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The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs, who emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by aVarangian warrior elite and their descendants, themedieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire,beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde. The Grand Duchy of Moscowgradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde, and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy ofKievan Rus'. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and explorationto become the Russian Empire, which was the thirdlargest empire in history, stretching from Poland in Europe to Alaska in North America.
Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower, which played a decisive role in the Alliedvictory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite, and the first man in space. Following thedissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation and is recognized as the continuing legal personality of theUnion state.
The Russian economy ranks as the ninth largest bynominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parityin 2014. Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources, the largest reserves in the world, have made it one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas globally. The country is one of the fiverecognized nuclear weapons states and possesses thelargest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Russia is a great power and a permanent member of theUnited Nations Security Council, a member of the G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, theEurasian Economic Community, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and theWorld Trade Organization (WTO), as well as being the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Russian Federation
In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin became the first directly elected President in Russian history when he was elected President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which became the independent Russian Federation in December of that year. During and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wide-ranging reforms including privatization and market and trade liberalizationwere undertaken, including radical changes along the lines of "shock therapy" as recommended by the United States and theInternational Monetary Fund. All this resulted in a majoreconomic crisis, characterized by a 50% decline of both GDP and industrial output between 1990–95.
The privatization largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to individuals with inside connections in the government. Many of the newly rich moved billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight. The depression of the economy led to the collapse of social services; the birth rate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed. Millions plunged into poverty, from 1.5% level of poverty in the late Soviet era, to 39–49% by mid-1993. The 1990s saw extreme corruption and lawlessness, the rise of criminal gangs and violent crime.
The 1990s were plagued by armed conflicts in the North Caucasus, both local ethnic skirmishes and separatist Islamist insurrections. From the time Chechen separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent guerrilla war has been fought between the rebel groups and the Russian military.Terrorist attacks against civilians carried out by separatists, most notably the Moscow theater hostage crisisand Beslan school siege, caused hundreds of deaths and drew worldwide attention.
Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's external debts, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution. High budget deficits caused the1998 Russian financial crisis and resulted in a further GDP decline.
On 31 December 1999, President Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned, handing the post to the recently appointed Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who then won the 2000 presidential election. Putinsuppressed the Chechen insurgency, although sporadic violence still occurs throughout the Northern Caucasus. High oil prices and the initially weak currency followed by increasing domestic demand, consumption, and investments has helped the economy grow for nine straight years, improving the standard of living and increasing Russia's influence on the world stage. While many reforms made during the Putin presidency have been generally criticized by Western nations as un-democratic, Putin's leadership over the return of order, stability, and progress has won him widespread admiration in Russia.
On 2 March 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected President of Russia, whilst Putin became Prime Minister. Putin returned to the presidency following the 2012 presidential elections, and Medvedev was appointed Prime Minister.
In 2014, after President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine fled as a result of a revolution, Putin requested and received authorization from the Russian Parliament to deploy Russian troops to Ukraine. Following a Crimean referendum in which for separation voted a large majority of voters, which was not accepted internationally, the Russian leadership announced the annexation of Crimea by Russia. On 27 March the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a non-binding resolution opposing the Russian annexation of Crimea.
Politics
Governance
According to the Constitution of Russia, the country is a federation and semi-presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of government. The Russian Federation is fundamentally structured as a multi-partyrepresentative democracy, with the federal government composed of three branches:
- Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, made up of the 450-member State Duma and the 166-memberFederation Council, adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power ofimpeachment of the President.
- Executive: The President is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the Government of Russia (Cabinet) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.
- Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Arbitration and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the President, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional.
The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term, but not for a third consecutive term). Ministries of the government are composed of the Premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma). Leading political parties in Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and A Just Russia. In 2013, Russia was ranked as 122nd of 167 countries in the Democracy Index, compiled byThe Economist Intelligence Unit, while the World Justice Project currently ranks Russia 80th of 99 countries surveyed in terms of rule of law.
Foreign relations
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The Russian Federation is recognized in international law as a successor state of the former Soviet Union. Russia continues to implement the international commitments of the USSR, and has assumed the USSR's permanent seat in the UN Security Council, membership in other international organisations, the rights and obligations under international treaties, and property and debts. Russia has a multifaceted foreign policy. As of 2009, it maintains diplomatic relations with 191 countries and has 144 embassies. The foreign policy is determined by the President and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.
As the successor to a former superpower, Russia's geopolitical status has often been debated, particularly in relation to unipolar and multipolar views on the global political system. While Russia is commonly accepted to be a great power, in recent years it has been characterized by a number of world leaders, scholars, commentators and politicians as a currently reinstating or potential superpower.
As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, Russia plays a major role in maintaining international peace and security. The country participates in the Quartet on the Middle Eastand the Six-party talks with North Korea. Russia is a member of theG8 industrialized nations, the Council of Europe, OSCE, andAPEC. Russia usually takes a leading role in regional organisations such as the CIS, EurAsEC, CSTO, and the SCO.[115] Russia became the 39th member state of the Council of Europe in 1996.[116] In 1998, Russia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. The legal basis for EU relations with Russia is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 1997. The Agreement recalls the parties' shared respect for democracy and human rights, political and economic freedom and commitment to international peace and security.[117] In May 2003, the EU and Russia agreed to reinforce their cooperation on the basis of common values and shared interests.[118] Former President Vladimir Putin had advocated a strategic partnership with close integration in various dimensions including establishment of EU-Russia Common Spaces.[119] Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has developed a friendlier relationship with the United Statesand NATO. The NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 to allow the United States, Russia and the 27 allies in NATO to work together as equal partners to pursue opportunities for joint collaboration.[120]
Russia maintains strong and positive relations with other BRIC countries. India is the largest customer of Russian military equipment and the two countries share extensive defense and strategic relations.[121] In recent years, the country has strengthened bilateral ties especially with the People's Republic of China by signing the Treaty of Friendship as well as building theTrans-Siberian oil pipeline and gas pipeline from Siberia to China.
