Russia

Russia

Russia flag. (Peter the Great, Public domain)

Russia locator map. (Ssolbergj, CC BY 3.0)

Geography
Capital	Moscow
Area	17,098,242 sq km
Location	North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean, extending from Eastern Europe (the portion west of the Urals) to the North...
Terrain	broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along...
Climate	ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra...
Resources	wide natural-resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, bauxite,...
People
Population	140,134,279 (2025 est.)
Languages	Russian (official) 85.7%, Tatar 3.2%, Chechen 1%, other 10.1% (2010 est.)
Ethnic groups	Russian 77.7%, Tatar 3.7%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Bashkir 1.1%, Chuvash 1%, Chechen 1%, other 10.2%, unspecified 3.9% (2010...
Religions	Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.)
Median age	42.3 years (2025 est.)
Life expectancy	72.3 years (2024 est.)
Urban	75.3% of total population (2023)
Government
Type	semi-presidential federation
Chief of state	President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 7 May 2012)
Head of government	Premier Mikhail Vladimirovich MISHUSTIN (since 16 January 2020)
Legal system	civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Military spending	7% of GDP (2024 est.)
This archive
Archived items	90
As of	2026-08-26

Russia as this archive records it. Every line in the reporting sections below is a headline that was collected, with its outlet and date. Nothing here is written by a model: if a claim appears, some outlet made it, and this page does not say whether it is true. The Background section is different in kind: those lines are encyclopedic facts from a reference work, each cited to the source it came from.

Situation as of 2026-08-26

Most recent archived item: Zelensky reported hits on 16 objects in Russia within a day - reported by Ukrinform, Ukrainian state

Most recent archived item: Ukrinform, Ukrainian state

This page lists 12 archived headlines published between 2026-02-27 and 2026-08-26. It reflects what these feeds reported in that window, not everything that happened.

Background

Encyclopedic context, retrieved from a reference work and archived. It is not war reporting and is not counted as any.

History

Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy emerged from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and gradually conquered and absorbed surrounding principalities. [1]

The earliest evidence of human settlement in Russia dates to the Oldowan period during the early Lower Paleolithic. About 2 million years ago, representatives of Homo erectus migrated to the Taman Peninsula in southern Russia. [2]

In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. [3]

Flint tools, some 1.5 million years old, have been discovered in the North Caucasus. Radiocarbon dated specimens from Denisova Cave in the Altai Mountains estimate the oldest Denisovan specimen lived 195–122,700 years ago. Fossils of Denny, an archaic human hybrid that was half Neanderthal and half Denisovan, and lived some 90,000 years ago, was also found within the latter cave. Russia was home to some of the last surviving Neanderthals, from about 45,000 years ago, found in Mezmaiskaya cave. The first trace of an early modern human in Russia dates back to 45,000 years, in Western Siberia. The discovery of high concentration cultural remains of anatomically modern humans, from at least 40,000 years ago, was found at Kostyonki–Borshchyovo, and at Sungir, dating back to 34,600 years ago—both in western Russia. [4]

Culture

Russian culture reflects a long, gradual, and complex amalgamation of various elements that coincided with centuries of development, expansion, and interaction with different peoples, artistic movements, and cultures. Russia has heavily influenced classical music, ballet, theatre, mathematics, sport, painting, and cinema. Russian writers and philosophers have played an important role in the development of European literature and thought. Russia also made pioneering contributions to science, technology, and space exploration. Russia is home to 32 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, 21 of which are cultural, while 31 lie on the tentative list. The large global Russian diaspora has also played a major role in spreading Russian culture throughout the world. Russia's national symbol, the double-headed eagle, dates back to the Tsardom period and is featured in its coat of arms and heraldry. The Russian Bear and Mother Russia are often used as national personifications of the country. [5]

Demographics

Russia had an estimated population of 146.0 million in 2025 (143.6 million excluding Crimea and Sevastopol), down from 147.2 million in the 2021 census. It is the most populous country in Europe and ninth-most populous country in the world. With a population density of 8.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (22 inhabitants/mi2), Russia is one of the world's most sparsely populated countries, with the vast majority of its people concentrated within its western part. [6]

Major urban areas: 12.680 million MOSCOW (capital), 5.561 million Saint Petersburg, 1.695 million Novosibirsk, 1.528 million Yekaterinburg, 1.292 million Kazan, 1.251 million Nizhniy Novgorod (2023) [7]

The country is highly urbanised, with two-thirds of the population living in urban areas. As of 2025, the total fertility rate across Russia is estimated to be 1.37 children born per woman, which is below the replacement rate of 2.1 and among the lowest in the world. [8]

Literacy: 99.9% (2021 est.) [9]

