Category Archives: Russia

Two Americans and five Russians charged with running a smuggling network to obtain military technology and ammunition for Russia  CNBC

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Two Americans and five Russians charged with running a smuggling network to obtain military technology and ammunition for Russia - CNBC

MOSCOW (AP) Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that Moscow could adopt what he described as a U.S. concept of using preemptive military strikes, noting it has the weapons to do the job, in a blunt statement amid rising Russia-NATO tensions over Ukraine.

"We are just thinking about it. They werent shy to openly talk about it during the past years, Putin said, referring to the U.S. policy, as he attended a summit in Kyrgyzstan of a Moscow-dominated economic alliance of ex-Soviet nations.

For years, the Kremlin has expressed concern about U.S. efforts to develop the so-called Conventional Prompt Global Strike capability that envisions hitting an adversary's strategic targets with precision-guided conventional weapons anywhere in the world within one hour.

Speaking about a disarming strike, maybe its worth thinking about adopting the ideas developed by our U.S. counterparts, their ideas of ensuring their security, Putin said with a thin smile, noting that such a preemptive strike was intended to knock out command facilities.

He claimed that Russia already has commissioned hypersonic weapons capable of carrying out such a strike, while the U.S. hasn't yet deployed them. He also claimed that Russia now has cruise missiles that surpass their U.S. equivalents.

While Putin appeared to refer to conventional precision-guided weapons when he talked about possibly mimicking the U.S. strategy, he specifically noted that the U.S. hasn't ruled out the first use of nuclear weapons.

If the potential adversary believes that it can use the theory of a preemptive strike and we dont, it makes us think about the threats posed by such ideas in other countries defensive posture, he said.

In Washington, advisers to President Joe Biden viewed Putins comments as saber-rattling and another veiled warning that he could deploy a tactical nuclear weapon, according to a U.S. official who was not authorized to comment and spoke on the condition of the anonymity.

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The official noted that Russian military doctrine has long stated that Moscow reserves the right to first use of a nuclear weapon in response to large scale military aggression.

Putin was asked Wednesday at a Kremlin conference whether Russia could commit to forswearing a first strike and responded that such an obligation might prevent Russia from tapping its nuclear arsenal even if it came under a nuclear attack.

If it doesnt use it first under any circumstances, it means that it wont be the second to use it either, because the possibility of using it in case of a nuclear strike on our territory will be sharply limited, he responded.

He elaborated on that answer Friday, saying Russias nuclear doctrine is based on the launch on warning concept, which envisions nuclear weapons' use in the face of an imminent nuclear attack spotted by its early warning systems.

When the early warning system receives a signal about a missile attack, we launch hundreds of missiles that are impossible to stop, he said, smiling. Enemy missile warheads would inevitably reach the territory of the Russian Federation. But nothing would be left of the enemy too, because it's impossible to intercept hundreds of missiles. And this, of course, is a factor of deterrence.

Russias nuclear doctrine states the country can use nuclear weapons if it comes under a nuclear strike or if it faces an attack with conventional weapons that threatens the very existence of the Russian state.

Since sending Russian troops into Ukraine in February, Putin has repeatedly said that Moscow was ready to use all available means to protect its territory and has rejected Western criticism of nuclear saber-rattling.

I understand that ever since nuclear weapons, the weapons of mass destruction have appeared, all people the entirety of humankind have been worried what will happen to the planet and all of us, he said.

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Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.

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Follow AP coverage of Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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Putin says Russia could adopt US preemptive strike concept

Kyiv, Ukraine Russia retaliated in brutal fashion this week after drone strikes targeted three airfields including two deep inside its territory. The last strike came Tuesday morning, against a Russian airport just across the border from Ukraine, but it was preceded by two others on Monday that saw drones penetrate hundreds of miles into Russia.

The first strikes which Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for, vaguely calling it karma for Russia's invasion and air assault that began in February drew a new barrage of missiles from Russian forces, taking aim at dozens of targets in Ukraine.

Russia has been trying to demoralize Ukrainians and their army by knocking out power and water infrastructure. Monday's frenzied attack on cities and towns across the country saw more than 70 missiles fired, according to Ukrainian officials. Kyiv's governor said about 40% of the capital region was left in the dark, but the impact from Moscow's assault could have been far worse were it not for Ukraine's missile defenses.

