Russia

Russia
Russian Federation
Flag Emblem
National Anthem of Russia
Russia on the world map. The territory of Crimea is indicated by light green , the accession of which to Russia has not received international recognition
Base ( in detail )
•  862 year [1] [2]	The beginning of statehood
•  882	Old Russian state
•  1478	Russian state
•  October 22  ( November 2 )  1721	the Russian Empire
•  September 1  ( 14 ),  1917	Russian republic
•  October 25  ( November 7 )  1917	RSFSR
•  September 23, 1918	Russian state
•  December 22, 1922	the USSR
•  since December 25, 1991	Russian Federation
Official language	Russian [a]
Capital	Moscow
Largest cities	Moscow, St. Petersburg , Novosibirsk , Yekaterinburg , Nizhny Novgorod , Kazan , Chelyabinsk , Samara , Omsk , Rostov-on-Don , Ufa , Krasnoyarsk , Perm , Voronezh , Volgograd
Form of government	presidential-parliamentary republic [3]
The president	Vladimir Putin
Prime Minister	Mikhail Mishustin
Chairman of the Federation Council	Valentina Matvienko
Chairman of the State Duma	Vyacheslav Volodin
Chief Justice	Vyacheslav Lebedev
Gos. religion	secular state [4]
Territory
• Total	17 125 191 [5] [b]  km²  ( 1st in the world ) 17 098 246 [c]  km²
•% water surface.	4.22 [7]
Population
• Rating (2020)	↘ 146 748 590 [8] [b]  people  ( 9th )
• Census (2010)	142 856 536 [9]  people
•  density	8.56 people / km²  ( 181st )
GDP ( PPP )
• Total (2019)	$ 4.390 trillion [10]  .  ( 6th )
• Per capita	$ 28,797 [11]   ( 50th )
HDI (2019)	▲ 0.824 [12]  ( very high ; 49th place )
Names of residents	Russians , Russian, Russian [13]
Currency	Russian ruble , ₽ ( RUB , 1991—1998 RUR)
Internet domains	.ru , .su , .rf [d]
ISO code
IOC Code
Telephone code
Time Zones	UTC + 2 - UTC + 12 , see Time in Russia
Car traffic	on right

Russia , another official name is the Russian Federation ^[e] ( RF ^[f] ), is a state in Eastern Europe and North Asia . The territory of Russia in its constitutional borders ^[b] is 17 125 191 ^[5] km²; the country's population (within its declared territory ^[b] ) is 146 748 590 ^[8] people. ( 2020 ). It ranks first in the world in terms of territory , sixth in terms of GDP in terms of PPP and ninth in terms of population .

The capital is Moscow . The official language  is Russian .

The political system is a presidential-parliamentary republic ^[3] with a federal structure . Since December 31, 1999 (with a break in 2008-2012), the position of President of the Russian Federation has been held by Vladimir Putin . Since January 16, 2020, the post of Prime Minister of the Russian Federation has been held by Mikhail Mishustin .

The Russian Federation includes 85 subjects ^[b] , 46 of which are referred to as regions , 22 ^[b]  - republics , 9 - territories , 3 ^[b]  - cities of federal significance , 4 - autonomous okrugs and 1 - autonomous oblast . In total, the country has about 157 thousand settlements ^[15] .

Russia has 25 borders (18 land and 7 sea) .

Russia is a multinational state with a wide ethnocultural diversity ^[16] . Most of the population (about 75%) considers themselves to Orthodoxy ^[17] , which makes Russia the country with the largest Orthodox population in the world .

Russia is a nuclear power ^{[18] [19] [20]} ; one of the leading industrial ^{[21] [22]} and space powers of the world ^[23] ; takes 4th place in the ranking of the most influential countries in the world (2020) ^[24] . Russian  is a language of world significance , one of the six official and working languages ​​of the UN , UNESCO and other international organizations.

Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council with veto power ; one of the modern great powers of the world ^[25] .

After the collapse of the USSR at the end of 1991, the Russian Federation was recognized by the international community as the successor state of the USSR ^[26] in matters of nuclear potential, external debt, state property abroad, as well as membership in the UN Security Council ^[27] .

Russia is a member of a number of international organizations: UN , G20 , OSCE , Council of Europe , EAEU , CIS , CSTO , WTO , SCO , APEC , BRICS , IOC , and others .

According to the IMF , the volume of GDP at PPP for 2019 amounted to 4.390 trillion dollars ( 29,267 dollars per person). The monetary unit is the Russian ruble .

origin of name

The first written mention of the term “Russia” ( Greek Ρωσία ) dates from the middle of the 10th century. It is found in the writings of the Byzantine emperor Konstantin Bagryanorodny “ On ceremonies ” and “ On the management of the empire ” as the Greek name for Rus ^[28] . The Cyrillic write the word "Rosia" (Rѡsїѧ) was first used on April 24 1387 the year ^[29] in Constantinople in the title of Metropolitan Cyprian , himself signed as "Metropolitan Kyevsky and All Rosia". In the XV-XVI centuries, the Hellenized name "Russia" was assigned to that part of the Russian lands, which was united into a single state under the leadership of the Moscow Principality . The state acquired the official status of the kingdom after the coronation procedure : the wedding of Ivan IV to the kingdom in 1547, after which the state became known as the Russian kingdom ^[30] . The modern spelling of the word - with two letters "C" - appeared from the middle of the XVII century and was finally entrenched under Peter I.

Upon completion of the Great Northern War , which culminated in the expansion of the western borders of the Russian state, 22 October  (2) On November  1721 the year Peter I was proclaimed Emperor of Russia , and the state became known as the Russian Empire ^[31] . September 1  ( 14 ),  1917 , between the February and October revolutions , Russia was declared a republic, and from January 10  ( 23 ),  1918 it became known asThe Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic (RSFSR; in 1936, the words "Socialist" and "Soviet" in the title were rearranged, the latter became the first in order). From 1922 to 1991, the RSFSR was part of the USSR , which informally (especially abroad) was often called Russia. After the collapse of the Soviet Union on December 25, 1991, the RSFSR was renamed the Russian Federation ^[32] .

Physico-geographical characteristic

Geographical position

The territory of Russia in its declared borders is 17 125 191 ^{[5] [b]} km² ( first place in terms of area among the countries of the world ), which is slightly smaller than the continent of South America . It is located completely in the Northern Hemisphere , most of the territory of Russia is located in the Eastern Hemisphere , only the eastern part of the Chukotka Autonomous Region is located in the Western Hemisphere . It is washed by the waters of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, as well as the Baltic , Black , Azovthe seas of the Atlantic Ocean, possessing the longest coastline in the world (37,653 km). Russia is located in the north of the continent of Eurasia , occupying most of Eastern Europe and the entire north of Asia . The Ural Mountains and the Kumo-Manych depression ^[33] divide Russia into European and Asian parts. Even in Europe and Asia, Russia is the largest state in the territory, partially located in them.

The extreme northern point of Russia is Cape Fligeli on the island of Rudolph of the Franz Josef Land archipelago (81 ° 51 'N), in the Arkhangelsk region , the extreme northern mainland point is Cape Chelyuskin on the Taimyr Peninsula (77 ° 43' N) , in the Krasnoyarsk Territory . The extreme eastern point, Ratmanova Island in the Bering Strait (169 ° 0 'W), is the territory of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme eastern main point is Cape Dezhnev in Chukotka (169 ° 39' W). The extreme southern point of Russia is located on the border of Dagestan with Azerbaijan, southwest of Mount Kichensuv (41 ° 11 'N). The extreme western point lies in the Kaliningrad region , on the Baltic spit of the Gdansk Bay of the Baltic Sea (19 ° 38 'E). The length of the territory of Russia from west to east is almost 10 thousand km, from north to south - more than 4 thousand km.

Borders

List of countries with which Russia borders (note: unrecognized and partially recognized states are in italics ) :

Land borders

 Norway , Finland , Estonia , Latvia , Lithuania , Poland , Belarus , Ukraine , Georgia , Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , China , Mongolia , North Korea , Republic of Abkhazia , South Ossetia , DPR , LPR .                  

Maritime borders

 Japan , USA .  

Geological structure

The European part of Russia is located on the East European platform. It is based on igneous and metamorphic Precambrian rocks . The territory between the Ural Mountains and the Yenisei River is occupied by a young West Siberian platform. To the east of the Yenisei is the ancient Siberian platform , extending to the Lena River and corresponding mainly to the Central Siberian Plateau. In the marginal parts of the platforms there are deposits of oil, natural gas, coal. The folded regions of Russia include the Baltic Shield , the Urals , Altai , the Ural-Mongolian epipaleozoic folded belt , and the northwestern part of the Pacific folded beltand a small stretch of the outer zone of the Mediterranean fold zone . The highest mountains of the Caucasus are confined to the younger folded areas. In the folded areas are the main reserves of metal ores.

The Siberian platform has an eparchaean age. Siberian Platform cover C connected to the RF largest deposits of coal, stone and potassium salts, oil and gas from the trap intrusions - copper-nickel deposits Norilsk and a kimberlite pipe  - diamonds .

In the structure of the Ural-Mongolian epipaleozoic folded belt, dividing 2 ancient platforms, areas of Riphean , Baikal , Salair, Caledonian and Hercynian folding stand out . The Yenisei-Sayan-Baikal region of the Riphean and Baikal folding borders the Siberian platform. Along the border with the East European platform is the Ural marginal trough filled with Permian strata with deposits of coal in the north and potassium salts in the middle of the trough (see Urals ).

The Pacific fold belt on the territory of the Russian Federation is represented by the extreme northwestern part, within which ancient Doriphean massifs, areas of Mesozoic and Cenozoic folding and modern tectonically active zones are located. Gold deposits associated with the Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous granite intrusions, as well as tin, tungsten and mercury, are known in the Verkhoyan-Chukotka region. Large deposits of coal are enclosed in molasses of the Pre-Verkhoyansk trough and the Zyryansk depression.

The West Kamchatka folding system is a terigenic geosynclinal complex of the Upper Cretaceous, which superimposed on a granite - gneiss and shale-basic basement, and after folding turned out to be overlapped Paleogene - Neogene rocks. The eastern zone is characterized by superimposed modern volcanism (28 active volcanoes).

The Kuril island arc , consisting of the Big and Small ridges, has 39 active volcanoes, and is composed of Cretaceous and Quaternary volcanic-sedimentary and volcanogenic formations. The arc is fragmented by a system of young transverse grabens , and in front of its front, as well as in front of East Kamchatka, there is a deep-sea trench.

The Sakhalin Cenozoic folded region is divided into Eastern and Western zones, separated by the Central Sakhalin graben. Oil and gas deposits are associated with the North Sakhalin Depression, and coal deposits are associated with rocks of the Middle Miocene on the island.

Relief

More than 70% of the territory of Russia is occupied by plains and lowlands . The western part of the country lies within the vast East European Plain , characterized by an alternation of lowlands ( Caspian and others) and highlands ( Valdai , Central Russian , etc.). The meridionally elongated mountain system of the Urals divides the East European Plain and the West Siberian Lowland . To the east of the latter is the Central Siberian Plateau with isolated mountain ranges , smoothly passing into the Central Yakut Lowland.

The southern and eastern parts of the country are predominantly mountainous. In the extreme south of the European part, the northern ridges of the Greater Caucasus stretch (here is the highest peak in Russia, Elbrus (5642 m), in the south of Siberia  - Altai , Western and Eastern Sayans , Stanovoi Upland and other mountain systems. Northeast Siberia and the Far East  - regions the prevalence of medium-altitude mountain ranges , such as the Sikhote-Alin , Verkhoyansk , Chersky , etc. Kamchatka Peninsula (here is the highest volcano of EurasiaKlyuchevskaya Sopka (4750 m) and the Kuril Islands in the extreme east - the territory of volcanoes . There are more than 200 of them, and about 50 of them are active.

Inland waters

Russia is one of the most water-supply countries in the world. The country has one of the largest freshwater reserves in the world. Surface water occupies 12.4% of the territory of Russia, while 84% of surface water is concentrated east of the Urals. In the structure of water use, production needs prevail.

The largest freshwater lake Baikal is located in the eastern part of the country (about 31,700 km²), it is the deepest lake on the planet.

The largest rivers of Russia

The first 10 rivers of Russia in length with an indication of the area of ​​the basin ^[34] .

The largest rivers of Russia

Name	Length, km	Pool area, km²
Lena	4400	2,490,000
Irtysh	4248	1,643,000
Ob	3650	2 990 000
Volga	3530	1 360 000
Yenisei	3487	2,580,000
Lower Tunguska	2989	473,000
Amur	2824	1 855 000
Vilyuy	2650	454,000
Ishim	2450	177,000
Ural	2428	231,000

The largest lakes in Russia

The largest lakes in Russia

Name	Area, km²	Altitude, m	Depth, m
Caspian Sea	371,000	−28	1025
Baikal	31,500	456	1637
Ladoga lake	17,703	4	225
Lake Onega	9616	32	124
Taimyr	4560	6	26
Hanka	4190	68	ten
Peipsi Lake	3555	thirty	15
Ubsu Nur	3350	753	15
Vats	1990	105	12
White lake	1290	113	20

Minerals

The country is rich in various minerals . Oil reserves have been explored to one extent or another in many regions of the country, in particular, in the Tyumen region, on Sakhalin, in Bashkortostan, as well as on the shelf , and natural gas reserves  are in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District.

The soil

Soils of Russia on the plains are zonally. On the islands of the Arctic Ocean and the coast of Taimyr , thin and primitive Arctic soils are formed . To the south is the tundra zone, where acid tundra prevails, usually heavily gleyed soils. Transitional forest-tundra zones are characterized by tundra gley soils, weakly podzolic or gley-taiga-permafrost soils ^[35] .

Approximately 65% ​​of the territory of Russia is located within the forest zone. In its northern half, the soil is podzolic , and taiga-permafrost soils are formed to the east of the Yenisei . In the taiga subzone (especially Western Siberia) there are many swamps, Ch. arr. high (oligotrophic); Forests are also often swamped. To the south of the taiga on the East European Plain, the soils are sod-podzolic ^[35] .

The forest-steppe zone lying to the south has gray forest soils . And the steppe zone is characterized by especially fertile chernozems (with a powerful humus horizon containing from 4 to 10% humus ) and dark chestnut soils . Further south, on the territory of the Caspian lowland , there are sections of a semi-desert zone with light chestnut and brown soils, and salt marshes are also found ^[35] .

More than 70% of the Russian territory is a risky farming zone . At the same time, in Russia is 9% of all productive arable land in the world and more than 50% of the world chernozems .

Climate

The position of Russia in the northern part of Eurasia (the territory of the country mainly lies north of 50 ° N) determined its location in the Arctic , subarctic , temperate and partially in subtropical climatic zones. The predominant part of the territory is located in the temperate zone. Climate diversity also depends on terrain features and the proximity or remoteness of the ocean.

Latitudinal zonality is most pronounced on the plains. The most complete spectrum of natural zones distinguishes the European part of the country, where from north to south the zone of arctic deserts, tundra, forest-tundra, taiga forests, mixed forests, forest-steppes, steppes, semi-deserts are successively replaced. As we move east, the climate becomes more and more continental, the number of natural zones in one latitudinal interval is significantly reduced.

Average temperatures in January, for different regions, range from +6 to −50 ° C, July from 1 to 25 ° C; precipitation from 150 to 2000 mm per year. Permafrost (regions of the north of the European part, Siberia and the Far East ) occupies 65% of the territory of Russia.

The highest ever recorded temperature on the territory of modern Russia was +45.4 ° C at the weather station Utta ( Kalmykia ) ^[36] , measured on July 12, 2010. The lowest temperature was unofficially recorded in Oymyakon by academician Sergei Obruchev in the winter of 1924 and amounted to −71.2 ° C ^[37] , although lower temperatures were also reported. The maximum temperature difference: 116.6 ° C, according to this indicator, Russia ranks first in the world.

Climate of Russia
Index	Jan	Feb	March	Apr	May	June	July	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Absolute maximum, ° C	22.2	23.8	30.3	34.0	37.7	43,2	45.4	43.5	41.5	33.7	29.1	25.0
Absolute minimum, ° C	−71.2	−64.4	−60.6	−46.4	−28.9	−9.7	−9.3	−17.1	−25.3	−47.6	−58.5	−62.8
Source: Weather and Climate

Flora and fauna

Zoning

In Russia, there are several zones distinguished by the heat supply of the climate, within which natural (landscape) zones are distinguished . They consist of zonal landscape types. For example, subtaiga types of landscapes prevail in the sub-taiga zone, but broad-leaved and other landscapes can be found in isolation.

• Arctic belt. Zones and subzones: arctic (glacial, polar desert).
• Subarctic belt. Zones and subzones: tundra (arctotundra, typical tundra, southern tundra), forest tundra , forest meadow.
• Temperate belt (boreal types of landscapes). Zones and subzones: taiga (northern, middle, southern), subtaiga .
• Temperate belt (subboreal types of landscapes). Zones and subzones: broad-leaved forests , forest-steppe , steppe (typical, dry), semi-desert , desert , sub-Mediterranean (pre-subtropical landscapes).

In addition to the division into landscape zones, there is a division into physical and geographical sectors, which differ in atmospheric circulation, continental climate and other characteristics. Examples of sectors are Eastern Europe , Western Siberia , etc. ^[38] .

• 

  Glacier

• 

  Tundra

• 

  Taiga

• 

  Deciduous forest

• 

  Steppe

• 

  Colchis forest

The Arctic zone is found only on the Arctic islands. Tundra and forest-tundra occupy the Arctic coast of Russia, as well as part of Kamchatka and the Pacific coast of Chukotka .

