females age 16-49: 5,557,098 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 4,572,017
females age 16-49: 4,644,474 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 127,706
female: 121,852 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
1.9% of GDP (2007 est.)
Transnational Issues
Romania
Disputes - international:
the ICJ gave Ukraine until December 2006 to reply, and Romania until
June 2007 to issue a rejoinder, in their dispute submitted in 2004
over Ukrainian-administered Zmiyinyy/Serpilor (Snake) Island and
Black Sea maritime boundary delimitation; Romania also opposes
Ukraine's reopening of a navigation canal from the Danube border
through Ukraine to the Black Sea
Illicit drugs:
major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the
Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for
Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as
a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering, which occurs
via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
======================================================================
@Russia
Introduction
Russia
Background:
Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able
to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th
centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding
principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty
continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific.
Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic
Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th
century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia.
Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the
Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament
and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army
in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the
Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial
household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon
after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53)
strengthened Communist rule and 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 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent
republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic
ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state whose
legitimacy is buttressed, in part, by carefully managed national
elections, former President PUTIN's genuine popularity, and the
prudent management of Russia's windfall energy wealth. Russia has
severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still
occurs throughout the North Caucasus.
Geography
Russia
Location:
Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of
Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North
Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates:
60 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references:
Asia
Area:
total: 17,075,200 sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km
Area - comparative:
approximately 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 20,241.5 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China
(southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland
1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 17.5 km,
Latvia 292 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441
km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 1,576
km
Coastline:
37,653 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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
Terrain:
broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and
tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border
regions
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m
Natural resources:
wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural
gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder
exploitation of natural resources
Land use:
arable land: 7.17%
permanent crops: 0.11%
other: 92.72% (2005)
Irrigated land:
46,000 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
4,498 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 76.68 cu km/yr (19%/63%/18%)
per capita: 535 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to
development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and
earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and
summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European
Russia
Environment - current issues:
air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric
plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal,
and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts;
deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper
application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes
intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from
toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of
obsolete pesticides
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic
Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol,
Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes,
Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 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; Mount El'brus is Europe's
tallest peak
People
Russia
Population:
140,702,096 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 14.6% (male 10,577,858/female 10,033,254)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 48,187,807/female 52,045,102)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 6,162,400/female 13,695,673) (2008
est.)
Median age:
total: 38.3 years
male: 35.1 years
female: 41.4 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.474% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
11.03 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
16.06 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.45 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 10.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.34 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 65.94 years
male: 59.19 years
female: 73.1 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.4 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
860,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
9,000 (2001 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea and hepatitis A
vectorborne disease: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic fever and tickborne
encephalitis
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in
this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases
possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian
Ethnic groups:
Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%,
other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census)
Religions:
Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006
est.)
note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large
populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy
of over seven decades of Soviet rule
Languages:
Russian, many minority languages
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.2% (2002 census)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 14 years
male: 13 years
female: 14 years (2006)
Education expenditures:
3.8% of GDP (2005)
Government
Russia
Country name:
conventional long form: Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Government type:
federation
Capital:
name: Moscow
geographic coordinates: 55 45 N, 37 35 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October
note: Russia is divided into 11 time zones
Administrative divisions:
46 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik,
singular - respublika), 4 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov,
singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 9 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2
federal cities (goroda, singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast
(avtonomnaya oblast')
oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod,
Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga,
Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk,
Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk,
Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin
(Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk
(Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk,
Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'
republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan
(Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya
(Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas),
Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista),
Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk),
Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola),
Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya]
(Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)
autonomous okrugs: Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi
(Khanty-Mansiysk), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)
krays: Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy),
Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm', Primorskiy (Vladivostok),
Stavropol', Zabaykal'skiy (Chita)
federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg)
autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their
administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center
name following in parentheses)
Independence:
24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
Constitution:
adopted 12 December 1993
Legal system:
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV (since 7 May
2008)
head of government: Premier Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 8
May 2008); First Deputy Premiers Igor Ivanovich SHUVALOV and Viktor
Alekseyevich ZUBKOV (since 12 May 2008); Deputy Premiers Sergey
Borisovich IVANOV (since 12 May 2008), Dmitriy Nikolayevich KOZAK
(since 14 October 2008), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 24
September 2007), Igor Ivanovich SECHIN (since 12 May 2008), Sergey
Semenovich SOBYANIN (since 12 May 2008), Aleksandr Dmitriyevich
ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004), and Dmitry Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14
October 2008)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of
the premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other
individuals; 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
(eligible for a second term); election last held 2 March 2008 (next
to be held in March 2012); note - no vice president; if the
president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill
health, is impeached, or resigns, 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: Dmitriy MEDVEDEV elected president; percent of
vote - Dmitry MEDVEDEV 70.2%, Gennady ZYUGANOV 17.7%, Vladimir
ZHIRINOVSKY 9.4%, Andrey BOGDONOV 1.3%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of an
upper house, the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (168 seats;
as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and
legislative officials in each of the 84 federal administrative units
- oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the
federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; to serve four-year
terms) and a lower house, the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma
(450 seats; as of 2007, all members elected by proportional
representation from party lists winning at least 7% of the vote;
members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: State Duma - last held 2 December 2007 (next to be held
in December 2011)
election results: State Duma - United Russia 64.3%, CPRF 11.5%, LDPR
8.1%, Just Russia 7.7%, other 8.4%; total seats by party - United
Russia 315, CPRF 57, LDPR 40, Just Russia 38
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Supreme Arbitration Court;
judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation
Council on the recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders:
Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy
Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Just Russia [Sergey MIRONOV]; Liberal
Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich
ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Patriots of Russia [Gennadiy SEMIGIN]; People's Union
[Sergey BABURIN]; Right Cause [Leonid Yakovlevich GOZMAN, Boris
Yuriyevich TITOV, and Georgiy Georgiyevich BOVT] (registration
pending; formed from merger of Union of Right Forces, Democratic
Party of Russia, and Civic Force); United Russia [Vladimir
Vladimirovich PUTIN]; Yabloko Party [Sergey Sergeyevich MITROKHIN]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Levada Center (conducts polls); Memorial (human rights group;
Movement Against Illegal Migration; Pamjat (preservation of
historical monuments and recording of history); Russian Orthodox
Church; Russian-Chechen Friendship Society
other: ecology groups; human rights groups; nationalist pragmatists
(no foreign influence over Central Eurasia); neo-Eurasianists
(against Western influence for the area); religious groups;
westernizers (lean towards the West)
International organization participation:
APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC,
CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, G-8, GCTU,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO,
ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO,
ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG,
OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP,
SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR,
UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John R. BEYRLE
embassy: Bolshoy Deviatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (495) 728-5000
FAX: [7] (495) 728-5090
consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
Economy
Russia
Economy - overview:
Russia ended 2007 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging
7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil
prices and a relatively cheap ruble initially drove this growth,
since 2003 consumer demand and, more recently, investment have
played a significant role. Over the last six years, fixed capital
investments have averaged real gains greater than 10% per year and
personal incomes have achieved real gains more than 12% per year.
During this time, poverty has declined steadily and the middle class
has continued to expand. Russia has also improved its international
financial position since the 1998 financial crisis. The federal
budget has run surpluses since 2001 and ended 2007 with a surplus of
about 3% of GDP. Over the past several years, Russia has used its
stabilization fund based on oil taxes to prepay all Soviet-era
sovereign debt to Paris Club creditors and the IMF. Foreign debt is
approximately one-third of GDP. The state component of foreign debt
has declined, but commercial debt to foreigners has risen strongly.
Oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign
reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to some $470 billion at yearend
2007, the third largest reserves in the world. During President
PUTIN's first administration, a number of important reforms were
implemented in the areas of tax, banking, labor, and land codes.
These achievements have raised business and investor confidence in
Russia's economic prospects, with foreign direct investment rising
from $14.6 billion in 2005 to approximately $45 billion in 2007. In
2007, Russia's GDP grew 8.1%, led by non-tradable services and goods
for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and
exports. Rising inflation returned in the second half of 2007,
driven largely by unsterilized capital inflows and by rising food
costs, and approached 12% by year-end. In 2006, Russia signed a
bilateral market access agreement with the US as a prelude to
possible WTO entry, and its companies are involved in global merger
and acquisition activity in the oil and gas, metals, and telecom
sectors. Despite Russia's recent success, serious problems persist.
Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of
exports and 30% of government revenues, leaving the country
vulnerable to swings in world commodity prices. Russia's
manufacturing base is dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized
if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. The
banking system, while increasing consumer lending and growing at a
high rate, is still small relative to the banking sectors of
Russia's emerging market peers. Political uncertainties associated
with this year's power transition, corruption, and lack of trust in
institutions continue to dampen domestic and foreign investor
sentiment. PUTIN has granted more influence to forces within his
government that desire to reassert state control over the economy.
Russia has made little progress in building the rule of law, the
bedrock of a modern market economy. The government has promised
additional legislative amendments to make its intellectual property
protection WTO-consistent, but enforcement remains problematic.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.097 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.29 trillion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
8.1% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$14,800 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.7%
industry: 39.1%
services: 56.2% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
75.1 million (2007 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 10.8%
industry: 28.8%
services: 60.5% (November 2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:
6.2% (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
15.8% (November 2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 30.4% (September 2007)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
41.3 (September 2007)
Investment (gross fixed):
21% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $299 billion
expenditures: $262 billion (2007 est.)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Public debt:
5.9% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
9% annual average
note: 12% at year-end (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
10% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
10.03% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$303.7 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$292.5 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$339.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
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;
defense industries including radar, missile production, and advanced
electronic components, 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:
7.4% (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
964.2 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
819.6 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
15.81 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - imports:
5.67 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 66.3%
hydro: 17.2%
nuclear: 16.4%
other: 0.1% (2003)
Oil - production:
9.876 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
2.858 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - exports:
5.08 million bbl/day (2007)
Oil - imports:
73,140 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
60 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
656.2 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
610 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
237.2 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
58.3 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
47.57 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
$78.31 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$355.5 billion (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood
products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and
military manufactures
Exports - partners:
Netherlands 12.2%, Italy 7.8%, Germany 7.5%, Turkey 5.2%, Belarus
5%, Ukraine 4.7%, China 4.5% (2007)
Imports: