Region / Country specific information - Russia

| Background: |
The defeat of the Russian Empire
in World War I led to the seizure of power by the communists and the
formation of the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1924-53) 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. |
| 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 |
| Area: |
total: 17,075,200
sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly less than 1.8 times the
size of the US |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 19,961 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
167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
ranges from steppes in the south
through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia
to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black
Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes
to cool along Arctic coast |
| Terrain: |
broad plain with low hills west
of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and
mountains along southern border regions |
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Caspian
Sea -28 m
highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m |
| Natural
resources: |
wide natural resource base including
major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals,
timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance
hinder exploitation of natural resources |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 8%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 46%
other: 42% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated land: |
40,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
permafrost over much of Siberia
is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril
Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula |
| 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 sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination
from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas
of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; ground water contamination
from toxic waste |
| Environment - international agreements: |
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 |
| 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 |
| Population: |
145,470,197 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 17.41%
(male 12,915,026; female 12,405,341)
15-64 years: 69.78% (male 49,183,000; female 52,320,962)
65 years and over: 12.81% (male 5,941,944; female 12,703,924)
(2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate: |
-0.35% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
9.35 births/1,000 population (2001
est.) |
| Death
rate: |
13.85 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2001 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: 0.47 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
20.05 deaths/1,000 live births
(2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
67.34 years
male: 62.12 years
female: 72.83 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.27 children born/woman (2001
est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.18% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
130,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
850 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
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: |
definition: age 15
and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 100%
female: 97% (1989 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist
Republic |
| Government type: |
federation |
| Administrative divisions: |
49 oblasts (oblastey, singular
- oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika), 10 autonomous
okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 6 krays***
(krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (singular - gorod)****,
and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya oblast'); 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 (Yakutsk)*, 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: the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetiya
were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary
between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); administrative
divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions
have the administrative center name following in parentheses) |
| Independence: |
24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
|
| National
holiday: |
Russia Day, 12 June (1990) |
| Constitution: |
adopted 12 December 1993 |
| Legal
system: |
based on civil law system; judicial
review of legislative acts |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: |
chief of state: President
Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since 31 December 1999,
president since 7 May 2000)
head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich KASYANOV
(since 7 May 2000); First Deputy Premier Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN
(since 18 May 2000), Deputy Premiers Aleksey Vasilyevich GORDEYEV (since
20 May 2000), Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since 31 May 1999), Ilya
Iosifovich KLEBANOV (since 31 May 1999), Valentina Ivanovna MATVIYENKO
(since 22 September 1998)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed
of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and other agency heads;
all are appointed by the president
note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA)
that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential
decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security
Council also reports directly to the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year
term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to be held NA 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
election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN elected
president; percent of vote - PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Aadreyevich ZYUGANOV
29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8% |
| Legislative branch: |
bicameral Federal Assembly or
Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii
(178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed by the top executive
and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units
- oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the
federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year
terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; half
elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least
5% of the vote, and half from single-member constituencies; members
are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: State Duma - last held 19 December 1999 (next
to be held NA December 2003)
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 Right 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 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Constitutional Court; Supreme
Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts are appointed
for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president
|
| Political parties and leaders: |
Agrarian Party [Mikhail Ivanovich
LAPSHIN]; Communist Party of the Russian Federation or KPRF [Gennadiy
Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Fatherland-All Russia or OVR [Yuriy Mikhailovich
LUZHKOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich
ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Union of Right Forces [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor
Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV];
Unity [Sergey Kuzhugetovich SHOYGU]; Yabloko Bloc [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: |
NA |
| International organization participation: |
APEC, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP,
G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO,
IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU,
LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW,
OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR,
UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET,
UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
|
| Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador James F. COLLINS
embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, 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: |
three equal horizontal bands of
white (top), blue, and red |
| Economy
- overview: |
A decade after the implosion of
the Soviet Union in 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 rebounded in 1999 and 2000, buoyed by the competitive boost
from the weak ruble and a surging trade surplus fueled by rising world
oil prices. This recovery, along with a renewed government effort in
2000 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 agricultural sector remains beset
by uncertainty over land ownership rights, which has discouraged needed
investment and restructuring. Another threat is negative demographic
trends, fueled by low birth rates and a deteriorating health situation
- including an alarming rise in AIDS cases - that have contributed to
a nearly 2% drop in the population since 1992. Russia's industrial base
is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the
country is to achieve sustainable economic growth. Other problems include
widespread corruption, capital flight, and brain drain. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $1.12
trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6.3% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $7,700
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 7%
industry: 34%
services: 59% (1999 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: |
40% (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: 1.7%
highest 10%: 38.7% (1998) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
20.6% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
66 million (1997) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 15%, industry 30%,
services 55% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: |
10.5% (2000 est.), plus considerable
underemployment |
| Budget: |
revenues: $40 billion
expenditures: $33.7 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (2000 est.) |
| 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: |
8.8% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity - production: |
798.065 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 66.31%
hydro: 19.79%
nuclear: 13.9%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity - consumption: |
728.2 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports: |
20 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports: |
6 billion kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture - products: |
grain, sugar beets, sunflower
seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk |
| Exports: |
$105.1 billion (2000 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: |
US 8.8%, Germany 8.5%, Ukraine
6.5%, Belarus 5.1%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4.8% (1999) |
| Imports: |
$44.2 billion (2000 est.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment, consumer
goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products |
| Imports
- partners: |
Germany 13.8%, Belarus 10.7%,
Ukraine 8.3%, US 7.9%, Kazakhstan 4.6%, Italy 3.8% (1999) |
| Debt
- external: |
$163 billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$8.523 billion (1995) |
| Currency: |
Russian ruble (RUR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Russian rubles per US dollar -
28.3592 (January 2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051 (1998),
5,785 (1997), 5,121 (1996)
note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of
the pre-1 January 1998 rubles |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones - main lines in use: |
30 million (1998) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: |
2.5 million (October 2000) |
| Telephone system: |
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: |
AM 420, FM 447, shortwave 56 (1998)
|
| Radios: |
61.5 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: |
7,306 (1998) |
| Televisions: |
60.5 million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ru |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
35 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
9.2 million (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 149,000 km
note: 86,000 km are in common carrier service; 63,000 km
serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use;
40,000 km of the railway in common carrier use are electrified
broad gauge: 149,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1998) |
| Highways: |
total: 952,000 km
paved: 752,000 km (including, in addition to about 336,000
km of conventionally paved roads, about 416,000 km of roads, the surfaces
of which have been stabilized with gravel or other coarse aggregates,
making them trafficable in wet weather)
unpaved: 200,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized
earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998) |
| Waterways: |
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 (Jan 1994) |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum
products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (June 1993 est.) |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad,
Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka,
Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy, Saint Petersburg,
Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 878 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,314,485 GRT/5,344,958 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 20, cargo 543, chemical
tanker 4, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 7, container 31,
multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger 35, passenger/cargo
3, petroleum tanker 164, refrigerated cargo 24, roll on/roll off 17,
short-sea passenger 7
note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered here as
a flag of convenience: Reunion 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
2,743 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
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 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
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 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force,
Strategic Rocket Forces |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
38,866,147 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
30,337,743 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 1,242,778
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Disputes
- international: |
dispute over at least two small
sections of the boundary with China remains to be settled, despite 1997
boundary agreement; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and
the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered
by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined
among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan; Estonian
and Russian negotiators reached a technical border agreement in December
1996, which has not been signed or ratified by Russia as of February
2001; draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Latvia has not been
signed; 1997 border agreement with Lithuania not yet ratified; 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; Svalbard
is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute between Norway and Russia
|
| Illicit
drugs: |
limited cultivation of illicit
cannabis and opium poppy and producer of amphetamine, mostly for domestic
consumption; government has active eradication program; increasingly
used as transshipment point for Southwest and Southeast Asian opiates
and cannabis and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe, possibly
to the US, and growing domestic market; major source of heroin precursor
chemicals; corruption and organized crime are major concerns; heroin
an increasing threat in domestic drug market |
|