Ukrainian officials say the vast majority of the rockets fired by Russia on Monday were shot out of the sky.

Still small comfort for those who've paid the ultimate price, including Olha Trosyna's two neighbors.

"They were seeing off their son and daughter-in-law," Trosyna told CBS News in Kyiv. "They went outside to wave goodbye, and they were killed. Their house was also destroyed."

Amid the volley of missiles, Moscow also hurled another dire warning at the U.S. and Ukraine's other Western backers.

Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who's been a close advisor to President Vladimir Putin for decades, called the NATO alliance's support for Ukraine a "serious threat" to Russia, and warned that it risked a "direct clash between nuclear powers with catastrophic consequences."

Russia has ruthlessly targeted Ukraine's civilian infrastructure for months, destroying homes along with key pieces of the country's energy grid. Putin has been accused of weaponizing winter by plunging huge parts of the neighboring country into cold and darkness.

In the southern city of Kherson, which was liberated from Russia's invading forces just three weeks ago, volunteers now have little choice but to cook meals over open fires so people have something hot to eat.

Nine months of Russian occupation has obliterated any semblance of normalcy in Kherson, but what Ukrainians have shown time and again is that they will do everything they can to help each other, and resist Putin's efforts to quash their spirit.

Energy workers have become a vital part of the defense efforts, scrabbling to restore powerlines in the bitter cold, and having to pick their way around unexploded ordnance that litters huge parts of Ukraine.

As Moscow continues to make life miserable for Ukrainians, Putin made a rare public appearance on Monday, cruising along a vital bridge that serves as the only land link between Ukraine's Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula and the Russian mainland in a Mercedes on Monday.

It's a bridge that was seriously damaged by a huge explosion two months ago. Ukraine also declined to publicly take responsibility for that blast, as it did on Tuesday after the two military bases some 300 miles inside Russia were struck by drones.

Once again, officials in Kyiv put the blasts down to karma, making it clear that whatever may happen in Russia, it's not Ukraine's fault, but Vladimir Putin's.

Imtiaz Tyab is a CBS News correspondent based in London.

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Russia hits Ukraine with missiles, warns of "clash between nuclear ...

A video showing the arrest procedure of two soldiers who refused to go to war was published on Telegram-channels. The soldiers were demonstratively detained right during the formation.

Source: Russian media outlet Meduza, Russian Telegram-channels

Details: In the video, two soldiers who are standing in formation on the parade ground are called by their last names that are likely Selivanov and Diagteryov (its hard to hear ed.). An investigator comes up to them and informs them that on 16 November a criminal case under Art.332.2.1 (disobeying an order) of the Criminal Code of Russia was opened against them.

A screenshot from the video

Then a convoy with stripes saying "Military Police" on their hands conducts a rough arrest procedure. The soldiers are being searched, handcuffed and put in a police vehicle.

A screenshot from the video

It is not specified in the video when and where it was filmed. But it is clear that the weather in the video is rainy, the soldiers are dressed in warm clothes, and the lawn is green.

It is unclear whether the detainees were mobilised or contract soldiers.

Telegram-channels report that the video was shot in Belgorod Oblast and shows mobilised soldiers.

It is also reported that the soldiers were detained after they refused to go to war in Ukraine. They may be sentenced to three years in prison.

Maksim Grebeniuk, a lawyer, remarks that there was no need to detain soldiers in the territory of a military unit.

He believes that the arrest was "demonstrative" and was conducted with the aim "of intimidating others."

Background:

On 20 September the Russian State Duma introduced the notions of "mobilisation" and "martial law" into the Criminal Code and approved amendments about the responsibility for deserting during mobilisation or martial law.

On 24 September Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, signed the law with amendments to the Criminal Code of Russia about punishment for deserting, looting and giving oneself up into captivity.

According to this law, disobeying a senior officers order given in accordance with the established procedure during the period of martial law or during an armed conflict or combat action, as well as refusing to partake in military or combat action, will be punishable by two to three years in prison (Art.332.2.1 of the Criminal Code of Russia).

On 13 November it was revealed that a Russian citizen was cruelly executed with no investigation or trial. His head was tied to concrete with tape and hit with a sledgehammer. Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner PMC, hinted that his mercenaries did it. Maybe, this video was meant to intimidate the Russian mobilised citizens and prevent them from giving themselves up into captivity.

