Welcome to the First Med! (information material for international students)
Welcome to Russia!
(overview info)
Dear friend,
Having become a student of Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University – one of the biggest medical schools worldwide – in a short while you are in Moscow, which is the capital of the Russian Federation and one of the major global megapolises.
A brave new world is ahead. Here are some hints and tips helping you not to get lost and keep you head in somehow unusual social environment far away from your families, friends and dear ones. You are sure to discover a lot of unseen, unexpected and exciting things, some of which might appear to be much surprising.
Below we outline some must-knows concerning our country, its capital, and, of course, First Med aka Sechenov MGMU.
We expect your college years in Moscow to be happy and fruitful inevitably transforming you into true professionals reinforced with advanced sociability and emotional intelligence.
Russian Federation
![]() Coat of Arms | ![]() Flag |
Establishment
Official language
Capital
Major urban agglomerations
Regime
Polity
Bodies of State Power
• President
• Government
• Federal Assembly
Area
Population
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National Internet domains
IDD code
UTC zoning
| 862 AD
Russian Moscow Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Samara, Omsk, Kazan, Chelyabinsk, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa, Volgograd presidential-parliamentary republic federation, comprising of 85 constituent entities, including federal cities – Moscow, St. Petersburg and Sevastopol Vladimir Putin Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Upper House – The Council of the Federation (Valentina Matvienko, Chairman) Lower House – State Duma (Sergey Naryshkin, Chairman) 17,125,187 sq km (the world’s largest) about 150,000,000 (9th world’s) Russian rouble (RUB) .ru, .su, .рф +7 +3 ... +12 |
As a permanent member of the UN Security Council Russia wields veto power.
Moscow
![]() Coat of Arms | ![]() Flag |
The initial reference
Population over
Administrative ubdivision
National composition
Religious communities
Unofficial names
Original name of Muscovites
City Mayor
Climate
UTC Timezone
Area dialing code
Vehicle registration plates
| 1,147 AD
12,000 000 12 districts Russians (91.65%), Ukrainians (1.42%), Tatars (1.38%), Armenians (1.28%), Azerbaijanis (0.53%), Jews (0.49%), Belarusians (0.36%), Georgians (0.36%) the majority are Christians (mostly Russian Orthodox); Muslims constitute the second largest religious community; other noteworthy confessions are Jews and Buddhists Belokámennaya (white stone), Zlatoglávaya (golden-domed), Pervoprestól′naya (first-throned), Trétiy Rim (Third Rome) moskvich (male), moskvichka (female), moskvichi (plural) Sergei Sobyanin temperate continental +4 +7 495, +7 499, +7 496, +7 498 77, 97, 99, 177, 197, 199, 777 |
The annual City Day feast is held on the first Saturday of September.