Biggest cities by language A-Z (Russian)

A

476,000

European Russia

world-famous for its black caviar and high-quality watermelons

B

631,000

Siberia

gateway to the Altai Mountains, this city was one of Russia's first major industrial centers in the 18th century due to its silver mines

C

1.2 million

Urals

made global headlines in 2013 when a superbolide meteor exploded over the city

D

969,000

Eastern Europe

major center for the aerospace and rocket industry on the banks of its country’s largest river

E

225,000

Urals

location where Yuri Gagarin landed after his historic first flight into space

F

66,000

Eastern Europe

home to a medieval Genoese fortress and the museum of marine painter Ivan Aivazovsky

G

501,000

Eastern Europe

renowned for the stunning Palace of the Rumyantsevs and Paskeviches situated in a massive park

H

240,000

Eastern Europe

major coal mining and chemical manufacturing hub in the Donbas region

I

623,000

Urals

city where Mikhail Kalashnikov designed and produced the AK-47 assault rifle

K

3 million

Eastern Europe

famous for the golden domes of St. Sophia’s Cathedral and the massive Motherland Monument

L

496,000

European Russia

major “Steel City” known for its metallurgical plants and its historic mineral water spas used by Russian royalty

M

13 million

European Russia

defined by the Kremlin, Red Square, and its world-famous, palace-like metro stations

N

1.5 million

Siberia

major stop on the Trans-Siberian Railway

O

1.1 million

Siberia

city where the writer Fyodor Dostoevsky spent four years in exile, an experience that inspired The House of the Dead

P

1 million

Urals

gave its name to a geological period (approx. 250–300 million years ago)

R

1.1 million

European Russia

hub of Cossack culture and sits at the mouth of the Don River

S

5.6 million

European Russia

founded by Peter the Great as a “Window to the West” famous for the Hermitage Museum

T

847,000

Urals

first Russian city in Siberia and is now a major center for the oil and gas industry

U

1.1 million

Urals

famous for its high-quality honey and its massive monument to the national hero Salavat Yulaev

V

1 million

European Russia

where Peter the Great began building the first regular Russian flotilla in the late 1600s

Y

1.5 million

Urals

historically significant as the site where the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II, and his family were executed

Z

710,000

Eastern Europe

home to the largest nuclear power plant in Europe