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Two soldiers demonstratively arrested in Russia: refused to go to war

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On Wednesday, the Pentagon finally admitted what was clear to serious intelligence analysts from the start: Ukraine has no military path to victory against Russia.

"A Ukrainian military victory defined as kicking the Russians out of all of Ukraine the probability of that happening anytime soon is not high," the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley told reporters.

After nine months of relentless assault by the Russians, a large swath of Ukraines critical infrastructure is decimated, leaving its residents without electricity, heat and water as temperatures have dropped to freezing levels. But one is hard-pressed to argue that Moscow is about to celebrate some kind of triumph.

Russia has lost some 100,000 personnel to death or injury; scores of military-age men and families have fled their homes to avoid mobilization, creating a major brain-drain; and Moscow is relying on Iran and North Korea for replenishing its diminishing weapons arsenal. And Putins grand plans to topple Kyiv are on hold, at best. So who is popping champagne corks as the brutal Russia-Ukraine war continues with no end in sight?

HAVING SIZED UP BIDEN, PUTIN INVADED UKRAINE; TAIWAN MUST PRAY XI DOESNT MAKE A SIMILAR ASSESSMENT

The winner is undoubtedly China.

Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC in Beijing, capital of China, July 1, 2021. (Ju Peng/Xinhua via Getty Images)

Theres a shrewd Chinese allegory that captures the essence of Chinas thinking on this conflict: "As two tigers are fighting ferociously in the valley, a sage monkey is sitting on top of the mountain, looking down and waiting to see how it will end."

The two tigers are Russia and the United States, both considered by China to be its top adversaries. China is the wise monkey patiently waiting as Moscow and Washington are eroding their respective combat power, fighting a proxy war over control of Ukraine.

According to the Congressional Research Service, from 2014, when Russia first attacked Ukraine, annexing Crimea, through October 14, 2022, the United States has provided more than $20.3 billion in security assistance "to help Ukraine preserve its territorial integrity, secure its borders and improve interoperability with NATO."

This aid came in the form of training, equipment and advisory efforts to "enhance Ukraines defensive capabilities." The funds have been directed for logistics support, supplies and services; salaries and stipends; sustainment; weapons replacement; and intelligence support. But the fact that Washington spent more money in the nine months in Ukraine than it did in five years in Afghanistan for what essentially is an unwinnable war is not the main problem.

The issue is that the Pentagon is rapidly depleting the country's weapons stockpile to dangerous levels, eroding its own combat readiness. An unnamed defense official told the Wall Street Journal the stockpile of 155mm combat rounds in U.S. military storage has become "uncomfortably low," suggesting it wasnt sufficient "to go into combat."

The Biden administration has continued to fund Ukraine against Putin's invasion. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky | Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images | Getty)

Substantial aid was provided under Barack Obama, but the Trump Administration initiated the provision of lethal weapons firearms, ammunition, ordnance, laser, imaging and guidance equipment. The Biden Administration ramped up assistance to Ukraine to include sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers, counter-artillery radars, Mark VI patrol boats, electronic warfare detection and secure communications, satellite imagery and analysis capability, counter-unmanned aerial systems (UAS), air surveillance systems, night vision devices and other equipment.

WHAT IS PUTIN THINKING? WHERE THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR STANDS NINE MONTHS AFTER INVASION

Washington has been sending greater and greater amounts of sophisticated military hardware to Kyiv since Feb. 24, when Putin assaulted Ukraine for the second time. As of Oct. 14, the U.S. sent 20 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and ammunition, with 18 HIMARS on the way.

A partial list also includes 8,500-plus Javelin anti-armor systems and 32,000-plus other anti-armor systems; 1,400-plus Stinger anti-aircraft systems; hundreds of armored Humvee vehicles and 440 mine resistant vehicles; 200 M113 armored personnel carriers; 10,000-plus grenade launchers and small arms; and untold amounts of communications and intelligence equipment.

The exact levels of U.S. weapons depletion as a result of supplying Ukraine is classified. But, by the Pentagons own admission, our military industrial production capacity is strained, with defense contractors unable to ramp up production fast enough to backfill U.S. weapons supplies.

Fighting in Ukraine has shifted to the eastern part of the country. (Anatolii Stepanov/AFP via Getty Images)

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Russias arsenal is similarly declining. Having launched some 4,000 missiles, Moscow is buying drones from Iran and artillery shells from North Korea. Its military industrial production capacity is hampered by sanctions, since Russia relies on foreign high-tech components like microchips, semiconductors, connectors, transistors and other parts for weapons development.

Chinas grand plan is to become the dominant world power by 2049, replacing the United States both economically and militarily. Xi has recently all but secured a life-long presidency, having won a third term as leader of the Chinese Communist Party. His aggressive rhetoric on the subject ofthe "One China" policy suggests he may choose to establish control overTaiwan by military forcein the near term rather than by gradual integration.

In this April 12, 2018, file photo released by Xinhua News Agency, Chinese President Xi Jinping speaks after reviewing the Chinese People's Liberation Army Navy fleet in the South China Sea. (Li Gang/Xinhua via AP, File)

During a recent visit to Chinas armed forces operational command center,Xi directed Chinas military to be ready for war.

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"The entire military must concentrate all energy on fighting a war, direct all work towards warfare and speed up to build the ability to win," Xi said.

As the war in Ukraine depletes Moscow and Washingtons weaponry stocks, Xi is surely feeling better about such preparations. The time for the monkey to safely descend into the valley may be coming.

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China is winning the Russia-Ukraine War amid massive US, Russia war ...

Ukraine war: Why is Crimea so important to Russia and can Zelenskyy's troops recapture it?  Sky News

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Ukraine war: Why is Crimea so important to Russia and can Zelenskyy's troops recapture it? - Sky News

Russia's battle in Ukraine rages on as the US announces new aid to defend against 'illegal war'  ABC Action News Tampa Bay

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Russia's battle in Ukraine rages on as the US announces new aid to defend against 'illegal war' - ABC Action News Tampa Bay

1. Russia's war in Ukraine: Live updates  CNN
2. Ukraine Latest: Biden Says Missile Likely Not Fired From Russia  Bloomberg
3. NATO and Poland Say Deadly Blast Was Likely Unintentional  The New York Times
4. Poland missile unlikely to have been fired from Russia, Biden says  The Guardian US
5. Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 266  Al Jazeera English
6. View Full Coverage on Google News

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Russia's war in Ukraine: Live updates - CNN

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday said a preliminary investigation suggested that the missile that fell in Poland and killed two on Tuesday was likely from Ukraines air defense system, but said Russia was "ultimately responsible" for the deaths.

"This is not Ukraine's fault," he told reporters. "Russia bears reasonability for what happened yesterday because this is a direct result for the ongoing war."

"Ukraine has the right to shoot down those missiles that target Ukrainian cities," he added.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg speaks at the NATO headquarters, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022 in Brussels. Ambassadors from the 30 NATO nations gathered in Brussels Wednesday for emergency talks after Poland said that a Russian-made missile fell on its territory, killing two people. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

POLISH PRESIDENT SAYS 'NO PROOF' MISSILE THAT LANDED IN NATO TERRITORY WAS FIRED BY RUSSIA

Concerns mounted Tuesday after one anonymous U.S. official told the Associated Press that a Russian missile landed in NATO territory and prompted leaders from the military alliance to scramble to discover what happened.

President Biden and Western leaders have repeatedly warned Russia against expanding its war effort in Europe have vowed to defend "every inch" of NATO territory sparking concern the missile strike could prompt a massive escalation.

Stoltenberg attempted to ease concerns regarding any attempt by Russia to purposely hit NATO nations and said the alliance has constant land, air and sea-based defense systems on alert.

But reporters questioned why the rocket that killed two yesterday was not blocked by one of these defenses.

A policeman talks to a driver on the street near the site where a missile strike killed two men in the eastern Poland village of Przewodow, near the border with war-ravaged Ukraine on Nov. 16, 2022. (WOJTEK RADWANSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

BIDEN SAYS MISSILE KILLING 2 PEOPLE IN POLAND WAS 'UNLIKELY' FIRED FROM RUSSIA IN 'MINDS OF THE TRAJECTORY'

"Attacks, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles have special characteristics which we follow and monitor and then we make a judgment whether its an attack or whether its something else," Stoltenberg told reporters. "That missile [didnt] have the characteristics of an attack."

Stoltenberg said that NATO allies offered their "deepest condolences on the tragic loss of life" during a Wednesday meeting, but held firm on their position in backing Kyiv.

"They expressed their strong solidarity with our valued ally Poland and made clear that we will continue to support Ukraine in its right to self-defense," he added. "Russia must stop this senseless war."

