Leaders:
Chief of State:
President Boris Nikolayevich YEL'TSIN (since 12 June 1991); Vice President
Aleksandr Vladimirovich RUTSKOY (since 12 June 1991); Chairman of the
Supreme Soviet Ruslan KHASBULATOV (28 October 1991)
Head of Government:
Chairman of the Council of Ministers Viktor Stepanovich CHERNOMYRDIN (since
NA December 1992); First Deputy Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
Vladimir SHUMEYKO (since 9 June 1992), Oleg LOBW (since NA April 1993), Oleg
SOSKOVETS (since NA April 1993)
Member of:
BSEC, CBSS, CCC, CERN (observer), CIS, CSCE, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM
(observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, MINURSO, NACC, NSG, OAS (observer), PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNPROFOR, UN Security Council, UNTAC, UN
Trusteeship Council, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Vladimir Petrovich LUKIN
chancery:
1125 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
(202) 628-7551 and 8548
consulates general:
New York and San Francisco
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
(vacant)
embassy:
Ulitsa Chaykovskogo 19/21/23, Moscow
mailing address:
APO AE 09721
telephone:
[7] (095) 252-2450 through 2459
FAX:
[7] (095) 255-9965
consulates: St. Petersburg (formerly Leningrad), Vladivostok
Flag:
three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
*Russia, Economy
*Russia, Economy
Overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources and a diverse industrial base, continues to experience great difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. President YEL'TSIN's government made significant strides toward a market economy in 1992 by freeing most prices, slashing defense spending, unifying foreign exchange rates, and launching an ambitious privatization program. At the same time, GDP fell 19%, according to official statistics, largely reflecting government efforts to restructure the economy, shortages of essential imports caused by the breakdown in former Bloc and interstate trade, and reduced demand following the freeing of prices in January. The actual decline, however, may have been less steep, because industrial and agricultural enterprises had strong incentives to understate output to avoid taxes, and official statistics may not have fully captured the output of the growing private sector. Despite the large drop in output, unemployment at yearend stood at an estimated 3%-4% of Russia's 74-million-person labor force; many people, however, are working shortened weeks or are on forced leave. Moscow's financial stabilization program got off to a good start at the beginning of 1992 but began to falter by midyear. Under pressure from industrialists and the Supreme Soviet, the government loosened fiscal policies in the second half. In addition, the Russian Central Bank relaxed its tight credit policy in July at the behest of new Acting Chairman, Viktor GERASHCHENKO. This loosening of financial policies led to a sharp increase in prices during the last quarter, and inflation reached about 25% per month by yearend. The situation of most consumers worsened in 1992. The January price liberalization and a blossoming of private vendors filled shelves across the country with previously scarce food items and consumer goods, but wages lagged behind inflation, making such goods unaffordable for many consumers. Falling real wages forced most Russians to spend a larger share of their income on food and to alter their eating habits. Indeed, many Russians reduced their consumption of higher priced meat, fish, milk, vegetables, and fruit, in favor of more bread and potatoes. As a result of higher spending on food, consumers reduced their consumption of nonfood goods and services. Despite a slow start and some rough going, the Russian government by the end of 1992 scored some successes in its campaign to break the state's stranglehold on property and improve the environment for private businesses. More peasant farms were created than expected; the number of consumers purchasing goods from private traders rose sharply; the portion of the population working in the private sector increased to nearly one-fifth; and the nine-month-long slump in the privatization of small businesses was ended in the fall. Although the output of weapons fell sharply in 1992, most defense enterprises continued to encounter numerous difficulties developing and marketing consumer products, establishing new supply links, and securing resources for retooling. Indeed, total civil production by the defense sector fell in 1992 because of shortages of inputs and lower consumer demand caused by higher prices. Ruptured ties with former trading partners, output declines, and sometimes erratic efforts to move to world prices and decentralize trade - foreign and interstate - took a heavy toll on Russia's commercial relations with other countries. For the second year in a row, foreign trade was down sharply, with exports falling by as much as 25% and imports by 21%. The drop in imports would have been much greater if foreign aid - worth an estimated $8 billion - had not allowed the continued inflow of essential products. Trade with the other former Soviet republics continued to decline, and support for the ruble as a common currency eroded in the face of Moscow's loose monetary policies and rapidly rising prices throughout the region. At the same time, Russia paid only a fraction of the $20 billion due on the former USSR's roughly $80 billion debt; debt rescheduling remained hung up because of a dispute between Russia and Ukraine over division of the former USSR's assets. Capital flight also remained a serious problem in 1992. Russia's economic difficulties did not
*Russia, Economy
abate in the first quarter of 1993. Monthly inflation remained at
double-digit levels and industrial production continued to slump. To reduce
the threat of hyperinflation, the government proposed to restrict subsidies
to enterprises; raise interest rates; set quarterly limits on credits, the
budget deficit, and money supply growth; and impose temporary taxes and cut
spending if budget targets are not met. But many legislators and Central
Bank officials oppose various of these austerity measures and failed to
approve them in the first part of 1993.
