Russia

Russia

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Geography                 Economy                 Defense Forces
 

People                    Transportation          Government



Communications            History      	          Travel

GEOGRAPHY

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

Land Boundaries

Total 20,139 km, Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, Chechnia NA 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

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; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine .htmCrimea; Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions; the Abrene section of the border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; 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
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Mount El'brus 5,633 m

Natural Resources

Note: Formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Land Use

Irrigated Land

56,000 sq km (1992)

Environment

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

PEOPLE

Population

148,178,487 (July 1996 est.)
149,909,089 (July 1995 est.)

Note: Official Russian statistics put the population at 148,200,000 for 1994

Age Structure

0-14 Years

21% (male 15,792,573; female 15,213,854)
22% (male 16,784,017; female 16,208,640)

15-64 Years

67% (male 48,145,679; female 51,125,902)
66% (male 48,247,101; female 50,711,209)

65 Years and Over

12% (male 5,403,066; female 12,497,413) (July 1996 est.)
12% (male 5,400,675; female 12,557,447) (July 1995 est.)

Population Growth Rate

-0.07% (1996 est.)
0.2% (1995 est.)

Note: Official Russian statistics put the population growth rate at -6.0% for 1994

Birth Rate

10.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
12.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
9.5 births per l,000 population (1994)

Death Rate

16.34 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
11.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
15.5 deaths/1,000 population (1994)

Net Migration Rate

5.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 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: 0.43 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.88 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate:

Infant Mortality Rate

24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
26.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Note: Official Russian statistics put the infant mortality rate at 19.9 deaths per l,000 live births in 1994

Life Expectancy at Birth

Note: Official Russian statistics put life expectancy at birth as 64 years for total population in 1994

Total Fertility Rate

1.42 children born/woman (1996 est.)
1.82 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic Divisions

Religions

Languages

Russian, other

Literacy

Age 15 and over can read and write (1989)

Labor Force

85 million (1993)

By occupation:

GOVERNMENT

Names

Digraph

RS

Type

Federation

Capital

Moscow

Administrative Divisions

21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh respublik, singular - avtomnaya respublika); Adygea (Maykop), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (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 - also known as Sakha (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'; 10 autonomous okrugs; Aga (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenkia (Tura), Khantia-Mansia (Khanty-Mansiysk), Koryakia (Palana), Nenetsia (Nar'yan-Mar), Permyakia (Kudymkar), Taymyria (Dudinka), Ust'-Onda (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalia (Salekhard); 1 autonomous oblast (avtomnykh oblast'); Birobijan

Note: The autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia were formerly the autonomous 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

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

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 66 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

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)

State Duma

Elections last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999); results - 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 - (450 total - half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists) 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 by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court (highest court for criminal, civil, and administrative cases), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that resolves economic disputes), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president

Political Parties and Leaders

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

Other Political or Pressure Groups

NA

Member of

BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC

National Anthem

Flag

Three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red

ECONOMY

Overview

Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern-market economy. The break-up of the USSR into 15 successor states in late 1991 destroyed major economic links that have been only partially replaced. As a result of these dislocations and the failure of the government to implement a rigorous and consistent reform program, output in Russia has dropped by one-third since 1990 (instead of the one-half previously estimated). On the one hand, President YEL'TSIN's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program in 1994, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. On the other hand, Russia has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy; and the strong showing of the communists and nationalists in the Duma elections in December 1995 casts a shadow over prospects for further reforms. In 1995, the new cash privatization program went slower than planned. The state claims that the nonstate sector produced approximately 70% of GDP in 1995, up from 62% in 1994, although these figures apparently include many enterprises that have only nominally moved out of state control. Moscow has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment. Stockholder rights remain ill-defined and the Duma has yet to adopt a land code that would allow development of land markets as sources of needed capital. Russia's securities market remains largely unregulated and suffers from the lack of a comprehensive securities law. In addition, Moscow has yet to develop a social safety net that would allow faster restructuring by relieving enterprises of the burden of providing social benefits for their workers. Most rank-and-file Russians perceive they are worse off because of growing crime and health problems, the drop in real wages, the great rise in wage arrears, and the widespread threat of unemployment. The number of Russians living below the official poverty level rose by 10% to 36.6 million people, or 25% of the population. The decline in output slowed during 1995, and some sectors showed signs of a turnaround; analysts forecast the resumption of growth in 1996 - at a low rate. Russian official data, which fail to capture a considerable portion of private sector output and employment, show that GDP declined by 4% in 1995, as compared with a 15% decline in 1994. Despite continued declines in agricultural and industrial production, unemployment climbed only slowly to about 8% of the work force by yearend because government policies aimed at softening the impact of reforms have created incentives for enterprises to keep workers on the rolls even as production slowed to a crawl. Moscow renewed tightened financial policies in early 1995 and succeeded in reducing monthly consumer price inflation from 18% in January to about 3% in December, the lowest monthly rate since the beginning of reform. According to official trade statistics, Russia ran a $19.9 billion trade surplus for 1995, up from $15.9 billion in 1994. It continued to shift its trade away from the other former Soviet republics toward the West, with the CIS countries' share of Russian trade falling to 22% in 1995. Russia made good progress with official and commercial creditors in 1995 in resolving the issue of its $105 billion in Soviet-era debts. When completed, these Paris Club and London Club rescheduling agreements will reduce Russia's repayment liabilities from $20 billion to less than $5 billion annually through the end of the decade. Capital flight reportedly continued to be a problem in 1995, with billions of additional dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in Europe.

National Product

GDP - purchasing power parity - $796 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994), $721.2 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National Product Real Growth Rate

-4% (1995 est.)
-15% (1994 est.)

National Product Per Capita

$5,300 (1995 est.)
$4,820 (1994 est.)

Inflation Rate (consumer Prices)

7% monthly average (1995 est.)
10% per month (average 1994)

Unemployment Rate

8.2% (December 1995) with considerable additional underemployment
7.1% (December 1994) with considerable additional underemployment

Budget

Exports

$77.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
$48 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

Imports

$57.9 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
$35.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)

Commodities:

Partners:

External Debt

$130 billion (yearend 1995)
$95 billion-$100 billion (yearend 1994)

Industrial Production

Growth rate -3% (1995 est.), -21% (1994)

Electricity

Industries

Agriculture

Grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, meat, milk, vegetables, fruits; because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products

Illicit Drugs

Illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe and Latin America

Economic Aid

Currency

1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks

Exchange Rates

Rubles per US$1 - 6,000 (december 1997), 4,640 (29 December 1995), 3,550 (29 December 1994), 1,247 (27 December 1993)

Note: On 1 january 1998 new rubles, equal to 1,000 old rubles, were introduced; this also implicated that the kopek was re-introduced

Fiscal Year

Calendar year

TRANSPORTATION

Railroads

Highways

Inland Waterways

Total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km; of which 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

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

Note: Russia owns an additional 163 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,276,829 DWT operating under the registries of Malta, Cyprus, Liberia, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras, The Bahamas, and Vanuatu (1995 est.)

Airports

COMMUNICATIONS

Telephone System

25.4 million telephones (1993 est.); 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

Radio

Television

DEFENSE FORCES

Branches

Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Strategic Rocket Forces

Manpower Availability

Males age 15-49 38,673,991; males fit for military service 30,224,738; males reach military age (18) annually 1,105,004 (1996 est.)

Defense Expenditures

NA

Note: The Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in Russia fell by about 20% in real terms in 1995, reducing Russian defense outlays to about one-fifth of peak Soviet levels in the late 1980s

History
World Atlas