National Guard, Police Force
Military - note: defense is the responsibility of the US
Transnational Issues Puerto Rico
Disputes - international: none
This page was last updated on 1 January 2002
========================================================================
Russia
Introduction
Russia
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
splintered 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. A determined guerrilla conflict still
plagues Russia in Chechnya.
Geography Russia
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
Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area: total: 17,075,200 sq km water: 79,400 sq km land: 16,995,800 sq km
Area - comparative: slightly less than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries: total: 19,990 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 3,485 km, Norway 196 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
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: 8% permanent crops: 0% other: 92% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 46,630 sq km (1998 est.)
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
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
Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution,
Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85,
Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources,
Antarctic Seals, 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, Whaling signed, but not
ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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 Elbrus is Europe's tallest peak
People Russia
Population: 144,978,573 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 16.7% (male 12,334,659; female 11,840,058) 15-64 years:
(male 6,150,775; female 12,919,811) (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.33% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 9.71 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Death rate: 13.91 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Net migration rate: 0.94 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04
male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over:
0.48 male(s)/female total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 19.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: 72.97 years (2002 est.) male: Total fertility
rate: 1.3 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.18% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 130,000 (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 850 (1999 est.)
Nationality: noun: Russian(s) adjective: Russian
Ethnic groups: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%,
Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 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.)
Government Russia
Country name: Russian Federation conventional short form: Russian
Soviet Federative Socialist Republic local short form: Rossiya
Government type: federation
Capital: Moscow
Administrative divisions: 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular -
oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika), 10
autonomous okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy
okrug), 6 krays*** (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities
(singular - gorod)****, and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya
oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**, Altay
(Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk),
Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya,
Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya,
Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*, Dagestan
(Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*, Irkutskaya,
Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya
(Elista)*, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy),
Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*,
Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy
(Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy
(Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***,
Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El
(Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya, Moskva (Moscow)****,
Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya,
Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya,
Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***,
Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutiya)*, Sakhalinskaya
(Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)****,
Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz)*,
Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg),
Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya,
Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*,
Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**,
Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya,
Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****; note -
when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy,'
the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the
place name 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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN
(acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)
head of government: Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000),
Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Viktor Borisovich
KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Valentina Ivanovna MATVIYENKO (since
22 September 1998) cabinet: 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 election results: Vladimirovich PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy
Andreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
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
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; 225 seats elected by proportional
representation from party lists winning at least 5% of the vote, and 225
seats from single-member constituencies; members are elected by direct
popular vote to serve four-year terms) 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 - KPRF 24.29%,
Unity 23.32%, OVR 13.33%, Union of Right Forces 8.52%, LDPR 5.98%,
Yabloko 5.93%; seats by party - KPRF 113, Unity 72, OVR 67, Union of
Rightist Forces 29, LDPR 17, Yabloko 21, other 16, independents 106,
repeat election required 8, vacant 1 elections: State Duma - last held
19 December 1999 (next to be held NA December 2003)
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Superior Court
of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the
Federation Council on the 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 Mikhaylovich
LUZHKOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich
ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Union of Rightist 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
International organization participation: APEC, ARF (dialogue partner),
ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS,
EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA,
IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW,
OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG,
UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy
Viktorovich USHAKOV FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: New
York, San Francisco, and Seattle telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701,
5704, 5708 chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
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 FAX:
[7] (095) 728-5203 consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok,
Yekaterinburg
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue,
and red
Economy Russia
Economy - overview: A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in
December 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 subsequently has rebounded, growing by an average of more than
6% annually in 1999-2001 on the back of higher oil prices and a weak
ruble. This recovery, along with a renewed government effort in 2000
and 2001 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 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, lack of a strong legal system, capital flight,
and brain drain.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.2 trillion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5.2% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,300 (2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 7% industry: 37% services: 56%
(2000 est.)
Population below poverty line: 40% (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: 2.4%
highest 10%: 33.5% (2001 est.)
Distribution of family income - Gini index: 39.9 (2000)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 21.9% (2001 est.)
