GENERAL INFORMATION

Territory – 17,075,000 sq km, population - 143,420,309 (July 2005 est.), Russians - 83%, capital - Moscow (population 8,900,000).

STATUS

1922 to 1991 - a republic of the USSR. Independent state since 12 December 1991. UN member, UN Security Council permanent member (successor of the USSR).

OFFICIAL NAME

LEGISLATION

Constitution of the Russian Federation was adopted at the referendum on 12 December 1993. Laws of the RSFSR, which were in force before the Constitution came into effect, are applied to the extent that they do not conflict the new Constitution. All USSR international treaties and are in force on the territory of the RF. President of the RF may issue normative decrees, including decrees on the matters that should be regulated by laws, until adoption of laws. According to the new Constitution, each region (a subject or a constituent entity) of the Russian Federation has its own laws and fundamental law: Constitution for republics, Ustav (Charter) for other regions.

FEDERAL GOVERNANCE BODIES

HEAD OF STATE President of the Russian Federation - Dmitry Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV, elected on 2 March 2008 for a term of four years, inaugurated on 7 May 2008.

Former President of the Russian Federation - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN: acting President from 31 December 1999 - 6 May 2000, President since 7 May 2000; re-elected in 2004

Presidential Executive Office (Presidential Administration)

Presidential Administration (PA) provides staff and policy support to the President, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies.

The Security Council also reports directly to the President

Presidential elections: President is elected by a popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 March 2008 (next to be held in March 2012). In November 2008 the State Duma (lower chamber of the Parliament) approved the extention of the next presidential term to six years. There is no Vice President; if the President dies in office, cannot exercise his powers because of ill health, is impeached, or resigns, the Premier serves as acting President until a new presidential election is held, which must be within three months; Premier is appointed by the President with the approval of the State Duma.

Head of the PA Sergey Yevgenyevich NARYSHKIN

LEGISLATIVE BRANCH

Bicameral Federal Assembly consists of the Federation Council (Chairman – Sergey Mironov; includes 178 representatives of regions; each region is represented by 2 persons: one - from a legislative body; one – from an executive body) and the State Duma (Chairman – Boris Gryzlov, 450 seats; currently elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 7% of the vote; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve four-year terms).

EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Executive power is exercised by the Government of the Russian Federation. Chairman of the Government - Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 8 May 2008)The Government consists of the Chairman, vice-chairmen and federal ministers - all are appointed by the President. First Deputy Premiers Igor Ivanovich SHUVALOV and Viktor Alekseyevich ZUBKOV (since 12 May 2008); Deputy Premiers Sergey Borisovich IVANOV (since 12 May 2008), Dmitriy Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14 October 2008), Aleksey Leonidovich KUDRIN (since 24 September 2007), Igor Ivanovich SECHIN (since 12 May 2008), Sergey Semenovich SOBYANIN (since 12 May 2008), Aleksandr Dmitriyevich ZHUKOV (since 9 March 2004), and Dmitry Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14 October 2008)

JUDICIAL AUTHORITY

The judicial system of the Russian Federation consists of:

Constitutional Court was formed on 30 October1991 and functioned from 1 November 1991 till 7 October 1993. The Court resumed work in February 1995 after additional election of 6 judges according to 1993 Constitution. The Court has 19 judges, appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation considers cases relating to the compliance of the federal laws, normative acts of the President of the Russian Federation, the Council of the Federation, the State Duma, the Government of the Russian Federation, constitutions of republics, charters and other normative acts of the subjects of Russian Federation with the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Chairman of the Constitutional Court – Valery ZORKIN (elected in February 2003; re-elected for the new 3-year term in 21 February 2006).

Supreme Court is the supreme judicial body for civil, criminal, administrative and other cases under the jurisdiction of courts of general jurisdiction, carries out judicial supervision over their activities according to the federal law-envisaged procedural forms and provides clarifications on the issues of court proceedings. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation acts as a court of first instance for cases of special importance or special public interest when it accepts them for consideration according to the legislation and is cassation instance in relation to the federal courts of general jurisdiction of republics or oblast. The Supreme Court supervises legality, validity and substantiality of sentences and other decisions of courts of lower level. The Supreme Court of the Russian Federation is composed of its Chairman, first deputy and deputies of the Chairman, the justices of the Court and People’s assessors. Chairman of the Constitutional Court – Vyacheslav LEBEDEV (appointed 1989).

