Background: The defeat of the Russian Empire in World War I led to the seizure
of power by the communists and the formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN
(1924-53) strengthened Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions
of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General
Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika
(restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently
released forces that by December 1991 broke up the USSR into 15 independent republics.
Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build a democratic political system and
market economy to replace the strict social, political, and economic controls of the
communist period.
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- Map:
- Location:
- • Northern Asia (that part west of the
Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and
the North Pacific Ocean
- Area—comparative:
- • slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US
- Land boundaries:
- • total: 19,917 km
• border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605
km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan
6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km,
Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
- Coastline:
- • 37,653 km
- Maritime claims:
- • continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
• exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
• territorial sea: 12 nm
- Climate:
- • ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European
Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool
along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool
along Arctic coast
- Environment—current issues:
- • air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and
transportation in major cities; industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways
and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application
of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination
- Environment—international agreements:
- • party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of
the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands
• signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94
- Geography—note:
- • largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation
to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils
and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture
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- Population
- • 145,470,197 (July 2001 est.)
- Net migration rate:
- • 0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
- Infant mortality rate:
- • 20.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- • total population: 67.34 years
• male: 62.12 years
• female: 72.83 years (2001 est.)
- Total fertility rate:
- • 1.27 children born/woman (2001 est.)
- Nationality:
- • noun: Russian(s)
• adjective: Russian
- Ethnic groups
- • Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian
0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%
- Religions
- • Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
- Languages:
- • Russian,
other
- Literacy:
- • definition: age 15 and over can read and write
• total population: 98%
• male: 100%
• female: 97% (1989 est.)
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- Country name:
- • conventional long form: Russian Federation
• conventional short form: Russia
• local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
• local short form: Rossiya
• former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
- Government type:
- • federation
- Article
on Russian Government by Radio Free Europe
- National capital:
- • Moscow
- Administrative divisions:
- • 21 autonomous republics* (avtonomnyk respublik, singular—avtonomnaya
respublika)
Regions
Autonomous Republics
- Independence:
- • 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
- National holiday:
- • Independence Day, June 12 (1990)
- Constitution:
- • adopted 12 December 1993
- Legal system:
- • based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
- Suffrage:
- • 18 years of age; universal
- Executive branch:
- • chief of state: President
Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 7 May 2000); note - President YEL'TSIN resigned on
31 December 1999, naming Vladimir PUTIN as Acting President until new elections were held
on 26 March 2000
• head of government: Acting Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7
May 2000); First Deputy Premier Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Deputy
Premiers Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO
(since 31 May 1999), Ilya Iosifovich KLEBANOV (since 31 May 1999), Valentina Ivanovna
MATVIYENKO (since 22 September 1998)
• cabinet:
Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his
deputies, ministers, and other agency heads; all are appointed by the president
note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and
policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among
government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president
• elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election
last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA 2004); note - no vice president; if the
president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached,
or resigns, the premier succeeds him; the premier serves as acting president until a new
presidential election is held, which must be within three months; premier appointed by the
president with the approval of the Duma
election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote -
PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Aadreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
- Legislative
branch:
- •bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye
consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000,
members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal
administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the
federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the
State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; half elected by proportional
representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and half from
single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve
four-year terms)
• elections: State Duma - last held 19 December 1999 (next to be held NA
December 2003)
• election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing
the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats -
Communist Party of the Russian Federation (KPRF) 24.29%, Unity 23.32%, Fatherland-All
Russia (OVR) 13.33%, Union of Right Forces 8.52%, Liberal Democratic Party (Zhirinovsky
Bloc) 5.98%, Yabloko 5.93%; seats by party - Communist Party of the Russian Federation
(KPRF) 90, Unity 82, People's Deputies faction 57, Fatherland-All Russia (OVR) 45,
Russia's Regions 42, Agro-industrial faction 39, Union of Right Forces 32, Yabloko 21,
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 17, independents 16, repeat election required 8, vacant
1
- Judicial branch
- • Constitutional Court, judges are appointed for life by the Federation Council on
recommendation of the president; Supreme Court, judges are appointed for life by the
Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration,
judges are appointed for life by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president
- Political parties and leaders:
- •Agrarian Party [Mikhail Ivanovich LAPSHIN]; Communist
Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Fatherland-All
