Russia, or the Russian Federation is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Europe and Asia. Russia share many land borders, principally with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. At around 6.6 million sq m Russia is the largest country in the world, and with 142 million people, the ninth largest in population.
Because of its size Russia shows a range of topography, climate and vegetation. From north to south the East European Plain has firstly tundra, the coniferous forests (the taiga), then mixed forests, grassland (the steppe) and semi-desert (around the Caspian Sea). Siberia has mainly tundra and taiga. This vast country has 23 World Heritage sites. Throughout much of Russia there are only two main seasons, winter and summer, with very brief periods of change. The coldest month is January and the warmest, July, and there are great ranges between winter and summer even is Siberia. A small part of the Black Sea coast has a subtropical climate.