Talk:Russia

" Its economy ranks among the largest in the world by both nominal GDP ..."

Does this capture reality? About to drop to tenth place where nominal GDP is concerned and likely not to remain in the top 10; much smaller than any of the top seven - is that really "among the largest in the world"? As the article rightly points out, a predominantly primary sector economy...

(Also, I did plenty of work on purchasing power parities in my younger years and would warn against "GDP on a PPP basis" for all the usual reasons, starting with differences in quality.) Der mit den vielen Titeln (talk) 19:10, 27 July 2026 (UTC)

@Der mit den vielen Titeln What do you think the lead should say about the economy? Chidgk1 (talk) 12:28, 27 August 2026 (UTC)

How would you feel about less developed country?

The term "developing", "with high income" (World Bank, link 1 below) currently seems somewhat misleading. A focus on the level of GDP is also misleading because, really, it is "disappointing" considering land mass and population.

Rank 65 on GDP per capita (IMF 2026)

Rank 64 on HDI (2023), among which rank 119 on life expectancy.

Large primary sector element, particularly oil & gas (around 15% of GDP and close to 50% of federal budget revenue).

Changes in real GDP are highly correlated with changes in the - volatile - price of Brent oil. This is indicative of an economic dependence both on fossil fuels and on the US dollar.

Obviously the data since the start of the Ukraine war cannot be trusted and probably weaken the case for the above statement; but using raw data from 2005 to 2025, the simple correlation between changes in real GDP and changes in the Brent oil price is

0.833 up to 2025, using percentages

0.865 up to 2024, using percentages

0.881 up to 2025, using logs

0.911 up to 2024, using logs

The share of agriculture in GDP is also significantly higher than the developed economy median & range.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Developing_country

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_Human_Development_Index

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy

https://finance.mail.ru/article/dolya-neftegazovogo-sektora-v-vvp-rossii-upala-do-istoricheskogo-minimuma-69205741/

https://nprom.online/news/neftegaz-snizil-svoj-vklad-v-vvp-v-2025-godu/

https://iz.ru/2111977/2026-06-08/dolia-neftegazovykh-dokhodov-v-vvp-rossii-snizhaetsia-chto-nuzhno-znat

https://bankiros.ru/wiki/term/struktura-vvp-rossii-po-otraslam

https://ru.theglobaleconomy.com/Russia/share_of_agriculture/

https://statbase.ru/data/rus-agriculture-and-fishing-value-added-share/

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.CD?locations=RU

https://www.statistico.com/s/brent-crude-oil-price-by-year

https://x.com/EIAgov/status/1942624126637576593

https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/detail.php?id=66944 Der mit den vielen Titeln (talk) 00:08, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

I removed nominal GDP from the lead as it is less than Italy and not mentioned in that article Chidgk1 (talk) 15:24, 30 August 2026 (UTC)

Religion in infobox

@Goalkeeper92 and @Juihui since you seem to be engaging in edit warring about this (did it last month as well), please just discuss and gain consensus here. TylerBurden (talk) 17:07, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

VTsIOM is one of Russia's most authoritative sources of sociological information. It has specialized in sociological surveys for many years. The Orthodox Institute does not conduct sociological research on an ongoing basis, and it surveyed fewer respondents than VTsIOM. Furthermore, the Orthodox The survey itself wasn't even conducted by an Orthodox institution, but by some foundation that is not an authoritative source of information when it comes to sociological surveys. All indicators suggest that VTsIOM is the more authoritative source of information. Goalkeeper92 (talk) 17:39, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

As you've stated previously, you simply favor VCIOM because you disagree with the percentages of Muslims reported by other surveys. However, you still haven't explained why you believe the percentage should be 5% rather than 9%, nor have you explained why you consider VCIOM more credible than the most recent available survey. The fact that an organization is affiliated with the Russian government does not, by itself, make its findings more credible.

I've already explained why I consider FOM, which split from VCIOM some time ago, to be more credible despite having a marginally smaller sample size. FOM provides detailed tables showing demographic and regional weighting, whereas this information does not appear to be provided in VCIOM surveys. You ignored this point previously and continued to rely on VCIOM without adequately addressing why its methodology should be considered superior, other than the statistically insiginifcant difference in sample size of 100 more people. That makes it difficult to view your argument as being made in good faith.

The most recent study is part of the Orthodox Monitor Sociological Survey conducted by Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University, which is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church: https://socrel.pstgu.ru/en/grants/survey. It is difficult to see how this institution could reasonably be accused of having a pro-Muslim bias, so I don't understand why you consider its findings less credible than those of VCIOM. You would also expect a university to place a high value on methodologically sound research.

Moreover, the VCIOM survey you keep citing appears to be a dead link. The most recent VCIOM survey is this one: https://wciom.com/press-release/religion-and-society-a-monitoring-study

So, if you insist on relying on VCIOM data, then this is the survey you should be referring to. Juihui (talk) 19:05, 26 August 2026 (UTC)

You’re using a lot of words, but none of them get to the point. Let’s get straight to the facts. Why are you dissatisfied with VTsIOM? And let’s stick to the facts, without the fluff. Goalkeeper92 (talk) 09:40, 27 August 2026 (UTC)

I've already explained my position: the issue is the lack of transparent regional weighting by VCIOM. You've dodged every point I raised, which once again makes it clear to me that you aren't arguing in good faith. Instead, your argument appears to be driven by an agenda of minimizing the size of Russia's Muslim population. You still haven't explained why you consider 9% "too high", as you claimed on my talk page. That claim seems particularly difficult to justify given that, according to the 2021 census, traditionally Muslim ethnic groups made up ~11.6% of Russia's population. A figure of only 5% would therefore imply that a significant proportion (in fact the majority) of Tatars, Chechens, Bashkirs, Avars, and other traditionally Muslim ethnic groups are not Muslim. In contrast to that, the FOM surveys explicitly indicate that respondents from the North Caucasus and Volga federal districts were included in their samples and properly weighed as their percentage of the total population. With those regions represented, the results consistently put the Muslim share at around 7-9%. If you believe this is an overestimate, then what is the basis for that conclusion?

You also still haven't explained why exactly you're dissatisfied with the survey conducted by Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University. Juihui (talk) 13:22, 27 August 2026 (UTC)

I can see that you have personal motives for reverting my edits. I merely asked you to explain what you find objectionable about VTsIOM. Yet, you cited only one reason for rejecting this source, while the rest of your text was nothing but expressions of personal grievance against me. Experienced editors have previously favored VTsIOM without issue, but the moment I added updated information from that same source, you started an edit war. I will not stoop to your level or engage in personal animosity; I will rely solely on facts.

1) VTsIOM is a far more authoritative source of information than your sources. This can be verified by both website traffic and the number of mentions in popular media outlets.

2) Experienced Wikipedia contributors previously used VTsIOM as a primary source of information. A dispute regarding this matter took place a year ago, and experienced contributors favored VTsIOM.

3) VTsIOM surveyed more respondents than your sources did.

4) VTsIOM has been conducting sociological research for several decades; they have been doing so since 1988. On the Russian Wikipedia, the majority of sociological data is sourced from VTsIOM.

Please note that when you added FOM as the primary source of information a few months ago, I did not remove it; although your source was less authoritative, it was more recent. I only updated the data in the article after VTsIOM published new figures. Goalkeeper92 (talk) 07:10, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

I am answering your question as to why I do not consider the FOM and Orthodox Institute a satisfactory source of information.

FOM surveys a smaller number of respondents than VTsIOM and has a higher margin of error. FOM itself acknowledges this high error rate on its website. The Orthodox Institute has never previously conducted large-scale sociological surveys; in this instance, they did not even carry out the polling themselves—they merely commissioned the survey from another organization. The credibility of this source is highly questionable. Goalkeeper92 (talk) 07:18, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

You keep saying that VCIOM is more authoritative, and I ask once again, what exactly is the basis for that claim? Website traffic does not, by itself, make one survey methodology more reliable than another.

You could hypethetically survey 100,000 people in Central Russia, and the result could still be less representative of the country as a whole than a properly weighted survey of 1,500 people that covers all federal districts. That is precisely the issue here. FOM, for example, publishes tables showing its regional sampling, whereas VCIOM does not provide the same level of transparency on the geographic composition of its samples.

If we are talking about nationwide estimates, by far the most comprehensive sources is Arena Atlas, which had a sample of approximately 56,900 respondents across almost all federal subjects. Its 2012 estimate put the Muslim population at 6.5%, while excluding roughly two million people from Chechnya and Ingushetia. Accounting for those populations would put the figure closer to 7.5-8% even at that time.

Since then, the federal subjects with the highest population growth have included several Muslim-majority regions in the North Caucasus, while the ethnic Russian population has declined. Russia has also received a substantial number of immigrants from Central Asia. Yet you are here, claiming that 9% is an overestimate and that 5% is more realistic. What exactly is that assumption based on? This is the question you have repeatedly avoided, despite the fact that we have discussed it before.