Higher Arbitration Court was established in January 1992. The Higher Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation is the supreme judicial body competent to settle economic disputes and other cases examined by arbitration courts, to exercise judicial supervision over their activity and to provide explanations of court proceedings. Chairman of the Higher Arbitration Court – Anton IVANOV (since January 2005).

The Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation is a single centralized system in which lower prosecutors are subordinated to higher prosecutors and the Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation. The Prosecutor's Office of Russian Federation is a single centralised structure for supervision over maintenance of the laws and human rights and for criminal prosecution. The Prosecutor-General of the Russian Federation is appointed and relieved from the post by the Federation Council on nomination by the President of the Russian Federation. Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation – Yuri CHAIKA (since June 2006)

Regional judicial system includes Constitutional (Charter) courts and Peace Judges. Their jurisdiction includes interpretation of regional constitutions and charters and decisions on whether oblast or local statutes are consistent with regional constitutions and charters. Other courts down to municipal level are federal courts and their judges are appointed by the president.

Audit Chamber, formed in April 1995, is the body for controlling the implementation of the federal budget, is composed by of a chairman, a vice-chairman and 12 auditors. Chairman - Sergei STEPASHIN (appointed April 2000).

Human Rights Ombudsman – Vladimir LUKIN, appointed in February 2004.

Central Bank of the Russian Federation (Bank of Russia). Chairman – Sergey IGNATIEV (appointed March 2002)

Central Electoral Commission was set up in March 1995. CEC Chairman - V.E. CHUROV, elected on 27 March 2007.

TERRITORIAL COMPOSITION

83 - federal administrative units 'subjects of Russian Federation':

46 oblasts , 21 republics , 4 autonomous okrugs, 9 krais, 2 federal, and 1 autonomous oblast

Oblasts: Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'

Republics: Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)

Autonomous okrugs: Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi (Khanty-Mansiysk), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)

Krais: Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm', Primorskiy (Vladivostok), Stavropol', Zabaykal'skiy (Chita)

Federal cities: Moscow (Moskva), Saint Petersburg (Sankt-Peterburg)

Autonomous oblast: Yevrey [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)

Note: administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)

REGIONAL AUTHORITIES

Presidential envoys

Presidential decree No. 849, "On the Envoys of the President of the Russian Federation in Federal Districts," issued on May 13, 2000, launched the process of streamlining the vertical management of the state. Russia was divided into seven federal districts, each to be headed by a presidential envoy or Plenipotentiary Representative of the President.

The seven federal districts are made up of the following subjects of the Russian Federation:

Central Federal District – Belgorod Oblast, Bryansk Oblast, Ivanovo Oblast, Kaluga Oblast, Kostroma Oblast, Kursk Oblast, Lipetsk Oblast, Moscow, Moscow Oblast, Oryol Oblast, Ryazan Oblast, Smolenski Oblast, Tambov Oblast, Tver Oblast, Tula Oblast, Vladimir Oblast, Voronezh Oblast, Yaroslavl Oblast.(The Central Federal District administrative center is Moscow).

Plenipotentiary Representative of the President: Georgi POLTAVCHENKO.

Far Eastern Federal District – Amur Oblast, Chukotka Autonomous Oblast, Jewish Autonomous Oblast, Kamchatsky Krai, Primorsky Krai, Khabarovsky Krai, Magadan Oblast, Republic of Sakha – Yakutia, Sakhalin Oblast.(The Far Eastern Federal District administrative center is Khabarovsk).

Plenipotentiary Representative of the President: Kamil ISKHAKOV

Northwestern Federal District – Arkhangelsk Oblast, Kaliningrad Oblast, Republic of Karelia, Republic of Komi, Leningrad Oblast, Murmansk Oblast, Novgorod Oblast, Pskov Oblast, St. Petersburg, Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Vologda Oblast. (The Northwestern Federal District administrative center is St. Petersburg).

Plenipotentiary Representative of the President: Ilya KLEBANOV

Siberian Federal District – Aginsk Buryat Autonomous District, Republic of Altai, Altaisky Krai, Republic of Buryatia, Chita Oblast, Irkutsky Krai, Kemerovo Oblast, Republic of Khakasia, Krasnoyarsky Krai, Novosibirsk Oblast, Omsk Oblast, Tomsk Oblast, Republic of Tyva. (The Siberian Federal District administrative center is Novosibirsk).

