Lesotho the world for gender parity, while neighboring South Africa ranks 17th. Lesotho Lesotho (, ) officially the Kingdom of Lesotho () is an enclaved country within the border of South Africa. It is just over in size and has a population of around /1e6 round 0 million. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho was previously the British Crown Colony of Basutoland, but it declared independence from the United Kingdom on 4 October 1966. It is now a fully sovereign state that is a member of the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, and the Southern African Development Community
Lesotho–Russia relations the most prominent of whom is Monyane Moleleki, the Basotho foreign minister, who graduated from Moscow State University. Since 1996, the Russian government provides to Lesotho, scholarships for three Basotho citizens to obtain basic higher education, and one scholarship for a Basotho citizen to study in graduate school. Lesotho–Russia relations Lesotho–Russia relations () are the bilateral relations between Russia and Lesotho. The Soviet Union and the Kingdom of Lesotho established diplomatic relations on 1 February 1980. The Soviet Ambassador to Mozambique was initially concurrently accredited to represent the Soviet Union's interests in Lesotho. Yuri Sepelev was appointed as the first