Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178
seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative
officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units-oblasts,
krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of
Moscow and St. Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the
State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats, half elected in
single-member districts and half elected from national party lists;
members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: State Duma-last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA
December 1999)
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
22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia
10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats by party-Communist Party of the
Russian Federation 157, independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55,
Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party
of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9,
Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia
3, other parties 15
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:
pro-market democrats: Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY];
Russia's Democratic Choice Party [Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR]; Forward,
Russia! [Boris Grigor'yevich FEDOROV]
centrists/special interest parties: Our Home Is Russia [Viktor
Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN]; Russian People's Republican Party
[Aleksandr Ivanovich LEBED]; Congress of Russian Communities [Dmitriy
Olegovich ROGOZIN]; Women of Russia [Alevtina Vasil'yevna FEDULOVA and
Yekaterina Filippovna LAKHOVA]
anti-market and/or ultranationalist: Communist Party of the Russian
Federation [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party
of Russia [Vladimir Vol'fovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Agrarian Party [Mikhail
Ivanovich LAPSHIN]; Power To the People [Nikolay Ivanovich RYZHKOV and
Sergey Nikolayevich BABURIN]; Russian Communist Workers' Party [Viktor
Ivanovich ANPILOV and Viktor Arkad'yevich TYUL'KIN]
note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to
gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17
December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BIS (pending member), BSEC,
CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat,
Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer),
MINUGUA, MINURSO, MTCR, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN
Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMIBH, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV
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 James F. COLLINS
embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59
FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue,
and red
@Russia:Economy
Economy-overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural
resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse, but declining,
industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in
moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market
economy. After seven consecutive years of contraction 1990-96 in which
GDP fell by one-third, GDP grew by 0.4% in 1997, according to official
statistics. Moscow continued to make strides in its battle against
inflation, which fell to 11%, half the 1996 rate. The central
government made good on most back wages owed public-sector
employees-including the military-although the stock of wage arrears to
employees of private enterprises remained large. Privatization
revenues increased significantly, largely on the strength of a few
high-profile tenders, such as that of telecommunications giant
Svyazinvest. On the downside, Moscow continued to struggle with a
severe fiscal imbalance. Lagging tax collections led the government to
adopt a revised budget in spring 1997 that cut spending by about 20%
despite protests from the legislature. Russia's traditional trade
surplus continued to contract-largely because of soft international
commodity prices-and Moscow's WTrO accession made only halting
progress. Although President YEL'TSIN brought in a new economic team
early in 1997, key structural reform initiatives continue to move
slowly. A revised tax code remains stuck in the Duma, while little
progress is being made on agricultural land reform. Small business
development has lagged. Prospects for a return to robust growth have
been set back by the spillover from Asia's financial turmoil, which
hit Russia hard during the last quarter of 1997. Moscow at first tried
to both support the ruble and keep interest rates down, but this
policy proved unsustainable, and in early December 1997 the Central
Bank let interest rates rise sharply. As the year ended, Russian
authorities were attempting to put the best face on the financial
situation, while at the same time scaling back their previous
optimistic growth projections for 1998 to 1%-2%. Because of Russia's
severe macroeconomic constraints, resources allocated to the military
sector have declined sharply since the implosion of the USSR in
December 1991.
GDP: purchasing power parity-$692 billion (1997 est.)
GDP-real growth rate: 0.4% (1997 est.)
GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$4,700 (1997 est.)
GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 7%
industry: 39%
services: 54% (1996)
Inflation rate-consumer price index: 11% (1997 est.)
Labor force:
total: 66 million (1997)
by occupation: NA
Unemployment rate: 9% (1997 est.) with considerable additional
underemployment
Budget:
revenues: $59 billion
expenditures: $70 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997
est.)
Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries
producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine
building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space
vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment;
communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and
construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting
equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables,
textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: 1.9% (1997 est.)
Electricity-capacity: 214.687 million kW (1995)
Electricity-production: 834 billion kWh (1997)
Electricity-consumption per capita: 5,508 kWh (1995)
Agriculture-products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables,
fruits (because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton,
tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk
Exports:
total value: $86.7 billion (1997)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and
wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and
military manufactures
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries
Imports:
total value: $66.9 billion (1997)
commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat,
grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries
Debt-external: $135 billion (yearend 1996)
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
Currency: 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks
Exchange rates: rubles per US$1-5,941 (December 1997), 5,785 (1997),
5,121 (1996), 4,559 (1995), 2,191 (1994), 992 (1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 25.4 million (1993 est.)
Telephone system: total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100;
enlisting foreign help, by means of joint ventures, to speed up the
modernization of its telecommunications system; in 1992, only 661,000
new telephones were installed compared with 855,000 in 1991, and in
1992 the number of unsatisfied applications for telephones reached
11,000,000; expanded access to international electronic mail service
available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian
telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially
with respect to international connections
domestic: NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational
and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg; intercity fiber-optic cable
installation remains limited
international: international traffic is inadequately handled by a
system of satellites, landlines, microwave radio relay, and outdated
submarine cables; much of this traffic passes through the
international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the
international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of
Independent States; a new Russian Intersputnik satellite will link
Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be relayed
to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth stations-NA
Intelsat, 4 Intersputnik (2 Atlantic Ocean region and 2 Indian Ocean
region), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean region), and NA Orbita
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note-there are
about 1,050 (including AM, FM, and shortwave) radio broadcast stations
throughout the country
Radios: 50 million (1993 est.)(radio receivers with multiple speaker
systems for program diffusion 74,300,000)
Television broadcast stations: 7,183
Televisions: 54.85 million (1992 est.)
@Russia:Transportation
Railways:
total: 154,000 km; note-87,000 km in common carrier service (38,000 km
electrified); 67,000 km serve specific industries and are not
available for common carrier use
broad gauge: 154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)
Highways:
total: 948,000 km (including 416,000 km which serve specific
industries or farms and are not maintained by governmental highway
maintenance departments)
paved: 336,000 km
unpaved: 612,000 km (including 411,000 km of graveled or other forms
of macadam surface and 201,000 km of unstabilized earth) (1995 est.)
Waterways: total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes
with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km;
routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made navigable
routes 16,900 km (1 January 1994)
Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural
gas 140,000 km (30 June 1993)
Ports and harbors: Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan',
Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka,
Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk, St. Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi,
Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg
Merchant marine:
total: 540 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,531,937 GRT/6,253,940
DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 18, cargo 291, combination bulk
21, combination ore/oil 12, container 24, multifunction large-load
carrier 2, oil tanker 107, passenger 2, passenger-cargo 4,
refrigerated cargo 20, roll-on/roll-off cargo 28, short-sea passenger
9, specialized tanker 1
note: Russia owns an additional 176 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling
3,240,776 DWT operating under the registries of The Bahamas, Cambodia,
Cyprus, Honduras, Liberia, Malta, Panama, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines, and Singapore (1997 est.)
Airports: 2,517 (1994 est.)
Airports-with paved runways:
total: 630
over 3,047 m: 54
2,438 to 3,047 m: 202
1,524 to 2,437 m: 108
914 to 1,523 m: 115
under 914 m: 151 (1994 est.)
Airports-with unpaved runways:
total: 1,887
over 3,047 m: 25
2,438 to 3,047 m: 45
1,524 to 2,437 m: 134
914 to 1,523 m: 291
under 914 m: 1,392 (1994 est.)
@Russia:Military
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: 38,585,841 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-fit for military service:
males: 30,098,346 (1998 est.)
Military manpower-reaching military age annually:
males: 1,128,416 (1998 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%
@Russia:Transnational Issues
Disputes-international: two disputed sections of the boundary with
China remain to be settled; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and
Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945,
now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian Sea boundaries
are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and
Turkmenistan; Estonian and Russian negotiators reached a technical
border agreement in December 1996 which has not been ratified; Estonia
claimed over 2,000 sq km of territory in the Narva and Pechora regions
of Russia - based on boundary established under the 1920 Peace Treaty
of Tartu; based on the 1920 Treaty of Riga, Latvia had claimed the
Abrene/Pytalovo section of border ceded by the Latvian Soviet
Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; 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 in the Barents Sea 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
______________________________________________________________________
RWANDA
Introduction
in April 1994 between Tutsi and Hutu factions, more than 2 million
refugees fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zaire, now
called Democratic Republic of the Congo. According to the UN High
Commission on Refugees, in 1996 and early 1997 nearly 1,300,000 Hutus
returned to Rwanda; of these, 720,000 returned from Democratic
Republic of the Congo, 480,000 from Tanzania, 88,000 from Burundi, and
10,000 from Uganda.
