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In general, information available as of 1 January 2003
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2003.


This page was last updated on 1 August, 2003


Map of Russia

Legend: Definition Definition Field Listing Field Listing Rank Order Rank Order
   Introduction    Russia
Background:
Definition Field Listing
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 300-year old Romanov Dynasty. 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. A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.
   Geography    Russia
Location:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
60 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references:
Definition Field Listing
Asia
Area:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 17,075,200 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
approximately 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 19,990 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline:
Definition Field Listing
37,653 km
Maritime claims:
Definition Field Listing
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
Climate:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions
Elevation extremes:
Definition Field Listing
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m
Natural resources:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
arable land: 7.46%
permanent crops: 0.11%
other: 92.43% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
Definition Field Listing
46,630 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Persistent Organic Pollutants
Geography - note:
Definition Field Listing
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 Elbrus is Europe's tallest peak
   People    Russia
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
144,526,278 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 16% (male 11,815,360; female 11,335,715)
15-64 years: 70.4% (male 49,399,322; female 52,367,194)
65 years and over: 13.6% (male 6,394,411; female 13,214,276) (2003 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 37.6 years
male: 34.7 years
female: 40.3 years (2002)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
-0.3% (2003 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
10.09 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
13.99 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
0.91 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
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: 0.48 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2003 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 19.51 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)
male: 21.53 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 67.66 years
male: 62.46 years
female: 73.11 years (2003 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.33 children born/woman (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
0.9% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
700,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
9,000 (2001 est.)
Nationality:
Definition Field Listing
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian
Ethnic groups:
Definition Field Listing
Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% (1989)
Religions:
Definition Field Listing
Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
Languages:
Definition Field Listing
Russian, other
Literacy:
Definition Field Listing
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.6%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
   Government    Russia
Country name:
Definition Field Listing
conventional long form: Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
local short form: Rossiya
Government type:
Definition Field Listing
federation
Capital:
Definition Field Listing
Moscow
Administrative divisions:
Definition Field Listing
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'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**, Altay (Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*, Dagestan (Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*, Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya, Kalmykiya (Elista)*, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*, Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy (Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya, Moskva (Moscow)****, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutiya)*, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)****, Saratovskaya, Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz)*, Smolenskaya, Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*, Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**, Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****; note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya' or 'skiy,' the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should be added to the place name
note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence:
Definition Field Listing
24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday:
Definition Field Listing
Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
Constitution:
Definition Field Listing
adopted 12 December 1993
Legal system:
Definition Field Listing
based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
Definition Field Listing
chief of state: President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)
head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); Deputy Premiers Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Boris Sergeyevich ALESHIN (since 24 April 2003), Galina Nikolayevna KARELOVA (since 24 April 2003), Vladimir Anatolyevich YAKOVLEV (since 16 June 2003)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputies, 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
election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8%
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held March 2004); 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
Legislative branch:
Definition Field Listing
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; 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)
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 - KPRF 24.29%, Unity 23.32%, OVR 13.33%, Union of Rightist Forces 8.52%, LDPR 5.98%, Yabloko 5.93%; seats by party - KPRF 113, Unity 72, OVR 67, Union of Rightist Forces 29, LDPR 17, Yabloko 21, other 16, independents 106, repeat election required 8, vacant 1
elections: State Duma - last held 19 December 1999 (next to be held 14 December 2003)
Judicial branch:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
Agrarian Party [Mikhail Ivanovich LAPSHIN]; Communist Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Fatherland-All Russia or OVR [Yuriy Mikhaylovich LUZHKOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Union of Rightist Forces [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
note: some 150 political parties, blocs, and movements registered with the Justice Ministry as of the 19 December 1998 deadline to be eligible to participate in the 19 December 1999 Duma elections; of these, 36 political organizations actually qualified to run slates of candidates on the Duma party list ballot, 6 parties cleared the 5% threshold to win a proportional share of the 225 party seats in the Duma, 9 other organizations hold seats in the Duma: Bloc of Nikolayev and Academician Fedorov, Congress of Russian Communities, Movement in Support of the Army, Our Home Is Russia, Party of Pensioners, Power to the People, Russian All-People's Union, Russian Socialist Party, and Spiritual Heritage; primary political blocs include pro-market democrats - (Yabloko Bloc and Union of Right Forces), anti-market and/or ultranationalist (Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia)
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, GEF, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOP, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
Diplomatic representation from the US:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW
embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000
FAX: [7] (095) 728-5203
consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag description:
Definition Field Listing
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
   Economy    Russia
Economy - overview:
Definition Field Listing
A decade after the implosion of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which were able to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied the launch of market reforms within three to five years - Russia saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight recovery in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits and the country's poor business climate made it vulnerable when the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. The economy subsequently has rebounded, growing by an average of more than 6% annually in 1999-2001 on the back of higher oil prices and the 60% depreciation of the ruble in 1998. The ruble's real appreciation back to its 1998 level is making Russian goods exports less competitive both domestically and abroad. Economic growth fell to 4% during 2002. These GDP numbers, along with a renewed government effort to advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Yet serious problems persist. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for over 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's industrial base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to maintain vigorous economic growth. Other problems include a weak banking system, a poor business climate that discourages both domestic and foreign investors, corruption, local and regional government intervention in the courts, and widespread lack of trust in institutions.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $1.35 trillion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
