Russia Location:
Physical. Russia is located in Northern Asia, bordering the Arctic Ocean between Europe and the North Pacific. Russia is the largest country in the world, almost twice the size of the US. Climate ranges from sub arctic to warm. The terrain consists of a broad plain with low hills west of the Urals, a vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia, and uplands and mountains along the southern border regions. Natural resources include major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, timber, and strategic minerals.
Russia Geography:
Geography
Area: 17,075,200 square miles
Capital: Moscow (pop. 10,409,200. 2005 est.)
Environmental concerns: air pollution; waterway and seacoast pollution; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides
Geographical features: broad plain with low hills west of the Urals and coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; there are uplands and mountains along the southern border
Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental climate in much of European Russia; from sub arctic 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
Russia People:
People. Over 145 million people live in Russia. The official language is Russian, though various other languages are spoken as well among minority ethnic groups. Over 80% of the population is ethnically Russia; larger ethnic minorities include Tartars, Ukrainians, Moldavians, Byelorussians, Bashkir, and various Caucasians peoples (Georgian, Azerbaijani, and Armenian). The dominant religion is Russian Orthodox Christianity, though perhaps ten percent of the population is Muslim.
Population: 142,440,200 (official census in 2002); 143,420,309 (2005 est.)
Capital: Moscow. (pop. 10,409,200. 2005 est.)
Annual population growth rate: -0.37%
Major language is Russian
Religions: Russian Orthodoxy (approx. 80%), Islam (approx. 10%), Roman Catholicism, Evangelical Baptist, and Judaism (1-3%). Many cults and sects are also present in Russia.
Russia Government:
Government. Following the demise of the Soviet Union, which officially made all republics independent by parliamentary resolution on December 26, 1991, Russia took over the Soviet Union security council seat, claimed the former embassies by putting a Russian flag over them, and was also saddled with the foreign debt that the Soviet Union had accumulated. Boris Yeltsin was president until his resignation and appointment of Vladimir Putin as acting president in December 1999. Putin was elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004. His handling of the presidency has become increasingly authoritarian, with a rise in the strength of national government at the expense of local. He has also strengthened his influence on the parliament and in political parties. At the same time, independent television media has been disappearing as it is purchased by various government-owned businesses, though print journalism is still mostly free from outside interference. Despite the tragedy of recent terrorist acts in Russia (especially Beslan) and unpopular reforms to the government retirement program, he has maintained his popularity with the people, and there is much talk of changing the constitution so that he might be elected to more than two terms.
Russia is a federation that gained independence from the Soviet Union August 24, 1991.
President Vladimir Putin is the head of state.
There is one dominate political party (United Russia), with two other parties (Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Motherland) having significant representation in the Duma. A number of smaller parties are fighting for western-style democracy in Russia.
There is universal suffrage at 18.
Russia Communication:
Transportation and communications
roads: 537,289 km (total); 362,133 km (paved) (2001)
railroad: 87,157 km (2003)
airfields: 2,609 (2004 est.)
Mobile phones: approx. 80,000,
Russia Economy:
Economy. President Boris Yeltsin was committed to the introduction of a market economy. He expanded the economic reforms of Gorbachev’s perestroika with the privatization of industry and agriculture; this project met with limited success, and ended with the collapse of the ruble in 1998.
In the 1990’s and 2000’s, serious social ills such as under- and unemployment, corruption among government officials, violent crime and environmental degradation have all contributed to Russians feeling that they are living in an unstable society.
On the other hand, Russia ended 2004 with its sixth straight year of growth, averaging 6.5% annually since the financial crisis of 1998 (though there has been a decrease in the rate of growth since the 2nd half of 2004). 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 five years, and real personal incomes have realized average increases over 12%, though it must be said that the gap between the highest and lowest earners in society is one of the largest in the world.
Russia has also improved its international financial position since the 1998 financial crisis, due in large part to strong oil export earnings. The country’s foreign debt has been greatly reduced and its cash reserves greatly increased. A large “stabilization fund” is absorbing much of the profits from oil sales, and it is yet unclear how the resources of this fund will be spent in order to relieve social stresses and long-term economic challenges in such a way as to not cause higher rates of inflation. 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, 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 either limiting the powers of those businessmen who might present a political challenge to his government or granting more influence to forces within his government that desire to reassert state control over the economy.
Currency: ruble
Gross Domestic Product: $1.408 trillion
Per capita income: $2,610
GDP growth rate: 7.1% (2004)
Inflation rate: 11.5% (2004)
Unemployment rate: 7.4% plus considerable underemployment (2005 est.)
Labor force: 12.3% agriculture; 22.7% industry; 65% services (2002 est.)
Russia More Information:
www.cia.gov/publications/factbook
http://www.therussiasite.org/index.html
http://www.cdi.org/russia/johnson/ | 
