Background: Founded in the 12th century the Principality of Muscovy was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century a new Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725) hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905 which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. Since then Russia has shifted its post-Soviet democratic ambitions in favor of a centralized semi-authoritarian state whose legitimacy is buttressed in part by carefully managed national elections former President PUTIN's genuine popularity and the prudent management of Russia's windfall energy wealth. Russia has severely disabled a Chechen rebel movement although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.

Geographic coordinates: 60 00 N 100 00 E

Map reference: Asia

Area
Total: 17,098,242 km²
Rank: 1
Land: 16,377,742 km²
Water: 720,500 km²
Comparative: approximately 1.8 times the size of the US

Land boundaries
Total: 20,242 km
Border countries: (14) Azerbaijan 284 km; Belarus 959 km; China (southeast) 3,605 km; China (south) 40 km; Estonia 290 km; Finland 1313 km; Georgia 723 km; Kazakhstan 6,846 km; North Korea 17.5 km; Latvia 292 km; Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 227 km; Mongolia 3,441 km; Norway 196 km; Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 432 km; Ukraine 1576 km

Coastline: 37,653 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Continental shelf: 200 m depth or to the depth of exploitation

Climate: ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast

Terrain: broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
Extremes highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m

Natural resources: wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil natural gas coal and many strategic minerals timber
Note: formidable obstacles of climate terrain and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources

Land use
Arable land: 7.17%
Permanent crops: 0.11%
Other: 92.72% (2005)

Irrigated land: 46,000 km² (2003)

Total renewable water resources: 4,498 km³ (1997)

Natural hazards: permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia

Geography
Note: largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe's tallest peak

Population: 140,041,247 (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 9
Growth rate: -0.467% (2009 est.)
Growth rate rank: 226
Below poverty line: 15.8% (November 2007)

Nationality
Noun: Russian
Adjective: Russian

Ethnic groups: Russian 79.8% Tatar 3.8% Ukrainian 2% Bashkir 1.2% Chuvash 1.1% other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census)

Languages: Russian many minority languages

Religions: Russian Orthodox 15-20% Muslim 10-15% other Christian 2% (2006 est.)
Note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule

Age structure
0-14 years: 14.8%
15-64 years: 71.5% (male 48,004,040/female 52,142,313)
65 years and over: 13.7% (male 5,880,877/female 13,274,173) (2009 est.)

Median age
Total: 38.4 years
Male: 35.2 years
Female: 41.6 years (2009 est.)

Population growth rate: -0.467% (2009 est.)
Rank: 226

Birth rate: 11.1 births/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 177

Death rate: 16.06 deaths/1000 population (July 2009 est.)
Rank: 16

Net migration rate: 0.28 migrant(s)/1000 population (2009 est.)
Rank: 71

Urbanization
Urban population: 73% of total population
Rate of urbanization: -0.5% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)

Environment
Current issues: air pollution from heavy industry emissions of coal-fired electric plants and transportation in major cities; industrial municipal and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides
International agreements party to: Air Pollution Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides Air Pollution-Sulfur 85 Antarctic-Environmental Protocol Antarctic-Marine Living Resources Antarctic Seals Antarctic Treaty Biodiversity Climate Change Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification Endangered Species Environmental Modification Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea Marine Dumping Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution Tropical Timber 83 Wetlands Whaling
International agreements signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulfur 94

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.06 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.44 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.86 male(s)/female (2009 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 10.56 deaths/1000 live births
Rank: 152
Male: 12.08 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 8.94 deaths/1000 live births (2009 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 66.03 years
Rank: 162
Male: 59.33 years
Female: 73.14 years (2009 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.41 children born/woman (2009 est.)
Rank: 194

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 1.1% (2007 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 52
People living with hivaids: 940,000 (2007 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 13
Deaths: 40,000 (2007 est.)
Deaths rank: 13

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne disease: tickborne encephalitis
Note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible r

Education expenditures: 3.8% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 117

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 99.4%
Male: 99.7%
Female: 99.2% (2002 census)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 14 years
Male: 13 years
Female: 14 years (2006)

Country name
Conventional long form: Russian Federation
Conventional short form: Russia
Local long form: Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
Local short form: Rossiya
Former: Russian Empire Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

Government type: federation

Capital
Name: Moscow
Geographic coordinates: 55 45 N 37 35 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October
Note: Russia is divided into 11 time zones

Administrative divisions: 46 oblasts (oblastey singular - oblast) 21 republics (respublik singular - respublika) 4 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov singular - avtonomnyy okrug) 9 krays (krayev singular - kray) 2 federal cities (goroda singular - gorod) and 1 autonomous oblast (avtonomnaya 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)
Krays: Altay (Barnaul) Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy) Khabarovsk Krasnodar Krasnoyarsk Perm' Primorskiy [Maritime] (Vladivostok) Stavropol' Zabaykal'sk (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)

Independence: 24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union)

National holiday: Russia Day 12 June (1990)

Constitution: adopted 12 December 1993

Legal system: based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV
Head of government: Premier Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 8 May 2008); 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)
Cabinet: Ministries of the Government or 'Government' composed of the premier and his deputies ministers and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the president
Note: there is also a Presidential Administration (PA) that provides staff and policy support to the president drafts presidential decrees and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president
Elections: president elected by 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); note - 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 appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma
Election results: Dmitriy MEDVEDEV elected president; percent of vote - Dmitry MEDVEDEV 70.2% Gennady ZYUGANOV 17.7% Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKY 9.4% Andrey BOGDANOV 1.3%

Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of an upper house the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (168 seats; as of July 2000 members appointed by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 84 federal administrative units - oblasts krays republics autonomous okrugs and oblasts and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg; serve four-year terms) and a lower house the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; as of 2007 all members elected by proportional representation from party lists winning at least 7% of the vote; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
Elections: State Duma - last held 2 December 2007 (next to be held in December 2011)
Election results: State Duma - United Russia 64.3% CPRF 11.5% LDPR 8.1% Just Russia 7.7% other 8.4%; total seats by party - United Russia 315 CPRF 57 LDPR 40 Just Russia 38

Judicial branch: Constitutional Court; Supreme Court; Supreme Arbitration Court; judges for all courts are appointed for life by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president

Political parties and leaders: A Just Russia [Sergey MIRONOV]; Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy Andreyevich ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir Volfovich ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Patriots of Russia [Gennadiy SEMIGIN]; People's Union [Sergey BABURIN]; Right Cause [Leonid Yakovlevich GOZMAN Boris Yuriyevich TITOV and Georgiy Georgiyevich BOVT] (registration pending; formed from merger of Union of Right Forces Democratic Party of Russia and Civic Force); United Russia [Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN]; Yabloko Party [Sergey Sergeyevich MITROKHIN]

International organization participation: APEC Arctic Council ARF ASEAN (dialogue partner) BIS BSEC CBSS CE CERN (observer) CIS CSTO EAEC EAPC EBRD G-20 G-8 GCTU IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDA IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM (observer) IPU ISO ITSO ITU ITUC LAIA (observer) MIGA MINURSO MONUC NAM (guest) NSG OAS (observer) OECD (accession state) OIC (observer) OPCW OSCE Paris Club PCA PFP SCO UN UN Security Council UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNITAR UNMIL UNMIS UNOCI UNOMIG UNTSO UNWTO UPU WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer) ZC

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Sergey Ivanovich KISLYAK
In the us chancery: 2,650 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington DC 20,007
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 298-5,700 5,701 5,704 5,708
In the us fax: [1] (202) 298-5,735
In the us consulate general: Houston New York San Francisco Seattle
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador John R. BEYRLE
From the us embassy: Bolshoy Deviatinskiy Pereulok No. 8 121,099 Moscow
From the us mailing address: PSC-77 APO AE 9,721
From the us telephone: [7] (495) 728-5,000
From the us fax: [7] (495) 728-5,090
From the us consulate general: Saint Petersburg Vladivostok Yekaterinburg

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top) blue and red

Economy overview: Russia ended 2008 with GDP growth of 5.6% following 10 straight years of growth averaging 7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. Over the last six years fixed capital investment growth and personal income growth have averaged above 10% but both grew at slower rates in 2008. Growth in 2008 was driven largely by non-tradable services and domestic manufacturing rather than exports. During the past decade poverty and unemployment declined steadily and the middle class continued to expand. Russia also improved its international financial position running balance of payments surpluses since 2000. Foreign exchange reserves grew from $12 billion in 1999 to almost $600 billion by end July 2008 which include $200 billion in two sovereign wealth funds: a reserve fund to support budgetary expenditures in case of a fall in the price of oil and a national welfare fund to help fund pensions and infrastructure development. Total foreign debt is almost one-third of GDP. The state component of foreign debt has declined but commercial short-term debt to foreigners has risen strongly. These positive trends began to reverse in the second half of 2008. Investor concerns over the Russia-Georgia conflict corporate governance issues and the global credit crunch in September caused the Russian stock market to fall by roughly 70% primarily due to margin calls that were difficult for many Russian companies to meet. The global crisis also affected Russia's banking system which faced liquidity problems. Moscow responded quickly in early October 2008 initiating a rescue plan of over $200 billion that was designed to increase liquidity in the financial sector to help firms refinance foreign debt and to support the stock market. The government also unveiled a $20 billion tax cut plan and other safety nets for society and industry. Meanwhile a 70% drop in the price of oil since mid-July further exacerbated imbalances in external accounts and the federal budget. In mid-November mini-devaluations of the currency by the Central Bank caused increased capital flight and froze domestic credit markets resulting in growing unemployment wage arrears and a severe drop in production. Foreign exchange reserves dropped to around $435 billion by end 2008 as the Central Bank defended an overvalued ruble. In the first year of his term President MEDVEDEV outlined a number of economic priorities for Russia including improving infrastructure innovation investment and institutions; reducing the state's role in the economy; reforming the tax system and banking sector; developing one of the biggest financial centers in the world combating corruption and improving the judiciary. The Russian government needs to diversify the economy further as energy and other raw materials still dominate Russian export earnings and federal budget receipts. Russia's infrastructure requires large investments and must be replaced or modernized if the country is to achieve broad-based economic growth. Corruption lack of trust in institutions and more recently exchange rate uncertainty and the global economic crisis continue to dampen domestic and foreign investor sentiment. Russia has made some progress in building the rule of law the bedrock of a modern market economy but much work remains on judicial reform. Moscow continues to seek accession to the WTO and has made some progress but its timeline for entry into the organization continues to slip and the negotiating atmosphere has soured in the wake of the Georgia and global economic crises.

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Rank: 7
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 71

Real gdp per capita:
Rank: 73
Note: data are in 2008 US dollars

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 4.7%
Industry: 37.6%
Services: 57.7% (2008 est.)

Agriculture products: grain sugar beets sunflower seed vegetables fruits; beef milk

Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal oil gas chemicals and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; defense industries including radar missile production and advanced electronic components shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery tractors and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables textiles foodstuffs handicrafts

Industrial production growth rate: 3.5% (2008 est.)
Rank: 74

Labor force: 75.7 million (2008 est.)
Rank: 7
By occupation agriculture: 10.2%
By occupation industry: 27.4%
By occupation services: 62.4% (2007 est.)

Unemployment rate: 6.2% (2007 est.)
Rank: 82

Population below poverty line: 15.8% (November 2007)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.9%
Highest 10: 30.4% (September 2007)

Distribution of family income gini index: 39.9 (2001)
Rank: 56

Budget
Revenues: $364.6 billion
Expenditures: $304.6 billion (2008 est.)

Public debt: 28.2% of GDP (2004 est.)
Rank: 117

Inflation rate consumer prices: 9% (2007 est.)
Rank: 186

Central bank discount rate: 10% (31 December 2007)
Rank: 38

Commercial bank prime lending rate:

Stock of domestic credit: $339.1 billion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 23

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 11

Current account balance: $77.01 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 5

Exports: $354.4 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 9
Commodities: petroleum and petroleum products natural gas wood and wood products metals chemicals and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Partners: Netherlands 11.2% Italy 8.1% Germany 8% Turkey 6% Ukraine 5.1% Poland 4.5% China 4.3% (2008)

Imports: $223.5 billion (2007 est.)
Rank: 18
Commodities: vehicles machinery and equipment plastics medicines iron and steel consumer goods meat fruits and nuts semifinished metal products
Partners: Germany 13.5% China 13.2% Japan 6.5% Ukraine 6% US 4.5% Italy 4.3% (2008)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $476.4 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Rank: 3

Debt external: $471 billion (31 December 2007)
Rank: 21

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $271.6 billion (2006)
Rank: 10

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $209.6 billion (2006)
Rank: 17

Exchange rates: Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar - 24.3 (2008 est.) 25.659 (2007) 27.19 (2006) 28.284 (2005) 28.814 (2004)

Electricity
Production: 958 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Production rank: 5
Consumption: 840.4 billion kWh (2007 est.)
Consumption rank: 5
Exports: 18.6 billion kWh (2008 est.)
Imports: 3.105 billion kWh (2008 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 662.2 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Production rank: 1
Consumption: 475.7 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Consumption rank: 3
Exports: 243.4 billion m³ (2008)
Exports rank: 1
Imports: 56.9 billion m³ (2008 est.)
Imports rank: 6
Proven reserves: 47.57 trillion m³ (1 January 2009 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 1

Telephones
Main lines in use: 44.2 million (2008)
Main lines in use rank: 5
Mobile cellular: 187.5 million (2008)
Mobile cellular rank: 4

Telephone system
General assessment: the telephone system is experiencing significant changes; there are more than 1000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy; the estimated number of mobile subscribers jumped from fewer than 1 million in 1998 to nearly 188 million in 2008; a large demand for main line service remains unsatisfied
Domestic: cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services both analog and digital are available in many areas; in rural areas the telephone services are still outdated inadequate and low density
International: country code - 7; Russia is connected internationally by undersea fiber optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat Intersputnik Eutelsat Inmarsat and Orbita systems (2008)

Internet
Country code: .ru; note - Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain '.su' that was allocated to the Soviet Union and is being phased out
Hosts: 7.663 million (2009)
Hosts rank: 13
Users: 45.25 million (2008)
Users rank: 8

Military expenditures: 3.9% of GDP (2005)
Rank: 30

Military service age and obligation: 18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; service obligation - 1 year; reserve obligation to age 50; as of July 2008 a draft military strategy called for the draft to continue up to the year 2,030 (2009)

Airports: 1216 (2009)
Rank: 5
With paved runways total: 595
With paved runways over 3047 m: 52
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 198
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 129
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 99
With paved runways under 914 m: 117 (2009)
With unpaved runways total: 621
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 3
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 13
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 68
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 84
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 453 (2009)

Heliports: 48 (2009)

Pipelines: condensate 122 km; gas 158,767 km; liquid petroleum gas 127 km; oil 74,285 km; refined products 13,658 km; water 23 km (2008)

Railways
Total: 87,157 km
Rank: 2
Broad gauge: 86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)
Narrow gauge: 957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)
Note: an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serve industries (2006)

Roadways
Total: 933,000 km
Rank: 8
Paved: 754,984 km (includes 30,000 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 178,016 km
Note: includes public local and departmental roads (2006)

Waterways: 102,000 km (including 33,000 km with guaranteed depth)
Rank: 2
Note: 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea White Sea Caspian Sea Sea of Azov and Black Sea (2007)

Merchant marine
Total: 1074
Rank: 9
By type: bulk carrier 25 cargo 663 carrier 2 chemical tanker 27 combination ore/oil 34 container 11 passenger 14 passenger/cargo 7 petroleum tanker 217 refrigerated cargo 59 roll on/roll off 10 specialized tanker 5
Foreign owned: 112 (Belgium 4 Cyprus 2 Germany 1 Greece 1 Italy 4 South Korea 1 Latvia 2 Norway 2 Switzerland 3 Turkey 80 Ukraine 11 US 1)
Registered in other countries: 486 (Antigua and Barbuda 4 Bahamas 4 Belize 31 Bulgaria 1 Cambodia 83 Comoros 12 Cyprus 50 Dominica 3 Georgia 12 Hong Kong 2 Jamaica 3 Liberia 94 Malaysia 2 Malta 58 Marshall Islands 9 Moldova 3 Mongolia 9 Panama 18 Saint Kitts and Nevis 19 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 21 Sierra Leone 11 Slovakia 1 Tuvalu 2 Ukraine 1 Vanuatu 2 unknown 31) (2008)

Ports and terminals: Azov Kaliningrad Kavkaz Nakhodka Novorossiysk Primorsk Saint Petersburg Vostochnyy

Disputes international: China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with the 2004 Agreement ending their centuries-long border disputes; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu Kunashiri Shikotan and the Habomai group known in Japan as the 'Northern Territories' and in Russia as the 'Southern Kurils' occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945 now administered by Russia and claimed by Japan remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia and Georgia agree on delimiting all but small strategic segments of the land boundary and the maritime boundary; OSCE observers monitor volatile areas such as the Pankisi Gorge in the Akhmeti region and the Kodori Gorge in Abkhazia; Azerbaijan Kazakhstan and Russia signed equidistance boundaries in the Caspian seabed but the littoral states have no consensus on dividing the water column; Russia and Norway dispute their maritime limits in the Barents Sea and Russia's fishing rights beyond Svalbard's territorial limits within the Svalbard Treaty zone; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following the Second World War but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; in May 2005 Russia recalled its signatures to the 1996 border agreements with Estonia (1996) and Latvia (1997) when the two Baltic states announced issuance of unilateral declarations referencing Soviet occupation and ensuing territorial losses; Russia demands better treatment of ethnic Russians in Estonia and Latvia; Estonian citizen groups continue to press for realignment of the boundary based on the 1920 Tartu Peace Treaty that would bring the now divided ethnic Setu people and parts of the Narva region within Estonia; Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia while still conforming as an EU member state with an EU external border where strict Schengen border rules apply; preparations for the demarcation delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine have commenced; the dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov remains unresolved despite a December 2003 framework agreement and on-going expert-level discussions; Kazakhstan and Russia boundary delimitation was ratified on November 2005 and field demarcation should commence in 2007; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Bering Sea Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Idps: 18,000-160,000 (2007)

Illicit drugs: limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates cannabis and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crim