|
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. |
|
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, Desertification, 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
|
|
Population:
|
140,041,247 (July 2009 est.) |
|
Age structure:
|
0-14 years: 14.8% (male 10,644,833/female 10,095,011)
15-64 years: 71.5% (male 48,004,040/female
52,142,313)
65 years and over: 13.7% (male 5,880,877/female
13,274,173) (2009 est.) |
|
Median age:
|
total: 38.4 years
male: 35.2 years
female: 41.6 years (2008 est.) |
|
Population growth rate:
|
-0.467% (2009 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 (2009 est.) |
|
Urbanization:
|
urban population: 73% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: -0.5% annual rate of change
(2005-2010) |
|
Sex ratio:
|
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.44 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2009 est.)
|
|
Infant mortality rate:
|
total: 10.56 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.08 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2009 est.)
|
|
Life expectancy at birth:
|
total population: 66.03 years
male: 59.33 years
female: 73.14 years (2009 est.) |
|
Total fertility rate:
|
1.41 children born/woman (2009 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
|
1.1% (2007 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
|
940,000 (2007 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
|
40,000 (2007 est.) |
|
Major infectious diseases:
|
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne disease: 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 (2009) |
|
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) |
|
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
[Maritime] (Vladivostok), Stavropol', Zabaykal'sk (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:
|
All-Russian Confederation of Labor; Baikal Environmental
Wave; Federation of Independent Labor Unions of Russia;
Freedom of Choice Interregional Organization of
Automobilists; Glasnost Defense Foundation; Golos
Association in Defense of Voters' Rights; Greenpeace Russia;
Human Rights Watch (Russian chapter); Institute for
Collective Action; Memorial (human rights group); Movement
Against Illegal Migration; Pamjat (preservation of
historical monuments and recording of history); Russian
Orthodox Church; Russian-Chechen Friendship Society; SOVA
Analytical-Information Center; Union of the Committees of
Soldiers' Mothers; World Wildlife Fund (Russian chapter)
|
|
International organization participation:
|
APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS,
BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD,
G-20, 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), OECD (accession state), 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 |
|
Flag description:
|
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
|
|
Economy - overview:
|
Russia ended 2008 with GDP growth of 6.0%, following 10
straight years of growth averaging 7% annually since the
financial crisis of 1998. Over the last six years, fixed
capital investment growth and personal income growth have
averaged above 10%, but both grew at slower rates in 2008.
Growth in 2008 was driven largely by non-tradable services
and domestic manufacturing, rather than exports. During the
past decade, poverty and unemployment declined steadily and
the middle class continued to expand. Russia also improved
its international financial position, running balance of
payments surpluses since 2000. Foreign exchange reserves
grew from $12 billion in 1999 to almost $600 billion by end
July 2008, which include $200 billion in two sovereign
wealth funds: a reserve fund to support budgetary
expenditures in case of a fall in the price of oil and a
national welfare fund to help fund pensions and
infrastructure development. Total foreign debt is
approximately one-third of GDP. The state component of
foreign debt has declined, but commercial short-term debt to
foreigners has risen strongly. These positive trends began
to reverse in the second half of 2008. Investor concerns
over the Russia-Georgia conflict, corporate governance
issues, and the global credit crunch in September caused the
Russian stock market to fall by roughly 70%, primarily due
to margin calls that were difficult for many Russian
companies to meet. The global crisis also affected Russia's
banking system, which faced liquidity problems. Moscow
responded quickly in early October 2008, initiating a rescue
plan of over $200 billion that was designed to increase
liquidity in the financial sector, to help firms refinance
foreign debt, and to support the stock market. The
government also unveiled a $20 billion tax cut plan and
other safety nets for society and industry. Meanwhile, a 70%
drop in the price of oil since mid-July further exacerbated
imbalances in external accounts and the federal budget. In
mid-November, mini-devaluations of the currency by the
Central Bank caused increased capital flight and froze
domestic credit markets, resulting in growing unemployment,
wage arrears, and a severe drop in production. Foreign
exchange reserves dropped to around $435 billion by end
2008, as the Central Bank defended an overvalued ruble. In
the first year of his term, President MEDVEDEV outlined a
number of economic priorities for Russia including improving
infrastructure, innovation, investment, and institutions;
reducing the state's role in the economy; reforming the tax
system and banking sector; developing one of the biggest
financial centers in the world, combating corruption, and
improving the judiciary. The Russian government needs to
diversify the economy further, as energy and other raw
materials still dominate Russian export earnings and federal
budget receipts. Russia's infrastructure requires large
investments and must be replaced or modernized if the
country is to achieve broad-based economic growth.