4.2% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $9,300 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 5.8%
industry: 34.6%
services: 59.6% (2002 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
25% (2002 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
Definition Field Listing
lowest 10%: 5.9%
highest 10%: 47% (2001)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
Definition Field Listing
39.9 (2001)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
15% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
71.8 million (2002 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture 12.3%, industry 22.7%, services 65% (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.9% plus considerable underemployment (2002)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $70 billion
expenditures: $62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)
Industries:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
3.7% (2002 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
846.5 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
Definition Field Listing
fossil fuel: 64.3%
hydro: 20.5%
other: 0.4% (2001)
nuclear: 14.8%
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
773.08 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
Definition Field Listing
21.16 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
Definition Field Listing
7 billion kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.286 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
2.595 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
51.22 billion bbl (January 2002 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
47.86 trillion cu m (January 2002 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$104.6 billion (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Exports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 9.3%, US 8.3%, Italy 7.5%, China 5.6%, Belarus 5.2%, Ukraine 5.2% (2000 est.)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$60.7 billion (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 13.2%, Belarus 9.6%, Ukraine 9.3%, US 7.6%, Kazakhstan 4.8%, Italy 4.1% (2000)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$153.5 billion (yearend 2002)
Economic aid - recipient:
Definition Field Listing
in FY01 from US, $979 million (including $750 million in non-proliferation subsidies); in 2001 from EU, $200 million
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
Russian ruble (RUR)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
RUR
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Russian rubles per US dollar - 31.2651 (2002), 29.1685 (2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051 (1998)
note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles
Fiscal year:
Definition Field Listing
calendar year
   Communications    Russia
Telephones - main lines in use:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
30 million (1998)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
19 million (January 2003)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: the telephone system has undergone 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: 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:
Definition Field Listing
AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
Definition Field Listing
7,306 (1998)
Internet country code:
Definition Field Listing
.ru; Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain ".su" that was allocated to the Soviet Union, its legal status and ownership are contested by the Russian Government, ICANN, and several Russian commercial entities
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
Definition Field Listing
300 (June 2000)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
18 million (2002)
   Transportation    Russia
Railways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
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 carrrier lines serve industries (2002)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 952,000 km
paved: 752,000 km (including about 336,000 km of conventionally paved roads, and about 416,000 km of roads with all-weather gravel surfaces)
unpaved: 200,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
95,900 km (total routes in general use)
note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet - 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids - 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes - 16,900 km (January 1994)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
crude oil 46,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 152,000 km (2002)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky, 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:
Definition Field Listing
total: 933 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,495,122 GRT/5,490,103 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 22, cargo 553, chemical tanker 12, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 36, container 30, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 38, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 167, refrigerated cargo 21, roll on/roll off 20, short-sea passenger 7, specialized tanker 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belize 1, Cambodia 1, Cyprus 9, Denmark 1, Estonia 4, Greece 3, Honduras 1, Latvia 4, Lithuania 3, Moldova 3, Netherlands 1, South Korea 1, Turkey 18, Turkmenistan 2, Ukraine 10, UK 5, US 1 (2002 est.)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
2,743 (2002)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 471
over 3,047 m: 56
2,438 to 3,047 m: 178
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 69
under 914 m: 92 (2002)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 2,272
over 3,047 m: 28
2,438 to 3,047 m: 118
1,524 to 2,437 m: 204
914 to 1,523 m: 324
under 914 m: 1,598 (2002)
   Military    Russia
Military branches:
Definition Field Listing
Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces; Airborne troops, Strategic Rocket Forces, and Military Space Forces are classified as independent combat arms, not subordinate to any of the three branches
:
Military manpower - military age:
Definition Field Listing
18 years of age (2003)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 36 million (2003 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 24 million (2003 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 1.243 million (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - dollar figure:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
NA%
   Transnational Issues    Russia
Disputes - international:
Definition Field Listing
China continues to seek a mutually acceptable solution to the disputed alluvial islands at the confluence of the Amur and Ussuri rivers and a small island on the Argun River as part of the 2001 Treaty of Good Neighborliness, Friendship, and Cooperation; the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group identified by the Russians as the "Southern Kurils" and by Japan as the "Northern Territories" occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; boundary with Georgia has been largely delimited but not demarcated with several small, strategic segments remaining in dispute and OSCE observers monitoring volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Argun Gorge in Abkhazia; equidistant seabed treaties have been signed with Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the Caspian Sea but no resolution on dividing the water column among any of 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; Russia continues to reject signing and ratifying the joint 1996 technical border agreement with Estonia; the Russian Parliament refuses to consider ratification of the boundary treaties with Estonia and Latvia, but in May 2003, ratified land and maritime boundary treaty with Lithuania, which ratified the 1997 treaty in 1999, legalizing limits of former Soviet republic borders; discussions are still ongoing among Russia, Lithuania and the EU concerning a simplified transit document for residents of the Kaliningrad coastal exclave to transit through Lithuania to Russia; land delimitation with Ukraine is ratified, but maritime regime of the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait is unresolved; delimitation with Kazakhstan is scheduled for completion in 2003; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea
Illicit drugs:
Definition Field Listing
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

This page was last updated on 1 August, 2003


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