The Mirny Mine in Russia (also known as the Mir Mine) is famous as the largest open pit diamond mine in the world, and as the second largest excavated hole in the world.

(The largest man made hole in the world, in case you were wondering, is the Bingham Canyon Mine in Utah.)

Mirny is often misclassified as the world’s deepest mine, but actually, it is the second deepest open mine in the world – it is 525 meters deep, and is 1,200 meters in diameter.

Mirny Diamond Mine

The Mirny mine (sometimes also called the Mir Mine, or the Mirna Mine) was the first diamond mine founded by the Soviet Union. It was opened in 1957, after it was realised that diamonds were increasingly important for the Soviet military-industrial complex, but that the Soviet Union could not afford to continue buying them. In 1952, just a year before his death, Joseph Stalin signed secret orders to buy more than 30 million roubles worth of diamonds from the UK, for example, a cost that could not continue indefinitely.

Despite being in a part of Russia so cold that oil would freeze, the Mirny mine was so successful that within three years it was producing more than 10 million carats of Russian diamonds per year. So much, in fact, that the Soviet Union could afford to set aside the best, gem quality, diamonds for export. A secret deal was quickly done with De Beers, and the Soviet Union quickly became a major diamond exporter – so large, in fact, that Russian diamonds were the country’s most profitable export.

In total, across the 43 years from 1957 to 2000, $17 billion of diamonds came from the Mirny diamond mine.

To support the mine, the town of Mirny was quickly developed, and now has a population of just under 40,000. If you look at this satellite map, you will see that the town was built to come right up to the edge of the mine. The airport is also right next to the mine – presumably to get the diamonds to market all the quicker!

When did the Mirny Mine close?

The open cast mine closed in 2004 – other mines were deemed to be more profitable. But a significant amount of mining did continue at the town’s traditional, underground tunnel mine.

The tunnel mine, operated by Russian diamond mining company Alrosa, is thought to have enough diamonds still available to ensure its operation, and the jobs of the 3,600 miners, for almost 30 more years.

The tunnel mine itself was closed in 2017 following an accident in which eight miners were killed – see more on this below. There are plans to re-open the Mirny tunnel mine, however, perhaps as early as 2024.

Could the Mirny mine suck in helicopters?

The Mirny Mine is such a large hole in the ground that helicopters are not allowed to fly above it.

Despite no recorded incidents of helicopter crashes at the mine, it is believed that the strange air pressure and turbulence caused by the size of the pit could cause helicopters to crash.

This is because the heat from the earth warms the air inside deep holes. When the hot air in the mine rises, it mixes with the cold air immediately above, causing air movement and turbulence. Any pilot flying a helicopter would come across an abrupt change in temperature, which would reduce the amount of lift that the rotors of the helicopter could provide. The pilot would need to increase the rotor speed to compensate, but the change in temperature would be so rapid that the helicopter would lose altitude.

Where is the Mirny Mine – Siberia or Serbia?

The Mirny Mine is located in Siberia, in Eastern Russia, roughly in the centre of the Republic of Sakha, also known as Yakutia. It is approximately 810km from the city of Yakutsk.

The Mirny Mine is not located in Serbia, which is another country in Europe. This confusion is because of the similarity in spelling between Siberia and Serbia.

Mirny Mine Accident

The underground mine flooded in August 2017.

Over 150 people were in the mine at the time – most were rescued, but eight miners bodies were never recovered.

Alexey Busker, the head of the mine was arrested in connection with the deaths. He was found dead in his pre-trial detention centre in October 2019. His death was thought to be suicide.

How deep is the Mirny Diamond Mine?

The open cast Mirny Mine is reported to be 525 metres (1,722 feet) deep, and to have a diameter of 1,200m (3,900 feet).

The tunnel mine is at least 1,036 metres (3,398 feet) deep, and a 10km long tunnel has been constructed.

Mirny Mine Pictures

More pictures of the Mirny diamond mine can be found below.

Early Life and Career

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was born on 7 October 1952 in Leningrad.

From a poor family in a city only just recovering from a horrific siege, Putin was not a model student. On his own personal website, Putin describes himself as “a troublemaker, not a Pioneer.”

In his teens, though, Putin the rebel turned into a dedicated student. His natural talent for sports (Putin today is a keen judo and hockey player) and languages brought him to the attention of his teachers, who encouraged him to study hard.

From an early age, Putin knew that he wanted to become an intelligence officer. After graduating from Leningrad State University in 1975 with a degree in international law, he joined the KGB.

In 1985, after a decade of domestic postings, Putin was stationed at the KGB’s offices in Dresden, East Germany. There is not much publicly available information about Putin’s time as a KGB operative. His official role was that of translator, but it is widely believed that he also played a role in recruiting assets that could provide secret information or, potentially, act as secret agents for the Soviet Union. Some lurid rumours, but not much detail, exist about Putin’s extra-marital affairs or the time he shot over the heads of German protestors who tried to storm the KGB’s headquarters in 1989 while the Berlin Wall was collapsing.

Putin’s wife and family

Putin married Ludmilla Shkrebneva, a student of Spanish and former Aeroflot flight attendant, on 28 July 1983. Together they had two daughters, Maria and Yekaterina.

Not much is known about Putin’s daughters, as their father has taken great care to ensure their privacy. They attended university under assumed names, and it is thought that both live abroad.

In 2014, shortly after the MH17 airliner was shot down in Ukraine, it was revealed that Maria Putina lives in the Netherlands. And in 2010 rumours flew around that Yekaterina Putina had married the son of a South Korean Admiral.

Putin and Ludmilla Putin (Ludmilla Putina) divorced in early 2014, after effectively living separate lives for many years.

There have been reports of other romances in Putin’s life over the past few years – notably with the gymnast turned politician Alina Kabaeva – but none have been confirmed.

Return to Russia

Putin returned to Russia soon after the Berlin Wall had fallen and began his political career in his home town of Leningrad (which had by then been renamed St Petersburg). An astute judge of the political wind, Putin resigned as a Colonel in the KGB in protest at the attempted hard-line coup in August 1991. Then, under the wing of St Petersburg Mayor Anatoly Sobchak, Putin quickly became a senior member of the city administration. He spent six years working as head of the Committee for External Relations where, despite nearly being fired for his role in a corruption scandal, he began to build the political network that would propel him to the top of Russian politics.

When Sobchak lost the 1996 election, Putin resigned and moved to Moscow where he quickly rose up the ranks of a chaotic Boris Yeltsin government. From a relatively humble start as head of the Presidential Property Management Department Putin moved up to deputy chief of the Presidential staff, head of the Federal Security Bureau (the successor to the KGB), Deputy Prime Minister and then, finally in 1999, Prime Minister of Russia.

Acting President of Russia

In 1999, President Boris Yeltsin’s health was failing and he was was becoming less and less popular as leader of Russia. On 31 December 1991 he surprised the world by announcing that he was resigning as President, leaving Vladimir Putin as Acting President of Russia.

Putin’s first act as Acting President was to sign a decree guaranteeing Yeltsin and his family immunity from prosecution. He then went on to successfully fight an election campaign which culminated, on 7 May 2000, with his appointment as President of Russia.

First term as President of Russia

Putin was elected by a country that had been battered by the transition from communism to market economy, and which had fared badly in the economic crash of 1998. Russia had just devalued the ruble, defaulted on its debts, and experienced inflation of over 80%. Aware of this, Putin’s first promise to the nation was to turn Russia into “a free, prosperous, flourishing, strong and civilized country, a country that its citizens are proud of and that is respected internationally.”

Putin’s first task was to break the power that Russia’s oligarchs held in politics. Under Yeltsin they had bought cheap assets from the state and turned them into massive businesses and fortunes. Putin was convinced he could not rule effectively if they were involved in politics. So, he started a war with them.

Prominent oligarchs were arrested and their assets seized. The most prominent oligarch to be arrested was Mikhail Khodorkovsky, the billionaire owner of the Yukos oil firm.

Khodorkovsky’s arrest, and subsequent decade long imprisonment, convinced many of the other oligarchs to enter a so-called ‘Grand Bargain’ with Putin. In exchange for agreeing to stay out of politics forever, they would be left to run their businesses the way they wanted, free of political interference.

