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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.
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
Josef STALIN (1928-53) 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. While some progress has been made on the economic front,
recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN
and an erosion in nascent democratic institutions. A determined guerrilla
conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya. |
|
Location: |
Northern Asia (that part west
of the Urals is included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between
Europe and the North Pacific Ocean |
|
Geographic coordinates: |
60 00 N, 100 00 E |
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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: 20,017 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China
(southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,340
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: |
territorial sea: 12 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: 7.33%
permanent crops: 0.11%
other: 92.56% (2001) |
|
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; 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, 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: |
143,420,309 (July 2005 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 14.6% (male
10,704,617/female 10,173,313)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male
49,429,716/female 52,799,740)
65 years and over: 14.2% (male
6,405,027/female 13,907,896) (2005 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 38.15 years
male: 34.99 years
female: 41.03 years (2005 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
-0.37% (2005 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
9.8 births/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
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Death rate: |
14.52 deaths/1,000 population
(2005 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
1.03 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2005 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.06
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64
years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.46
male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2005
est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 15.39
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 17.7 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 12.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 67.1
years
male: 60.55 years
female: 74.04 years (2005
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.27 children born/woman (2005
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
1.1% (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
860,000 (2001 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
9,000 (2001 est.) |
|
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) |
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Religions: |
Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
|
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Languages: |
Russian, many minority
languages |
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
|
|
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 |
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Capital: |
Moscow |
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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')
: oblasts: Amur
(Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk,
Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka
(Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk,
Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod,
Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, 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'
: 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), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), North
Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya
(Izhevsk)
: autonomous okrugs: Aga Buryat (Aginskoye), Chukotka
(Anadyr'), Evenk (Tura), Khanty-Mansi, Komi-Permyak (Kudymkar), Koryak
(Palana), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Taymyr [Dolgano-Nenets] (Dudinka),
Ust'-Orda Buryat (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)
:
krays: Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy
(Vladivostok), Stavropol'
: 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 |
|
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: Premier
Mikhail Yefimovich FRADKOV (since 5 March 2004); Deputy Premier Aleksandr
Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004)
cabinet: Ministries of
the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputy,
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; election last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held March 2008); 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
election
results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN reelected president; percent of
vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 71.2%, Nikolay KHARITONOV 13.7%, other
(no candidate above 5%) 15.1% |
|
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; currently 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)
elections: State Duma - last held 7
December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2007)
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 - United Russia 37.1%, CPRF 12.7%, LDPR 11.6%, Motherland 9.1%;
seats by party - United Russia 222, CPRF 53, LDPR 38, Motherland 37,
People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, SPS 2, other 7, independents 65, repeat
election required 3 |
|
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: |
Communist Party of the Russian
Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic
Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Motherland Bloc
(Rodina) [Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; People's Party [Gennadiy RAYKOV]; Union of
Right Forces or SPS [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR,
Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris
Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
|
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
|
International organization participation: |
APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue
partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, G- 8,
IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA
(observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB,
OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL,
UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNMISET, UNMOVIC,
UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO
(observer), ZC |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700,
5701, 5704, 5708
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s)
general: Houston, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW
embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy
Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE
09721
telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000
FAX: [7] (095)
728-5090
consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok,
Yekaterinburg |
|
Flag description: |
three equal horizontal bands of
white (top), blue, and red |
|
Economy - overview: |
Russia ended 2004 with its
sixth straight year of growth, averaging 6.5% annually since the financial
crisis of 1998. 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%. Russia has also improved its international financial position
since the 1998 financial crisis, with its foreign debt declining from 90%
of GDP to around 28%. Strong oil export earnings have allowed Russia to
increase its foreign reserves from only $12 billion to some $120 billion
at yearend 2004. 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. Economic growth slowed down in the second half of 2004 and the
Russian government forecasts growth of only 4.5% to 6.2% for 2005. 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 granting more influence to forces within his government
that desire to reassert state control over the economy. |
|
GDP: |
purchasing power parity -
$1.408 trillion (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
6.7% (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity -
$9,800 (2004 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 4.9%
industry: 33.9%
services: 61.2% (2004 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
19.1% of GDP (2004 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
25% (January 2003 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 5.9%
highest 10%: 47% (2001) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
39.9 (2001) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
11.5% (2004 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
71.83 million (2004 est.)
|
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture 12.3%, industry
22.7%, services 65% (2002 est.) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
8.3% plus considerable
underemployment (2004 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $106.4 billion
expenditures: $93.33 billion, including capital expenditures of
NA (2004 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
28.2% of GDP (2004 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: |
6.4% (2004 est.) |
|
Electricity - production: |
915 billion kWh (2003) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 66.3%
hydro: 17.2%
nuclear: 16.4%
other: 0.1%
(2003) |
|
Electricity - consumption: |
894.3 billion kWh (2003) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
20.7 billion kWh (2003) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
12.65 billion kWh (2002) |
|
Oil - production: |
8.42 million bbl/day (2003
est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
2.31 million bbl/day (2003
est.) |
|
Oil - exports: |
6.11 million bbl/day (2003)
|
|
Oil - imports: |
NA |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
69 billion bbl (2003 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - production: |
578.6 billion cu m (2003 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
405.8 billion cu m (2003 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports: |
171 billion cu m (2003 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - imports: |
32.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
47 trillion cu m (2003) |
|
Current account balance: |
$46.04 billion (2004 est.)
