| Background | | 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. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. 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 Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and 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 Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then, Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state whose legitimacy is buttressed, in part, by carefully managed national elections, former President PUTIN's genuine popularity, and the prudent management of Russia's windfall energy wealth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus. |
 | | | Map |  | | Geography | | 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. | | Location: | Northern Asia (the area west of the Urals is considered part of 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 kmSize comparison: approximately 1.8 times the size of the US | | Land Boundaries: | total: 20,241.5 km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959 km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia 290 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km, North Korea 17.5 km, Latvia 292 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 196 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km, Ukraine 1,576 km | | Coastline: | 37,653 km | | Maritime claims: | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation | | 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: 7.17%
permanent crops: 0.11%
other: 92.72% (2005) | | Irrigated land: | 46,000 sq km (2003) | | 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; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia | | Current Environment 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 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 | | International Environment Agreements: | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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 | | ^Back to Top | | People | | Population: | 140,702,096 (July 2008 est.) | | Age structure: | 0-14 years: 14.6% (male 10,577,858/female 10,033,254)
15-64 years: 71.2% (male 48,187,807/female 52,045,102)
65 years and over: 14.1% (male 6,162,400/female 13,695,673) (2008 est.) | | Median age: | total: 38.3 years
male: 35.1 years
female: 41.4 years (2008 est.) | | Population growth rate: | -0.474% (2008 est.) | | Birth rate: | 11.03 births/1,000 population (2008 est.) | | Death rate: | 16.06 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.) | | Net migration rate: | 0.28 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2008 est.) | | Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.45 male(s)/female
total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2008 est.) | | Infant mortality rate: | total: 10.81 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 12.34 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 9.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) | | Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 65.94 years
male: 59.19 years
female: 73.1 years (2008 est.) | | Total fertility rate: | 1.4 children born/woman (2008 est.) | | HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 1.1% (2001 est.) | | HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 860,000 (2001 est.) | | HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 9,000 (2001 est.) | | Nationality: | noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian | | Ethnic groups: | Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census) | | Religions: | Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.)
note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule | | Languages: | Russian, many minority languages | | Literacy: | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.4%
male: 99.7%
female: 99.2% (2002 census) | | ^Back to Top | | Government | | 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 | | Capital: | name: Moscow
geographic coordinates: 55 45 N, 37 35 E
time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
note: Russia is divided into 11 time zones | | Administrative divisions: | 46 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik, singular - respublika), 4 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 9 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (goroda, singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast (avtonomnaya oblast')
oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'
republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)
autonomous okrugs: Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi (Khanty-Mansiysk), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)
krays: Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm', Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol', Zabaykal'skiy (Chita)
federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg)
autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)
note: 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; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | | Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal | | Executive branch: | chief of state: President Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV (since 7 May 2008)
head of government: Premier Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 8 May 2008); First Deputy Premiers Igor Ivanovich SHUVALOV and Viktor Alekseyevich ZUBKOV (since 12 May 2008); Deputy Premiers Sergey Borisovich IVANOV (since 12 May 2008), Dmitriy Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14 October 2008), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 24 September 2007), Igor Ivanovich SECHIN (since 12 May 2008), Sergey Semenovich SOBYANIN (since 12 May 2008), Aleksandr Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004), and Dmitry Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14 October 2008)