Putin’s first term was not without controversy or challenge, however. Two crises in which he was first criticised for a slow response, and then risked everything in a bold and controversial gamble could be seen as pivotal in his development as a leader.

The first year of his presidency was rocked by the Kursk submarine disaster. In August 2000, the Oscar class nuclear submarine exploded and sank with the loss of all hands. Putin was criticised heavily for his slow response and, in particular, for not returning from vacation immediately to personally oversee the crisis.

Perhaps conscious of the way he had been criticised, Putin responded very differently to the October 2002 Moscow theatre hostage crisis. Three days after 40 Chechen terrorists had taken 850 people hostage in the Dubrovka Theatre, Putin ordered a rescue mission that would involve pumping gas into the theatre to knock everyone unconscious. 130 of the hostages died from gas poisoning during the rescue, although the rest were rescued. Although he was criticised by many for approving such a risky rescue mission, he was praised by many others for his bold response.

Second term as President of Russia

Early in his second term, Putin set the tenor for his administration – declaring his goal to be “to bring about a noticeable rise in our people’s prosperity.”

To this end, he methodically set about consolidating the gains of his first four years in office. His war with the oligarchs was comprehensively won when Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his partner Platon Lebedev were sentenced to nine years in jail, and Yukos, their company, was forced into bankruptcy.

Good governance was, within limits, the order of the day and, fuelled by a booming global oil and gas market, Russia’s economy grew by an average of 7% per year across Putin’s two presidential terms. The government ran a surplus in each of those years as well, which has helped the Russian economy to ride out some of the global economic slump since 2008.

Kremlin control over state security was also enhanced, largely as a result of the Beslan School hostage crisis. A group of Chechens launched a three day raid on a school in Beslan, Chechnya in which over 1,000 people – mostly children – were taken hostage. More than 300 – again, mostly children – were killed.

Towards the end of his term, speculation began to mount as to whether Putin would step down from the presidency – the law entitled him to hold the office for only two consecutive terms. Unable to run for President, Putin stepped aside in favour of close political ally Dmitry Medvedev. Convincingly elected, Medvedev immediately appointed Putin as his Prime Minister.

Putin as Prime Minister of Russia

It very quickly became clear that, despite being in a role that was technically subordinate to the President, Putin was very much the senior partner in Russia’s government.

Although Medvedev had a lot of independence to act, Putin was the overall boss. He took the lead role in Russia’s 2008 war against Georgia, and in rebuilding the Russian economy after the 2008-09 economic crisis.

When not governing, Putin spent his time on a number of leisure activities designed to show his strength and manliness. Photos of an often shirtless Putin engaging in outdoor pursuits proliferated.

Despite speculation that Putin and Medvedev might run against each other in the 2012 Russian Presidential election, Medvedev stepped aside after just one term. He supported a campaign for Putin to be elected for a third term as Russia’s President – legal because Putin was only barred from standing for three *consecutive* terms as President.

Putin’s third term as President

In 2012 Putin was elected as President for a third time with 63.6% of the vote.

But, despite attempts to demonstrate that the election was fair (for example, webcams in every polling booth) his victory was marred by protests. Tens of thousands of anti-Putin protestors took to the streets on several occasions – mostly in major cities – but gradually lost momentum. In the absence of significant support for the protests, Putin took the opportunity to bring in strict laws against holding future protests – something his critics argue is part of Putin’s wider plans to entrench his rule at the expense of democracy.

In an increasingly conservative Russian society, Putin drew international criticism for his government’s record on LGBT rights, particularly during the otherwise uneventful 2012 Sochi Winter Olympic Games.

During 2014, Putin has overseen the first formal expansion of Russian territory since the collapse of the Soviet Union. Amidst the chaos of revolution in neigbouring Ukraine, Russia seized the opportunity to reclaim its authority over Crimea, the most southerly region of Ukraine. An undeclared military intervention by Russia was swiftly followed on 21 March 2014 by the formal annexation of Crimea into the Russian Federation (an event which saw the population of Russia increase by almost 2 million people).

Despite this conflict, and the sanctions that have been imposed on Russia, Vladimir Putin remains a genuinely popular leader of Russia. His approval ratings (in blue in the above chart, contrasted with red disapproval ratings) have risen to over 80% since the annexation of Crimea. Even before this, over the course of 14 years in charge of Russia, his approval rating has never been lower than 60%.

After rebounding from the collapse of the Soviet Union, with its resurgent economy Russia has spent the last decade redefining its role on the European and world stage.

In particular, Russia has recently been pursuing a much more aggressive foreign policy – including intervening in the civil wars of Ukraine and Syria, and annexing the territory of Crimea from Ukraine.

Demographics of Russia

With a population of 146,519,759 Russia in 2016 is the most populous country in Europe and the ninth most populous in the world.

Russia reached it’s peak population of 148 million in 1991, just before the breakup of the Soviet Union. Since then it’s population has fallen at a rate of around 0.5% per year – uncertainty about the future led to low birth rates and high emigration and death rates rose in a struggling economy.

As Russia’s economy has improved in recent years its population appears to have stabilised. 2012 saw a modest increase in population of 292,000.

Ethnic Russians are the largest ethnic group in Russia, according to the 2010 census. They make up 81% of the population. Other ethnic groups with a population of more than one million people are Tartars (3.9%), Ukrainians (1.4%), Bashkir (1.1%), Chechens (1.0%) and Armenians (0.9%).

Russian Economy

Russia has a GDP of $2.022 trillion which makes it the seventh largest economy in the world. GDP has been growing consistently over the past decade. The most recent figures – for 2012 – show a growth rate of 3.4%.

However, Russia’s GDP per capita is just $18,000. This places Russia 99th in the world – much lower than that of many other major economies.

Russia has a market economy which is based heavily on exploiting and exporting its natural resources – especially oil, metals, timber, gas and diamonds. In many ways, Russia’s economy is unrecognisable when compared to the economy of the Soviet Union, it still retains a legacy of strong governmental oversight. Many would argue that governmental control has increased in recent years under the Vladimir Putin’s leadership.

In recent years, Russia has invested heavily in repaying its post-Soviet debts, the last of which was cleared in 2006. Russia now has foreign reserves of over $550 billion – one of the largest in the world.

Russian Government

Russia is no longer a communist state. Today constitutionally, Russia is a democratic semi-presidential state where a President (currently Vladimir Putin) serves alongside a Prime Minister (currently Dmitry Medvedev). The President is elected for a six year term, and the Prime Minister is appointed by the President.

Russia has a bicameral legislature made up of the State Duma and Federation Council, an Executive led by the President, and a legislature.

Russia is also a federation with 83 federal subjects – 46 oblasts (provinces), 21 republics, 9 krais (territories), 4 autonomous okrugs (districs), 2 federal cities (Moscow and St Petersburg) and 1 autonomous oblast.

Capital City of Russia

Moscow is the capital city and largest city in Russia. The population of Moscow at the 2010 census was 11,503,501 and in 2014 it was estimated to have grown to 12,108,257 which also makes Moscow the second largest city in Europe, after Istanbul.

Moscow became Russia’s capital city (and the capital of the Soviet Union) in March 1918, after the Russian Revolution. Before that, St Petersburg was the capital city of the Russian Empire.

Russian Flag

Russia has a tricolor flag. Its top bar is white, its middle bar is blue and its bottom bar is red.

The Russian flag was first used by Peter the Great and it remained the flag of Russia until the communist revolution in November 1917. It was adopted again as Russia’s flag on 21 August 1991, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. A slightly revised version with taller bars (in the picture above) was introduced on 11 December 1993.

Russian National Anthem

The national anthem of Russia is a slightly reworked version of the Soviet Anthem. If you click play in the box below you can listen to the Russian anthem.

It was introduced in 2000, partly because the previous anthem did not have any lyrics and Russian sportsmen were unable to sing during sporting events. The current Russian anthem was composed by Alexander Alexandrov in 1939, and its lyrics were composed by Sergey Mikhailov in 2000.

History of Russia

Russia’s harsh environment and bountiful natural resources have combined to create a country that has, for hundreds of years, been one of the world’s most powerful and influential.

The Russian state that exists today has its foundation in Kievan Rus’, a medieval collection of principalities with its capital in Kiev. Spreading from the Baltic to the Black Sea, the Kievan Rus’ developed a comparatively rich culture and economy based on trade before being overrun by the Mongol Horde in the 13th century.

