10 Fun Facts About Russia

10 Fun Facts About Russia 1. Russia is a federal semi-presidential republic, meaning a president exists along with a prime minister and a Cabinet, with the latter two being responsible for the legislature of Russia. 2. Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth’s inhabited land area. At 17,075,400 square kilometres it has a larger surface area than Pluto. Furthermore Russia has nine contiguous time zones, more than any other country. 3. The U.S. purchased Alaska from Russia for just US$7.2 million in 1867, which comes up to around $121 million in 2015 dollars. Russia wanted to sell its Alaskan territory, fearing that it might be seized if war broke out with Britain. 4. Until 2013 beer was not considered an alcoholic beverage in Russia. This was because any drink containing less than 10% alcohol was not considered an alcoholic beverage and kiosks did not require a license to sell it. 5. Lake Baikal, a rift lake in Rus