The southern border of the taiga passes through Pskov , Yaroslavl , Yekaterinburg , Tomsk , Chita and Komsomolsk-on-Amur . The sub-taiga includes mixed forests of European Russia and the Kaliningrad region , coniferous-small-leaved and birch-aspen forests of the south of Western Siberia , mixed forests of Northern Primorye ( Samarga and Anyui ) and coniferous-deciduous forests of the south of Sakhalin Oblast .

The deciduous forest zone includes the south of the Bryansk region . Broad-leaved landscapes from the Kaluga region to Bashkiria are assigned to the northern subzone of the forest-steppe ^[39] . The zone of broad-leaved forests also occupies the south of the Amur Region and most of the Primorsky Territory . Steppes and forest-steppes cover the main part of the Black Earth and Middle Volga, Ciscaucasia , Northern Crimea , Southern Cis-Urals and Trans-Urals, Southern Siberia ( Omsk, Novosibirsk Oblasts , Altai , Tyva , Southern Transbaikalia) Semideserts and deserts are found on the Lower Volga and in Kalmykia . The sub-Mediterranean zone is available only on the coast of Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory . Fragments of pre-subtropical landscapes, but not the sub-Mediterranean zone itself, are present in Dagestan ^[40] .

Natural zonation is most clearly expressed west of the Yenisei , east of the Yenisei zonality is less visible due to the complex nature of the relief and sharply continental climate. Since a significant part of the country's territory is occupied by mountains, many regions are characterized by altitudinal zonation ^[41] .

Vegetation

The flora of Russia contains about 24,700 species of plants, of which about 11,400 species are vascular , 1137 are bryophytes , 9000 are algae , 3000 are lichens and 159 are ferns . The Caucasus (6000) and the Far East (4300) ^[42] are the richest in plant species, and the Arctic islands of Siberia (100-150) are the poorest ^[43] .

According to floristic zoning, the vegetation of Russia is divided into several regions ^[44] .

• Circumboreal region . Provinces: Arctic, Central European ( St. Petersburg , Kaliningrad ), Euxin ( Sochi  - Tuapse ), Caucasian, East European, North European, West Siberian, Altai-Sayan, Central Siberian, Transbaikal, North-East Siberian, Okhotsk-Kamchatka.
• East Asian region . Provinces: Manchu (basin of the Amur and Primorye), Sakhalin- Hokkaido .
• Mediterranean area . Province: Crimean Novorossiysk .
• Iran-Turan region . Provinces: Turan (Lower Volga , Kalmykia ), Dzungar- Tien Shan (south of Altai).

The forest cover of the territory of Russia is 45.4%, 796.2 million ha are covered with forest ^[45] . The vastness of the territories and the diversity of natural zones determine the rich fauna and flora. Mosses, polar poppies, buttercups grow in the Arctic deserts of the Far North. In the tundra, dwarf birch, willow, alder are added to these species. Typical for taiga are spruce , fir , cedar , pine , larch . In the undergrowth, blueberries , rosemary , honeysuckle , rose hips , currants and others grow. Coniferous-deciduous and broad-leaved forests of spruce, pine, oak begin south, linden , ash , elm , maple , hornbeam , pear , cherry , with undergrowth of hazel , honeysuckle , euonymus , rose hip , currant , viburnum , elderberry , spirea . In the south of the Far East , yew , walnut , velvet , dzelkva , kalopanaks , aralia , mulberry ,lilac , Maack , rhododendron , magnolia , hydrangea , Eleutherococcus , Weigel , grapes , lemongrass , Actinidia , celastrus , Pueraria , schizophragma , et al. The forest and steppe portion common bayrachnye forests and grasses of the families of cereals , legumes , Asteraceae , Caryophyllaceae , Polygonaceae etc. In addition to the European breeds mentioned above, in the Caucasus and Crimeayew , juniper , beech , chestnut , nut , lapina , figs , persimmon , sea ​​buckthorn , pistachio , sumac , mulberry , strawberry tree , boxwood , holly , vitex , rhododendron , mock up , almonds , laurel cherry , sclech , cistus , grape , ivy ,sassaparil , obvonik , clematis , hops ^[46] .

There are 41 national parks and 103 reserves in Russia .

The big problem in Russia is the significant deforestation in the 21st century . Between 2000 and 2013, 36.5 million ha of forest were cut down. The area of ​​forests has decreased by 20.3 million ha (1st place in the world) ^{[47] [48]} . Illegal logging is also widespread (especially in the Northwest and the Far East), as a result of which, according to WWF , the country loses about one billion dollars annually ^[49] . At the same time, a significant part of the abandoned arable land is overgrown with forest.

Animal world

In Russia, there are about 320 species of mammals, more than 700 - birds, more than 50 - reptiles, about 670 freshwater and marine fish species, 100,000 - insects and 10,000 arachnids ^[50] . Most of the biodiversity is concentrated in the south of European Russia (especially in the Caucasus), the south of the Far East, and in the mountains of southern Siberia ^[51] .

In the Arctic and tundra zones, there are a polar bear , wolf , arctic fox , reindeer , musk ox , snow sheep , white hare , northern pika , lemmings , seals , walruses , polar owl .

In the forest live brown bear , wolf , lynx , Wolverine , ermine , sable , columns , otter , elk , musk , beaver , hare , squirrel , protein , flying squirrel , wood lemming , timber vole, gray vole, shrew , adder nest goshawk , capercaillie, hazel grouse , black grouse, woodpecker, Siberian pine ,taiga flycatcher .

In mixed and deciduous forests, there are also fox , badger , hedgehog, mole, bison , wild boar , red deer , roe deer , mink, numerous species of birds, lizards, and copperfish . In the Caucasus region, there are leopard , hyena , raccoon , bandaging , tour , chamois and a large number of reptiles. In the forests of the Far East, a Himalayan bear , a tiger , a forest cat , a charza , a sika deer are found, throat .

Among the animal steppes, a hamster , zocora , ground squirrel , groundhog , and vole prevail . Many saigas , badgers, foxes, large steppe birds ( bustard , cranes , strept ). In the desert, there are gazelles , jackals , sand dunes , and numerous rodents ^[52] .

History

Continuity of Russian statehood

• Old Russian state, Kievan Rus (862 - XIII).

• The capital until 882  is Novgorod , then Kiev .

• Russian principalities (mid-12th century - early 16th century).
• The Russian state (end of the 15th century - October 22  ( November 2 )  1721 ; until January 16, 1547 - the Grand Duchy of Moscow , then the Russian kingdom ).

• The capital is Moscow , since 1712 - St. Petersburg .

• Russian Empire ( October 22  ( November 2 )  1721  -September 1  ( 14 ),  1917 ).

• The capital until 1728 was St. Petersburg, in 1728-1732 - Moscow, from 1732 - St. Petersburg ( it was called Petrograd from August 18  ( 31 ),  1914 ).

• The Russian Republic (proclaimed by the Decree of the Provisional Government fromSeptember 1 ( 14 ), 1917 until the issue of the state structure by the All-Russian Constituent Assembly was resolved).

• The capital is Petrograd.

• The Russian state (proclaimed by the Act of the Ufa State Conference of September 23, 1918 ). It existed until April 4, 1920 , as a united state of the White movement during the Civil War .

• The capital is Ufa , Omsk .

• The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic ^[53] (proclaimed on October 25 [ November 7 ]  1917 by the resolution of the II All-Russian Congress of Soviets ). From 1922 to 1991 - a union republic within the USSR. In 1917-1918 it was called the Russian Soviet Republic. In 1918-1936 - the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic.

• The capital is Petrograd, from March 12, 1918 - Moscow.

• Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (December 30, 1922 - December 26, 1991).

• Moscow the capital.

• Russian Federation (since December 25, 1991 ^[g] ).

• Moscow the capital.

According to the official position of the Russian Federation, the Russian state, the Russian Republic, the RSFSR, the USSR and the Russian Federation are one and the same participant in interstate relations, the same subject of international law that has not ceased to exist ^{[54] [55]} .

The Russian Federation is the successor of the USSR, and the USSR is the predecessor state of the Russian Federation. By common agreement of the CIS member states , it was decided to consider the Russian Federation as a continuation state of the USSR with all the ensuing consequences, including the transfer to the Russian Federation of the place of permanent member of the UN Security Council and recognition of the status of a nuclear power by the Russian Federation within the meaning of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty weapons of 1968.

The resettlement of the Slavs

In the 5th century AD e. from the territory of northern Poland through the eastern Baltic states, Slavic tribes - the ancestors of later Krivichs, penetrated into the territory of modern Russia ^[56] . Since that time, the Slavs resettled to the north - to Lake Ilmen  - and to the east, to the Volga- Oka interfluve ^[57] . As a result, by the 6th – 8th centuries, all the main tribes of the Eastern Slavs , known from the “ Tale of Bygone Years, ” had formed in general outline . About two or three centuries in the 7th-10th centuries, a repeated influx of numerous groups of Slavic immigrants from the Moravian Subunavia into the various plains of the Russian Plain already mastered by the Slavs continued, which played a significant role in the consolidation of the Slavic population of Eastern Europe and culminated in the formation of the Old Russian nationality ^[58] . The Slavic colonization of North-Eastern Russia continued until the XIV century and consisted of several migration waves - from the early colonization from the lands of Krivichy and Slovenia to later from Southern Russia.

Old Russian state

Traditionally, the foundation of the Old Russian state is associated with the legendary calling of the Varangian prince Rurik ^[59] in 862 to reign with a union of East Slavic and Finno-Ugric tribes ^[60] . The state of Rurik included the territories of the southern Ladoga ( Staraya Ladoga , Novgorod ) and the upper Volga ( Beloozero , Rostov ). The population was composed of Slavs ( Slovenes and Krivichi ), Finno-Ugric tribes ( all , Meria , Chud ), the military aristocracy wereVarangians .

In 882, the successor of Rurik, Prince of Novgorod Oleg annexed the southern center of the Eastern Slavs to his possessions, making the main city of the meadow - Kiev  - his capital ^[61] , made a trip to Byzantium , obtaining from it a large tribute and benefits to Russian merchants ^[62] .

In historiography, the union of the northern and southern centers under the rule of the Rurikovich is considered as the end of the formation of the Old Russian state ^[63] .

The expansion of the state to the south led to a clash with the powerful Khazaria , the center of which was located on the lower Volga. Prince Svyatoslav in 965 inflicted a final defeat on the Khazars. As a result of military campaigns and diplomatic efforts of the Kiev rulers, the lands of all East Slavic, as well as some Finno-Ugric, Baltic, Turkic and Iranian-speaking tribes were incorporated into the new state ^[64] .

In parallel, the process of Slavic colonization of the Volga-Oka interfluve was going on . Ancient Russia was the largest state formation in Europe, fought for a dominant position in Eastern Europe and the Black Sea region with the Byzantine Empire .

Under Prince Vladimir Svyatoslavich in 988, Russia adopted Christianity ^[65] . Prince Yaroslav the Wise approved the first national code of laws - Russian Truth ^[66] . In 1132, after the death of the Kiev prince Mstislav Vladimirovich , the disintegration of the united state into a number of independent states began : Novgorod land , Vladimir-Suzdal principality , Volyn principality , Chernigov principality , Ryazan principality , Polotsk principalityother. Kiev remained the object of the struggle between the most powerful princely branches, and Kiev land was considered the collective possession of the Rurikovich.

The Old Russian state possessed a fairly well developed state apparatus for its time ^[67] , and its inhabitants were characterized by a single ethnic identity .

The fragmentation of Russian lands. Mongol-Tatar yoke

In the North-Eastern Russia, from the middle of the XII century the Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal strengthened , its rulers fought for Kiev and Novgorod, but they themselves always preferred to remain in Vladimir , which led to his elevation as a new all-Russian center. Other powerful principalities were Chernihiv , Galicia-Volyn and Smolensk .

In 1237-1240, most of the Russian lands were subjected to the devastating invasion of Batu . Kiev , Chernigov , Pereyaslavl , Vladimir , Galich , Ryazan and many other ancient Russian cities were destroyed, the southern and southeastern outskirts lost a significant part of the settled population ^[68] . The Russian principalities became tributaries of the Golden Horde , and the princes in them began to gain power over their lands with the sanction of the khans of the Golden Horde. This period went down in history as the Mongol-Tatar yoke ^[69] . Novgorod lands in the XIII century entered into a series of military conflicts with the knightsCrusaders and Swedes for the right to dominate the Eastern Baltic. Summoned by the Novgorod veche and posadniks, Prince Alexander Yaroslavich Nevsky defeated the Swedish troops that landed on the Neva in 1240, and then defeated the Teutonic Knights in 1242 in the Ice Battle ^[70] .

Since the end of the XIII century, among the Russian lands , new centers have gradually been formed - the Moscow and Lithuanian principalities ^[71] . The Moscow princes managed to win the struggle for the great Vladimir reign, the label on which was given by the khans of the Golden Horde . Vladimir the Grand Duke acted as a collector of tribute and the supreme ruler within North-Eastern Russia and Novgorod ^[72] . Starting from the reign of Prince Dmitry Donskoy , who inflicted the first serious defeat on the Golden HordeSince 1363, the label for the Great reign of All Russia was awarded only to the princes of the Moscow house.

Association of Russia. Russian state

Under Ivan III, Moscow became the center of North-Eastern Russia , uniting into a single state; the double-headed eagle becomes a grand prince's seal as a symbol of the continuity of the power of the Byzantine Empire and Russia ^{[73] [74] [75]} ; under Ivan III, after a series of military victories, Russia stopped paying tribute to the Horde . So the Horde yoke ended , in recognition of the sovereignty of Russia, the prince began to be called the sovereign , in this period Sudebnik was adopted , a set of all-Russian laws, the Moscow Kremlin and the Assumption Cathedral were built. Military defeats and internecine strife led to the weakening of the Horde and its disintegration in the mid- 15th century into the Crimean , Astrakhan , Kazan and Siberian Khanates. Prince Vasily III continued the unification of Russian lands, waged wars with the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and the Kazan Khanate ; the period of his reign was marked by a construction boom in Russia.

A series of reforms (military service, judicial system and public administration) was carried out by Ivan the Terrible , who took the title of tsar as a symbol of the power of the Russian kingdom ^[76] . Under his reign, the territory of the Russian state almost doubled. The second half of the reign of Ivan the Terrible was marked by a strip of failures in the Livonian War and the establishment of the oprichnina .

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Time of Troubles began in Russia , ending with the convening of a nationwide militia, the defeat of Polish interventionists and a council election, with the support of the Cossacks, to the Romanov dynasty on February 21  ( March 3 ),  1613 .

the Russian Empire

Tsar Peter I carried out radical changes in the domestic and foreign policy of the state. Under him, the Russian kingdom, after the victory in the Northern War in 1721, was transformed into an empire, led by an all-Russian emperor . Peter I founded St. Petersburg , which became the capital of the state.

The epoch of palace coups that followed after the death of Peter I ended in 1762 with the accession of Catherine the Great to the throne . During her reign, known as the “ Enlightened Absolutism ” period , Russia annexed significant territories in the west and south, defeated Turkey and divided the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, as a result of which Old Russian lands, as well as the northern Black Sea region and Crimea, became part of Russia.

In 1812, during the Patriotic War of Russia with Napoleonic France , Napoleon's army was almost completely destroyed . Already in 1814, Russian troops, together with the allies, entered Paris. The first half of the 19th century entered the history of world culture as the golden age of Russian literature and Russian classical music .

In the 1860-1870s, Emperor Alexander II carried out the " Great Reforms ", in particular in 1861 serfdom was abolished. Since the middle of the 19th century, a revolutionary movement has been growing in the country. In 1905, the First Russian Revolution took place , during which a parliament was established , but by 1907 the revolution was suppressed. In 1914, Russia entered the First World War . In 1917, as a result of the February Revolution, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated , power passed to the Provisional Government , which soon declared the country a republic.

Soviet period

On October 25 (November 7), 1917, the October Revolution took place . Power in Russia was seized by the Soviets , in which the Bolsheviks under the leadership of V. I. Ulyanov (Lenin) had a decisive influence . Soviet Russia became the first socialist state in the world . The capital was moved to Moscow. In January 1918, the Bolsheviks dispersed the Constituent Assembly , whose election was won by the Social Revolutionaries .

After the revolution in Russia, the Civil War broke out between the Bolsheviks and their supporters, on the one hand, and the anti-Bolshevik forces ( White movement ) on the other, as well as the “third force” ( anarchists , Basmachis , Socialist-Revolutionaries, and so on). Other states took part in the war. The war ended in 1921-22 with the victory of the Bolsheviks and the establishment of Soviet power in most of the territory of the former Russian Empire.

On December 30, 1922, the RSFSR , the USSR , the BSSR, and the ZSFSR formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) . The foreign policy of the new state was aimed at overcoming international isolation and recognition of the USSR, which was achieved by the 1930s ^[77] .

The Bolsheviks initiated controversial social reforms: sharply limiting the rights of survivors of the Civil War representatives of social groups disloyal to the Bolsheviks: priests, entrepreneurs, prosperous peasants, representatives of the old political, military and scientific elite, as well as, on the other hand, to reduce the level of social inequality and to expand the access of representatives of the social lower classes to education, medicine, housing, and senior government posts ^{[78] [79] [80] [81] [82] [83] [84] [85] [86]} .

After the death of Lenin, the internal party struggle intensified , as a result of which the highest power was concentrated in the hands of I.V. Stalin , whose rule was totalitarian in nature and was marked by a significant increase in repression . Stalin headed for accelerated industrialization and the complete collectivization of agriculture in order to make the transition as soon as possible from a traditional agrarian society to an industrial one by mobilizing internal resources to the utmost, overcentralizing economic life and creating an integrated command and administrative system in the USSR .

If the pre-war industrial production of the Russian Empire in 1913 amounted to 50% of German and French, 20% of English and, according to various estimates, 10-15% of the American ^{[87] [88]} , then by 9000 plants were built by the end of the second five-year plan , 14 years after the end of the Civil War , the USSR came out on the second place in the world in terms of industrial production, second only to the USA, reaching 10% of all world industrial production ^{[89] [90]} .

In the second half of the 1930s, a wide company of repressions against various groups and social strata, known as the Great Terror, developed in the country . During this period, mass purges took place in the party, army, and state security organs, as well as purges on a national basis .

In 1939, the USSR concluded a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany with a secret protocol on the division of zones of influence in Eastern Europe to it, as a result of which in 1939–40 it annexed the eastern part of Poland, the Baltic states, Bessarabia and other territories, pushing the border to the west.

June 22, 1941 a sudden attack ^{[91] of} Nazi Germany and its satellites on the USSR began the Great Patriotic War . The German army, although inferior to the Soviet in terms of the number of military equipment ^[92] , entered the war fully mobilized with deployed rear support, unlike the Red Army, and was able to achieve a decisive advantage in the directions of its main attacks ^[93] .

By the fall of 1941, German troops managed to advance quite far from the borders of the USSR. During the offensive in the Moscow direction ^{[94], the} Wehrmacht concentrated in front of the capital the overwhelming majority of all the forces of Nazi Germany ^[95] , and in the northwestern direction went to the suburbs of Moscow. However, the resistance of the Soviet troops increased sharply ^[96] , while the Wehrmacht exhausted its offensive capabilities ^[97] , 3 days after that the Soviet counterattack began under the leadership of Georgy Zhukov . During the battle for Moscow, the plan for the lightning capture of the USSR was finally frustrated, the German army suffered a strategic defeat for the first time in World War II, and the war took on a protracted character^{[98] [99]} . Immediately after the outbreak of the war, many countries of the world expressed support for the USSR; an anti-Hitler coalition was created. The allies of the USSR against Germany were Great Britain (at war with Germany from September 1, 1939) and the USA, which provided military-technical assistance to countries of the anti-Hitler coalition, including the USSR ^{[100] [101]} . In June 1944, the Second Front was opened.

During the crucial battles of Stalingrad and Kursk, Soviet troops launched a strategic offensive. During the campaign of 1944–45, they defeated the German army, liberated the territory of the USSR, as well as Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, making a decisive contribution to the victory over Nazism. ^{[102] [103]}  German losses on the Soviet-German front accounted for about 75% of all irretrievable combat losses of Germany ^[104] , the Wehrmacht and its allies lost 80% of all combat units, 607 divisions were defeated ^{[105] [106] [107]} and ending the war, the liberation of Central and Eastern Europe from Nazism^{[108] [109]} . On May 9, 1945, Germany signed the Act of Unconditional Surrender ^{[110] [111] [112]} .

According to the results of World War II, the Soviet Union, along with the United States , became a superpower , became one of the founding countries of the UN, a member of the UN Security Council with the right of veto; in the states of Eastern Europe , pro-Soviet communist regimes were established. CMEA and ATS were created , opposing the EEC ^[113] and NATO ^{[114] [115]} .

The global confrontation between the capitalist and socialist systems in the struggle for world influence was called the Cold War . The efforts of the USA and the USSR were directed, first of all, to domination in the political sphere. Although the two states did not formally enter into a direct military conflict, they fought an arms race and their rivalry for influence led to outbreaks of local armed conflicts in various parts of the Third World , usually taking place as indirect wars between the two superpowers.

With the coming to power of N. S. Khrushchev , there was a “ thaw ” in the country's social and political life and the debunking of the personality cult of Stalin. However, the USSR, from the point of view of Western analysts ^[116] , continued to remain a totalitarian state (see human rights in the USSR ). During the leadership of the country, N. Khrushchev achieved world leadership in the nuclear and outer space ^[117] : the USSR for the first time in the world launched the first artificial Earth satellite , the first man in space, the world's first spacecraft for exploring the Moon and Venus, implemented for the first time in the worldhuman spacewalk .

In 1964, Leonid Brezhnev became the Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU , whose leadership period (1964-1982) is known as the " period of stagnation ." At the cost of considerable efforts, the USSR was able to achieve military-strategic parity with the United States by the mid-1970s , which served as one of the foundations for the relaxation of international tension . At the same time, the USSR was significantly behind the Western countries in terms of the development of light industry .

The Perestroika policy announced by Mikhail Gorbachev, who came to power in the USSR in 1985, led to the loss of the leading role of the CPSU , large-scale changes in ideology, undermining the economy and destabilizing life in the country. The proclaimed goal of the reforms was the comprehensive democratization of the socio-political and economic system prevailing in the USSR and the weakening of ideological control over society, while the reforms actually led to the liquidation of the socialist system and the collapse of the country ^[118] . In 1989, the Warsaw Treaty Organization and CMEA collapsed . In 1988-1991 there were a number of legislative conflicts betweenunion center and union republics . In December 1989, at the summit on the island of Malta, Gorbachev and Bush officially announced the end of the Cold War ^{[119] [120]} .

On August 19-21, 1991, the August Coup took place in Moscow between the authorities of the USSR and the RSFSR, which led to mass demonstrations at the White House in support of the President of the RSFSR Boris N. Yeltsin . The general indecision of the leadership of the GKChP of the USSR led to their defeat and self-dissolution. On December 8, 1991, agreements were signed on the termination of the USSR and the creation of the CIS ^[121] .

On December 26, 1991, the Council of the Republics of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR adopted a declaration on the termination of the existence of the USSR ^[122] , which put an end to the Cold War ^{[119] [123]} . The Russian Federation ^[h] was recognized as the successor state of the USSR in international legal relations ^[i] and took its place in the UN Security Council ^[j] .

Russian Federation

Government Yeltsin - Gaidar were conducted liberalization of retail prices , the liberalization of foreign trade , the reorganization of the tax system and other changes radically change the economic situation in the country. The result of the reforms marked the transition of Russia to a market economy ^[124] . The Russian model of a market economy caused mixed assessments among Russian and foreign researchers, including Nobel laureates in economics ^{[125] [126] [127] [128]} . On January 1, 1992, state regulation of prices was abolished, and freedom of trade was declared . The period of "wild" capitalism ^[129]and the initial accumulation of capital associated with the abandonment of a centrally planned economy and the catastrophic devaluation of social obligations of the state, was characterized by the liquidation of the consumer goods deficit, but at the same time an explosive rise in prices, hyperinflation , devaluation of the savings of the population, massive impoverishment, a sharp increase in crime , barterization and criminalization economy, mass unemployment, non-payment of salaries , pensions and social benefits , a radical increase in social inequality, ^[130] , a crisis in the social sphere,a catastrophic drop in fertility, a sharp increase in mortality and a significant reduction in the life expectancy of the population . The economic reforms of the 1990s also led to a sharp recession in the country's economy ^{[131] [132] [133] [134]} : industrial output fell by 60%, while in the light and food industries production fell by 70%, amounting to 30% of pre-reform level ^[135] .

On October 3-4, 1993, in Moscow, there was a violent dispersal of the Congress of People's Deputies and the Supreme Council , which entailed human casualties. On October 9, 1993, the president terminates the powers of the councils of people's deputies of all levels, and in December the new Constitution of Russia enters into force , finally fixing the change in the socio-political system on its territory.

In 1994, a conflict broke out in the Chechen Republic between the federal center and the Chechen separatists. The outcome of this conflict was the withdrawal of Russian units, mass destruction and casualties, the de facto independence of Chechnya before the Second Chechen War, and a wave of terror that swept through Russia.

The 1996 presidential election was the only one in Russian history when, in order to determine the winner, a second round of elections was required, as a result of which B. N. Yeltsin, who was significantly behind his opponent at the beginning of the election race, was ahead of the Communist Party leader G. A. Zyuganov , while There were significant irregularities in the elections.

In the first half of the 1990s, a large number of enterprises were privatized through voucher privatization , as well as through collateral auctions . However, this was not enough to cover huge public debt . On August 17, 1998, the Russian government defaulted .

On December 31, 1999, Boris Yeltsin announced his resignation from the presidency, appointing V.V. Putin , acting Prime Minister of the Russian Federation ^[136] .

In March 2000, Vladimir Putin won the election and became the second President of the Russian Federation. In the 2000s, a number of socio-economic reforms were carried out in Russia: tax, land, pension , banking, monetization of benefits and others ^{[137] [138]} . In 2000-2008, Russia saw an increase in the Russian economy , investments , and population incomes, which were facilitated by the reforms that were carried out, political stability, and also an increase in prices for Russian exported goods (especially the mineral resource base). Introduction of maternity capital in 2007As a form of stimulating the birth rate and supporting large families, it played a significant role in stabilizing the demographic sphere in Russia and in the transition to expanded reproduction of the population ^[139] . There was a strengthening of the vertical of executive power in the country and the formation of a ruling party resulting from the merger of political blocs into United Russia , which, following the results of the Duma elections of 2003 , 2007 , 2011 , 2016 , won the majority of seats in the State Duma and supported key decisions of the president and government .

The creation of the system of federal districts in 2000 , as well as the reform of the Federation Council , significantly strengthened the power vertical, increasing the manageability of the Russian administrative system.

In 2000, the active phase of the war in Chechnya was completed , which remained part of Russia. In 2009, the regime of the counter-terrorist operation was officially abolished in Chechnya ^[140] .

In 2008, Dmitry Medvedev became president , and Vladimir Putin took over as prime minister.

On August 8, 2008, an armed conflict began in South Ossetia, as a result of which Russia officially recognized Abkhazia and South Ossetia as independent states, the process of Georgia’s admission to NATO was significantly inhibited .

On December 4, 2011, elections to the State Duma of the VI convocation were held , as a result of which the ruling United Russia party retained the parliamentary majority, but lost the constitutional one. In the March 4, 2012 presidential election in Russia, Vladimir Putin won the first round ^[141] . May 7 took office ^[142] . On May 8, the State Duma agreed to Vladimir Putin to appoint Dmitry Medvedev as Chairman of the Government ^[143] .

After the elections to the State Duma, numerous mass political protests by Russian citizens began. They continued during the presidential election campaign and after the presidential election held on March 4, 2012, in which V.V. Putin officially won the first round. Participants in the rallies stated that the election was accompanied by violations of the law and mass fraud ^[144] . The speeches also had an anti-Putin orientation ^[145] .

In February – March 2014, the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation took place ; As part of Russia, new entities were formed : ( Republic of Crimea and the city ​​of federal significance Sevastopol ) ^[146] . Ukraine and most UN member states do not recognize the annexation of Crimea to Russia (see the problem of Crimea's accession ). Western countries declared sanctions against Russia; in response, Russia also applied a sanctions policy against these countries. Evaluation in the expert community of the effectiveness of sanctions against Russia is diametrically opposed and includes an assessment of both the negative and positive effects of sanctions on the socio-economic development of Russia; at the same time, since December 2014, a socio-economic crisis has been observed in Russia ^{[147] [148]} .

September 30, 2015 began a military operation of Russia against terrorist groups and the opposition in Syria ^[149] .

Government structure

State symbols

The flag of Russia is a rectangular panel of three equal horizontal stripes: the top - white, middle - blue and bottom - red. The ratio of the width of the flag to its length is 2: 3.

The coat of arms of Russia is a quadrangular, with rounded lower corners, a red heraldic shield pointed at the tip. Inside it is a golden double-headed eagle with raised and spread wings. The eagle is crowned with two small crowns and - above them - one large crown connected by a ribbon. In the right paw of the eagle is the scepter, in the left - the power. On the chest of the eagle, in a red shield, is a silver rider in a blue cloak on a silver horse, striking with a silver spear a black, overturned backward and trampled by a dragon horse.

Flag	Emblem

The foundations of the political system

Russia is a democratic federal legal state with a republican form of government ^[150] .

Russia is a federation ^[151] . The main law of the state is the Constitution , adopted in 1993. Currently, the Russian Constitution is in force with a number of amendments , the main of which were adopted in 2008 . These amendments, which increased the term of office of the President of the Russian Federation from 4 to 6 years, and the State Duma from 4 to 5 years, received significant international resonance. The constitutional system of Russia is based on the following basic principles: democracy , federalism , social state , separation of powers , secular state, priority of human rights and freedoms, local self-government ^[152] , multi-party system , ideological and political diversity, the rule of law , a variety of forms of ownership, form of government and government , state sovereignty ^[153] . According to researchers ^[154] , the public liability of public authorities should be subsidiary in nature and its foundations should be enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian Federation; A detailed study and improvement of the legal mechanism for protecting the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation is necessary ^[155].

Federated device

Russia is a state with a federal structure. The Russian Federation includes 85 equal subjects of the federation , including 22 republics , 9 territories , 46 regions , 3 cities of federal significance , 1 autonomous region , 4 autonomous districts .

The system of government bodies of the subjects of the federation is determined by the general principles established by the federation. Each region has a legislative (representative) body ( legislative assembly, duma ) and an executive body (government). In all entities, there is a post of a senior official ( head, governor ) who are elected for a term of not more than 5 years and cannot replace this position for more than two consecutive terms.

The Russian Federation is also subdivided into 8 federal districts , each of which has a plenipotentiary representative of the President of the Russian Federation .

The subjects of the federation have their own administrative-territorial division. As a rule, the main administrative-territorial units within the constituent entity of the federation are regions and cities of regional (republican, territorial, district) significance.

The president

The head of state is the President of the Russian Federation , currently - Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin . In the performance of the duties of the head of state, the President is assisted by the Chairman of the Government of Russia , currently he is Mikhail Vladimirovich Mishustin . The Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation holds the presidency in the event of the death or resignation of the latter.

The president is elected for a six-year term by secret ballot in general direct elections; the same person cannot hold a presidential post for more than two consecutive terms. Constitutional norms providing for a six-year term of office of the president were introduced in 2008 ^[156] , previously the head of state was elected every four years.

The President has a number of important powers: he directs foreign policy , is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, appoints, with the consent of the State Duma, the Prime Minister , and decides on the resignation of the government . At the suggestion of the Prime Minister, he appoints Deputy Prime Ministers and federal ministers and dismisses them. The President leads the Security Council , appoints and dismisses the command of the Armed Forces . Has the right to propose candidates for the position of chairman for consideration by the State DumaCentral Bank (not part of the Government ). In the event of aggression or an immediate threat of aggression, the President has the right to declare martial law throughout the country or in certain territories, but he is obliged to immediately inform the Federal Assembly of his decision . He has the right to issue decrees binding on the whole territory of Russia (decrees must not contradict federal laws ). It also has a number of other powers.

The President may be removed from office by the Federation Council on condition that the State Duma brings charges of high treason or another serious crime and positive opinions of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts .

Executive branch

The highest executive body of state power  is the government of the Russian Federation . Accountable to the President of the Russian Federation and controlled by the State Duma . The government includes the chairman , deputy chairmen of the Government (oversee several ministries and departments), federal ministers (head ministries, or oversee various state programs, or carry out special assignments) and heads of departments that do not have a ministerial post, but are officially equated with status ministers . The quantitative composition and structure of the government are not regulated by law and are determined by the President.

Legislature

According to the Constitution, legislative power is exercised by the Federal Assembly  - a parliament consisting of two chambers of the Federation Council and the State Duma, in the scientific literature these chambers are called upper and lower, respectively ^[157] . The Federation Council consists of two representatives from each subject of the federation and representatives appointed by the president, the number of which is no more than 10% of the number of members of the Federation Council ^[158] . In 1993, members of the Federation Council were elected by the population, in 1995 their place was taken directly by the governors ( presidents ) and speakersregional legislative assemblies, and since 2000 - appointed and elected representatives of the executive and legislative authorities of the constituent entities of the federation, respectively. The State Duma consists of 450 deputies : 225 deputies are elected in single-member constituencies (one constituency - one deputy), and the other 225 deputies in the federal constituency in proportion to the number of votes cast for federal lists of candidates ^[159] .

Judicial branch

Judicial power is exercised by the courts : the Constitutional Court , the courts of general jurisdiction headed by the Supreme Court and the arbitration courts , also headed by the Supreme Court . In some constituent entities of the Russian Federation , constitutional (charter) courts operate. The judiciary of the federation also includes justices of the peace .

Monitoring the observance of human rights and freedoms in the activities of state bodies and officials is called upon to be carried out by the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation ( Ombudsman ). This institution was introduced for the first time in Russian practice by the 1993 Constitution of the Russian Federation (clause "e" part 1 of article 103), which establishes that the Commissioner for Human Rights is appointed by the State Duma and acts in accordance with federal constitutional law. The Commissioner, in the exercise of his powers, is independent and not accountable to any state bodies and officials.

Political parties

As of February 7, 2019, 63 political parties were officially registered in Russia ^[160] , of which six are represented in the State Duma :

The United Russia party was founded in 2001 as a result of the unification of the political movements Unity and Fatherland-All Russia . Stands on the positions of conservatism . The number of parties is 2 million people (2012). In the 2016 State Duma elections, she won 343 seats, while maintaining the position of the dominant party.

The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (Communist Party), was founded in 1993 as a restored Communist Party of the RSFSR . He positions himself as the direct heiress of the CPSU . The number of parties is 156 thousand people (2012). In the 2016 elections, she won 42 seats.

LDPR (former Liberal Democratic Party of Russia), founded in 1992. Adheres to the ideas of nationalism, patriotism and the theory of a mixed economy. The number of parties is 247 thousand people (2016). In the 2016 elections, she won 39 seats.

The Just Russia Party (SRs) was founded in 2006. Included in the Socialist International . Party size - 160 thousand people. (2016). In the 2016 elections, she won 23 seats.

Party " Homeland ", founded in 2004. Adheres to the ideology of left nationalism. Party size - 135 thousand people. (2004). In the 2016 elections, she won one seat.

The Civic Platform party was founded in 2012. Adheres to the ideology of conservatism and economic liberalism. Party size - 26 thousand people. (2014). In the 2016 elections, she won one seat.

Foreign policy

Russia continued its membership of the USSR in the UN (including the status of a permanent member of the Security Council ) and in other international organizations ^[161] , participated in international treaties of the USSR, took over the servicing of the external debt of the former USSR, all Soviet foreign assets in full were transferred to it.

In international relations, Russia acts as a successor state to the USSR ^{[162] [163] [164]} , but this status is disputed by individual states and remains a subject of discussion ^[165] in the scientific community.

Russia is one of the key participants in international communication. As one of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, it remains one of the traditional great powers ^[25] and has a special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. In 1997-2014, Russia was also included in the G8 , an informal association of economically developed states. He is a member of a significant number of other international organizations, including the Council of Europe and the OSCE . A special place is occupied by organizations created in the former USSR mainly with the leading role of Russia: CIS , CSTO , SCO . Russia togetherBelarus is the Union State .

In 2014, together with Belarus and Kazakhstan, it became one of the founding countries of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)  - the international integration economic union ( union ) created on the basis of the EurAsEC Customs Union . The EAEU has been operating since January 1, 2015.

The foreign policy of Russia is determined by the president of the country and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs . Russia pursues a multi-vector foreign policy. It maintains diplomatic relations with 190 UN member states, two partially recognized and three UN observers; has diplomatic missions in 144 countries. Russia has no diplomatic relations with Georgia (since 2008), Bhutan and the Solomon Islands .

Russia's foreign policy is based on the principles of good-neighborly relations with all countries in the framework of a multi-vector policy aimed at building a multipolar world that excludes the dictates of one country or group of countries in world politics ^[166] . Despite the polarized assessments of various aspects of Russia's foreign policy by its political opponents, some prominent Western researchers ( Brzezinski ) generally confirm its constructive orientation in the system of international relations ^[167] .

With a Russian passport you can enter without visa in 76 countries of the world, in 32 states you can get a visa automatically upon arrival, to other states, including the EU countries , USA , Canada , Great Britain , China , Japan and other countries, you must get an entry visa in advance . Russia sets the visa regime with world states on the basis of reciprocity ^[168] .

Military establishment

History and role in the life of the country

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (RF Armed Forces) is a state military organization that forms the basis of the defense of the Russian Federation. In accordance with Federal Law No. 61-FZ of May 31, 1996 on Defense, the Armed Forces are intended to repel aggression directed against the Russian Federation, to armedly protect the integrity and inviolability of the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as to perform tasks in accordance with federal constitutional laws, federal laws and international treaties of the Russian Federation.

Structure, size, equipment and financing

As of March 5, 2010, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation consisted of 1 million people ( 5th place in the world ) ^[169] . In 2010, $ 40.3 billion was allocated from the budget for the needs of the army. Russian armed forces are divided into three types: Ground Forces , Aerospace Forces , Navy ; and two independent branches of the army: Strategic Missile Forces , Airborne Troops . In addition, they include MTO and troops, military units and bodies that provide for military service that are not part of the types and independent branches of the Armed Forces:

• Federal Service of the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation ;
• Civil Defense Forces EMERCOM of Russia ;
• Foreign Intelligence Service of the Russian Federation ;
• Bodies of Russian Federal Security Service (including the border );
• Bodies of the Federal Security Service of Russia (including special communications and information ).

The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces is the President of the Russian Federation ^[170] .

The manning of the Armed Forces is carried out in a mixed way: by recruiting citizens for military service on an extraterritorial basis and by voluntary admission of citizens of the Russian Federation and foreign citizens to military service.

Citizens are called up for military service on the basis of Federal Law No. 53-FZ of March 28, 1998 on Military Duty and Military Service. The appeal is subject to male citizens aged 18 to 27 years. The service life from January 1, 2008 is 12 months.

Under the contract, citizens of the Russian Federation aged 18 to 40 years and foreign citizens aged 18 to 30 years are accepted for military service. The term of the contract is three, five or ten years.

Nuclear weapon

In 2018, Russia had 1,444 nuclear warheads ( 2nd place after the United States ) ^[171] . Nuclear forces are deployed in several environments and are the main guarantor of the non-use of military forces of other states against Russia. According to military doctrine , the Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to aggression using weapons of mass destruction , as well as aggression using conventional weapons, when the very existence of the state is threatened ^[172] .

Economy

General condition, main indicators

Russia's economy is the 6th largest country in the world and 2nd among the countries of Europe (after Germany) in terms of GDP at PPP , which amounted to 4.2 trillion in 2018 dollars ^{[173] [22] [174]} . The nominal GDP of Russia in 2018 amounted to $ 1,657 billion - according to this indicator, Russia ranks 11th in the world ^[173] . In 2018, Russia ranks 50th in GDP per capita PPP .

The country's contribution to the global economy reaches 3.12% ^[173] . Russia belongs to the group of countries with a very high level of human development , is a member of the WTO and the EAEU .

In 2018, the Russian economy grew by 2.3%; in 2019, economic growth continued. The revenue part of the state budget ^[175] for 2016 was $ 186.5 billion, the expenditure part was $ 236.6 billion, and the budget deficit  was 4% of GDP ^[176] . As of 2016, the share of the Russian economy in the global economy is 3.2%. According to the International Monetary Fund , Russia's per capita GDP in PPPs in 2016 amounted to $ 26,926, according to this indicator, Russia is among the 50 best countries in the world, ahead of all CIS countries.

According to Expert Market, in the ranking of countries (2016) , Russia is 32nd in the world in terms of labor productivity , ahead of all CIS countries ^[177] .

Sectoral structure of Russia's GDP (according to data for 2011) ^[178] :

• Retail and wholesale trade  - 16.2%
• Product taxes  - 15.1%
• Finance and services - 14.0%
• Manufacturing industry  - 13.6%
• Mineral extraction  - 9.1%
• Transport and communications  - 7.5%
• Education and healthcare  - 5.7%
• Construction  - 5.5%
• Public Administration and Military Security  - 5.0%
• Agriculture and forestry , fishing  - 3.6%
• Energy  - 3.2%

In 1999-2008, the growth of gross domestic product (GDP) amounted to 93.8%, industry - 79.1% ^[179] , agriculture - 39.7%. As a result, in 2008 the country's GDP was 107% of the 1989 level, industrial production - 85% (in 1990 the industrial production was by 99.9% compared to 1989, fell by another 30% in 1991-2004 ^[180] , in 2005-2007 it grew by 21.3%), agricultural production - 83.6%.

Russia's GDP growth for 2010-2011 amounted to 8.7% ^[181] . At the end of 2011, investments in Russia reached a record level of $ 370 billion per year over the past 20 years. Thus, more than $ 1 billion was invested in the Russian economy every day. Over the past 20 years, more than $ 2.5 trillion has been invested in the Russian economy ^{[182] [182] [182]} .

The monetary unit is the Russian ruble , the average rate for 2017 is 58.3 rubles per 1 US dollar ^[183] . The exchange unit  is a penny , one hundredth of a ruble. Money is issued by the central bank of the country, the Central Bank of Russia .

The unemployment rate is 5.0%, the employment rate is 59.3% (data for February 2018) ^[184] . The nominal average salary of an employee in Russia in January 2016 amounted to 32,122 rubles per month ^[185] .

The largest employer in Russia is the company Russian Railways , which in 2017 has about 900 thousand employees ^[186] .

Industry

In 2014, the share of industrial production in the structure of GDP was 36.3%. The number of people employed in industry is 27.8% of the working-age population ^[176] .

The volume of gross value added (GVA) in the manufacturing industry of Russia in 2007 amounted to $ 196 billion, according to this indicator Russia is in 9th place in the world ^[187] . By 2011, GVA rose to $ 252 billion ^[178] . The share of manufacturing in Russian industrial production is 66% (according to 2007 data) ^[188] .

In the 2000s, steady growth took place in the Russian manufacturing industry, interrupted only during the period of the global economic crisis of 2008-2009. From 1999 to 2011, the manufacturing index in Russia increased by 82%, including the food industry - by 80%, the production of machinery and equipment - by 74%, the production of electrical equipment, electronic and optical equipment - by 231%, the production of vehicles and equipment - by 29%, metallurgy - by 67%, chemical industry - by 62% ^[189]. Thanks to growth rates that are faster than the global average, Russia managed to increase its share in the global value added of the manufacturing industry from 0.9% in 2002 to 2.1% in 2010. In recent years, Russia has bypassed countries such as Spain , Canada , Mexico , Indonesia in terms of GVA in manufacturing (these countries were ahead of Russia as of 2002).

The structure of the manufacturing industry of Russia in terms of output (data for 2009) ^[190] :

• Food industry - 19.3%
• Engineering - 19.1%
• Production of coke and petroleum products - 18.5%
• Metallurgy - 16.7%
• Chemical production, rubber and plastic products - 10.0%
• Wood processing and manufacture of wood products, pulp and paper production; publishing and printing activities - 5.0%
• Production of other non-metallic mineral products - 4.8%
• Light industry - 1.3%

Among all industries of Russia, the most powerful in relation to 1991 are the production of electrical equipment, electronic and optical equipment, chemical production, manufacturing and other industries, and the extraction of fuel and energy minerals; pulp and paper production (Russia's forest resources are the largest in the world); publishing and printing activities; metallurgical production and production of finished metal products; defense industry ; production and distribution of electricity, gas and water (according to data up to 2006) ^[191] .

Agriculture

The volume of agricultural production of all agricultural producers in November 2015 in current prices amounted to 471.2 billion rubles, in January-November 2015 - 4740.5 billion rubles ^[192] .

The volume of gross value added in agriculture, hunting and forestry in Russia is 1.53 trillion rubles (2009) ^[193] . According to the Federal State Statistics Service, in 2007 the total gross agricultural product of Russia amounted to 2099.6 billion rubles, of which 1174.9 billion rubles accounted for crop production ( agriculture ). (55.96%), and for livestock  - 924.7 billion rubles. (44.04%). By categories of producers, the most part of the production was given by private farms (48.75% or in the amount of 1023.6 billion rubles); in second place - agricultural organizations ( collective farms , state farms , etc.), which gave 43.76% or 918.7 billion rubles .; least produced farms - 7.49% or in the amount of 157.3 billion rubles.

In Russia is 10% of all arable land in the world. Over 4/5 arable land in Russia falls on the Central Volga region , the North Caucasus , the Urals and Western Siberia . The main crops: cereals , sugar beets , sunflowers , potatoes , flax .

Russia is a world leader in grain exports ^[194] . The circle of consumers of Russian wheat increased to 84 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and South America ^[181] .

In Russia meat-and-milk and meat-and-wool animal husbandry are developed. In 2000-2008, in Russia there was a constant increase in annual meat production ^[195] . In 2008, it was produced 2.9 million tons, which is 2.6 times more than in 1999 ^[195] . From 2002 to 2008, chicken production in Russia tripled, reaching 2 million tons per year ^[196] .

In 2006 and 2016 , agricultural censuses were held.

Services sector

The service sector traditionally occupied an insignificant place in the Russian economy (including the Soviet period), however, its intensive development began in the 1990s. By 2015, the share of the service sector in GDP amounted to 59.7%; it provided employment for more than half (63%) of the able-bodied population ^[176] .

Banking sector

The credit and financial system of Russia, having experienced severe shocks during the crisis of 1998-1999, generally stabilized in the first half of the 2000s. In 2005, the Central Bank of the Russian Federation launched a long-term program aimed at minimizing the number of private banking institutions operating in the country, in particular, through the merger of the smallest of them and the absorption of small ones by larger ones.

Net assets of the 500 largest Russian banks as of July 1, 2010 amounted to 28.4 trillion rubles ($ 0.91 trillion) ^[197] .

As of May 1, 2017, Russia's international reserves amounted to $ 401 billion (7th place in the world) ^[198] . The state external debt of Russia as of March 1, 2015 is $ 54 billion ^[199] . This equals only 3% of the country's GDP, which is one of the lowest rates in the world.

Attempts are being made to weaken the dependence of the ruble exchange rate on international oil prices .

According to Rosstat, at the end of 2011, the total accumulated foreign investment in the Russian economy was $ 347 billion ^{[200] [201]} . According to the CIA World Fact Book , as of December 31, 2014, the volume of foreign investment accumulated in Russia amounted to $ 606 billion (16th place in the world) ^[202] .

Tourism

Domestic tourism in 2017 amounted to 55 million trips. Among the 10 leading regions are: Moscow Region, Moscow, Primorsky Territory, St. Petersburg, the Republic of Tatarstan, Krasnodar and Altai Territories, Kaliningrad, Volgograd and Kaluga Regions.

In 2018, according to Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets at the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi, 60 million people traveled across Russia, which is 15% more compared to 2017.

In 2017, the number of consumers of spa services in Russia decreased by 9.5% to 5.59 million people. Moreover, due to the reduction in real incomes of the population in 2014-2015 and the rise in the cost of foreign trips, there is an increase in consumer interest in the services of Russian sanatoriums in the Crimea , Krasnodar , Stavropol and Altai territories.

According to the FSB border service for the first quarter of 2019, the majority of foreigners entering the Russian Federation come from the countries of the former Soviet Union. Residents of Ukraine came to the Russian Federation more often than other foreigners (1.7 million people, minus 10.4% compared to the first quarter of last year). 870 thousand people came from Kazakhstan (2.5% growth), 635 thousand citizens from Uzbekistan (15% growth), 689 thousand from Tajikistan (24.3% growth). China with an indicator of 342 thousand citizens closes the top five countries with the largest number of citizens entering the Russian Federation ^[203] .

According to the data of 2019, the main flow of foreign tourists is formed due to the following countries: China, South Korea, Israel, Germany, France, Italy, Thailand, Turkey, the USA and Japan ^[204] .

Russia is divided into twelve large economic regions : North-West , North , Central , Volga-Vyatka , Central Black Earth , Volga , North Caucasus , Ural , West Siberian , East Siberian , Far Eastern and Kaliningrad (Crimea is a part of no economic area is not included).

The main oil and gas production is carried out in Western and Eastern Siberia ^[205] ; hydroelectric power plants, non-ferrous metallurgy and forest industry - in Eastern Siberia. The Far East is distinguished by the extraction of gold and diamonds, fishing and seafood. In the Northern region, the main industries include the extraction of coal, oil, gas, apatite, nickel and other metals, as well as logging and fishing. The North-West, Central, Volga-Vyatka, Ural and Volga regions are distinguished by developed engineering, chemical, light, food industry, energy and services. The Central Black Earth region and the North Caucasus have developed agriculture and food industry. The Kaliningrad region has a developed services sector, fishing and tourism.

Power industry

About 99% of the country's population is provided with electricity . National electricity needs are met almost entirely at the expense of own capacities, a small part of the generated electricity is exported ^[206] .

In terms of electricity generation, Russia ranks third in the world ^[207] . Most of the electricity - 67.79% - is generated at thermal power plants , including 44.9% using coal, 26.5% using oil and 15.8% using natural gas. Hydroelectric power plants account for 20.35% of the production, and nuclear power plants account for 11.80% . About 0.03% falls on solar energy. Less than 0.01% falls on wind farms

Electricity consumption in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation (million kWh )

	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012
Russian Federation	1,022,746.2	977 122.4	1,020,632.5	1,041,122.1	1,063,319.5

Foreign trade and foreign investment

The volume of foreign trade in 2016 amounted to 424.4 billion US dollars with a surplus of $ 94.2 billion. The volume of exports  - 259.3 billion dollars, imports  - 165.1 billion dollars (respectively 19th and 24th place in the world) ^[176] .

The main export items are oil and oil products, natural gas, metals, wood and wood products, chemicals and a wide range of civil and military industrial products. Mainly imported are machinery, vehicles, pharmaceuticals, plastics, metal semi-finished products, meat, fruits and nuts, optical and medical instruments, iron, steel ^[176] .

The main consumers of Russian exports are, as of 2015, the Netherlands (11.9% of the total), China (8.3%), Germany (7.4%), Italy (6.5%), Turkey (5 , 6%). Most of the imports come from China (19.2%), Germany (11.2%), the USA (6.4%), Belarus (4.8%), Italy (4.6%) ^[176] .

The volume of foreign direct investment in the Russian economy for 2016 is about 348 billion dollars (20th place in the world). About 359.3 billion dollars were placed by Russian investors abroad (19th place in the world) ^[176] .

According to a World Bank study for 2015, Russia ranks 62nd in the ranking of ease of doing business , while in 2014 it ranked 92nd ^[208] .

Economic problems

There is an opinion that the Russian economy is highly dependent on energy prices ^[209] . Some experts believe that Russia is sick with the “ Dutch disease, ” that is, the economy is very dependent on the export of one or two types of raw materials ^[210] . There is even an opinion that the huge reserves of natural resources prevent the modernization of production, which turns into the so-called. " Resource curse ." However, in 2003, Expert magazine wrote that too strong a connection between Russian economic growth and oil prices was a fallacy. Magazine cited IMF estimatesaccording to which the contribution of oil prices is no more than 40% of Russian growth, the remaining 60% is the result of growth in the domestic market ^[211] . According to the Ministry of Economic Development, the contribution of oil prices to Russia's GDP growth in 2007 amounted to 1.4% from 8.1% ^[212] .

Transport and communication

The transport system of Russia is characterized by an insufficiently developed transport network for a vast country, although it is one of the most extensive in the world, including more than 124 thousand km of railways, 1 million km of roads, 230 thousand km of trunk pipelines, 100 thousand km river shipping routes ^[213] . Huge spaces and a harsh climate have determined the all-weather types of land transport - rail and pipeline - of paramount importance for Russia. The bulk of the freight work falls on them. Water transport plays a much smaller role in Russia due to the short navigation period.

In 2010, freight turnover amounted to 4.75 trillion ton-km, of which 42% accounted for rail transport, 50% pipeline, automobile 4.1%, marine 2.1%, inland water 1.1%, air - 0.1% ^[214] . Passenger turnover of public transport in 2010 amounted to 484 billion passenger-kilometers, of which 30% accounted for air transport, 29% for bus transport, 29% for railways, and 9% for the subway. A stable trend in recent years is an increase in the share of air transport in passenger traffic (an increase of almost 3 times compared with 2000) and a decrease in the share of rail transport ^[215] .

Russia has a developed telecommunications network, including landline and mobile communications, a network of Internet providers ^[216] . In the ranking of the development of information and communication technologies compiled by the International Telecommunication Union , Russia is in 38th place in the world, ahead of all CIS countries ^[217] . According to the level of development of e-government, Russia is in 27th place in the world ^[218] .

Railway transport

Rail transport in Russia began to develop actively in the middle of the XIX century. The first major railway line, St. Petersburg  - Moscow , was commissioned in 1851 . The longest railway in the world has been built in Russia ^[219] . As of 2012, railways are available in 78 of the 83 subjects of Russia. The total length of the operational length of railway lines is 124 thousand km ^[220] , including 86 thousand km of public roads ( electrified 43 thousand km) ^{[221] [222]}and 38 thousand km of non-public roads (in the territories of enterprises and in places of mining) ^[220] . The average density of railways is 7.3 km per 1000 km² of territory ^[223] . Russia takes the 2nd place in the total length of railways, second only to the USA (194.7 thousand km) ^[224] , and the 1st place - in the length of electrified roads ^{[221] [225]} .

In Russia, a width of 1520 mm is adopted as the main standard for gauge . On the island of Sakhalin, for historical reasons , the gauge is 1067 mm . The standard length of the rails  is 12.5 and 25 meters; there are also jointless tracks . In the European part of the country, the railway network has a radial appearance and relatively high density, the railways converge to Moscow . In the Asian part, the railway network has a latitudinal extension and low density.

There are about 20 thousand locomotives , 1000 thousand freight and 70 thousand passenger cars on the railways . In 2007, the volume of cargo transported by public railways amounted to 1.34 billion tons, by non-public railways - 3.68 billion tons, the freight turnover of public railways amounted to 2090 billion t-km, non-public railways - 33 , 8 billion t-km, passenger traffic (without metro and tram) - 1282 million people, passenger turnover amounted to 175 billion passenger-km.

Railway management is carried out by the Federal Agency for Railway Transport of Russia . The economic functions of the vast majority of railways belong to Russian Railways , which is one of the largest transport companies in the world ^[226] . The railway network owned by Russian Railways is divided between its 16 branches .

The largest cities also have tram and trolleybus services. The operational length of the tram lines is 2.6 thousand km, trolleybus  - 4.9 thousand km. One of the longest tram networks in the world has St. Petersburg (500 km). In the seven largest cities - Moscow , St. Petersburg , Nizhny Novgorod , Samara , Yekaterinburg , Novosibirsk and Kazan  - there is a subway . The total operational length of the subway tracks is 475 km ^[220] .

Sea transport

Maritime transport of Russia plays a major role in interstate cargo turnover, its importance is determined by the position of Russia on the shores of 12 seas of three oceans and the length of the sea border of 42 thousand km. The total cargo turnover of 63 Russian seaports in 2007 amounted to 451 million tons, the bulk of the cargo is oil and oil products. In 2006, the freight turnover of maritime transport amounted to 48 billion tons-km, passenger traffic - 30 million passenger-km, 173 thousand cargo and 6 thousand passenger and cargo-passenger sea vessels were registered. The Northern Sea Route passes through the Arctic Ocean  - the shortest sea route between the European part of Russia and the Far East.

River transport

River transport plays a large role in the Russian economy. The length of inland waterways is 200 thousand km. The share of river transport in the total cargo turnover is 3.9%. In 2006, its cargo turnover amounted to 58 billion tons-km, passenger turnover - 0.6 billion passenger-km, 6.5 thousand cargo and 600 passenger and cargo-passenger river vessels were registered.

The main in Russia is the Volga-Kama river basin, which accounts for 40% of the cargo turnover of the river fleet. Thanks to the Volga-Baltic , White Sea-Baltic and Volga-Don canals, the Volga became the core of a single water system in the European part of Russia, and Moscow became the  “port of five seas”. Other important navigable rivers in European Russia include the Northern Dvina , Sukhona , Onega , Svir , Neva . The most important navigable rivers in the Asian part of Russia are the Ob , Yenisei , Lena , Amur .

Automobile transport

By 2010, the length of roads in Russia exceeded 1 million km, including the length of paved roads - 786 thousand km ^{[213] [227]} . The length of federal roads is 50 thousand km ^[213] . In 2008, 6.9 billion tons of cargo was transported by road , with a cargo turnover of 216 billion t-km ^[221] . From 2000 to 2008, the volume of carriage of goods by road increased by 17%, cargo turnover - by 41% ^[221] .

According to the total length of roads, Russia surpasses all European countries, except France, and takes 7th place in the world ^[228] . In relation to the population, the density of paved roads in Russia is about 5.3 km per 1,000 inhabitants ^[229] . The problem of the lack of roads and bridges remains , especially in the eastern and northern regions of the country.

In Russia, there is an active growth in the motorization of the population. If in 2000 the number of cars was 20 million, then by 2010 their number increased to 34 million ^[230] . The total number of officially registered cars in the country in 2010 reached 40 million, of which 5,4 million trucks. The level of motorization in Russia in 2009 amounted to 270 cars per 1000 inhabitants ^{[230] [231]} .

The number of road traffic accidents is about 200 thousand a year, in which about 27 thousand people die, the damage from traffic accidents is about 2.5% of GDP ^{[232] [233]} . The death toll per 100 thousand cars is one of the lowest in the CIS countries and has been declining in recent years ^[234] : from 2004 to 2011, the number of deaths in road accidents decreased by 19%, while the fleet increased by 35% over the same period ^{[235] ]} .

Air Transport

Civilian air traffic was established in the first quarter of the 20th century: the first airfield (on the Khodynsky field in Moscow) was opened in 1910. As of 2013, the country has 1218 airports (5th place in the world), as well as 49 heliports . At the same time, 594 airports have asphalt or concrete runways and 624 have unpaved ^[176] .

There are 46 airlines of various forms of ownership ^[236] . As of the beginning of 2012, the existing fleet of Russian airlines included 605 long-haul and 340 regional passenger airplanes, 32 business-jet airplanes, and 127 cargo airplanes ^[237] .

In 2011, the volume of goods transported by air amounted to 8339 million tons, freight turnover amounted to 4916 billion tons-km ^[238] . In 2011, 64.06 million passengers were transported, passenger traffic amounted to 166.7 billion passenger-km ^[239] .

The tables below list the largest airports in Russia with a passenger turnover of more than 1.5 million people in 2016 (in thousand passengers) ^[240] :

The airport Town ICAO IATA 2016 Sheremetyevo Moscow UUEE SVO 33,656 Domodedovo Moscow UUDD Dme 28,500 Vnukovo Moscow Uuww Vko 13 947 Pulkovo St. Petersburg ULLI LED 13,265 Sochi Sochi Urss Aer 5249 Simferopol [241] Simferopol URFF [242] Sip 5202 Koltsovo Yekaterinburg USSS Svx 4207 Tolmachevo Novosibirsk UNNT Ovb 3932 Pashkovsky Krasnodar Urkk KRR 2993 Ufa Ufa Uwuu UFA 2295

The airport Town ICAO IATA 2016 Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don Urrr Rov 2093 Kurumoch Samara Uwww Kuf 2083 Kazan Kazan Uwkd KZN 1913 Knevichi Vladivostok Uhww VVO 1829 Emelyanovo Krasnoyarsk UNKL Kja 1796 New Khabarovsk Uhhh Khv 1795 Mineral water Mineral water Urmm Mrv 1722 Irkutsk Irkutsk UIII IKT 1653 Bravely Kaliningrad UMKK KGD 1571 Roshchino Tyumen USTR Tjm 1518

Communication

In terms of providing the population with communications, Russia is in the highest group of medium-developed countries, however, in the 2000s, this sector was characterized by high positive dynamics, in particular in the field of telephone communications . Cellular penetration has increased from 5% in 2001 to almost universal coverage now ^[182] . The country phone code is + 7.

The population’s access to the Internet is also expanding very quickly : if in 2000 it was owned by no more than 1% of the population, then in 2007 this figure was 8.9%, and in 2009 it was already 16.1%. Currently, Russia is the largest country in Europe by the number of Internet users. At least once a week, 58% of the country's population uses a computer; approximately the same part of the population uses the Internet. Although these figures are slightly lower than in the European Union, this gap is rapidly narrowing. Over 40% of the population of Russia has broadband Internet access (35% had it in 2010, 25% in 2009). Moreover, the average speed of broadband connection in Russia is significantly higher than the world average ^[182]. In Russia, there is a program to ensure the security of the Internet in Russia in cases of various critical situations ^[243] .

Runet is the Russian-language part of the Internet . A narrower definition: Runet is a part of the World Wide Web belonging to the national Russian domains .ru and . . Number of Internet hosts: 3.7 million in the .ru zone, 788 thousand in the .rf zone ^[244] (March 2012). Number of Internet users: 52 million ^[245] (March 2012).

In mid-2009, FOM published the data of a new study and said that “the semi-annual Internet audience among people aged 18 and over is 33%, or 37.5 million people” ^[246] .

The CIA Handbook of World Countries indicates that in Russia the number of Internet hosts in 2010 amounted to 10.3 million, and the number of Internet users as of 2009 exceeded the mark of 40 million, which puts Russia in this tenth position in the world ^[176] .

According to FOM estimates, the monthly Internet audience among users over 18 years of age as of the end of 2009 - beginning of 2010 ^[247] :

Federal districts and cities of federal significance	Number of users, million	Penetration,%
Central Federal District (without Moscow)	7.4	33
Moscow	5.8	64
Southern and North Caucasian Federal Districts	5.5	thirty
Northwestern Federal District	5.7	51
Far Eastern Federal District	1.7	33
Siberian Federal District	five	thirty
Ural federal district	3,7	38
Volga Federal District	8.6	35

Demography and social sphere

Population, resettlement

According to the results of the national census conducted in October 2010, the population of Russia amounted to 142 905 200 people. Russia, therefore, is the most populated country in Europe and ranks ninth in the world in terms of the number of inhabitants .

The average population density is (based on the 2010 census) about 8.36 people / km², while the population is distributed very unevenly - 78% of Russians live in the European part of Russia , which makes up less than 25% of the territory. Among the subjects of the federation, the highest population density was registered in Moscow - more than 4626 people / km², the smallest - in the Autonomous Okrug of Chukotka - less than 0.07 people / km². There is a big gap between the geographical center of the country, the center of the inhabited lands and the center of resettlement: if the geographical center of the country is in Evenkia , and the center of the inhabited lands is between Novosibirsk and Omsk , then the center of gravity of the population from the Belaya Riverin Bashkortostan in recent years, retreats to the south-west ^[248] .

The share of urban population in 2010 was 73% ^[176] . As of November 1, 2018, 170 cities have a population of more than 100 thousand people. Of these, 15 cities have a population of more than one million people:

Settlements with a population of more than 1 million people

Town	Population
Moscow	↗ 12 678 079 [8]
St. Petersburg	↗ 5 398 064 [8]
Novosibirsk	↗ 1,625,631 [249]
Yekaterinburg	↗ 1,493,749 [249]
Kazan	↗ 1,257,391 [249]
Nizhny Novgorod	↘ 1,252,236 [249]
Chelyabinsk	↘ 1,196,680 [249]
Samara	↗ 1,156,659 [249]
Omsk	↘ 1,154,507 [249]
Rostov-on-Don	↗ 1,137,904 [249]
Ufa	↗ 1,128,787 [249]
Krasnoyarsk	↘ 1,093,771 [249]
Voronezh	↗ 1,058,261 [249]
Permian	↗ 1,055,397 [249]
Volgograd	↘ 1,008,998 [249]

Growth rates, social, age and gender structure

Almost the entire post-Soviet period, Russia was characterized by a decrease in the population. In the 2000s, the pace of decline began to decline due to rising birth rates and falling mortality rates. Since 2009, the population began to grow ^{[250] [251]} . At present, a natural population growth is taking place in Russia; the birth rate exceeds mortality. In January-October 2012, the birth rate in Russia amounted to 13.3 per 1000 people, mortality - 13.3, natural growth rate - 0.0. Compared to the previous year, there is an increase in the birth rate, a drop in mortality, and an increase in the rate of natural increase ^[252] .

Fertility and mortality in Russia

Year	Birth rate	Mortality	Growth
1995	1,363,806	2 203 811	- 840 005
1999	1 214 689	2 144 316	- 929 627
2000	1,266,800	2,225,332	- 958 532
2001	1 311 604	2,254,856	- 943 252
2002	1,396,967	2 332 272	- 935 305
2003	1 477 301	2 365 826	- 888 525
2004	1 502 477	2,295,402	- 792 925
2005	1,457,376	2 303 935	- 846 559
2006	1,479,637	2 166 703	- 687,066
2007	1 610 122	2,080,445	- 470 323
2008	1 713 947	2,075 954	- 362 007
2009	1,761,687	2 010 543	- 248 856
2010	1,788,948	2 028 516	- 239 568
2011	1 796 629	1 925 720	- 129 091
2012	1 902 084	1 906 335	- 4251
2013	1 895 822	1 871 809	+ 24 013
2014	1 942 683	1 912 347	+ 30 336
2015	1 940 579	1 908 541	+ 32 038
2016	1 888 729	1 891 015	- 2286
2017	1 690 307	1 826 125	- 135 818
2018	1 604 344	1 828 910	- 224 566
Source: Rosstat [253]

Age structure of the population: the average age of a Russian resident is 39 years ^[176] .

The sex ratio  is 0.86 men per 1 woman ^[251] . Changes in this indicator in different age groups generally correspond to the global trend: 1.06 at birth, 1.06 for people under 15 years of age, 0.91 for people aged 15 to 64 and 0.43 for people over 65 ^[176] .

Age structure:

• 0-14 years: 15.1% (men - 11.9 million / women - 10.4 million)
• 15-64 years old: 72.0% (men - 48.9 million / women - 53.3 million)
• 65 years and more: 12.9% (men - 5.7 million / women - 12.6 million) (2010) ^[251]

Average age:

• total: 38.7 years
• men: 35.5 years old
• women: 41.9 years old (2011) ^[176]

Social structure :

Most citizens are wage earners with an average income, a social group with low and very low incomes makes up about 30% of the total population, there is a slight increase in the number of wealthy citizens, representatives of medium social groups have the opportunity for vertical social mobility ( social elevator ), while the higher social group remains quite closed; Russia is in line with the global trend of increasing concentration of social income within the framework of a higher social group ^{[254] [255] [256]} (see Capital in the 21st Century ).

From January to May 2017, 679.2 thousand children were born in Russia, data from the Federal State Statistics Service showed , that is, the number of births fell by almost 11% ^[257] .

National composition

Nationality	Share (2002) [258]	Share (2010) [258]
Russians	80.64%	80.90%
Tatars	3.87%	3.87%
Ukrainians	2.05%	1.41%
Bashkirs	1.16%	1.15%
Chuvashs	1.14%	1.05%
Chechens	0.95%	1.04%
Armenians	0.79%	0.86%
Avars	0.57%	0.66%
Mordva	0.59%	0.54%
Kazakhs	0.46%	0.47%
Azerbaijanis	0.43%	0.44%
Dargins	0.35%	0.43%
Udmurts	0.44%	0.40%
Mari	0.42%	0.40%
Ossetians	0.36%	0.39%
Belarusians	0.56%	0.38%
Kabardinians	0.36%	0.38%
Kumyks	0.29%	0.37%
Yakuts	0.31%	0.35%
Lezgins	0.29%	0.35%
Buryats	0.31%	0.34%
Ingush	0.29%	0.32%
other	3.40%	3.51%
did not indicate nationality and persons for whom information was obtained from administrative sources, million people.	1.46	5.63

According to the 2010 census , representatives of more than 200 nationalities (ethnic groups) live in Russia ^[259] . The importance of this fact is reflected in the preamble to the Constitution of the Russian Federation . About 80% of the population of Russia are Russians . Russians are unevenly dispersed throughout the country: in some regions, such as Chechnya , make up less than 2% of the population ^[260] .

Languages

The peoples of Russia speak more than 100 languages ​​and dialects belonging to the Indo-European , Altai and Uralic language families , Caucasian and Paleo-Asian language groups . The most common languages ​​are Russian , Tatar , Chechen , Bashkir , Ukrainian and Chuvash . Russian is the native language for approximately 130 million Russian citizens (92% of the Russian population).

The most common language in Russia is Russian. It is also the state language of the Russian Federation in accordance with Article 68 of the Constitution . The number of speakers of eight more languages ​​in the Russian Federation exceeds one million people. The republics in its composition have the right to establish their own state languages ​​and, as a rule, enjoy this right: for example, in the Karachay-Cherkess Republic , in addition to Russian, the Abazin , Karachai , Nogai and Circassian languages have the state status .

In 2009, UNESCO recognized 136 languages ​​in Russia as threatened with extinction ^[261] .

All official languages ​​of the subjects of the federation must have written script in Cyrillic ^[262] .

Of the foreign languages, the most famous are English, as well as to a lesser extent German, French and Spanish.

Religious composition

De jure, Russia is a secular state ^[263] . The Constitution guarantees “freedom of conscience, freedom of religion, including the right to profess individually or jointly with others any religion or not to profess any, freely choose, have and disseminate religious and other beliefs and act in accordance with them” ^[264] . Article 148 of the Criminal Code provides for criminal liability for “unlawful obstruction of the activities of religious organizations or the performance of religious rites” ^[265] . Federal Law of July 11, 2001 on Political Parties ^[266] prohibits the creation of such, inter alia, "on the grounds of religious affiliation."

In Russia, Christians (mainly Orthodox ), Muslims , Buddhists , Jews , as well as representatives of other religious movements live .

According to a VTsIOM survey conducted in January 2010, the proportion of Russian citizens who consider themselves Orthodox increased in 2009 from 70 to 75% ^[17] . Since the late 1990s, there has been a public discussion about the admissibility of introducing the “ Fundamentals of Orthodox Culture ” into public school programs ^[267] . The subject was introduced on April 1, 2010 in 19 regions in an experimental mode.

There are no official statistics on the proportion of Russian residents of different religions (the last time the issue of religion was raised by the 1937 census); however, according to the VTsIOM estimate in August - September 2007 ^[268], half of the citizens of Russia considered themselves believers, including 10% regularly attend church, observe all rites and rituals, and 43% go to church only on holidays and do not observe all rites and rituals. A third of respondents (31%) admit the existence of God, but have little interest in church life. Convinced atheists make up only 6% of respondents. And 8% do not think about the attitude to religion. The predominant motivation for attraction to religion is “People are drawn to religion, because it is an introduction to the national tradition, the faith of the ancestors.” The most popular religion in Russia, in the average number of different polls at the turn of 2007 and 2008, is Orthodoxy (66-67% of respondents consider themselves to be its followers), 5-6% are Muslims. No more than 1-2% of respondents consider themselves to any other religion ^[269] .

Also, according to a VTsIOM survey conducted on August 25–26, 2007, more than half of Russian citizens (55%) believe that the future president of Russia out of all religious organizations should give preference to the Russian Orthodox Church; however, 45% believe that he does not have to be a religious person himself, but he needs to show respectful attitude to the Russian Church, help her and attend holiday services ^[270] .

Healthcare

Protecting the health of citizens in Russia is a set of measures of a political, economic, legal, social, cultural, scientific, medical, sanitary-hygienic and anti-epidemic nature, aimed at preserving and strengthening the physical and mental health of every person, maintaining his long-term active life, providing him with a medical assistance in case of loss of health ^[271] .

The number of hospital facilities at the end of 2007 was about 6.8 thousand, hospital beds - 1522 thousand (107.2 per 10 000 people) ^[272] . In 2017, the number of hospital beds decreased to 1.2 million ^[273] . From 2000 to 2015, the number of hospitals in Russia was halved - from 10.7 to 5.4 thousand ^[274] . According to the National Patient Protection League, about 50,000 people die every year in Russia as a result of poor-quality medical care; According to the MHIF, the Health Insurance Fund, medical errors account for about 10% of all medical services provided, or 800,000 per year ^[275] .

The number of private clinics in Russia does not exceed 5-10% of their total number ^[276] . In Russia, 707 thousand doctors of various specialties (at the end of 2007) ^[277] ; according to the Ministry of Health of Russia (2016), in Russia there are 543.6 thousand doctors of various specialties ^{[278] [279]} .

In 2016, health care expenditures in Russia amounted to about 3.6% of GDP, which is lower than the average for the EU countries (7.2%) and the OECD (6.5%); in BRICS, they exceed expenditures in China (3.1%) and India (1.4% of GDP), but despite the reduction in the number of beds, the number of hospital beds per 1,000 people in Russia is 1.6 times higher than the EU average; in 2011-2017 there was a decrease in infant mortality by 36%; in 2011—2017 Within the framework of the national project “Health”, about 300 clinics, 1800 paramedic points, and about 600 specialized points to help with heart attack and stroke were built ^[280] .

According to the report (2014) of the consulting company Blomberg, Russia took the last 51st place in terms of quality and efficiency of healthcare, while in 2013 it did not meet the rating criteria; in the report for 2015, the national healthcare system rose in the ranking by 1-2 positions, taking 49-50th place ^[281] .

Between 2010 and 2014, there was a significant decrease in infant mortality ; infant mortality in Russia has become lower than in many European countries, which indicates the progress of the Russian healthcare system in this area ^[282] .

According to experts (Prof. N. Korchazhkina) ^[283] , the number of spa facilities and the number of people who receive spa treatment is decreasing from year to year in Russia, which indicates the low availability of spa treatment for the population. Due to the prohibition of substitution therapy for drug addicts and the lack of sexual education in Russia, the HIV epidemic continues ^[284] . Russia is the leader in the spread of HIV in Europe ^[285] . In terms of life expectancy , Russia ranks 110th (2015) - 105th (2017) ^[286] , which correlates with low overall health spending in Russia. However, over the past 12 years, the average life expectancy in Russia has increased by about six years, reaching the indicators of the Soviet Union in 1989 ^[287] , and in 2016 amounted to 71.87 ^[288] . In Russia there is a significant annual decrease in the number of deaths from traffic accidents .

According to The Lancet medical magazine for 2016, Russia ranks 119th among the countries of the world in the ranking of public health ^[289] . According to the head of the Center for Strategic Research A.Kudrin, Russia is among the outsiders in terms of male health . According to a UN report assessing a “level of happiness” ^[290] . According to a study by The Economist Intelligence Unit (2016), an international analytical company, the Russian healthcare model, according to the criterion of effectiveness and focus on results, is at the end of the ranking: at the level of Nigeria, Brazil and South Africa, which is associated with a reduction in real funding for Russian healthcare and affects the quality of life , according to which Russia in this rating takes 72nd place out of 80 ^[291] in a country based on the sum of complex indicators of the level of safety, health, education, and life satisfaction, in 2017 Russia was in 49th place in the world, bypassing all the republics of the former USSR with the exception of the Baltic countries; in 2018, Russia moved to 59th place.

Social problems

Poverty

According to the Federal State Statistics Service, as of the end of the first quarter of 2016, there were 23 million people in Russia with incomes below the subsistence level ^[292] , which is approximately 15.4% of the total population of the country.

Annual surveys of the Romir research holding show that for a conditionally “normal life”, an average Russian family of three, in which two people work, needs to have a monthly income of 70 to 80 thousand rubles, or from 23 to 27 thousand rubles. per month for each family member. As follows from the data of the Federal State Statistics Service, in 2015, revenues are below 15 thousand rubles. 29.4% of the population, or about 43 million citizens, received per month - this is approximately twice the official poverty rate ^[293] .

Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets stated that the real poverty level in Russia is much higher than the official level, which is calculated on the basis of statistical data ^[294] . In the ranking according to the level of comfort for pensioners, Russia takes 40th place out of 43 ^[295] . The gap between the richest strata - the top 10% of the population - and the poorest 10% was 16 times in 2013; over twenty years, stratification increased four times ^[296] .

Crime

In January-December 2011, the internal affairs authorities considered 24.61 million statements, messages and other information about incidents, which is 3.1% more than in the twelve months of 2010. Almost every twelfth report (8.1%) decided to institute criminal proceedings. As a result of criminal assaults, 40.1 thousand people died (4.5%), grievous harm was caused to 49.4 thousand people (2.8%). The rural area accounts for 41.0% of the deaths (16.4 thousand people); 35.8% for cities and towns that are not centers of constituent entities of the federations; persons whose health was seriously harmed - 17.7 thousand people ^[300] .

According to the Federal State Statistics Service , in 2010 in Russia, 1800 crimes were registered per 100 thousand people. ^{[301] [302]} , counting the entire population of 2.63 million crimes. In 2011, 16.4 thousand murders were recorded , which is 12% less than in 2010 ^{[303] [304]} .

Unemployment

The level of employment in Russia is quite high since the Soviet era, when the birth rate declined, and the number of women involved in the economy increased sharply.

After the crisis in the labor market during the shock therapy of the 1990s , the renewed growth of the economy made it possible to reduce unemployment and increase employment . As of March 2013, the economically active population in Russia was 75.2 million people. This makes up about 53% of the total population of the country. Including 71.0 million people were employed in the economy and 4.3 million people (5.7%) were not employed, but were actively looking for work. Moreover, different regions of Russia also vary greatly in terms of employment, unemployment, and the level of foreign labor attraction ^[305] . In 2013 in Russia according to the ILO there were 4.137 million unemployed ^[306] .

Despite the fact that women in Russia are actively employed in the economy, in Russia many employers still practice explicit discrimination by gender and age ^[307] . In addition to problematic schematic discrimination, another problem of employment in Russia, despite the low level of unemployment, is the fairly widespread employment in the informal sector of the economy, which increased significantly after Perestroika . This phenomenon has its pros and cons.

According to a VTsIOM survey , unemployment is one of the most exciting social problems for Russia ^[308] .

Violations of human rights and freedoms

Since 1989 (after the collapse of the USSR ), the American non-governmental organization Freedom House annually out of three possible options (“free”, “partially free” and “not free”) awarded Russia the status of a “partially free” country. In 2004, Russia was assigned to the category of “non-free countries” (there were 49 “total free countries” at that time). 54 countries were recognized as “partially free”, and 89 countries as “completely free”. In 2008 , according to Freedom House, the “freedom rating” in Russia was 5.5. The best value in this ranking is 1.0 (for example, Canada ); the worst - 7.0 (e.g. DPRK) According to this rating, Russia still belongs to the category of “free countries”, along with such countries as, for example, Pakistan , Tajikistan , Azerbaijan or Egypt ^[309] . According to the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation , Freedom House reports are biased and biased, and the organization itself is an instrument of US policy ^[310] .

Corruption

In terms of corruption, the international organization Transparency International gave Russia less than 3 points, which this organization estimates is a very poor indicator ^[311] . However, according to a study by the British auditing company Ernst & Young , conducted in the spring of 2012, in 2011 corruption risks in Russia significantly decreased and in many ways fell below the global average. The Ernst & Young study was attended by over 1,500 top managers of major companies from 43 countries. So, if in 2011 39% of managers surveyed in Russia stated that it was necessary to give bribes in cash to protect the business or achieve corporate benefits, then in 2012 there were 16% ^[312] .

At the end of 2011, PricewaterhouseCoopers , an international consulting company, and Transparency International, published reports stating that corruption in Russia is declining. The PWC report noted that “the wide public resonance that this topic causes, and the measures taken by the Russian government in the legal field, as well as work within companies to strengthen compliance systems and foster an ethical behavior among employees, all this is bearing fruit " ^{[313] [314]} .

The head of VTB 24 Bank Mikhail Zadornov said that, in his opinion, the level of corruption in Russia is currently higher than in the 1990s ^[315] . According to estimates by the international organization of certified accountants ACCA, Russia is in the top five countries with the highest level of shadow economy ^[316] . Regarding the fight against corruption, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office reported on the dismissal of 1,303 officials in 2018 in connection with corruption investigations ^[317] .

Education

Obtaining basic general education in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation is mandatory. Parents or persons replacing them are required to ensure that their children receive basic general education. In total, 31.5 million people study in Russia (2016). Adult literacy rate (2015) is 99.8% ^[318] .

Schools at the princely courts of Vladimir Svyatoslavich in Kiev and Yaroslav the Wise in Novgorod , which served as an example for the creation of schools and at the courts of other princes , should be considered the beginning of the development of the Russian educational system . Schools opened in the capitals of the principalities and at monasteries. Schools taught literacy and foreign languages. In 1086, the first school for women was opened in Kiev ^[319] .

The first higher educational institution in 1687 was the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy . In the XVIII century, the first Russian universities were created - the Academic University at the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences ( 1724 ) and Moscow University ( 1755 ). The reign of Peter the Great began the active creation of technical educational institutions aimed at training engineers ^[320] .

At the beginning of the 19th century, the education system in Russia underwent changes. According to the charter of 1804, education could be received sequentially in parish schools, county schools, provincial gymnasiums and universities. Schools of the first two types were free and non-verbose. In addition, there were theological schools and seminaries under the jurisdiction of the Holy Synod , charity schools of the Office of the Empress Maria, and educational institutions of the War Ministry ^[321] . By the beginning of the 20th century, two-thirds of the Russian population was illiterate, the expenses of the Russian Empire on education were 10 times lower than the expenses on education of developed European countries ^[322] .

The education system in the USSR in the early 50s of the XX century received worldwide recognition and was considered as one of the world leaders, especially in the field of education in technical specialties ^{[323] [324]} .

The education system in modern Russia includes pre-school, general and vocational education. General education has levels: primary, secondary and senior, and also includes special (correctional) and additional education of children. Professional education is also divided into levels: primary, secondary and higher, and also includes postgraduate and additional professional education.

The main types of educational institutions in Russia are:

• Preschool education (up to 6-7 years): nursery , kindergarten ;
• Primary education (6-11 years old, grades 1-4): school , lyceum , gymnasium , boarding school ;
• Secondary general education (12-16 years old, 5-9th grade): school, lyceum, gymnasium, school , boarding school;
• Senior full (general) education (16-18 years, 10-11 grades): school, lyceum, gymnasium, school, boarding school;
• Primary vocational education: vocational school , vocational lyceum, training center (point, center);
• Secondary professional education (after the 9th grade): technical school , college ;
• Senior and postgraduate professional education : institute (university), academy , university .

In Russia in the 2005/06 academic year, 60.5 thousand general educational institutions functioned: elementary, basic and full secondary schools, boarding schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, etc. (46,794, according to 2015) ^[325] . More than 15.6 million students are studying in them (2018) ^[326] . At the same time, about 2 thousand educational institutions in which 0.3 million people study are special, that is, they are intended for children with disabilities of health and development. About 3.5 thousand educational institutions are institutions of primary vocational education, in which more than 1.5 million people study. About 300 such educational institutions were established at the correctional labor institutions of the Ministry of Justice. Due to the demographic decline, the number of students has been declining in recent years.

There are about 7 million students in the country (including 3.5 million full-time students) and 1,068 universities, including 413 non-state ones (2005). In addition, there are 2.9 thousand institutions of secondary vocational education (including 217 non-governmental) in which about 2.5 million people are studying ^[327]. Vocational education institutions in accordance with the law must undergo periodic certification, licensing and state accreditation. Educational institutions that do not have state accreditation do not have the right to issue state education certificates (diplomas, certificates), and do not have licenses - they are not at all entitled to conduct educational activities. The concept of "certification" does not apply to institutions, but to educational programs, as well as to graduates of universities and secondary schools.

Since 2008, a mass transfer of higher education to a two-tier system has been carried out: bachelor  - master (see Bologna process ). A single-level system (with the qualification of " specialist ") remains for some professions and areas of education, for example, medical or defense-related.

According to the UN, Russia ranks first in the world in the number of citizens receiving an engineering education ^{[328] [329] [330]} .

From 2010 to 2017 in Russia, the number of free (budget) places in higher education has increased (2010 - 43.43%; 2017 - 49.91%), but at the same time, the cost of paid tuition has increased significantly, which runs counter to the global trend of lower fees in higher education institutions ^[331] and, according to some researchers ^[332] , reduces the overall availability of higher education in Russia. In the ranking of national higher education systems (2017), according to the international network of universities Universitas 21, Russia ranks 33rd ^[333] . According to the ranking of the countries of the world in terms of education (Education index) (2018) - a combined indicator of the United Nations Development Program ( UNDP), calculated as an adult literacy index and an index of the total share of students receiving education, Russia ranks 32nd in the world ^[334] . According to the rating the effectiveness of national education systems (Global Index of Cognitive Skills and Educational Attainment ( 2016)) - a rating that measures the achievements in the sphere of education of the world according to the British company , - Russia occupies 34th place ^[335] .

The science

Science as a social institution arose in Russia under Peter I , when several expeditions were sent to Siberia and America, including Vitus Bering and Vasily Tatishchev , the first Russian historiographer. In 1725, the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences was opened (now the Russian Academy of Sciences , the main organizational center of fundamental science in the Russian Federation). A university was opened under her, on the basis of which Petersburg University was later opened . Academician Mikhail Lomonosov , whose authorship belongs, made a great contribution to the development of Russian science law of conservation of mass. In 1755, Moscow University was founded on the basis of the Lomonosov project and under the auspices of I. I. Shuvalov .

In the XVII-XIX centuries, universities appeared in Dorpat , Vilnius , Kazan and Kharkov . By the end of the XIX century, the composition of universities was replenished by Warsaw, Kiev, Odessa and Tomsk. DI Mendeleev discovered in 1869 one of the fundamental laws of nature - the periodic law of chemical elements. In 1904, I.P. Pavlov was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work in the field of digestion physiology, in 1908, I.I. Mechnikov  , for studying the mechanisms of immunity. In 1909, the University of Saratov was founded.

Scientists from Russia became the founders of the following new research areas: physical chemistry ( M. Lomonosov , D. Mendeleev ), organic chemistry , one of the founders ( A. Butlerov ), non-Euclidean geometry ( N. Lobachevsky , B. Riman ), metallography ( D. Chernov , P. Anosov , G. Clifton ), cryobiology ( P. Bakhmetev ), biogeochemistry ( V. Vernadsky ), geochemistry ( V. Vernadsky together withF. Clark , A. Fersman , V. Goldschmidt , A. Vinogradov ), gerontology ( I. Mechnikov ), heliobiology ( A. Chizhevsky ), petrochemistry , one of the founders ( N. Zelinsky ), theoretical cosmonautics ( K. Tsiolkovsky , A Sternfeld ), aerodynamics ( N. Zhukovsky ), field surgery ( N. Pirogov ), psychophysiology ( I. Sechenov ), reflexology (I. Sechenov , I. Pavlov , V. Bekhterev ), one of the founders of peasant studies (peasant studies) is A. Chayanov , tectology ( A. Bogdanov ), resuscitation ( V. Negovsky , S. Bryukhonenko ), one of the founders of sociology is P Sorokin , soil science ( V. V. Dokuchaev ), one of the founders of transplantology is V. P. Demikhov .

In the Soviet period, Russian science achieved the greatest success in the field of natural sciences , where ideological control by the ruling party was minimal. According to some experts ( prof. N. Azarov ) ^[338] , a cult of science existed in the USSR. Physicists: Tamm , Frank , Cherenkov , Landau , Basov , Prokhorov , Kapitsa , as well as chemist Semenov and mathematician Kantorovich , who won the Economics Prize in 1975, received Nobel Prizes for work performed at that time . Thanks to the established scientific schools under the leadership ofKurchatov , Korolev and other scientists in the USSR created nuclear weapons and space exploration . At the same time, the development of biology was restrained by the campaign against genetics launched in the mid-1930s by Lysenko , and a number of other scientific disciplines were significantly affected (see Ideological Control in Soviet Science ).

In Soviet times, the number of scientific institutions increased significantly, in addition to the academic and university ones in science, the industrial and factory sectors also arose. The latter, in the course of post-Soviet reforms from the public sector, were largely transferred to self-financing.

At the end of the 20th century, Russian science experienced a severe crisis. The starting point for the processes of transformation of scientific institutions and the growing crisis of science is considered to be 1987, when a resolution was adopted by the Central Committee of the CPSU and the Council of Ministers of the USSR “On the transfer of scientific organizations to full economic calculation and self-financing ” ^[339] , applied research and development was recognized as a commodity, and a transition was made to pay for scientific and technical products at negotiated prices, the reduction in the number of scientific workers began for the first time ^[340] . There is not enough research, equipment and staffing potential for industry development. The process of “preserving backwardness” of the technological basis of the sectors of the national economy is deepening. Due to the sharp reduction in funding for science, tens of thousands of scientists who now work abroad have left the country (see Brain Drain ).

Despite the crisis of the 1990s, in some areas of science, Russian scientists held high positions at the international level, in particular 4 Russian physicists were awarded the Nobel Prize : Zhores Alferov  in 2000 , Alexey Abrikosov and Vitaly Ginzburg  in 2003 , and Konstantin Novoselov  - in 2010 . Mathematicians G. Margulis (1978), V. Drinfeld (1990), E. Zelmanov (1994), M. Kontsevich (1998), V. Voevodsky (2002), G. Perelman (2006), A. Okunkov(2006), S. Smirnov (2010) were awarded the most prestigious award for mathematicians - the Fields Prize ^[341] . Mathematicians M. Pinsker (1978), A. Holevo (2016) were awarded the Shannon Prize , the most prestigious award in the field of information theory ^[342] . Mathematicians M. Gromov (2002), Y. Sinai (2014) were awarded the Abel Prize in Mathematics, an analogue of the Nobel Prize. The Poincare Prize  - the highest award in the field of mathematical physics - was received by M. Kontsevich (1997), J. Sinai(2009). At the junction of the 20th and 21st centuries, several hundred thousand scientists worked in Russia, most of them (about half a million) were candidates and doctors of sciences ^[343] .

In Russia, there are about four thousand organizations involved in research and development. About 70% of these organizations belong to the state ^[344] .

The reform of the Russian Academy of Sciences by the government of D. A. Medvedev has caused considerable criticism of scientists, since by 2019 the Ministry of Education and Science planned to dismiss about 8,000 scientists, which is associated with a reduction in the share of the state program "Development of Science and Technology" in total budget expenditures from 0.98 % in 2015 to 0.87% in 2019 ^[345] .

In 1995-2005, Russian scientists published 286 thousand scientific articles, which were quoted 971.5 thousand times in the world (according to an analysis of publications in 11 thousand scientific journals in the world). According to the results of 2005, Russia ranked 8th in the world in the number of printed scientific papers and 18th in the frequency of their citation ^[346] . Thousands of scientists with a large volume of international citation work in Russia (tens and hundreds of references to their works) ^[347] .

In the field of mathematics and programming, Russia has retained its scientific potential and occupies a leading position in the world; Russian mathematics and programming olympiads occupy first places ^{[348] [349]} . In 1994-2011, the number of annual patent applications for inventions in Russia increased from 25,745 to 41,414 ^[350] . In 2011, about 4 times more patent applications were filed in Russia than in other CIS countries combined ^[350] .

• 

  Peter Kapitsa

• 

  Ilya Mechnikov

• 

  Ivan Pavlov

• 

  Nikolai Semenov

• 

  Pavel Cherenkov

Space exploration

Russian achievements in space technology and space exploration go back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky , the father of theoretical cosmonautics. His work inspired leading Soviet rocket scientists, such as Sergey Korolev , Valentin Glushko and many others, who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program in the early stages of the space race and beyond.

In 1957, the world's first artificial Earth satellite, Sputnik-1 , was launched ; in 1961, the world's first manned space flight was successfully carried out by Yuri Gagarin . Among the achievements of Soviet and Russian space researchers is also the first in the world access to outer space by Alexei Leonov . Luna-9 was the first spacecraft to land on the moon , Venus-7 first landed on another planet ( Venus ), Mars-3 was the first to make a soft landing on Mars , the first planet- rover Lunokhod-1 . The world's first orbital station Salute-1 and the multimodular orbital station Mir .

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, several government-sponsored space exploration programs, including the Buran space shuttle program , were canceled or delayed, while Russian space and space industry participation in commercial activities and international cooperation intensified. After the US Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, the Soyuz rocket became the only means of delivering astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station .

As part of the Russian lunar program (Luna-Glob), the first launch of the mission to the moon in 2021 is planned. Roscosmos is also developing the Federation spacecraft , which is planned to be launched into lunar orbit with a crew on board in 2025 ^[351] . In February 2019, it was announced that Russia was planning its first mission with a crew to land on the moon in 2031 ^[352] .

Culture and art

Russia, located at the intersection of many cultures, as well as taking into account the multinational nature of its population, is characterized by a high degree of ethnocultural diversity and the ability to intercultural dialogue ^{[353] [354]} . The multinational culture of Russia is an integral part of world culture, according to UN estimates, Russia belongs to the countries with the richest cultural heritage . The most important factor in the development of Russian material and spiritual culture was the impact of Orthodoxy, ^{[355] [356]} and various forms of paganism, ^[357], as well as significant Mongol-Tatar and Western European influence. The corresponding diverse cultural heritage is to some extent traced in almost all forms of national art .

Literature

According to researchers ^{[358] [359]} , literature played a huge role in the rise of Russia, when the world intellectual elite ceased to see a wild and barbaric country in Russia, and began to consider it as a carrier of a certain cultural pattern, defining Russian culture as the most important component of world culture .

A certain number of monuments of ancient Russian literature of a religious ^[360] or narrative character have survived to our time , among them the most famous are The Tale of Bygone Years , The Word of Law and Grace , Memory and Praise to Prince Vladimir , The Life of Theodosius of the Caves , The Tale of Boris and Gleb ”,“ The Instruction of Vladimir Monomakh ”,“ The Word about Igor’s Regiment ”,“ The Prayer of Daniel the Sharpener ”,“ Zadonshchina ”,“ The Tale of the Life of Alexander Nevsky ”and many others. Separate examples of the epistolary genre appeared, for example, “The Message of Clement Smolyatich to Presbyter of Smolensk Thomas . ” In the sixteenth century, there appeared such a pearl of the epistolary genre as the correspondence of Tsar Ivan Vasilyevich the Terrible with Prince Kurbsky ^[361] . Then, through the Polish medium, acquaintance with Western literature gradually begins. Folk art is represented by an original genre of epics and fairy tales. Secular literature appeared in Russia only in the 17th century. The first known work of this kind is “The Life of Protopope Habakkuk .” At the same time, Russian poetry was born (well-known representatives of Russian syllabic poetry  - Simeon of Polotsk and Sylvester Medvedev ).

In the 18th century, a galaxy of secular writers and poets appeared in Russia. Among them are poets and writers V. K. Trediakovsky , A. D. Kantemir , M. V. Lomonosov , G. R. Derzhavin , N. M. Karamzin ; playwrights A.P. Sumarokov and D.I. Fonvizin . The dominant artistic style of literature at that time was classicism ^[362] . Sentimentalism comes to replace it ( M. Kheraskov , M. Muravyov , N. Karamzin , I. Dmitriev , etc.).

Among the world's most famous writers and playwrights of Russia of the 19th and 20th centuries : A. S. Griboedov , N. V. Gogol , A. N. Ostrovsky , D. V. Grigorovich , M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin , F. M. Dostoevsky , I. S. Turgenev , L. N. Tolstoy , A. P. Chekhov , M. Gorky , M. A. Bulgakov , I. A. Bunin , A. I. Kuprin , I. E. Babel , V. V. Nabokov , V. G. Korolenko , A.P. Platonov ,K. G. Paustovsky , V. F. Tendryakov , A. I. Solzhenitsyn , V. P. Astafiev , V. G. Rasputin , V. N. Voinovich , F. A. Iskander , the Strugatsky brothers , S. D. Dovlatov and many others, whose works have been translated into almost all modern languages ​​of the world, becoming an integral part of world culture.

The most famous Russian poets in the world are: V. A. Zhukovsky , K. N. Batyushkov , A. S. Pushkin , M. Yu. Lermontov , A. V. Koltsov , E. A. Baratynsky , A. A. Fet , I. F. Annensky , F. I. Tyutchev , N. A. Nekrasov , A. A. Blok , A. M. Dobrolyubov , S. A. Yesenin , K. D. Balmont , D. S. Merezhkovsky , N. S. Gumilev , I. Severyanin , V. Ya. Bryusov , O. E. Mandelstam, V.V. Mayakovsky , E. G. Bagritsky , M. I. Tsvetaeva , M. A. Voloshin , S. Cherny , B. L. Pasternak , A. A. Akhmatova , V. Khlebnikov , A. Bely , I A. Brodsky , N. M. Rubtsov , A. T. Tvardovsky , K. M. Simonov , A. A. Tarkovsky , V. S. Vysotsky , R. I. Rozhdestvensky , A. A. Voznesensky , B. A Akhmadulina , Y. V. Smelyakov , E. A. Asadov ,Yu. V. Drunina , L. A. Rubalskaya , Yu. I. Vizbor , B. Sh. Okudzhava , R. G. Gamzatov and many others.

Four Russian writers were awarded the Nobel Prize in literature : Bunin (1933, in exile), Pasternak (1958), Sholokhov (1965) and Solzhenitsyn (1970).

• 

  Alexander Pushkin

• 

  Nikolay Gogol

• 

  Mikhail Lermontov

• 

  Ivan Turgenev

• 

  Fedor Dostoevsky

• 

  Lev Tolstoy

• 

  Anton Chekhov

Philosophy

According to the researchers, the philosophy of Russia is based on the idea of ​​holistic knowledge, striving to overcome extremes and contradictions, a moral and teacher orientation; Russian literature can be regarded as the language of moral philosophy, which received a special literary-centric form of expression in Russia ^[363] . According to Nikolai Lossky , the characteristic features of Russian philosophy are: cosmism , sophiology (teachings about Sofia) , collegiality , metaphysics , religiosity, intuitionism , positivism , realism ( ontologism ). Some researchers note eschatological motivesin the philosophy of Russia ^{[364] [365] [366]} .

Among the most famous Russian philosophers who belonged to different philosophical trends and made a significant contribution to the treasury of Russian and world culture were: A. N. Radishchev , P. Ya. Chaadaev , A. S. Khomyakov , P. V. Kireevsky , N. G. Chernyshevsky , F. M. Dostoevsky , L. N. Tolstoy , N. F. Fedorov , G. V. Plekhanov , M. A. Bakunin , P. A. Kropotkin , V. S. Soloviev , V. V. Rozanov , K. E. Tsiolkovsky , D. L. Andreev , V. I. Vernadsky, N. O. Lossky , V. I. Lenin , S. N. Bulgakov , N. K. Roerich , N. A. Berdyaev , A. A. Bogdanov , N. Ya. Danilevsky , P. A. Florensky , L. D. Trotsky , I. A. Ilyin , S. L. Frank , P. A. Sorokin , E. P. Blavatsky , A. F. Losev , S. A. Yanovskaya , V. V. Zenkovsky , A. A Zinoviev , E. V. Ilyenkov , A. L. Chizhevsky , G. I. Gurdjieff ,S. N. Trubetskoy , L. I. Shestov , M. M. Bakhtin , Yu. I. Levin , S. S. Averintsev , A. M. Pyatigorsky .

art

One of the oldest forms of Russian painting is icon painting . She inherited the traditions of Byzantine masters, but at the same time, Russian icons had their own style ^[367] . They are characterized not so much by realism as by symbolism; the symbolism of Russian icon painting influenced many artists, in particular, the influence of the Russian icon on his work was emphasized by Henri Matisse ^[368] . The central theme in Russian iconography was the theme of forgiveness, when not only the Temple of God, but the whole Universe was united in the Holy Trinity, which in ancient Russian painting is worshiped by everyone and expressing, on the one hand, asceticism, and on the other hand, immeasurable love for everything; in the Russian icon there are both God, saints, and mere mortals, as well as elements of God's care for people: bread and the Holy Cup ; in Russian iconography, the spelling comes from the center, the central figure, around which background figures are symmetrically located ^[369] . In Russian icon painting, a special color scheme is used and, unlike the Byzantine tradition, purple color is not used - the color of the emperor ^[370] . Alipy Pechersky , Gregory the Iconographer , Andrei Rublev , Daniil the Black , Dionysius ,Guri Nikitin , Simon Ushakov , Fedor Zubov and others raised the level of Russian icon painting to the world level.

The first realistic portraits appeared in Russia in the 17th century, in the middle - end of the 18th century such large painters as Levitsky and Borovikovsky appeared in Russia . Since that time, Russian painting has followed global trends. Prominent artists of the 19th century: F. A. Bruni , S. F. Shchedrin , O. A. Kiprensky , K. P. Bryullov , A. A. Ivanov , I. K. Aivazovsky , A. I. Kuindzhi , V. A Tropinin , A. G. Venetsianov , P. A. Fedotov . In the painting of this time, the academic direction prevails.. The second half of the XIX century - the heyday of realistic painting ( A. Savrasov , V. Polenov ) ^[371] . The Wanderers develop a critical realism trend in painting, their work is often filled with social themes. The most famous artist of critical realism is Repin . Towards the end of the 19th century, trends related to French impressionism developed in Russia . Without breaking with the realistic direction, artists become more free and virtuoso in their methods, which was most vividly embodied in the works of Serov . Vasily Vereshchagin one of the most famous Russian battle painters, personally participated in the Central Asian campaigns of the Russian army.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Russian artists were actively searching for new expressive forms, many new directions were forming, for example, symbolism ( Vrubel , Dobuzhinsky ), decorative directions corresponding to modernity, avant-garde art ( Kandinsky , Malevich ). In the middle and end of the 20th century, the artists I. Grabar , A. Rylov , M. Chagall , N. Krymov , I. Brodsky , B. Johanson , S. Gerasimov , M. Feigin , Z. Serebryakova , V. Stozharov , became widely known .Yu. Vasnetsov , E. Moiseenko , P. Konchalovsky , D. Zhilinsky , V. Oreshnikov , G. Ryazhsky , T. Yablonskaya , K. Yuon , V. Meshkov , A. Plastov , N. Romadin , P. Ossovsky , S. Chuikov , A. Deineka , M. Saryan , F. Reshetnikov , A. Mylnikov , N. Nesterova , B. Ryauzov , O. Filatchev , O. Vereisky , E. Bragovsky ,K. Vasiliev , M. Shemyakin , E. Okas , J. Romas , V. Alfeevsky .