Several hundred years later in 1547 Ivan IV, more commonly known as Ivan the Terrible, proclaimed himself Tsar of All the Russias. In doing so, he set Russia on a path that was to lead another famous leader – Peter the Great – to proclaim the foundation of the Russian Empire in 1721. And, of course, to proclaim himself Emperor of Russia.

Over the next two hundred years, Russia developed into one of Europe’s most powerful states, although it’s position on the periphery of Europe meant that it was never fully able to dominate the continent. Instead Russia expanded towards the empty east, gradually extending its control across Asian Russia – into Siberia, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was at this point that Russia truly became a country of two continents. At it’s greatest extent, in 1866, the Russian Empire controlled even extended into North America, with colonies in Alaska and as far south as California.

Internally, though, Russian political and social development stagnated and the Tsars and aristocracy remained distant from Russian peasants (mostly serfs) and workers in cities. The public’s lack of trust in the regime, combined with the high cost of the First World War, eventually led to its overthrow in the Russian Revolution of 1917. Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed shortly after.

Russia became the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, the largest republic in the Soviet Union. Under the leadership of Lenin and then Stalin the Soviet Union gradually established itself and, ultimately, became strong enough to survive a brutal Second World War (known as the Great Patriotic War in Russia) during which between 10 and 15 million Soviet citizens died.

Victory over Nazi Germany was followed by a four-decade long Cold War with the United States which very nearly turned hot during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. The Soviet Union ultimately found it impossible to compete economically or militarily with the United States and its NATO allies. Although Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, attempted a number of domestic political reforms (notably perestroika and glasnost) the underlying weaknesses of the Soviet Union led to its dissolution on 25 December 1991.

Russia, along with the other 14 Soviet states, became an independent country. Under its first President, Boris Yeltsin, Russia underwent a painful transition to a market economy. It also fought two brutal wars in Chechnya, which attempted to secede from Russia. Today, the economy has stablised and is steadily growing, although it remains overly dependent on export of resources such as oil and gas. Russia is also more politically stable under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, although some criticise his autocratic approach.

Throughout 2014, Russia has been accused of being involved in conflict in neighbouring Ukraine. On March 27, 2014, Russia annexed the Ukrainian territory of Crimea, a move which was widely condemned internationally and opposed by the UN General Assembly.

The tricolor was previously used as the flag of the Russian Empire. It was adopted by Peter the Great in 1696 and remained in use until the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Soviet flags in use from 1917 until the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 comprised a hammer and sickle design over a red background. During the Soviet era the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, as one of the fifteen Soviet republics, used the red Soviet flag with a blue bar along its near side.

Use of the Russian flag was, until recently, restricted to official occasions but, since 2014, Russians have been able to use the flag when they wish to demonstrate their patriotism.

What does the Russian flag look like?

Russia’s flag is a tricolor flag in a 2:3 ratio. It is divided into three horizontal bars of equal height. The top bar is white, the middle bar is blue, and the bottom bar is red.

The following colours are used in the Russian flag:

When was the Russian flag used?

The Russian tricolor flag was first introduced in 1696, during the reign of Peter the Great. It was first used as the naval ensign of the Russian fleet, before being adopted as the merchant flag in 1705.

Many believe that the Dutch flag of the time was used as the template for the Russian tricolor. This is partly because Peter the Great had strong links to the Netherlands – he had spent some time in the shipyards there during his tour of Europe as a young man (commonly known as Peter the Great’s grand embassy). It is also because David Butler, the captain of Russia’s first naval ship the Oryol, was Dutch. However, there is little hard evidence to support either of these theories.

The tricolor was used as Russia’s de facto flag for many years and was incredibly popular among the Russian people – so much so that attempts by Russian Tsars to impose a different flag failed.

It was formally adopted as the National flag when Tsar Nicholas II was coronated in 1896.

After the first (February) Russian revolution, the flag continued in use under the Provisional Government. It was also used by many of the anti-communist forces during the Russian Civil War (1917-21).

The Russian flag was replaced by the Soviet government with a flag that, over time, developed into the widely recognised Soviet flag – a red background with a hammer and sickle design.

Throughout the Soviet era, a red flag with a soviet star and a hammer and sickle emblem was used. The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic used the standard Soviet flag with a blue bar along the left hand side. You can see a picture below:

The tricolor was adopted once again by the Russian SFSR as during opposition to the failed August 1991 coup. It became symbolic of the hopes and dreams of many Russians in the Soviet Union’s twilight days.

The current Russian flag was introduced by Presidential executive order (#2126) on 11 December 1993. It set out the colours we see in the Russian flag today and altered its dimensions to the current 2:3 ratio.

What does the Russian flag mean?

The colours on the Russian flag have no official meaning or symbolism.

There are, however, a number of different popular explanations of what the colours on the Russian flag represent. One common interpretation is that they mean:

“White – peace and honesty

Red – hardiness, bravery, strength and valour

Blue – vigilance, truth and loyalty, perseverance and justice”

A second interpretation is that the white represents God, the blue represents the Russian emperor, and the red represents the Russian people.

A third is that the colours are based on the flag of the Grand Duchy of Moscow, and that they represent St George on a white horse, in a blue cape, defeating a red dragon.

Siberian Flag

Russia is divided into eight federal districts, three of which cover ‘Siberia’ – the Urals Federal District, the Siberian Federal District, and the Urals Federal District.  Because these federal districts are not constituent units of Russia, none of them have a flag of their own.

However, there are some historical and unofficial flags that could be said to be Siberian flags. All of them have the same basic design of one white block and one green block – a format devised during the Russian Revolution.

“The National Siberian Banner shall be a combination of 2 colours: white and green. White colour means Siberian snow, whilst green colour – Siberian taiga. The banner shall be rectangular, split into 2 parts diagonally from the left top to right bottom. thus, the upper triangle shall be of green colour, and the lower one – of white colour.”

Although a number of autonomous government were formed (and dissolved) in Siberia during the Russian Civil War, it is not certain that this flag was ever used in an official capacity.

Instead, the earliest historical example of a Siberia flag is the Provisional Government of Siberia flag.  It is reported to have been a white rectangular block immediately over a green rectangular block.  The Provisional Government of Siberia was founded in late January 1918, during the Russian Civil War, and was opposed to the Soviet government, which at the time had a very shaky hold on power in Russia, and later became the Provisional Siberian Government.

Russian flag day – 22 August

Russian flag day is celebrated on 22 August every year. It is not an official public holiday, so people are not entitled to take time off work.

The holiday was introduced by President Boris Yeltsin in 1994 to celebrate the defeat of a coup attempt by Soviet hardliners.

Russian Naval ensign

The Russian naval ensign is the current flag of the Russian navy. It is a blue St Andrews cross on a white background in a 2:3 ratio.

The naval ensign was adopted by Peter the Great in 1712. It was used until the Soviet revolution in 1917, and was adopted again by the Russian Navy in 1992.

Russia flag map

Here is a flag map of Russia which you can use and download. It includes the territory of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

To download the picture, right click and select ‘save’.

Further reading:

Two excellent resources for further reading on Russian flags are:

• the Russian flag page on the Flags of the World website and

A census was undertaken in 2021, and further updates on the population of Russia are expected in late 2022.

How many people live in Russia today?

Although Russia’s population has been gradually declining since the fall of the Soviet Union, the fall has slowed and stabilised in recent years. Since 2011, the population has increased modestly. The population of Russia in 2016 was 146,519,759. Data for 2017 has not, at the time of writing, been published.

When Crimea was annexed in 2014 Russia’s population received a one off increase of 2,248,400 people (based on Ukrainian census data). This increase is included in the total population figures listed in this article.

This total makes Russia the ninth largest country in the world, and the largest country in Europe, by population. Because Russia is in both Europe and Asia, it is also ranked as the sixth largest country in Asia.

Russian population growth & decline

While a part of the Soviet Union, Russia’s population grew steadily, from 98 million at the end of the second world war to 148.5 million in 1991, just before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

For the next 20 years, the population of Russia declined steadily. From its 1992 peak of 148,538,000, the number of people living in Russia fell to a low of just 143,201,700 in 2012.

The main cause of this fall in population was the shock and economic uncertainty of the transition from communism to capitalism. Russians emigrated in large numbers, often to Europe, other parts of the former Soviet Union and Israel, in search of a better and more stable life.

In an uncertain economic and political climate people put off having children and the Russian birth rate fell. This combined with an increase in the death rate – caused by factors such as poor health and healthcare, increased violence and increased consumption of alcohol – meant that, from 1992 onwards, more people in Russia were dying than being born.

As a result of the increased stability of recent years population decline in Russia gradually slowed and, in 2012, Russia saw its first population increase in two decades. Since then, Russia’s population has been steadily, if very very modestly, growing.

The incorporation of Crimea, annexed from Ukraine in 2014, boosted Russia’s population by a further 2.2 million people, but has not arrested the ongoing long-term decline in population.

Russian census

Russia holds a census roughly once every decade. The last Russian census was held in 2010. It followed an earlier census in 2002. The next Russian census is likely to take place in 2020, although this has not been confirmed by the Russian government.

The Russian government had planned to delay the 2010 census until 2013 because of a lack of funding. However, at the last minute, funding was allocated to allow the census to go ahead in 2010 after all.

The census reported that Russia’s population in 2010 was 142.9 million. This demonstrated a decrease of 1.6% (2.3 million) from the previous census in 2002.

Russian population predictions are usually developed by extrapolating the data from the most recent census.

Data from the 2010 census can be found on the official Russian federal statistics service website (in Russian).

Largest ethnic groups

The largest ethnic group in Russia is ethnic Russians. There are 111 million ethnic Russians in the Russian Federation, making up 80.1% of the population.

5.3 million Tatars, mostly based in southern European Russia, are the next largest group at 3.9% of the population. Other major groups are Ukrainians (1.4% / 1.9 million), Bashkirs (1.1% / 1.5 million), Chuvashs (1.0% / 1.4 million), Chechens (1.0% / 1.4 million) and Armenians (0.9% / 1.2 million). 5.6 million people (3.9%) did not declare their ethnicity in their census answers.

In total there are 185 ethnic groups in Russia. You can see a full list here.

Religion

The Russian census doesn’t record religious belief, so all data is based on surveys and estimates. For this article, we have used data from the 2012 Arena Atlas of Religions and Nationalities of the Russian Federation.

The Arena survey found that the largest religion in Russia is Orthodox Christianity, with 41% of Russians identifying as Russian Orthodox Christians. Other Christian groups (including other Orthodox Christians, Protestants, Catholics, and other unaffiliated Christians) make up 7.3% of the Russian population.

After Christianity, Islam is the second largest religion in Russia, with 6.5% of the population. Other religions include native religions (1.2%) and Buddhism (0.5%).

Islam is the second largest religious group, with 6.5% of the population. Although some surveys claim that the number of Muslims in Russia is much higher – between 10% and 20% of the population – this is because people have identified themselves in censuses and other surveys as belonging to “Islamic ethnic groups” in Russia, and not necessarily as actively religious.

Other religious groups of significant size are Unaffiliated Christians (Protestant, Catholic, etc) (4.1% ), other Orthodox Christians (1.5%).

A quarter of Russians (25%) identified themselves as spiritual but not religious, 13% of Russians identified themselves as Atheists, and 5.5% reported that they were undecided.

Although Russia does not have an official state religion, the Russian Orthodox Church has an increasingly visible and influential role in Russian society and politics. Its growth has been helped by by the introduction of a law in 1997 which limited the ability of other religious organisations (which often come from outside of Russia) to undertake missionary work in Russia.

It is important to note that many of the Russians who identify as religious, and particularly those who identify themselves as Orthodox Christians, are non-observant. This means that they rarely or never attend church.

It is likely that the lack of engagement with religion in Russia is, at least in part, due to the Soviet Union’s legacy of atheism and repression of religion. Marx, and later Lenin, both referred to religion as the “opiate of the masses”, a drug which allowed workers to be exploited by the ruling classes.

During the Soviet era, religion was tolerated to an extent, but very strongly discouraged. In the 1920s church property was seized by the state, thousands of religious people including priests were imprisoned or killed, and publishing religious material and books was made illegal.

Languages

Russian language

There are over 130 languages in use in Russia today, but Russian is the official state language of the Russian Federation. According to the 2010 census, it is the native language of 85.7% of people in Russia, but it is spoken and understood by almost everyone in Russia today.

Other languages in Russia

A number of other languages have legal status in Russian regions. They are:

Because of the high number of immigrants in the Russian Federation, normally from other former Soviet countries, a large number of other languages are also widely spoken in Russia, even if they have no official status. The 2010 census reports the following numbers, although because many migrants are undocumented the real numbers are likely to be much higher:

• Armenian | 830,000
• Azerbaijani | 515,000
• Kazakh | 472,000
• Uzbek | 245,000
• Kyrgyz | 247,000
• Tajik | 177,000
• Georgian | 102,000

Endangered languages in Russia

Many of Russia’s 130 plus languages are spoken primarily in Siberia and Russia’s Far East, but others are found and spoken in the Caucasus, Northern Russia and the Caucasus.

Some languages have already been declared extinct by UNESCO – examples include Arman, Kamas and Karelian. Others are classified as endangered, and at high risk of becoming extinct within a generation or two. These include some regionally recognised languages, such as Kalmyk. Some, such as Ainu or Enets, have less than 100 speakers.

Education and Literacy Rate

Russia has a large and comprehensive network of schools, colleges and universities, and school education in Russia is free. As a result, it has a very high literacy rate of 99.4% (male: 99.7%, female: 99.2%).

According to a 2012 OECD survey more than half of Russian adults (53%) have attained a tertiary (university) education. This is almost double the OECD overage of 32%, although there are questions about the variable quality of Russia’s university education.

Russia spends 4.1% of its GDP on education (2008 figures).

Largest cities in Russia

Most of Russia’s population, and most of its largest cities are in Western and Southern Russia.

Moscow is the most populous city in Russia and the second largest city in Europe (after Istanbul).

Other major cities in Russia (data from 2010 census) include St Petersburg (4.9 million), Novosibirsk (1.5 million) and Yekaterinburg (1.3 million). See the table below for more details.

Population of Moscow 2016

Estimates, based on data from the 2010 census, indicate that in 2016 Moscow has a population of 12.2 million permanent residents. With the addition of an estimated 1.8 million people with official temporary residency, the population rises to 14.0 million.

However, the true population of Moscow is likely to be higher as a result of undocumented and illegal immigration which was not captured in census results. Estimates which include approximately 1 million undocumented migrants push Moscow’s population up to over 15 million.

Cities in Russia by population (table)

According to the latest census, there were 12 Russian cities with a population of more than 1 million people in 2010, and 164 cities with a population of more than 100,000. Here is a table that lists all of the Russian cities with a population of more than 1 million people:

Population Density

Russia has a population density of 22 people per square mile (8.4 per square kilometer).

Russia is the largest country in the world by area, and even though it has Europe’s largest population of nearly 150 million people, they are spread thinly across the country. World Bank data shows that Russia is the 15th least densely populated country in the world.

For comparison, though, it is interesting to see that the Russian Federation is more densely populated than some other major countries such as Canada (4 people per square kilometer) and Australia (3 people per square kilometer).

Siberia is far less densely populated than European Russia, with a density of 8 people per square mile (3 per square kilometer). Some Siberian regions, such as the Koryak Okrug have a population density of less than 0.1 people per kilometer. Or, to put it another way – one person for every ten kilometers.

Urban vs Rural population

Russia is an industrialised economy with a heavily urbanised population. Almost three quarters of Russians (74.0%) live in urban areas, compared to just over one quarter (26.0%) of people who live in rural areas.

In contrast to many countries, where urban populations are increasing as people move from the country to cities, Russia has been de-urbanising in recent years, and the number of people in urban areas compared to rural areas has decreased very slightly over the past 20 years.

Other Russian demographic data

Sex ratio

The sex ratio in Russia at birth is 1.06 males to each female. This is roughly the same as the world average of 1.07 boys to each girl at birth.

However, across the entire population, the proportion of male to female is much lower – 0.86 males to every female.

At the extreme, among elderly Russians – those over 65 years of age – there are three women for every man.

This gap stands in dramatic contrast with the rest of the world, where there are, on average, 1.02 men for every woman. There are two main reasons for this difference.