Plenipotentiary Representative of the President: Anatoly KVASHNIN

Southern Federal District – Republic of Adygeya, Astrakhan Oblast, Chechen Republic, Republic of Dagestan, Republic of Ingushetia, Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, Republic of Kalmykia, Republic of Karachayevo-Cherkessia, Krasnodarsky Krai, Republic of North Ossetia, Rostov Oblast, Stavropol Territory, Volgograd Oblast. (The Southern Federal District administrative center is Rostov-on-Don).

Plenipotentiary Representative of the President: Vladimir USTINOV

Uralsky Federal District – Chelyabinsk Oblast, Khanty-Mansiisk Autonomous District, Kurgan Oblast, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Tyumen Oblast, Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District. (The Urals Federal District administrative center is Yekaterinburg).

Plenipotentiary Representative of the President: Nikolai VINNICHENKO

Privolzhsky Federal District – Republic of Bashkortostan, Republic of Chuvashia, Kirov Oblast, Republic of Marii-El, Republic of Mordovia, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Orenburg Oblast, Penza Oblast, Permsky Krai, Samara Oblast, Saratov Oblast, Republic of Tatarstan, Republic of Udmurtia, Ulyanovsk Oblast. (The Volga Federal District administrative center is Nizhny Novgorod).

Plenipotentiary Representative of the President: Grigory RAPOTA

Governors

The administrative heads of the regions are often referred to as the “governors.” The governments of the republics include a president or prime minister (or both) and a regional council or legislature. The chief executives of lower jurisdictions are called governors or administrative heads. The law adopted on 12 December 2004 gives the president the right to appoint Russia's 89 regional leaders, who then must be confirmed by the regional legislatures instead of having governors elected by direct vote as had been the case since 1993. According to the new law, if the president's candidate is rejected twice, he can then dissolve the legislature and appoint his own choice as acting governor.

In the Soviet Union the one-party system was enshrined in the constitution, which declared the Communist Party of the Soviet Union the core of the political system of the country. Attempts to create the first non-communist parties date back to 1988. In accordance with the federal law "On Political Parties," which came into effect on July 14, 2001, an organization that consistently takes part in elections, has a membership of at least 10,000 and has branches in at least 50 regions, with each branch having a membership of at least 100, is considered to be a party. The law "On Public Associations" (March 15, 2002) states that a mass public association that consists only of unofficial participants, rather than officially listed members, and pursues social and political aims is a public movement. A public association may take part in elections to the State Duma and local government if said participation is formalized in its rules.

2007 Duma elections results:

The parties that passed the 7% threshold required to form a faction in the Duma included:

United Russia (Boris GRYZLOV) 64.3%

Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Gennady ZYUGANOV) 11.57%

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKY) 8.14%

Just Russia/Motherland/Pensioners’/Party of Life (Sergei MIRONOV) 7.74%

Parties that did not reach the 7% threshold but still considered influential are:

Agrarian (Mikhail LAPSHYN) 2.3%

Yabloko (Grigory YAVLINSKY) 1.59%

International Organizations participation

APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BSEC, CBSS, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAPC, EBRD, G-8, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UN Security Council, ,UPU, WCO, WFTU, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), ZC

ECONOMY

After bottoming out during the economic crisis and default of August 1998, the Russian economy has posted remarkable growth numbers over the last few years and, along with India and China, has consistently been one of the world’s best performing emerging markets during a period when traditional powerhouse economies were falling on hard times.

Much of this positive economic news is the result of high world oil prices. Revenues from oil exports account for 25 percent of total Russian GDP. Another contributor to growth was the devaluation of the Russian ruble following the 1998 crisis, which priced many imports out of the range of Russian consumers and provided an advantage to domestic producers. This effect has already, however, run its course, and the country is now experiencing real ruble appreciation.

A number of government reform initiatives are also commonly credited with the recent performance, including a revamp of the personal tax system that involved the introduction of a 13 percent flat income tax rate, and a simplification and easing of the corporate tax system that has made profit taxes less onerous.

In 2003, President Vladimir Putin declared that doubling the country’s GDP in the space of 10 years was a primary state objective, and a number of government proposals, including administrative reform and badly needed bank reform, have been put forward as necessary in order to achieve this goal.

Concerns remain that a drop in the world oil price may seriously crimp the country’s growth and make it more difficult for Russia to continue to meet its foreign debt responsibilities, part of the rationale behind the establishment of a "stabilization fund", supplied by receipts from oil revenues. It has reached $157 billion as of January 30, 2008.

