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Topography of Russia.
Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland in Europe to Alaska in North America.
Russia established worldwide power and influence from the times of the Russian Empire to being the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower, that played a decisive role in the allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the greatest technology achievements of the nation, such as the world's first human spaceflight. The Russian Federation was founded following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, but is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the Soviet state. Russia has the world's 12th largest economy by nominal GDP or the seventh largest by purchasing power parity, with the fifth largest nominal military budget. It is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the world's largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Russia is a superpower and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8, G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the Eurasian Economic Community, the OSCE, and is the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Etymology
The country's original name was Русь (Rus'), a medieval state populated mostly by the Early East Slavs. However, this proper name became more prominent
in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants "Руськая Земля" (ruskaya zemlya) which could be translated as "Russian Land" or "Land of Rus'". The difference between the two terms would be like the difference between, for example, "Germany" and "German Land" or "Land of Germans". In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus' by modern historiography.
An old Latin version of the name Rus' was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus' that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия (Rossiya), comes from the Greek version of Rus', spelled Ρωσία [rosˈia], which was the denomination of Kievan Rus in the Byzantine Empire.