National product:
GDP $NA
National product real growth rate:
-19% (1992)
National product per capita:
$NA
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
25% per month (December 1992)
Unemployment rate:
3%-4% of labor force (1 January 1993 est.)
Budget:
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Exports:
$39.2 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products,
metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
partners:
Europe
Imports:
$35.0 billion (f.o.b., 1992)
commodities:
machinery and equipment, chemicals, consumer goods, grain, meat, sugar,
semifinished metal products
partners:
Europe, North America, Japan, Third World countries, Cuba
External debt:
$80 billion (yearend 1992 est.)
Industrial production:
growth rate -19% (1992)
Electricity:
213,000,000 KW capacity; 1,014.8 billion kWh produced, 6,824 kWh per capita
(1 January 1992)
Industries:
complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas,
chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to
high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; ship- building; road and rail
transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery,
tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and
transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer
durables
Agriculture:
grain, sugar beet, sunflower seeds, meat, milk, vegetables, fruits; because
of its northern location does not grow citrus, cotton, tea, and other warm
climate products
Illicit drugs:
illicit producer of cannabis and opium; mostly for domestic consumption;
government has active eradication program; used as transshipment point for
illicit drugs to Western Europe
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (1990-92), $9.0 billion; other countries,
ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1988-92), $91 billion
*Russia, Economy
Currency:
1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks
Exchange rates:
rubles per US$1 - 415 (24 December 1992) but subject to wide fluctuations
Fiscal year:
calendar year
*Russia, Communications
Railroads:
158,100 km all 1.520-meter broad gauge; 86,800 km in common carrier service,
of which 48,900 km are diesel traction and 37,900 km are electric traction;
71,300 km serves specific industry and is not available for common carrier
use (31 December 1991)
Highways:
893,000 km total, of which 677,000 km are paved or gravelled and 216,000 km
are dirt; 456,000 km are for general use and are maintained by the Russian
Highway Corporation (formerly Russian Highway Ministry); the 437,000 km not
in general use are the responsibility of various other organizations
(formerly ministries); of the 456,000 km in general use, 265,000 km are
paved, 140,000 km are gravelled, and 51,000 km are dirt; of the 437,000 km
not in general use, 272,000 km are paved or gravelled and 165,000 are dirt
(31 December 1991)
Inland waterways:
total navigable routes 102,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the
Russian River Fleet 97,300 km (including illumination and light reflecting
guides); routes with other kinds of navigational aids 34,300 km; man-made
navigable routes 16,900 km (31 December 1991)
Pipelines:
crude oil 72,500 km, petroleum products 10,600 km, natural gas 136,000 km
(1992)
Ports:
coastal - St. Petersburg (Leningrad), Kaliningrad, Murmansk, Petropavlovsk,
Arkhangel'sk, Novorossiysk, Vladivostok, Nakhodka, Kholmsk, Korsakov,
Magadan, Tiksi, Tuapse, Vanino, Vostochnyy, Vyborg; inland - Astrakhan',
Nizhniy Novgorod (Gor'kiy), Kazan', Khabarovsk, Krasnoyarsk, Samara
(Kuybyshev), Moscow, Rostov, Volgograd
Merchant marine:
865 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 8,073,954 GRT/11,138,336 DWT;
includes 457 cargo, 82 container, 3 multi-function large load carrier, 2
barge carrier, 72 roll-on/roll-off, 124 oil tanker, 25 bulk cargo, 9
chemical tanker, 2 specialized tanker, 16 combination ore/oil, 5 passenger
cargo, 18 short-sea passenger, 6 passenger, 28 combination bulk, 16
refrigerated cargo
Airports:
total:
2,550
useable:
964
with permanent surface runways:
565
with runways over 3,659 m:
19
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
275
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
426