1.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
2.
Kazakhstan
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Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country in northern Central Asia and Eastern Europe. Kazakhstan is the worlds largest landlocked country, and the ninth largest in the world, Kazakhstan is the dominant nation of Central Asia economically, generating 60% of the regions GDP, primarily through its oil/gas industry. It also has vast mineral resources, Kazakhstan is officially a democratic, secular, unitary, constitutional republic with a diverse cultural heritage. Kazakhstan shares borders with Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, the terrain of Kazakhstan includes flatlands, steppe, taiga, rock canyons, hills, deltas, snow-capped mountains, and deserts. Kazakhstan has an estimated 18 million people as of 2014, Given its large area, its population density is among the lowest. The capital is Astana, where it was moved in 1997 from Almaty, the territory of Kazakhstan has historically been inhabited by nomadic tribes. This changed in the 13th century, when Genghis Khan occupied the country as part of the Mongolian Empire, following internal struggles among the conquerors, power eventually reverted to the nomads. By the 16th century, the Kazakh emerged as a distinct group, the Russians began advancing into the Kazakh steppe in the 18th century, and by the mid-19th century, they nominally ruled all of Kazakhstan as part of the Russian Empire. Following the 1917 Russian Revolution, and subsequent civil war, the territory of Kazakhstan was reorganised several times, in 1936, it was made the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic, part of the Soviet Union. Kazakhstan was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence during the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, Kazakhstan has worked to develop its economy, especially its dominant hydrocarbon industry. Kazakhstans 131 ethnicities include Kazakhs, Russians, Uzbeks, Ukrainians, Germans, Tatars, the Kazakh language is the state language, and Russian has equal official status for all levels of administrative and institutional purposes. The name Kazakh comes from the ancient Turkic word qaz, to wander, the name Cossack is of the same origin. The Persian suffix -stan means land or place of, so Kazakhstan can be translated as land of the wanderers. Kazakhstan has been inhabited since the Neolithic Age, the regions climate, archaeologists believe that humans first domesticated the horse in the regions vast steppes. Central Asia was originally inhabited by the Scythians, the Cuman entered the steppes of modern-day Kazakhstan around the early 11th century, where they later joined with the Kipchak and established the vast Cuman-Kipchak confederation. Under the Mongol Empire, the largest in history, administrative districts were established. These eventually came under the rule of the emergent Kazakh Khanate, throughout this period, traditional nomadic life and a livestock-based economy continued to dominate the steppe. Nevertheless, the region was the focus of ever-increasing disputes between the native Kazakh emirs and the neighbouring Persian-speaking peoples to the south, at its height the Khanate would rule parts of Central Asia and control Cumania
3.
Georgia (country)
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Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. The capital and largest city is Tbilisi, Georgia covers a territory of 69,700 square kilometres, and its 2016 population is about 3.72 million. Georgia is a unitary, semi-presidential republic, with the government elected through a representative democracy, during the classical era, several independent kingdoms became established in what is now Georgia. The kingdoms of Colchis and Iberia adopted Christianity in the early 4th century, a unified Kingdom of Georgia reached the peak of its political and economic strength during the reign of King David IV and Queen Tamar in the 12th and early 13th centuries. Thereafter the kingdom declined and eventually disintegrated under hegemony of various powers, including the Mongols, the Ottoman Empire. Russian rule over Georgia was eventually acknowledged in various treaties with Iran. Since the establishment of the modern Georgian republic in April 1991, post-communist Georgia suffered from civil, the countrys Western orientation soon led to the worsening of relations with Russia, culminating in the brief Russo-Georgian War in August 2008. Georgia is a member of the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and it contains two de facto independent regions, Abkhazia and South Ossetia, which gained limited international recognition after the 2008 Russo-Georgian War. Georgia and a part of the international community consider the regions to be part of Georgias sovereign territory under Russian military occupation. Georgia probably stems from the Persian designation of the Georgians – gurğān, in the 11th and 12th centuries adapted via Syriac gurz-ān/gurz-iyān, starting with the Persian word gurğ/gurğān, the word was later adopted in numerous other languages, including Slavic and West European languages. This term itself might have established through the ancient Iranian appellation of the near-Caspian region. The self-designation used by ethnic Georgians is Kartvelebi, the medieval Georgian Chronicles present an eponymous ancestor of the Kartvelians, Kartlos, a great-grandson of Japheth. However, scholars agree that the word is derived from the Karts, the name Sakartvelo consists of two parts. Its root, kartvel-i, specifies an inhabitant of the core central-eastern Georgian region of Kartli, ancient Greeks and Romans referred to early western Georgians as Colchians and eastern Georgians as Iberians. Today the full, official name of the country is Georgia, before the 1995 constitution came into force the countrys name was the Republic of Georgia. The territory of modern-day Georgia was inhabited by Homo erectus since the Paleolithic Era, the proto-Georgian tribes first appear in written history in the 12th century BC. The earliest evidence of wine to date has found in Georgia. In fact, early metallurgy started in Georgia during the 6th millennium BC, the classical period saw the rise of a number of early Georgian states, the principal of which was Colchis in the west and Iberia in the east
4.
Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation
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The Ukrainian territory of Crimea was annexed by the Russian Federation on 18 March 2014. On 23 February 2014, pro-Russian demonstrations were held in the Crimean city of Sevastopol and it led to the other members of the then G8 suspending Russia from the group, then introducing the first round of sanctions against the country. The resolution calls upon all States and international organizations not to recognize or to imply the recognition of Russias annexation, the Russian Federation opposes the annexation label, with Putin defending the referendum as complying with the principle of self-determination of peoples. In July 2015, Russian prime minister Dmitry Medvedev said that Crimea had been integrated into Russia. Crimea became part of the Russian Empire in 1783, when the Crimean Khanate was annexed, initially it was incorporated into the Empire as Taurida Oblast but in 1795 it was merged into Novorossiysk Governorate and then, in 1802, transferred to the Taurida Governorate. A series of short-lived governments were established during first stages of the Russian Civil War, in October 1921, the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic of the Russian SFSR was instituted. In 1954, the Crimean Oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union. In 1989, under perestroika, the Supreme Soviet declared that the deportation of the Crimean Tatars under Stalin had been illegal, in 1990, the Soviet of the Crimean Oblast proposed the restoration of the Crimean ASSR. The oblast conducted a referendum in 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated into a signatory of the New Union Treaty, by that time, though, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was well underway. The Crimean ASSR was restored for less than a year as part of Soviet Ukraine before Ukrainian independence, newly independent Ukraine maintained Crimeas autonomous status, while the Supreme Council of Crimea affirmed the peninsulas sovereignty as a part of Ukraine. The autonomous status of Crimea was limited by Ukrainian authorities in 1995, on 24 August 2009, anti-Ukrainian demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents. Sergei Tsekov said then that he hoped that Russia would treat Crimea the same way as it had treated South Ossetia and Abkhazia, Yanukovych won the 2010 presidential election with strong support from voters in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and southern and eastern Ukraine. The Crimean autonomous government strongly supported Yanukovych and condemned the protests, on 4 February 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Council considered holding a referendum on the peninsulas status, and asked the Russian government to guarantee the vote. The Security Service of Ukraine responded by opening a case to investigate the possible subversion of Ukraines territorial integrity. The Euromaidan protests came to a head in late February 2014, arseniy Yatsenyuk was appointed by the Rada to serve as the head of a caretaker government until new presidential and parliament elections could be held. This new government was recognised internationally, though the Russian government said that these events had been a coup détat, in January 2014 the Sevastopol city council had already called for formation of peoples militia units to ensure firm defence of the city from extremism. Crimean parliament members called for a meeting on 21 February. Crimean Tatar Mejlis chairman Mustafa Dzhemilev said that he suspected that the meeting was arranged to call for Russian military intervention in Crimea
5.
Crimea
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The peninsula is located south of the Ukrainian region of Kherson and west of the Russian region of Kuban. It is connected to Kherson Oblast by the Isthmus of Perekop and is separated from Kuban by the Strait of Kerch, the Arabat Spit is located to the northeast, a narrow strip of land that separates a system of lagoons named Sivash from the Sea of Azov. Crimea has historically been at the boundary between the world and the Pontic–Caspian steppe. Crimea and adjacent territories were united in the Crimean Khanate during the 15th to 18th century, in 1783, Crimea was annexed by the Russian Empire. It became the Autonomous Republic of Crimea within newly independent Ukraine in 1991, with Sevastopol having its own administration, within Ukraine, the ex-Soviet Black Sea Fleet and its facilities were divided between Russias Black Sea Fleet and the Ukrainian Naval Forces. The two navies shared some of the harbours and piers, while others were demilitarised or used by either country. Sevastopol remained the location of the Russian Black Sea Fleet headquarters with the Ukrainian Naval Forces Headquarters also based in the city, most of the international community does not recognize the annexation and considers Crimea to be Ukrainian territory. Russia currently administers the peninsula as two federal subjects, the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Ukraine continues to assert its right over the peninsula, the classical name Tauris or Taurica is from the Greek Ταυρική, after the peninsulas Scytho-Cimmerian inhabitants, the Tauri. In English usage since the modern period the Crimean Khanate is referred to as Crim Tartary. The Italian form Crimea also becomes current during the 18th century, the omission of the definite article in English became common during the later 20th century. The name Crimea follows the Italian form from the Crimean Tatar name for the city Qırım which served as a capital of the Crimean province of the Golden Horde, the name of the capital was extended to the entire peninsula at some point during Ottoman suzerainty. The origin of the word Qırım is uncertain, suggestions argued in various sources include, a corruption of Cimmerium. A derivation from the Turkic term qirum, from qori-, other suggestions that have not been supported by sources but are apparently based on similarity in sound include, a derivation from the Greek Cremnoi. However, he identifies the port, not in Crimea, no evidence has been identified that this name was ever in use for the peninsula. The classical name was revived in 1802 in the name of the Russian Taurida Governorate, in the 8th century BCE the Cimmerians migrated to the region and subsequently the Scythians as well it being the site of Greek colonies. The most important city was Chersonesos at the edge of todays Sevastopol, the Persian Achaemenid Empire expanded to Crimea. Later occupiers included the Romans, Goths, Huns, Bulgars, the Byzantine Empire, Khazars, the Kipchaks, the Golden Horde, consideration of the succeeding residents of the peninsula by their linguistic grouping is also of relevance
6.
International Telecommunication Union
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ITU, based in Geneva, Switzerland, is a member of the United Nations Development Group. ITU has been an intergovernmental public-private partnership organization since its inception, ITU was formed in 1865, in Paris, at the International Telegraph Convention, this makes it one of the oldest intergovernmental organizations in the world. ITU became a United Nations specialized agency in 1947, the ITU comprises three sectors, each managing a different aspect of the matters handled by the Union, as well as ITU Telecom. The sectors were created during the restructuring of ITU at its 1992 Plenipotentiary Conference, radiocommunication Established in 1927 as the International Radio Consultative Committee or CCIR, this sector manages the international radio-frequency spectrum and satellite orbit resources. In 1992, the CCIR became the ITU-R, Standardization Standardization was the original purpose of ITU since its inception. Established in 1956 as the International Telephone and Telegraph Consultative Committee or CCITT, in 1993, the CCITT became the ITU-T. Development Established in 1992, this sector helps spread equitable, sustainable and affordable access to information and communication technologies, ITU Telecom ITU Telecom organizes major events for the worlds ICT community. A permanent General Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General, manages the work of the Union. The basic texts of the ITU are adopted by the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, the ITU is headed by a Secretary-General, who is elected to a four-year term by the member states at the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference. On 23 October 2014 Houlin Zhao was elected 19th Secretary-General of the ITU at the Plenipotentiary Conference in Busan and his four-year mandate started on 1 January 2015, and he was formally inaugurated on 15 January 2015. There are 193 Member States of the ITU, which are all UN member states, the most recent member state to join the ITU is South Sudan, which became a member on 14 July 2011. The Republic of China was blocked from membership by the Peoples Republic of China, palestine was admitted as an observer in 2010. The Summit was held as two conferences in 2003 and 2005 in Geneva and Tunis, respectively, with the aim of bridging the digital divide, in December 2012, the ITU facilitated The World Conference on International Telecommunications 2012 in Dubai. WCIT-12 was a conference to address International Telecommunications Regulations, the international rules for telecommunications. The previous conference to update the Regulations was held in Melbourne in 1988, in August 2012, ITU called for a public consultation on a draft document ahead of the conference. Telecommunications ministers from 193 countries attended the conference in Dubai, the current regulatory structure was based on voice telecommunications, when the Internet was still in its infancy. In 1988, telecommunications operated under regulated monopolies in most countries, as the Internet has grown, organizations such as ICANN have come into existence to manage key resources such as Internet addresses and Domain Names. Some outside the United States believe that the United States exerts too much influence over the governance of the Internet, current proposals look to take into account the prevalence of data communications
7.
