Russia, as we know, has only come into prominence during the last three or four hundred years. Before that it was a very sparsely populated territory, whose people were split into various tribes, holding small strips of land. Even in areas that bordered on the regions now known as Russia, this endless expanse of territory had no economic or political significance. A thousand years ago, it was scarcely known, sparsely populated, and attracted little interest. Farther back in history, 2500 years ago, hardly anyone knew of it. An isolated geographer here and there might have had some vague notion of its existence, but no more. At that time Prophet Ezekiel made a striking prophecy, which is preserved in the books of the Old Testament.