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Russia
Physical. Russia is located in Northern Asia, bordering the Arctic Ocean
between Europe and the North Pacific. Russia is the largest country in the
world, almost twice the size of the US. Climate ranges from sub arctic to warm.
The terrain consists of a broad plain with low hills west of the Urals, a vast
coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia, and uplands and mountains along the
southern border regions. Natural resources include major deposits of oil,
natural gas, coal, timber, and strategic minerals.
People. Over 145 million people live in Russia. The official language is
Russian, though various other languages are spoken as well among minority ethnic
groups. Over 80% of the population is ethnically Russia; larger ethnic
minorities include Tartars, Ukrainians, Moldavians, Byelorussians, Bashkir, and
various Caucasians peoples (Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Armenian). The dominant
religion is Russian Orthodox Christianity, though perhaps ten percent of the
population is Muslim.
Government. Following the demise of the Soviet Union, which officially
made all republics independent by parliamentary resolution on December 26, 1991,
Russia took over the Soviet Union security council seat, claimed the former
embassies by putting a Russian flag over them, and was also saddled with the
foreign debt that the Soviet Union had accumulated. Boris Yeltsin was president
until his resignation and appointment of Vladimir Putin as acting president in
December 1999. Putin was elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. His handling of
the presidency has become increasingly authoritarian, with a rise in the
strength of national government at the expense of local. He has also
strengthened his influence on the parliament and in political parties. At the
same time, independent television media has been disappearing as it is purchased
by various government-owned businesses, though print journalism is still mostly
free from outside interference. Despite the tragedy of recent terrorist acts in
Russia (especially Beslan) and unpopular reforms to the government retirement
program, he has maintained his popularity with the people, and there is much
talk of changing the constitution so that he might be elected to more than two
terms.
Economy. President Boris Yeltsin was committed to the introduction of a
market economy. He expanded the economic reforms of Gorbachev’s perestroika with
the privatization of industry and agriculture; this project met with limited
success, and ended with the collapse of the ruble in 1998.
In the 1990’s and 2000’s, serious social ills such as under- and unemployment,
corruption among government officials, violent crime and environmental
degradation have all contributed to Russians feeling that they are living in an
unstable society.
On the other hand, Russia ended 2004 with its sixth straight year of growth,
averaging 6.5% annually since the financial crisis of 1998 (though there has
been a decrease in the rate of growth since the 2nd half of 2004). Although high
oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important drivers of this economic
rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-driven demand have played a
noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capital investments have averaged gains
greater than 10% over the last five years, and real personal incomes have
realized average increases over 12%, though it must be said that the gap between
the highest and lowest earners in society is one of the largest in the world.
Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998
financial crisis, due in large part to strong oil export earnings. The country’s
foreign debt has been greatly reduced and its cash reserves greatly increased. A
large “stabilization fund” is absorbing much of the profits from oil sales, and
it is yet unclear how the resources of this fund will be spent in order to
relieve social stresses and long-term economic challenges in such a way as to
not cause higher rates of inflation. These achievements, along with a renewed
government effort to advance structural reforms, have raised business and
investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects.
Nevertheless, serious problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber
account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings
in world prices. Russia's manufacturing base is dilapidated and must be replaced
or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. Other
problems include a weak banking system, a poor business climate that discourages
both domestic and foreign investors, corruption, and widespread lack of trust in
institutions. In addition, a string of investigations launched against a major
Russian oil company, culminating with the arrest of its CEO in the fall of 2003,
have raised concerns by some observers that President Putin is either limiting
the powers of those businessmen who might present a political challenge to his
government or granting more influence to forces within his government that
desire to reassert state control over the economy.
Areas of Concern. Environmental concerns include air and water pollution,
management of wastes newly generated as well as older toxic, chemical and
radioactive wastes. Politically, the rise in authoritarianism has not caused a
backlash in part due to the economic anarchy, corruption, and living conditions
for the majority of the population, which are as poor as those experienced under
communism.
Russia statistics
Geography
Area: 17,075,200 square miles
Capital: Moscow (pop. 10,409,200. 2005 est.)
Environmental concerns: air pollution; waterway and seacoast pollution;
deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination; groundwater contamination from
toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete
pesticides
Geographical features: broad plain with low hills west of the Urals and
coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; there are uplands and mountains along
the southern border
Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental climate in
much of European Russia; from sub arctic 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
People
Population: 142,440,200 (official census in 2002); 143,420,309 (2005 est.)
Capital: Moscow. (pop. 10,409,200. 2005 est.)
Annual population growth rate: -0.37%
Major language is Russian
Religions: Russian Orthodoxy (approx. 80%), Islam (approx. 10%), Roman
Catholicism, Evangelical Baptist, and Judaism (1-3%). Many cults and sects are
also present in Russia.
Health and social issues
Life expectancy: Men, 60.5 years; women, 74 years (2004)
Infant mortality: 15.39 deaths per 1000 live births (2002 census)
25% of the population lives in poverty (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS rate in adults: 1.1% (2003 est.)
99% of adults are literate.
Transportation and communications
roads: 537,289 km (total); 362,133 km (paved) (2001)
railroad: 87,157 km (2003)
airfields: 2,609 (2004 est.)
Mobile phones: approx. 80,000,000 (2005 est.)
Government
Russia is a federation that gained independence from the Soviet Union August 24,
1991.
President Vladimir Putin is the head of state.
There is one dominate political party (United Russia), with two other parties
(Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Motherland) having significant
representation in the Duma. A number of smaller parties are fighting for
western-style democracy in Russia.
There is universal suffrage at 18.
Military
The state of the Russian military since the fall of the Soviet Union has been
one of decline, though in the last two years defense appropriations have again
been emerging as a budget priority, with approximately $18 billion going to
defense in 2005. Russia is in the early stages of transition from mandatory
military service to a fully professional army.
Russia currently has border disputes with Japan (concerning what Russia calls
the “Southern Kurils,” and what Japan calls the “Northern Territories”), Latvia
(with Russia linking border- treaty ratification with better treatment of ethnic
Russians in Latvia and Latvian politicians demanding that Russia admits Soviet
aggression during the Second World War), and a lack of clarity with Norway
concerning maritime boundaries in the Barents Sea.
Russia maintains army bases in a number of former Soviet republics. The Russian
military presence in Georgia is a constant cause of conflict between the two
nations. Russian peacekeepers are a major part of combined CIS forces in the
breakaway regions of Southern Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia.
Civil war continues in Chechnya.
Internally Displaced Persons: 368,000 (from Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2004)
Economy
Currency: ruble
Gross Domestic Product: $1.408 trillion
Per capita income: $2,610
GDP growth rate: 7.1% (2004)
Inflation rate: 11.5% (2004)
Unemployment rate: 7.4% plus considerable underemployment (2005 est.)
Labor force: 12.3% agriculture; 22.7% industry; 65% services (2002 est.)
Resources and industry
Natural resources: wide variety of resources including major deposits of oil,
natural gas and coal, many strategic minerals and timber
Agriculture: grains; sugar beets; sunflower seeds; vegetables; fruits; beef;
milk
Industry: mining and extraction industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals,
and metals; machine building; shipbuilding; transportation equipment;
communications equipment; electric-power and construction equipment; medical and
scientific instruments; consumer durables; foodstuffs; textiles; handicrafts
Exports: $162.5 billion (2004 est.)
Imports: $92.91 billion (2004 est.)
Suggested websites
www.cia.gov/publications/factbook
http://www.therussiasite.org/index.html
http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/
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