Arkhangelsk Oblast
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Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, Arkhangelsk Oblast also has administrative jurisdiction over Nenets Autonomous Okrug. Including Nenetsia, Arkhangelsk Oblast has an area of 587,400 km2 and its population was 1,227,626 as of the 2010 Census. The city of Arkhangelsk, with a population of 348,716 as of the 2010 Census, is the center of the oblast. The second largest city is the nearby Severodvinsk, home to Sevmash, Plesetsk Cosmodrome is one of three spaceports in Russia. Arkhangelsk Oblast, which includes Nenets Autonomous Okrug, borders Kirov Oblast, Vologda Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, the Komi Republic, Cape Fligely in Franz Josef Land and Cape Zhelaniya in Novaya Zemlya are both located within Arkhangelsk Oblast. Arkhangelsk Oblast is located on the East European Plain, and most of it represents forested hilly landscape, the north-eastern part belongs to the Timan Ridge, a highland mostly situated east from the oblast. The Nenets Autonomous Okrug is essentially a flat tundra with several hill chains like Pay-Khoy Ridge, the Arctic islands including Novaya Zemlya and Franz Joseph Land are mountainous with glaciers and eternally snow-covered. This region has a distinct population of polar bears associated with the Barents Sea area. Almost all of the area of the Oblast belongs to the basin of the Arctic Ocean, with the rivers being Onega River, Northern Dvina River, Kuloy River, Mezen River. A minor area in the west of the Oblast, most notably the basin of the Ileksa River, drains into the Lake Onega and eventually to the Baltic Sea. A very minor area in Kargopolsky District in the south-west of the Oblast drains into the Kema River which belongs to the basin of the Caspian Sea. The area in the Onega River basin containing the biggest lakes in the oblast, such as Lake Lacha, Lake Kenozero, Lake Undozero, the tundra of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug also contains a number of bigger lakes. The river basin of the Pinega is characteristic of the karst, the White Sea coast within the Oblast is split into the Onega Bay, the Dvina Bay, and the Mezen Bay. Solovetsky Islands, as well as a number of islands, are located in the Onega Bay. The Onega Bay and the Dvina Bay are separated by the Onega Peninsula, the Mezen Bay is separated from the main body of the White Sea by Morzhovets Island. Almost all of the oblast is covered by taiga, the coniferous forest dominated by pine, spruce, large areas in the middle of taiga are devoid of trees and covered by swamps. In the floodplains of the rivers, there are meadows, a number of areas in Arkhangelsk Oblast have been designated as protected natural areas
8.