You also stated:

"Experienced Wikipedia contributors previously used VTsIOM as a primary source of information."

That is not correct. If you look at the archived talk page for "Religion in Russia", you can see that the use of both Levada and VCIOM was repeatedly challenged precisely because there were concerns that their surveys were not sufficiently representative of the entire country and disproportionately sampled western parts of Russia, where the Russian Orthodox population is concentrated:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Religion_in_Russia/Archive_1

You also claimed:

“The Orthodox Institute has never previously conducted large-scale sociological surveys.”

That is also incorrect. The news report as well as the instutition itself states that the institution conducted similar surveys in 2011 and 2020.

Finally, VCIOM is a general-purpose polling organization, whereas the Saint Tikhon's Orthodox University of Humanities has conducted research specifically relating to religion. So why should VCIOM be considered more authoritative on religious demographics than an institution that specializes in studying religion?

You claim that I have a personal animosity towards you because I believe you are not arguing in good faith. I don't think that assumption comes out of nowhere. It is based on repeated instances where you have presented demonstrably false or unsupported claims. For example, in this edit: https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Template:Islam_in_Europe_by_country&diff=prev&oldid=1369955518

you wrote:

"Russian official 2026 census claims that Russian Muslim population is 5%."

There is no Russian 2026 census. The most recent all-Russian population census was conducted in 2021. Russian censuses generally don't provide data on religious affiliation. Juihui (talk) 10:32, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

In that case, let’s settle on the Arena Atlas option. They surveyed a large number of respondents and have a low margin of error—addressing the very issues I have with your sources. Furthermore, with Arena Atlas, it is clear which regions were covered in the survey—addressing the very issues you have with my sources. Until newer sociological data becomes available with a similar survey scale and level of accuracy, we will use this source as our primary one. Goalkeeper92 (talk) 12:40, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

Arena Atlas is somewhat dated, but I agree - it remains the most accurate study we have so far. Unfortunately, there haven't been any large-scale surveys of comparable scope since then. Juihui (talk) 20:01, 29 August 2026 (UTC)

VTsIOM (the Russian Public Opinion Research Center) is widely considered by independent experts and international analysts to have low reliability and significant structural bias regarding politically sensitive topics.Moxy🍁 20:45, 28 August 2026 (UTC)

Russia is an Asian Country and not European

Russia belongs to Asia under a single-Continent rule because approximately 75% to 77% of its total land area lies east of the Ural Mountains.

Russia covers about 17 million square kilometers.

In by the Asian share: Roughly 13 million square kilometers of this territory—including Siberia and the Russian far East—sit on the Asian side of the conventional geographic dividing line. In by the 'european' share: only about 4 million square kilometers lie west of the Ural Mountains.

Applying the single-Continent rule for a majority landmass: When global or international existence requires assigning a transcontinental State to only one continent for global, international, or corporate classification and cooperation, the classification must always rely solely on which region holds the largest share of physical land. Based on looking at the landmass and the land claims at geographic scale on and/or within the global world map, because three-quarters of Russia's physical space rests in Asia, the dominant geographic terrain, landscape, and footprint for mapping and map assignment dictate that Asia is the only viable assigned Continent for the single-Continent assignment of the Russian State. ~2026-47713-88 (talk) 17:54, 1 September 2026 (UTC)

Are you AI? Sources for all this? Russia's population is mostly in Europe. Johnbod (talk) 00:59, 2 September 2026 (UTC)

From the Europe article: Europe is commonly considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Greater Caucasus, the Black Sea, and the Turkish straits. Peaceray (talk) 02:24, 3 September 2026 (UTC)

Hello from Turkey where we have never heard of such a "single-Continent rule" and have no problems with our "global or international existence" thank you Chidgk1 (talk) 16:30, 3 September 2026 (UTC)

Yes, but Türks are also Asians rather than Europeans so what do you mean? Also you must mean Türkiye? I don't understand why you brought up Türkiye (Turkey) here, as this is about Russia, or what you are referring to when you quote "problems" with "global or international existence". You mustn't be a real person from 'Turkey'. You should know these informations. You should know what you're talking about and be specific. You haven't, as you haven't shown up with any information yet. You don't speak for anyone regarding anything or regardless of anything. This is an emerging establishment of being represented by a single Continent, Continental rule is based on all factors that facilitate global assignment. You must clarity and provide the necessary details. ~2026-48444-28 (talk) 05:08, 7 September 2026 (UTC)

References