Members of the Police searching the fields near the village of Przewodow in the Lublin Voivodeship, seen on Nov. 16, 2022, in Przewodow, Poland. (Artur Widak/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

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The NATO chief said defense leaders would address bolstering Ukrainian air defense systems in a meeting with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group Wednesday in an attempt to prevent further accidents of this nature, but also as Russia ramps up its air raids while its troops flag on the ground.

"The best way of preventing anything like this from happening again, is for Russia to stop this war," Stoltenberg concluded.

Caitlin McFall is a Reporter at Fox News Digital covering Politics, U.S. and World news.

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NATO says Russia 'ultimately responsible' for deaths in Poland that may ...

Geographers traditionally divide the vast territory of Russia into five natural zones: the tundra zone; the Taiga, or forest, zone; the steppe, or plains, zone; the arid zone; and the mountain zone. Most of Russia consists of two plains (the East European Plain and the West Siberian Plain), three lowlands (the North Siberian, the Central Yakutian and the East Siberian), two plateaus (the Central Siberian Plateau and the Lena Plateau), and two systems of mountainous areas (the East Siberian Mountains in far northeastern Siberia and the South Siberian Mountains along the southern border).

The East European Plain encompasses most of European Russia. The West Siberian Plain, which is the world's largest, extends east from the Urals to the Yenisei River. Because the terrain and vegetation are relatively uniform in each of the natural zones, Russia presents an illusion of uniformity. Nevertheless, Russian territory contains all the major vegetation zones of the world except a tropical rain forest.

The Russian Arctic stretches for close to 7,000 kilometres (4,300mi) west to east, from Karelia and the Kola Peninsula to Nenetsia, the Gulf of Ob, the Taymyr Peninsula and the Chukchi Peninsula (Kolyma, Anadyr River, Cape Dezhnev). Russian islands and archipelagos in the Arctic Sea include Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya, and the New Siberian Islands.

About 10 percent of Russia is tundra[17]a treeless, marshy plain. The tundra is Russia's northernmost zone, stretching from the Finnish border in the west to the Bering Strait in the east, then running south along the Pacific coast to the northern Kamchatka Peninsula. The zone is known for its herds of wild reindeer, for so-called white nights (dusk at midnight, dawn shortly thereafter) in summer, and for days of total darkness in winter. The long, harsh winters and lack of sunshine allow only mosses, lichens, and dwarf willows and shrubs to sprout low above the barren permafrost. Although several powerful Siberian rivers traverse this zone as they flow northward to the Arctic Ocean, partial and intermittent thawing hamper drainage of the numerous lakes, ponds, and swamps of the tundra. Frost weathering is the most important physical process here, gradually shaping a landscape that was severely modified by glaciation in the last ice age. Less than one percent of Russia's population lives in this zone. The fishing and port industries of the northwestern Kola Peninsula and the huge oil and gas fields of northwestern Siberia are the largest employers in the tundra. With a population of 180,000, the industrial frontier city of Norilsk is second in population to Murmansk among Russia's settlements above the Arctic Circle. From here you can also see the auroras (northern lights).

Taiga, the most extensive natural area of Russia, stretches from the western borders of Russia to the Pacific. It occupies the territory of the Eastern Europe and West Siberian plains to the north of N and most of the territory east of Yenisei River taiga forests reach the southern borders of Russia in Siberia taiga only accounts for over 60% of Russia. In the northsouth direction the eastern taiga is divided (east of the Yenisei River), with a continental climate, and west, with a milder climate, in general, the climate zone is moist, moderately warm (cool in the north) in the summer and harsh winter, there is a steady snow cover in the winter. In the latitudinal direction, the taiga is divided into three subzones - northern, middle and southern taiga. In the western taiga dense spruce and fir forests on wetlands alternate with pine forests, shrubs, and meadows on the lighter soils. Such vegetation is typical of the eastern taiga, but it plays an important role not fir and larch. Coniferous forest, however, does not form a continuous array and sparse areas of birch, alder, willow (mainly in river valleys), the wetlands - marshes. Within the taiga are widespread fur-bearing animals - sable, marten, ermine, moose, brown bear, Wolverine, wolf, and muskrat.[18]

In the taiga is dominated by podzolic and cryogenic taiga soils, characterized by clearly defined horizontal structure (only in the southern taiga there is sod-podzolic soil). Formed in a leaching regime and in poor humus. Groundwater is normally found in the forest close to the surface, washing calcium from the upper layers, resulting in the top layer of soil of the taiga being discolored and oxidized. Few areas of the taiga, suitable for farming, are located mainly in the European part of Russia. Large areas are occupied by sphagnum marshes (here is dominated by podzolic-boggy soil). To enrich the soil for agricultural purposes lime and other fertilizers should be used.