Labor force: 71.3 million (2001 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 10.8%, industry 27.8%, services
61.4% (2001 est.)
Unemployment rate: 8.7% (2001 est.), plus considerable underemployment
Budget: revenues: $45 billion expenditures: $43 billion, including
capital expenditures of $NA (2001 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: 5.2% (2001 est.)
Electricity - production: 835.572 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 66.14% hydro: 18.89%
other: 0.31% (2000) nuclear: 14.66%
Electricity - consumption: 767.082 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports: 18 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports: 8 billion kWh (2000)
Agriculture - products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables,
fruits; beef, milk
Exports: $103.3 billion (2001 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: Germany 9.0%, US 7.2%, Italy 7.0%, Belarus 5.4%,
China 5.1%, Ukraine 4.9%, Netherlands (2000)
Imports: $51.7 billion (2001 est.)
Imports - commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods,
medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
Imports - partners: Germany 11.5%, Belarus 11.1%, Ukraine 10.8%, US 8.0%,
Kazakhstan 6.5%, Italy 3.6% (2000)
Debt - external: $157 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $8.523 billion (1995)
Currency: Russian ruble (RUR)
Currency code: RUR
Exchange rates: Russian rubles per US dollar - 30.4669 (January 2002),
29.1685 (2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051 (1998), 5,785
(1997) note: 1998 rubles
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Russia
Telephones - main lines in use: 30 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 2.5 million (October 2000)
Telephone system: general assessment: the telephone system has undergone
significant changes in the 1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies
licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has
improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are
improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications
infrastructure necessary for a market economy; however, a large demand
for main line service remains unsatisfied domestic: cross-country digital
trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to
Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern
digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital,
are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services
are still outdated, inadequate, and low density international: Russia
is connected internationally by three undersea fiber-optic cables;
digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for
international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat,
Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems
Radio broadcast stations: AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998)
Radios: 61.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 7,306 (1998)
Televisions: 60.5 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ru
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 35 (2000)
Internet users: 9.2 million (2000)
Transportation Russia
Railways: total: 87,157 km broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300
km are electrified) narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (installed on
Sakhalin Island) note: an additional 63,000 km of broad gauge routes serve
specific industries and are not available for common carrier use (2002)
Highways: total: 952,000 km paved: 752,000 km (including about 336,000
km of conventionally paved roads, and about 416,000 km of roads with
all-weather gravel surfaces) unpaved: 200,000 km (these roads are made of
unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998)
Waterways: 95,900 km (total routes in general use) note: 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 (Jan 1994)
Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural
gas 140,000 km (June 1993 est.)
Ports and harbors: Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan',
De-Kastri, Indigirskiy, Kaliningrad, Kandalaksha, Kazan', Khabarovsk,
Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Lazarev, Mago, Mezen', Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka,
Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Onega, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Rostov,
Shakhtersk, Saint Petersburg, Sochi, Taganrog, Tuapse, Uglegorsk, Vanino,
Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg
Merchant marine: total: 888 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,390,745
GRT/5,357,436 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 21, cargo 556,
chemical tanker 7, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 6, container
29, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 41, passenger/cargo
3, petroleum tanker 153, refrigerated cargo 22, roll on/roll off 20,
short-sea passenger 7 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered
here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 9, Denmark
1, Estonia 4, Greece 3, Honduras 1, Latvia 4, Lithuania 3, Moldova 3,
Netherlands 1, South Korea 1, Turkey 18, Turkmenistan 2, Ukraine 10,
United Kingdom 5, United States 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 2,743 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: 178 1,524 to 2,437 m: Airports - with
unpaved runways: 118 1,524 to 2,437 m: Military Russia
Military branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Space Forces,
Airborne Forces, Strategic Rocket Forces
Military manpower - military age: 18 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 38,906,796 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service: males age 15-49: 30,392,946
(2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually: males: 1,242,778
(2002 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues Russia