An important aspect of Russia's relations with the West is the criticism of Russia's political system and human rights management (including LGBT rights, media freedom, and reports about killed journalists) by the Western governments, the mass media and the leading democracy and human rights watchdogs. In particular, such organisations as the Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch consider Russia to have not enough democratic attributes and to allow few political rights and civil liberties to its citizens. Freedom House, an international organisation funded by the United States, ranks Russia as "not free", citing "carefully engineered elections" and "absence" of debate. Russian authorities dismiss these claims and especially criticise Freedom House. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the 2006 Freedom in the World report "prefabricated", stating that the human rights issues have been turned into a political weapon in particular by the United States. The ministry also claims that such organisations as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch use the same scheme of voluntary extrapolation of "isolated facts that of course can be found in any country" into dominant tendencies
Political divisions
- Federal subjects
According to the Constitution, the country comprises eighty-fivefederal subjects,[136] including the Republic of Crimea and thefederal city of Sevastopol, whose recent establishment is internationally disputed and criticized as illegal annexation.[137] In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were eighty-nine federal subjects listed, but later some of them were merged. These subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in theFederation Council.[138] However, they differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.
- 46 oblasts (provinces): most common type of federal subjects, with locally elected governor and legislature.[139]
- 22 republics: nominally autonomous; each is tasked with drafting its own constitution, direct-elected[139] head of republic[140] or a similar post, and parliament. Republics are allowed to establish their own official language alongside Russian but are represented by the federal government in international affairs. Republics are meant to be home to specific ethnic minorities.
- 9 krais (territories): essentially the same as oblasts. The "territory" designation is historic, originally given to frontier regions and later also to the administrative divisions that comprised autonomous okrugs or autonomous oblasts.
- 4 autonomous okrugs (autonomous districts): originally autonomous entities within oblasts and krais created for ethnic minorities, their status was elevated to that of federal subjects in the 1990s. With the exception of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, all autonomous okrugs are still administratively subordinated to a krai or an oblast of which they are a part.
- 1 autonomous oblast (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast): historically, autonomous oblasts were administrative units subordinated to krais. In 1990, all of them except for the Jewish AO were elevated in status to that of a republic.
- 3 federal cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Sevastopol): major cities that function as separate regions.
Further information: Political status of Crimea and Sevastopol and 2014 Crimean crisis
- Federal districts
Federal subjects are grouped into nine federal districts, each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia. Unlike the federal subjects, the federal districts are not a subnational level of government, but are a level of administration of the federal government. Federal districts' envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.
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| Capital and largest city | Moscow 55°45′N 37°37′E | |
| Official languages | Russian | |
|---|---|---|
| Recognised languages | 27 other languages co-official in various regions | |
| Ethnic groups(2010[1]) | ||
| Demonym | Russians (Rossiyane) | |
| Government | Federal semi-presidentialconstitutional republic | |
| - | President | Vladimir Putin |
| - | Prime Minister | Dmitry Medvedev |
| - | Chairman of the Federation Council | Valentina Matviyenko |
| - | Chairman of the State Duma | Sergey Naryshkin |
| Legislature | Federal Assembly | |
| - | Upper house | Federation Council |
| - | Lower house | State Duma |
| Formation | ||
| - | Arrival of Rurik, considered as a foundation event by the Russian authorities[2] | 862 |
| - | Kievan Rus' | 882 |
| - | Grand Duchy of Moscow | 1283 |
| - | Tsardom of Russia | 16 January 1547 |
| - | Russian Empire | 22 October 1721 |
| - | Russian SFSR | 6 November 1917 |
| - | Soviet Union | 10 December 1922 |
| - | Russian Federation | 25 December 1991 |
| - | Adoption of the current Constitution of Russia | 12 December 1993 |
| Area | ||
| - | Total | 17,098,242 (Crimea not included) km2 (1st) 6,592,800 (Crimea not included) sq mi |
| - | Water (%) | 13[3] (including swamps) |
| Population | ||
| - | 2014 estimate | 143,900,000[4] (not including Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol) (9th) |
| - | Density | 8.4/km2 (217th) 21.5/sq mi |
| GDP (PPP) | 2014 estimate | |
| - | Total | $3.559 trillion[5] (6th) |
| - | Per capita | $24,764[5] (46th) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2014 estimate | |
| - | Total | $2.057 trillion[5] (9th) |
| - | Per capita | $14,317[5] (53rd) |
| Gini (2012) | 42[6] medium · 83rd | |
| HDI (2013) |  0.778[7]high · 57th | |
| Currency | Russian ruble (RUB) | |
| Time zone | (UTC+2 to +12) | |
| Date format | dd.mm.yyyy | |
| Drives on the | right | |
| Calling code | +7 | |
| ISO 3166 code | RU | |
| Internet TLD | ||
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