Russian Taiga has the world's largest reserves of coniferous wood, but from year to year - as a result of intensive logging - they decrease. Development of hunting, farming (mainly in river valleys).

The mixed and deciduous forest belt is triangular, widest along the western border and narrower towards the Ural Mountains. The main trees are Oak and Spruce, but many other growths of vegetation such as ash, aspen, birch, hornbeam, maple, and pine reside there. Separating the taiga from the wooded steppe is a narrow belt of birch and aspen woodland located east of the Urals as far as the Altay Mountains. Much of the forested zone has been cleared for agriculture, especially in European Russia. Wildlife is more scarce as a result of this, but the roe deer, wolf, fox, and squirrel are very common.

The steppe has long been depicted as the typical Russian landscape. It is a broad band of treeless, grassy plains, interrupted by mountain ranges, extending from Hungary across Ukraine, southern Russia, and Kazakhstan before ending in Manchuria. In a country of extremes, the steppe zone provides the most favorable conditions for human settlement and agriculture because of its moderate temperatures and normally adequate levels of sunshine and moisture. Even here, however, agricultural yields are sometimes adversely affected by unpredictable levels of precipitation and occasional catastrophic droughts. The soil is very dry.

Russia's mountain ranges are located principally along its continental dip (the Ural Mountains), along the southwestern border (the Caucasus), along the border with Mongolia (the eastern and western Sayan Mountains and the western extremity of the Altay Mountains), and in eastern Siberia (a complex system of ranges in the northeastern corner of the country and forming the spine of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and lesser mountains extending along the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan). Russia has nine major mountain ranges. In general, the eastern half of the country is much more mountainous than the western half, the interior of which is dominated by low plains. The traditional dividing line between the east and the west is the Yenisei River valley. In delineating the western edge of the Central Siberian Plateau from the West Siberian Plain, the Yenisey runs from near the Mongolian border northward into the Arctic Ocean west of the Taymyr Peninsula.

The Ural Mountains form the natural boundary between Europe and Asia; the range extends about 2,100 kilometres (1,300mi) from the Arctic Ocean to the northern border of Kazakhstan. Several low passes provide major transportation routes through the Urals eastward from Europe. The highest peak, Mount Narodnaya, is 1,894 metres (6,214ft). The Urals also contain valuable deposits of minerals.

To the east of the Urals is the West Siberian Plain, stretching about 1,900 kilometers from west to east and about 2,400 kilometers from north to south. With more than half its territory below 200 meters in elevation, the plain contains some of the world's largest swamps and floodplains. The plain is largely flat and featureless. The only slightly elevated areas are the Siberian Uvaly across the central part and the Ob Plateau in the south.[19] There are steppe areas in the southern part reaching into Kazakhstan, such as the Ishim Steppe with the Kamyshlov Log trench. Most of the plain's population lives in the drier section south of 77 north latitude.

The region directly east of the West Siberian Plain is the Central Siberian Plateau, which extends eastward from the Yenisei River valley to the Lena River valley. The region is divided into several plateaus, with elevations ranging between 320 and 740 meters; the highest elevation is about 1,800 meters, in the northern Putoran Mountains. The plain is bounded on the south by the Primorsky Range and the Baikal Mountains, and on the north by the North Siberian Lowland, an extension of the West Siberian Plain extending into the Taymyr Peninsula on the Arctic Ocean.

