Russia

Area 17,075,000 sq.km. The world's largest country, extending across 11 time zones between the Baltic and the Pacific. The federation consists of Russia (12,439,000 sq.km.), eight European/Uralian autonomous republics (Bashkortostan, Chuvashia, Karelia, Mari, Komi, Mordvinia, Tatarstan and Udmurtia), eight Caucasus republics (Adygea, Chechenya, Dagestan, Ingushetia, Kabardino-Balkaria, Kalmykia, Karachay-Cherkessia, North Ossetia), and five Siberian republics (Buryatia, Gorno-Altay, Khakassia, Tuva and Sakha [Yakutia]). There are a further 11 autonomous regions.

Population     Ann.Gr.    Density
1990    147,970,000    0.76%    8.7/sq.km

1995    153,646,000    0.50%    9.0/sq.km

Only a third of the population lives in Siberia (Asia), where many areas are only sparsely populated.

Indo-European 89.3%. Many peoples below represent families of languages and ethnic groups.
Slav 85.5%. Russian 120,000,000; Ukrainian 4,363,000; Byelorussian 1,206,000; Polish 94,000.
Caucasus peoples 2.2%. Chechen 908,000; Avar 544,000; Kabardin 386,000; Dargin 353,000; Lezgin 257,000; Ingush 215,000; Adygey 123,000; Lak 106,000; Tabasaran 94,000; Cherkess 51,000.
Iranian 0.32%. Ossetian 402,000; Tajik 38,000.
Other 1.3%. German 842,000; Armenian 532,000; Moldavian 178,000; Gypsy 152,000; Georgian 130,000; Greek 92,000.
Turkic/Altaic 8%.
Turkic 7.6%. Tatar 5,522,000; Chuvash 1,774,000; Bashkir 1,345,000; Kazakh 636,000; Azerbaijani 336,000; Kumyk 277,000; Karachay 268,000; Khakass 79,000.
Altaic 0.4%. Buryat/Mongolian 420,000; Yakut 380,000; Tuvin 206,000; Kalmyk 166,000; Nogay 74,000; Altai 69,000; Evenki 30,000.
Finno-Ugric 2.1%. Mordvinian 1,072,000; Udmurt 714,000; Mari 644,000; Komi 336,000; Karelian/Finnish 172,000; Komi-Permyak 147,000.
Semitic 0.38%. Jews 550,000; Assyrians 10,000.
Other Siberian peoples (15) 0.1%. Nents 34,000; Chukchi 15,000.
Other 0.1%. Korean 107,000.

Literacy 98%. Official language: Russian; local languages in autonomous republics. All indigenous languages 101 (59 in Europe, 42 in Siberia). Languages with Scriptures 6Bi 6NT 29por.

Capital: Moscow 9,000,000. Major cities: St. Petersburg 5,035,000; Nizhniy Novgorod 4,467,000; Novosibirsk 1,443,000; Yekaterinburg 1,375,000. Urbanization 74%.

Economy: Russia's potential wealth is enormous. The long-term effects of a Marxist centralized command economy have been devastating. Industrialization and collectivization of farms were achieved at enormous cost and with great cruelty. Extraordinary contradictions, inefficiency and ecological neglect are bearing bitter fruit today. The Chernobyl nuclear catastrophe in 1986 was possibly the final trigger for the collapse of the economy and of Communism itself. Efforts by the Russian government to liberalize the economy and reduce state ownership have faltered due to resistance of the vast bureaucracy and old leadership structures which are threatened by the changes. Hyper-inflation and disastrous decline have been the results.

Politics: Russia has known only autocracy or tyranny since it became a country in the eighth century. The Tsarist Empire collapsed in 1917 followed by the Bolshevik Communist revolution. Russia dominated the USSR from its founding in 1922, and the Communist leadership exploited both the ordinary Russian people, the many ethnic groups, and client satellite states it seized or controlled. The resentment of the oppressed hastened the dismemberment of the USSR once central control in Moscow was weakened. Multi-party democracy was instituted in 1990, but a failed Communist coup in 1991 led to the subsequent banning of the Communist Party. The battle between the reformist democrats supported by President Yeltsin and the ex-Communist leadership and bureaucracy supported by Prime Minister Chernomyrdin led to a stalemate in 1993, preventing constitutional reform, delaying economic reforms and hastening the collapse of central government. A number of the constituent republics are seeking total independence from Russia.

Religion: For 70 years the expressed policy of the Communist Party was the elimination of religious "superstition". Atheism was promoted and all open expression of faith forbidden. All religions were vigorously repressed, restricted, persecuted, subverted or manipulated to further Communist goals. Millions died or were imprisoned for their faith, and thousands of churches destroyed. Religious freedom is now constitutionally guaranteed.
All figures below are estimates.
Non-religious/other 32.7%.
Muslim 8.7%. Mainly Turkic and Caucasus peoples.
Buddhist 0.6%. Hare Krishna 0.47%. Jews 0.4%.
Shamanist/animist 0.8%. Significant growth.
Christian 56.3%. Affil 51.6%. Growth 16.5%.
Protestant 0.7%. (Possibly much higher.) Growth 4.1%.
Church    Cong    Members    Affiliated
Eurasian Bapt F'ship    1,200    150,000     429,000
Lutheran Ch        102,000    170,000
Pentecostal Union    400    35,000    130,000
Unregd Pentecostals    250    30,000     107,000
Seventh-day Adventist    205    38,000     90,000
Other Pentecostal        15,000     60,000
Indep Baptist Congs    80    10,000    30,000
Unregistered Baptist    125    10,000     20,000
Reformed Church        3,000    5,000
Denominations (9)    2,260    393,000     1,041,000
Evangelicals 0.56% of pop        278,200     831,000
Pentecostal/charismatic 0.23%        96,000     343,000
Missionaries:
to Russia 473 (1:312,000 people) in over 40 agencies.
from Russia est. 500.
Catholic 0.48%. Growth 10.3%.
Eastern-rite Catholic        320,000     493,000
Latin-rite Catholic        143,000     220,000
All Catholics        463,000    713,000
Missionaries to Russia n.a.
Orthodox 55%. Affil 50.36%. Growth 16.8%.
Russian Orthodox Ch    8,000    46,800,000     72,000,000
All Old Believers (3)    310    1,210,000     1,700,000
Armenian Apostolic         270,000     450,000
Georgian Orthodox        42,300     65,000
All other (13)        166,450    303,000
Denominations (19)    8,310    48,490,750     74,518,000
Marginal 0.08%. Growth 19.4%.
Jehovah's Witnesses        16,800     56,000
All other (5)        36,000    60,000
Groups (6)        52,800    116,000

1.    The spectacular demise of Communism took the world by surprise. The ideology that sought to destroy Christianity and promised to parade the USSR's last Christian on television was defeated by Christians who prayed. Open Doors and others called for a seven-year campaign of prayer for the Soviet Union in 1984 with the specific goal of complete religious liberty and Bibles available for all. This was achieved in 1990/91! Praise God!

2.    The Church in Russia was the object of the most severe and sustained persecution of any nation in recent history. Martyrs could be numbered in millions, 90% of church buildings were seized or destroyed, structures and ministries emasculated or manipulated, leadership cowed into compliance and compromise, Christians discriminated against, their children harassed and denied education opportunities, and millions consigned to years of imprisonment, exile or psychiatric "treatment". Give thanks to God for his protection and enablement of his Church to survive, grow and triumph in the end. Praise God also for many agencies in the West who did so much to maintain links between the persecuted Church and Christians in the free world, and to provide Bibles, literature and practical help. Of special mention: UBS, Open Doors, Light in the East (Germany), SGA and Keston College (now Keston Research) in England, Swedish Slavic Mission, Bibles to All (Sweden) and Avainsanoma (Finland).

3.    Russia is still threatened by the possibility of a new tyranny. If democracy fails, the economy continues to deteriorate, and the Russian mafia remain unchecked, an explosion could occur. Pray that leaders may have the courage and unity to give the nation stability as well as freedom, and then to address the disastrous state of the country -- the result of 75 years of greed and callous thoughtlessness of past dictators and their minions.

4.    The power, ability and numbers of Russians ensure them a key role in the world's future. There are 151 million in the world, 120 million of whom live in Russia itself and 25 million in the other republics of the former USSR. Loss of super-power status and sense of purpose has deeply affected the people. Russian nationalism has gained a strong following and is frequently expressed in anti-Semitism, religious bigotry and threats to regain territory they once ruled.

5.    The Russian Federation is a ferment of ethnic confusion. Millions of Russians have returned to their motherland from the European satellite states and other republics of the former USSR. Resentment by ethnic minorities at past cruelties, deportations, discrimination and exploitation and the collapse of central government has allowed local nationalisms to flourish. The very existence of the Russian Federation is in peril. Pray that Russian and other ethnic leaders may show wisdom, sensitivity, moderation and forgiveness for the past as they seek to rebuild the country. Inflamed nationalisms could seriously delay the evangelization of the many unreached peoples in the country.

6.    Disillusionment, fear for the future and a feeling of helpless anger at the breakdown of even the meagre security under Communism, together with the ideological vacuum has created an enormous interest in religion -- whether it be Christianity, Western or Eastern sects, occultism, parapsychology or even Satanism. The promulgation of laws giving complete religious freedom in 1991 has given unprecedented opportunities for the true and false to gain a hearing and following. Pray for the exposure and neutralization of Satan's lies and for the embrace of the gospel.

7.    Freedom for the gospel is unprecedented. Since 1991, schools, the media, public places and institutions have been open for presentation of the Good News. There are more open doors than can be entered. Any evangelism gains a dramatic response. Pray for:
a)    Appropriate evangelism. Mass evangelism through Billy Graham, Luis Palau and many Western Pentecostal evangelists has created enormous interest and high publicity, but massive response to appeals has yielded relatively few disciples and new church members. Glowing reports in the West of conversions are premature! There are simply not the resources in counsellors, disciplers, follow-up materials or congregations able to lead these enquirers from total ignorance of the gospel to a living, life-changing faith.
b)    Local church mobilization. Evangelical churches have little experience or understanding of aggressive evangelism outside church meetings or of total mobilization of members for evangelism. The mindset generated by a century of persecution takes time to change.
c)    Effective use of the media. Articles and advertisements in the Press and openings for Christian programmes on radio and television are boundless. A high proportion of the Russian-speaking population is being exposed to the gospel. Pray for the fog of Marxist dogma to be dispelled and for the Lord Jesus to be revealed to millions.

8.    A massive turning to Christianity is under way -- but few firm statistics are available. Even from the '70s nearly 70% of all Russian children were baptized in the Orthodox Church. The Catholic Church gained credibility in its opposition to Communism and is gaining numerous converts. Evangelical congregations are multiplying. Praise God for this growth, but pray that the Holy Spirit may be poured out in revival.

9.    The Orthodox Church has been at the heart of Russian culture, but emerged from under Communism battered and discredited. Some of its leaders have been exposed as willing tools of the atheists. Compromise brought deep divisions that are still very real. There are growing demands for the Orthodox hierarchy to regain its pre-Communist political dominance. Yet within Orthodoxy are vital renewal movements and leaders who maintained their integrity. Pray both for renewal and reconciliation. There were only three seminaries in 1988 with 2,500 students training for the priesthood, but teaching was much tainted with Marxist ideology. Pray that biblical theology may replace this.

10.    Evangelical Christians are multiplying, but face serious challenges. Pray for:
a)    Practical holiness to be preached and lived out. Communism created a society where deceit, fear, low moral and work standards, and unwillingness to make decisions became normal. This spirit affects many Christians too.
b)    Wisdom in handling Christians who compromised, collaborated and even betrayed fellow believers. Pray for firmness, justice and loving forgiveness to heal the wounds of the past.
c)    Unity. Denominational barriers are high, especially between Pentecostal and non-Pentecostal. Lack of cooperation and fierce competition -- especially for links with Christians in the West -- have not glorified the Lord. Nearly every denomination suffered division through Communist policy of registration of congregations that submitted to severe restrictions and persecution of those who would not. These divisions remain. There is a great need for an Evangelical Fellowship that brings together all Evangelicals for fellowship and coordination of ministry.
d)    Provision of theological training -- so long denied. Under Communism limited TEE and correspondence courses for pastors were begun. Since 1990 the number and variety of residential and TEE/BEE courses have multiplied, but Russia's vast distances, shattered economy, and lack of trainers inhibit expansion. By 1993 there were an estimated 25 Protestant seminaries and Bible schools functioning (mainly through Russian partnerships with North American and Korean missionaries and seminaries). A further 13 are expected to be launched in 1993. The Russian Orthodox Church has now 13 seminaries and the Catholics one. Pray for the increase and fruitfulness of this ministry and for the hundreds of expatriate agencies contributing funds, personnel and expertise to develop these programmes. Pray also for upgrading programmes for pastors. Many feel threatened by better-educated young pastors who are beginning to graduate with theological qualifications.
e)    Cultural sensitivity. For years Russian culture and language dominated and those of ethnic minorities was suppressed. Over 18% of the population is non-Russian and speak over 100 languages. Pray for a missions vision in the Russian church and ability to bridge the cultural and social barriers Russian missionaries face. Praise God for the founding of hundreds of mission agencies within Russia and in Ukraine, many with a cross-cultural vision -- but in the main few churches share that vision.

11.    Christian missions from other lands. Sudden open doors stimulated an enormous response from the free world. Some estimate over 6,000 missions and church-based agencies initiated ministry -- delivering aid, support, preaching, evangelizing and Bible teaching. There were no structures and fellowship mechanisms in the country to coordinate or give guidance to this astonishing inrush. Much good was achieved, but also much bad perpetrated -- importation of Western and Asian cultural forms or denominational differences, insensitivity to indigenous culture and leadership, unwise use of funds, and ecclesiastical empire-building. Most of these initiatives were short term. Pray for:
a)    Long-term missionaries. By 1992 there were an estimated 400 in the country, 250 being based in Moscow. Pray for their adaptation to culture and living conditions, efficient acquisition of language fluency, and safety in a violent, crime-ridden society. Pray for an increase in their number and for effective deployment to needy areas and peoples in Russia.
b)    Relationships with Russian Christian leaders to be based on respect, equality and deference to indigenous culture and visions. The poverty of most churches makes employment by a foreign agency an enticing option, and high-powered foreign methods can all too often overwhelm indigenous structures.
c)    Relationships with government authorities. Bureaucratic incompetence and passing up decision-making can frustrate. The old structures are little changed from Communist days.
d)    Relationships with other agencies. WV has set up a New Independent States Christian Resource Centre to facilitate this. More sharing of visions and cooperation in their implementation are needed.

12.    Sections of the population in special need for prayer.
a)    Young people. Schools had to change from Marxist textbooks full of distortions and propaganda to providing education with a moral basis. Western Christians have had astounding requests for help in teaching, providing children's Bibles and literature, and developing new curricula for state schools. C-Mission is an umbrella for many agencies working together on a five-year plan to place Christian teachers in every school of the country. A Christian university has been launched to help meet the need for such teachers.
b)    Students. Various international agencies (IFES, CCC, Navigators and others) are establishing networks of Christian groups on campuses across the country. Pray for national leaders to be raised up and for a significant impact on intellectuals through these ministries.
c)    Those influenced by new religions. Hare Krishna followers are said to number 700,000. New Age ideas permeate the thinking of millions. Jehovah's Witnesses, Mormons, Moonies and others are rapidly gaining in numbers and influence. Few Christians are prepared for ministry to such.
d)    Occultists. Millions are ensnared by parapsychologists, sorcerers and even Satanism. Such activities are widely publicized on television.

