Living in Russia guide for expats

Demography

Russia's population amounted to approximately 146,500,000 inhabitants in 2016. The country's official language is Russian ; however, other dialects are spoken in different regions.

Economy

The country's currency is the Russian Ruble.

Russia is the world's 12th economic power. Its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) stood at 1,283 billion US dollars in 2016. In fact, the country has rapidly swept through the globalization process and takes part in major world summits, such as the G8, as one of the world's most powerful economies. It has thus been attracting foreign workers, students as well as investors due to the numerous opportunities it offers at different levels.

Good to know:

Russia is a member of the United Nations Security Council, the Council of Europe, the G20, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Eurasian Economic Community, World Trade Organization, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe as well as of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Politics

The year 1993 has been marked by the adoption of the Russian Constitution. Russia hence became a Federation in addtion to a Republic. The country is governed by a President, who is also the head of the State. The latter is elected by universal suffrage for a 6 years mandate. The actual President of the Russian Federation is Vladimir Putin.

Climate

When thinking about Russia, snow is the first thing which comes to our mind. Indeed, several regions have long snowy winters but the entire country is not covered by snow all year long; the climate varies from one region to another as the country spans two continents. There is a continental type climate from East to West, a more temperate climate on the Black Sea coast, and a cold to polar climate in the North and in Northern Siberia.

Russia is a country of extremes, therefore it has only two main seasons, summer and winter. Autumn and Spring are so short that they often go unnoticed. Russian autumn is quite similar to that of Canada, with fresh and warm colors, particularly in forest regions. Winter in Moscow and St. Petersburg is very humid and rainy. The short spring is marked by the melting of meters of snow accumulated during the winter which leaves large and deep muddy puddles everywhere.

Holidays

The main Russian holidays are: New Year (January 1st ), Orthodox Christmas (January 7th), the Motherland Defender (February 23rd), International Women's Day (March 8th), Spring and Labor Day (May 1st), the Great Patriotic War Victory Day (May 9th), Russia Day (June 12th) and National Unity Day (November 4th).

Major airports

Most major cities have their own airport. The country's main international airports are Domodedovo International Airport and Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow, Pulkovo Airport in Saint Petersburg and Koltsovo Airport in Ekaterinburg.