Bashkortostan
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The Republic of Bashkortostan, also known as Bashkiria is a federal subject of Russia. It is located between the Volga River and the Ural Mountains and its capital is the city of Ufa. With the population of 4,072,292 as of the 2010 Census, Bashkurdistan, the first ethnic autonomy in Russia, was established on November 281917. On March 20,1919, it was transformed into the Bashkir ASSR, in accordance with the Constitution of Bashkortostan and Russian Federation Constitution, Bashkortostan is a state, but has no sovereignty. On 11 October 1990 Bashkortostan adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty,11 October is Republic Day in Bashkortostan. The name Bashkortostan derives from the name of the Bashkir ethnic group, while the root of the name is Turkic, the suffix -stan is Persian, common to many Eurasian country-names. They speak the Bashkir language, which belongs to the Kypchak branch of the Turkic languages, the first settlements in the territory of modern Bashkortostan date from the early Paleolithic period, but the Bronze Age spurred an upsurge in the population of this territory. When people of the Abashevo culture started settling here they possessed high skills in manufacturing bronze tools, weapons and they were the first to establish permanent settlements in the Southern Urals. Bashkortostan takes its name from its native people — the Bashkirs, the Russian name of the country — Bashkiriya — formed at the end of the 16th century. Originally it appeared in the forms Bashkir land, Bashkir’, Bashkirda, the ethnonym Bashkirs first became known in the 7th century. His contemporary Ibn-Ruste described the Bashkirs as an independent people, occupying territories on both sides of the Ural mountain ridge between Volga, Kama, Tobol and upstream of Yaik river. After the early-feudal Mongolian state had broken down in the 14th century, the tribes that lived there were headed by bi. After Kazan fell to Ivan the Terrible in 1554–1555, representatives of western and northwestern Bashkir tribes approached the Tsar with a request to voluntarily join Muscovy, starting from the second half of the 16th century, Bashkirias territory began taking shape as a part of the Russian state. Ufa Governorate, with a center in Ufa, was formed in 1865— another step towards territorial identification, after the Russian Revolution of 1917 are All-Bashkir Qoroltays on which a decision on the need to create a national federal republic within Russia. The congress was formed the government of Bashkurdistan, the Pre-parliament - Kese-Qoroltay and other bodies of power and administration, in March 1919, based on the agreements of the Russian Government with the Bashkir Government was formed Bashkir Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet period, Bashkiria was granted broad autonomous rights— the first among other Russian regions, the administrative structure of the Bashkir ASSR was based on principles similar to those of other autonomous republics of Russia. On October 11,1990 the Supreme Soviet of the Republic adopted the Declaration on state sovereignty of the Bashkir ASSR, on February 25,1992, the Bashkir ASSR was renamed the Republic of Bashkortostan. Bashkortostan contains part of the southern Urals and the adjacent plains, many rivers are part of the deepwater transportation system of European Russia, they provide access to ports of the Baltic and Black seas
9.
Belgorod Oblast
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Belgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Belgorod, at the turn of the 17th century, a solid line of military fortifications was built in the area, stretching for almost 800 kilometers. Ukrainian Cossacks, who moved here because of the nobility and the tax burden, were in charge of the line defenses, even more Cossacks moved to the area during the Khmelnytsky Uprising and the internecine wars in the Cossack Hetmanate. Belgorod became the military and administrative center, after originating as an outpost on the borders of Russia. Following the Battle of Poltava, Peter I granted to soldiers of Greater Belgorod the regiment flag, from 1708 to 1727, the territory of the modern Belgorod Oblast was part of Kiev and Azov Governorates. In 1727, Belgorod Governorate was established from parts of Kiev Governorate and this territory was much greater than that of today, and the governorate incorporated territories of modern Kursk, Oryol, and parts of Bryansk and Kharkiv Oblasts. The coat of arms of the then-Governorate is still used by the modern Belgorod Oblast, in 1775–1779, the territory of Belgorod Governorate was abolished and divided between the newly formed governorates and vice-royalties. The city of Belgorod and the area around it became a part of Kursk Vice-Royalty, during the 19th century and up until 1928 the territory of modern Belgorod Oblast remained part of Kursk and Voronezh Governorates. After the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in April 1918, the current administrative-territorial boundaries of Belgorod Oblast were formed by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on January 6,1954. The oblast was formed from several districts of Kursk and Voronezh Oblasts, in 2007, the city of Belgorod received the honorary title of the City of Military Glory. Belgorod Oblast is part of the Central Black Earth economic region and it borders with Luhansk, Kharkiv, and Sumy Oblasts of Ukraine in the south and west, Kursk Oblast in the north and northwest, and Voronezh Oblast in the east. The total length of its borders is about 1,150 kilometers, the area of the oblast is 27,100 square kilometers, the oblast stretches for about 190 kilometers from north to south and for about 270 kilometers from east to west. The highest point is 277 meters above sea level, in Prokhorovsky District, the lowest point is located at the bottom of the Oskol and Seversky Donets River valleys. The climate of Belgorod Oblast is temperate continental with a mild winter with some snowfall. Average annual air temperature varies from +5.4 °C to +6.7 °C, the coldest month is January and the frost-free period is 155–160 days, with an average of 1800 hours of sunshine. Over 40% of known iron ore reserves of Russia are concentrated in the oblast, deposits are confined to the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly area. There are also occurrences of gold, graphite, and other rare metals. Geographical features make the oblast likely to have deposits of platinum, hydrocarbons, rivers, lakes, and marshes occupy about 1% of the oblasts territory
10.
