Features of the geographical position of. The geographical position of Russia, territory, area, extreme points

Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of area . What territory does it occupy? What are the main features of Russia's geopolitical and economic-geographical position?

Basic information about Russia

The modern state of Russia arose on the world map only in 1991. Although the rudiments of its statehood arose much earlier - about eleven centuries ago.

Modern Russia is a federative republic. It consists of 85 subjects, varying in area and population. Russia is a multinational state in which representatives of more than two hundred ethnic groups live.

The country is the world's largest exporter of oil, gas, diamonds, platinum and titanium. It is also one of the world's leading producers of ammonia, mineral fertilizers and weapons. Russia is one of the world's leading space and nuclear powers.

What are the main features of the geographical location of Russia? This will be discussed later.

Geographical position of Russia: territory, area, extreme points and population

The country occupies a huge area of 17.1 million square meters. Km (the first place in the world for the size of the territory). It stretches for ten thousand kilometers, from the shores of the Black and Baltic seas in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. The length of the country from north to east is 4000 km.

The extreme points of the territory of Russia are the following (all of them are displayed with red symbols on the map below):

• Northern - Cape Fligeli (within the Land of Franz Josef);
• Southern - near the mountain Kichensuv (in Dagestan);
• Western - on the Baltic Spit (in the Kaliningrad Region);
• East - Ratmanov Island (in the Bering Strait).

Russia borders directly with 14 independent states, as well as with two partially recognized countries (Abkhazia and South Ossetia). Curious fact: about 75% of the country is located in Asia, but in its European part, almost 80% of Russians live. The total population of Russia: about 147 million people (as of January 1, 2017).

Physico-geographical position of Russia

The entire territory of Russia is located within the Northern Hemisphere of the Earth and almost all (except for a small part of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) - within the Eastern Hemisphere. The state is located in the northern and central part of Eurasia and occupies almost 30% of Asia.

From the north, the shores of Russia are washed by the seas of the Arctic Ocean, and in the east by the Pacific Ocean. In the western part, it has access to the Black Sea, which belongs to the basin of the Atlantic Ocean. The country has the longest coastline among all the countries of the world - over 37 thousand kilometers. These are the main features of the physico-geographical position of Russia.

The country has an enormous resource and diversity of natural resources. On its expanses are the richest deposits of oil and gas, iron ore, titanium, tin, nickel, copper, uranium, gold and diamonds. Russia also has huge water and forest resources. In particular, about 45% of its area is covered with forest.

It is worth highlighting other important features of the physico-geographical position of Russia. Thus, most of the country is located north of the 60th degree of northern latitude, in the permafrost zone . And in these difficult natural and climatic conditions millions of people are forced to live. All this, of course, left its imprint on the way of life, culture and traditions of the Russian people.

Russia is in the field of so-called risky farming. This means that the successful development of agriculture on most of it is difficult or impossible. So, if there is not enough heat in the northern regions of the country, then in the south, on the contrary, there is a deficit of moisture. These features of the geographical position of Russia have a noticeable effect on the agro-industrial sector of its economy, which badly needs state subsidies.

Components and levels of the country's economic and geographical situation

Under the economic-geographical position (EGP) of a country or region is understood the aggregate of relations and relations of individual enterprises, settlements and regions with objects that are located outside the country and exert a strong influence on it.

Scientists distinguish the following components of EGP:

• Transport;
• Industrial;
• Agrogeographic;
• Demographic;
• Recreational;
• Market (position relative to sales markets).

The evaluation of the EGP of a country or region is carried out at three different levels: at the micro, meso and macro levels. Next, we will assess the macroposition of Russia in relation to the world as a whole.

Features, changes in the economic and geographical position of Russia

The size of the territory is the most important feature and benefit of the economic and geographical position of the Russian Federation, with which many prospects are associated. It allows the country to provide a competent division of labor, rationally deploy its productive forces, etc. Russia borders on fourteen countries in Eurasia, among which are powerful raw materials bases of China, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Numerous transport corridors ensure close cooperation with the states of Western and Central Europe.

Here, perhaps, are the main features of the geographical position of Russia of an economic nature. How did it change in recent decades? And did you change?

After the collapse of the USSR, the country's economic and geographical situation deteriorated noticeably. And first of all transport. After all, Russia's access to the strategically important water areas of the Black and Baltic Seas in the early 1990s was substantially limited, and the country itself, for several hundred kilometers, distanced itself from the highly developed states of Europe. In addition, Russia has lost a lot of traditional markets for itself.

The geopolitical position of Russia

The geopolitical position is the place of the country in the world political arena, its relations with other states. In general, Russia has ample opportunities for economic, political, military, and scientific and cultural cooperation with many countries in Eurasia and the planet.

However, not with all states, these relations are the best way. So, in recent years, Russia's relations with a number of NATO countries - the Czech Republic, Romania, Poland, which were once close allies of the Soviet Union - have deteriorated significantly. This fact, by the way, is called the largest geopolitical defeat of the Russian Federation in the new century.

Russia's relations with a number of post-Soviet states remain complex and rather tense: Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, and the countries of the Baltic region. The geopolitical situation of the country in 2014 with the accession of the Crimean peninsula (in particular, in the Black Sea region) has significantly changed.

Changes in Russia's geopolitical situation in the twentieth century

If we consider the twentieth century, the most tangible rearrangement of forces in the European and world political arena occurred in 1991. The disintegration of the powerful power of the USSR entailed a number of fundamental changes in the geopolitical position of Russia:

• On the perimeter of Russia there arose more than a dozen young and independent states with whom it was necessary to establish a new type of relations;
• The Soviet military presence was finally eliminated in a number of countries in Eastern and Central Europe;
• Russia received a rather problematic and vulnerable enclave - the Kaliningrad Region;
• The military bloc of NATO has gradually approached directly to the borders of the Russian Federation.

At the same time, Russia has established strong and mutually beneficial ties with Germany, China, Japan, and India over the past decades.

As a conclusion: Russia in the modern world

Russia occupies a huge territory, possessing a huge human and natural resource potential. To date, it is the largest state in the world and an important player on the global arena. It is possible to distinguish the most important features of the geographical position of Russia, here they are:

1. The vastness of the space occupied and the vast extent of the borders.
2. A tremendous variety of natural conditions and resources.
3. Mosaic (uneven) settlement and economic development of the territory.
4. Broad opportunities for trade, military and political cooperation with various neighboring states, including the leading economies of the modern world.
5. Variability and instability of the country's geopolitical situation over the past decades.

Features of the geographical location of Russia are extremely advantageous. But these benefits (natural, economic, strategic and geopolitical) are important to learn to use correctly and rationally, directing them to increase the power of the country and the well-being of its citizens.