| 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 |
| Area: |
total: 17,075,200
sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly less than 1.8
times the size of the US |
| Land
boundaries: |
total: 19,961
km
border countries: Azerbaijan 284 km, Belarus 959
km, China (southeast) 3,605 km, China (south) 40 km, Estonia
294 km, Finland 1,313 km, Georgia 723 km, Kazakhstan 6,846 km,
North Korea 19 km, Latvia 217 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast)
227 km, Mongolia 3,485 km, Norway 167 km, Poland (Kaliningrad
Oblast) 206 km, Ukraine 1,576 km |
| Maritime
claims: |
continental shelf:
200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
| Climate: |
ranges from steppes in
the south through humid continental in much of European Russia;
subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters
vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers
vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast |
| Terrain: |
broad plain with low hills
west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia;
uplands and mountains along southern border regions |
| Elevation extremes: |
lowest point:
Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m |
| Natural
resources: |
wide natural resource base
including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many
strategic minerals, timber
note: formidable obstacles of climate, terrain,
and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources |
| Land
use: |
arable land:
8%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 4%
forests and woodland: 46%
other: 42% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated land: |
40,000 sq km (1993 est.)
|
| 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 |
| Environment - current issues: |
air pollution from heavy
industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation
in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution
of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion;
soil contamination from improper application of agricultural
chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive
contamination; ground water contamination from toxic waste |
| Environment - international agreements: |
party to:
Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur
85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living
Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification,
Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber
83, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur
94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
| Geography - 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 |
| Population: |
145,470,197 (July 2001
est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years:
17.41% (male 12,915,026; female 12,405,341)
15-64 years: 69.78% (male 49,183,000; female 52,320,962)
65 years and over: 12.81% (male 5,941,944; female
12,703,924) (2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate: |
-0.35% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
9.35 births/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
13.85 deaths/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0.98 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2001 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: 0.47 male(s)/female
total population: 0.88 male(s)/female (2001 est.)
|
| Infant
mortality rate: |
20.05 deaths/1,000 live
births (2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
67.34 years
male: 62.12 years
female: 72.83 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
1.27 children born/woman
(2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
0.18% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
130,000 (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- deaths: |
850 (1999 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Russian(s)
adjective: Russian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
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: |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 98%
male: 100%
female: 97% (1989 est.) |
| Country
name: |
conventional long form:
Russian Federation
conventional short form: Russia
local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
local short form: Rossiya
former: Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative
Socialist Republic |
| Government type: |
federation |
| Administrative divisions: |
49 oblasts (oblastey, singular
- oblast), 21 republics* (respublik, singular - respublika),
10 autonomous okrugs**(avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy
okrug), 6 krays*** (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities
(singular - gorod)****, and 1 autonomous oblast*****(avtonomnaya
oblast'); Adygeya (Maykop)*, Aginskiy Buryatskiy (Aginskoye)**,
Altay (Gorno-Altaysk)*, Altayskiy (Barnaul)***, Amurskaya (Blagoveshchensk),
Arkhangel'skaya, Astrakhanskaya, Bashkortostan (Ufa)*, Belgorodskaya,
Bryanskaya, Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude)*, Chechnya (Groznyy)*, Chelyabinskaya,
Chitinskaya, Chukotskiy (Anadyr')**, Chuvashiya (Cheboksary)*,
Dagestan (Makhachkala)*, Evenkiyskiy (Tura)**, Ingushetiya (Nazran')*,
Irkutskaya, Ivanovskaya, Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik)*, Kaliningradskaya,
Kalmykiya (Elista)*, Kaluzhskaya, Kamchatskaya (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy),
Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk)*, Kareliya (Petrozavodsk)*,
Kemerovskaya, Khabarovskiy***, Khakasiya (Abakan)*, Khanty-Mansiyskiy
(Khanty-Mansiysk)**, Kirovskaya, Komi (Syktyvkar)*, Koryakskiy
(Palana)**, Kostromskaya, Krasnodarskiy***, Krasnoyarskiy***,
Kurganskaya, Kurskaya, Leningradskaya, Lipetskaya, Magadanskaya,
Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola)*, Mordoviya (Saransk)*, Moskovskaya,
Moskva (Moscow)****, Murmanskaya, Nenetskiy (Nar'yan-Mar)**,
Nizhegorodskaya, Novgorodskaya, Novosibirskaya, Omskaya, Orenburgskaya,
Orlovskaya (Orel), Penzenskaya, Permskaya, Komi-Permyatskiy
(Kudymkar)**, Primorskiy (Vladivostok)***, Pskovskaya, Rostovskaya,
Ryazanskaya, Sakha (Yakutsk)*, Sakhalinskaya (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk),
Samarskaya, Sankt-Peterburg (Saint Petersburg)****, Saratovskaya,
Severnaya Osetiya-Alaniya [North Ossetia] (Vladikavkaz)*, Smolenskaya,
Stavropol'skiy***, Sverdlovskaya (Yekaterinburg), Tambovskaya,
Tatarstan (Kazan')*, Taymyrskiy (Dudinka)**, Tomskaya, Tul'skaya,
Tverskaya, Tyumenskaya, Tyva (Kyzyl)*, Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)*,
Ul'yanovskaya, Ust'-Ordynskiy Buryatskiy (Ust'-Ordynskiy)**,
Vladimirskaya, Volgogradskaya, Vologodskaya, Voronezhskaya,
Yamalo-Nenetskiy (Salekhard)**, Yaroslavskaya, Yevreyskaya*****;
note - when using a place name with an adjectival ending 'skaya'
or 'skiy,' the word Oblast' or Avonomnyy Okrug or Kray should
be added to the place name
note: the autonomous republics of Chechnya and
Ingushetiya were formerly the autonomous republic of Checheno-Ingushetia
(the boundary between Chechnya and Ingushetia has yet to be
determined); administrative divisions have the same names as
their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative
center name following in parentheses) |
| Independence: |
24 August 1991 (from Soviet
Union) |
| National
holiday: |
Russia Day, 12 June (1990)
|
| Constitution: |
adopted 12 December 1993
|
| Legal
system: |
based on civil law system;
judicial review of legislative acts |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal
|
| Executive branch: |
chief of state:
President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (acting president since
31 December 1999, president since 7 May 2000)
head of government: Premier Mikhail Mikhaylovich
KASYANOV (since 7 May 2000); First Deputy Premier Aleksey Leonidovich
KUDRIN (since 18 May 2000), Deputy Premiers Aleksey Vasilyevich
GORDEYEV (since 20 May 2000), Viktor Borisovich KHRISTENKO (since
31 May 1999), Ilya Iosifovich KLEBANOV (since 31 May 1999),
Valentina Ivanovna MATVIYENKO (since 22 September 1998)
cabinet: Ministries of the Government or "Government"
composed of the premier and his deputies, ministers, and other
agency heads; all are appointed by the president
note: there is also a Presidential Administration
(PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president,
drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government
agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president
elections: president elected by popular vote for
a four-year term; election last held 26 March 2000 (next to
be held NA 2004); 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; premier appointed
by the president with the approval of the Duma
election results: Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN
elected president; percent of vote - PUTIN 52.9%, Gennadiy Aadreyevich
ZYUGANOV 29.2%, Grigoriy Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY 5.8% |
| Legislative branch: |
bicameral Federal Assembly
or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council
or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats; as of July 2000, members appointed
by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the
89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics,
autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow
and Saint Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the
State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; half elected
by proportional representation from party lists winning at least
5% of the vote, and half from single-member constituencies;
members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year
terms)
elections: State Duma - last held 19 December 1999
(next to be held NA December 2003)
election results: State Duma - percent of vote
received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them
to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - KPRF 24.29%,
Unity 23.32%, OVR 13.33%, Union of Right Forces 8.52%, LDPR
5.98%, Yabloko 5.93%; seats by party - KPRF 113, Unity 72, OVR
67, Union of Rightist Forces 29, LDPR 17, Yabloko 21, other
16, independents 106, repeat election required 8, vacant 1 |
| Judicial
branch: |
Constitutional Court; Supreme
Court; Superior Court of Arbitration; judges for all courts
are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation
of the president |
| Political parties and leaders: |
Agrarian Party [Mikhail
Ivanovich LAPSHIN]; Communist Party of the Russian Federation
or KPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Fatherland-All Russia
or OVR [Yuriy Mikhailovich LUZHKOV]; Liberal Democratic Party
of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Union of
Right Forces [Anatoliy Borisovich CHUBAYS, Yegor Timurovich
GAYDAR, Irina Mutsuovna KHAKAMADA, Boris Yefimovich NEMTSOV];
Unity [Sergey Kuzhugetovich SHOYGU]; Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy
Alekseyevich YAVLINSKIY]
note: some 150 political parties, blocs, and movements
registered with the Justice Ministry as of the 19 December 1998
deadline to be eligible to participate in the 19 December 1999
Duma elections; of these, 36 political organizations actually
qualified to run slates of candidates on the Duma party list
ballot, 6 parties cleared the 5% threshold to win a proportional
share of the 225 party seats in the Duma, 9 other organizations
hold seats in the Duma: Bloc of Nikolayev and Academician Fedorov,
Congress of Russian Communities, Movement in Support of the
Army, Our Home Is Russia, Party of Pensioners, Power to the
People, Russian All-People's Union, Russian Socialist Party,
and Spiritual Heritage; primary political blocs include pro-market
democrats - (Yabloko Bloc and Union of Right Forces), anti-market
and/or ultranationalist (Communist Party of the Russian Federation
and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia) |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: |
NA |
| International organization participation: |
APEC, ASEAN (dialogue partner),
BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EAPC, EBRD,
ECE, ESCAP, G- 8, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC,
IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MINURSO, MONUC, NAM
(guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security
Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR,
UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNMOP, UNOMIG, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU,
WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer), ZC |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Yuriy Viktorovich USHAKOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington,
DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco,
and Seattle |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: |
chief of mission:
Ambassador James F. COLLINS
embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, 121099 Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 728-5000
FAX: [7] (095) 728-5203
consulate(s) general: Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok,
Yekaterinburg |
| Flag
description: |
three equal horizontal
bands of white (top), blue, and red |
| Economy
- overview: |
A decade after the implosion
of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia is still struggling to establish
a modern market economy and achieve strong economic growth.
In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe - which
were able to overcome the initial production declines that accompanied
the launch of market reforms within three to five years - Russia
saw its economy contract for five years, as the executive and
legislature dithered over the implementation of many of the
basic foundations of a market economy. Russia achieved a slight
recovery in 1997, but the government's stubborn budget deficits
and the country's poor business climate made it vulnerable when
the global financial crisis swept through in 1998. The crisis
culminated in the August depreciation of the ruble, a debt default
by the government, and a sharp deterioration in living standards
for most of the population. The economy rebounded in 1999 and
2000, buoyed by the competitive boost from the weak ruble and
a surging trade surplus fueled by rising world oil prices. This
recovery, along with a renewed government effort in 2000 to
advance lagging structural reforms, have raised business and
investor confidence over Russia's prospects in its second decade
of transition. Yet serious problems persist. Russia remains
heavily dependent on exports of commodities, particularly oil,
natural gas, metals, and timber, which account for over 80%
of exports, leaving the country vulnerable to swings in world
prices. Russia's agricultural sector remains beset by uncertainty
over land ownership rights, which has discouraged needed investment
and restructuring. Another threat is negative demographic trends,
fueled by low birth rates and a deteriorating health situation
- including an alarming rise in AIDS cases - that have contributed
to a nearly 2% drop in the population since 1992. Russia's industrial
base is increasingly dilapidated and must be replaced or modernized
if the country is to achieve sustainable economic growth. Other
problems include widespread corruption, capital flight, and
brain drain. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity
- $1.12 trillion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
6.3% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity
- $7,700 (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
7%
industry: 34%
services: 59% (1999 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: |
40% (1999 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%:
1.7%
highest 10%: 38.7% (1998) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
20.6% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
66 million (1997) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 15%, industry
30%, services 55% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: |
10.5% (2000 est.), plus
considerable underemployment |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$40 billion
expenditures: $33.7 billion, including capital
expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
| 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: |
8.8% (2000 est.) |
| Electricity - production: |
798.065 billion kWh (1999)
|
| Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel:
66.31%
hydro: 19.79%
nuclear: 13.9%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity - consumption: |
728.2 billion kWh (1999)
|
| Electricity - exports: |
20 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports: |
6 billion kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture - products: |
grain, sugar beets, sunflower
seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk |
| Exports: |
$105.1 billion (2000 est.)
|
| Exports
- commodities: |
petroleum and petroleum
products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals,
and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 8.8%, Germany 8.5%,
Ukraine 6.5%, Belarus 5.1%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4.8% (1999)
|
| Imports: |
$44.2 billion (2000 est.)