The first is that Russian men have a much higher than normal mortality rate. As we shall see in the next section, the life expectancy of Russian men is eleven years lower than the life expectancy of Russian women.

The second is that Russia, and other former Soviet countries, are still suffering significantly from the high death toll among men in the second world war. Data from 1950, for example, shows that, for every 100 women in Russia, there were only 76.6 men.

Life expectancy

The average life expectancy in Russia is 71.6 years (2013 data).

However, this hides a massive difference between the life expectancy of Russian men and women. Russian women live for 76.5 years – more than eleven years longer than the average Russian man, who lives for just 65.1 years.

This difference in Russian life expectancy between male and female is the largest in the world. Although women across the world live longer than men on average, they normally live only five years longer.

Experts have not identified a single cause for this massive gap. It is thought to be a combination of factors, including high levels of alcoholism, violence, diet, pollution and poverty. Russia also has one of the highest male suicide rates in the world. It also has one of the world’s highest death rates from cardiovascular disease.

Median Age

The median age in Russia is 39.6 years. As with life expectancy, the median age for Russian men (36.7 years) is much lower than for Russian women (41.6 years).

Birth rate and death rate in Russia

The birth rate is Russia is 13.3 births per 1,000 population. The death rate is 13.1 deaths per 1,000 population. (2013 data).

This indicates that, excluding factors such as migration, Russia is experiencing a period of slow natural population growth.

Fertility rate

The total fertility rate in Russia was 1.750 in 2014.

This is a significant increase on the lowest fertility rate in modern Russian history of 1.157, which was recorded in 1999. This remains lower than the fertility rate of most industrialised countries, where a fertility rate of just over 2.000 is thought necessary to ensure that the population remains static.

Russian population pyramid

This population pyramid of Russia is based on data from 2015.

Two things stand out about the Russian pyramid.

The first is at the top of the pyramid where you can clearly see that the number of women aged over 70 is much higher than the number of men of the same age. This is because of the massive casualty rate among Russian men during WW2.

The second is the relatively low number of children and young people aged under 20. This is largely the result of a significant drop in birth rates after the collapse of the Soviet Union.

A couple of quick notes before we start. Firstly, we’ve chosen Ivan the Terrible to start this journey because, before he became the first Tsar of Russia, leadership in Russia was split among a number of areas. 

Secondly, towards the end of the timeline, we’ve chosen to list the leaders of the Soviet Union rather than the leaders of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. This is because true power in Russia at the time was vested in the overall leader of the Soviet Union, not the leader of the RSFSR.

The end of the Rurik Dynasty

Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible) 3 December 1533 − 28 March 1584. Ivan the Terrible, as he was known, was Russia’s first Tsar, widely recognised as the man who turned Russia from a medieval nation state into a true multi-ethnic state and emerging empire. He oversaw the formation of Russia’s first standing army and an expansion of Russian territory – through both conquest (for example, the successful conquest of Kazan and the unsuccessful attempt to expand westwards towards the Baltic Sea) and Russia’s first organised expansion into Siberia. At home, he championed many peaceful reforms, including a major revision of Russia’s a law code and the establishment of a council of nobles. He also commissioned the construction of St Basil’s Cathedral and introduced Russia’s first printing press.

Feodor I – 18 March 1584 − 16/17 January 1598. Known as Feodor the Bellringer, because of his strong religious belief. Feodor was a weak leader, partly due to lack of interest in politics and partly due to lack of intellectual prowess, and his brother in law Boris Godunov largely governed Russia in Feodor’s name. Feodor was childless, and his death meant the end of the Rurik dynasty.

The Time of Troubles

Boris Godunov – 21 February 1598 − 13 April 1605. Godunov saw no reason not to continuing his de facto rulership of Russia (particularly as the alternative would have been either exile or death) and promptly seized the throne on Feodor’s death. He was not officially crowned Tsar until the national assembly (Zemsky Sobor) met on 17 February 1598 to elect him Tsar, and crowned him four days later on 21 February. Boris saw the need for education as one of his key priorities, and he encouraged Russians to both study abroad and hire teachers from abroad.

Feodor II – 23 April 1605 − 11 June 1605. The sixteen year old Feodor did not have the political support needed to rule Russia. Pseudo-Demetrius I (also known as False Dmitry I) called for him to step down and, when he refused Feodor was promptly captured and strangled.

(False) Dmitry I – 21 July 1605 − 17 May 1606. ‘False Dmitry I’ was the first of three people who falsely claimed to be Dmitry Ivanovich, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. The original Dmitry had been assassinated in 1591. The identity of False Dmitry I isn’t known for certain, but he is believed to have been Grigory Otrepyev. His policies as Tsar didn’t find much favour, and his rule lasted less than a year. He was killed after his opponents stormed the Kremlin.

Vasiliy IV – 19 May 1606 − 19 July 1610. After deposing False Dmitry I, Vasily Shiusky took the Russian throne. He was politically weak, however, and only really survived as long as he did because there was no-one else strong enough to provide a realistic alternative. He was eventually deposed by Prince Vorotynsky and Prince Mstislavsky, and exiled to Poland.

Council of Seven Boyars – 27 July 1610 − 4 November 1612. During the worst period of the Time of Troubles, Russia was ruled by a council of seven Russian nobles. They recognised Polish prince Wladislaw IV Vasa as the Tsar of Russia.

Vladislaus – 6 September 1610 − 4 November 1612. Vladislaus was the Russian name given to the Polish prince Wladislaw. He ruled Russia until the Polish army was forced to retreat by armies raised by Kuzma Mini and Prince Pozharsky.

The Romanov Dynasty

Michael I – 21 February – 12 July 1645. Despite his youth, Michael was elected Tsar of Russia by a national assembly. Initially reluctant to become Tsar because of his inexperience, he led Russia through the beginning of its recovery from the Time of Troubles.

Alexis – 12 July 1645 − 29 January 1676. Under Alexis’s leadership, Russia secured peace with Poland to its West.

Feodor III – 29 January 1676 − 7 May 1682. One of Russia’s youngest Tsars, Feodor III took the throne at the age of 15. Partially paralysed from a childhood disease (thought to be scurvy), he is considered a reformist leader of Russia, founding the Academy of Sciences and decreeing that appointments in the Russian civil service and military should henceforth be on merit, rather than based on patronage.

Ivan V – 2 June 1682 − 8 February 1696. Ivan V ruled jointly with his half-brother, Peter I. His mental and physical disabilities meant he had little impact on policy. His daughter, Anna, would ascend the throne in 1730, 34 years after his death.

Peter I (Peter the Great) – 7 May 1682 − 8 February 1725. Perhaps the most reform minded of Russia’s Tsars, Peter the Great oversaw a massive expansion of Russian territory including, most importantly, secure access to the Baltic Sea. He was also known as a great moderniser, and his sweeping reforms saw Russia, for the first time, recognised as a major European power. The city of St Petersburg, which he founded, is named after him. Read more about his life in our Peter the Great timeline.

Catherine I – 1725 − 17 May 1727. Catherine became Russia’s first Empress in 1725, as her husband Peter the Great had died without naming a successor. She continued and expanded on his modernising efforts, but was largely reliant on her advisors, particularly Alexander Menshikov and Peter Tolstoy, whose support had been essential in securing her throne.

Peter II – 18 May 1727 − 30 January 1730. On Catherine’s death, the throne reverted to the direct descendants of Peter I – in this case, his grandson Peter II. He died on 30 January 1730, of smallpox. He was the last (and only) direct male descendant of Peter I to hold the Russian throne.

Anna – 13 February 1730 − 28 October 1740. Anna became Russia’s second Empress. Initially weak, Russia’s nobles had hoped that she would be indebted to them, but she turned out to be a ruthless autocratic leader. She reformed the national security police and which was used to intimidate anyone who opposed her.

Ivan VI – 28 October 1740 − 6 December 1741. A mere two years and 41 days old when he was crowned, Ivan IV never stood a chance. He was overthrown by Elizabeth, Peter the Great’s daughter, and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner. His imprisonment remained a secret throughout the reign of Elizabeth, Peter III and Catherine II, for fear that he would provide a rallying point for their opponents. When one of his gaolers learned of his identity and proclaimed him Emperor, Ivan was killed immediately.