The country’s hard currency and gold reserves have also grown considerably in recent years, providing the Central Bank with much more latitude in regulating the value of the ruble. According to the data for November 2007, it amounted to almost US$ 456 billion.

The situation in Russia in 2007 was characterized by political stability, relatively high economic growth and challenges remaining in the social sphere, development of civil society and governance.

The economic growth in Russia remained robust in 2007, with GDP growth of 8.1 %, household consumption over 9 % and business investment over 20 %. In general, according to World Bank assessment, the country continued to experience an investment boom, significant improvements in productivity and population incomes. According to Russian Statistical Agency (Rosstat), average real wage and available income increased by 16.2 and 12.9 percent, respectively during the first nine months of the year. This figure reflects a longer-term trend of rising relative prosperity over the past 5 years. However, while some 15% of Russians live under the official poverty line – a decline of almost 10% compared to 2004, the extreme poor still account for 1-3% of the population.

As the growth continued to be largely based on oil and gas export revenues, and structural reforms, except for the one in the electricity sector, have stagnated or stopped, the economy remained internationally uncompetitive, and increasingly exposed to inflationary pressures. The latter, exacerbated by rising world prices, led, in 2007, to a noticeable surge averaging over 20% in food prices – making the 3-year high inflation rate of 11,5% felt by the poorest and most vulnerable in society.

Real GDP growth is forecast to slow to an average of below 4% per year in 2009-10, reflecting the impact of financial turmoil, lower commodity prices and weak energy sector production. The possibility of a steep rouble devaluation now presents the main risk to macroeconomic stability.

Falling commodity prices, slowing demand growth and the fiscal tightening of the past few quarters will help to reduce inflationary pressures. However, rouble depreciation will have an inflationary impact. Domestic demand growth will weaken, but the impact of much lower oil prices on exports will reduce sharply the current-account surplus in 2009-10.

http://www.president.kremlin.ru

http//www.russiaprofile.org

http//web.worldbank.org

MASS MEDIA

PRESS

There are about 25 daily and 20 weekly editions issued in Moscow. Five of them have only Moscow circulation. Some of the newspapers belong to government ministries or political parties.

Daily newspapers:

Rossiyskaya Gazeta (Government paper)
Parlamentskaya Gazeta (Federal Assembly paper)
Izvestiya
Komsomolskaya Pravda
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
Novye Izvestia
Segodnya
Kommersant
Vremya MN
Vremya Novostei
Vedomosti
Krasnaya Zvezda (Ministry of Defense paper)
Trud
Selskaya Zhizn
Tribuna
Sovetskaya Rossiya (Communist Party paper)
Moskovsky Komsomolets
Moskovskaya Pravda
The Moscow Times (English-language daily)

Weekly newspapers:

Magazines:

Profil
Expert
Itogi
Ogonyok
Kommersant-Vlast
Kommersant-Den'gi
Novoye Vremya
Echo Planety
Kompania
Newsweek

Details: Moscow Newspapers

TELEVISION:

There are five national and one Moscow meter channels. 15 decimeter channels are received in Moscow, 2 of them are Moscow-region channels. Regional State TV and Radio Broadcasting Companies include local programmes into the programme schedule of the national channel Russia.

Meter channels:

1. Pervyi Canal
2. Russia (VGTRK state company)
3. TVC and 3 Canal (Moscow channel)
4. NTV
5. Kultura
6. Sport-TV

Major decimeter channels:

TNT
Domashnyi
Ren-TV

Via Satellite:

Russia Today
NTV +

RADIO:

Four state-owned and three ministerial channels have a national outreach, unlike most independent radio stations. Only few of them broadcast in regions. An independent giant Russkoe radio is the largest European radio network.

State-owned channels:

Radio Russia VGTRK state company)
Mayak
Yunost' (Mayak company)
Kultura

Ministerial channels:

Radio Zvezda (Ministry of Defence)
Medicina Dlya Vas (Ministry of Health)
Militseyskaya Volna (Ministry of Interior)

Major independent stations:

Echo Moskvi
Russkoe radio

International stations:

Details: Radio and Television in Moscow

News Agencies:

Itar-Tass - state-owned, pages in English
RIA-Novosti - state-owned, pages in English
Interfax – private, pages in English
RBC – private, pages in Russian

Agency of Social Information - private, pages in English

INTERNET:

The number of Internet users in Russia in 2007 amounted to around 30 000 000

Major Internet providers:

Corbina Telecom
Beeline Internet
Stream
Akado
Qwerty

Major Internet newspapers:

Main search engines: