General Information
Karelia is located in the northwest of Russia, namely in the North-West Federal District of the Russian Federation.
Karelia borders on the Leningrad and Vologda regions in the south, on the Murmansk region in the north and on the Arkhangelsk region in the east. In the northeast, Karelia is washed by the White Sea. The western border of Karelia stretches for 798 kilometres and is the borderline between Russia and Finland.
The Republic of Karelia has a favourable economic and geographical position (i.e. proximity of the central, developed regions of Russia and Western Europe and access to the developed mobility system) coupled with significant natural reserves.
Karelia is one of the areas in Russia with the largest water resources. It has a wide, developed hydrographic network of the White and Baltic Seas with almost 23,000 rivers and 61,000 lakes, including Ladoga and Onega, the largest freshwater reservoirs in Europe.
More than half of the territory of Karelia is covered with forests. The main species include pine and spruce.