The modern Russian state can be traced back to at least the 10^th century, when the political entity, known as Kievan Rus, was established in Novgorod. Also, Christianity (Greek Orthodox) became the state religion at that time under Vladimir. As regards modern history, Russia was greatly influenced by Europe under the reign of Peter the Great (1689-1725), whose modernisation policy made European influences spread across the country. The country's capital was also moved westward from Moscow to St. Petersburg. Further reforms and Westernisation were also pursued by forthcoming Tsars like Catherine the Great (1762-96) and Alexander I (1801-1825).

Upon entering the 20^th century, following defeat in the war with Japan (1904-05) and the ruinous effects of the First World War, coupled with economic and other internal pressures, the March uprising in 1917 led to the abdication of the throne by Tsar Nicholas II. The revolution in November that year, led by the Bolshevik Party under Vladimir Lenin, marked the beginning of the Soviet era in the country.

The break-up of the former Soviet Union opened a new era in the Russian history at the end of the century. Russia, now formally known as the Russian Federation, became an independent state again in 1991. The Russian Federation inherited the permanent seat of the Soviet Union (USSR) on the UN Security Council, as well as the bulk of the Union's assets and debts. Boris Yeltsin was elected as the first President of the Russian Federation.

The country then embarked on a series of reforms to transform the former centrally-planned economy to a market-oriented system through liberalisation and privatisation, which led to the lacklustre economic performance of the country in the early part of the 1990s. Compounding the problem, the country suffered from political turmoil during the Yeltsin era. While corruption and gangsters were severe problems, political chaos was brought about by the frequent sackings of government officials by Yeltsin. Further, although the economy registered positive growth in 1997 for the first time in the 1990s, it contracted again in 1998 amid the outbreak of financial turmoil in the country following the financial crisis in Asia.

Yet the country has been able to bounce back from the economic downturn since 1999. Most importantly, the victory of Vladimir Putin in the presidential election held in March 2000 put an end to Russia's long-standing political turmoil. Now both the political landscape and economic environment have become more stable, while efforts to reform the economy have continued. These have brightened the country's prospects, paving the way for a sustainable economic growth in the medium term.

B. Geography and Resources

Russia is a vast but sparsely populated country. It has a population of over 140 million, residing in a large territory of 17,075,200 km² lying across the European continent and Northern Asia, stretching from the borders with Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, Ukraine and Turkey in the west, passing Kazakstan, Mongolia and China to reach the Pacific Ocean. It takes over eight hours by plane to fly from Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific coast.

Russia's geographical location presents a significant obstacle to development - dry or cold climate, terrain, distance and remote location from major sea ports. As a result, a large part of the territory has almost no population and development. For instance, the Russian Far East in Siberia is a largely uninhabited area covered by coniferous forest, swamps and tundra in the north and mountainous terrain in the south. Over 70% of the population lives in urban areas. But while there are about 1,067 cities in the country, only around 13 have a population of over one million.

1. Time Zone

(* Moscow and St. Petersburg)

2. Climatic Information

Because of Russia's vast territory, weather conditions across the country vary with both distance and season. In general, most parts of the country have a harsh continental climate, characterised by a large temperature difference between summer and winter seasons. For instance, it is very cold in some places during winter (below -20°C), but also very warm in the summer time (above +20°C).

• December, January and February are the coldest months, with temperatures at least a few degrees below zero over the entire country.
  
  
• Continental Russia may have its first frost and snow as early as October, which can last until the middle of April.
  
  
• Days are quite short in winter, with the sun coming up at about 10 or 11 am for only a few hours till afternoon. (Places close to the Arctic area may be without sunlight for the entire winter season.) However, the situation is the opposite during summer.
  
  
• May, June and July are the warmest months. Temperatures in most part of the country can be above +20°C, a level which is considered by Russians to be very warm. But it is rare for the temperature to reach 30°C.

Current weather conditions in Russia can be obtained from:

http://www.worldweather.org/107/m107.htm

3. Natural Resources

Development in most parts of Russia is hindered by geographic attributes such as a severe continental climate and remoteness, and only 8% of the area is arable land. However, Russia is endowed with abundant natural resources, including oil, coal, natural gas and other mineral deposits. It is estimated that the country's crude oil and natural gas output accounts for 17% and 25-30%, respectively, of the world's total production. The largest oil and gas deposits are located in Western and Eastern Siberia and on Sakhalin Island.

Meanwhile, Russia produces about 6% of the world's bituminous coal, 17% of its commercial iron ore, and 10-20% of non-ferrous, rare and noble metals. Russia is also among the major suppliers of other minerals, including gold, silver, platinum, cobalt, antimony, zinc, mercury, and copper and nickel ores, as well as precious stones like diamonds.

As some 40% of the territory is covered by forest, Russia is endowed with abundant resources of timber. Total timber reserves in the country are estimated to be 79 billion cubic metres. The largest forests are located at the Siberian taiga, the Far East and the North European territories. Coniferous trees like pine trees, cedars, larches and firs are the major species.

In addition, Russia has significant fish reserves (and also oil and natural gas) on its sea shelf, thanks to a 37,653 km long coastline along the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Baltic, Black and Caspian Seas.

C. Population, Language and Major Cities

Russia is a multiethnic society. The largest ethnic groups include Russians (82%), Tatars (4%), Ukrainians (3%), Chuvash (1%), Bashkir (1%), Byelorussians (1%), Moldavians (1%), etc. While Russian is the country's official language, it is also the mother tongue of over 80% of the population. Other languages are used in ethnic minority regions. The major religions in the country include Russian Orthodox, other Christian denominations, and Islam, although some others like Judaism and Buddhism can also be found across the country.

Administratively, the Russian Federation is divided into seven Federal Districts. They are Central (with Moscow being the centre), North West (St. Petersburg being the centre), South (Rostov-on-Don being the centre), Privolzhsky (Volga) (Nizhny Novgorod being the centre), Urals (Yekaterinburg being the centre), Siberian (Novosibirsk being the centre) and Far East (Khabarovsk being the centre).

The country has 1,095 major cities and towns, but with less than 15 of them inhabited by one million or more people each². The largest cities are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod.

• Moscow, the capital and the largest city of the Russian Federation, is the country's principal economic and political centre, and the seat of the President, the government and the State Duma (Parliament). The city also engages in a variety of industrial activities, such as manufacturing automobiles and trucks, machine-tools, electrical gadgets and instruments, chemicals, textiles and foodstuffs.
  
  
• St. Petersburg, the nation's second largest city, is another important cultural, research and industrial centre in Russia. Thanks to its geographic proximity to other West European countries, St. Petersburg plays an important role in Russia's international business. It is also Russia's most important port in the Baltic Sea.
  
  
• Novosibirsk, the third largest city in Russia and the largest in Siberia, is a transportation hub on the back of the crossings of the Trans-Siberian railway bridge and the Turkestan-Siberia Railway. Major industries include machine manufacturing and metallurgy.
  
  
• Yekaterinburg is a major centre for heavy transport and chemical engineering industries, and non-ferrous metal works.
  
  
• Nizhny Novgorod has the biggest automobile manufacturing centre in Russia.
  
  
• Rostov-on-Don specialises in aerospace, agriculture, electronics and electrical appliances, tobacco, etc.

D. Political System and Government Administration

The present political system of Russia was established by its 1993 constitution. While the President enjoys considerable executive power, he is also the head of the armed forces and the Security Council. There is no vice president. The president nominates the highest state officials, including the Premier, who must be approved by the State Duma (lower house).

The bicameral legislature consists of the Federation Council (upper house) and the State Duma (lower house). The Federation Council comprises representatives from the federal administrative units of the Russian Federation, while the State Duma consists of 450 deputies elected by universal vote for a term of four years. During parliamentary elections, Russians elect their representatives, who are usually associated with specific political parties. These parties then take seats in the State Duma, in accordance with the number of votes they receive in the election under the proportional representation principle. The major political parties in Russia include:

• United Russia
• Communist Party of the Russian Federation
• Liberal and Democratic Party of Russia
• Motherland Bloc (Rodina)
• Narodnays Volya - United Socialist Party of Russia

As for the Federation, the distribution of powers between the central government and the regional and local authorities is still evolving. In 2000, President Putin grouped the regions into seven federal districts. In 2004, a law was enacted to eliminate the direct election of the country's regional leaders. The regional governors are now nominated by the President, subject to confirmation by regional legislatures.

¹ Federal State Statistics Service of Russia
² Federal State Statistics Service of Russia