|
| Imports
- commodities: |
machinery and equipment,
consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished
metal products |
| Imports
- partners: |
Germany 13.8%, Belarus
10.7%, Ukraine 8.3%, US 7.9%, Kazakhstan 4.6%, Italy 3.8% (1999)
|
| Debt
- external: |
$163 billion (2000 est.)
|
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$8.523 billion (1995) |
| Currency: |
Russian ruble (RUR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Russian rubles per US dollar
- 28.3592 (January 2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051
(1998), 5,785 (1997), 5,121 (1996)
note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to
1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year |
| Telephones - main lines in use: |
30 million (1998) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: |
2.5 million (October 2000)
|
| Telephone system: |
general assessment:
the telephone system has undergone significant changes in the
1990s; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer
communication services; access to digital lines has improved,
particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services
are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the
telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy;
however, a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied
domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run
from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk;
the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital
infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital,
are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services
are still outdated, inadequate, and low density
international: Russia is connected internationally
by three undersea fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several
cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls;
satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik,
Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 420, FM 447, shortwave
56 (1998) |
| Radios: |
61.5 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: |
7,306 (1998) |
| Televisions: |
60.5 million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ru |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
35 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
9.2 million (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 149,000
km
note: 86,000 km are in common carrier service;
63,000 km serve specific industries and are not available for
common carrier use; 40,000 km of the railway in common carrier
use are electrified
broad gauge: 149,000 km 1.520-m gauge (1998) |
| Highways: |
total: 952,000
km
paved: 752,000 km (including, in addition to about
336,000 km of conventionally paved roads, about 416,000 km of
roads, the surfaces of which have been stabilized with gravel
or other coarse aggregates, making them trafficable in wet weather)
unpaved: 200,000 km (these roads are made of unstabilized
earth and are difficult to negotiate in wet weather) (1998)
|
| Waterways: |
95,900 km (total routes
in general use)
note: 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 (Jan 1994)
|
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 48,000 km; petroleum
products 15,000 km; natural gas 140,000 km (June 1993 est.)
|
| Ports
and harbors: |
Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan',
Kaliningrad, Kazan', Khabarovsk, Kholmsk, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow,
Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevel'sk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy,
Saint Petersburg, Rostov, Sochi, Tuapse, Vladivostok, Volgograd,
Vostochnyy, Vyborg |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 878
ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,314,485 GRT/5,344,958 DWT
ships by type: barge carrier 1, bulk 20, cargo
543, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 21, combination ore/oil
7, container 31, multi-functional large-load carrier 1, passenger
35, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 164, refrigerated cargo
24, roll on/roll off 17, short-sea passenger 7
note: includes a foreign-owned ship registered
here as a flag of convenience: Reunion 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
2,743 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 471
over 3,047 m: 56
2,438 to 3,047 m: 178
1,524 to 2,437 m: 76
914 to 1,523 m: 69
under 914 m: 92 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 2,272
over 3,047 m: 28
2,438 to 3,047 m: 118
1,524 to 2,437 m: 204
914 to 1,523 m: 324
under 914 m: 1,598 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Ground Forces, Navy, Air
Force, Strategic Rocket Forces |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
38,866,147 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
30,337,743 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 1,242,778
(2001 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$NA |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA% |
| Russia |
INTERNATIONAL ISSUE |
|
| Disputes
- international: |
dispute over at least two
small sections of the boundary with China remains to be settled,
despite 1997 boundary agreement; islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri,
and Shikotan and the Habomai group occupied by the Soviet Union
in 1945, now administered by Russia, claimed by Japan; Caspian
Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran,
Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan; Estonian and Russian negotiators
reached a technical border agreement in December 1996, which
has not been signed or ratified by Russia as of February 2001;
draft treaty delimiting the boundary with Latvia has not been
signed; 1997 border agreement with Lithuania not yet ratified;
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; Svalbard is the focus of a maritime boundary dispute
between Norway and Russia |
| Illicit
drugs: |
limited cultivation of
illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of amphetamine,
mostly for domestic consumption; government has active eradication
program; increasingly used as transshipment point for Southwest
and Southeast Asian opiates and cannabis and Latin American
cocaine to Western Europe, possibly to the US, and growing domestic
market; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption
and organized crime are major concerns; heroin an increasing
threat in domestic drug market |
|
Russia