13.    Russia's unreached. For years the country's ethnic minorities were out of reach of any mission activity. In the last century Orthodox missionaries influenced many of the northern and Siberian peoples but largely through the Russian language only. For many decades church activity among most of these was eliminated by the Communists. Many remain animists or shamanists with a superficial adherence to Orthodoxy. Little impact was made on the Muslim and Buddhist ethnic groups. A tremendous missionary challenge lies before the Russian Church and expatriate mission agencies to reach each one. A significant proportion of the completely untargeted and unreached peoples of the world are in Russia. For special mention:
a)    The Caucasus peoples. In the northern valleys of the Caucasus and between the Black and Caspian Seas live a complex medley of 30-60 Caucasus, Iranian and Turkic peoples, many very small. Most live in the eight Caucasus Autonomous Republics named above. Nearly all are Muslim and only among the Ossetians are there a few Christians. There are no known indigenous churches for any of the remainder of these peoples. Some Russian and Ukrainian missions are beginning to target some of these; only a handful of expatriate agencies have done so. Through the ministry of IBT there are, or soon will be, New Testaments for the Adygey, Kabardian, Ossetian and Karachai; translation proceeds in Chechen, Nogay, Avar, Lezgin, Kumyk, Lak, Dargin, Tabasaran, Tsakhur, Rutul, Agul, Andi and Bezhti; but churches have yet to be planted that will use them.
b)    The Buddhist peoples. The Kalmyk are the only European Buddhist people, living to the northwest of the Caspian Sea. A Ukrainian mission is working among them and there are some believers and churches. The four Gospels are being translated. The Buryat Mongolians around Lake Baikal in Siberia were briefly evangelized by the LMS from England 170 years ago. There are only a handful of Christians, and Buddhism is being revived. The Tuvinians have declared Lamaistic Buddhism the state religion in the Tuva Republic. One of the first Tuvinian Christians was martyred, but in 1990 his wife was baptized; the event was televised, creating much interest. There is a small fellowship of believers among them, and the New Testament is being translated.
c)    The Siberian peoples -- 20 ethnic groups among one million indigenous people scattered through Siberia's forests, mountains and tundra. Climatic and living conditions are harsh in the extreme. Most are animist/shamanist with a superficial veneer of Orthodoxy. Ukrainian, Russian, Western and Asian missions are exploring possibilities for church-planting and Bible translation ministry among them. The first evangelical congregations have recently been planted among the Yakut and Evenki by Slavic and Estonian missionaries. Western missions are also participating. IBT has supervised the commencement of translation of the New Testament in at least nine of these languages. These small, isolated peoples will need hardy pioneer missionaries -- pray for such to be called.
d)    The Ural Turkic peoples. Most of the Bashkir and Tatar peoples are nominally Muslim; some are Orthodox. There may be several hundred Tatar Evangelicals; however, these make up only 0.05% of the population. The New Testament must still be completed for both Tatar and Bashkir. The Chuvash people are superficially Orthodox, but superstition and secularism predominate today. There are only a few hundred Evangelicals among them. They have never had the Scriptures in their own language.
e)    The Finno-Ugric peoples of Arctic Europe. These are nominally Orthodox, but very few are Evangelicals. The Komi and Permyak are 0.5% Evangelical, but among the Mari, Mordvin, Karelians, Udmurt, Khant and Vogul the percentage is far lower. Finnish missions are expanding ministry to these peoples with whom they have a distant kinship.
f)    The Jews. Many are emigrating to Israel, but there are important concentrations in European Russian cities. Though many are secularized, many others have been open to the gospel and come to Christ -- a large proportion of Messianic Jews in Israel are of recent Russian and Ukrainian origin. There are also pockets of Georgian, Tat and Hill Jews in the Caucasus region totalling 14,000 who are still unreached.
g)    The Gypsy peoples. These live scattered over European Russia with many in the Urals. In some areas there has been an awakening and churches have been planted. About 5% of Russian Gypsies are Evangelicals.

14.    Bible Translation. Much research remains to be done on the translation needs of Siberian and Caucasus languages. There are at least 30 and possibly 58 languages which will require New Testament translations. The persevering, single-minded work of the Institute of Bible Translation, based in Sweden, has been remarkable with its vision to provide the Scriptures for all the non-Slavic peoples of the USSR. Many translation projects were started in very restrictive conditions under Communism. Today UBS and IBT, together with other agencies and churches, are involved in 61 new translations or revisions in the Eurasian region. Pray for the teams of translators and for the provision of mother-tongue Christian speakers in many of these peoples where few, if any, Christians are known.

15.    Christian media ministries for prayer:
a)    The Russian Bible Society (UBS) which is once more active. Bibles and the Children's Bible (IBT/OD) are freely available at last. There is a need for a good modern Russian Bible; the current version is being revised (UBS).
b)    Christian literature. Protestant Publishing is a Christian (mainly Baptist) publishing house in Moscow which published 150 Russian book titles (25% locally written) in 1992. They also run three Christian bookshops in Moscow and 20 elsewhere. There are Christian presses in several cities -- most helped or donated by Western Christians. Praise God for these developments, but pray for literature ministries in a time of great demand. Follow-up materials are in short supply.
c)    The Jesus film. This is available in 45 languages of Russia alone. By 1991, 15-20 million Gospels of Luke had been distributed to viewers of the film -- 70 million on Russian television. By 1993 it was estimated that 125 million people in the former USSR had seen the film. Pray for lasting impact, funding for projectors and training for projectionist evangelists.
d)    GRn which had recordings in only 21 languages in 1991. There is great scope for developing this ministry for smaller language and dialect groups.
e)    Christian radio and television. The national and local radio and television networks are willing to broadcast Christian programmes, and ministry is also gaining in importance over the Christian stations. The influence of broadcasts by interdenominational Christian agencies such as TWR, FEBC, HCJB(WRMF), IBRA and Christian programmes put out on secular and denominational networks during the time of Communist rule cannot be underestimated. Present interest and growth in Russia is, in part, attributable to the years of radio ministry. Seven international Christian radio stations broadcast over 300 hours of programming every week in Russian. The influence of Earl Poysti and Russian Christian Radio is noteworthy -- an audience of millions was gained in the '80s.

Geography
Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is sometimes included with Europe), bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N, 100 00 E
Map references: Asia
Area:
total area: 17,075,200 sq km
land area: 16,995,800 sq km
comparative area: slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the US
Land boundaries:
total: 19,913 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, Kazakstan 6,846 km, North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km, Mongolia 3,441 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km
Coastline: 37,653 km
Maritime claims:
continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
territorial sea: 12 nm
International disputes: inherited disputes from former USSR including sections of the boundary with China; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; maritime dispute with Norway over portion of the Barents Sea; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined; potential dispute with Ukraine over Crimea; Estonia claims over 2,000 sq km of Russian territory in the Narva and Pechora regions; the Abrene section of the border ceded by the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic to Russia in 1944; has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation
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
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Mount El'brus 5,633 m
Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources
Land use:
arable land: 8%
permanent crops: NEGL%
meadows and pastures: 5%
forest and woodland: 45%
other: 42%
Irrigated land: 56,000 sq km (1992)

Environment:
current issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination
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
international agreements: party to - Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands; signed, but not ratified - Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Law of the Sea
Geographic note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture

People
Population: 148,178,487 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 21% (male 15,792,573; female 15,213,854)
15-64 years: 67% (male 48,145,679; female 51,125,902)
65 years and over: 12% (male 5,403,066; female 12,497,413) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate: -0.07% (1996 est.)
Birth rate: 10.15 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate: 16.34 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate: 5.47 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.43 male(s)/female
all ages: 0.88 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 24.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.24 years
male: 56.51 years
female: 70.31 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate: 1.42 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian
Ethnic divisions: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Byelorussian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1%
Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
Languages: Russian, other
Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1989 est.)
total population: 98%
male: 100%
female: 97%

Government
Name of country:
conventional long form: Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic
Data code: RS
Type of government: federation
Capital: Moscow
Administrative divisions: 21 autonomous republics (avtomnykh respublik, singular - avtomnaya respublika); Adygea (Maykop), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatia (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashia (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Gorno-Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Ingushetia (Nazran'), Kabardino-Balkaria (Nal'chik), Kalmykia (Elista), Karachay-Cherkessia (Cherkessk), Karelia (Petrozavodsk), Khakassia (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mari El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordovia (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tuva (Kyzyl), Udmurtia (Izhevsk), Yakutia - also known as Sakha (Yakutsk); 49 oblasts (oblastey, singular - oblast'); Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Chita, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad (St. Petersburg), Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orel, Orenburg, Penza, Perm', Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'; 6 krays (krayev, singular - kray); Altay (Barnaul), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol'; 10 autonomous okrugs; Aga (Aginskoye), Chukotka (Anadyr'), Evenkia (Tura), Khantia-Mansia (Khanty-Mansiysk), Koryakia (Palana), Nenetsia (Nar'yan-Mar), Permyakia (Kudymkar), Taymyria (Dudinka), Ust'-Onda (Ust'-Ordynskiy), Yamalia (Salekhard); 1 autonomous oblast (avtomnykh oblast'); Birobijan
note: the autonomous republics of Chechnya and Ingushetia were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia (the boundary between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be determined); the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg are federal cities; an administrative division has the same name as its administrative center (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)
Independence: 24 August 1991 (from Soviet Union)
National holiday: Independence Day, June 12 (1990)
Constitution: adopted 12 December 1993
Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991) was elected for a five-year term by universal suffrage under the constitution of 12 December 1993, but subsequent presidents, beginning with the 16 June 1996 election, will serve a four-year term; election last held 12 June 1991 (next to be held 16 June 1996); results - percent of vote NA; 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
head of government: Premier and Chairman of the Russian Federation Government Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since 14 December 1992), First Deputy Premiers and First Deputy Chairmen of the Government Oleg SOSKOVETS (since 30 April 1993) and Vladimir KADANNIKOV (since 25 January 1996) were appointed by the president on approval of the Dumas
Security Council: originally established as a presidential advisory body in June 1991, but restructured in March 1992, with responsibility for managing individual and state security
Presidential Administration: drafts presidential edicts and provides staff and policy support to the entire executive branch
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government" was appointed by the president
Group of Assistants: schedules president's appointments, processes presidential edicts and other official documents, and houses the president's press service and primary speechwriters
Council of Heads of Republics: includes the leaders of the 21 ethnic-based Republics
Council of Heads of Administrations: includes the leaders of the 66 autonomous territories and regions, and the mayors of Moscow and St. Petersburg
Presidential Council: prepares policy papers for the president
Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly
Federation Council: 178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units (oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg)
State Duma: elections last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999); results - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats: Communist Party of the Russian Federation 22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia 10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats - (450 total - half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists) Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, Independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court (highest court for criminal, civil, and administrative cases), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration (highest court that resolves economic disputes), judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders:
pro-market democrats: Our Home Is Russia, Viktor CHERNOMYRDIN; Yabloko Bloc, Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY; Russia's Democratic Choice Party, Yegor GAYDAR; Forward, Russia!, Boris FEDOROV
centrists/special interest parties: Congress of Russian Communities, Yuriy SKOKOV; Women of Russia, Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina LAKHOVA
anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties: Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY; Agrarian Party, Mikhail LAPSHIN; Power To the People, Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN; Russian Communist Workers' Party, Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN
note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17 December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded
Other political or pressure groups: NA
International organization participation: BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMIR, UNAVEM III, UNCRO, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIH, UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNPROFOR, UNTSO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (applicant), ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission: Ambassador Thomas R. PICKERING
embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59
FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red

Economy
Economic overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern-market economy. The break-up of the USSR into 15 successor states in late 1991 destroyed major economic links that have been only partially replaced. As a result of these dislocations and the failure of the government to implement a rigorous and consistent reform program, output in Russia has dropped by one-third since 1990 (instead of the one-half previously estimated). On the one hand, President YEL'TSIN's government has made substantial strides in converting to a market economy since launching its economic reform program in January 1992 by freeing nearly all prices, slashing defense spending, eliminating the old centralized distribution system, completing an ambitious voucher privatization program in 1994, establishing private financial institutions, and decentralizing foreign trade. On the other hand, Russia has made little progress in a number of key areas that are needed to provide a solid foundation for the transition to a market economy; and the strong showing of the communists and nationalists in the Duma elections in December 1995 casts a shadow over prospects for further reforms. In 1995, the new cash privatization program went slower than planned. The state claims that the nonstate sector produced approximately 70% of GDP in 1995, up from 62% in 1994, although these figures apparently include many enterprises that have only nominally moved out of state control. Moscow has been slow to develop the legal framework necessary to fully support a market economy and to encourage foreign investment. Stockholder rights remain ill-defined and the Duma has yet to adopt a land code that would allow development of land markets as sources of needed capital. Russia's securities market remains largely unregulated and suffers from the lack of a comprehensive securities law. In addition, Moscow has yet to develop a social safety net that would allow faster restructuring by relieving enterprises of the burden of providing social benefits for their workers. Most rank-and-file Russians perceive they are worse off because of growing crime and health problems, the drop in real wages, the great rise in wage arrears, and the widespread threat of unemployment. The number of Russians living below the official poverty level rose by 10% to 36.6 million people, or 25% of the population. The decline in output slowed during 1995, and some sectors showed signs of a turnaround; analysts forecast the resumption of growth in 1996 - at a low rate. Russian official data, which fail to capture a considerable portion of private sector output and employment, show that GDP declined by 4% in 1995, as compared with a 15% decline in 1994. Despite continued declines in agricultural and industrial production, unemployment climbed only slowly to about 8% of the work force by yearend because government policies aimed at softening the impact of reforms have created incentives for enterprises to keep workers on the rolls even as production slowed to a crawl. Moscow renewed tightened financial policies in early 1995 and succeeded in reducing monthly consumer price inflation from 18% in January to about 3% in December, the lowest monthly rate since the beginning of reform. According to official trade statistics, Russia ran a $19.9 billion trade surplus for 1995, up from $15.9 billion in 1994. It continued to shift its trade away from the other former Soviet republics toward the West, with the CIS countries' share of Russian trade falling to 22% in 1995. Russia made good progress with official and commercial creditors in 1995 in resolving the issue of its $105 billion in Soviet-era debts. When completed, these Paris Club and London Club rescheduling agreements will reduce Russia's repayment liabilities from $20 billion to less than $5 billion annually through the end of the decade. Capital flight reportedly continued to be a problem in 1995, with billions of additional dollars in assets being moved abroad, primarily to bank accounts in Europe.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $796 billion (1995 estimate as extrapolated from World Bank estimate for 1994)
GDP real growth rate: -4% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita: $5,300 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture: 6%
industry: 41%
services: 53%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7% monthly average (1995 est.)
Labor force: 85 million (1993)
by occupation: production and economic services 83.9%, government 16.1%
Unemployment rate: 8.2% (December 1995) with considerable additional underemployment
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts
Industrial production growth rate: -3% (1995 est.)
Electricity:
capacity: 213,100,000 kW
production: 876 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 5,800 kWh (1994)
Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits (because of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm climate products); meat, milk
Illicit drugs: illicit cultivator of cannabis and opium poppy; mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian and Latin American illicit drugs to Western Europe and Latin America
Exports: $77.8 billion (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba
Imports: $57.9 billion (c.i.f., 1995)
commodities: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
partners: Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba
External debt: $130 billion (yearend 1995)
Economic aid:
recipient: ODA, $2.8 billion (1993)
note: US commitments, including Ex-Im (1990-95), $14 billion (1990-95); other countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1990-95), $125 billion
Currency: 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks
Exchange rates: rubles per US$1 - 4,640 (29 December 1995), 3,550 (29 December 1994), 1,247 (27 December 1993)
Fiscal year: calendar year

Transportation
Railways:
total: 154,000 km; note - 87,000 km in common carrier service (38,000 km electrified); 67,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for common carrier use
broad gauge: 154,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1 January 1994)
Highways:
total: 934,000 km (including 445,000 km which serve specific industries or farms and are not available for common carrier use)
paved: NA km
unpaved: NA km (1994 est.)
Waterways: total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes 16,900 km (1 January 1994)
Pipelines: crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (30 June 1993)
Ports: Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk, St. Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochnyy, Vyborg
Merchant marine:
total: 745 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,730,178 GRT/9,385,565 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 2, bulk 25, cargo 406, chemical tanker 6, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil 17, container 31, multifunction large-load carrier 3, oil tanker 134, passenger 4, passenger-cargo 5, refrigerated cargo 19, roll-on/roll-off cargo 54, short-sea passenger 16, specialized tanker 2
note: Russia owns an additional 163 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 2,276,829 DWT operating under the registries of Malta, Cyprus, Liberia, Panama, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Honduras, The Bahamas, and Vanuatu (1995 est.)
Airports:
total: 2,517
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 54
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 202
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 108
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 115
with paved runways under 914 m: 151
with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 25
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 45
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 134
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 291
with unpaved runways under 914 m: 1,392 (1994 est.)

Communications
Telephones: 25.4 million (1993 est.)
Telephone system: total pay phones for long distant calls 34,100; enlisting foreign help, by means of joint ventures, to speed up the modernization of its telecommunications system; in 1992, only 661,000 new telephones were installed compared with 855,000 in 1991, and in 1992 the number of unsatisfied applications for telephones reached 11,000,000; expanded access to international electronic mail service available via Sprint network; the inadequacy of Russian telecommunications is a severe handicap to the economy, especially with respect to international connections
domestic: NMT-450 analog cellular telephone networks are operational and growing in Moscow and St. Petersburg; intercity fiber-optic cable installation remains limited
international: international traffic is inadequately handled by a system of satellites, landlines, microwave radio relay, and outdated submarine cables; much of this traffic passes through the international gateway switch in Moscow which carries most of the international traffic for the other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States; a new Russian Intersputnik satellite will link Moscow and St. Petersburg with Rome from whence calls will be relayed to destinations in Europe and overseas; satellite earth stations - NA Intelsat, 4 Intersputnik (2 Atlantic Ocean Region and 2 Indian Ocean Region), NA Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat (Pacific Ocean Region), and NA Orbita
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note - there are about 1,050 (including AM, FM, and shortwave) radio broadcast stations throughout the country
Radios: 50 million (1993 est.)(radio receivers with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion 74,300,000)
Television broadcast stations: 7,183
Televisions: 54.85 million (1992 est.)

Defense
Branches: Ground Forces, Navy, Air Forces, Air Defense Forces, Strategic Rocket Forces
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49: 38,673,991
males fit for military service: 30,224,738
males reach military age (18) annually: 1,105,004 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures: $NA, NA% of GDP
note: the Intelligence Community estimates that defense spending in Russia fell by about 20% in real terms in 1995, reducing Russian defense outlays to about one-fifth of peak Soviet levels in the late 1980s

Item	% Complete	Status	To complete (US $)
Planning	100		0
Translation	100		0
Recording	100		0
Broadcast	Progress		16000.00
Total Cost Required To Complete $ 16000.00

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