Corruption, lack of trust in institutions, and more
recently, exchange rate uncertainty and the global economic
crisis continue to dampen domestic and foreign investor
sentiment. Russia has made some progress in building the
rule of law, the bedrock of a modern market economy, but
much work remains on judicial reform. Moscow continues to
seek accession to the WTO and has made some progress, but
its timeline for entry into the organization continues to
slip, and the negotiating atmosphere has soured in the wake
of the Georgia and global economic crises.
|
|
GDP (purchasing power parity):
|
$2.225 trillion (2008 est.)
$2.146 trillion (2007)
$1.985 trillion (2006) |
|
GDP (official exchange rate):
|
$1.757 trillion (2008 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
6% (2008 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP):
|
$15,800 (2008 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 4.1%
industry: 41.1%
services: 54.8% (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
75.7 million (2008 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 27.4%
services: 62.4% (2007 est.) |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
6.2% (2008 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 30.4% (September 2007) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
|
41.5 (September 2008) |
|
Investment (gross fixed):
|
24.7% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $383.5 billion
expenditures: $273.5 billion (2008 est.) |
|
Public debt:
|
6.8% of GDP (2008 est.) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
13.9% (2008 est.) |
|
Central bank discount rate:
|
13% (31 December 2008) |
|
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
|
13% (31 December 2008) |
|
Stock of money:
|
$166.4 billion (October 2008) |
|
Stock of quasi money:
|
$343 billion (October 2008) |
|
Stock of domestic credit:
|
$503.7 billion (1 October 2008) |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares:
|
$450 billion (15 December 2008 est.) |
|
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:
|
1.9% (2008 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
1.016 trillion kWh (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
1.003 trillion kWh (2006 est.) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
18.6 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
6 billion kWh (2007 est.) |
|
Oil - production:
|
9.98 million bbl/day (2007 est.) |
|
Oil - consumption:
|
2.699 million bbl/day (2007 est.) |
|
Oil - exports:
|
5.17 million bbl/day (2007) |
|
Oil - imports:
|
54,000 bbl/day (2005) |
|
Oil - proved reserves:
|
79 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.) |
|
Natural gas - production:
|
654 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
|
Natural gas - consumption:
|
481 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
|
Natural gas - exports:
|
173 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
|
Natural gas - imports:
|
68.2 billion cu m (2007 est.) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves:
|
44.65 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.) |
|
Current account balance:
|
$97.6 billion (2008 est.) |
|
Exports:
|
$476 billion (2008 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:
|
$302 billion (2008 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
vehicles, machinery and equipment, plastics, medicines, iron
and steel, consumer goods, meat, fruits and nuts,
semifinished metal products |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Germany 13.3%, China 12.2%, Ukraine 6.7%, Japan 6.4%, US
4.8%, Belarus 4.4%, South Korea 4.4%, Italy 4.3% (2007)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
|
$435.4 billion (12 December 2008) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$527.1 billion (June 2008 est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
|
$491.2 billion (2007) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
|
$370.2 billion (2007) |
|
Exchange rates:
|
Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar - 24.3 (2008 est.),
25.659 (2007), 27.19 (2006), 28.284 (2005), 28.814 (2004)
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use:
|
43.9 million (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular:
|
170 million (2007) |
|
Telephone system:
|
general assessment: the telephone system is
experiencing significant changes; 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; the estimated
number of mobile subscribers jumped from fewer than 1
million in 1998 to 170 million in 2007; a large demand for
main line service remains unsatisfied, but fixed-line
operators continue to grow their services
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: country code - 7; Russia is connected
internationally by 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 323, FM 1,500 est., shortwave 62 (2004) |
|
Television broadcast stations:
|
7,306 (1998) |
|
Internet country code:
|
.ru; note - Russia also has responsibility for a legacy
domain ".su" that was allocated to the Soviet Union and is
being phased out |
|
Internet hosts:
|
4.822 million (2008) |
|
Internet users:
|
30 million (2007) |
|
Airports:
|
1,260 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways:
|
total: 601
over 3,047 m: 51
2,438 to 3,047 m: 197
1,524 to 2,437 m: 129
914 to 1,523 m: 102
under 914 m: 122 (2007) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways:
|
total: 659
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 13
1,524 to 2,437 m: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 89
under 914 m: 484 (2007) |
|
Heliports:
|
47 (2007) |
|
Pipelines:
|
condensate 122 km; gas 158,767 km; liquid petroleum gas 127
km; oil 74,285 km; refined products 13,658 km; water 23 km
(2008) |
|
Railways:
|
total: 87,157 km
broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km
electrified)
narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin
Island)
note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier
lines serve industries (2006) |
|
Roadways:
|
total: 933,000 km
paved: 754,984 km (includes 30,000 km of expressways)
unpaved: 178,016 km
note: includes public, local, and departmental roads
(2006) |
|
Waterways:
|
102,000 km (including 33,000 km with guaranteed depth)
note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links
Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black
Sea (2007) |
|
Merchant marine:
|
total: 1,074
by type: bulk carrier 25, cargo 663, carrier 2,
chemical tanker 27, combination ore/oil 34, container 11,
passenger 14, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 217,
refrigerated cargo 59, roll on/roll off 10, specialized
tanker 5
foreign-owned: 112 (Belgium 4, Cyprus 2, Germany 1,
Greece 1, Italy 4, South Korea 1, Latvia 2, Norway 2,
Switzerland 3, Turkey 80, Ukraine 11, US 1)
registered in other countries: 486 (Antigua and
Barbuda 4, Bahamas 4, Belize 31, Bulgaria 1, Cambodia 83,
Comoros 12, Cyprus 50, Dominica 3, Georgia 12, Hong Kong 2,
Jamaica 3, Liberia 94, Malaysia 2, Malta 58, Marshall
Islands 9, Moldova 3, Mongolia 9, Panama 18, Saint Kitts and
Nevis 19, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 21, Sierra Leone
11, Slovakia 1, Tuvalu 2, Ukraine 1, Vanuatu 2, unknown 31)
(2008) |
|
Ports and terminals:
|
Azov, Kaliningrad, Kavkaz, Nakhodka, Novorossiysk, Primorsk,
Saint Petersburg, Vostochnyy |
|
Military branches:
|
Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF), Air Forces (Voyenno-Vozdushniye
Sily, VVS); Airborne Troops (VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (Raketnyye
Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN), and Space
Troops (KV) are independent "combat arms," not subordinate
to any of the three branches; Russian Ground Forces include
the following combat arms: motorized-rifle troops, tank
troops, missile and artillery troops, air defense of ground
troops (2008) |
|
Military service age and obligation:
|
18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military
service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of
age; service obligation - 1 year; reserve obligation to age
50; as of July 2008, a draft military strategy called for
the draft to continue up to the year 2030 (2008) |
|
Manpower available for military service:
|
males age 16-49: 36,219,908
females age 16-49: 37,019,853 (2008 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service:
|
males age 16-49: 21,098,306
females age 16-49: 27,968,883 (2009 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
|
male: 741,692
female: 706,081 (2009 est.) |
|
Military expenditures:
|
3.9% of GDP (2005) |
|
Disputes - international:
|
China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands
at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in
accordance with the 2004 Agreement, ending their
centuries-long border disputes; the sovereignty dispute over
the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai
group, known in Japan as the "Northern Territories" and in
Russia as the "Southern Kurils," occupied by the Soviet
Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by
Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace
treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and
Georgia agree on delimiting all but small, strategic
segments of the land boundary and the maritime boundary;
OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi
Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge in
Abkhazia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia signed
equidistance boundaries in the Caspian seabed but the
littoral states have no consensus on dividing the water
column; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in
the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond
Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty
zone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of
Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union
following the Second World War but the Finnish Government
asserts no territorial demands; in May 2005, Russia recalled
its signatures to the 1996 border agreements with Estonia
(1996) and Latvia (1997), when the two Baltic states
announced issuance of unilateral declarations referencing
Soviet occupation and ensuing territorial losses; Russia
demands better treatment of ethnic Russians in Estonia and
Latvia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for
realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace
Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people
and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; Lithuania and
Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in
accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by
Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania
operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals
traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia,
while still conforming, as an EU member state with an EU
external border, where strict Schengen border rules apply;
preparations for the demarcation delimitation of land
boundary with Ukraine have commenced; the dispute over the
boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait
and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003
framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions;
Kazakhstan and Russia boundary delimitation was ratified on
November 2005 and field demarcation should commence in 2007;
Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Bering Sea Maritime
Boundary Agreement with the US
|
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
|
IDPs: 18,000-160,000 (displacement from Chechnya and
North Ossetia) (2007) |
|
Trafficking in persons:
|
current situation: Russia is a source, transit, and
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked
for various purposes; it remains a significant source of
women trafficked to over 50 countries for commercial sexual
exploitation; Russia is also a transit and destination
country for men and women trafficked from Central Asia,
Eastern Europe, and North Korea to Central and Western
Europe and the Middle East for purposes of forced labor and
sexual exploitation; internal trafficking remains a problem
in Russia with women trafficked from rural areas to urban
centers for commercial sexual exploitation, and men
trafficked internally and from Central Asia for forced labor
in the construction and agricultural industries; debt
bondage is common among trafficking victims, and child sex
tourism remains a concern
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Russia is on the
Tier 2 Watch List for a fifth consecutive year for its
failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat
trafficking over the previous year, particularly in
providing assistance to victims of trafficking;
comprehensive trafficking victim assistance legislation,
which would address key deficiencies, has been pending
before the Duma since 2003 and was neither passed nor
enacted in 2007 (2008)
|
|
Illicit drugs:
|
limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and
producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic
consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication
program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates,
cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing
domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central
Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin
precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key
concerns; major consumer of opiates
|
This page was last updated on 9 April
2009 |
