There are the coniferous forest of the taiga and wooded areas, the cold bleak tundra's in Northern Siberia, the broad plains and low hills west of the Urals, and the uplands and mountains which lie along the Southern border regions.

The perseverance of Russian serfdom and the conservative policies of Nicholas I of Russia impeded the development of Imperial Russia in the mid-nineteenth century.

During the period from fifth century BC to seventh century human settlements are represented by Dyakovo culture of Iron Age which occupies the significant part of the Upper Volga, Valday and Oka River area.

Peter the Great (ruled in) defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War, forcing it to cede West Karelia and Ingria (two regions lost by Russia in the Time of Troubles), Estland, and Livland (the two latter now being Estonia and northern Latvia).

Under the rule of Peter the 1st, the conquered land mass was extended to the Baltic Sea and the whole territory was renamed the Russian Empire.

The collapse of the Soviet Union has resulted in Russia becoming a somewhat more NATO-friendly country and the establishment of the NATO-Russia Council, which brings together the NATO members and the Russian Federation; however, Russia has not formally joined the NATO as an ally, nor has Russia expressed any desire to join NATO.

Just as Russia's rich cultural heritage has once more come to life, its natural heritage too is a new country waiting to be discovered.

Two major German defeats in Stalingrad and Kursk proved decisive and reversed the course of the entire World War as Germans never regained the strength to sustain their offensive operations and the Soviet Union recaptured the initiative for the rest of the conflict. By the end of 1943, the Red Army had broken through the German siege of Leningrad and liberated much of Ukraine, much of Western Russia and moved into Belarus. By the end of 1944, the front had moved beyond the 1939 Soviet frontiers into eastern Europe. With a decisive superiority in troops, Soviet forces drove into eastern Germany, capturing Berlin in May 1945. The war with Germany thus ended triumphantly for the Soviet Union.