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
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 March 2008 (next to be held in March 2012); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, 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: Dmitriy MEDVEDEV elected president; percent of vote - Dmitry MEDVEDEV 70.2%, Gennady ZYUGANOV 17.7%, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKY 9.4%, Andrey BOGDONOV 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; to 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: | Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Just Russia [Sergey MIRONOV]; 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: | Levada Center (conducts polls); Memorial (human rights group; Movement Against Illegal Migration; Pamjat (preservation of historical monuments and recording of history); Russian Orthodox Church; Russian-Chechen Friendship Society
other: ecology groups; human rights groups; nationalist pragmatists (no foreign influence over Central Eurasia); neo-Eurasianists (against Western influence for the area); religious groups; westernizers (lean towards the West) | | International organization participation: | APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, 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), 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 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: 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 | | Executive branch: | chief of state: President Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV (since 7 May 2008)
head of government: Premier Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 8 May 2008); First Deputy Premiers Igor Ivanovich SHUVALOV and Viktor Alekseyevich ZUBKOV (since 12 May 2008); Deputy Premiers Sergey Borisovich IVANOV (since 12 May 2008), Dmitriy Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14 October 2008), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 24 September 2007), Igor Ivanovich SECHIN (since 12 May 2008), Sergey Semenovich SOBYANIN (since 12 May 2008), Aleksandr Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004), and Dmitry Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14 October 2008)
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
elections: president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 March 2008 (next to be held in March 2012); note - no vice president; if the president dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, 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: Dmitriy MEDVEDEV elected president; percent of vote - Dmitry MEDVEDEV 70.2%, Gennady ZYUGANOV 17.7%, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKY 9.4%, Andrey BOGDONOV 1.3% | | ^Back to Top | | Economy | | Russia ended 2007 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging 7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Although high oil prices and a relatively cheap ruble initially drove this growth, since 2003 consumer demand and, more recently, investment have played a significant role. Over the last six years, fixed capital investments have averaged real gains greater than 10% per year and personal incomes have achieved real gains more than 12% per year. During this time, poverty has declined steadily and the middle class has continued to expand. Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis. The federal budget has run surpluses since 2001 and ended 2007 with a surplus of about 3% of GDP. Over the past several years, Russia has used its stabilization fund based on oil taxes to prepay all Soviet-era sovereign debt to Paris Club creditors and the IMF. Foreign debt is approximately one-third of GDP. The state component of foreign debt has declined, but commercial debt to foreigners has risen strongly. Oil export earnings have allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to some $470 billion at yearend 2007, the third largest reserves in the world. During President PUTIN's first administration, a number of important reforms were implemented in the areas of tax, banking, labor, and land codes. These achievements have raised business and investor confidence in Russia's economic prospects, with foreign direct investment rising from $14.6 billion in 2005 to approximately $45 billion in 2007. In 2007, Russia's GDP grew 8.1%, led by non-tradable services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports. Rising inflation returned in the second half of 2007, driven largely by unsterilized capital inflows and by rising food costs, and approached 12% by year-end. In 2006, Russia signed a bilateral market access agreement with the US as a prelude to possible WTO entry, and its companies are involved in global merger and acquisition activity in the oil and gas, metals, and telecom sectors. Despite Russia's recent success, serious problems persist. Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of exports and 30% of government revenues, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world commodity prices. Russia's manufacturing base is dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. The banking system, while increasing consumer lending and growing at a high rate, is still small relative to the banking sectors of Russia's emerging market peers. Political uncertainties associated with this year's power transition, corruption, and lack of trust in institutions continue to dampen domestic and foreign investor sentiment. PUTIN has granted more influence to forces within his government that desire to reassert state control over the economy. Russia has made little progress in building the rule of law, the bedrock of a modern market economy. The government has promised additional legislative amendments to make its intellectual property protection WTO-consistent, but enforcement remains problematic. | | GDP (purchasing power parity): | $2.097 trillion (2007 est.) | | GDP (official exchange rate): | $1.29 trillion (2007 est.) | | GDP - real growth rate: | 8.1% (2007 est.) | | GDP - per capita (PPP): | $14,800 (2007 est.) | | GDP - composition by sector: | agriculture: 4.7%
industry: 39.1%
services: 56.2% (2007 est.) | | Labor force: | 75.1 million (2007 est.) | | Labor force - by occupation: | agriculture: 10.8%
industry: 28.8%
services: 60.5% (November 2007 est.) | | Unemployment rate: | 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: | 41.3 (September 2007) | | Inflation rate (consumer prices): | 9% annual average
note: 12% at year-end (2007 est.) | | Investment (gross fixed): | 21% of GDP (2007 est.) | | Budget: | revenues: $299 billion
expenditures: $262 billion (2007 est.) | | Public debt: | 5.9% of GDP (2007 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: | 7.4% (2007 est.) | | Electricity - production: | 964.2 billion kWh (2007 est.) | | Electricity - consumption: | 819.6 billion kWh (2006 est.) | | Electricity - exports: | 15.81 billion kWh (2007 est.) | | Electricity - imports: | 5.67 billion kWh (2007 est.) | | Oil - production: | 9.876 million bbl/day (2007 est.) | | Oil - consumption: | 2.858 million bbl/day (2007 est.) | | Oil - exports: | 5.08 million bbl/day (2007) | | Oil - imports: | 73,140 bbl/day (2005) | | Oil - proved reserves: | 60 billion bbl (1 January 2008 est.) | | Natural gas - production: | 656.2 billion cu m (2007 est.) | | Natural gas - consumption: | 610 billion cu m (2007 est.) | | Natural gas - exports: | 237.2 billion cu m (2007 est.) | | Natural gas - imports: | 58.3 billion cu m (2007 est.) | | Natural gas - proved reserves: | 47.57 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.) | | Current account balance: | $78.31 billion (2007 est.) | | Exports: | $355.5 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 12.2%, Italy 7.8%, Germany 7.5%, Turkey 5.2%, Belarus 5%, Ukraine 4.7%, China 4.5% (2007) | | Imports: | $223.4 billion (2007 est.) | | Imports - commodities: | machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, sugar, semifinished metal products | | Imports - partners: | Germany 13.3%, China 12.2%, Ukraine 6.7%, Japan 6.4%, US 4.8%, Belarus 4.4%, South Korea 4.4%, Italy 4.3% (2007) | | Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: | $476.4 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | | Debt - external: | $356.5 billion (31 December 2007) | | Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: | $271.6 billion (2006) | | Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: | $209.6 billion (2006) | | Market value of publicly traded shares: | $1.322 trillion (2006) | | Currency (code): | Russian ruble (RUB) | | Exchange rates: | Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar - 25.659 (2007), 27.19 (2006), 28.284 (2005), 28.814 (2004), 30.692 (2003) | | Fiscal year: | calendar year | | ^Back to Top | | Communications | | Telephones in use: | 43.9 million (2006) | | Cellular Phones in use: | 170 million (2007) | | 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 170 million in 2007; a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied, but fixed-line operators continue to grow their services
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 | | 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: | 4.822 million (2008) | | Internet users: | 30 million (2007) | | ^Back to Top | | Transportation | | Airports: | 1,260 (2007) | | Airports (paved runways): | total: 601
over 3,047 m: 51
2,438 to 3,047 m: 197
1,524 to 2,437 m: 129
914 to 1,523 m: 102
under 914 m: 122 (2007) | | Airports (unpaved runways): | total: 659
over 3,047 m: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 13
1,524 to 2,437 m: 69
914 to 1,523 m: 89
under 914 m: 484 (2007) | | Heliports: | 47 (2007) | | Pipelines: | condensate 122 km; gas 158,699 km; oil 72,347 km; refined products 13,658 km (2007) | | Railways: | 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 (2006) | | Roadways: | total: 933,000 km
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)
note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea (2006) | | Merchant marine: | total: 1,074
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 | | ^Back to Top | | Military | | | Military branches: | Ground Forces (SV), Navy (VMF), Air Forces (Voyenno-Vozdushniye Sily, VVS); Airborne Troops (VDV), Strategic Rocket Troops (Raketnyye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN), and Space Troops (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 (2008) | | 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 (2008) | | 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: 21,488,878
females age 16-49: 28,760,976 (2008 est.) | | ^Back to Top |
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Source: CIA - The World Factbook
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