Bryansk Oblast
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Bryansk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. Its administrative center is the city of Bryansk, as of the 2010 Census, its population was 1,278,217. Bryansk Oblast lies in western European Russia in the central to western parts of the East European Plain, the relief is a typical East European Plain landscape, with alternating rolling hills and shallow lowlands, although lowlands dominate in the western and central parts. A total of 125 rivers flow through Bryansk Oblast, with the longest one, at 1,187 kilometers, other major rivers include the Bolva, Navlya, Nerussa, Sudost, Besed, and Iput. There are forty-nine major lakes, with Lake Kozhany being the largest, the average temperature in January is −7 to −9 °C. The average July temperature is +18 to +19 °C, average annual precipitation varies from 560 to 600 millimeters. Natural resources include deposits of peat, sand, clay, chalk, marl, about a quarter of the total area of the oblast is covered by forests, mainly coniferous, mixed, and deciduous, as well as forest-steppe. Bryansky Les Nature Reserve is a reserve which protects, among other things. As a result of the Chernobyl disaster on April 26,1986, in 1999, some 226,000 people lived in areas with the contamination level above 5 Curie/km2, representing approximately 16% of the oblasts population. The Venus of Eliseevichi is a piece of Paleolithic art dated 14,000 YBP found in the region, the Eliseevichi site is also associated with the earliest recognized dog remains dating to 15,000 YBP. In the 9th to 11th centuries, Slavic tribes lived along the banks of the Desna River, the city of Bryansk was established in 985. Bryansk remained poorly attested until the Mongol invasion of Russia and it was the northernmost of the Severian cities in the possession of the Chernigov Rurikids and the principality of Novgorod-Seversky. After Mikhail of Chernigov was murdered by the Mongols and his capital was destroyed, in 1310, when the Mongols sacked the town again, it belonged to the principality of Smolensk. After the demise of Chernigov by the Mongols, the Principality of Bryansk was formed, in 1356 Bryansk territory was under the authority of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Great Duchy of Moscow conquered Bryansk following the Battle of Vedrosha in 1503, the town was turned into a fortress which played a major role during the Time of Troubles. In 1618 the Deulino Armistice saw the southern and western area of the Bryansk region temporarily ceded to Poland, Peter the Great incorporated Bryansk into Kiev Governorate, but Catherine the Great deemed it wise to transfer the town to the Oryol Governorate in 1779. She also promulgated the towns coat of arms, Bryansk became the duchys south-western outpost in the fight against Lithuania, Poland and Crimean Khanate. One of the largest was Starodubaka, in 1781, these regiments merged into districts and several territories
11.
Buryatia
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The Republic of Buryatia is a federal subject of Russia, located in Asia in Siberia. Its capital is the city of Ulan-Ude and its area is 351,300 square kilometers with a population of 972,021. The republic is located in the region of Siberia along the eastern shore of Lake Baikal. The republics natural resources include gold, tungsten, zinc, uranium, and more. Average annual temperature, −1.6 °C Average January temperature, −22 °C Average July temperature, +18 °C Average annual precipitation,244 millimeters Population,972, 021 ,981, 238 ,1,041, 119 . Source, Russian Federal State Statistics Service Source, According to the 2010 Census, other groups include Ukrainians, Tatars, and a host of smaller groups, each accounting for less than 0. 5% of the total population. Mongolic-related Slab Grave cultural monuments are found in Baikal territory, the territory of Buryatia has been governed by the Xiongnu Empire and Mongolian Xianbei state, Rouran Khaganate, Mongol Empire and Northern Yuan. Medieval Mongol tribes like Merkit, Bayads, Barga Mongols and Tümeds inhabited in Buryatia, today Buryat-Mongols populate the territory of Buryatia. The area of the present-day Buryatia was first colonized in the 17th century by Russians in search of wealth, furs, in 1923, the Buryat-Mongolian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic was created as a result of the merger of State of Buryat-Mongolia and Mongol-Buryat Oblasts. In 1937, Aga Buryatia and Ust-Orda Buryatia were detached from the Buryat-Mongolian ASSR and merged with Chita and Irkutsk Oblasts, in 1958, the name Mongol was removed from the name of the republic. The Buryat ASSR declared its sovereignty in 1990 and adopted