscow northward, featureless, overcast skies are so frequent, particularly during winter, that the Russians have a special name for the phenomenon, pasmurno, which may be translated as ?dull, dreary weather.? During December, for instance, Moscow averages 23 days with overcast skies.

Annual precipitation in most of the country is only light to modest, however. Because much of the time the air is cool, it has little capacity to hold water vapor. Across the European Plain, average annual precipitation decreases from more than 800 mm (more than 31.2 in) in western Russia to less than 400 mm (less than 15.6 in) along the Caspian Sea coast. Throughout Siberia and the far eastern region, annual precipitation amounts range generally between 508 and 813 mm (20 and 32 in); in higher elevations annual totals may reach 1016 mm (40 in) or more, but in interior basins precipitation may total less than 305 mm (12 in).

The climate of Russia is characterized by temperature extremes. The coldest winter temperatures occur in eastern Siberia; air from the Atlantic Ocean tempers conditions somewhat in the west. Verkhoyansk in the northern part of the far eastern region is often called the ?cold pole of the world.? During January, temperatures average -48.9? C (-56? F) and have reached a minimum of -67.8? C (-90? F). Although absolute temperatures during winter are somewhat higher along the Arctic and Pacific coasts, the winds are strong, and wind chill factors below -50? C (-238? F) have been recorded along portions of the Arctic coast. The same conditions that make for cold temperatures during winter in the northeastern part of the country?isolation from the sea and narrow valleys between mountains?produce air stagnation in summer, which allows for strong heating under nearly continuous daylight periods at these high latitudes. During July, temperatures in Verkhoyansk average 15? C (59? F) and have reached as high as 35? C (95? F). The city has an absolute temperature range of 102.8? C (185? F), by far the greatest temperature range on earth.

Russian lands encompass a number of distinct climate zones, which generally extend across the country in eastern-western belts. Along the Arctic coast a tundra climate prevails and extends south in the far eastern region on upper mountain slopes. To the south of this zone is a broad belt of subarctic climate that extends south to the city of Saint Petersburg and broadens east of the Urals to envelop almost all of Siberia and Far Eastern Russia. Most of European Russia is occupied by the more temperate continental climate. This belt is widest in the west; it stretches from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, then tapers eastward to include a narrow strip of the southern West Siberian Lowland; it is also found in the extreme southeastern portion of Far Eastern Russia. Moscow, which lies in the continental climate zone, has average temperatures of -9.4? C (15? F) in January and 18.9? C (66? F) in July. Temperatures in Vladivostok, in far southeastern Russia, average -14.4? C (6? F) in January and 18.3? C (65? F) in July.

A broad belt of drier steppe climate with cold winters begins along the Black Sea coast and extends northeast across the lower Volga Valley, the southern Urals, and the southern part of western Siberia. It continues eastward in isolated mountain basins along the extreme fringes of Siberia and Far Eastern Russia, and in the North Caucasian Plain.

Natural Vegetation and Soils

The broad zones of natural vegetation and soils of Russia correspond closely with the country's climate zones. In the far north a tundra vegetation of mosses, lichens, and low shrubs grow where the summers are too cool for trees. Permafrost, or permanently frozen subsoil, is found throughout this region. The ground is frozen to great depths, and only a shallow surface layer thaws in summer to provide a limited sustenance to plants.

Forests cover more than two-fifths of the territory of Russia, the greater part lying in Asia. Taken altogether, the forests account for nearly one-fourth of the world's forest area. The country's forest zone is divisible into a large northern part, the boreal forest, or taiga, and a much smaller southern area, the mixed forest.

The taiga is south of the tundra; it occupies the northern two-fifths of European Russia and extends to cover much of Siberia and Far Eastern Russia. Much of this region also has permafrost. The vast taiga zone is made up primarily of coniferous trees, but in some places small-leaved trees such as birch, poplar, aspen, and willow add to the diversity of the forest. In the extreme northwestern part of the European region the taiga is dominated by a variety of pines, although significant numbers of fir, birch, and other trees are also present. Eastward to the western slopes of the Urals, pines are still common, but firs predominate, and in some regions almost pure stands of birch exist. The taiga of the West Siberian Lowland is made up primarily of various species of pine, but along the southern fringes of the forest, birch becomes dominant. Throughout much of the Central Siberian Upland and the mountains of the far eastern region, larch, a deciduous coniferous tree, becomes dominant.

Throughout the taiga zone, the trees are generally small and rather widely spaced. A considerable amount of land is also devoid of trees, primarily because of poor local drainage; in these areas marsh grasses and bushes form the vegetative cover. The soils of the taiga are podzolic in character and are infertile, having been leached of most of their plant minerals by the abundance of acidic groundwater.

