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Introduction - Russia
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.
Geography - Russia
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: 17,098,242 sq km
country comparison to the world: 1
land: 16,377,742 sq km
water: 720,500 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:
Current Weather
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
People - Russia
Population:
139,390,205 (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
Age structure:
0-14 years: 15% (male 10,719,222/female 10,164,040)
15-64 years: 71.7% (male 47,791,200/female 52,199,897)
65 years and over: 13.3% (male 5,629,671/female 12,886,175) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 38.5 years
male: 35.3 years
female: 41.7 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
-0.465% (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 223
Birth rate:
11.11 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 173
Death rate:
16.04 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
Net migration rate:
0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 64
Urbanization:
urban population: 73% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization: -0.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.44 male(s)/female
total population: 0.85 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 10.32 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 150
male: 11.83 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 8.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.16 years
country comparison to the world: 160
male: 59.54 years
female: 73.17 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
1.41 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 197
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
1.1% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 52
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
940,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
40,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
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 comparison to the world: 116
Government - Russia
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 9 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 the 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), Aleksandr KHLOPONIN (since 19 January 2010), 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)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" are composed of the
premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are
appointed by the president
(For more information visit the World Leaders website )
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 - the term length was extended to six years in late 2008, to go into effect
following the 2012 presidential election; there is 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 - Dmitriy
MEDVEDEV 70.2%, Gennady ZYUGANOV 17.7%, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKY 9.4%, Andrey
BOGDANOV 1.3%
Legislative branch:
bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of an upper house,
the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (166 seats; as of July 2000, members
appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 83
federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and
oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members 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 on 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:
A Just Russia [Sergey MIRONOV]; Communist Party of the Russian Federation or
CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; 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] (formed from merger of Civic
Force, Democratic Party of Russia, and Union of Right Forces); United Russia
[Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN]; Yabloko Party [Sergey Sergeyevich MITROKHIN]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Association of Citizens with Initiative of Russia (TIGR); Confederation of Labor
of Russia (KTR); 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 Federation
of Car Owners; 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), CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, FATF, 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, MINURCAT, MINURSO, MONUC, 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, UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU,
WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sergey Ivanovich KISLYAK
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, Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador John R. BEYRLE
embassy: Bolshoy Deviatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (495) 728-5000
FAX: [7] (495) 728-5090
consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag description:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
note: the colors may have been based on those of the Dutch flag; despite many
popular interpretations, there is no official meaning assigned to the colors of
the Russian flag
Economy - Russia
Economy - overview:
Russia has undergone significant changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union,
moving from a globally-isolated, centrally-planned economy to a more
market-based and globally-integrated economy. Economic reforms in the 1990s
privatized most industry, with notable exceptions in the energy and
defense-related sectors. Nonetheless, the rapid privatization process, including
a much criticized "loans-for-shares" scheme that turned over major state-owned
firms to politically-connected "oligarchs", has left equity ownership highly
concentrated. The protection of property rights is still weak and the private
sector remains subject to heavy state interference. Russian industry is
primarily split between globally-competitive commodity producers - in 2009
Russia was the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest
exporter of oil, and the third largest exporter of steel and primary aluminum -
and other less competitive heavy industries that remain dependent on the Russian
domestic market. This reliance on commodity exports makes Russia vulnerable to
boom and bust cycles that follow the highly volatile swings in global commodity
prices. The government since 2007 has embarked on an ambitious program to reduce
this dependency and build up the country's high technology sectors, but with few
results so far. A revival of Russian agriculture in recent years has led to
Russia shifting from being a net grain importer to a net grain exporter. The
economy had averaged 7% growth since the 1998 Russian financial crisis,
resulting in a doubling of real disposable incomes and the emergence of a middle
class. The Russian economy, however, was one of the hardest hit by the 2008-09
global economic crisis as oil prices plummeted and the foreign credits that
Russian banks and firms relied on dried up. The Central Bank of Russia spent
one-third of its $600 billion international reserves, the world's third largest,
in late 2008 to slow the devaluation of the ruble. The government also devoted
$200 billion in a rescue plan to increase liquidity in the banking sector and
aid Russian firms unable to roll over large foreign debts coming due. The
economic decline appears to have bottomed out in mid-2009 and by the second half
of the year there were signs that the economy was growing, albeit slowly.
Long-term challenges include a shrinking workforce, a high level of corruption,
and poor infrastructure in need of large capital investment.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.116 trillion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
$2.298 trillion (2008 est.)
$2.176 trillion (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.232 trillion (2009 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
-7.9% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 206
5.6% (2008 est.)
