Russia

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

Map references: Asia

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 the 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; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine over Crimea; 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

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: NEGL%
meadows and pastures: 5%
forest and woodland: 45%
other: 42%

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; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Biodiversity, 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

People

Population: 149,909,089 (July 1995 est.)
note: official Russian statistics put the population at 148,200,000 for 1994

Age structure:
0-14 years: 22% (female 16,208,640; male 16,784,017)
15-64 years: 66% (female 50,711,209; male 48,247,101)
65 years and over: 12% (female 12,557,447; male 5,400,675) (July 1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.2% (1995 est.)
note: official Russian statistics put the population growth rate at -6.0% for 1994

Birth rate: 12.64 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)
note: official Russian statistics put the birth rate at 9.5 births per l,000 population for 1994

Death rate: 11.36 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)
note: official Russian statistics put the death rate at 15.5 deaths per l,000 population in 1994

Net migration rate: 0.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 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:
total population: 69.1 years
male: 64.1 years
female: 74.35 years (1995 est.)
note: official Russian statistics put life expectancy at birth as 64 years for total population in 1994

Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (1995 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 15 and over can read and write (1989)
total population: 98%
male: 100%
female: 97%

Labor force: 85 million (1993)
by occupation: production and economic services 83.9%, government 16.1%

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), 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:
chief of state: President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991); election last held 12 June 1991 (next to be held NA 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 is held, which must be within three months
head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Council of Ministers Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992); First Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993) and Anatoliy CHUBAYS (since 5 November 1994)
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 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: elections last held 12 December 1993 (next to be held NA); results - 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 (Chechnya did not participate in the election); Speaker Vladimir SHUMEYKO (Russia's Democratic 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 Democratic Choice 78, New Regional Policy 66, Liberal Democrats 63, Agrarian Party 55, Communist Party of the Russian Federation 45, Unity and Accord 30, Yavlinskiy-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc (Yabloko) 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); note - as of 11 April 1995, seats were as follows: Russia's Democratic Choice 54, New Regional Policy 32, Liberal Democrats 54, Agrarian Party 51, Communist Party of the Russian Federation 45, Unity and Accord 25, Yavlinskiy-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc (Yabloko) 28, Liberal Democratic Union of 12 December 9, Women of Russia 22, Democratic Party of Russia 10, Russia's Path 12, Duma 96 23, Russia 35, Stability 36, affiliation unknown 14

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 Democratic Choice Party, Yegor GAYDAR; Russian Movement for Democratic Reforms, Anatoliy SOBCHAK; Yavlinskiy-Boldyrev-Lukin Bloc (Yabloko), Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY; Liberal Democratic Union of 12 December, Boris FEDOROV
centrists/special interest parties: Civic Union for Stability, Justice, and Progress, Arkadiy VOL'SKIY; Democratic Party of Russia, Sergey GLAZ'YEV; Women of Russia, Alevtina FEDULOVA; Social Democratic Peoples' Party, Vasiliy LIPITSKIY; New Regional Policy (NRP), Vladimir MEDVEDEV
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; Derzhava, Aleksandr RUTSKOY
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, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMOZ, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sergey LAVROV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

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) 252-24-51 through 59
FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

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. 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, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. Russia, however, 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. Financial stabilization has remained elusive, with wide swings in monthly inflation rates. Only limited restructuring of industry has occurred so far because of a scarcity of investment funds and the failure of enterprise managers to make hard cost-cutting decisions. 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 and has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment. As a result, output has continued to fall. According to Russian official data, which probably overstate the fall, GDP declined by 15% in 1994 compared with a 12% decline in 1993. Industrial output in 1994 fell 21% with all major sectors taking a hit. Agricultural production in 1994 was down 9%. The grain harvest totaled 81 million tons, some 15 million tons less than in 1993. Unemployment climbed to an estimated 6.6 million or about 7% of the work force by yearend 1994. Floundering Russian firms have already had to put another 4.8 million workers on involuntary, unpaid leave or shortened workweeks. Government fears of large-scale unemployment continued to hamper industrial restructuring efforts. According to official Russian data, real per capita income was up nearly 18% in 1994 compared with 1993, in part because many Russians are working second jobs. Most Russians perceive that they are worse off now because of growing crime and health problems and mounting wage arrears. Russia has made significant headway in privatizing state assets, completing its voucher privatization program at midyear 1994. At least a portion of about 110,000 state enterprises were transferred to private hands by the end of 1994. Including partially privatized firms, the private sector accounted for roughly half of GDP in 1994. Financial stabilization continued to remain a challenge for the government. Moscow tightened financial policies in late 1993 and early 1994, including postponing planned budget spending, and succeeded in reducing monthly inflation from 18% in January to about 5% in July and August. At midyear, however, the government relaxed austerity measures in the face of mounting pressure from industry and agriculture, sparking a new round of inflation; the monthly inflation rate jumped to roughly 15% per month during the fourth quarter. In response, Moscow announced a fairly tight government budget for 1995 designed to bring monthly inflation down to around 1% by the end of 1995. According to official statistics, Russia's 1994 trade with nations outside the former Soviet Union produced a $12.3 billion surplus, up from $11.3 billion in 1993. Foreign sales - comprised largely of oil, natural gas, and other raw materials - grew more than 8%. Imports also were up 8% as demand for food and other consumer goods surged. Russian trade with other former Soviet republics continued to decline. At the same time, Russia paid only a fraction of the roughly $20 billion in debt that came due in 1994, and by the end of the year, Russia's hard currency foreign debt had risen to nearly $100 billion. Moscow reached agreement to restructure debts with Paris Club official creditors in mid-1994 and concluded a preliminary deal with its commercial bank creditors late in the year to reschedule debts owed them in early 1995. Capital flight continued to be a serious problem in 1994, with billions of additional dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in Europe. Russia's physical plant continues to deteriorate because of insufficient maintenance and new construction. Plant and equipment on average are twice the age of the West's. Many years will pass before Russia can take full advantage of its natural resources and its human assets.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $721.2 billion (1994 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1992)

National product real growth rate: -15% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $4,820 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 10% per month (average 1994)

Unemployment rate: 7.1% (December 1994) with considerable additional underemployment

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $48 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba

Imports: $35.7 billion (f.o.b., 1994)
commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba

External debt: $95 billion-$100 billion (yearend 1994)

Industrial production: growth rate -21% (1994)

Electricity:
capacity: 213,100,000 KW
production: 876 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 5,800 kWh (1994)

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; ship- building; 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

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:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1990-94), $15 billion; other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1990-93), $120 billion

Currency: 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks

Exchange rates: rubles per US$1 - 3,550 (29 December 1994), 1,247 (27 December 1993); nominal exchange rate still deteriorating but real exchange rate holding steady

Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation

Railroads:
total: 154,000 km; note - 87,000 km in common carrier service (49,000 km diesel; and 38,000 km electrified); 67,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use
broad gauge: 154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)

Highways:
total: 934,000 km (445,000 km serve specific industries or farms and are not available for common carrier use)
paved and graveled: 725,000 km
unpaved: 209,000 km (1 January 1994)

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:
total: 800 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,295,109 GRT/10,128,579 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk cargo 26, cargo 424, chemical tanker 7, combination bulk 22, combination ore/oil 16, container 81, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 111, passenger 4, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 62, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2
note: in addition, Russia owns 235 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,084,439 DWT that operate under Maltese, Cypriot, Liberian, Panamanian, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduran, Marshall Islands, Bahamian, and Vanuatu registry

Airports:
total: 2,517
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 54
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 202
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 108
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 115
with paved runways under 914 m: 151
with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 25
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 45
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 134
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 291
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 1,392

Communications

Telephone system: 24,400,000 telephones; 20,900,000 telephones in urban areas and 3,500,000 telephones in rural areas; of these, total installed in homes 15,400,000; total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100; about 164 telephones/1,000 persons; Russia is 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 E-mail service available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially with respect to international connections
local: NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg
intercity: intercity fiberoptic cable installation remains limited
international: international traffic is handled by an inadequate system of satellites, land lines, microwave radio relay and outdated submarine cables; this traffic passes through the international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States; a new Russian Raduga satellite will link Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be relayed to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth stations - INTELSAT, Intersputnik, Eutelsat (Moscow), INMARSAT, Orbita

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 1,050, FM 1,050, shortwave 1,050
radios: 48.8 million (radio receivers with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion 74,300,000)

Television:
broadcast stations: 7,183
televisions: 54.2 million

Defense Forces

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

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 38,264,699; males fit for military service 29,951,977; males reach military age (18) annually 1,106,176 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
note: the Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in Russia fell about 15% in real terms in 1994, reducing Russian defense outlays to about one-fourth of peak Soviet levels in the late 1980s; although Russia may still spend as much as 10% of its GDP on defense, this is significantly below the 15% to 17% burden the former USSR carried during much of the 1980s; conversion of military expenditures into US dollars using the current exchange rate could produce misleading results