The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Russia.
The Russian Federation, commonly known as Russia, is the largest country in the world, covering , more than an eighth of the Earth's land area. Russia is a transcontinental country extending across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe; it spans 11 time zones and incorporates a great range of environments and landforms. With 143 million people, Russia is the ninth most populated country. Russia has the world's largest mineral and energy resources, has the world's largest forest reserves, and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the Earth's fresh liquid water.
Mercator projection distorts Russia's appearance from crescent-like shape (as seen on a globe) into a fish-like or bear-like outline; also making the uninhabited area of Russia (e.g. food-less cold tundra and taiga) look 3-4 times bigger than it already is.