@Rwanda:Geography
Location: Central Africa, east of Democratic Republic of the Congo
Geographic coordinates: 2 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 26,340 sq km
land: 24,950 sq km
water: 1,390 sq km
Area-comparative: slightly smaller than Maryland
Land boundaries:
total: 893 km
border countries: Burundi 290 km, Democratic Republic of the Congo 217
km, Tanzania 217 km, Uganda 169 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: temperate; two rainy seasons (February to April, November to
January); mild in mountains with frost and snow possible
Terrain: mostly grassy uplands and hills; relief is mountainous with
altitude declining from west to east
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Rusizi River 950 m
highest point: Volcan Karisimbi 4,519 m
Natural resources: gold, cassiterite (tin ore), wolframite (tungsten
ore), natural gas, hydropower
Land use:
arable land: 35%
permanent crops: 13%
permanent pastures: 18%
forests and woodland: 22%
other: 12% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 40 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts; the volcanic Virunga mountains are
in the northwest along the border with Democratic Republic of the
Congo
Environment-current issues: deforestation results from uncontrolled
cutting of trees for fuel; overgrazing; soil exhaustion; soil erosion
Environment-international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Climate Change, Desertification, Law of the
Sea
Geography-note: landlocked; predominantly rural population
@Rwanda:People
Population: 7,956,172 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 1,785,650; female 1,772,609)
15-64 years: 53% (male 2,070,401; female 2,106,809)
65 years and over: 2% (male 90,941; female 129,762) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 2.5% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 38.99 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 19 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.03 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
note: following the outbreak of genocidal strife in Rwanda in April
1994 between Tutsi and Hutu factions, more than 2 million refugees
fled to neighboring Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, and Democratic Republic
of the Congo, formerly Zaire; according to the UN High Commission on
Refugees, in 1996 and early 1997 nearly 1,300,000 Hutus returned to
Rwanda; of these 720,000 returned from Democratic Republic of the
Congo, 480,000 from Tanzania, 88,000 from Burundi, and 10,000 from
Uganda; probably fewer than 100,000 Rwandans remained outside of
Rwanda at the end of 1997
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 113.31 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 41.93 years
male: 41.49 years
female: 42.4 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.86 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Rwandan(s)
adjective: Rwandan
Ethnic groups: Hutu 80%, Tutsi 19%, Twa (Pygmoid) 1%
Religions: Roman Catholic 65%, Protestant 9%, Muslim 1%, indigenous
beliefs and other 25%
Languages: Kinyarwanda (official) universal Bantu vernacular, French
(official), English (official), Kiswahili (Swahili) used in commercial
centers
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 60.5%
male: 69.8%
female: 51.6% (1995 est.)
@Rwanda:Government
Country name:
conventional long form: Rwandese Republic
conventional short form: Rwanda
local long form: Republika y'u Rwanda
local short form: Rwanda
Data code: RW
Government type: republic; presidential, multiparty system
National capital: Kigali
Administrative divisions: 12 prefectures (prefectures,
singular-prefecture in French; plural - NA, singular-prefegitura in
Kinyarwanda); Butare, Byumba, Cyangugu, Gikongoro, Gisenyi, Gitarama,
Kibungo, Kibuye, Kigali, Kigaliville, Umutara, Ruhengeri
Independence: 1 July 1962 (from Belgium-administered UN trusteeship)
National holiday: Independence Day, 1 July (1962)
Constitution: on 5 May 1995, the Transitional National Assembly
adopted a new constitution which included elements of the constitution
of 18 June 1991 as well as provisions of the 1993 Arusha peace accord
and the November 1994 multi-party protocol of understanding
Legal system: based on German and Belgian civil law systems and
customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme
Court; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: NA years of age; universal adult
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Pasteur BIZIMUNGU (since 19 July 1994); Vice
President Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME (since 19 July 1994)
head of government: Prime Minister Celestin RWIGEMA (since 1 September
1995)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president
elections: normally the president is elected by popular vote for a
five-year term; election last held in December 1988 (next to be held
NA); prime minister is appointed by the president
election results: Juvenal HABYARIMANA elected president; percent of
vote-99.98% (HABYARIMANA was the sole candidate)
note: President HABYARIMANA was assassinated on 6 April 1994 and
replaced by President BIZIMUNGU who was installed by the military
forces of the ruling Rwandan Patriotic Front on 19 July 1994
Legislative branch: unicameral Transitional National Assembly or
Assemblee Nationale de Transition (70 seats; members were
predetermined by the Arusha peace accord to serve NA-year terms)
elections: last held 26 December 1988 (next to be held NA); note-the
Transitional National Assembly is a power-sharing body established on
12 December 1994 following a multi-party protocol of understanding
election results: percent of vote by party-NA; seats by party-RPF 19,
MDR 13, PSD 13, PL 13, PDC 6, PSR 2, PDI 2, other 2; note-the
distribution of seats was predetermined
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, consists of the Court of
Cassation and the Council of State in joint session
Political parties and leaders: significant parties include: Rwandan
Patriotic Front or RPF [Alexis KANYARENGWE, chairman]; Democratic
Republican Movement or MDR; Liberal Party or PL; Democratic and
Socialist Party or PSD; Christian Democratic Party or PDC; Islamic
Democratic Party or PDI; Rwandan Socialist Party or PSR; National
Movement for Democracy and Development or MRND (former ruling party)
Political pressure groups and leaders: Rwanda Patriotic Army or RPA,
the RPF military wing [Maj. Gen. Paul KAGAME, commander]; Rally for
the Democracy and Return (RDR)
International organization participation: ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, CEEAC,
CEPGL, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Theogene N. RUDASINGWA
chancery: (temporary) 1814 New Hampshire Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 232-2882
FAX: [1] (202) 232-4544
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert GRIBBIN III
embassy: Boulevard de la Revolution, Kigali
mailing address: B. P. 28, Kigali
telephone: [250] 756 01 through 03, 721 26, 771 47
FAX: [250] 721 28
Flag description: three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side),
yellow, and green with a large black letter R centered in the yellow
band; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the
flag of Guinea, which has a plain yellow band
@Rwanda:Economy