Russian Federation

Erik Rodriguez CerdaPOL 2H

Gained independence from Soviet Union on August 24, 1991

Constitution was drafted on July 12, 1993 and adopted by referendum on December 12, 1993 (amended in 2008)

Universal suffrage at age 18 Civil law system and judicial review of legislation

Government Capital is Moscow Central

government is organized as a federation (46 provinces, 21 republics, 4 autonomous okrugs, 9 krays, 2 federal cities, 1 autonomous oblast)

Government (Executive Branch)

Government divided into 3 branches

Executive branch currently headed by Vladimir Putin (chief of state, won May 2012 election with 63.6% of vote)

Served as president from 2000 – 2008, prime minster from 2008 – 2012, and is currently serving president

Under previous constitution, term was limited to 4 years. However, after 2008 amendment, term was expanded to 6 years

Executive Branch, cont.

Premier of government is Dmitriy Medvedev (appointed by Vladimir Putin)o Was previously President from 2008 – 2012, during

which Putin served as prime ministerCabinet is composed of premier, deputies, and ministers; all of which are appointed by president and confirmed by the Duma

Legislative Branch Legislative branch divided into bicameral

assembly consisting of an upper house (Federation council), and a lower house (State Duma)

Federation Councilo 166 seats, with two representatives from each district.

These are not elected by population, but instead chosen by top executive and legislative officials from that district. No set term lengths, terms determined by region represented.

State Dumao 450 seats, with members winning seats via proportional

representation from parties winning at least 7% of vote. Elected by popular vote to serve 5 year terms.

Judicial Branch The highest courts are the Supreme Court of the

Russian Federation (consists of 23 members), Constitutional Court (19 members), Superior Court of Arbitration (consists of a chairman and 4 deputy chairmen)

Political Parties 78 political parties are registered, but only four

have representation in the national legislature The leading party (represented in the Duma) is

United Russia, which controls 49.6% and 238 seats

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) holds around 19.2% and holds 92 seats

Just Russia has 13.2% and 64 seats The smallest of the major parties is the Liberal

Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), which owns 11.7% and 56 seats in the Duma.

Economics After the fall the Soviet Union, economy was

moved from centrally planned to more free market regulated economy, with movement to privatize industry (with the exception of energy and military)

This resulted in the creation of oligarchs who controlled much of the media, business, and some energy

Vladimir Putin moved to break up these oligarch’s influence and power, but ended up shifting much of it to his close group of associates

Economics, cont. Russia’s main exports include: Oil and oil

products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, weapons and military equipment o Top export partners: Netherlands 14.6%, China 6.8%,

Germany 6.8%, Italy 6.2%, Turkey 5.2%, Ukraine 5.2%, Belarus 4.7%

The state-run gas supplier, Gazprom, is the largest supplier in the world, and is directly responsible for much of Europe’s needs

Since so much emphasis is placed on oil and other raw exports, rises and drops in prices have a tremendous impact on the economy

Economics, cont. GDP: $2.553 trillion (compared to the U.S. $16.72

trillion (2013 est.) GDP - per capita: $18,100 (compared to U.S.

$52,800 2013 est.) GDP - composition, by sector of origin:

agriculture: 4.2%, industry: 37.5%, services: 58.3% (compared to U.S. agriculture: 1.1%, industry: 19.5%, services: 79.4% (2013 est.)

Labor Force: 75.29 million (compared to U.S. 155.4 million)

Oil production

Societal Makeup Life expectancy is 63 years for men, 75 years for

women Around 78% of the population is composed of

white Russianso The remaining percentage is made up of various ethnic

groups, including :Tatar 3.7%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Bashkir 1.1%, Chuvash 1%, Chechen 1%, other 10.2%, unspecified 3.9% (overall, more than 190 different groups were recorded in the 2010 census)

The largest religion is Orthodox Christianity, followed by Islamo Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other

Christian 2% (2006 est.) [These numbers represent practicing worshippers]

Societal Makeup, cont. Population: 142,470,272 (July 2014 est.)

(compared to U.S. 318.9 million) Health expenditures: 6.2% of GDP (2011) [country

comparison to the world: 103] Education expenditures: 4.1% of GDP (2008)

[country comparison to the world: 110] Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and

write o total population: 99.7% [male: 99.7%, female: 99.6%

(2010 est.)]

Environmental Concerns

Many environmental issues facing Russia, most of which date back to Soviet rule

75% of surface water and 50% of all water is contaminated, as only 8% of wastewater is treated before being returned to water sources

Much of Russia uses nuclear energy, but because of outdated technology and lack of funding, most plants are extremely unsafe and do not do a good job of eliminating waste properlyo Most waste was simply dumped into the Sea of Japan up

until 1993

Environmental Concerns

Most of Russia’s energy comes from fossil fuels (68% of total)

There are renewable sources, but they are vastly underdevelopedo The potential for solar power is around 2.3 trillion tce, or

20% of total power output, instead of current 1% Total carbon emissions are about 11.6 tonnes per

capita (US is 16.2 tonnes per capita) Municipal waste per capita is about 563 kilograms

per capita (US is 725 kilograms per capita)

Energy Production