Subsequently, it has one of the oldest populations in the world, with a median age of 41.9 years. Russia's population peaked at over 148 million in 1993, having subsequently declined due to its death rate exceeding its birth rate, which some analysts have called a demographic crisis. In 2009, it recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years, and subsequently experienced annual population growth due to declining death rates, increased birth rates, and increased immigration. [10]

Military

Branches: Armed Forces of the Russian Federation: Ground Forces (SV), Aerospace Forces (VKS), Navy (VMF); separate or independent troop branches include the Airborne Forces (VDV), Missile Troops of Strategic Purpose (RVSN; commonly to as Strategic Rocket Forces), Special Operations Forces, and Unmanned Systems Forces; Federal National Guard Troops Service of the Russian Federation (FSVNG, National Guard, Russian Guard, or Rosgvardiya); Federal Security Services (FSB): Federal Border Guard Service (includes land and maritime forces) (2025) Personnel: estimated 1.1-1.2 million active Armed Forces; estimated 350,000 Federal National Guard Troops (2025) Equipment: the Russian Federation's military and paramilitary services are equipped with domestically produced weapons systems, although in recent years Russia has imported military hardware from external suppliers such as Iran and North Korea to support its war on Ukraine; the Russian defense industry is capable of producing a full range of advanced air, land, missile, and naval systems; Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of military hardware (2025) [11]

Reporting

What the archive holds on this subject, most recent first.

• [12] 2026-08-26 - Ukrinform, Ukrainian state: Zelensky reported hits on 16 objects in Russia within a day
• [13] 2026-08-26 - Ukrinform, Ukrainian state: Zelenskyy reported hits on 16 targets in Russia within a day
• [14] 2026-08-26 - Al Jazeera: Russia’s ‘Amazon’ Wildberries comes under Ukraine attack again
• [15] 2026-08-25 - Meduza: The Kremlin called reports of a new mobilization in Russia 'informational hoaxes'.
• [16] 2026-08-24 - Ukrinform, Ukrainian state: A new drone was found in Romania after Russia's attack on Ukraine
• [17] 2026-08-24 - Al Jazeera: Video: Russia launches rocket into space with military satellite
• [18] 2026-08-24 - Meduza: Russia struck Odesa. Telegram channels report that the "Epitsentr" hypermarket is on fire.
• [19] 2026-08-24 - Ukrinform, Ukrainian state: Ukraine must be competitive with Russia in the number of drone strikes - Zelensky
• [20] 2026-08-24 - Al Jazeera: Russia to seize poorly protected infrastructure as Ukraine barrage persists
• [21] 2026-08-21 - Africanews: Kyiv residents search through the wreckage after Russia’s deadly barrage
• [22] 2026-08-14 - outlet not recorded: Russia dismisses idea of Black Sea ceasefire
• [23] 2026-07-03 - outlet not recorded: Russia’s triumphant tone shifts as Ukraine deploys ‘asymmetrical tactics’
• ...and 78 more not listed here.

See also: Timeline: Russia · Ukraine

Sources

Where a durable link was recorded, it is here. Google News items carry a redirect stub rather than an article and are listed above without one.

• [1] CIA World Factbook
• [2] Wikipedia
• [3] CIA World Factbook
• [4] Wikipedia
• [5] Wikipedia
• [6] Wikipedia
• [7] CIA World Factbook
• [8] Wikipedia
• [9] CIA World Factbook
• [10] Wikipedia
• [11] CIA World Factbook
• [12] Ukrinform, Ukrainian state, 2026-08-26
• [13] Ukrinform, Ukrainian state, 2026-08-26
• [14] Al Jazeera, 2026-08-26
• [15] Meduza, 2026-08-25
• [16] Ukrinform, Ukrainian state, 2026-08-24
• [17] Al Jazeera, 2026-08-24
• [18] Meduza, 2026-08-24
• [19] Ukrinform, Ukrainian state, 2026-08-24
• [20] Al Jazeera, 2026-08-24
• [21] Africanews, 2026-08-21

Publication history

What changed and when. Computed from the sources each revision cited, not written by anyone.

• rev 1, 2026-08-25 — first published from 11 source(s)
• rev 2, 2026-08-25 — +5 source(s)
• rev 3, 2026-08-25 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 4, 2026-08-25 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 5, 2026-08-25 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 6, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 7, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 8, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 9, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 10, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 11, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 12, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 13, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 14, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 15, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 16, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 17, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 18, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 19, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 20, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources
• rev 21, 2026-08-26 — rebuilt with no change of sources

How this page is made

Assembled directly from the war archive: no model writes any part of it, so nothing on it can be invented, mis-summarised or attributed to an outlet that did not say it. The cost is that it does not read as narrative - the archive stores headlines, not article text, and this page does not pretend otherwise. The Background section is not from the war archive: those facts are retrieved from a reference work, archived, and cited individually. Background sources: CIA World Factbook (public domain); Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).