Russia: Geography, History, and Overview - WorldAtlas

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Geography of Russia

Russia, or Russian Federation, a country of eastern Europe and northern and eastern Asia. The name in Russian is Rossiya. In 1917 the czarist empire of Russia collapsed. In 1918 the largest portion of the former Russian Empire became the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (RSFSR). The name Russia, however, continued to be used as its conventional name. In 1922 Russia relinquished its independence and joined with other Soviet republics to form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. From 1922 until 1991 Russia was a union republic of the USSR. Because Russia was the largest and most populous of the union republics, the USSR was often referred to simply as Russia. (This article, however, does not follow that convention.) In 1991, after the USSR collapsed, Russia once again became independent.

Russia is a land of great diversity. The population is made up of scores of different ethnic and national groups. Landforms range from towering snowcapped mountains of more than 18,500 feet (5,600 m) to salt marshes and semiarid lowlands below sea level. Natural wealth—minerals, forests, soils, and water resources—is of great variety and abundance.

Czarist Russia was often referred to as "the Sleeping Bear of Europe"—a country with the potential to be a great power but held in a lethargic state by poverty, illiteracy, and inefficiency. During the Soviet era (1918-91), however, much of this changed. The Soviet industrialization and modernization programs transformed the USSR into a major world power, and Russia accounted for the greatest share of the Soviet Union's economic and military might. Upon independence in 1991, Russia, despite suffering from numerous economic problems, became a world power in its own right.

Russia in briefGeneral informationCapital: Moscow.Official language: Russian.Official names: Rossiya (Russia) or Rossiyskaya Federatsiya (Russian Federation).Largest cities: (2002 census) Moscow (10,126,424); St. Petersburg (4,661,219)Land and climateLand: Russia is the world's largest country in area. It covers a large part of both Europe and Asia. It has coastlines on the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea, Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and Pacific Ocean. Russia borders eight European countries, three Asian countries, and three countries with lands in both Europe and Asia. Much of the west is a large plain. The Ural Mountains separate Europe and Asia. Siberia, east of the Urals, has low western plains, a central plateau, and a mountainous wilderness in the east. Major Russian rivers include the Lena in Asia and the Volga in Europe. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the world's deepest lake.Area: 6,601,669 mi2 (17,098,242 km2). Greatest distances—east-west, 6,000 mi (9,650 km); north-south, 2,800 mi (4,500 km).Elevation: Highest—Mount Elbrus, 18,510 ft (5,642 m). Lowest—Coast of Caspian Sea, 92 ft (28 m) below sea level.Climate: Most of Russia has long, bitterly cold winters and mild to warm—but short—summers. In northeastern Siberia, the country's coldest area, January temperatures average below –50 °F (–46 °C). Rainfall is moderate in most of Russia. Snow covers more than half of the country during six months of the year.GovernmentForm of government: Republic.Head of state: President.Head of government: Prime minister.Flag and state seal: Russia's flag, adopted in 1991, has three horizontal stripes of white, blue, and red (top to bottom). The Russian empire used the flag from 1699 to 1918. The double-headed eagle the state seal, adopted in 1993, includes symbols of the Russian empire.Legislature: Russia's parliament is called the Federal Assembly. It consists of two houses—the 450-member State Duma and the 178-member Federation Council.Executive: The president is the chief executive and most powerful official.Judiciary: Highest court is the Constitutional Court.Political subdivisions: Russia has dozens of federal administrative units. They include oblasts (regions), krais (territories), republics, autonomous areas, and autonomous regions. Moscow and St. Petersburg each have special region status. Many of the political subdivisions are divided into raions (districts).PeoplePopulation: Current estimate—141,358,000; 2002 census—145,166,731.Population density: 21 per mi2 (8 per km2).Distribution: 73 percent urban, 27 percent rural.Major ethnic/national groups: About 83 percent Russian. Smaller groups include Tatars (or Tartars), Ukrainians, Chuvash, Bashkirs, Belarusians, Mordvins, Chechen, Germans, Udmurts, Mari, Kazakhs, Avars, Jews, and Armenians.Major religions: The Russian Orthodox Church is the largest religious group. Other religious groups include Muslims, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews.EconomyChief products: Agriculture—barley, cattle, fruits, hogs, oats, potatoes, rye, sheep, sugar beets, sunflowers, vegetables, wheat. Fishing—cod, haddock, herring, salmon. Manufacturing—chemicals, construction materials, electronics, machinery, paper, processed foods, textiles. Mining—coal, gold, iron ore, lead, natural gas, nickel, petroleum, platinum, salt, tin, tungsten.Money: Basic unit—Russian ruble. One hundred kopecks equal one ruble.International trade: Major exports—chemicals, machinery, metals, natural gas, paper products, petroleum, wood products. Major imports—consumer goods, foods and beverages, industrial equipment, machinery. Main trading partners—other former Soviet republics, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, Poland, United Kingdom, United States.

Geography of Russia

Location

Russia, excluding the Kaliningrad Oblast (an isolated Russian region separated from Russia proper), borders on 12 countries. Counterclockwise from the south they are North Korea, China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Estonia, Finland, and Norway. Kaliningrad is bounded by the Baltic Sea, Lithuania, and Poland.

Physical FeaturesRussia is the world's largest country in area. Russia covers much of the continents of Europe and Asia.

Two characteristics of Russia's physical geography stand out above all others. The first is the country's great size; occupying nearly all of northern Eurasia, Russia is the world's largest country. With an area of 6,592,850 square miles (17,075,400 km2), it is nearly the size of the continent of South America and almost twice the size of the United States. Russia extends eastward from the Gulf of Finland about 5,000 miles (8,000 km) to the Bering Sea—a span so wide that it includes 11 of the world's 24 time zones. From the Arctic Ocean in the north, Russia stretches southward over distances ranging from 1,500 to 2,500 miles (2,400 to 4,000 km).

The second outstanding characteristic of Russia is its extreme northern location. Most of the country is within the same latitudes as Alaska and Canada; St. Petersburg, for example, is about as far north as Anchorage, Alaska. The northern location is a major reason for the severely cold climate prevailing over most of the country, sharply limiting the crop growing season and locking seaports in ice for months at a time.

Land

In the most general terms, Russia consists largely of flat to rolling plains with plateaus and mountainous regions in the west-central, eastern, and most of the southern parts of the country. For simplification, Russia may be divided into two large regions: European Russia and Siberia.

European Russia consists of the western part of the country up to and including the western face of the Ural Mountains. Although it occupies slightly less than a quarter of the country's total area, it contains most of the people and industry. This single region is a little more than half the size of the continental United States.

Except for the Urals in the east and the Caucasus Mountains in the southwest, European Russia consists principally of the eastern section of the Great European Plain. This area is sometimes called the East European Plain. In Russia it spreads from the Arctic coast to the Black Sea. The plain rises slowly towards the Urals in the east. Much of the surface is gently rolling.

Several upland areas break the otherwise monotonous surface. Most of these areas consist of low, rounded hills whose tops do not exceed 1,300 feet (400 m). Northwest of Moscow are the Valday Hills and the Smolensk-Moscow Ridge. Europe's longest river, the Volga, begins in this region. Other major rivers that originate here are the Dnieper and the Western Dvina. Beginning west of Moscow and extending south-southeast to Ukraine's eastern border are the Central Russian Uplands. From here flow the Don, the Donets, and other major rivers. To the east, along the Volga's middle course, are the Volga Uplands, whose narrow southern end separates the Volga and Don rivers by less than 50 miles (80 km).

To the south of the Volga Uplands, lying along the northwest shore of the Caspian Sea, is a region that is part of the Caspian Depression. Here land gradually drops to about 90 feet (2 7 m) below sea level.

Between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea are the Caucasus Mountains. They mark the southern boundary of the East European Plain and form a high, nearly unbroken barrier to the lands beyond, which are sometimes known as Transcaucasia. In the western Caucasus rises Europe's loftiest peak, Elbrus, reaching 18,510 feet (5,642 m) above sea level.

Along the plain's eastern edge are the Ural Mountains, often considered part of the Europe-Asia boundary. The Urals are much less a barrier than the Caucasus; only in the northern and southern sections do peaks rise as high as 4,000 to 6,000 feet (1,200 to 1,800 m). The middle Urals are little more than low hills. The only other significant elevations in European Russia occur on the Kola Peninsula, where the Khibiny Mountains rise up to more than 3,900 feet (1,190 m).

Siberia extends eastward from the Urals to the Pacific Ocean. Siberia's southwestern limits are indefinite, but often are considered to be at about 50° N. latitude.

Western Siberia, between the Urals and the Yenisey River, consists mainly of the West Siberian Lowland, a vast, extremely flat area crossed by winding, sluggish rivers. Much of the land in the central section is swampy, especially between the Ob and Irtysh rivers. To the south are scattered uplands and the Altai Mountains, which reach more than 14,000 feet (4,300 m).

Central Siberia is chiefly an upland region and lies within the area drained by the Yenisey and Lena rivers. In the north is the Central Siberian Plateau, an eroded tableland whose surface rarely exceeds elevations of about 3,000 feet (900 m). The plateau gives way to lowlands along the Arctic coast, except on the Taymyr Peninsula, which rises more than 3,700 feet (1,100 m) above sea level. In the extreme south, high mountains lie near the Mongolian border. Highest are the Sayan Mountains, which exceed 11,000 feet (3,400 m) and contain most of the Yenisey River's headstreams. East of Lake Baykal, which lies in a deep fault between steep mountain slopes, is a complex group of ranges. These extend in a southwest-northeast direction and include the Yablonovyy Range.

Eastern Siberia—the land between the Lena River and the Pacific Ocean—is almost entirely mountainous. Paralleling the lower Lena is the Verkhoyansk Range; just to the east is the higher Cherskiy Range, rising to more than 10,000 feet (3,000 m). Lesser ranges spread across the extreme northeast and down the Kamchatka Peninsula, where there are numerous active volcanoes, including towering Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which at 15,584 feet (4,750 m) is the highest peak in Siberia. Other mountain systems of eastern Siberia are the Stanovoy Range between the Lena and Amur rivers, and the Sikhote Alin Range facing the Pacific coast. Across the Tatar Strait is Sakhalin, the largest island in Russia.

Islands

Off Russia's Arctic coast are several island groups that are within neither Siberia nor European Russia. Between the Barents and Kara seas lies Novaya Zemlya ("new land"), the largest group, occupying some 35,000 square miles (91,000 km2). Farther north is ice-covered Franz Josef Land, an uninhabited group of about 85 islands. Severnaya Zemlya ("northern land") is another group of islands, off the Taymyr Peninsula, and to the east across the Laptev Sea are the New Siberian Islands. Smaller islands are scattered through the Chukchi Sea and Bering Strait.

Water

Russia is a land of mighty rivers. Some of the rivers are historically important in the settlement and growth of the country, and many are of great economic significance. Linked by interconnecting canals and waterways, rivers provide vital avenues of inland shipping. They are also used to generate large amounts of electric power, to float logs to mills, and for commercial fishing.

The largest rivers are in Siberia. Among these are the three giants—the Ob, Yenisey, and Lena, all of which flow northward into seas of the Arctic Ocean. Other large rivers include the Kolyma and the Indigirka, which also flow into Arctic waters, and the Amur, which flows to the Pacific.

The rivers of European Russia, though generally smaller than those of Siberia, are of greater economic importance. Among these are the Neva, which empties into an arm of the Baltic Sea; the Northern Dvina and the Pechora, which flow northward to seas of the Arctic Ocean; the Volga, which empties into the Caspian Sea; and the Don, which flows southward to the Sea of Azov, an arm of the Black Sea.

Most of the major rivers have huge drainage basins and are of great length. The Lena, Ob, Volga, and Yenisey river systems all exceed 2,000 miles (3,200 km) in length. Nearly all the rivers have courses sloping gently to the sea, and the flow of water is usually sluggish. In winter nearly all rivers freeze—the length of freeze varying from 1 to 2 months near the Black Sea to 6 to 10 months above the Arctic Circle. Extensive flooding occurs in the Arctic during the spring thaw, when water from melting ice and snow in the south is blocked by frozen channels in the north.

Russia has thousands of lakes, most of which are in the northern glaciated section. The country's largest lakes and seas, however, are in the south. The Caspian Sea, which is shared with Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan, is the world's largest lake, covering 143,200 square miles (371,000 km2). By volume of water, however, the largest lake in Russia—and in the world—is Lake Baykal, in south-central Siberia. It contains more water than all of the Great Lakes combined. Other important inland bodies of water include the Black Sea (shared with Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, and Ukraine), and Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega in the northwest. There are also numerous large reservoirs.

Climate

Most of Russia, being far north and away from the tempering influence of the ocean, has a severe continental type of climate; the country is greatly affected by the intense heating of the Eurasian landmass in summer and by the extreme cooling of the landmass in winter. With few exceptions the climate is marked by long, bitterly cold winters; short, warm to hot summers; and little annual precipitation.

In winter, cold air settles in central Siberia, causing icy blasts of air to move out over much of Europe and Asia. Winters become colder from the southwest to the northeast. The average January temperature at Sochi, in the southwest, is about 43° F. (6° C); at Verkhoyansk, in the northeast, about —58° F. (-50° C.) Temperatures lower than -90° F. (—68° C.) have been recorded in several places in the northeastern part of the country. Because of this extreme cold, the land is permanently frozen beneath the surface in the north. The frozen ground forms a layer called permafrost.

Summers range from warm to hot. Even as far north as the Arctic Circle temperatures reach 80° F. to 90° F. (2 7° C. to 32° C.) for short periods. Yakutsk (62° N. latitude) has a record of 102° F. (39° C.). Summers become hotter from north to south. The average July temperature at Archangel, in the north on the shore of the cold White Sea, is about 59° F. (15° C.); at Krasnodar in the south, 73° F. (23° C.). Spring and autumn are short throughout Russia.

Russia's precipitation comes mainly in the summer and is scanty nearly everywhere. Only in some of the southern and eastern mountains does the precipitation exceed 40 inches (1,000 mm) a year. European Russia receives about 16 to 24 inches (400 to 600 mm), except for part of the Arctic coast and the steppes of the southwest, which generally receive less than 16 inches (400 mm). Most of Siberia receives 8 to 16 inches (200 to 400 mm). Except in the far north and the mountains, snow accounts for only a small part of the yearly precipitation. In most of the country,' because of the constantly low winter temperatures, the snow remains on the ground for more than half the year.

The only subtropical region of Russia is near the Black Sea, which experiences balmy temperatures and receives more than 80 inches (2,000 mm) of precipitation a year. The Pacific coast has a monsoon-type climate with dry, cold winters and rainy, hot summers.

Natural Resources

Minerals

During the Soviet era, Russia along with the rest of the Soviet Union increased its mineral production to become one of the world's leading producers. Today, Russia ranks first among nations in the production of natural gas and is among the world's top five producers of crude oil, iron ore, nickel, gold, and diamonds.

Rich iron ore deposits form the basis for the country's large iron and steel industries. The largest ore deposits are in the Kursk area of central European Russia, the Urals, and the southern part of central Siberia. Other areas with large deposits include eastern Siberia, the Kola peninsula, and southern Karelia.

Deposits of anthracite, bituminous coal, and lower-grade coals are widespread. Russia's largest reserves are in the Tunguska and Lena basins in eastern Siberia. These, however, have not been mined extensively because of their great distance from large population and industrial centers. The Kuznetsk Basin in south-central Siberia is Russia's greatest coal-producing region. Other important regions include the Pechora Basin in northeastern European Russia, the Kansk-Achinsk Basin in south-central Siberia, and an area near the Ukrainian border in the Donets Basin.

The large oil resources of Russia were not exploited until the mid-1950's, when Soviet oil production shifted from the Caucasian oil fields of Baku, Grozny, and Kuban to the Volga-Ural field, or Second Baku, which lies between the Volga River and the Urals. In the mid-1960's production began to shift to the enormously rich Tyumen fields, in western Siberia. Today the Tyumen fields account for nearly two-thirds of Russia's oil production. Lesser quantities come from the Bashkir and Tatar republics, in European Russia.

Natural gas production is also centered in western Siberia. The Urengoy field, in the Yamal Nenets Autonomous Area, is the most productive region.

The Ural Mountains are one of the most intensively mined parts of Russia. A great variety of metals, including ferrous and precious metals, are produced, as well as many nonmetallic ores. Siberia is rapidly developing into a major mining region. Of the many nonfuel minerals produced, gold and diamonds are the most important.

Waterpower

One of Russia's greatest natural resources is waterpower. The amount of hydroelectric power produced is just a small part of Russia's potential production, which is exceeded only by that of equatorial Africa.

No hydroelectric power was produced during czarist times. During the Soviet period, especially after the early 1930's, many dams, reservoirs, and power plants were constructed. Particularly important power stations in European Russia include those on the Volga and Kama rivers. In Siberia lies Russia's greatest potential source of hydroelectric power. The Sayan-Shushenskoye and Krasnoyarsk power stations on the Yenisey River and the Bratsk and Boguchany power stations on the Angara are among the world's greatest producers of hydroelectric power.

Plants and Animals

Except for the semiarid and subtropical regions in the southwest, and the mountainous areas, Russia may be divided into three large regions characterized by the types of plant and animal life they support: the tundra, the forest, and the steppe.

The Tundra

is a cold, treeless area bordering the Arctic Ocean. During the summer thaw, the tundra abounds in bogs and marshes. Mosses, lichens, sedges, and small shrubs, such as dwarf birch, willow, and juniper, are the chief plants. Along the coast live polar bear, walrus, and seal. The reindeer, lemming, arctic fox, hare, and ermine are among the most common animals inland. Birds are plentiful, especially such migratory waterfowl as ducks and geese. During the summer the land swarms with mosquitoes.

The Forest Region

is south of the tundra. Spanning the country from east to west and varying from 800 to 1,600 miles (1,300 to 2,600 km) in width, the forests of Russia are the most extensive in the world. The taiga, a coniferous forest, makes up the northern and central part of the forest belt. Pines, firs, and larches predominate. The southern part of the forest belt is made up mainly of deciduous trees---oak, aspen, hornbeam, linden, ash, alder, elm, maple, and, above all, birch.

The forests are rich in wildlife. Animals include brown bears, wolves, elk, deer, lynxes, gluttons (animals similar to wolverines), foxes, sables, martens, badgers, and more than 200 species of birds.

The Steppe is a vast area similar to the prairies of North America. In the north is a region, sometimes called the forest steppe, made up mainly of grasslands and scattered deciduous forests. Some of Russia's richest agricultural soils are found here. Below this area is the open steppe, made up almost entirely of grasslands.

The steppe extends from the Ukrainian border to the Urals and beyond, into western Siberia. In central and eastern Siberia the steppe lands are small and scattered.

This region has been settled for centuries. Except for the antelope and the wolf, there are few large animals. There are, however, a great number of burrowing animals--- hamsters, jerboas, lemmings, moles, rabbits, rats, skunks, and, especially, ground squirrels. There are also many kinds of birds, including kites, bitterns, and hawks.

Russia has varied and abundant natural resources. It depends on few foreign sources for needed raw materials and is probably the most self-sufficient industrialized country in the world. Many of its resources, however, are only partially developed. Vast areas remain undeveloped, mainly because of their remote location and lack of transportation facilities.

The Economy

Agriculture

During czarist times much of Russia's agricultural land was held in royal, church, and private estates; the rest was held, and crudely worked in small plots, by peasants. After the Russian revolution of 1917, state ownership and operation of farmland became a Communist goal. Hampered by a shattered economy and strong resistance from landowners, the Communists did not begin serious efforts to collectivize farmland until 1928.

Under the Soviet agricultural system, there were three types of farm production units---collective farms, state farms, and personal plots. Union OF Soviet Socialist Republics,

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some of Russia's farms continued to be state-owned, but many state-owned farms were transferred to private ownership.

Areas that can be farmed are limited mainly by climate. Most parts of European Russia have reasonably favorable weather, except that rainfall is never abundant and damaging droughts often occur. Most of Siberia is handicapped by either a short growing season or scant rainfall. Most of the farming in this region is limited to a narrow southern strip along the Trans-Siberian Railway.

Crops

Grains for food and fodder are the major crops. Wheat is the leading grain produced. It is raised throughout the Russian steppe. The most productive regions are the central black-earth region northeast of Ukraine and the north Caucasus region between the Black and Caspian seas. Barley, oat, rye, and millet production is also significant. Total grain production is insufficient to meet all of Russia's requirements. Large amounts of imported grain, especially wheat, are needed.

Sugar beets are the only domestic source of sugar in Russia. They are produced mainly in the north Caucasus and the central black-earth regions. Russian beet sugar production does not meet domestic needs, and cane sugar competes with grain as Russia's largest agricultural import by value.

Chief among the many vegetables grown are potatoes. Also important are cabbages, beets, peas, cucumbers, and onions. Sunflower seed is the principal source of vegetable oil. Flax, grown mainly in the area around Moscow, is the major fiber crop. Hemp is also important. A wide variety of fruits, vegetables, and other crops are also produced.

Livestock

About 60 per cent of Russia's agricultural production comes from livestock. Cattle, sheep, goats, and hogs are the most numerous livestock raised, excluding poultry. Dairy farms are also important, especially in western Siberia, where much of the milk is processed into butter and cheese. Reindeer are raised in the northern parts of the country.

Fishing and Forestry

Russia usually ranks among the world's top five fishing nations. Many of its fishing vessels are large, modern ships that operate on seas throughout the world. The North Atlantic, Arctic, and North Pacific oceans are the chief fishing grounds. In tonnage the catch consists mainly of pollock and mackerel. The catch also includes anchovies, hake, sardines, cod, and herring. Caspian Sea sturgeon provide caviar, for which Russia is famous. Major fishing ports include Vladivostok, Murmansk, Nakhodka, and Kaliningrad.

The forest resources of Russia are by far the largest in the world. Wood is widely used as a building material and fuel and also in the production of pulp, paper, and many synthetic materials. More than three quarters of Russia's forest resources are in Siberia but because of better transportation the principal timber- and wood-producing regions are in European Russia, especially in the northwestern part of the country. Russia is second to the United States in total wood production.

Manufacturing

Russian industrial development occurred mainly in the Soviet era. During this era, great emphasis was placed on the development of heavy industries such as iron and steel, machinery, and electric power. Light industries, producing such consumer products as clothing, household goods, and processed foods, received little attention. The development of new manufacturing regions, especially in Siberia, also occurred during this era. Today, Russia is a major industrial power.

European Russia and the Ural Mountains region contain the bulk of the country's manufacturing. Here are the large industrial regions of Moscow, St. Petersburg, the Volga River valley, and the Urals. Here, too, are the most heavily industrialized cities--- Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Samara, and Perm. Novosibirsk is the principal industrial center in Siberia.

The rapid development of the electric power industry during the Soviet era made possible Russia's industrial growth. Most of Russia's electricity is used for industrial and transportation purposes rather than for household use. Coal and water are the chief resources used to generate electricity. Nuclear power is also important. Of lesser importance are peat and oil shale.

Metals

As in other heavily industrialized countries, iron and steel are the most widely-produced metals in Russia. There are three main iron and steel producing regions: west-central European Russia, in the area near Kursk; the southern Urals; and south-central Siberia, in the area near Novokuznetsk. Other primary metals are smelted and refined in many parts of the country, especially in the Urals.

Machinery

Russia manufactures most of the machinery required by a modern industrial nation. The chief types produced include transportation equipment (such as ships, airplanes, locomotives, and motor vehicles), agricultural machinery (tractors and harvesters), and electrical machinery (turbines, engines, and motors). Russia also manufactures many kinds of machines for the construction, metallurgical, mining, metal-working, textile, and chemical industries.

Moscow and St. Petersburg are the leading machine-building cities, as they were in czarist times. Having large supplies of skilled labor, they produce a wide range of machine tools and instruments. Throughout the rest of Russia, the machine industries are usually those best suited for the local economies. In the iron-rich southern Urals, for example, the manufacturing of machines for the mining and metallurgical industries is important, especially in Yekaterinburg. Agricultural machinery is generally produced near the main agricultural regions.

Oil and Chemicals

The vast majority of Russia's oil refineries are west of the Urals. Some of Russia's refineries, such as those at Samara and Ufa, are located near the oil fields. Since the 1950's, however, most new oil refineries have been built near points of regional consumption, such as Moscow, Nizhniy Novgorod, and Kirishi, near St. Petersburg.

Chemical production is widely scattered. Such diverse products as acid, cellulose, explosives, dyes, fertilizers, industrial alcohol, synthetic resins and fibers, paints, and drugs are among the chief products. Some chemicals are made as by-products of other industries, notably the coal, metal, petroleum, and wood industries.

Textiles and Foods

Textiles were one of the first industries developed during czarist times. Cottons, woolens, and linens are the chief textiles manufactured. They are produced largely in and around Moscow and Ivanovo. Clothing factories are more dispersed and are usually located in or near large cities.

The food-processing industry is widely distributed throughout European Russia. Among the chief branches are flour grinding, fruit and vegetable processing, liquor distilling, meat and fish packing, and sugar refining. Many food-processing plants are located near the major agricultural regions, such as the central black-earth region and the North Caucasus region. Other plants are located near large urban markets.

TransportationRailways

About a third of Russia's freight is shipped by rail. Bulk commodities, including coal, iron ore, lumber, and grain, account for most of the freight shipped by rail. Railways are historically important, for they contributed significantly to the economic development of Russia, especially Siberia and other outlying areas of the Russian and Soviet empires. Railways total more than 53,500 miles (86,000 km). Most of the main lines are electrified.

Moscow is the hub of Russia's railway network, which is concentrated in European Russia. The Trans-Siberian Railway, the longest rail line in the world, spans Siberia from east to west. Along it are many spurs; longer branches lead to China and Mongolia. The BAM (Baykal-Amur-Mainline) crosses 2,000 miles (3,200 km) of eastern Siberian wilderness north of the Trans-Siberian. Russia is linked by rail to most of the other former Soviet republics.

Modern subway systems serve Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several other major cities.

Rivers and Canals

provide navigable inland waterways in some parts of the nation. They are, however, of limited use because of the long winter freeze that closes them to navigation. European rivers carry the most traffic. Passenger service is provided on the Volga and other principal rivers by a fleet of large, modern riverboats.

Canals connect many rivers. The old Mariinsk system of canals, lakes, and rivers, connecting St. Petersburg with the Volga River, has been modernized. The Volga-Don Canal, a huge project completed in 1952, links the Volga and Don rivers at Volgograd. Other important canals include the Moscow-Volga Canal and the White Sea-Baltic Sea Canal.

Highways

Except for primary highways connecting principal cities, roads in Russia are generally of poor quality. There are about 404,000 miles (650,000 km) of hard-surfaced roads, about one-ninth the total in the United States. In comparison to most people living in Western countries, few Russians have automobiles. Long-distance truck transportation is developing. Buses, which account for the largest share of passenger transportation, and streetcars provide the main means of transportation in most cities.

Pipelines

The development of an extensive network of pipelines occurred during the Soviet period, especially after the mid-1950's. Today, petroleum and natural gas pipelines crisscross much of Russia and form one of the most extensive pipeline systems in the world. Most of the flow is westward from the west Siberian oil fields and the Volga-Ural fields into European Russia. Pipelines built during the Soviet era link Russia to other European countries and to other former Soviet republics.

Air Service

International service is provided mainly by Aeroflot Russian International Airlines (ARIA), which is owned by the government. There are many domestic carriers. The largest include Vnukovo Airlines and Transaero; both also fly some international routes.

Ports and Merchant Marine

Russia has few good ports. Most are frozen during the long winters and can be kept open only by the constant work of icebreakers. Few ports have direct access to the high sea, which has been a troublesome problem for many centuries. Among the chief ports are Murmansk, on the Barents Sea; Archangel, on the White Sea; St. Petersburg, on an arm of the Baltic Sea; Kaliningrad, on the Baltic Sea; Novorossiysk, on the Black Sea; and Na.khodka and Vladivostok, on the Pacific. Despite the limitations of the ports, the Russian merchant fleet is among the world's largest.

Communications

During the Soviet era newspapers, books, magazines, radio, television, movies, and all other forms of public communication were controlled by the government, and many functioned largely as propaganda tools of the Communist party. This began to change in the late 1980's when some freedom was allowed in the media. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Russian government continued to exert some control, but some of the media, especially newspapers, became independent. The main news agency is the Information Telegraph Agency of Russia-Telegraphic Agency of the Sovereign Countries (ITAR/TASS).

There are about 4,800 newspapers published in Russia. Argumenty i Fakty (Arguments and Facts) is the most widely distributed weekly. Popular dailies include Trud (Labor), Izvestiya (News), and Moskovsky Komsomolets (Moscow Young Communist, a name that survives despite the demise of the Soviet Union). Thousands of magazines and journals are also published. Most of the magazines are of a serious nature, dealing with such matters as politics, economics, arts, and sciences.

Radio and television broadcasts are also generally of a serious nature but also include some entertainment. Radio Moscow broadcasts on shortwave in some 50 languages and reaches most of the world.

Trade

During the Soviet era, Russia's economy, as the rest of the Soviet Union's, was centrally planned and not based on market forces. Also, the Soviet Union's currency was not convertible. Consequently, the Soviet Union was not fully integrated into the world's free markets. The economic reforms of the Soviet era and the subsequent reforms instituted by Russia, together with generous amounts of foreign aid, have begun to bring Russia into these markets.

Because the domestic economy of the Soviet Union was largely based on the interdependence of the union republics, a great deal of Russia's trade is with the other former Soviet republics. Much of the remaining trade is with the countries of eastern and western Europe.

Russia's basic currency unit is the ruble, which is divided into 100 kopecks.

Economic production in RussiaEconomic activities% of GDP producedNumber of workers% of all workersTrade, restaurants, & hotels 2211,952,00018Manufacturing 1712,632,00019Community, government, & personal services 1318,244,00027Finance, insurance, real estate, & business services 125,158,0008Transportation & communication 116,222,0009Mining 101,172,0002Agriculture, forestry, & fishing 65,851,0009Construction 64,011,0006Utilities 41,890,0003Total 10067,132,000100

Under the czars, Russia was an economically underdeveloped country with very little industry. During the Soviet era Russia grew to become an industrial giant. Russia alone accounted for 60 to 70 per cent of the Soviet Union's industrial production.

The Soviet economy was centrally planned and not based on market forces. Some characteristics of the Soviet economic system included wage and price controls, government-set production quotas, and the dominance of the heavy industry sector over the consumer industry sector. Union OF Soviet Socialist Republics,

During 1990-91 the Soviet government approved a variety of measures aimed at gradually introducing a market-based economy. After the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Russia continued to implement economic reforms and abolished most price controls. Russia suffered from many economic problems because of the difficulty of changing a centrally planned economy into a market economy. Among these were rising rates of unemployment and of inflation.

Along with economic difficulties, Russia had many environmental problems, largely because economic development during the Soviet era was pursued at the expense of the environment. Air pollution and contamination of water and soil were serious problems.

The People

Population

According to the 1989 Soviet census, Russia had a population of 147,386,000. The population density was about 22 persons per square mile (9 per km2), less than one-third that of the United States. More than two-thirds of the people lived in the European part of Russia. The population density here was about 69 persons per square mile (27 per km2), about the same as that of the United States.

In 1989 there were 34 cities that had populations of more than 500,000:

Nationality and Language

About 82 per cent of the people are Great Russians. Tatars and Ukrainians together account for about 7 per cent of the population. The rest of the population is composed of about 100 different ethnic groups and nationalities. Those who live in European Russia include Armenians, Bashkirs, Bela-rusians, Chechens, Chuvash, Kalmyks, Os-setians, and Udmurts; those who live in Siberia include Altays, Khakass, Tungus-Manchurians, Tuvinians, and Yakuts.

Russia's many ethnic and national groups provide the basis for the administrative framework of the country. The largest groups have their own republics while the smaller groups have autonomous areas.

Russian, a Slavic language, is the official language. Other Slavic languages used in Russia include Ukrainian and Belarusian. Many non-Slavic languages are used in Russia, including Uralic, Turkic, Tungusic, and Mongolic languages.

Religion

Before the Revolution of 1917, the Russian Orthodox Church had a privileged position but was firmly under government control. In 1918 the Communists separated the church from the state and confiscated church property. As atheists, they persecuted all church groups with the intent of eradicating religion. Religious beliefs persisted, however, and Soviet leaders made some concessions, especially during World War II, when they permitted the Orthodox Church to elect a patriarch.

Although the Soviet constitution guaranteed the freedom to profess or not profess religious beliefs, in practice, religious activities were severely limited by the government until the late 1980's, when restrictions were relaxed. Shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union, the government abolished all restrictions on religious activities and began returning church property that had been confiscated by the Communists.

Today, it is estimated that 40 million people belong to the Russian Orthodox Church. Other religious groups include Baptists, Roman Catholics, Muslims, and Jews.

Way of Life

Under the czars, Russia had advanced only slightly beyond the feudal stage. At the end of the 19th century more than three-fourths of Russia's population were peasants. During the Soviet era, Russia underwent a social as well as a political and economic transformation. UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS,

Standard of Living

The Russian standard of living rose greatly during the Soviet era. The people were better fed, housed, and clothed than ever before. Yet the standard in most respects was much below that in the United States, Canada, Japan, and many western European countries. Today, due to the difficulties in establishing a market-based economy, Russia's standard of living has declined.

A housing shortage has long been a problem. Apartments are crowded; kitchens and baths are usually shared by more than one family. To relieve the situation, many apartment buildings and prefabricated houses were built throughout the country. Foods are usually adequate, but they are often high-priced and lacking in variety.

Great advances were made in public health during the Soviet era. By the mid-1980's, the Soviet Union had the world's highest number of doctors and hospital beds relative to population. However, widespread air and water pollution as well as improper use and disposal of radioactive materials caused extensive health problems that have continued into the post-Soviet era. Basic health care is provided by the government.

Recreation and Sports

The Russian people are music lovers. Concerts, operas, and ballets are generally well attended in large cities. There are many small music and dance groups throughout the country. Musical and dramatic programs reach mass audiences through radio and television. Jazz and rock music have become popular with the younger generation. Motion pictures are an attraction everywhere.

The circus, housed in permanent buildings in most large cities, is a favorite form of public entertainment. The Moscow Circus is world famous. Russia is also noted for its fine nature preserves and city parks, which attract many people, especially during the summer. Chess and dominoes are popular pastimes.

Sports, both spectator and participant, are also very popular. Russian athletes have excelled in many sports, including individual sports such as track and field, figure skating, weight lifting, cross-country skiing, and gymnastics, and team sports such as hockey, soccer, and basketball.

Education

Before the Communist revolution of 1917, education was reserved for the upper classes. Leaders of the Communist party made education for the masses a chief goal. In 1917, 60 to 70 per cent of the people were illiterate. During the Soviet era, illiteracy was virtually eliminated. Education, however, was designed to serve the needs of the state, both practically and ideologically. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the organization of Russia's educational system generally remained the same as the former Soviet system. The curriculum, however, was changed to eliminate ideological training in Marxist-Leninist doctrine.

Preschool education is optional. It is provided in day-care nurseries (for children six months to three years of age) and kindergartens. Formal education begins at six or seven and is free and compulsory through 11 grades. The general education program is divided into three levels: primary (grades 1-3), middle (4-8), and secondary (9-11).

Along with general secondary schools, there are two types of specialized secondary schools: technical schools, which emphasize vocational instruction; and training schools, which help to prepare students for such professions as nursing and teaching. There are also schools for exceptionally talented children and for the disabled.

Admission to universities, technical institutes, and specialized colleges is based on competitive entrance examinations. Many students receive stipends for some or all expenses. Institutions of higher learning are located throughout Russia. Moscow State University is the largest in terms of enrollment.

Cultural Institutions

Russia has many state and city symphony orchestras, some of which are internationally known. Among the most notable are the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.

Opera and ballet are highly respected arts. The Bolshoi Theater, in Moscow, is Russia's center for these arts. Especially noteworthy is the Bolshoi Ballet, a company renowned throughout the world. The Kirov Ballet (officially known as the Mariinsky Ballet), in St. Petersburg, and the Moiseyev Folk Dance Ensemble, in Moscow, are also internationally acclaimed. The leading legitimate theaters are in Moscow and St. Petersburg. There are children's theaters throughout Russia.

Russia has a number of famous museums. The Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg contains one of the world's foremost art collections. Other notable museums include the Tretyakov Gallery, the Kremlin Museums, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, and the Museum of the Revolution, all in Moscow.

Libraries are found in most cities and towns. With more than 30 million volumes, the-Russian State Library in Moscow is Russia's largest library. Other important libraries include the Saltykov-Shchedrin Library, in St. Petersburg, and the Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology, in Moscow.

Cultural and Scientific AchievementsLiterature

The 18th and 19th centuries brought brilliant developments in Russian poetry and prose. Romantic poetry reached its heights with Mikhail Lermontov and Aleksander Pushkin. Realistic fiction, reflecting social and political unrest, was best developed in the novels, plays, and short stories of Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, and Leo Tolstoy. Anton Chekhov is considered Russia's greatest playwright and one of the world's leading fiction writers. Outstanding writers active in the 20th century have included Maxim Gorky, the poet Anna Akhmatova, and Nobel Prize winners Ivan Bunin, Boris Pasternak, Mikhail Sholokhov, and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn.

Music

Russian composers have produced many of the world's great symphonies, concertos, operas, and ballets. Mikhail Glinka is regarded as the father of nationalistic music in Russia. Also nationalistic is the music of such mid-19th-century composers as Aleksandr Borodin, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolai Rimski-Korsakov. The melodic music of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky is among the best loved in the world. Noted 20th-century composers include Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dimitri Shostakovich, and Aram Khachaturian.

Russia has also produced outstanding performing artists. Among them were the pianist Anton Rubinstein, the basso Fyodor Chaliapin, and the conductor Serge Koussevitzky. Violinist David Oistrakh and pianists Emil Gilels and Sviatoslav Richter are among the many who had become prominent by the 1950's. Performers who won acclaim in the second half of the 20th century include the cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich, the pianist Vladimir Ashkenazy, and the conductor Maxim Shostakovich.

Modern ballet is greatly indebted to the work of impresario Sergei Diaghilev and choreographer Michel Fokine. Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky are ballet immortals. In the theater Konstantin Stanislavsky was a famed actor and director.

Art

Imperial Russia was famous for its religious paintings, especially for its brilliantly colored icons. Andrei Rublev (1360?-1430) is considered to have been the greatest Russian icon painter. Constructivism and Suprematism, 20th-century art movements, began in Russia. Noted 20th-century Russian artists include sculptors Vladimir Tatlin and Naum Gabo and painters Wassily Kandinsky, Marc Chagall, and Pavel Tchelitchew.

Science

Leaders of Imperial Russia supported science from the time of Peter the Great. The most eminent Russian scientist of the 18th century was Mikhail Lomonosov. Lomonosov, who was also a writer and linguist, is considered to be Russia's first great scientist. During the 19th and early 20th centuries came several scientific achievements. Dmitri Mendeleev devised the periodic table of chemical elements. Ivan Pavlov, Nobel Prize-winning physiologist, pioneered studies of the conditioned reflex. Other notable scientists include Aleksandr Butlerov (chemist), Nikolai Lobachevsky (mathematician), Vasili Dokuchayev (soil scientist), Kliment Timiryazev (biologist), and Konstantin Tsiolkovsky ("father of space travel").

Government

The Russian Federation

Russia is a federal republic made up of 89 subdivisions. The subdivisions consist of 49 regions (oblasts), 21 republics, 10 autonomous areas (okrugs), 6 territories (krays), 2 federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg), and 1 autonomous region. The republics, autonomous areas, and autonomous region are inhabited by a significant proportion (sometimes a majority) of non-Russian peoples. Russia's subdivisions have their own legislative bodies.

National Government

Under the constitution of 1993, Russia has a parliamentary form of government with an elected president. The Federal Assembly (parliament) is made up of the State Duma and the Federation Council.

The State Duma has 450 members, who are elected to terms of four years. Half of the members are elected using a proportional representation system and half are elected from single-member districts. The Federation Council has 178 seats, two allotted to each of the federal subdivisions. A few of these subdivisions have sought independence and have not filled their seats in the council.

The president is the head of state. He is elected by popular vote to a term of four years. The president has significant powers. Among these are the power to dissolve the State Duma, to appoint and dismiss top commanders of the armed forces, to direct foreign policy, and to issue decrees. The president appoints the Chairman of the Government (head of government, whose function is similar to that of a prime minister), subject to the approval of the State Duma.

Judicial System

The Supreme Court of Russia is the highest court for civil and criminal cases. The Constitutional Court of Russia is the highest authority on the constitutionality of laws, presidential decrees, and treaties. Judges for both of these courts are nominated by the president and appointed by the Federation Council.