|
|
Exports: |
$162.5 billion (2004 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 8.4%, Netherlands 6.7%,
China 6.4%, US 5.8%, Ukraine 5.7%, Italy 5.4%, Turkey 4.5% (2004) |
|
Imports: |
$92.91 billion (2004 est.)
|
|
Imports - commodities: |
machinery and equipment,
consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products |
|
Imports - partners: |
Germany 16.7%, China 7.1%,
Ukraine 6.7%, Italy 5.9%, Finland 5%, France 4.5%, Japan 4.5% (2004)
|
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$124.5 billion (3 December 2004
e) |
|
Debt - external: |
$169.6 billion (2004 est.)
|
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
in FY01 from US, $979 million
(including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU,
$200 million (2000 est.) |
|
Currency: |
Russian ruble (RUR) |
|
Currency code: |
RUR |
|
Exchange rates: |
Russian rubles per US dollar -
28.814 (2004), 30.692 (2003), 31.349 (2002), 29.169 (2001), 28.129 (2000)
|
|
Fiscal year: |
calendar year |
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
35.5 million (2002) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
17,608,800 (2002) |
|
Telephone system: |
general assessment: the
telephone system underwent 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: country code - 7; 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; Russia also has
responsibility for a legacy domain ".su" that was allocated to the Soviet
Union, and whose legal status and ownership are contested by the Russian
Government, ICANN, and several Russian commercial entities |
|
Internet hosts: |
560,874 (2004) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
300 (June 2000) |
|
Internet users: |
6 million (2002)
|
|
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 (2003) |
|
Highways: |
total: 537,289 km
paved: 362,133 km
unpaved: 175,156 km (2001) |
|
Waterways: |
96,000 km
note:
72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian
Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2004) |
|
Pipelines: |
condensate 122 km; gas 150,007
km; oil 75,539 km; refined products 13,771 km (2004) |
|
Ports and harbors: |
Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinskiy,
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: 1,194 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) 4,521,472 GRT/5,505,118 DWT
by type: barge
carrier 1, bulk carrier 45, cargo 767, chemical tanker 20, combination
ore/oil 48, container 21, passenger 11, passenger/cargo 8, petroleum
tanker 213, refrigerated cargo 46, roll on/roll off 12, specialized tanker
2
foreign-owned: 56 (Belgium 2, Cyprus 1, Estonia 2, Germany 1,
Hong Kong 1, Latvia 3, Norway 1, Sweden 1, Turkey 28, Ukraine 10, United
Kingdom 2, United States 4)
registered in other countries: 326
(2005) |
|
Airports: |
2,586 (2004 est.) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 577
over
3,047 m: 55
2,438 to 3,047 m: 197
1,524 to 2,437
m: 128
914 to 1,523 m: 98
under 914 m: 99 (2004
est.) |
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 2,009
over
3,047 m: 14
2,438 to 3,047 m: 30
1,524 to 2,437
m: 111
914 to 1,523 m: 257
under 914 m: 1,597
(2004 est.) |
|
Heliports: |
36 (2004 est.) |
|
Military branches: |
Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF),
Air Forces (VVS); Airborne Troops (VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (RVSN),
and Space Troops (KV) are independent "combat arms," not subordinate to
any of the three branches |
|
Military manpower - military age and obligation: |
18-27 years of age; males are
registered for the draft at 17 years of age; 200,000 conscripts were
inducted into the armed forces in 2003; length of compulsory military
service is 2 years; plans as of August 2004 call for reduction in
mandatory service to 1 year by 2008; 2003 planning calls for volunteer
servicemen to compose 70% of armed forces by 2010, with the remaining
servicemen consisting of conscripts (August 2004) |
|
Military manpower - availability: |
males age 18-49:
35,247,049 (2005 est.) |
|
Military manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 18-49:
21,049,651 (2005 est.) |
|
Military manpower - reaching military age
annually: |
males: 1,286,069 (2005
est.) |
|
Military expenditures - dollar figure: |
NA |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA |
| Transnational Issues |
Russia |
|
Disputes - international: |
in 2004, China and Russia
divided up the islands in the Amur, Ussuri, and Argun Rivers, ending a
century-old border dispute; 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 80% of their common border, leaving certain small, strategic
segments and the maritime boundary unresolved; OSCE observers monitor
volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the
Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties were signed and
ratified with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no
consensus exists on dividing the water column among the littoral states;
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 and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second
World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; in
1996, the Estonia-Russia technical border agreement was initialed but both
have been hesitant to sign and ratify it, with Russia asserting that
Estonia needs to better assimilate Russian-speakers and Estonian groups
advocating realignment of the boundary based more closely on the 1920
Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and
parts of the Narva region within Estonia; the Latvian-Russian boundary
treaty of 1997 remains unsigned and unratified with Russia linking it to
better Latvian treatment of ethnic Russians and Latvian politicians
demanding Russian agreement to a declaration that admits Soviet aggression
during the Second World War and other issues; in 2003, the
Lithuania-Russia land and maritime boundary treaty was ratified and a
transit regime established through Lithuania linking Russia and its
Kaliningrad coastal exclave, leaving only improvements to the border
demarcation in 2005; delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine is
complete, but states have agreed to defer demarcation; Russia and Ukraine
continue talks but still dispute the alignment of a maritime boundary
through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov; Kazakhstan and Russia continue
demarcation of their long border; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990
Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea |
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons: |
IDPs: 368,000
(displacement from Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2004) |
|
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; heroin increasingly popular in domestic market
|
| |
