Russia (Russian: Россия, romanized: Rossiya, [rɐˈsʲijə]), or the Russian Federation

Biodiversity

Main article: Wildlife of Russia
See also: List of ecoregions in Russia
Yugyd Va National Park in the Komi Republic is the largest national park in Europe.^[218]
Russia, owing to its gigantic size, has diverse ecosystems, including polar deserts, tundra, forest tundra, taiga, mixed and broadleaf forest, forest steppe, steppe, semi-desert, and subtropics.^[233] About half of Russia's territory is forested,^[8] and it has the world's largest area of forest,^[234] which sequester some of the world's highest amounts of carbon dioxide.^[234][235]
Russian biodiversity includes 12,500 species of vascular plants, 2,200 species of bryophytes, about 3,000 species of lichens, 7,000–9,000 species of algae, and 20,000–25,000 species of fungi. Russian fauna is composed of 320 species of mammals, over 732 species of birds, 75 species of reptiles, about 30 species of amphibians, 343 species of freshwater fish (high endemism), approximately 1,500 species of saltwater fishes, 9 species of cyclostomata, and approximately 100–150,000 invertebrates (high endemism).^[233][236] Approximately 1,100 rare and endangered plant and animal species are included in the Russian Red Data Book.^[233]
Russia's entirely natural ecosystems are conserved in nearly 15,000 specially protected natural territories of various statuses, occupying more than 10% of the country's total area.^[233] They include 45 biosphere reserves,^[237] 64 national parks, and 101 nature reserves.^[238] Although in decline, the country still has many ecosystems which are still considered intact forest; mainly in the northern taiga areas, and the subarctic tundra of Siberia.^[239] Russia had a Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 9.02 in 2019, ranking 10th out of 172 countries; and the first ranked major nation globally.^[240]

Government and politics

Main article: Politics of Russia

Vladimir Putin
President

Mikhail Mishustin
Prime Minister

A chart of the Russian political system
Russia, by constitution, is an asymmetric federal republic,^[241] with a semi-presidential system, wherein the president is the head of state,^[242] and the prime minister is the head of government.^[8] It is structured as a multi-party representative democracy, with the federal government composed of three branches:^[243]

• 
  Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, made up of the 450-member State Duma and the 170-member Federation Council,^[243] adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the president.^[244]
  
• 
  Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces, and appoints the Government of Russia (Cabinet) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.^[242] The president may issue decrees of unlimited scope, so long as they do not contradict the constitution or federal law.^[245]
  
• 
  Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president,^[243] interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.^[246]
  

The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term and may be elected no more than twice.^[247][i] Ministries of the government are composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma). United Russia is the dominant political party in Russia, and has been described as "big tent" and the "party of power".^[249][250] Under the administrations of Vladimir Putin, Russia has experienced democratic backsliding,^[251][252] and has become an authoritarian state^[9] under a dictatorship,^[7][253] with Putin's policies being referred to as Putinism.^[254]