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In general, information available as of 1 January, 2004
was used in the preparation of The World Factbook 2004.


This page was last updated on 30 November, 2004


Map of Russia

Legend: DefinitionDefinition Field ListingField Listing Rank OrderRank Order
   Introduction    Russia
Background:
Definition Field Listing
Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of 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. While some progress has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization of power under Vladimir PUTIN and an erosion in nascent democratic institutions. 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
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km
Area - comparative:
Definition Field Listing
approximately 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
Definition Field Listing
total: 20,017 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 294 km, Finland 1,340 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
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
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: 7.33%
permanent crops: 0.11%
other: 92.56% (2001)
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-Sulfur 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, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol
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 El'brus is Europe's tallest peak
   People    Russia
Population:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
143,782,338 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
Definition Field Listing
0-14 years: 15% (male 11,064,109; female 10,518,595)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 49,534,076; female 52,958,107)
65 years and over: 13.7% (male 6,177,580; female 13,529,871) (2004 est.)
Median age:
Definition Field Listing
total: 37.9 years
male: 34.7 years
female: 40.7 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
Definition Field Listing
-0.45% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
9.63 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
15.17 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
Definition Field Listing
1.02 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Sex ratio:
Definition Field Listing
at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.46 male(s)/female
total population: 0.87 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 16.96 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 19.58 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total population: 66.39 years
male: 59.91 years
female: 73.27 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
1.26 children born/woman (2004 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
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
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')
: oblasts: Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Belgorodskaya, Bryanskaya, Chelyabinskaya, Chitinskaya, Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kaliningradskaya, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovskaya, Kirovskaya, Kostromskaya, Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya, Moskovskaya, Murmanskaya, Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya, Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya, Ryazanskaya, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samarskaya, Saratovskaya, Smolenskaya, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya, Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Ul'yanovskaya, Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya, Yaroslavskaya
: republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Nazran'), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), Sakha (Yakutiya), Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)
: autonomous okrugs: Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye), Chukotskiy (Anadyr'), Evenkiyskiy (Tura), Khanty-Mansiyskiy (Khanty-Mansiysk), Koryakskiy (Palana), Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar), Komi-Permyatskiy (Kudymkar), Taymyrskiy (Dudinka), Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)
: krays: Altayskiy (Barnaul), Khabarovskiy, Krasnodarskiy, Krasnoyarskiy, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'skiy
: federal cities: Moskva (Moscow), Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)
: autonomous oblast: 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 Yefimovich FRADKOV (since 5 March 2004); Deputy Premier Aleksandr Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" composed of the premier and his deputy, 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
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 14 March 2004 (next to be held NA March 2008); 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 reelected president; percent of vote - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN 71.2%, Nikolay KHARITONOV 13.7%, other (no candidate above 5%) 15.1%
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)
elections: State Duma - last held 7 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2007)
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 - United Russia 37.1%, CPRF 12.7%, LDPR 11.6%, Motherland 9.1%; seats by party - United Russia 222, CPRF 53, LDPR 38, Motherland 37, People's Party 19, Yabloko 4, Union of Rightist Forces 2, other 7, independents 65, repeat election required 3
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
Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Motherland Bloc (Rodina) [Sergey GLAZYEV and Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; People's Party [Gennadiy RAYKOV]; Union of Rightist Forces or SPS [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV]; United Russia [Boris Vyacheslavovich GRYZLOV]; Yabloko Party [Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Definition Field Listing
NA
International organization participation:
Definition Field Listing
APEC, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD, G- 8, 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, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMISET, UNMOVIC, UNOMIG, UNTSO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US:
Definition Field Listing
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:
Definition Field Listing
chief of mission: Ambassador Alexander VERSHBOW
embassy: Bolshoy Devyatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: PSC-77, APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000
FAX: [7] (095) 728-5090
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
Russia ended 2003 with its fifth straight year of growth, averaging 6.5% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble are important drivers of this economic rebound, since 2000 investment and consumer-driven demand have played a noticeably increasing role. Real fixed capital investments have averaged gains greater than 10% over the last four years and real personal incomes have averaged increases over 12%. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis, with its foreign debt declining from 90% of GDP to around 28%. Strong oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from only $12 billion to some $80 billion. These achievements, along with a renewed government effort to advance structural reforms, have raised business and investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects. Nevertheless, serious problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Russia's manufacturing base is dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based 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. In addition, a string of investigations launched against a major Russian oil company, culminating with the arrest of its CEO in the fall of 2003, have raised concerns by some observers that President PUTIN is granting more influence to forces within his government that desire to reassert state control over the economy.
