Currency: 1 ruble (R) = 100 kopeks
Exchange rates: rubles per US$1—22.2876 (January 1999), 9.7051 (1998), 5,785 (1997), 5,121 (1996), 4,559 (1995), 2,191 (1994) note: the post-1 January 1998 ruble is equal to 1,000 of the pre-1 January 1998 rubles
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones: 23.8 million (1997 est.)
Telephone system: the telephone system has undergone significant
changes in the 1990's; there are more than 1,000 companies licensed
to offer communication services; access to digital lines has
improved, particularly in urban centers; Internet and e-mail
services are improving; Russia has made progress toward building the
telecommunications infrastructure necessary for a market economy
domestic: cross country digital trunk lines run from St. Petersburg
to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone
systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures;
cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many
areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated,
inadequate, and low density
international: Russia is connected internationally by three undersea
fiber-optic cables; digital switches in several cities provide more
than 50,000 lines for international calls; satellite earth stations
provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and
Orbita
Radio broadcast stations: AM NA, FM NA, shortwave NA; note—there are about 1,050 (including AM, FM, and shortwave) radio broadcast stations throughout the country
Radios: 50 million (1993 est.) (74.3 million radio receivers with multiple speaker systems for program diffusion)
Television broadcast stations: 11,000 (1996 est.)
Televisions: 54.85 million (1992 est.)