Part 158
election results: Dmitriy MEDVEDEV elected president; percent of vote - Dmitry 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 (168 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 84 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; 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 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] (registration pending; formed from merger of Union of Right Forces, Democratic Party of Russia, and Civic Force); United Russia [Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN]; Yabloko Party [Sergey Sergeyevich MITROKHIN]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
All-Russian Confederation of Labor; Baikal Environmental Wave; 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-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), CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, 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, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), 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, UNOMIG, 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
Economy ::Russia
Economy - overview:
Russia ended 2008 with GDP growth of 5.6%, following 10 straight years of growth averaging 7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Over the last six years, fixed capital investment growth and personal income growth have averaged above 10%, but both grew at slower rates in 2008. Growth in 2008 was driven largely by non-tradable services and domestic manufacturing, rather than exports. During the past decade, poverty and unemployment declined steadily and the middle class continued to expand. Russia also improved its international financial position, running balance of payments surpluses since 2000. Foreign exchange reserves grew from $12 billion in 1999 to almost $600 billion by end July 2008, which include $200 billion in two sovereign wealth funds: a reserve fund to support budgetary expenditures in case of a fall in the price of oil and a national welfare fund to help fund pensions and infrastructure development. Total foreign debt is almost one-third of GDP. The state component of foreign debt has declined, but commercial short-term debt to foreigners has risen strongly. These positive trends began to reverse in the second half of 2008. Investor concerns over the Russia-Georgia conflict, corporate governance issues, and the global credit crunch in September caused the Russian stock market to fall by roughly 70%, primarily due to margin calls that were difficult for many Russian companies to meet. The global crisis also affected Russia's banking system, which faced liquidity problems. Moscow responded quickly in early October 2008, initiating a rescue plan of over $200 billion that was designed to increase liquidity in the financial sector, to help firms refinance foreign debt, and to support the stock market. The government also unveiled a $20 billion tax cut plan and other safety nets for society and industry. Meanwhile, a 70% drop in the price of oil since mid-July further exacerbated imbalances in external accounts and the federal budget. In mid-November, mini-devaluations of the currency by the Central Bank caused increased capital flight and froze domestic credit markets, resulting in growing unemployment, wage arrears, and a severe drop in production. Foreign exchange reserves dropped to around $435 billion by end 2008, as the Central Bank defended an overvalued ruble. In the first year of his term, President MEDVEDEV outlined a number of economic priorities for Russia including improving infrastructure, innovation, investment, and institutions; reducing the state's role in the economy; reforming the tax system and banking sector; developing one of the biggest financial centers in the world, combating corruption, and improving the judiciary. The Russian government needs to diversify the economy further, as energy and other raw materials still dominate Russian export earnings and federal budget receipts. Russia's infrastructure requires large investments and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. Corruption, lack of trust in institutions, and more recently, exchange rate uncertainty and the global economic crisis continue to dampen domestic and foreign investor sentiment. Russia has made some progress in building the rule of law, the bedrock of a modern market economy, but much work remains on judicial reform. Moscow continues to seek accession to the WTO and has made some progress, but its timeline for entry into the organization continues to slip, and the negotiating atmosphere has soured in the wake of the Georgia and global economic crises.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$2.271 trillion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 7 $2.151 trillion (2007 est.)
$1.99 trillion (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$1.677 trillion (2008 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
5.6% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 71 8.1% (2007 est.)
7.7% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$16,100 (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 73 $15,200 (2007 est.)
$14,000 (2006 est.)
note: data are in 2008 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 4.7%
industry: 37.6%
services: 57.7% (2008 est.)
Labor force:
75.7 million (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 7
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 10.2%
industry: 27.4%
services: 62.4% (2007 est.)
Unemployment rate:
6.4% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 82 6.2% (2007 est.)
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:
41.5 (September 2008) country comparison to the world: 56 39.9 (2001)
Investment (gross fixed):
22.1% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 81
Budget:
revenues: $364.6 billion
expenditures: $304.6 billion (2008 est.)
Public debt:
6.5% of GDP (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 117 28.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
14.1% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 186 9% (2007 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
13% (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 38 10% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12.23% (31 December 2008)
NA% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$252.5 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 6 $303.7 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$318.4 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 11 $292.5 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$367.2 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 23 $339.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$397.2 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 11 $1.503 trillion (31 December 2007)
$1.057 trillion (31 December 2006 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:
3.5% (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 74
Electricity - production:
958 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Electricity - consumption:
840.4 billion kWh (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 5
Electricity - exports:
18.6 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Electricity - imports:
3.105 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Oil - production:
9.79 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 2
Oil - consumption:
2.9 million bbl/day (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 6
Oil - exports:
6.845 million bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 2
Oil - imports:
47,360 bbl/day (2007 est.) country comparison to the world: 89
Oil - proved reserves:
60 billion bbl (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 8
Natural gas - production:
662.2 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - consumption:
475.7 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 3
Natural gas - exports:
243.4 billion cu m (2008) country comparison to the world: 1
Natural gas - imports:
56.9 billion cu m (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 6
Natural gas - proved reserves:
47.57 trillion cu m (1 January 2009 est.) country comparison to the world: 1
Current account balance:
$102.4 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 5 $77.01 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$471.6 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 9 $354.4 billion (2007 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:
Netherlands 11.2%, Italy 8.1%, Germany 8%, Turkey 6%, Ukraine 5.1%, Poland 4.5%, China 4.3% (2008)
Imports:
$291.9 billion (2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 18 $223.5 billion (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
vehicles, machinery and equipment, plastics, medicines, iron and steel, consumer goods, meat, fruits and nuts, semifinished metal products
Imports - partners:
Germany 13.5%, China 13.2%, Japan 6.5%, Ukraine 6%, US 4.5%, Italy 4.3% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$427.1 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 3 $476.4 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$483.5 billion (31 December 2008) country comparison to the world: 21 $471 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$491.2 billion (2007) country comparison to the world: 10 $271.6 billion (2006)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$176.7 billion (31 December 2008 est.) country comparison to the world: 17 $209.6 billion (2006)
Exchange rates:
Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar - 24.3 (2008 est.), 25.659 (2007), 27.19 (2006), 28.284 (2005), 28.814 (2004)
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 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 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 1,500 est., 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 158,767 km; liquid petroleum gas 127 km; oil 74,285 km; refined products 13,658 km; water 23 km (2008)
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 (2009)
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; reserve obligation to age 50; as of July 2008, a draft military strategy called for the draft to continue up to the year 2030 (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 36,219,908
females age 16-49: 37,019,853 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 21,098,306
females age 16-49: 27,968,883 (2009 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 741,692
female: 706,081 (2009 est.)
Military expenditures:
3.9% of GDP (2005) country comparison to the world: 30
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
page last updated on November 11, 2009
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@Rwanda (Africa)
Introduction ::Rwanda
Background: