Russia (Russian: Россия, Rossiya, Russian pronunciation: [rɐˈsʲijə]), or the Russian Federation,[c] is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the largest country in the world, covering over 17 million square kilometres (6.6×106 sq mi), and encompassing more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia extends across eleven time zones, and has borders with sixteen sovereign nations. It has a population of 146.2 million; and is the most populous country in Europe, and the ninth-most populous country in the world. Moscow, the capital, is the largest city in Europe, while Saint Petersburg is the nation's second-largest city and cultural centre. Russians are the lar...