Today's Trivia ~ because I can

Russia has one commander who never lost to an invasion ~ General Winter.

Last term the Star & I looked at the Russian Revolution ~ which is all about politics & actually very dull but necessary to a good understanding of the modern world.  It was, in fact, so very dull, I did not require her to write anything on it ~ not yet, anyway.  Instead I sent her scrounging after all the interesting or peculiar facts she could discover about Russia..  These are just some of them!

. Russia is the largest country in the world: 17, 075 square kilometres.



.It is a trans~continental country that covers ½ of the northern hemisphere & ½ the earth’s land mass.


. It is the 9th most populated country


. It spans 9 time zones


. It covers 40% of the European continent


. It is neighbours with more countries than anywhere else on earth


. It touches 22 bodies of water


.Russia’s lakes hold ¼ of the world’s fresh water.


. It has the world’s largest reserve of mineral & energy resources


. During the 18th century it was the 3rd largest empire in world history.


. Moscow has 11 million people & is Europe’s largest city


. The world’s largest forest reserves are in Russia.


. The forests are 2nd only to the Amazon rainforest in the amount of co2 they produce


. The forests are known as “The Lungs of Europe”


. The Russian Taiga is the world’s largest terrestrial biome [boreal forest]


. Russia has the world’s largest active volcano: Khjuchevskaya Sopka [4750m]


. Ladoga Lake is the largest lake in Europe: 18 400sq km. with an average depth of 51m


. Baikal Lake is the deepest lake in Russia. At 31.5 sq km it could cover Mt Everest.


. The Khubins are the highest mountains behind Russia’s polar circle


. Kamchatka Volcanoes are turned into ski slopes


. Russia has 12 seas.


. The Russian tundra is melting for the first time since The Ice Age


. Oymyakon is the coldest city on earth with a lowest recorded temperature of -96F.


. Altai has more than 820 glaciers covering 600sq km


. The Caspian Sea is the world’s largest inland body of water.


. The Aral Sea [the 4th largest inland sea]