Russia is the largest country in the world with an enormous land area of about 17million sq km. extending over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and the whole of northern Asia. Russia is so vast that it covers 11 time zones of the 24 the world is divided into. So time difference exists among regions within the country. That means when the eastern part of Russia is in the middle of the day, the western part is experiencing midnight.
The Russian economy grew strongly during the first decade of the 20th century, and in 2009 the Russian population saw a small but significant increase. The increase was reported as between 15,000 and 25,000 people and was attributed to a falling death rate and increasing migration.
There are also indications that birth rates may be increasing slightly – probably due to a combination of increased confidence in Russia’s economic prospects and government incentives to new mothers — especially a $10,000 payment which is made to mothers who have three or more children.
Population growth and demographics have long been a problem for Russia, as a decade ago the nation was losing 1 million people a year, and many doubt Vladimir Putin’s plans will work. Time will tell if Russia is able to overcome its issues and see greater growth, as otherwise it will be prone to collapsing infrastructure with its massive land area and untapped natural resources.
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