Russia

Russia is vast and multiethnic: ethnic Russians form a large majority alongside more than a hundred recognized minorities — Tatars, Chechens, Bashkirs, and many others — often concentrated in their own republics. Russian is the state language.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the dominant faith and closely tied to the state, with a substantial Muslim minority and smaller Buddhist and other communities.

Society

Russia has high literacy but faces long-term demographic decline from low birth rates, high male mortality, and, since 2022, the emigration of hundreds of thousands of educated workers and heavy war casualties.