Elizabeth – 6 December 1741 − 5 January 1762. Despite the circumstances of her accession to the throne, Elizabeth was a genuinely popular Russian Empress. Her architectural legacy is seen in the Winter Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, and the Smolny Catherdral. Her most significant foreign policy achievement was to enter into an alliance with France and Austria against Prussia, beginning the Seven Years’ War. Childless, and in the knowledge that the imprisoned Ivan could rally opposition to her rule, she named her nephew, Peter of Holstein-Gottorp, as her heir.

Peter III – 5 January 1762 − 9 July 1762. Unlike his predecessor Elizabeth, who had reduced the influence of Prussians in the Russian Court, Peter III was an admirer of Prussia and its military. He quickly stopped the Seven Years war, made peace with Prussia. He introduced a raft of domestic reforms, including proclaiming religious freedom in Russia, establishing the first state bank in Russia and allowing the Russian nobility to travel freely abroad. His pro-Prussianism and sweeping reforms made him unpopular at home, though, and his wife Catherine led a conspiracy to overthrow him.

Catherine II (Catherine the Great) – 9 July 1762 − 17 November 1796. After taking power in a coup, Catherine continued to implement modernising policies in Russia, notably supporting education reforms. She also oversaw a strong foreign policy that strengthened the military and saw Russia recognised as one of Europe’s foremost powers. During her reign, Russia expanded to include the Crimea, Northern Caucuasus, parts of Ukraine, Belarus and Courland. Catherine was renowned for the many lovers she took, including Stalislaw Poniatowsky, Grigory Orlov and Grigory Potemkin.

Paul I – 17 November 1796 − 23 March 1801. Almost immediately after becoming emperor, Paul I established what became known as the Pauline laws. These laws established a strict line of succession within the Romanov family, making clear that the eldest son should inherit the throne and excluding from the line of succession, except in the absence of any legitimate male heirs. These laws did much to stabilise Russian politics. Other domestic reforms aimed to introduce a code of chivalry left Paul I unpopular with the nobility, and a conspiracy led to his murder.

Alexander I – 24 March 1801 − 1 December 1825. Despite Paul I’s murder, his son Alexander became the next Tsar of Russia, in line with the Pauline laws. The first half of Alexander I’s reign was marked by liberal reforms, many of which were revoked during the second half of his reign after a reactionary conspiracy against him made him wonder whether his reforms were not appropriate. Alexander I died in Taganrog, a Southern Russian city, of a typhus which developed from a cold. His death so far from the capital led to (probably unfounded) rumours that he had faked his death in order to retire to a life of solitude.

Constantine – 1 December 1825 − 26 December 1825. As second son on Paul I, Constantine should have been next in line to the Russian throne, but he had secretly removed from the order of succession in 1823 by Alexander I (with Constantine’s agreement). Unfortunately, only three men knew about this decision, and when Alexander I died, none was near St Petersburg. Although Constantine was proclaimed as Emperor, he never formally crowned. You can read more about this constitutional crises in the Wikipedia article Russian Interregnum of 1825.

Nicholas I – 1 December 1825 − 2 March 1855. Nicholas I is best known as the most reactionary of Russian Tsars perhaps because, as the third son of Alexander I, he had never expected to take the throne. He adopted a conservative foreign policy designed to ensure continuation of the status quo in Europe and to defend against European revolutions, but also oversaw an expansion of the Russian Empire into the empty lands to its east. Domestically, considerable effort was expended in ensuring stability. Despite his reputation as a reactionary, however, Nicholas I oversaw an expansion of education in Russia, and seriously considered abolishing serfdom.

Alexander II – 2 March 1855 − 13 March 1881. In contrast to perceptions of his father, Alexander II is regarded as one of Russia’s more reform-minded Tsars. He is chiefly known for his emancipation of the serfs. His approach to the different nationalities within the Russian Empire was varied – a rebellion in Poland was brutally put down but, on the other hand, Finland was given increasing autonomy. Alexander II was assassinated by Nikolai Rysakov, a left-wing revolutionary who blew his carriage up with a bomb.

Alexander III – 13 March 1881 − 1 November 1894. Alexander III continued the Russian 19th century tradition of Tsars whose beliefs were almost exactly the opposite of their fathers. He was generally a conservative Tsar and his Russification policies were designed to increase the loyalty of the Russian people to their Tsar. In practice this meant considerable centralisation of power, restriction of freedoms in education, and an increased role for the Church.

Nicholas II – 1 November 1894 − 15 March 1917. Nicholas II was the last Russian Tsar. He inherited a Russia that was widely regarded as one of the world’s major powers, but one with unseen fault lines beneath its surface. By the time he abdicated in 1917, Russia had been defeated in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904/5 and was on the brink of defeat to Germany in the First World War. He abdicated in favour of his brother, the Grand Duke Michael, who refused to accept the role unless a referendum were held on the continuation of the monarchy.

Provisional Government

Georgy Lvov – 15 March 1917 − 21 July 1917. Nicholas II’s last act as Tsar was to appoint a Provisional Government, with Georgy Lvov as the first Prime Minister of Russia’s post-Imperial age. Lvov continued the war with Germany, but could do little to turn the tide there, or to gain support at home. His fate was sealed in July 1917, when a dispute over Ukrainian autonomy led to the collapse of his coalition government, and its replacement by a new coalition led by his former Minister of War and Navy, Alexander Kerensky.

Alexander Kerensky – 21 July 1917 − 7 November 1917. Like his predecessor, Kerensky faced the twin problems of continuing the war against Germany and domestic upheaval. His Government was overthrown in the October Revolution (on 7-8 November – at this point Russia was still using the Julian Calendar), and he fled Russia. Kerensky lived in exile in France and the United States until his death on 11 June 1970.

Leaders of the Soviet Union

Leaders of the Soviet Union have had a number of titles and, unlike the monarchic system that preceded it, there was rarely a clear line of succession. As a consequence some of the dates below overlap and, occasionally, I have noted where leadership was shared briefly between a number of politicians in a delicate, competitive, balance.

Vladimir Lenin – 8 November 1917 − 21 January 1924. After leading the Revolution, Lenin set about establishing Bolshevik rule in Russia. He quickly sued for peace with Germany, allowing his new Government the breathing space needed to fight the Russian Civil War unimpeded. Shortly after victory in the Civil War, Lenin suffered a number of strokes and, although he remained leader until his death in 1924, he effectively withdrew from active involvement in politics following his second stroke in December 1922.

Lev Kamanev / Joseph Stalin / Grigory Zinoviev. May 1922 − 1925. The first ‘Troika’ to govern the Soviet Union had forged an alliance to oppose Leon Trotsky. Once Trotsky had been marginalised (and eventually exiled), however, the three fought among themselves. Kamanev and Zinoviev were gradually marginalised, leaving Stalin to dominate the Politburo.

Joseph Stalin – 1925 − 5 March 1953. Under Stalin’s leadership, the Soviet Union transitioned from a largely agrarian society to an industrialised one capable of playing a decisive role in the defeat of Nazi Germany. The transition was brutal however, and achieved at great cost to the Soviet people. Stalin seemed to have no respect for individual life – millions perished in the march to industrialisation and the great purges that Stalin felt were necessary to secure the future of the Soviet state and defend against internal opposition.

Georgy Malenkov – 5 March 1953 − 8 February 1955. The forgotten leader of the Soviet Union, Malenkov was considered to be the most powerful man in the Politburo in the period after Stalin’s death. He became the Premier of the Soviet Union and, although over the next two years he was able to sideline rivals such as Beria, he was not able to consolidate his position and fight off the rise of Khrushchev. After one final failed attempt to depose Khrushchev in 1957, he was thrown out of the Politburo and ended his career as manager of a hydro-electric plant in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic.

Nikita Khrushchev – 25 March 1955 − 14 October 1964. Although Khrushchev became First Secretary in September 1953, it was not until March 1955 that he was able to consolidate his position as Soviet leader. The early years of his leadership were marked by his attempts at de-Stalinization, most notably Khrushchev’s Secret Speech of 25 February 1955, in which he denounced Stalin. Domestically, his policies were aimed at moving the Soviet economy away from the heavy industry needed to support its gargantuan military and towards production of consumer goods to benefit the lives of Soviet citizens. A mercurial man, his policies were often grand and sometimes spectacularly unsuccessful (notably the Virgin Lands campaign). He was removed on 14 October 1964 when, under pressure from Brezhnev, he retired his position. He lived a quiet retirement, although did become the first Soviet leader to write a set of memoirs – Khrushchev Remembers – which were smuggled out of the Soviet Union and published in 1970.