Russia or OVR [Yuriy Mikhailovich LUZHKOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR
[Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Union of Right Forces [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS,
Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; Unity
[Sergey Kuzhugetovich SHOYGU]; Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
note: some 150 political parties, blocs, and movements registered with the Justice
Ministry as of the 19 December 1998 deadline to be eligible to participate in the 19
December 1999 Duma elections; of these, 36 political organizations actually qualified to
run slates of candidates on the Duma party list ballot, 6 parties cleared the 5% threshold
to win a proportional share of the 225 party seats in the Duma, 9 other organizations hold
seats in the Duma: Bloc of Nikolayev and Academician Fedorov, Congress of Russian
Communities, Movement in Support of the Army, Our Home Is Russia, Party of Pensioners,
Power to the People, Russian All-People's Union, Russian Socialist Party, and Spiritual
Heritage; primary political blocs include pro-market democrats - (Yabloko Bloc and Union
of Right Forces), anti-market and/or ultranationalist (Communist Party of the Russian
Federation and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia)
- Political pressure groups and leaders:
- • NA
- Diplomatic representation in
the US:
- chief of mission: Ambassador Yuri V. Ushakov
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
- Diplomatic
representation from the US:
- chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander Vershbow
embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000 through 59
FAX: [7] (095) 728-5203
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
e-mail: pamoscow@pd.state.gov
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- Economy—overview
- • A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in
1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong
economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able
to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market reforms
within three to five years - Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the
executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the basic
foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the
government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it
vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis culminated
in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp
deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy rebounded in
1999 and 2000, buoyed by the competitive boost from the weak ruble and a surging trade
surplus fueled by rising world oil prices. This recovery, along with a renewed government
effort in 2000 to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor
confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious
problems persist. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly
oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for over 80% of exports, leaving the
country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's agricultural sector remains beset
by uncertainty over land ownership rights, which has discouraged needed investment and
restructuring. Another threat is negative demographic trends, fueled by low birth rates
and a deteriorating health situation - including an alarming rise in AIDS cases - that
have contributed to a nearly 2% drop in the population since 1992. Russia's industrial
base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to
achieve sustainable economic growth. Other problems include widespread corruption, capital
flight, and brain drain
- GDP:
- • purchasing power parity: $1.12 trillion (2000 est.)
• real growth rate: 6.3% (2000 est.)
• per capita: purchasing power parity—$7,700 (2000 est.)
• composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 34% services:
59% (1999 est.)
- Inflation rate—consumer price index:
- • 20.6%
(2000 est.)
- Labor force:
- • total: 66 million (1997)
• by occupation: agriculture 15%, industry 30%, services 55% (1999 est.)
- Library of Congress Guide to Russian Taxation and Labor Force
- Unemployment rate:
- • 10.5% (2000 est.), plus considerable underemployment
- Budget:
- • revenues: $40 billion
• expenditures: $33.7 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.)
- Exports:
- • total value: $105.1 billion (2000 est.)
• commodities: petroleum and petroleum products,
natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and
military manufactures
• partners: US 8.8%, Germany 8.5%, Ukraine 6.5%,
Belarus 5.1%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4.8% (1999)
- Imports:
- • total value: $44.2 billion (2000 est.)
• commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat,
grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
• partners: Germany 13.8%, Belarus 10.7%, Ukraine
8.3%, US 7.9%, Kazakhstan 4.6%, Italy 3.8% (1999)
- Debt—external:
- • $163 billion (2000 est.)
- Economic aid:
- • recipient: ODA, $15 billion drawn (1990-97)
• note: US commitments, including Ex-Im, $15 billion (1990-96); other
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1990-96), $125 billion
- Library of Congress Guide to Russian Foreign Economic Relations
- Currency:
- • 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks
- Exchange rates:
- • rubles per US$1—28.3592 (January 2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999),
9.7051 (1998), 5,941 (December 1997)
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- Military branches:
- • Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Strategic Rocket Forces
• note: the air force and air defense force are to merge in mid-1998
- Military manpower—military age:
- • 18 years of age
- Military manpower—availability:
- • males age 15-49: 38,866,147 (2001 est.)
- Military expenditures—dollar figure:
- • $NA
• note: the Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in Russia
fell by about 10% in real terms in 1996, reducing Russian defense outlays to about
one-sixth of peak Soviet levels in the late 1980s (1997 est.)
- Military expenditures—percent of GDP:
- • NA%
Yahoo Guide to Russian Military
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- Disputes—international:
- • Two disputed sections of the boundary with China remain to be settled, despite
1997 boundary agreement
• Islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and theHabomai group occupied by the
Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan
• Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined amongAzerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan,
Russia, and Turkmenistan
• Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December
1996 which has not been ratified
• Draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Latvia has not been signed
• has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so)
and does not recognize the claims of any other nation
• 1997 border agreement with Lithuania not yet ratified
• Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia
-
- Illicit drugs:
- • limited cultivation of cannabis and opium poppy, mostly for domestic consumption;
government has active eradication program; increasingly used as transshipment point for
Southwest and Southeast Asian opiates and cannabis and Latin American cocaine to Western
Europe, the US, and growing domestic market; major source of heroin precursor
chemicals; corruption and organized crime are major concerns; heroin an increasing threat
in domestic drug market
RUSSIA