conventional long form:
none
conventional short form:
Romania
local long form:
none
local short form:
Romania
Digraph:
RO
Type:
republic
Capital:
Bucharest
Administrative divisions:
40 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality*
(municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud,
Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin,
Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu,
Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures,
Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman,
Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea
Independence:
1881 (from Turkey; republic proclaimed 30 December 1947)
National holiday:
National Day of Romania, 1 December (1990)
Constitution:
8 December 1991
Legal system:
former mixture of civil law system and Communist legal theory is being
revised to conform with European norms
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Ion ILIESCU (since 20 June 1990, previously President of
Provisional Council of National Unity since 23 December 1989);
election last held 27 September 1992 - with runoff between top two
candidates on 11 October 1992 (next to be held NA 1996); results - Ion
ILIESCU 61.4%, Emil CONSTANTINESCU 38.6%
head of government:
Prime Minister Nicolae VACAROIU (since November 1992)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the prime minister
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament
Senate (Senat):
elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA 1996);
results - PDSR 27.5%, CDR 22.5%, PP-(FSN) 11%, others 39%; seats -
(143 total) PDSR 49, CDR 34, PP-(FSN) 18, PUNR 14, UDMR 12, PRM 6,
PDAR 5, PSM 5
House of Deputies (Adunarea Deputatilor):
elections last held 27 September 1992 (next to be held NA 1996);
results - PDSR 27.5%, CDR 22.5%, PP-(FSN) 11%, others 39%; seats -
(341 total) PDSR 117, CDR 82, PP-(FSN) 43, PUNR 30, UDMR 27, PRM 16,
PSM 13, other 13
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Justice, Constitutional Court
Political parties and leaders:
Democratic Party (PD-(FSN)), Petre ROMAN; Party of Social Democracy in
Romania (PDSR), Adrian NASTASE; Democratic Union of Hungarians in
Romania (UDMR), Bela MARKO; National Liberal Party (PNL), Mircea
IONESCU-QUINTUS; National Peasants' Christian and Democratic Party
(PNTCD), Corneliu COPOSU; Romanian National Unity Party (PUNR),
Gheorghe FUNAR; Socialist Labor Party (PSM), Ilie VERDET; Agrarian
Democratic Party of Romania (PDAR), Victor SURDU; The Democratic
Convention (CDR), Emil CONSTANTINESCU; Romania Mare Party (PRM),
Corneliu Vadim TUDOR
note:
numerous other samll parties exist but almost all failed to gain
representation in the most recent election
Other political or pressure groups:
various human rights and professional associations
Member of:
ACCT (observer), BIS, BSEC, CCC, CE, CEI (participating), CSCE, EBRD,
ECE, FAO, G-9, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IFAD, IFC, ILO,
IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
LORCS, NACC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOSOM, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
(vacant)
chancery:
1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone:
(202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851
FAX:
(202) 232-4748
consulate(s) general:
New York
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador John R. DAVIS, Jr.
embassy:
Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest
mailing address:
AmEmbassy (Buch), Unit 1315, Bucharest; APO AE 09213-1315
telephone:
[40] (1) 210-4042
FAX:
[40] (1) 210-0395
Flag:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the
national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has
been removed; now similar to the flags of Andorra and Chad
@Romania, Economy
Overview:
Despite the continuing difficulties in moving away from the former
command system, the Romanian economy seems to have bottomed out in
1993. Market oriented reforms have been introduced fitfully since the
downfall of CEAUSESCU in December 1989, with the result a growing
private sector, especially in services. The slow pace of structural
reform, however, has exacerbated Romania's high inflation rate and
eroded real wages. Agricultural production rebounded in 1993 from the
previous year's drought-reduced harvest; food supplies are adequate,
but expensive. Bucharest resisted pressure to devalue its currency
despite a $638 million trade deficit in the first half of 1993 and the
emergence of a black market for hard currency. Unable to support the
currency, the national bank, nonetheless, was forced to depreciate the
currency 65% over the course of the year. The return of winter
revealed that much of Romania's infrastructure had deteriorated over
the last four years due to reduced levels of public investment.
Residents of the capital reported frequent disruptions of heating and
water services.
National product:
GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $63.7 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
1% (1993)
National product per capita:
$2,700 (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
6% per month (March 1994)
Unemployment rate:
11% (March 1994)
Budget:
revenues:
$19 billion
expenditures:
$20 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.1 billion (1991
est.)
Exports:
$4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
metals and metal products 24%, mineral products 14%, textiles 10.7%,
electric machines and equipment 9.3%, transport materials 9.2% (1993)
partners:
EC 36.1%, developing countries 27.4%, East and Central Europe 14.9%,
EFTA 5.1%, Russia 5%, Japan 1.4%, US 1.3% (1993)
Imports:
$5.4 billion (f.o.b., 1993)
commodities:
minerals 29%, machinery and equipment 17.2%, textiles 10%,
agricultural goods 9% (1993)
partners:
EC 45.8%, East and Central Europe 8.6%, developing countries 22.6%,
Russia 11%, EFTA 6.2%, US 5.0%, Japan 0.8% (1993)
External debt:
$4 billion (1993)
Industrial production:
growth rate -1% (1993 est.); accounts for 45% of GDP
Electricity:
capacity:
22,500,000 kW
production:
59 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
2,540 kWh (1992)
Industries:
mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine
building, food processing, petroleum production and refining
Agriculture:
accounts for 18% of GDP and 28% of labor force; major wheat and corn
producer; other products - sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes,
milk, eggs, meat, grapes
Illicit drugs:
transshipment point for southwest Asian heroin and Latin American
cocaine transiting the Balkan route
Economic aid:
$NA
Currency:
1 leu (L) = 100 bani
Exchange rates:
lei (L) per US$1 - 1,387.16 (January 1994), 760.05 (1993), 307.95
(1992), 76.39 (1991), 22.432 (1990), 14.922 (1989)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
@Romania, Communications
Railroads:
11,275 km total; 10,860 km 1.435-meter gauge, 370 km narrow gauge, 45
km broad gauge; 3,411 km electrified, 3,060 km double track;
government owned (1987)
Highways:
total:
72,799 km
paved:
35,970 km
unpaved:
gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 27,729 km; unsurfaced earth
9,100 km (1985)
Inland waterways:
1,724 km (1984)
Pipelines:
crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km
(1992)
Ports:
Constanta, Galati, Braila, Mangalia; inland ports are Giurgiu,
Drobeta-Turnu Severin, Orsova
Merchant marine:
241 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,626,421 GRT/4,017,380 DWT,
bulk 49, cargo 167, container 2, oil tanker 14, passenger-cargo 1,
rail-car carrier 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 7
Airports:
total:
234
usable:
74
with permanent-surface runways:
26
with runways over 3,659 m:
0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
21
with runways 1,060-2,439 m:
24
note:
a C-130 can land on a 1,060-m airstrip
Telecommunications:
poor service; about 2.3 million telephone customers; 89% of phone
network is automatic; cable and open wire; trunk network is microwave;
present phone density is 9.85 per 100 residents; roughly 3,300
villages with no service (February 1990); new digital international
direct dial exchanges are in Bucharest (1993); broadcast stations - 12
AM, 5 FM, 13 TV (1990); 1 satellite ground station using INTELSAT
@Romania, Defense Forces
Branches:
Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil
Defense
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49 5,888,452; fit for military service 4,972,834; reach
military age (20) annually 193,901 (1994 est.)
Defense expenditures:
137 billion lei, 3% of GDP (1993); note - conversion of defense
expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could
produce misleading results
@Russia, Geography
Location:
Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with
Europe), between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Map references:
Asia, Commonwealth of Independent States - Central Asian States,
Commonwealth of Independent States - European States, Standard Time
Zones of the World
Area:
total area:
17,075,200 sq km
land area:
16,995,800 sq km
comparative area:
slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total 20,139 km, 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 19 km, Latvia 217 km,
Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167
km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline:
37,653 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone:
200 nm
territorial sea:
12 nm
International disputes:
inherited disputes from former USSR including: sections of the
boundary with China; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and
the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered
by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime dispute with Norway over portion
of the Barents Sea; Russia may dispute current de facto maritime
border of midpoint of Caspian Sea from shore; potential dispute with
Ukraine over Crimea; 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
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
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:
8%
permanent crops:
NA%
meadows and pastures:
NA%
forest and woodland:
NA%
other:
NA%
note:
agricultural land accounts for 13% of the total land area
Irrigated land:
56,000 sq km (1992)
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
natural hazards:
permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development
international agreements:
party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air
Pollution-Sulphur, Antarctic Treaty, Environmental Modification,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical
Timber, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental
Protocol, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the
Sea
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
@Russia, People
Population:
149,608,953 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.2% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
12.67 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
11.34 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
27 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
68.89 years
male:
63.85 years
female:
74.2 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.83 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Russian(s)
adjective:
Russian
Ethnic divisions:
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:
age 9-49 can read and write (1970)
total population:
100%
male:
100%
female:
100%
Labor force:
75 million (1993 est.)
by occupation:
production and economic services 83.9%, government 16.1%
@Russia, Government
Names:
conventional long form:
Russian Federation
conventional short form:
Russia
local long form:
Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form:
Rossiya
former:
Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Digraph:
RS
Type:
federation
Capital:
Moscow
Administrative divisions:
21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh respublik, singular - avtomnaya
respublika); Adygea (Maykop), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia
(Ulan-Ude), Chechenia (Groznyy), Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Dagestan
(Makhachkala), Gorno-Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Ingushetia (Nazran'),
Kabardino-Balkaria (Nal'chik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachay-Cherkessia
(Cherkessk), Karelia (Petrozavodsk), Khakassia (Abakan), Komi
(Syktyvkar), Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordovia (Saransk), North Ossetia
(Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tuva (Kyzyl), Udmurtia (Izhevsk),
Yakutia (Yakutsk); 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast'); Amur
(Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk,
Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka
(Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk,
Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk,
Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orel, Orenburg, Penza,
Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara,
Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula,
Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh,
Yaroslavl'; 6 krays (krayev, singular - kray); Altay (Barnaul),
Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok),
Stavropol'
note:
the autonomous republics of Chechenia and Ingushetia were formerly the
automous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between
Chechenia and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); the cities of
Moscow and St. Petersburg are federal cities; an administrative
division has the same name as its administrative center (exceptions
have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
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 Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991) election
last held 12 June 1991 (next to be held 1996); results - percent of
vote by party NA%; 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, which must be held
within three months
head of government:
Premier and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Viktor Stepanovich
CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992); First Deputy Chairman of the
Council of Ministers Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993)
Security Council:
(originally established as a presidential advisory body in June 1991,
but restructured in March 1992 with responsibility for managing
individual and state security)
Presidential Administration:
(drafts presidential edicts and provides staff and policy support to
the entire executive branch)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers; appointed by the president
Group of Assistants:
(schedules president's appointments, processes presidential edicts and
other official documents, and houses the president's press service and
primary speechwriters)
Council of Heads of Republics:
(includes the leaders of the 21 ethnic-based Republics)
Council of Heads of Administrations:
(includes the leaders of the 68 autonomous territories and regions,
and the mayors of Moscow and St. Petersburg)
Presidential Council:
(prepares policy papers for the president)
Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly
Federation Council:
elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA); note - two
members elected from each of Russia's 89 territorial units for a total
of 176 deputies; 2 seats unfilled as of 15 May 1994 (Chechenia did not
participate in the election); Speaker Vladimir SHUMEYKO (Russia's
Choice)
State Duma:
elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA December
1995); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (450 total)
Russia's Choice 78, New Regional Policy 66, Liberal Democrats 63,
Agrarian Party 55, Communist Party of the Russian Federation 45, Unity
and Accord 30, Yavlinskiy Bloc 27, Women of Russia 23, Democratic
Party of Russia 15, Russia's Path 12, other parties 23, affiliation
unknown 12, unfilled (as of 13 March 1994; Chechnya did not
participate in the election) 1; Speaker Ivan RYBKIN (Agrarian Party)
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court, Supreme Court (highest court for criminal,
civil, and administrative cases), Superior Court of Arbitration
(highest court that resolves economic disputes)
Political parties and leaders:
pro-market democrats:
Party of Russian Unity and Accord, Sergey SHAKHRAY; Russia's Choice
electoral association, Yegor GAYDAR; Russian Movement for Democratic
Reforms electoral association, Anatoliy SOBCHAK;
Yavlinskiy-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc electoral association, Grigoriy
YAVLINSKIY
centrists/special interest parties:
Civic Union for Stability, Justice, and Progress, Arkadiy VOL'SKIY;
Constructive-Ecological Movement of Russia, Anatoliy PANFILOV;
Democratic Party of Russia, Nikolay TRAVKIN; Dignity and Charity
Federal Political Movement, Konstantin FROLOV; Russia's Future-New
Names electoral association, Vyacheslav LASHCHEVSKIY; Women of Russia
Party, Alevtina FEDULOVA
anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties:
Agrarian Party, Mikhail LAPSHIN; Communist Party of the Russian
Federation, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia,
Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY
note:
more than 20 political parties and associations tried to gather enough
signatures to run slates of candidates in the 12 December 1993
legislative elections, but only 13 succeeded
Other political or pressure groups:
NA
Member of:
BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE (guest), CERN (observer), CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE,
ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NACC, NSG,
OAS (observer), PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNOMOZ,
UNPROFOR, UN Security Council, UNTAC, UN Trusteeship Council, UNTSO,
UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Vladimir Petrovich LUKIN
chancery:
1125 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
(202) 628-7551 and 8548
consulate(s) general:
New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
consulate(s):
Washington
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Thomas R. PICKERING
embassy:
Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
mailing address:
APO AE 09721
telephone:
[7] (095) 252-2451 through 2459
FAX:
[7] (095)-4261/4270
consulate(s):
St. Petersburg, Vladivostok
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
@Russia, Economy