Leonid Brezhnev – 14 October 1964 − 10 November 1982. A much less liberal leader than Khrushchev, Brezhnev believed that a strong Soviet military was required to protect Soviet influence. Accordingly, the state military budget increased dramatically during his leadership, to an impressive 15% of GNP. He felt that military strength would give the Soviet Union the respect needed to push through his policy of detente with the West. His main military venture was to authorise the ill-fated intervention in Afghanistan. Domestically, his policies were not particularly inspired and, although the Soviet economy grew fairly steadily, his reign is largely remembered for being a period of stagnation in Soviet life. Brezhnev died on 10 November 1982, aged 75, having faced no serious challenge to his rule.

Yuri Andropov – 12 November 1982 − 9 February 1984. Known to history students everywhere as the man whose hand dropped off, Andropov’s health was the defining feature of his leadership. Although his hand most definitely didn’t drop off, his health was, in a word, terrible. In February 1983, just three months after taking office, he suffered total renal failure. In August that year, he was confined to his hospital bed, from where he continued to lead the Soviet Union until his death six months later. Although his mind remained clear throughout his final months it was obvious to all that Andropov was only an interim leader, so there was little he could do to actually make an impact.

Konstantin Chernenko – 13 February 1984 − 10 March 1985. Like Andropov, Chernenko was near death when he ascended to the leadership, and it seemed to many that the failing health of the leadership of the Soviet Union was symptomatic of the health of the Union itself. Because of this Chernenko, like Andropov, had little real impact on Soviet policy.

Mikhail Gorbachev – 1 October 1988 − 25 December 1991. After the deaths of three leaders in less than three years, it was no real surprise that a younger man would become the next leader of the Soviet Union – in fact, Mikhail Gorbachev was the first, and only leader of the Soviet Union to have been born after the Revolution. Gorbachev quickly recognised that the Soviet economy was ailing, and that the stagnant Soviet political system was the key cause of its economic problems. Although committed to maintaining the Soviet Union and Soviet ideals, he instituted dramatic reforms to open up the economy and liberalise Soviet life, notably Glasnost (openness) and Perestroika (restructuring) . Free(ish) elections were also introduced – including one in 1990, when Gorbachev was elected President of the Soviet Union. In foreign policy, his key objective was to secure detente and reduce the need for such high levels of military spending. To that end, he quickly withdrew from Afghanistan and struck a number of deals with the US President Ronald Reagan to reduce the nuclear arsenals of both countries. Increased freedom, combined with the short term damaging impact of economic reforms led to conflict within the Soviet Union, both on the periphery, where nationalist conflicts erupted, and at the centre, where a desperate old guard attempted to mount a coup in August 1991. Defeating the coup gave impetus to the leaders of the 15 republics, and in the subsequent weeks every single one announced that it planned to leave the Soviet Union. Gorbachev was powerless to resist – on 17 December 1991 he signed a degree to dissolve the Soviet Union. On 25th December 1991, Gorbachev resigned as the Soviet Union’s first, and last, President. The following day, the Soviet Union itself closed for business.

Presidents of Russia

Boris Yeltsin – 10 June 1991 – 31 December 1999

In 1987 Yeltsin became the first person to voluntarily resign from the Politburo. In 1991, on a platform of opposition to Gorbachev that called for even quicker reforms, Yeltsin was elected as President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, taking 57% of the vote. His popularity (at home and abroad) soared in August 1991, when he stayed in Moscow and visibly defied the August coup, notably giving a speech from on top of an tank. With Gorbachev’s position fatally undermined, he pushed for the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and became the first President of the newly independent Russian Federation on 1 January 1992. During his first term in office, he oversaw Russia’s dramatic transformation from a command economy to a free market economy that led to the rise of the oligarchs and almost saw a collapse of the entire economy. He also won a 1993 conflict with Parliament that almost turned into a coup, and ordererd the 1994 Russian invasion of Chechnya. In 1996, despite having a popularity rating of effectively zero, Yeltsin ran for and won re-election a contest that was heavily influenced by his allies almost total control of the media. In a second term marred by health problems and an increasing reliance on alcohol, Russia defaulted on its debts in 1998, leading to a collapse in the value of the ruble. On 31 December 1991, Yeltsin stepped down three months early, appointing Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the role of Acting President.

Vladimir Putin – 31 December 1999 – 7 May 2008

Putin seized the opportunity presented to him by Yeltsin and, in March 2000, won an early Presidential election with 53% of the vote. He took office as President on 7 May 2000 and immediately set about restoring stability – largely through rebuilding the role of the state in Russia and reducing the freedom of the media. Critical to his success was a reduction in the influence of the oligarchs on Russian politics, an ambition that was achieved in 2003 and 2004 with the arrest of Yukos owner Mikhail Khodorkovsky and a “grand bargain” with the other oligarchs that enabled them to maintain their position in exchange for explicit support for Putin and his policies. After securing a second term in 2004 (with a much improved 71% of the popular vote) Putin continued to consolidate his gains and oversaw the Russian economy’s strong, continued, growth. As the Russian constitution bars Presidents from serving more than two consecutive terms of office, Putin wasn’t able to run for a third term and, despite his position as Russia’s most popular politician, he had to step aside. Instead, he threw his support behind the candidacy of Dmitry Medvedev, his close ally.

Dmitry Medvedev – 7 May 2008 – 7 May 2012

In his very first speech as a Presidential candidate, Medvedev announced that, if elected, he would appoint Vladimir Putin as his Prime Minister. Although elected with a convincing 70% of the popular vote, Medevedev’s Presidency was always overshadowed by Putin and most analysts believe that he did little more in office than continue to drive forward Putin’s agenda. Medvedev was widely known as a modernizer, though, and he did use his Presidency to promote future economic reforms as well as to spearhead an anti-corruption drive. He also oversaw constitutional reforms, the most notable of which was to extend the length of future Presidencies to six years, rather than four. Abroad, he used his more liberal image to good effect when it came to promoting Russia’s image, although this was undermined by Russia’s 2008 war with Georgia. After much speculation, Medvedev and Putin announced in September 2011 that Medvedev would step down as President after his first term of office and that he would support Vladimir Putin’s campaign to be elected as President again.

Vladimir Putin – 7 May 2012 – Present

Putin secured 63.6% of the popular vote to secure his third term (but not third consecutive term) as President. He remained Russia’s most popular politician throughout the Medvedev Presidency and, although the election was criticised for some irregularities, the outcome was not widely disputed. During and immediately after his election, Putin faced more co-ordinated opposition than in previous years, including some of the most serious street demonstrations seen in Moscow since the early 1990s. However, since then he has established himself strongly as Russia’s leader, and there is no clear alternative challenger to him.

During Putin’s third term, Russia took a more muscular position on the world stage, supporting separatists in Eastern Ukraine and, in 2014, invading and annexing Crimea. The following year, in 2015, Russia also intervened militarily in Syria in support of the Syrian government. 2016 saw allegations of Russian interference in the US presidential election. 

Putin was re-elected as President in 2018 with 77.53% of the vote. In 2020 a referendum was held on a new constitution, and approved by 78.56% of people voting. Among other things, the new constitution allows Putin to stand for two more terms as President, potentially extending his rule to 2036.

Early years

Michael Romanov was born in 1596 at a time when the country had been plunged into chaos. Relatively little is known about his life and his claim to the Russian throne could be seen as quite tenuous.

Michael was in fact, related to the last Tsar of the Rurik dynasty and when the country needed a new leader in 1613, he was sought out as the answer to the national turmoil.

A country in crisis

The period from 1598 to 1613 became known as the Time of Troubles. The period spans the time between the last Tsar of the Rurik reign and the accession of Michael Romanov.

For part of this period, Russia was run by the ‘False Dimitry’, a man who claimed to be the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible and who is sometimes referred to in history books by the usurped title of Dimtry II.

This period included the Russian famine of the early 17^th century and the Dimitriad Wars with the invading Polish army.

Assassination of the False Dimitry

In 1606, shortly after his marriage ceremony in the Kremlin, Dimitry and his supporters were assassinated by the Boyars but the Times of trouble were far from over.

The Boyars installed a nobleman by the name of Vasily Shuysky and although he gained support from the Boyars and merchants throughout the land, he was an unpopular ruler with the majority of Russian people.

The search begins

In 1613, elected representatives were called to Moscow as the quest for a new Tsar began. Eventually it was decided that the 16 year old Michael Romanov, with his connection to the Rurik dynasty, was the man to unite the nation and take the country forward in a more stable era.

However, when the decision was made, Michael was in hiding with his mother who protested that he was far too young for such a responsibility. The Boyars then declared that if he continued to refuse, they would hold him responsible to God for the destruction of Russia.

Under the circumstances, it seemed wiser for Michael to accept.

The Romanov dynasty begins

Michael proved to be a popular leader but it is often suggested that as a gentle soul by nature, he often hid behind his counsellors and let them do the decision making for him.

In addition, he was troubled by a leg injury that he sustained as a result of a horse riding accident which restricted his leadership capabilities. At the end of his life he was unable to walk and died at the age of just 49 in 1645.

As such, Michael as a ruler was fairly unremarkable and much of his work in uniting Russia was done for him. However, as the first Romanov, he will always be remembered as a man at the start of the most incredible period in Russian history.

The collection which included fine works by Faberge and Bolin were unearthed after being kept out of the public eye for nearly ninety years. But how had they lain undetected for so long?

The Romanov collection

Any mention of Russian jewellery as a whole will bring to mind the incredible creations of the House of Faberge. Like most royal families, the Romanov’s collected and were given some incredible items of jewellery and some of the finest items in history made their way into the Royal Palaces.

As such, the history of Faberge is inextricably linked to the last years of Imperial Russia.

The first Faberge Egg

The original Faberge egg was crafted for Tsar Alexander III to give to his wife as an Easter Egg in 1885. The Tsar and the Empress were so delighted with the creation that Faberge were installed as ‘goldsmith by special appointment to the Imperial Crown’ and from then until the fall of the royal family in 1917, some very special Faberge eggs were created.

The presentation of an Easter Egg then became an annual tradition and one that was carried on by Tsar Nicholas II after the death of his father in 1894.

The House of Bolin

Included in the Swedish find were many fine items of jewellery that had originated from the House of Bolin.

Bolin are one of the oldest jewellery firms in the world and although the company archives are notoriously scarce, it’s widely acknowledged that the company was first established in St Petersburg in 1790. From that point onwards, fine pieces were made for many generations of the Russian Royal Family.

The Swedish Find

The quantity of Romanov jewels was first made public by the Swedish public in 2008 and because very little of the last Tsar’s treasures had been found following his family’s execution, it was widely believed that they had been smuggled out of Russia.

It subsequently transpired that the Tsar’s aunt, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna the Elder had them spirited out of the country via the Swedish Embassy in St Petersburg.

As Swedish expert Professor Krister Valbek said in 2008,

“We have discovered a large quantity of jewels which were brought to what was known as the Swedish mission in Petrograd in November 1918 by a confidant of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna.”

The jewels included fine works by both Faberge and Bolin amongst others and were put up for sale at Sothebys at an estimated valuation of $2.8 million.

The world as a whole must be indebted to Duchess Maria Pavlovna and if it wasn’t for her actions, the jewels are likely to have been lost forever. In many ways, they do symbolise the decadence for which the Royal Family were despised in some quarters but as the fall of the Russian Empire reaches its centenary, the world is a richer place for the retention of the Romanov jewels.

Early life

Andrei Romanovich Chikatilo was born on the 16^th of October 1936 in the village of Yablochnoye in Ukraine.

He was born at the height of Stalin’s purges and his family were cripplingly poor at a time when Ukrainian farmers had to hand over all their crops as part of mass collectivisation. There was even a suggestion that Chikatilo was born into a world where Cannibalism wasn’t unknown amongst starving Ukrainians and there are claims that his brother Stepan was kidnapped and eaten.

Crucial formative years

Like many serial killers, Chikatilo seems to have developed some form of sexual repression from a very early age. Throughout childhood he was reported to be a chronic bedwetter and by the time he reached puberty, he had become sexually impotent.

Even when he married in 1963, Chikatilo couldn’t maintain an erection and it is believed that the couple conceived a son and a daughter only after he ejaculated externally and introduced the semen from this point.

Throughout this time, Chikatilo had worked as a teacher but was forced to resign in 1981 after continual accusations of sexual harassment.

The murders begin

In 1978, Chikatilo moved to the town of Shakhty near Rostov-on-Don and it was here that he committed his first murder in December of that year.

Chikatilo lured 9 year old Yelena Zakotnova to an abandoned house where he ultimately stabbed her to death before dumping her body in a nearby river.

Incredibly, the Rostov Ripper’s reign of terror could have been finished at this point after witnesses described a man resembling Chikatilo with the girl earlier in the day. Unfortunately another local man, Alexsandr Kravchenko who had a previous conviction for a similar murder was arrested instead.

The reign of terror gathers momentum

Chikatilo didn’t kill again for another two years and following a single murder in 1981, his urge for killing became uncontrollable.

After the murder of Lyubov Biryuk at the start of 1982, he was responsible for six further murders in the final six months of the year. By now, Chikatilo could only achieve orgasm through the act of stabbing and this appeared to be the catalyst for his acts.

Arrest and death

The increase in killings around the Rostov area attracted so much attention that a female lure was set up. Chikatilo fell into the trap and was arrested on the 13^th of September 1984. Incredibly he was released due to insufficient evidence.

From this point he kept a low profile but eventually the urge to kill became overwhelming once again. His murders became more sporadic than before but police were still aware of the epidemic.

Finally, he was arrested in Novocherkassk in November 1990and this time there was no escaping punishment.

After a protracted trial Chikatilo was executed in 1994. He will forever be remembered at the Rostov Ripper but many will argue that the real crime was that he wasn’t brought to justice much sooner.

Mastery of Europe

Elsewhere, Napoleon had moved his forces through much of Europe unchallenged and it seemed that Russia and the United Kingdom were the only two nations standing in the way of complete continental dominance.

As part of his on-going battle with the United Kingdom, the French had implemented their continental blockade which was effectively a full trade embargo. Without the necessary resources to defeat his enemy in battle, Napoleon had enforced the embargo against the emerging industrial power in an attempt to force poverty, debt and ultimate surrender.

Russia’s part in the embargo

The blockade had begun in 1806 and had become widespread across Europe but Russia were viewed as being critical to the campaign’s success. The reason for the invasion was therefore identified by many as an attempt to keep Tsar Alexander I as supporters of the embargo.

This is a more likely scenario although an official reason was that the French Emperor had intended to prevent Russia from invading Poland and as such, the conflict was named as the Second Polish War. In Russia however, it came to be known as the Patriotic War.

War Begins

The conflict began on the 24^th June 1812 as Napoleon’s troops crossed the River Neman and into Western Russia. With numbers of around half a million, they comfortably succeeded in some minor skirmishes while in August of that year, the invading army won the strategic Battle of Smolensk.

However, while the Grande Armee were capturing Smolensk, the Russians won a crucial battle at Polotsk which prevented Napoleon from marching on the capital St Petersburg. As a result the Emperor resolved that the war itself had to be won in Moscow.

End Games

Napoleon’s forces reached Moscow in September by which time the Tsar had made a crucial tactical switch, removing his ineffective Commander in Chief and replacing him with Prince Mikhail Kutuzov.

At the battle of Borodino, Napoleon’s army won but in a single day there had been 70,000 casualties on both sides. The French couldn’t sustain such losses and after peace talks failed, Napoleon began his long and humiliating retreat from Moscow.

Aftermath

Prior to the war of 1812, Napoleon was an undefeated military genius but the defeat had dealt a blow to his aim of European dominance from which he would never recover. In addition to the losses on the battlefield, many of his troops died on the long retreat.

The conflict also sparked the War of the Sixth Coalition which was responsible for finally defeating Napoleon and sending him into exile on Elba.

The reasons for Napoleon invading Russia may have been twofold but this was his first military mistake and one which was to ultimately cost him an Empire.