Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Sample Book Insights: #1 Russia is vast, and its leaders must consider the implications of its vast size. The North European Plain running from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Carpathian Mountains in the south is only 300 miles wide, but it stretches from western France to northern Germany. #2 The Russian Far East is protected by geography. It is difficult to move an army from Asia up into Asian Russia, and you would only get as far as the Urals. The Russians have watched anxiously as NATO has crept steadily closer to Russia, incorporating countries that Russia claims were not supposed to be joining. #3 Russia as a concept dates back to the ninth century, when a federation of East Slavic tribes known as Kievan Rus’ was based in Kiev and other towns along the Dnieper River in what is now Ukraine. The Mongols, expanding their empire, constantly attacked the region from the south and east. #4 Russia is the largest country in the world, twice the size of the USA or China, five times the size of India, and twenty-five times the size of the UK. However, it has a relatively small population of about 144 million.