Chapter 87
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 19.6% industry: 36.3% services: 44.1% (1994)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25% (1995)
Labor force: 11.3 million (1992) by occupation: industry 38%, agriculture 28%, other 34% (1989)
Unemployment rate: 8.9% (December 1995)
Budget: revenues: $5.35 billion expenditures: $6.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1995 est.)
Industries: mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, machine building, food processing, petroleum production and refining
Industrial production growth rate: 3.3% (1994 est.)
Electricity: capacity: 22,180,000 kW production: 50.8 billion kWh consumption per capita: 2,076 kWh (1993)
Agriculture: wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; milk, eggs, meat
Illicit drugs: transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine transiting the Balkan route
Exports: $6.2 billion (f.o.b., 1994) commodities: textiles and footwear 23.8%, metals and metal products 17.3%, fuels and mineral products 11.6%, machinery and transport equipment 14.8%, chemicals 7.9%, food and agricultural goods 6.5%, other 18.1% (1994) partners: developing countries 30.3%, East and Central Europe 8.4%, Russia 3.4%, OECD 57.9% (EU 50%, US 3.1%) (1994)
Imports: $7.1 billion (c.i.f., 1994) commodities: fuels and minerals 26.8%, machinery and transport equipment 25.1%, textiles and footwear 12.3%, food and agricultural goods 9.3%, chemicals 7.9%, other 18.6% (1994) partners: OECD 60% (EU 44.5%, US 6.5%), East and Central Europe 6.1%, developing countries 16.6%, Russia 13.8%, other 3.5% (1994)
External debt: $4.7 billion (1995)
Economic aid: recipient: ODA, $81 million (1993)
Currency: 1 leu (L) = 100 bani
Exchange rates: lei (L) per US$1 - 2,599.24 (January 1996), 2,033.28 (1995), 1,655.09 (1994), 760.05 (1993), 307.95 (1992), 76.39 (1991)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Transportation --------------
Railways: total: 11,374 km broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 10,887 km 1.435-m gauge (3,866 km electrified; 3,060 km double track) narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (1994)
Highways: total: 153,014 km paved: 78,037 km (including 113 km of expressways) unpaved: 74,977 km (1992 est.)
Waterways: 1,724 km (1984)
Pipelines: crude oil 2,800 km; petroleum products 1,429 km; natural gas 6,400 km (1992)
Ports: Braila, Constanta, Galatz, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea
Merchant marine: total: 233 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,425,729 GRT/3,641,741 DWT ships by type: bulk 39, cargo 166, container 2, oil tanker 13, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1, railcar carrier 2, roll-on/roll-off cargo 9 note: Romania owns an additional 15 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 1,078,490 DWT operating under the registries of Liberia, Malta, Cyprus, and The Bahamas (1995 est.)
Airports: total: 156 with paved runways over 3 047 m: 4 with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 9 with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 14 with unpaved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m: 3 with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m: 1 with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m: 17 with unpaved runways under 914 m: 108 (1994 est.)
Communications --------------
Telephones: 2.3 million (1990 est.)
Telephone system: domestic: poor service; 89% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is microwave radio relay; roughly 3,300 villages with no service (February 1990 est.) international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital international direct-dial exchanges are in Bucharest (1993 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 12, FM 5, shortwave 0
Radios: 4.64 million (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations: 13 (1990 est.)
Televisions: 4.58 million (1992 est.)
Defense -------
Branches: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Paramilitary Forces, Civil Defense
Manpower availability: males age 15-49: 5,572,383 males fit for military service: 4,693,376 males reach military age (20) annually: 198,125 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: exchange rate conversion - $885 million, 3.0% of GDP (1995)
Original publicaton at http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/nsolo/wfb-all.htm (June 17, 1997). ======================================================================
@Russia ------
Map ---
Location: 60 00 N, 100 00 E -- Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Flag ----
Description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
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
Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E
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: 19,913 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, Kazakstan 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) 206 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 lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Mount 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: 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, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geographic 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: 148,178,487 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 21% (male 15,792,573; female 15,213,854) 15-64 years: 67% (male 48,145,679; female 51,125,902) 65 years and over: 12% (male 5,403,066; female 12,497,413) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.07% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 10.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 16.34 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.43 male(s)/female all ages: 0.88 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 63.24 years male: 56.51 years female: 70.31 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (1996 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 est.) total population: 98% male: 100% female: 97%
Government ----------
Name of country: conventional long form: Russian Federation conventional short form: Russia local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya local short form: Rossiya former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Data code: RS
Type of government: 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 Chechnya 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) was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage under the constitution of 12 December 1993, but subsequent presidents, beginning with the 16 June 1996 election, will serve a four-year term; election last held 12 June 1991 (next to be held 16 June 1996); results - percent of vote 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 Russian Federation Government Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992), First Deputy Premiers and First Deputy Chairmen of the Government Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993) and Vladimir KADANNIKOV (since 25 January 1996) were appointed by the president on approval of the Dumas 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: Ministries of the Government or "Government" was 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: 178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units (oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg) State Duma: elections last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999); results - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats: Communist Party of the Russian Federation 22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia 10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats - (450 total - half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists) Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, Independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court (highest court for criminal, civil, and administrative cases), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that resolves economic disputes), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders: pro-market democrats: Our Home Is Russia, Viktor CHERNOMYRDIN; Yabloko Bloc, Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY; Russia's Democratic Choice Party, Yegor GAYDAR; Forward, Russia!, Boris FEDOROV centrists/special interest parties: Congress of Russian Communities, Yuriy SKOKOV; Women of Russia, Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina LAKHOVA anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties: Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY; Agrarian Party, Mikhail LAPSHIN; Power To the People, Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN; Russian Communist Workers' Party, Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17 December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded
Other political or pressure groups: NA
International organization participation: BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC
Diplomatic representation in US: chief of mission: Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV 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 -------
Economic 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. The break-up of the USSR into 15 successor states in late 1991 destroyed major economic links that have been only partially replaced. As a result of these dislocations and the failure of the government to implement a rigorous and consistent reform program, output in Russia has dropped by one-third since 1990 (instead of the one-half previously estimated). On the one hand, 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 in 1994, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. On the other hand, Russia 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; and the strong showing of the communists and nationalists in the Duma elections in December 1995 casts a shadow over prospects for further reforms. In 1995, the new cash privatization program went slower than planned. The state claims that the nonstate sector produced approximately 70% of GDP in 1995, up from 62% in 1994, although these figures apparently include many enterprises that have only nominally moved out of state control. Moscow has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment. Stockholder rights remain ill-defined and the Duma has yet to adopt a land code that would allow development of land markets as sources of needed capital. Russia's securities market remains largely unregulated and suffers from the lack of a comprehensive securities law. 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. Most rank-and-file Russians perceive they are worse off because of growing crime and health problems, the drop in real wages, the great rise in wage arrears, and the widespread threat of unemployment. The number of Russians living below the official poverty level rose by 10% to 36.6 million people, or 25% of the population. The decline in output slowed during 1995, and some sectors showed signs of a turnaround; analysts forecast the resumption of growth in 1996 - at a low rate. Russian official data, which fail to capture a considerable portion of private sector output and employment, show that GDP declined by 4% in 1995, as compared with a 15% decline in 1994. Despite continued declines in agricultural and industrial production, unemployment climbed only slowly to about 8% of the work force by yearend because government policies aimed at softening the impact of reforms have created incentives for enterprises to keep workers on the rolls even as production slowed to a crawl. Moscow renewed tightened financial policies in early 1995 and succeeded in reducing monthly consumer price inflation from 18% in January to about 3% in December, the lowest monthly rate since the beginning of reform. According to official trade statistics, Russia ran a $19.9 billion trade surplus for 1995, up from $15.9 billion in 1994. It continued to shift its trade away from the other former Soviet republics toward the West, with the CIS countries' share of Russian trade falling to 22% in 1995. Russia made good progress with official and commercial creditors in 1995 in resolving the issue of its $105 billion in Soviet-era debts. When completed, these Paris Club and London Club rescheduling agreements will reduce Russia's repayment liabilities from $20 billion to less than $5 billion annually through the end of the decade. Capital flight reportedly continued to be a problem in 1995, with billions of additional dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in Europe.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $796 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP real growth rate: -4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector: agriculture: 6% industry: 41% services: 53%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% monthly average (1995 est.)
Labor force: 85 million (1993) by occupation: production and economic services 83.9%, government 16.1%
Unemployment rate: 8.2% (December 1995) with considerable additional underemployment
Budget: revenues: $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
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; 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: -3% (1995 est.)
Electricity: capacity: 213,100,000 kW production: 876 billion kWh consumption per capita: 5,800 kWh (1994)
Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits (because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk