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| keenan sucks | |||
| :''"]" redirects here. For another meaning, see ]'' | |||
| {{otheruses}} | |||
| {{Infobox Country | |||
| |native_name = Российская Федерация<br>''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya'' | |||
| |conventional_long_name = Russian Federation | |||
| |common_name = Russia | |||
| |national_motto = None | |||
| |national_anthem = ] | |||
| |image_flag = Flag of Russia.svg | |||
| |image_coat = Russia coa.png | |||
| |image_map = LocationRussia.png | |||
| |capital = ] |latd=55|latm=45|latNS=N|longd=37|longm=37|longEW=E | |||
| |largest_city = ] | |||
| |official_languages = ] | |||
| |government_type = ] ] | |||
| |leader_title1 = ] | |||
| |leader_title2 = ] | |||
| |leader_name1 = ] | |||
| |leader_name2 = ] | |||
| |sovereignty_type = ] | |||
| |sovereignty_note = From the ] | |||
| |established_event1 = Declared | |||
| |established_event2 = Finalized | |||
| |established_date1 = ], ] | |||
| |established_date2 = ], ] | |||
| |area = 17,075,400<!--http://www.gks.ru/scripts/free/1c.exe?XXXX09F.2.1/010000R--> | |||
| |areami² = 6,592,800 | |||
| |area_rank = 1st | |||
| |area_magnitude = 1 E12 | |||
| |percent_water = 13<!--http://www.gks.ru/scripts/free/1c.exe?XXXX09F.2.1/010000R--> | |||
| |population_estimate = 142,400,000 <!--http://www.interfax.ru/e/B/politics/28.html?id_issue=11574942--> | |||
| |population_estimate_year = 2006 | |||
| |population_estimate_rank = 7th | |||
| |population_census = 145,164,000<!--http://www.eastview.com/all_russian_population_census.asp--> | |||
| |population_census_year = 2002 | |||
| |population_density = 8.3 | |||
| |population_densitymi² = 21.8 | |||
| |population_density_rank = 209th | |||
| |GDP_PPP_year = 2005 | |||
| |GDP_PPP = $1.576 trillion <!--http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2005&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=512-941-914-446-612-666-614-672-311-946-213-137-911-962-193-674-122-676-912-548-313-556-419-678-513-181-316-682-913-684-124-273-339-921-638-948-514-686-218-688-963-518-616-728-223-558-516-138-918-353-748-196-618-278-522-692-622-694-156-142-624-449-626-564-628-283-228-853-924-288-233-293-632-566-636-964-634-182-238-453-662-968-960-922-423-714-935-862-128-716-611-456-321-722-243-965-248-718-469-724-253-576-642-936-643-961-939-813-644-199-819-184-172-524-132-361-646-362-648-364-915-732-134-366-652-734-174-144-328-146-258-463-656-528-654-923-336-738-263-578-268-537-532-742-944-866-176-369-534-744-536-186-429-925-178-746-436-926-136-466-343-112-158-111-439-298-916-927-664-846-826-299-542-582-443-474-917-754-544-698&S=PPPWGT&CMP=0&x=25&y=12--> | |||
| |GDP_PPP_rank = 10th<sup>1</sup> | |||
| |GDP_PPP_per_capita = $11,041<!--http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/01/data/dbcoutm.cfm?SD=2005&ED=2005&R1=1&R2=1&CS=3&SS=2&OS=C&DD=0&OUT=1&C=512-941-914-446-612-666-614-672-311-946-213-137-911-962-193-674-122-676-912-548-313-556-419-678-513-181-316-682-913-684-124-273-339-921-638-948-514-686-218-688-963-518-616-728-223-558-516-138-918-353-748-196-618-278-522-692-622-694-156-142-624-449-626-564-628-283-228-853-924-288-233-293-632-566-636-964-634-182-238-453-662-968-960-922-423-714-935-862-128-716-611-456-321-722-243-965-248-718-469-724-253-576-642-936-643-961-939-813-644-199-819-184-172-524-132-361-646-362-648-364-915-732-134-366-652-734-174-144-328-146-258-463-656-528-654-923-336-738-263-578-268-537-532-742-944-866-176-369-534-744-536-186-429-925-178-746-436-926-136-466-343-112-158-111-439-298-916-927-664-846-826-299-542-582-443-474-917-754-544-698&S=PPPPC&CMP=0&x=18&y=9--> | |||
| |GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 62nd | |||
| |HDI_year = 2003 | |||
| |HDI = 0.795 | |||
| |HDI_rank = 62nd | |||
| |HDI_category = <font color="#FFCC00">medium</font> | |||
| |currency = ] | |||
| |currency_code = RUB | |||
| |time_zone = | |||
| |utc_offset = +2 to +12 | |||
| |time_zone_DST = | |||
| |utc_offset_DST = +3 to +13 | |||
| |cctld = ], (] reserved) | |||
| |calling_code = 7 | |||
| |footnotes =<sup>1</sup> Rank based on April 2006 IMF data}} | |||
| '''Russia''' ({{lang-ru|Росси́я}}, ''Rossiya''; ] {{IPA|}}), also<ref>From Article 1 of ]: "The names "Russian Federation" and "Russia" shall be equivalent."</ref> the '''Russian Federation''' ({{lang-ru|Росси́йская Федера́ция}}, ''Rossiyskaya Federatsiya''; ] {{IPA|}}, {{Audio|Ru-Rossiyskaya Federatsiya Rossiya.ogg|listen}}), is a ] that stretches over a vast expanse of ]. With an area of 17,075,400 ]s, it is the ] country in the world by land mass, covering almost twice the territory of the next-largest country, ]. It has the world's ] ]. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from NW to SE): ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and ]. It is also close to the ] (]), and ] across relatively small stretches of water. | |||
| Formerly the dominant republic of the ] (USSR), Russia is now an independent country and an influential member of the ], since the Union's dissolution in December 1991. During the Soviet era, Russia was officially called the ] (RSFSR). Russia is considered the Soviet Union's ] in diplomatic matters. | |||
| Most of the area, population, and industrial production of the ], then one of the world's two ]s, lay in Russia. After the breakup of the USSR, Russia's global role was greatly diminished compared to that of the former Soviet Union. In October 2005, the federal statistics agency reported that Russia's population has shrunk by more than half a million people dipping to 143 million, although Russia remains the second country in the world by the number of immigrants from abroad.<ref>{{ru icon}} {{cite web|title=Влияют ли переселенцы на язык СМИ?|url=http://www.lenizdat.ru/cgi-bin/redir?l=ru&b=1&i=1040457|publisher=Lenizdat.ru |date=]}}</ref> | |||
| ==History== | |||
| {{main|History of Russia}} | |||
| ===Ancient Rus=== | |||
| <!--DON'T REPLACE RUS FOR RUSSIA! IT'S THERE FOR A REASON ---> | |||
| Prior to the ], the vast lands of South Russia were home to disunited ]s, such as ] and ]. Between the third and sixth centuries ], the steppes were overwhelmed by successive waves of nomadic invasions, led by warlike tribes which would often move on to ], as was the case with ] and ]. A ] people, the ], ruled South Russia through the 8th century. They were important allies of the ] and waged a series of successful wars against the ] ]s. ] | |||
| The ] constituted the bulk of the population in Western Russia from the 7th century onwards and slowly assimilated the native ] tribes, such as the ], the ] and the ]. In the mid-9th century, a group of Scandinavians, the ], assumed the role of a ruling elite at the Slavic capital of ]. Although they were quickly assimilated by the predominantly ] population, the Varangian dynasty lasted several centuries, during which they affiliated with the Byzantine, or ] and moved the capital to ] in A.D. 882. | |||
| In this era the term "Rhos", or "]", first came to be applied to the Varangians and later also to the Slavs who peopled the region. In the 10th to 11th centuries this state of ] became the largest in Europe and one of the most prosperous, due to diversified trade with both Europe and Asia. The opening of new trade routes with the ] at the time of the ] contributed to the decline and fragmentation of Kievan Rus by the end of the 12th century. | |||
| In the 11th and 12th centuries, the constant incursions of nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the ] and the ], led to the massive migration of Slavic populations from the fertile south to the heavily forested regions of the north, known as ]. The medieval states of ] and ] emerged as successors to Kievan Rus on those territories, while the middle course of the ] came to be dominated by the Muslim state of ]. | |||
| Like many other parts of ], these territories were ], who formed the state of ] which would pillage the Russian ] for over three centuries. Later known as the ], they ruled the southern and central expanses of present-day Russia, while the territories of present-day ] and ] were incorporated into the ] and ], thus dividing the ] in the north from the ] and ] in the west. | |||
| Similarly to the ] and ], long-lasting ] rule retarded the country's economic and social development. However, the ] together with ] retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the ] and was largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Led by ], the Novgorodians repelled the ] who attempted to colonize the region. | |||
| {{main|Muscovy}} | |||
| Unlike its spiritual leader the ], Russia under the leadership of ] was able to revive and organized its own war of reconquest, finally subjugating its enemies and annexing their territories. After the ] in 1453 Muscovite Russia remained the only more or less functional ] state on the Eastern European frontier, allowing it ] of the ]. | |||
| While still under the domain of the Mongols and with their ], the ] began to assert its influence in Western Russia in the early 14th century. Assisted by the ] and Saint ]'s spiritual revival, Muscovy inflicted a defeat on the Mongols in the ] (1389). ] (ruled 1456-1505) eventually tossed off the control of the invaders, consolidated surrounding areas under Moscow's dominion and first took the title "grand duke of ]". | |||
| In the beginning of the 16th century the Russian state set the national goal to return all Russian territories lost as a result of the Mongolian invasion, and to protect the southern borderland against attacks of ] and other Turkic peoples. The noblemen, receiving a manor from the sovereign, were obliged to serve in the military. The manor system became a basis for the nobiliary horse army. | |||
| In 1547, ] was officially crowned the first ] of Russia. During his long reign, Ivan annexed the Muslim polities along the ] and transformed Russia into a multiethnic and multiconfessional state. By the end of the century, Russian ] established the first settlements in Western Siberia. In the middle of the 17th century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on ], along the ], on the Pacific coast, and the strait between ] and ] was first sighted by a Russian explorer in 1648. The colonization of the Asian territories was largely peaceful, in sharp contrast to the build-up of other colonial empires of the time. | |||
| ===Imperial Russia=== | |||
| {{Main|Imperial Russia}} | |||
| ] | |||
| Muscovite control of the nascent nation continued after the ] under the subsequent ], beginning with Tsar ] in 1613. ] (ruled in 1689-1725) defeated ] in the ], forcing it to cede ], ], and ]. It was in Ingria that he founded a new capital, ]. Peter succeeded in bringing ideas and culture from Western Europe to a severely underdeveloped Russia. After his reforms, Russia emerged as a major European power. | |||
| ], ruling from 1762 to 1796, continued the Petrine efforts at establishing Russia as one of the ] of Europe. Examples of its 18th-century European involvement include the ] and the ]. In the wake of the ], Russia had taken territories with the ethnic Belarusian and Ukrainian population, earlier parts of Kievan Rus'. As a result of the victorious ], Russia's borders expanded to the ] and Russia set its goal on the protection of Balkan Christians against a Turkish yoke. In 1783 Russia and the ] (which was almost totally devastated by Persian and Turkish invasions) signed the ] according to which Georgia received the protection of Russia. | |||
| In 1812, having gathered ] from France, as well as from all of its conquered states in Europe, ] but, after taking Moscow, was forced to retreat back to Europe. Almost 90% of the invading forces died as a result of on-going battles with the Russian army, guerillas and winter weather. The Russian armies ended their pursuit of the enemy by taking his capital, ]. The officers of the ] brought back to Russia the ideas of ] and even attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive ] (1825), which was followed by several decades of political repression. Another result of the Napoleonic wars was the incorporation of ], ], and ] into the Russian Empire. | |||
| The perseverance of ] and the conservative policies of ] impeded the development of Imperial Russia in the mid-19th century. As a result, the country was defeated in the ], 1853–1856, by an alliance of major European powers, including ], ], ], and ]. Nicholas's successor ] (1855–1881) was forced to undertake a series of comprehensive reforms and issued a ] in 1861. The Great Reforms of Alexander's reign spurred increasingly rapid capitalist development and ]'s attempts at ]. The ] mood was on the rise, spearheaded by Russia's victory in the ], which forced the Ottoman Empire to recognize the independence of ], ] and ] and autonomy of ]. | |||
| The failure of ] reforms and suppression of the growing liberal ] were ] however, and on the eve of ], the position of Tsar ] and his dynasty appeared precarious. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in the ] and World War I and the resultant deterioration of the economy led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the ] and to the overthrow in 1917 of the Romanovs. | |||
| At the close of this ], a ] political faction called the ]s seized power in ] and ] under the leadership of ]. The Bolsheviks changed their name to the ]. A bloody ] ensued, pitting the Bolsheviks' ] against a loose confederation of anti-socialist ] and ] forces known as the ]. The Red Army triumphed, and the ] was formed in 1922. | |||
| The descendants of the ] line are all members of the Princedom of ] (]) in ] and the ]. They no longer have any control in Russia, but continue to style themselves ]es as is their right under ]. [citation needed) | |||
| keenan and solena are not a good match | |||
| ===Post-Soviet Russia=== | |||
| {{Main|History of post-Soviet Russia}} | |||
| :''See also ]'' | |||
| Prior to the dissolution of the Soviet Union, ] had been elected President of Russia in June 1991 in the first direct presidential election in Russian history. In October 1991, as Russia was on the verge of independence, Yeltsin announced that Russia would proceed with radical market-oriented reform along the lines of "]". | |||
| After the disintegration of the USSR, the Russian economy went through a crisis. Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's ]s, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution. The largest state enterprises (petroleum, metallurgy, and the like) were controversially privatized for the small sum of $US 600 million, far less than they were worth, while the majority of population plunged into poverty. | |||
| Russia's ], in which the ] presence was the strongest, attempted to impeach Yeltsin on ], ]. Yeltsin's opponents gathered more than 600 votes for impeachment, but fell 72 votes short. On ], ], Yeltsin disbanded the ] and the Congress of People's Deputies by decree, which was illegal under the constitution. On the same day there was a military showdown, the ]. With military help, Yeltsin held control. The conflict resulted in a number of civilian casualties, but was resolved in Yeltsin's favor. According to different sources total number of deceased was from 300 to 2,000 people. Elections were held and the current ] was adopted on ], ]. | |||
| The 1990s were plagued by armed ethnic conflicts in the ]. Such conflicts took a form of ] insurrections against federal power (most notably in ]), or of ethnic/clan conflicts between local groups (e.g., in ] between ] and ], or between different clans in Chechnya). Since the ] separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent ] (], ]) has been fought between disparate Chechen groups and the Russian military. Some of these groups have grown increasingly ] over the course of the struggle. Total number of ] and ] from these territories today is about 100,000 people. | |||
| After Yeltsin's presidency in the 1990s, the former head of the ] ] was elected in 2000. Although President Putin is still the most popular Russian politician, with a 70% approval rating, his policies raised serious concerns about ] and ] in Russia. The West and particularly the United States expressed growing worries about the state control of the Russian ] through Kremlin-friendly companies, government influence on elections, and ] abuses. | |||
| At the same time, high ] prices and growing internal demand boosted Russian economic growth, stimulating significant economic expansion abroad and helping to finance increased military spending. Putin's presidency has shown improvements in the Russian standard of living, as opposed to the 1990s.Even with these economic improvements, the government is criticized for lack of will to fight wide-spread crime and ] and to renovate deteriorated urban infrastructure throughout the country. | |||
| Despite the economic distress and decreased military funding following the fall of the Soviet Union, the country retains its large weapons and especially ] arsenal. | |||
| ==Politics== | |||
| <!--Please add new information into relevant articles of the series--> | |||
| {{morepolitics|country=Russia}} | |||
| The politics of Russia (the Russian Federation) take place in a framework of a ] ] ], whereby the ] is both ] and ], and of a pluriform multi-party system. ] is exercised by the government. ] is vested in both the ] and the two chambers of the ]. | |||
| ==Administrative divisions== | |||
| {{main|Subdivisions of Russia}} | |||
| '''Federal subjects''' | |||
| The basic subdivision of the Russian Federation is that of the ''']'''. There are 88 federal subjects. Each federal subject is a constituent part of the federation. | |||
| ] | |||
| There are many different types of ]. There are 21 ]s within the federation that enjoy a high degree of autonomy on most issues and these correspond to some of Russia's numerous ethnic minorities. The other subjects consist of 48 ]s (provinces) and 7 ]s (territories), as well as 9 autonomous ]s (autonomous districts), and 1 autonomous oblast. Beyond these there are two federal cities (] and ]). | |||
| '''Federal districts''' | |||
| There are also seven large ''']''' (four in Europe, three in Asia). These have been added as a new layer between the above subdivisions and the national level. Unlike the federal subjects, the federal districts are not as such a subnational level of government, but are a level of administration of the national government. | |||
| '''See also:''' | |||
| *] | |||
| **] | |||
| **] | |||
| **] | |||
| **] | |||
| **] | |||
| **] | |||
| *] | |||
| ==Geography and climate== | |||
| {{main|Geography of Russia}} | |||
| ]]] | |||
| ]]] | |||
| The Russian Federation stretches across much of the north of the supercontinent of ]. Although it contains a large share of the world's ] and ] areas, and therefore has less population, economic activity, and physical variety per unit area than most countries, the great area south of these still accommodates a great variety of landscapes and ]s. Russia is the coldest country in the world. The mid-annual temperature is −5.5°C (22°]). For comparison, the mid-annual temperature in ] is 1.2°C (34°F) and in Sweden is 4°C (39°F), although the variety of climates within Russia makes such a comparison somewhat misleading. | |||
| Most of the land consists of vast plains, both in the ]an part and the part of ]n territory, that is largely known as ]. These plains are predominantly ] to the south and heavily forested to the north, with ] along the northern coast. The ] (areas of Siberia and the Far East) occupies more than half of the territory of Russia. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the ] (containing ], Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,642 m / 18,511 ]) and the ], and in the eastern parts, such as the ] or the ]es on ]. The more central ], a north-south range that form the primary divide between Europe and Asia, are also notable. | |||
| Russia has an extensive '''coastline''' of over 37,000 kilometres (23,000 ]) along the ] and ]s, as well as more or less inland seas such as the ], ] and ] seas. Some smaller bodies of water are part of the open oceans; the ], ], ], ] and ] are part of the Arctic, whereas the ], ] and the ] belong to the Pacific Ocean. | |||
| Major '''islands''' found in them include ], the ], the ], ], the ] and ]. (See ]). The ] (one controlled by Russia, the other by the United States) are just three ]s (1.9 ]) apart, and ] (controlled by Russia but ]) is about twenty kilometres (12 mi) from ]. | |||
| Many '''rivers''' flow across Russia. See ]. | |||
| Major '''lakes''' include ], ] and ]. See ]. | |||
| ===Borders=== | |||
| ] | |||
| The most practical way to describe Russia is as a main part (a large contiguous portion with its off-shore islands) and an ], ], (at the southeast corner of the Baltic Sea). | |||
| The main part's borders and coasts (starting in the far northwest and proceeding counter-clockwise) are: | |||
| *borders with the following countries: ] and ], | |||
| *a short coast on the ], facing eight other ] from Finland to Estonia and including the port of St. Petersburg, | |||
| *borders with ], ], ], and ], | |||
| *a coast on the ], facing five other ] from Ukraine to Georgia, | |||
| *borders with ] and ], | |||
| *a coast on the ], facing four other ] from ] to ], | |||
| *borders with ], ] (western), ], ] (eastern), and ]. | |||
| *an extensive coastline that provides access to all the maritime nations of the world, and stretches | |||
| **from the North ] including | |||
| ***the ] (where the west shore of Russia's ] lies), | |||
| ***the ] (where the east shore of ] and its ] lie), and | |||
| ***the ], | |||
| **through the ] (where its minor island of ] is separated by only a few miles from ], a part of the ] ] of ]), | |||
| **to the ], including | |||
| ***the ] (where the south and east shores of its ] lie), | |||
| ***the ] (where its west shore, and the east shores of its ] lie), | |||
| ***the ] (where their west shores lie), | |||
| ***the ] (where the east shore of its ] lies), | |||
| ***the ] (where their west shore, the south shores of its ] the port of ] and important naval facilities lie, and where the ] reaches far inland). | |||
| The ], constituted by the ], | |||
| *shares borders with | |||
| **] to its south and | |||
| **] to its north and east, and | |||
| *has a northwest coast on the Baltic Sea. | |||
| The ] and ] coasts of Russia have less direct and more constrained access to the high seas than its Pacific and Arctic ones, but both are nevertheless important for that purpose. The Baltic gives immediate access to the nine other countries sharing its shores, and between the main part of Russia and its ] Oblast exclave. Via the straits that lie within ], and between it and Sweden, the Baltic connects to the ] and the oceans to its west and north. The Black Sea gives immediate access to the five other countries sharing its shores, and via the ] and ] straits adjacent to ], ], to the ] with its many countries and its access, via the ] and the ], to the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. The salt waters of the ], the world's largest lake, provide no access to the high seas. | |||
| ===Spatial extent=== | |||
| The two most widely separated points in Russia are about 8,000 km (5,000 mi) apart along a ] (i.e. shortest line between two points on the Earth's surface). These points are: the boundary with ] on a 60-km-long (40-mi-long) spit of land separating the ] from the ]; and the farthest southeast of the ], a few miles off ], Japan. | |||
| The points which are furthest separated in longitude are "only" 6,600 km (4,100 mi) apart along a geodesic. These points are: in the West, the same spit; in the East, the ] (Ostrov Ratmanova). | |||
| The Russian Federation spans eleven ]s. | |||
| ===Cities=== | |||
| ] Russia has 13 ] with over a million inhabitants (from largest to smallest): ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ] and ]. | |||
| ''See also: ] and ].'' | |||
| ==Economy== | |||
| {{main|Economy of Russia}} | |||
| ===Introduction=== | |||
| ]More than a decade after the ] in 1991, Russia is now trying to further develop a ] and achieve more consistent economic growth. Russia saw its comparatively developed centrally ] contract severely for five years, as the ] and the ] ] over the implementation of reforms and Russia's aging industrial base faced a serious decline. | |||
| ===Crash=== | |||
| After the breakup of the USSR, Russia's first slight recovery, showing signs of open-market influence, occurred in 1997. That year, however, the ] culminated in the August ] of the ]. This was followed by a ] by the government in 1998, and a sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population. Consequently, 1998 was marked by recession and an intense ]. | |||
| ===Recovery=== | |||
| ] | |||
| Nevertheless, the economy started recovering in 1999. The recovery was greatly assisted by the weak ruble, which made imports expensive and boosted local production. Then it entered a phase of rapid economic expansion, the ] growing by an average of 6.7% annually in 1999–2005 on the back of higher ] prices, a weaker ruble, and increasing service production and industrial output. The country is presently running a huge ], which has been helped by protective import barriers, and rampant corruption which ensures that it is almost impossible for foreign and local ]s (small and medium sized enterprises) to import goods without the help of local specialist import firms, such as the ]. Some import barriers are expected to be abolished after Russia's accession to the ]. | |||
| The recent recovery, made possible due to high world oil prices, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 and 2001 to advance lagging structural reforms, has raised business and investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade of transition. Russia remains heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil, ], metals, and ], which account for about 80% of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world prices. Industrial military exports after undergoing sharp contraction is now the major non-commodity export. In recent years, however, the economy has also been driven by growing internal consumer demand that has increased by over 12% annually in 2000–2005, showing the strengthening of its own internal market. | |||
| The economic development of the country has been extremely uneven: the Moscow region contributes one-third of the country's GDP while having only a tenth of its population. GDP increased by 7.2% in 2004 and 6.4% in 2005. | |||
| ===GDP=== | |||
| The country's ] (PPP) shot up to reach €1.2 trillion ($1.5 trillion) in 2004, making it the ninth largest economy in the world and the fifth largest in Europe{{fact}}. | |||
| In 2005, according to , GDP reached $765 billion nominally (21.7 trillion rubles), equal to $1.748 trillion in international dollars (PPP; ]). Inflation was 10.9% percent. The consolidated budget took 38.6% of country's GDP: $675 billion (PPP). The government plans to reduce the tax burden, although the time and scale of such a reduction remains undecided.. | |||
| By August 17th, 2006, Russia's international reserves reached $277 billion nominally and projected to grow to $320 billion by the end of this year and to $350–450 billion by the end of 2007 . | |||
| Formed by the government in 2004 to take in the windfall revenues from oil exports (and try to prevent the ruble from appreciating), the Stabilisation Fund (SF) grew to $75 billion and is projected to achieve $110 billion by the end of the year , $173 billion by the end of 2007, and about $300 billion by the end of 2009 . Using money from the stabilization fund, Russia paid off all of its Soviet-era debt to the ] ahead-of-schedule on August 21, 2006 | |||
| According to the ] State ] Service of Russia, the monthly nominal ] ] was about ] 10,975 (about $408 nominally; about $800 PPP) in ], 25.6 percent higher than in ] ] and 7 percent more than in ] ]. | |||
| For 2007 year, GDP is projected to grow to about $1.2 trillion nominally (31.2 billion rubles; about $2–2.5 trillion PPP) | |||
| ===Challenge=== | |||
| Some perceive the greatest challenge facing the Russian economy to be encouraging the development of ]s in a business climate with a young and less-than-sufficient functional banking system. Few of Russia's banks are owned by oligarchs, who often use the deposits to lend to their own businesses. The 2005 place Russia at the 51st place in the world, out of 121 countries by the availability of capital. | |||
| The ] and the ] have attempted to kick-start normal banking practices by making equity and debt investments in a number of banks, but with very limited success. | |||
| However, about twenty-five of the biggest banks of Russia get entry into Top 1000 banks of the world by '']'' . Many more Russian banks have very high international ] by ] and ], including "investment" level. | |||
| Other problems include disproportional economic development of Russia's own regions. While the huge capital region of Moscow is a bustling, affluent metropolis living on the cutting edge of technology with a ] rapidly approaching that of the leading Eurozone economies, much of the country, especially its indigenous and rural communities in Asia, lags significantly behind. Market integration is nonetheless making itself felt in some other sizeable cities such as ], ], and ], and recently also in the adjacent rural areas. | |||
| The arrest of Russia's wealthiest businessman ] on charges of fraud and corruption in relation to the large-scale privatizations organized under then-President ], contrary to some expectations, has not caused most foreign investors to worry about the stability of the Russian economy. Most of the large fortunes currently prevailing in Russia are the product of either acquiring government assets at particularly low costs or gaining concessions from the government. Other countries have expressed concerns and worries at the "selective" application of the ] against individual businessmen, though the government actions have been received positively by most of the aggravated ]. | |||
| ===Prospect=== | |||
| ].]] | |||
| Encouraging foreign investment is also a major challenge due to legal, some cultural, linguistic, economic and political peculiarities of the country. Nevertheless, there has been a significant inflow of capital in recent years from many European investors attracted by cheaper land, labor and higher growth rates than in the rest of Europe. Amazingly high levels of education and societal involvement achieved by the majority of the population, including women and minorities, ] attitudes, mobile class structure, better integration of various minorities in the mainstream culture set Russia far apart from the majority of the so-called ] and even some developed nations. | |||
