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Russia (the Russian
Federation) – is a state in the eastern part of
Europe and in the northern part of Asia. Total area
is about 17 075.4 thousands sq. km. Population is
147.5 mln. people (as for 01.01.97), urban population
is 73%. Russians are 81.5% (the census of 1989);
besides, more than 100 other nations live here.
The most part of be-lievers are Christians, the
Orthodox mostly, others are Moslems, Buddhists and
so on. There are 1066 cities in Russia, 2270 towns
(as for 01.01.1994). Moscow is the capital of the
country. |
| Russia is democratic
federative state with the republican form of board.
The working Constitution of Russia was adopted at
the national referendum 12.12.1993. The Russian
Federation consists of subjects of federation –
republics (21), territories (6), re-gions (49),
federal status cities Moscow and Saint-Petersburg,
autonomous region and autonomous districts (10).
The state language on the whole territory of the
country is Russian. All the nations of the Russian
Federations are guaranteed the right to keep and
use their language. |
| The head of the state
– the President of the Russian Federation is elected
by the Russian people for a period of four years
on the basis of the general equal and direct elective
franchise with secret vote. The President is also
the Supreme Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces
of the Russian Federation. |
| The main legislative
body of the Russian Federation (its Parliament)
is the Fed-eral Assembly, which consists of two
chambers: the State Duma and Council of Federa-tion.
The executive authority is realized by the government
of the Russian Federation led by the chairman appointed
by the President with the consent of the State Duma. |
| The most part of the
European territory of Russia is located within the
limits of East European plain. In the south - northern
slopes of Caucasus, in northwest - Hibiny Mountains.
To the east from Urals Mountains is West Siberian
plain bordered in the south by mountains of Southern
Siberia (Altai, Sayan mountains, mountains of Pribaika-lye,
Transbaikalia, etc.). Between Yenisey and Lena there
is the Central Siberian pla-teau, between Lena and
Pacific Ocean ridges and uplands Northeastern Asia
are lo-cated. The climate changes from sea in extreme
northwest up to sharply continental in Siberia and
monsoonal on the Far East. Average temperatures
of January varies from 0 up to - 50°С, in July from
1 up to 25°С. Rainfalls usually from 150 up to 2000
mm per year. There is a long-term frozen ground
in many areas of Siberia and in the Far East. The
largest rivers are Lena, Irtysh, Yenisei, Ob, Volga,
Amur; the largest lakes are - Caspian (sea), Baikal,
Ladoga, Onega. The following climate zones are in
the territory of Russia (from north to south): the
Arctic desert, tundra, forest-tundra, wood, forest-steppe,
steppe, semidesertic (Prikaspijskaja lowland). Oil
fields, natural gas, coal, iron ores, apatites,
potash salts, phosphorites, ores of color, rare
and precious metals, dia-monds etc. There are 85
reserves in Russia and 25 natural national parks
(as for 1993). |
| On a part of territory
of Russia in the first millenium b.c. there was
a Bosporskoe state and Scythia. In 552-745 part
of territory of Russia was occupied by the state
of the breeding union of turkis, so called Turkic
Kaganat. In the middle 7 - the end of 10 centu-ries
in the Bottom Volga region, Northern Caucasus and
area near Azovskoe Sea the state Hazarsky Kaganat
was settled down. In the beginning of 8 century
- 926 on the Far East there was a state Bohai. In
10-14 centuries on the average the Volga region
and area near Kama river was Bulgaria Volzhsko-Kamskaya.
In 9 century the old Rus-sian state was formed.
In about 988 year the Christianity was accepted
as the state re-ligion of Russia. In 12-14 centuries
there existed the Novgorod republic, Vladimirsko-Suzdalskoe,
Galitsko-Volynskoe and other princedoms. In the
13 century Russian princedoms, Volzhsko-Kamskaya
Bulgaria have undergone to Mongolian-Tatar invasion
(1237-1242), the Swedish and German aggression (the
Neva fight, 1240; Ice slaughter, 1242). Almost 250-years
Mongolian-Tatar yoke was finished with the exile
of aggres-sors by the united forces of Russia (Kulikovskaya
fight, 1380; The Standing on Ugra River, 1480).
In 14-16 centuries the Russian centralized state
was formed around Mos-cow which had included all
the lands of Northeast and Northwest Russia. At
the end of 16 - middle of 17 centuries the serfdom
was issued. In the beginning of 17 century Rus-sia
has reflected the Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish
interventions. In middle of 17 cen-turies Ukraine
became the part of the Russian state. The increasing
serfdom caused revolts and country wars (the beginning
of 17 century, 1670-71, 1707-09, and 1773-75). Reforms
of Peter I (the end 17 – first quarter of 18 century)
promoted social and eco-nomic and cultural development
of the country, a victory in Northern war 1700-21
that has given a way to the Baltic Sea. In 16-19
centuries many territories of the North, the Volga
region, Ural, Siberia, the Far East were joined
to Russia and so the multinational state was formed.
Russia has reflected the invasion of Napoleon in
the war of 1812. The reform of 1861 has cancelled
the serfdom, promoted social and economic devel-opment.
In 1898 RSDRP was created, and many other political
parties and trade unions appeared in the beginning
of 20 century; then the State Duma was created.
The Rus-sian-Japanese war of 1904-05 promoted Revolution
of 1905-07 in Russia. Russia has taken part in the
First World War in 1914-18. During February revolution
of 1917 the au-tocracy was thrown down. 25.10. (7.11).
1917 there was the October revolution of 1917. The
authority of Councils of workers, soldiers and country
deputies was proclaimed. Simultaneously there was
a violent liquidation of some the political parties,
resulted in a monopoly of political authority of
the communist Party which has gradually merged with
the centralized machinery of state. Civil war and
military intervention of 1917-22 pro-moted the statement
of military-communistic principles of organization
of society, sys-tem of manufacture and distribution
(so called “Military Communism”). In January 1918
the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic (RSFSR)
was formed. In 1921 the new economic policy was
accepted. December, 30 1922 RSFSR together with
Ukraine (USSR), Byelorussia (BSSR) and republics
of Transcaucasia (ZSFSR) have formed the Union of
the Soviet Socialist Republics (the USSR). The further
development of Russia is inextricably related to
the USSR. On June, 12 1990 the Congress of People's
Depu-ties of RSFSR has adopted the Declaration on
the state sovereignty of the Russian Federation.
On March, 17 1991 after the Russian referendum the
post of the President of the Russian Federation
(in the same year the first president was elected
- B.N.Yeltsin) was founded. Since December 1991
Russia is a part of the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS). In December 1993 the Constitution
of the Russian Federa-tion was adopted; the elections
to the Federal Assembly were carried out. In Russia
the gradual movement to democracy and market economy
is currently carried out. |
| Russia is the industrial-agrarian
country, the whole territory is divided into 12
large economic regions (Northern, Northwest, Central,
Volgo-Vyatskiy, Central Black Earth, Volga region,
North Caucasian, Ural, West-Siberian, East-Siberian,
Far East, the Kaliningrad region). The structure
of the national income is as follows (1993, %):
indus-try 44,5, agriculture 10,0, construction 11,5,
transport and communication, logistics, preparations
etc. - 34,0. The extraction (as for 1993) petroleums
(including a gas con-densate) is 354 million tons
(mainly West-Siberian and Volgo-Ural provinces),
natural gas 619 billion m3, coal 305 million tons
(Kuznetsk, Pechora, Kansko-Achinskiy, South-Yakut
fields etc.), iron ore 76 million tons (Kursk magnetic
anomaly, deposits of Ural, West Siberia etc.). Large
black (stell sucelt 58,3 million tons, pig-iron
40,5 million tons - Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk, Nizhni
Tagil, Novokuznetsk, Cherepovets, Lipetsk etc.)
and color (Norilsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk etc.) metallurgy.
Deposits of diamonds in Yakutia are being actively
developed. Mechanical engineering (heavy, common,
average, manufacture of devices, exact machines
and tools etc.); the large centers are: Moscow,
Saint Petersburg, Ural, the Volga region, West Siberia.
The chemical and petrochemical industry (manufacture
of plastic, mineral fertilizers, chemical fibers,
autotire covers etc.); The major areas of the chemical
industry are: Central, Northwest, the Volga region
and Ural. The wood industry is well developed in
northern and eastern areas of the country. Manufacture
of building materials, easy (mainly textile) and
the food-processing industry is also developed.
Manufacture of the electric power 957 billion kWt-h
(1993). On the territory of Russia the many incorporated
power systems are functioning: of the Centre, Northwest,
the Volga region, North Caucasus, Ural, Siberia
and the Far East, the coun-tries; all of them are
included in the Uniform power system of the country.
Alongside with numerous thermal power stations,
Volzhsko-Kamskiy and the Angaro-Yeniseiskiy hydropower
cascades are operating, also there are many atomic
power stations. |
| Agricultural lands make
(1992, one million hectare) 222,3, including an
arable land 132,0 (near 60 %), haymakings 23,2,
pastures 64,7. More than 4/5 arable lands is in
the Volga region, Central and Central Black Earth
regions, North Caucasus, Ural and West Siberia.
Husbandry gives 36% of the gross output of agriculture,
cattle-breeding gives over 60%. In 1993 the area
under crops of agricultural crops was 111,8 million
hectares. The basic agricultural crops are: grain,
sugar beet, sunflower, potato, flax. Gross gathering
(1993, one million tons): grain 99,1, sugar beet
25,5, sunflower 7,8, po-tato 37,7, flax fiber 0,06.
The cultivation regions are: for wheat - the Volga
region, North Caucasus, West Siberia, Ural and Central
Black Earth region; for flax – Central and Northwest
region; for sunflowers – North Caucasus, the Volga
region and Central Black Earth region; for sugar
beet - Central Black Earth region and North Caucasus.
The area of irrigated lands is 5,7 million hectares
in 1993 (mainly North Caucasus and the Volga region),
drained lands take the area of 7,6 million hectares.
Meat-and-milk and meat-woolen cattle-breeding. Livestock
(1994, one million): cattle livestock 48,9, pigs
28,6, sheep and goats 43,7. The operational length
of (1993, thousand kms) railways 87, mo-torways
934, including those with firm covering 725, main
pipelines 206, internal water-ways 101. Water systems:
the Belomorsko-Baltic channel, the Moscow channel,
the Volga-Don channel, the Volga-Baltic waterway.
The major seaports are Saint Peters-burg, Vanino,
Novorossiysk, Murmansk, Kaliningrad. The major cities
of auto service are Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk,
Khabarovsk, Adler, Mineral Waters. In Russia there
are over 100 resorts. The all-Russian value resorts
are situated at the Black Sea coast of Caucasus
(Sochi etc.), group of resorts of the Caucasian
Mineral Waters etc. |
| The main monetary unit
is Russian rouble. |
Useful links:
 http://www.president.kremlin.ru |
|
Site of President of Russia |
| http://www.government.ru/government |
The
Government of Russian Federation |
| http://www.council.gov.ru |
The
Council of Federation |
| http://www.duma.gov.ru |
The
State Duma |
| http://www.gov.ru/main/page10.html |
The
legislation authority |
| http://www.mchs.gov.ru |
MCHS |
|
http://www.fsb.ru |
FSB |
| http://www.mvdinform.ru |
MVD |
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![Tuning and Accessories [section under reconstruction, coming soon]](images/but_tuning.jpg "Tuning and Accessories [section is under reconstruction, coming soon]"){kind=small}
