The Republic of Karelia is a constituent entity of the Russian Federation. It is a part of the North-Western Federal District and is part of the Northern Economic District. The capital is the city of Petrozavodsk.

The western border of Karelia coincides with the state border of the Russian Federation and Finland. In the east, Karelia borders with the Arkhangelsk region, in the south — with the Vologda and Leningrad regions, in the north-with the Murmansk region.

In the Republic of Karelia there are excellent opportunities for the development of various types of tourism, hunting and fishing, recreation in cottages and camp sites, treatment in sanatoriums in the summer and winter season, active recreation, rafting and kayaking, meeting the interests of travel lovers and connoisseurs of beauty: there are more than four thousand cultural, historical and natural monuments and objects on the state register.

Karelia is also widely known internationally for its unique architectural and cultural and historical sites on the islands of Kizhi (the Kizhi Pogost ensemble is included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List), Valaam and the Solovetsky Islands located near the administrative border of Karelia. They are the national heritage of Russia.

The historical and cultural value of the territory of the Republic of Karelia is due to the centuries — old mutual influence of the traditional culture of the four indigenous peoples historically living in this region-the Karelians, Finns, Veps, and Russians, who have created a unique and original culture over ten centuries of living together.

The dominant economic activities of the region are:

• Industry — energy, which is based on cascades of small hydroelectric power plants on the Suna, Vyg, Kem and other rivers; logging and woodworking industries; fish processing enterprises.

• Mechanical engineering, metallurgy, and shipbuilding are well developed.

• The leading direction of agricultural production is dairy and meat animal husbandry.