the name Republic of Buryatia in 1992, however, it remained an autonomous republic within the Russian Federation. The head of the Republic is the Head, who is appointed by the President of Russia for a four-year term. Between 1991-2007, the President was Leonid Vasilyevich Potapov, who was elected on July 1,1994, re-elected in 1998, prior to the elections, Potapov was the Chairman of the Supreme Soviet of the Republic—the highest post at that time. The current Head of the Republic is Vyacheslav Nagovitsyn, who was appointed by Vladimir Putin in 2007, the Republics parliament is the Peoples Khural, popularly elected every five years. The Peoples Khural has 65 deputies, matvei Gershevich is the current Chairman of the Peoples Khural since 2007. The Republics Constitution was adopted on February 22,1994, the republics economy is composed of agricultural and commercial products including wheat, vegetables, potatoes, timber, leather, graphite, and textiles. Fishing, hunting, fur farming, sheep and cattle farming, mining, stock raising, engineering, traditionally, Buryats adhered to belief systems which were based on the deification of nature, belief in spirits and the possibility of their magic influence on the surroundings. They were led by shamans, who systematised tribal beliefs and cults, from the second half of the 17th century, beliefs and cults in the shamanic form were displaced by Buddhism, which became widespread in ethnic Buryatia
12.
Vologda Oblast
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Vologda Oblast is a federal subject of Russia. The largest city is Cherepovets, the home of the Severstal metallurgical plant, large reserves of wood and fresh water are the main natural resources. The area of Vologda Oblast was settled by Finno-Ugric peoples since prehistory, Vepsians still living in the west of the Oblast are the descendants of that population. Subsequently, the area was colonized by the Russians, Belozersk has been mentioned in chronicles in 862 as one of the oldest towns in Russia. Much of the area was controlled by the Novgorod Republic, in particular, Veliky Ustyug and the west of the current territory of the Oblast, with Belozersk and Ustyuzhna, belonged to the Vladimir-Suzdal Principality and were constantly threatened by Novgorod. Not later than in the 13th century the Novgorod merchants already reached the White Sea and they penetrated the area using the waterways. In the 13th century, minor principalities started to proliferate, first, the Principality of Beloozero separated from Rostov. It northern and northeastern parts in the 15th century became quasi-independent, many smaller principalities are only mentioned once in chronicles, and the very existence of these principalities is questionable. Vologda between 1452 and 1481 was the center of the Principality of Vologda, the last independent principality in Vologda lands, by the end of the 15th century, all these lands were a part of the Great Duchy of Moscow. In the 14th and the 15th centuries, the lands around Vologda became attractive for monks looking for desolate areas, the princes, in their turn, viewed the monasteries as means to keep the influence of the Grand Duchy of Moscow in its remote areas. A number of monasteries, including Spaso-Prilutsky, Pavlo-Obnorsky, Kirillo-Belozersky. Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery soon became one of the most prominent Russian monasteries, with a lot of political influence, during the Time of Troubles, the area was ravaged by Polish troops, who at some point besieged Vologda but did not succeed in conquering the city. In the 17th century, Vologda was a city located on the main trading route from Moscow to Western Europe. During the reign of Tsar Peter the Great in the 18th century, Vologda became a shipbuilding center, however, the importance of Vologda as a trade center was diminished after Saint Petersburg was founded in 1703, and the foreign trade was rerouted to the Baltic Sea. Peter even imposed restrictions to the White Sea trade, Vologda was the northernmost territory where serfdom existed in Russia. In the lands west and south of Vologda, estates existed, but to the north and to the east of Vologda serfdom was never implemented, in 1708, Peter the Great issued an edict which established seven governorates. The description of the borders of the governorates was not given, instead, their area was defined as a set of towns, in the present area of Vologda oblast, two of the governorates — Archangelgorod Governorate and Ingermanland Governorate — were located. Vologda was part of Archangelgorod Governorate, subsequently, the western part of the Oblast was transferred to Novgorod Governorate
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