Legislative branch: bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoe Sobranie consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (178 seats, filled ex-officio by the top executive and legislative officials in each of the 89 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg; members serve four-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats, half elected in single-member districts and half elected from national party lists; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections : State Duma - last held 17 December 1995 (next to be held NA December 1999) election results: State Duma - percent of vote received by parties clearing the 5% threshold entitling them to a proportional share of the 225 party list seats - Communist Party of the Russian Federation 22.3%, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 11.2%, Our Home Is Russia 10.1%, Yabloko Bloc 6.9%; seats by party - Communist Party of the Russian Federation 157, independents 78, Our Home Is Russia 55, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia 51, Yabloko Bloc 45, Agrarian Party of Russia 20, Russia's Democratic Choice 9, Power To the People 9, Congress of Russian Communities 5, Forward, Russia! 3, Women of Russia 3, other parties 15
Judicial branch: Constitutional Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Supreme Court, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president; Superior Court of Arbitration, judges are appointed by the Federation Council on recommendation of the president
Political parties and leaders: pro-market democrats : Yabloko Bloc [Grigoriy YAVLINSKIY]; Russia's Democratic Choice Party [Yegor GAYDAR]; Forward, Russia! [Boris FEDOROV] centrists/special interest parties: Our Home Is Russia [Viktor CHERNOMYRDIN]; Russian People's Republican Party [Aleksandr LEBED]; Congress of Russian Communities [Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; Women of Russia [Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina LAKHOVA] anti-market and/or ultranationalist : Communist Party of the Russian Federation [Gennadiy ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia [Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Agrarian Party [Mikhail LAPSHIN]; Power To the People [Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN]; Russian Communist Workers' Party [Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN] note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17 December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded
Political pressure groups and leaders: NA
International organization participation: BIS (pending member), BSEC,
CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS
(observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAVEM III,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIH, UNMOP,
UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTAES, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(applicant), ZC
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission : Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone : [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704 FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735 consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John F. TEFFT embassy : Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow mailing address: APO AE 09721 telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59 FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61 consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red
Economy
Economy - overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse, but declining, industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. Most of 1996 was a lost year for economic reforms, with government officials focused in the first half of the year on President YEL'TSIN's reelection and then on his medical problems. The only major success was in the fight against inflation, which fell from 131% in 1995 to 22% in 1996. Russia failed to make any progress in restructuring its social welfare programs to target the most needy - among whom are many of the old pensioners - or to pass needed tax reform. While approximately 75% of industry has now been privatized, the agricultural sector has undergone little reform since the break-up of the Soviet Union. Stockholder rights remain weak while crime and corruption are rampant in much of the economy. Many enterprises continue to operate without hard budget constraints, resulting in barter trade and increased inter-enterprise debts. According to official statistics, the Russian economy declined for the fifth straight year since the beginning of reforms, with GDP in 1996 falling by 6% and industrial output by 5%. The true size of the Russian economy remains controversial, however, with estimates of unreported economic activity ranging from 20%-50% of GDP. Indeed, according to Russian statistics, the Russian consumer has seen a small improvement in the last several years, with real average incomes growing by about 8% from early 1993 to late 1996. The share of the Russian population living below the poverty line is said to have dropped from one-third in early 1993 to one-fifth in late 1996. Few Russians lack basic necessities, and ownership of consumer goods such as VCRs and automobiles has increased markedly. The growth of wage and pension arrears slowed in the second half of 1996, and the government pledged to clear all budget-funded wage and pension arrears by the end of 1997. The government continued to be plagued with tax collection problems during 1996, forcing it to cut its planned spending by 18%. A crackdown on major tax debtors at the end of the year had only limited success. Spending by all levels of government remains high, between 40%-45% of GDP. The economy is continuing its integration into world markets. Russia's trade surplus, after adjustment for unreported "shuttle" trade, grew to a record $28.5 billion in 1996, according to official Russian statistics. Export growth, which slowed from 18% to 9%, was due mostly to increased raw material prices. After increasing by 15% in 1995, imports dipped by 2% in 1996 as Russian demand for Western consumer goods slackened. Russia is continuing to make progress in its WTrO negotiations; the government has made quick accession one of its major policy goals. The continued unsettled economic and political situation has discouraged foreign investment, which totaled only $6.5 billion in 1996, including $2.1 billion in direct investment; furthermore, capital flight continues to exceed in volume the inflow of foreign capital. The central bank estimates that $30 billion in US currency circulates in the Russian economy. In March 1997, YEL'TSIN signaled his intention to restart stalled economic reforms by reorganizing the cabinet, bringing in a new team of ministers with strong reform credentials.