A mixed forest, containing both coniferous and broadleaf deciduous trees, occupies the central portion of the eastern European Plain from St. Petersburg in the north to the border with Ukraine in the south. The mixed forest is dominated by coniferous evergreen trees in the north and broadleaf trees in the south. The principal broadleaf species here are oak, beech, maple, and hornbeam. A similar forest of somewhat different species prevails throughout much of southern Far Eastern Russia along the middle Amur River valley and south along the Ussuri River valley. Gray-brown forest soils are found in the mixed forest zone. They are not as infertile as the soils in the taiga to the north, and with proper farming methods and heavy fertilization they can be kept quite productive.

To the south, the mixed forest grades through a narrow zone of forest-steppe before passing into the zone of true steppes. Although now largely under cultivation, the forest-steppe has a natural vegetation of grasslands with scattered groves of trees. Averaging about 150 km (about 95 mi) wide, this zone stretches east across the middle Volga Valley and southern Ural Mountains into the southern portions of the West Siberian Lowland. Isolated areas of this zone can be found in the southern intermontane basins of eastern Siberia.

True steppe, a mixture of grasses with only a few stunted trees in sheltered valleys, is the natural vegetation of a region that includes the western half of the North Caucasian Plain and a strip of land extending east across the southern Volga Valley, southern Urals, and parts of western Siberia. Like the forest-steppe zone, much of the steppe has been put under cultivation.

Both the forest-steppe and the steppe have fertile soils and together form a region, known as the black-earth belt, that is the agricultural heartland of Russia. The forest-steppe has black chernozem soils that are high in humus content and have about the right balance of minerals for the cultivation of most crops. The forest-steppe has a better moisture supply than the steppe during the growing season, and consequently is the best agricultural area of Russia. The soils of the steppe, known as brown-steppe soils, are not quite as rich in humus as the chernozems to the north, but are very high in mineral content.

Animal Life

Animal life is abundant and varied throughout many parts of Russia. Wildlife in the tundra along the Arctic coast, northern Pacific coast, and offshore islands is surprisingly diverse, and includes polar bear, seal, walrus, polar fox, reindeer, and white hare. Birdlife includes white partridges, polar owls, gulls, and loons. Geese, swans, and ducks migrate into the region during summer, which is also then infested with mosquitoes, gnats, and other insects; fish abound in the streams. The taiga forest serves as a habitat for elk, brown bear, reindeer, lynx, sable, and a variety of forest birds, such as the owl and nightingale. Swamps in this zone have been stocked with muskrat from Canada; along with squirrel, muskrat is now the main source of pelts trapped in the wild. The broadleaf forests contain boar, deer, wolf, fox, mink, and a variety of birds, snakes, lizards, and tortoises. The forests of southern Far Eastern Russia are known for their large Ussuri tigers, as well as leopard, bear, and deer. The steppe is inhabited primarily by rodents such as marmots and hamsters, but also contains a number of hooved animals such as the steppe antelope. The steppe polecat and the Tatar fox are the main beasts of prey here. Birdlife includes the crane, eagle, and kestrel. The Caucasus region is particularly abundant in wildlife; mountain goats, chamois, Caucasian deer, wild boar, porcupine, leopard, hyena, jackal, squirrel, bear, and such game fowl as the black grouse, turkey hen, and stone partridge are found here. Reptiles and amphibians are also numerous.

Mineral Resources

Russia contains the greatest reserves of mineral resources of any country in the world. It is especially rich in mineral fuels. Estimates suggest that the republic holds about one-third of the world's proven coal reserves and probably holds larger reserves of petroleum than any other nation. Coal deposits are scattered widely throughout the country; by far the largest fields lie in Siberia and Far Eastern Russia, but the most developed fields are in western Siberia, the northeastern European region, the Moscow region, and the Urals. The major petroleum deposits are in western Siberia and the Volga-Ural region. Smaller deposits, however, are found in many other parts of the country. The principal natural-gas deposits are along the Arctic coast of Siberia, in the northern Caucasus region, and in the Komi autonomous republic of northeastern European Russia. The primary iron-ore deposits are found in the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly halfway between Moscow and Ukraine; smaller deposits are scattered throughout the country. Minor deposits of manganese are scattered through the Urals. Other important iron alloys, such as nickel, tungsten, cobalt, and molybdenum, occur in adequate or even abundant quantities.

Russia is also well endowed with most of the nonferrous metals, except aluminum, which is one of the country's major mineral deficits. In the 1980s the former USSR was satisfying only about 60 percent of its aluminum need from domestic ores. Aluminum ores are found primarily in the Urals, northwestern European Russia, and southeastern Siberia. Copper, on the other hand, is abundant; reserves are found in the Urals, the Norilsk area of eastern Siberia, and the Kola Peninsula. A large deposit east of Lake Baykal became commercially exploitable when the Baykal-Amur Railroad was completed in 1984.

Lead and zinc ores are abundant (often found with copper, gold, silver, and a variety of rare metals) in the northern Caucasus, Far Eastern Russia, and the western edge of the Kuznetsk Coal Basin in Siberia. Russia has some of the world's largest gold reserves, primarily in the Russian Far East, Siberia, and the Urals. Mercury deposits have been found in the Chukchi Autonomous Okrug in the far northeastern part of Russia. Large asbestos deposits exist in the central and southern Urals and in eastern Siberia.

Raw materials for chemical-manufacturing industries are also abundant in Russia. These include potassium and magnesium salt deposits in the Kama River district of the western Urals. Some of the world's largest deposits of apatite (a mineral from which phosphate is derived) are in the central Kola Peninsula; other types of phosphate ores are found in other parts of the country. Common rock salt is found in the southwestern Urals and southwest of Lake Baykal. Surface deposits of salt are derived from salt lakes along the lower Volga Valley. Sulfur is found in the Urals. High-grade limestone, used for the production of cement, is found in many parts of the country, but particularly near Belgorod in central European Russia and in the Zhiguli Hills area of the middle Volga Valley.

Population

With a total estimated population of 149,300,359 in 1993, Russia ranks sixth in the world in population, after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil. From 1990 to 1992 Russia's population showed a slow rate of increase at 0.4 to 0.5 percent per year. The country is inhabited by one of the widest variety of nationalities and ethnic groups in the world, and many of the country's national groups have their own administrative territories.

Population Characteristics

The overall population density of Russia in 1993 was about 9 persons per sq km (about 23 persons per sq mi). The population, however, is unevenly distributed across the country. The population density of a particular area generally reflects the land's agricultural potential, with localized population nodes occurring at mining and industrial centers. Most of the country's people are concentrated in the so-called fertile triangle, which has its base along the western border between the Baltic and Black seas and tapers eastward across the southern Urals into southwestern Siberia. Although the majority of the population remains concentrated in European Russia, the country experienced substantial eastward migration after World War II (1939-1945), especially to southern Siberia and the far eastern region of Russia. Such migration was strongly encouraged by the Soviet government.

Throughout much of rural European Russia the population density averages about 25 people per sq km (65 per sq mi). The country's heaviest population densities are in sprawling urbanized areas such as Moscow Oblast. On the other hand, more than one-third of the country's territory has fewer than 1 person per sq km (fewer than 2.6 per sq mi). This includes part of northern European Russia and huge areas in Siberia.

More than 100 nationalities inhabit Russia, making it one of the largest multinational states in the world. Russians are the predominant nationality. As of 1991 the non-Russian population constituted only 18 percent of the total, with the largest minority, the Tatars, comprising only 3.8 percent. Ukrainians (3 percent) are the only other minority constituting more than 1 percent of the population. Other minorities include Belarusians, Germans, Chuvash, Bashkirs, and Jews. The country contains 32 ethnic divisions that are scattered throughout its territory. (See the Government section of this article.)

Principal Cities

Three-fourths of Russia's population lives in urban areas. Russia became a country of large cities despite government restrictions during the Soviet period designed to limit the populations of major urban centers. Thirteen cities have more than 1 million inhabitants. Most of these are in European Russia. The largest city by far is Moscow, the capital, with a population (1990 estimate) of 8.8 million. Saint Petersburg served as the national capital from 1712 to 1918; situated on the Gulf of Finland, a leading port and a primary industrial center, it has a population of about 4.5 million. The third largest city, Nizhny Novgorod, the largest city on the Volga River and a major automotive and shipbuilding center, has a population of about 1.4 million. Novosibirsk, the largest city in Siberia, also has a population of about 1.4 million. Yekaterinburg, the largest city in the Urals, has a population of about 1.4 million as well. Samara, a commercial center of the middle Volga region and the primary refining center for the Volga-Urals oil fields, has nearly 1.3 million people.

Other cities with more than 1 million inhabitants include Omsk, the second largest city in western Siberia and the region's chief petrochemical center; Chelyabinsk, the second largest urban center in the Ural Mountains; Kazan', capital of the Tatar republic, located along the middle course of the Volga River; Perm', the major industrial center in the Kama River region to the west of the Urals; Ufa, an important petrochemical center in the southern Urals; Rostov-na-Donu, a commercial, industrial, and transportation center in southern European Russia on the lower stretch of the Don River; and Volgograd, a center of machinery production and other industrial activity, on the lower course of the Volga River.