| The country is also benefiting from rising oil prices and has been able to pay off all of its formerly huge debt. Equal redistribution of capital gains from the natural resource industries to other sectors is however a problem. Still, since 2003, exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market has strengthened considerably largely stimulated by intense construction, as well as consumption of increasingly diverse goods and services. Yet teaching customers and encouraging consumer spending is a relatively tough task for many ] areas where consumer demand is primitive. However, some laudable progress has been made in larger cities, especially in clothing, food, and entertainment industries. | |||
| Additionally, some international firms are investing in Russia. According to the ] (IMF), Russia had nearly $26 billion in cumulative foreign direct investment inflows during the 2001-2004 period (of which $11.7 billion occurred in 2004). | |||
| Russia faces huge income inequalities hindering Russia's opportunity to become a more diversified economy | |||
| ==Demographics== | |||
| {{main|Demographics of Russia}} | |||
| Despite its comparatively high population, Russia has a low average population density due to its enormous size. Population is densest in the European part of Russia, in the ] area, and in the south-western parts of Siberia; the south-eastern part of ] that meets the ], known as the ], is sparsely populated, with its southern part being densest. The Russian Federation is home to as many as 160 different ] and ]s. As of the ], 79.8% of the population is ethnically ], 3.8% ], 2% ], 1.2% ], 1.1% ], 0.9% ], 0.8% ]. The remaining 10.3% includes those who did not specify their ] as well as (in alphabetical order) | |||
| ], ], ], ], ], ]s, ], ]s, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ]s, ]s, ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], ], and others. Nearly all of these groups live compactly in their respective regions; Russians are the only people significantly represented in every region of the country. | |||
| The ] is the only official state language, but the individual ] have often made their native language co-official next to Russian. The ] is the only ], which means that these languages must be written in Cyrillic in official texts. | |||
| The ] is the dominant ] religion in the Federation. ] is the second most widespread religion. ]s make up a small but fast-growing minority, particularly followers of the ] movement. Other religions include various ] churches, ], ] and ]. Induction into religion takes place primarily along ethnic lines. Ethnic Russians are mainly Orthodox whereas most people of ] and ] extraction are Muslim. However, after years of religious suppression under communism, the observation of these religious creeds is very low. | |||
| ==Culture== | |||
| {{main|Culture of Russia}} | |||
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| ==Miscellaneous topics== | |||
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| ==References== | |||
| {{portal}} | |||
| * | |||
| *''The New Columbia Encyclopedia'', Col.Univ.Press, 1975 | |||
| *''World Civilizations:The Global Experience'', by Peter Stearns, Michael Adas, Stuart Schwartz, and Marc Gilbert | |||
| *''Russia for Dummies'', India Lambert, 1975 | |||
| <References/> | |||
| ==External links== | |||
| {{Sisterlinks|Russia}} | |||
| ===Directories=== | |||
| * Wiki directory | |||
| * | |||
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| ===Government resources=== | |||
| * - Official site of the parliamentary lower house {{ru icon}} | |||
| * - Official site of the parliamentary upper house | |||
| * - Official presidential site | |||
| * - Official governmental portal {{ru icon}} | |||
| * - Official issue of the Federal Assembly {{ru icon}} | |||
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| ===General information=== | |||
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| * - with support of Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography {{ru icon}} | |||
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| {{Europe}} | |||
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Revision as of 20:05, 12 October 2006
keenan sucks