Russia Military, Economy and Transportation

Russia Military

Economics

Economy overview: For a decade after the collapse of the USSR, Russia has been trying to create a modern market economy and achieve sustainable economic growth. In contrast to its trading partners in Central Europe, which managed to overcome the initial decline in production that accompanied the beginning of market reforms and lasted from three to five years, the Russian economy contracted for five years, while the executive and legislature slowed down to implement the most important market reforms. The Russian economy recovered somewhat in 1997, but chronic budget deficits and an unfavorable business climate left it vulnerable during the 1998 global financial crisis. parts of the population. The economy recovered in 1999-2000, supported by increased competitiveness due to the weakening of the ruble and growing trade surplus due to high world oil prices. This recovery, along with renewed government efforts to accelerate structural reforms, has led to increased entrepreneurial activity and investor confidence in Russia’s prospects as it enters its second decade of transition. However, serious problems remain. Russia is still highly dependent on exports of products, especially oil, natural gas, metals, timber, which account for more than 80% of exports, which makes the country vulnerable to fluctuations in world prices. Russia’s agriculture is suffering from land tenure uncertainties that are hindering investment and restructuring of the agricultural sector. Another threat lies in the negative demographic trends (low birth rate and deteriorating health of the nation, including due to the threatening spread of AIDS), which have led to a reduction in the country’s population by almost 2% since 1992. Russia’s industrial base is in an extremely worn out state and must be updated or upgraded if the country is to achieve strong economic growth. Other problems are widespread corruption, capital flight and brain drain. if the country is going to achieve strong economic growth. Other problems are widespread corruption, capital flight and brain drain. if the country is going to achieve strong economic growth. Other problems are widespread corruption, capital flight and brain drain.
GDP: at purchasing power parity – $1.12 trillion (2000 est.).
Real GDP growth rate: 6.3% (2000 est.).
GDP per capita: at purchasing power parity – $7,700 (2000 est.).
The composition of GDP by sectors of the economy: agriculture: 7%; industry: 34%; services: 59% (1999 est.).
Proportion of population below the poverty line: 40% (1999 est.).
Percentage distribution of family income or consumption: per 10% of the poorest families: 1.7%; by the top 10% of families: 38.7% (1998).
Inflation rate at consumer prices: 20.6% (2000 est.).
Labor force: 66 million people (1997).
Employment structure: agriculture 15%, industry 30%, services 55% (1999 est.).
Unemployment rate: 10.5% (2000 est.) and significant part-time employment.
Budget: revenues: $40 billion; expenditures: $33.7 billion, including capital expenditures – NA (2000 est.).
Spheres of economy: a full range of mining and processing industries (coal, oil, gas), chemical and metallurgical industries, all types of mechanical engineering – from rolling mills to modern aircraft and spacecraft, shipbuilding, automotive, railway transport equipment, communications, agricultural engineering, manufacturing tractors and construction equipment, electrical equipment, medical and scientific instruments, consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts.
Growth in industrial production: 8.8% (2000 est.).
Electricity generation: 798.065 billion kWh (1999)
Sources of electricity generation: fossil fuels: 66.31%; hydropower: 19.79%; nuclear fuel: 13.9%; others: 0% (1999).
Electricity consumption: 728.2 billion kWh (1999)
Electricity export: 20 billion kWh (1999).
Electricity import: 6 billion kWh (1999).
Agricultural products: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk.
Export: $105.1 billion (2000 est.)
Exports: oil and refined products, gas, timber and wood processing products, metals, chemicals, a wide range of civil and military goods.
Export partners: USA 8.8%, Germany 8.5%, Ukraine 6.5%, Belarus 5.1%, Italy 5%, Netherlands 4.8% (1999).
Imports: $44.2 billion (2000 est.)
Imports: machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grains, sugar, metal products.
Import partners: Germany 13.8%, Belarus 10.7%, Ukraine 8.3%, USA 7.9%, Kazakhstan 4.6%, Italy 3.8% (1999).
External debt: $163 billion (2000 est.) Economic aid recipient: $8.523 billion (1995)
Donor of economic assistance:
Currency: ruble.
Currency code: RUR.
Exchange rate: RUR/USD – 28.3592 (January 2001), 28.1292 (2000), 24.6199 (1999), 9.7051 (1998), 5785 (1997), 5121 (1996); note: the ruble after January 1, 1998 is equal to 1,000 rubles before January 1, 1998.
Fiscal year: calendar year.

Telecommunications

Telecommunications Telephone lines: 30 million (1998).
Mobile cell phones: 2.5 million (October 2000).
Phone system: the telephone system underwent significant changes in the 1990s; more than a thousand companies have received licenses to provide communication services; expanded access to digital lines, especially in cities; increased access to the Internet and the use of e-mail; Russia is consistently moving towards building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; internal: across the country – from St. Petersburg to Khabarovsk, from Moscow to Novorossiysk – there are digital trunk lines; telephone systems in 60 regional centers have modern digital equipment; cellular services, both digital and analog, are available in many regions; in rural areas the telephone service remains backward and poorly developed; international: Russia is connected to foreign countries by three submarine fiber optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; ground satellite stations provide access to the Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat and Orbita systems.
Broadcast stations: AM – 420, FM – 447, shortwave – 56 (1998).
Radio receivers: 61.5 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 7,306 (1998).
Televisions: 60.5 million (1997)
Internet country code: ru
Internet providers: 35 (2000).
Number of users: 9.2 million (2000).

Transport

Transport Railways: total: 149,000 km; note – 86,000 km of public tracks (of which 40,000 km are electrified); 63,000 km of tracks run by industrial enterprises; broad gauge: 149,000 km of 1,520 m gauge tracks (1999)
Roads: total: 952,000 km; paved: 752,000 km (including, in addition to 336,000 km of roads considered paved, 416,000 km of all-weather gravel and similar roads); unpaved: 200,000 km (these roads cannot be used in rainy weather) (1998).
Waterways: 95,900 km; note – routes used by the Russian river fleet 95,900 km; tracks with night navigation 60,400 km; shipping channels 16,900 km (January 1994).
Pipelines: for crude oil – 48,000 km; for refined products – 15,000 km; for natural gas, 140,000 km (June 1993 est.).
Ports and harbors: Arkhangelsk, Astrakhan, Vladivostok, Volgograd, Vostochny, Vyborg, Kazan, Kaliningrad, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Murmansk, Nakhodka, Nevelsk, Novorossiysk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Rostov-on-Don, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Tuapse, Khabarovsk, Kholmsk.
Merchant navy: in total: 878 ships (of 1,000 tons displacement or more) with a total displacement of 4,314,485 gross register tons / 5,344,958 long tons of deadweight capacity; ships of different types: barges – 1, bulk carriers – 20, cargo ships – 543, chemical tankers – 4, combined bulk carriers – 21, combined ore and oil carriers – 7, container ships – 31, multifunctional heavy cargo ships – 1, passenger ships – 35, cargo-passenger ships – 3, oil tankers – 164, refrigerated ships – 26, ferries – 17, coastal passenger ships – 7; note: including foreign ships registered here for flag of convenience reasons: Reunion 1 (2000 est.).
Airports: 2,743 (2000 est.).
Airports with paved runways: total: 471; over 3,047 m: 56; from 2438 to 3047 m: 178; from 1,524 to 2,437 m: 76; from 914 to 1523 m:69; less than 914 m: 92 (2000 est.).
Airports with unpaved runways: total: 2,272; over 3,047 m: 28; from 2438 to 3047 m: 118; from 1524 to 2437 m: 204; from 914 to 1,523 m: 324; less than 914 m: 1,598 (2000 est.).

Armed forces

Branches of the armed forces: ground forces, navy, air force, strategic missile forces. See militarynous.com to know more about Russia Military.
Enlistment age: 18 years old.
Total Military Manpower: Male 15 to 49: 38,866,247 (2001 est.).
Eligible for military service: men aged 15 to 49: 30,337,743 (2001 est.).
Number of persons reaching military age each year: male: 1,242,778 (2001 est.).
Military spending in dollar terms: no data available.
Military spending as part of GDP: no data available.

International Issues

International issues International disputes: the dispute over two small sections of the border with China continues, despite the border agreement signed in 1997; the islands of Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Khabomai, occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945 and now belonging to Russia, are claimed by Japan; the boundaries of the national sectors of the Caspian Sea have not yet been determined by Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan; Estonia and Russia reached a technical border agreement in December 1996, but as of February 2001 it had not yet been ratified by Russia; the border delimitation agreement with Latvia has not been signed; the 1997 border agreement with Lithuania has not yet been ratified; Russia has no territorial claims in Antarctica (but reserves the right to put them forward) and does not recognize the claims of other states;
Illicit drugs: limited illicit cultivation of hemp and opium poppy, and production of amphetamines, mostly for local consumption; the government has an active eradication program for illicit crops; the growing importance of Russia as a transit point for opiates and cannabis from Southwest and Southeast Asia and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe (and possibly the US as well) and to a growing domestic market; an important supplier of chemicals for the manufacture of heroin; corruption and organized crime are of extreme concern; an increasing danger is the rise in heroin use.

Russia Military