The Russian Federation is Russia’s offical name.
The Russian Federation, which occupies about three-fourths of the land that once was the Soviet Union, is made up of 21 autonomous republics, 50 oblasts (or regions), 6 krays (or provinces), 2 federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg), 1 autonomous oblast, and 10 autonomous okrugs (or autonomous territories).
Russia is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects.
An unsuccessful military coup directed against Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in August 1991 led to the collapse of the Soviet Union which resulted in the formation of the Russian Federation.
The USSR officially dissolved in December 1991 and Boris Yeltsin was elected the President of Russia.