• 

  A. Rublev . " Trinity "

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  I. Aivazovsky . " The Ninth Wave "

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  I. Repin . " Barge Haulers on the Volga "

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  V. Vasnetsov " Heroes "

• 

  K. Malevich . " Black Square "

• 

  A. Deineka . " Defense of Sevastopol "

Architecture

Old Russian architecture on the one hand followed the tradition, the roots of which were established in Byzantium , but, on the other hand, developed a line of original Russian wooden architecture . From Byzantium, Russian churches inherited the west-east narthex or refectory , naos and the altar . Characteristic features of Russian churches: onion chapters and multifacetedness. A vivid example of Russian serfdom is the Kremlin . The traditional medieval dwelling of the Russian peasants was a log cabin with a two- or four-pitched roof. Wealthy citizens builtmansion complexes . In the future, Russian architecture was greatly influenced by Western European Baroque architecture , classicism , an example of which is, for example, the development of St. Petersburg and its environs. From the middle of the 19th century, artists and architects of the Russian Empire turned their eyes to Old Russian architecture, creating pseudo-Russian and neo-Russian styles ^[372] . The avant-garde projects of garden cities , communal houses , residential complexes, social cities in the spirit of constructivism and rationalism became a bright page in the history of architecture of the USSR. In the early 1930s, with the change of political conditions, the architecture of the avant-garde was banned, and with it the projects of houses and complexes with a socialized life announced by the “leftist bends”, the period of Stalinist architecture began . The transition to mass typical construction under N. S. Khrushchev gave rise to the so-called " Khrushchev ". The historical center of St. Petersburg , the complex of churches in Kizhi , the Moscow Kremlin and Red Square , historical monuments of Novgorod , the Naryn-kala fortress in Derbent are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Slavist and historian of Russian architecture, W. K. Brumfield, singled out Russian wooden architecture and constructivism as the most significant achievements of Russian architecture ^[373] . In addition, Russia preserved the ancient buildings of the peoples of the Caucasus ( Ossetian , Rutul architecture); Tatar architecture has its own distinctive appearance .

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  Naryn-kala fortress

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  Church of the Intercession on the Nerl

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  St. Basil's Cathedral

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  Kizhi Pogost

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  Kazan Cathedral

• 

  House of Culture named after Zuev

Music

The musical culture of Russia is one of the most important components of world culture and includes the rich musical heritage of all nationalities of Russia. This concept combines the works of Russian and Soviet composers of the 16th – 20th centuries, Russian musical folklore, Russian romance, popular music of the Soviet and post-Soviet period, Russian rock, and the work of bards.

• The famous singing . The most famous composers: Vasily Rogov, Fedor the Peasant (Christian) and Ivan Nos.
• Russian folk music . The most famous performers: Nadezhda Plevitskaya , Lidia Ruslanova , Fedor Chaliapin , Olga Voronets , Lyudmila Zykina , Evgenia Smolyaninova and others.
• Russian symphonic music . Russia is the birthplace of many composers who have become world-famous classics of the symphonic music genre. Among them, A. A. Alyabyev , M. I. Glinka , A. P. Borodin , P. P. Bulakhov , M. P. Mussorgsky , P. I. Tchaikovsky , N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov , A. N. Scriabin , S. V. Rakhmaninov , S. S. Prokofiev , I. F. Stravinsky , D. D. Shostakovich , N. Ya. Myaskovsky , G. V. Sviridov , A. I. Khachaturian , E. V. Denisov, S. A. Gubaidulina , R. K. Shchedrin , A. G. Schnittke and many others. Also, such musicians as D. F. Oistrakh , M. L. Rostropovich , Yu. A. Bashmet , V. A. Gergiev , E. V. Obraztsova , D. A. Hvorostovsky , made an invaluable contribution to the development of the musical culture of Russia. S.P. Roldugin and others.
• Russian romance . The most famous composers: A. A. Alyabyev, A. E. Varlamov , A. L. Gurilev , M. I. Glinka, A. S. Dargomyzhsky , A. P. Borodin, M. P. Musorgsky, P. I. Tchaikovsky, N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Rachmaninov. In Soviet times: G.V. Sviridov, Yu. A. Shaporin , D. D. Shostakovich, S. S. Prokofiev and others.
• Russian pop music . The most famous performers: Joseph Kobzon , Muslim Magomayev , Eduard Gil , Edita Piekha , Oleg Anofriev , Yuri Antonov , Lev Leschenko , Sofia Rotaru , Alla Pugacheva , Valery Leontyev , Philip Kirkorov , Dima Bilan and others.
• Author's song . The author’s song genre arose in the USSR in the middle of the 20th century . Expressive and distinctive means are the semantic and qualitative load on the poetic text, melody, naturalness, melody and harmonic functionality of the musical material; mood of confidential communication; chamberness of performance; idealistic and romantic orientation. The most famous performers: Vladimir Vysotsky , Alexander Galich , Bulat Okudzhava , Alexander Gorodnitsky , Yuri Vizbor , Julius Kim , Alexander Dolsky , Tatyana and Sergey Nikitins, Ivashchenko and Vasiliev ("Ivasi"), Oleg Mityaev and others.
• Russian rock  is a collective designation of Russian-language rock music created and performed (first in the USSR, then in the CIS and other countries) by Russian-speaking authors and performers, musicians and musical groups. Initially, Russian rock was formed under the great influence of Western rock music, as well as Russian author’s song, usually performed with an acoustic guitar . The most famous groups: “ Time Machine ”, “ Resurrection ”, “ Aquarium ”, Nautilus Pompilius , “ Cinema ”, “ Alice ”, “ Agatha Christie ”, “ Aria ”, “ Kipelov ”, “ Chizh & Co”,“ DDT ”,“ Sounds of Mu ”,“ Civil Defense ”,“ King and the Jester ”,“ NAIV ”,“ Bi-2 ”.
• Russian rap  is a Russian-language song recorded in rap style . The first performers of this genre appeared in the Soviet Union in the second half of the eighties. The most famous of them are: Bad Balance , Bogdan Titomir and Bachelor Party . Russian rap is often mixed with rock music .
• Thieves song . A Russian (Soviet) musical genre that poeticizes the life and customs of the criminal environment, originally designed for the environment of prisoners and people close to the criminal world. Over time, songs began to be written in the thieves genre that went beyond the scope of criminal subjects, but retained its characteristic features (melody, jargon, narration, worldview). Since the 1990s, a thieves song in the Russian music industry has been promoted under the name "Russian Chanson" (there is a radio station of the same name and a music award).

• 

  Alexander Borodin

• 

  Mikhail Glinka

• 

  Sergey Rachmaninov

• 

  Pyotr Tchaikovsky

• 

  Modest Mussorgsky

• 

  Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov

Theater and Cinema

Russian medieval actors buffoons have been known since the 11th century. Among them were musicians, singers, dancers, jokers, wild animal trainers.

Theater in the modern sense appeared in Russia thanks to foreigners. Development of theatrical business engaged in Alexis , Peter I of . With the death of Peter the Great, theatrical art in Russia began to fade. But during the reign of Elizabeth Petrovna, the musical and theatrical business grew very much. On August 30, 1756, a decree was passed on the establishment of the Russian theater in St. Petersburg (now the Alexandrinsky Theater ). Catherine II gave the theater a high educational value, but for the most part the Russian theater of that time remained a well-intentioned entertainment in which ballets , operas and dramatic performances played the same role.

Already in April 1896, 4 months after the first Parisian cinema sessions, the first cinematographic devices appeared in Russia. In May, Camille Surf made the first Russian documentary filming of celebrations in honor of the coronation of Nicholas II. Film screenings quickly became fashionable entertainment, the first permanent cinema opened in St. Petersburg in May 1896 on Nevsky Prospekt . The first Russian art tapes were screen versions of fragments of classical works of Russian literature (“ A Song about the Merchant Kalashnikov ”, “ Idiot ”, “ Bakhchisarai Fountain ”), folk songs (“ Uhar-Merchant ”) or illustrated episodes from Russian history (“Death of John the Terrible "," Peter the Great "). In 1911, the first full-length film “ Defense of Sevastopol ” was released on the screens .

In 1925, the director Sergei Eisenstein created the film “The Battleship“ Potemkin “ ”, recognized by art critics as one of the best films of all time ^{[374] [375]} .

3 Soviet and 1 Russian films won the Academy Award in the category “Best Foreign Language Film”:

• “ War and Peace ” ( 1967 ) by Sergey Bondarchuk ;
• " Dersu Uzala " ( 1975 ) Akira Kurosawa (joint production of the USSR and Japan );
• “ Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears ” ( 1981 ) by Vladimir Menshov ;
• “ Burnt by the Sun ” ( 1994 ) by Nikita Mikhalkov .

In the Soviet years, animation developed . The cartoon " Hedgehog in the Fog " by Yuri Norshtein in 2003 in Tokyo was recognized as the best cartoon of all time according to a survey of 140 film critics and animators from different countries.

Ballet

Ballet in Russia has reached its true peak, having received worldwide recognition and becoming one of the foundations of world ballet, a hallmark of the country and Russian culture ^[376] . Representatives of Russian ballet who achieved world fame were such outstanding dancers as Matilda Kshesinskaya , Olga Spesivtseva , Vaclav Nizhinsky , Anna Pavlova , Tamara Karsavina , George Balanchine , who laid the foundation for American ballet and modern neoclassical ballet art in general; Maris Liepa , Rudolf Nureyev , Galina Ulanova , Konstantin Sergeyev , Maya Plisetskaya and many others.

Museums

Russia has one of the world's largest museum collections of cultural heritage. Russian museums are in the top ten most visited museums in the world ^[377] .

In preserving, studying and interpreting the historical and cultural heritage, museums of historical profile have a special role ^{[378] [379] [380] [381]} . The basis of the modern museum world of Russia is 2027 museums of the system of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, in which about 60 million storage units are concentrated and which are visited annually by about 70 million people ^[382] . Russia is the world leader in the number of museums included in the list of the largest museums in the world ^[383] : the Kunstkamera ^[384] in St. Petersburg, the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts ^[385] , the Tretyakov Gallery , the Armory ,The Russian Museum  is the largest museum of Russian art in the world ^[386] . The State Hermitage Museum is included in the list of 10 best museums in the world, according to National Geographic ^[387] , the State Historical Museum  is the largest national historical museum in Russia.

Libraries and Archives

Russia is one of the world leaders in the size of its library stock: in Russia there are about 39,000 libraries ^{[388] [389]} , which are visited by approximately 30% of the country's population ^[390] . There are several world-class libraries in the country , the Russian National Library , according to the analytical company World atlas, ranks fifth in the world in size ^[391] . In Russia, there is an extensive system of archives at the federal, regional and city levels ^{[392] [393]} . Russian archives are among the largest archives in the world ^[394] .

Arts and crafts

Folk epics , tales characteristic of the peoples inhabiting Russia, brought to us folk wisdom from the depths of centuries ^[395] .

Art crafts in Russia were formed on the basis of folk art, which, thanks to professional artists and business people at the beginning of the 20th century, was transformed into professional decorative art: Dymkovo toy , Filimonovo toy , Orenburg feather shawl , Palekh miniature , Abashev toy , Khokhloma , Gzhel , Khludnev toy , Gorodets painting , Bogorodskaya carving .

• 

  Matryoshka

• 

  Dymkovo toy

• 

  Palekh miniature

• 

  Gzhel

• 

  Khokhloma

Media

Print

The first periodicals appeared in Russia at the beginning of the 18th century, but the print media received widespread development only at the end of the 19th century.

At the end of the 2000s, more than 170 daily newspapers, both central and local, were published in Russia with a total circulation of about 4.8 million copies, as well as more than 425 non-daily newspapers and magazines with a total circulation of about 7.8 million copies. Leading national newspapers (one-off runs, thousand copies): Izvestia (150), founded in 1917, the former governing body of the Soviet authorities ; " Kommersant " (125), established in 1989; " Komsomolskaya Pravda " (955), established in 1925, the former organ of the Central Committee of the Komsomol ; " Moskovsky Komsomolets " (700), established in 1919, the former body of the Moscow city committee of the Komsomol; " Nezavisimaya Gazeta " (40), founded in 1990; "New Newspaper ”(284), founded in 1993; “ A New Look ” (307), founded in 1992; " Parliamentary newspaper " (56.5), founded in 1996, the authority of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation ; " True " (100), established in 1912, the organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party ; " Rossiyskaya Gazeta " (166), established in 1990, the organ of the Russian Federation ; " Soviet Sport " (180), founded in 1924.

Leading news agencies: TASS , founded in 1904; " Russia today ", founded in 2013; " Interfax ", founded in 1989. The center of the state bibliography and statistics of the Russian press is the Russian Book Chamber . As a TASS affiliate , the chamber systematically publishes bibliographic indexes. The final data on the output of printed materials are published in the statistical yearbook “The Annual Bibliographic Index of Russian Books” (since 1954). Republican book chambers are available in Bashkortostan , Chuvashia and Tatarstan .

Television and radio broadcasting

The Russian scientist A. Popov is one of the inventors of radio , who first carried out radio transmission at a distance ^[396] . Radio broadcasting has been conducted in Russia since 1924, television broadcasts - since 1931. Until 1991, the State Television and Radio Broadcasting was in charge of television and radio broadcasting , broadcasts were carried out on 3 all-Union radio and 2 all-Union television programs, local television broadcasts were conducted by local television studios on the 2nd program, except for the Leningrad Television Studio and the main editorial staff of the programs for Moscow and the Moscow Region Central televisiontransmitting their own “third” programs, local broadcasts - by local television and radio broadcasting committees for the 1st program. There was a wire broadcasting network : the 1st program was mixed and consisted of local programs and programs of the First All-Union Program, the second program was transmitted the Second All-Union Program, the third - the Third All-Union Program ^{[397] [398] [399] [ 400] [401]} .

In 1992-1995 Broadcasting on the 1st federal television channel , 1st (heading “Radio 1”) and 2nd (heading “Mayak”) federal radio channels was carried out by the Russian state television and radio company Ostankino (RSTC Ostankino), broadcasting on the 2nd to the federal television channel (the headings "Russian Television", "RTR", "Russia",) and the 3rd federal radio channel (the heading "Radio of Russia") - the All-Russian State Television and Radio Company (VGTRK). Local radio and television broadcasts were carried out on the 2nd television and 3rd radio channel by local state television and radio companies (since 2004 - branches of VGTRK), except for Moscow andSt. Petersburg which broadcast their own "third" television channels ^[402] . Wired broadcasting continued: the first channel remained mixed, consisting of local transmissions and transmissions of the third federal radio channel, the second federal radio channel was transmitted through the second channel, and the first federal radio channel along the third.

In 1995, the Ostankino State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company was abolished; instead, a joint-stock company with the participation of state capital Public Russian Television and the Mayak All-Russian State Radio Company (it was transferred under the direction of the All-Russian State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company in 1998, and its All-Russian Radio Station) were established. Radio 1 (it was abolished in 1997, and the broadcasting of the first radio channel and the third channel of wire broadcasting was transferred to various joint-stock companies). Broadcasting abroad is the Russian state-owned radio company Voice of Russia; since 2014, the international news agency Russia Today. At the same time, commercial television, represented by joint-stock companies such asNTV Television Company (in 2001, it came under the control of Gazprom joint-stock company, which is controlled in turn by the state), Moscow Independent Broadcasting Corporation (has not been broadcasting since 2002), REN TV Television Company , etc., as well as commercial broadcasting. There are several networks of wire (cable) television.

Public holidays

Non-working holidays in the Russian Federation are ^[403] :

January 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 and 8  - New Year holidays ;

January 7  - Christmas ;

February 23  - Defender of the Fatherland Day ;

March 8  - International Women's Day ;

May 1  - Holiday of spring and labor ;

May 9  - Victory Day ;

June 12  - Day of Russia ;

November 4  - Day of National Unity .

On non-working holidays, work is permitted that cannot be suspended due to production and technical conditions (continuously operating organizations), work caused by the need to serve the population, as well as emergency repair and handling operations ^[404] .

Sport

From the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952 to the Olympic Games in London in 2012, Soviet and later Russian athletes never fell below third place in the overall medal standings among all countries of the world at the Summer Olympic Games. In the overall medal standings at all Olympic Games, the USSR / Russia team takes 2nd place, second only to the US team.

In 1980, Moscow hosted the XXII Summer Olympic Games , in 2014 Sochi  - the XXII Winter Olympic Games . Russia also hosted the Universiade: the 1973 Summer Universiade in Moscow, in 2013 Kazan hosted the Summer Universiade . In 2019, Krasnoyarsk hosted the Winter Universiade .

Soviet and Russian hockey players , who have repeatedly become winners of the World Championships and the Winter Olympics, have a rich history of victories .

Football traditions are strong in Russia. Soviet and later Russian football clubs achieved high results in European tournaments. The USSR national team became the European champion in 1960, and also twice in 1956 and 1988 won Olympic gold in a football tournament. In the new era, the Russian team took 3rd place at the 2008 European Championships. In 2017, the 2017 Confederations Cup was held in Russia . In 2018, Russia for the first time hosted the World Cup , which was held in 11 cities of the country. In 2020, part of the matches of the European Championship 2020 will be held in St. Petersburg.

Russian athletes are traditionally strong in figure skating , biathlon , cross-country skiing , ball hockey , ice hockey , sports and rhythmic gymnastics , athletics , synchronized swimming , as well as in various types of martial arts , especially in freestyle wrestling and boxing .

Among the world drafts champions , winners and winners of European go and renju tournaments there are many Soviet and Russian athletes. Soviet and Russian chess are unique in their success : from 1946 to 1990, only Soviet chess players became world chess champions and candidates for the chess crown, with one exception (American Robert Fisher) Most of the team world championships, both in the men's and women's groups, as well as the USSR vs. World Team tournaments, were won by Soviet chess players. In the post-Soviet period, the undivided dominance of Russian athletes in chess ceased, but they continue to occupy a worthy and one of the leading places in world chess. In the period from 1991 to the present, three world chess champions are Russians.

The Russian team won the most medals in synchronized swimming, rhythmic gymnastics for the entire duration of the Olympic Games.

In 2015, Russian athletes were accused of the massive use of doping . In December 2019, a decision was made to remove Russian athletes from international competitions for four years ^[405] .

Notes

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