GDP:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $1.282 trillion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
7.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
purchasing power parity - $8,900 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
Definition Field Listing
agriculture: 5.2%
industry: 35.1%
services: 59.8% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed):
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
18.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line:
Definition Field Listing
25% (January 2003 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
13.7% (2004 est.)
Labor force:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
71.68 million (2004 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
8.5% plus considerable underemployment (2004 est.)
Budget:
Definition Field Listing
revenues: $83.99 billion
expenditures: $73.75 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)
Public debt:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
34.1% of GDP (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products:
Definition Field Listing
grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk
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
7% (2004 est.)
Electricity - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
915 billion kWh (2003)
Electricity - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
773 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 (2004 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 (1 January 2002)
Natural gas - production:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
580.8 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
408.1 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
205.4 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
32.7 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
47.86 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)
Current account balance:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$35.91 billion (2004 est.)
Exports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$134.4 billion (2004 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 7.8%, Netherlands 6.5%, Italy 6.3%, China 6.2%, Belarus 5.7%, Ukraine 5.7%, US 4.6%, Switzerland 4.4% (2003)
Imports:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$74.8 billion (2003 est.)
Imports - commodities:
Definition Field Listing
machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products
Imports - partners:
Definition Field Listing
Germany 14%, Belarus 8.6%, Ukraine 7.7%, China 5.8%, US 5.2%, Kazakhstan 4.7%, Italy 4.2%, France 4.1% (2003)
Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$76.94 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
$175.9 billion (2004 est.)
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 (2000 est.)
Currency:
Definition Field Listing
Russian ruble (RUR)
Currency code:
Definition Field Listing
RUR
Exchange rates:
Definition Field Listing
Russian rubles per US dollar - 30.692 (2003), 31.3485 (2002), 29.1685 (2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999)
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
35.5 million (2002)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
17,608,800 (2002)
Telephone system:
Definition Field Listing
general assessment: the telephone system underwent 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: country code - 7; 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, and whose legal status and ownership are contested by the Russian Government, ICANN, and several Russian commercial entities
Internet hosts:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
560,874 (2004)
Internet users:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
6 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 carrier lines serve industries (2003)
Highways:
Definition Field Listing Rank Order
total: 532,393 km
paved: 358,833 km
unpaved: 173,560 km (2000)
Waterways:
Definition Field Listing
96,000 km
note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2004)
Pipelines:
Definition Field Listing
gas 135,771 km; oil 70,833 km; refined products 11,536 km (2003)
Ports and harbors:
Definition Field Listing
Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinskiy, 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: 958 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,521,472 GRT/5,505,118 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 20, cargo 562, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 36, container 28, multi-functional large load carrier 2, passenger 35, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 179, rail car carrier 1, refrigerated cargo 27, roll on/roll off 21, short-sea/passenger 6, specialized tanker 2
foreign-owned: Belize 2, Cambodia 2, Cyprus 9, Denmark 1, Estonia 3, Germany 1, Greece 3, Hong Kong 1, South Korea 1, Latvia 2, Lithuania 3, Malta 2, Moldova 3, Netherlands 2, Panama 2, Switzerland 4, Turkey 18, Turkmenistan 2, Ukraine 7, United Kingdom 3, United States 4
registered in other countries: 350 (2003 est.)
Airports:
Definition Field Listing
2,609 (2003 est.)
Airports - with paved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 585
over 3,047 m: 56
2,438 to 3,047 m: 201
1,524 to 2,437 m: 122
914 to 1,523 m: 100
under 914 m: 106 (2003 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
Definition Field Listing
total: 2,024
over 3,047 m: 19
2,438 to 3,047 m: 34
1,524 to 2,437 m: 120
914 to 1,523 m: 261
under 914 m: 1,590 (2003 est.)
Heliports:
Definition Field Listing
36 (2003 est.)
   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 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - availability:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 39,127,169 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service:
Definition Field Listing
males age 15-49: 30,600,088 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
Definition Field Listing
males: 1,262,339 (2004 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 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; about a third of the boundary with Georgia remains undelimited and none of it demarcated with several small, strategic segments remaining in dispute; OSCE observers monitor 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 consensus on dividing the water column among 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; a simplified transit regime was adopted in July 2003 for residents of the Kaliningrad coastal exclave to travel through Lithuania to Russia; delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine is complete, but boundary through the Sea of Azov and Kerch Strait remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; Ukraine protests Russia's construction of a causeway in the direction of Ukrainian-administered Tuzla Island in the Kerch Strait; Kazakhstan and Russia will complete delimitation of their interstate border in 2004 and demarcation is underway; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US in the Bering Sea
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
Definition Field Listing
IDPs: 368,000 (displacement from Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2004)
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 30 November, 2004


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