In the mountain system west of Lake Baikal in south-central Siberia, the highest elevations are 3,300 meters in the Western Sayan, 3,200 meters in the Eastern Sayan, and 4,500 meters at Belukha Mountain in the Altay Mountains. The Eastern Sayan reach nearly to the southern shore of Lake Baikal; at the lake, there is an elevation difference of more than 4,500 meters between the nearest mountain, 2,840 meters high, and the deepest part of the lake, which is 1,700 meters below sea level. The mountain systems east of Lake Baikal are lower, forming a complex of minor ranges and valleys that reaches from the lake to the Pacific coast. The maximum height of the Stanovoy Range, which runs west to east from northern Lake Baikal to the Sea of Okhotsk, is 2,550 meters. To the south of that range is southeastern Siberia, whose mountains reach 800 meters. Across the Strait of Tartary from that region is Sakhalin Island, Russia's largest island, where the highest elevation is about 1,700 meters. The small Moneron Island, the site of the shootdown of Korean Air Lines Flight 007, is found to its west.

Truly alpine terrain appears in the southern mountain ranges. Between the Black and Caspian seas, the Caucasus Mountains rise to impressive heights, forming a boundary between Europe and Asia. One of the peaks, Mount Elbrus, is the highest point in Europe, at 5,642 meters. The geological structure of the Caucasus extends to the northwest as the Crimean and Carpathian Mountains and southeastward into Central Asia as the Tian Shan and Pamirs. The Caucasus Mountains create an imposing natural barrier between Russia and its neighbors to the southwest, Georgia and Azerbaijan.

Northeastern Siberia, north of the Stanovoy Range, is an extremely mountainous region. The long Kamchatka Peninsula, which juts southward into the Sea of Okhotsk, includes many volcanic peaks, some of which are still active. The highest is the 4,750-meter Klyuchevskaya Sopka, the highest point in the Russian Far East. The volcanic chain continues from the southern tip of Kamchatka southward through the Kuril Islands chain and into Japan. Kamchatka also is one of Russia's two centers of seismic activity (the other is the Caucasus). In 1995, a major earthquake largely destroyed the oil-processing town of Neftegorsk. Also located in this region is the very large Beyenchime-Salaatin crater.

Russia, home to over 100,000 rivers,[1] is divided into twenty watershed districts. It has one of the world's largest surface water resources, with its lakes containing approximately one-quarter of the world's liquid fresh water.[20] Russia is second only to Brazil by total renewable water resources.[21]

Forty of Russia's rivers longer than 1,000 kilometers are east of the Ural Mountains, including the three major rivers that drain Siberia as they flow northward to the Arctic Ocean: the Irtysh-Ob system (totaling 5,380 kilometers), the Yenisey (5,075 kilometers), and the Lena (4,294 kilometers), they are among the world's longest rivers.[22] The basins of those river systems cover about eight million square kilometers, discharging nearly 50,000 cubic meters of water per second into the Arctic Ocean. The northward flow of these rivers means that source areas thaw before the areas downstream, creating vast swamps such as the 48,000-square-kilometer Vasyugan Swamp in the center of the West Siberian Plain. The same is true of other river systems, including the Pechora and the Northern Dvina in western Russia, and the Kolyma and the Indigirka in Siberia. Approximately 10 percent of Russian territory is classified as swampland.

Russia's inland bodies of water are chiefly a legacy of extensive glaciation. Ladoga and Onega in northwestern Russia are two of the largest lakes in Europe.[1] However, Lake Baikal is the largest and most prominent among Russia's fresh water bodies, is the world's deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water lake, containing over one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water.[23] Numerous smaller lakes dot northern Russia and Siberian plains. The largest of these are lakes Belozero, Topozero, Vygozero, and Ilmen in the country's northwest and Lake Chany in southwestern Siberia.

A number of other rivers drain Siberia from eastern mountain ranges into the Pacific Ocean. The Amur River and its main tributary, the Ussuri, form a long stretch of the winding boundary between Russia and China. The Amur system drains most of southeastern Siberia. Three basins drain European Russia. The Dnieper, which flows mainly through Belarus and Ukraine, has its headwaters in the hills west of Moscow. The 1,860-kilometer Don, which is the fifth-longest river in Europe, originates in the Central Russian Upland south of Moscow and then flows into the Sea of Azov at Rostov-on-Don. The Volga, widely seen as Russia's national river due to its historical and cultural importance, is the longest river in Europe,[22] it rises in the Valdai Hills west of Moscow and meandering southeastward for 3,510 kilometers before emptying into the Caspian Sea. Altogether, the Volga system drains about 1.4 million square kilometers. Linked by several canals, western Russia's rivers long have been a vital transportation system; the Volga remains the country's most commercial river, and carries about two-thirds of Russia's inland water traffic.

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Geography of Russia - Wikipedia