8.1% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$15,100 (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 75
$16,300 (2008 est.)
$15,400 (2007 est.)
note: data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.7%
industry: 34.8%
services: 60.5% (2009 est.)
Labor force:
75.81 million (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 10%
industry: 31.9%
services: 58.1% (2008)
Unemployment rate:
8.4% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
6.4% (2008)
Population below poverty line:
15.8% (November 2007)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 1.9%
highest 10%: 30.4% (September 2007)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
42.3 (2008)
country comparison to the world: 53
39.9 (2001)
Investment (gross fixed):
20.2% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 92
Budget:
revenues: $231.1 billion
expenditures: $303.6 billion (2009 est.)
Public debt:
6.3% of GDP (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 122
6.2% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
11.7% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 200
14.1% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
13% (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 42
10% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.23% (2008 average)
country comparison to the world: 89
10.03% (2007 average)
Stock of money:
$252.5 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 9
$303.7 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$318.4 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 13
$292.5 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$367.2 billion (31 December 2008)
country comparison to the world: 24
$339.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$861.4 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
$1.322 trillion (31 December 2008)
$1.503 trillion (31 December 2007 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:
-11.9% (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 149
Electricity - production:
1.04 trillion kWh (2008)
country comparison to the world: 4
Electricity - consumption:
1.023 trillion kWh (2008)
country comparison to the world: 4
Electricity - exports:
20.7 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
3.105 billion kWh (2008)
Oil - production:
9.932 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Oil - consumption:
2.85 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
Oil - exports:
4.93 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Oil - imports:
48,000 bbl/day (2008 est.)
country comparison to the world: 87
Oil - proved reserves:
79 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
Natural gas - production:
546.8 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
Natural gas - consumption:
367.5 billion cu m (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
Natural gas - exports:
207.7 billion cu m (2009)
country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - imports:
28.4 billion cu m (2009)
country comparison to the world: 10
Natural gas - proved reserves:
47.57 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 1
Current account balance:
$48.97 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
$103.7 billion (2008)
Exports:
$303.4 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
$471.6 billion (2008)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, grain, wood and wood products,
metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Exports - partners:
Netherlands 10.62%, Italy 6.46%, Germany 6.24%, China 5.69%, Turkey 4.3%,
Ukraine 4.01% (2009)
Imports:
$191.8 billion (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
$291.9 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 14.39%, China 13.98%, Ukraine 5.48%, Italy 4.84%, US 4.46% (2009)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$439 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
$426.3 billion (31 December 2008)
Debt - external:
$369.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20
$483.5 billion (31 December 2008)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$258.8 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
$220 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$226.2 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 16
$180.1 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Exchange rates:
Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar - 32 (2009), 24.853 (2008), 25.581 (2007),
27.191 (2006), 28.284 (2005)
Communications - Russia
Telephones - main lines in use:
44.2 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 5
Telephones - mobile cellular:
187.5 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 4
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 nearly
188 million in 2008; a large demand for fixed 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 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 (2008)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 323, FM about 1,500, 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:
7.663 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 13
Internet users:
45.25 million (2008)
country comparison to the world: 8
Transportation - Russia
Airports:
1,216 (2009)
country comparison to the world: 5
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 595
over 3,047 m: 52
2,438 to 3,047 m: 198
1,524 to 2,437 m: 129
914 to 1,523 m: 99
under 914 m: 117 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 621
over 3,047 m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 13
1,524 to 2,437 m: 68
914 to 1,523 m: 84
under 914 m: 453 (2009)
Heliports:
48 (2009)
Pipelines:
condensate 122 km; gas 159,552 km; liquid petroleum gas 127 km; oil 74,285 km;
refined products 13,658 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 87,157 km
country comparison to the world: 2
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
country comparison to the world: 8
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)
country comparison to the world: 2
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
country comparison to the world: 9
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 - Russia
Military branches:
Ground Forces (Sukhoputnyye Voyskia, SV), Navy (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot, VMF), Air
Forces (Voyenno-Vozdushniye Sily, VVS); Airborne Troops (VDV), Strategic Rocket
Forces (Raketnyye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN), and Space Troops
(Kosmicheskiye Voyska, 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 (2010)
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
(conscripts can only be sent to combat zones after 6 months training); reserve
obligation to age 50
note: over 60% of draft-age Russian males receive some type of deferment -
generally health related - each draft cycle (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 34,850,217
females age 16-49: 35,693,977 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 20,746,777
females age 16-49: 27,174,148 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 712,838
female: 678,623 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
3.9% of GDP (2005)
country comparison to the world: 27
Transnational Issues - Russia
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
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