Russia (Russian: Россия), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia. It is a semi-presidential republic comprising 83 federal subjects. Russia shares land borders with the following countries (anticlockwise from northwest to southeast): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast), Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea.
At 17,075,400 square kilometres, Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth's land area; with 150 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. The Russian Federation has over 150 million people, and covers an area of greater than 6,592,800 sq. mi. The country has gone through many changes in recent years, as communism ended in 1991. At that time, the U.S.S.R. as it was called, separated into independent states. This separation ended the communism reign that had lasted from 1917 to 1991.
Federal subjects. The Russian Federation comprises 83 federal subjects as mentioned above. These subjects have equal representation-two delegates each-in the Federation Council. However, they differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.
46 oblasts (provinces): most common type of federal subjects, with federally appointed governor and locally elected legislature.
21 republics: nominally autonomous; each has its own constitution, president, and parliament. Republics are allowed to establish their own official language alongside Russian but are represented by the federal government in international affairs. Republics are meant to be home to specific ethnic minorities.
Nine krais (territories): essentially the same as oblasts. The "territory" designation is historic, originally given to frontier regions and later also to administrative divisions that comprised autonomous okrugs or autonomous oblasts.
Four autonomous okrugs (autonomous districts): originally autonomous entities within oblasts and krais created for ethnic minorities, their status was elevated to that of federal subjects in the 1990s. With the exception of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, all autonomous okrugs are still administratively subordinated to a krai or an oblast of which they are a part.
One autonomous oblast (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast): originally autonomous oblasts were administrative units subordinated to krais. In 1990, all of them except the Jewish AO were elevated in status to that of a republic.
Two federal cities (Moscow and St. Petersburg): major cities that function as separate regions.
Climate
The climate of the Russian Federation formed under the influence of several determining factors. The enormous size of the country and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the continental climate, which is prevalent in European and Asian Russia except for the tundra and the extreme southeast. Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons - winter and summer; spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low temperatures and extremely high.
Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and is known as "the lungs of Europe", second only to the Amazon Rainforest in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs.
Economy
Since the turn of the century, rising oil prices, increased foreign investment, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have bolstered economic growth in Russia. The country ended 2007 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging 7% annually since the financial crisis of 1998. In 2007, Russia's GDP was $2.076 trillion (est. PPP), the 6th largest in the world, with GDP growing 8.1% from the previous year. Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports. The average salary in Russia was $640 per month in early 2008, up from $80 in 2000. Amounts are not in Euro's, this to eliminate the USD currency drop, which has a currency effect on the figures.
Russia has the world's largest natural gas reserves, the second largest coal reserves and the eighth largest oil reserves. It is the world's leading natural gas exporter and the second leading oil exporter.
The economic development of the country though has been uneven geographically with the Moscow region contributing a disproportionately high amount of the country's GDP. Moscow is the most expensive city to live in world-wide. Russia has beaten the United States in terms of the most important export destination of The Netherlands outside the European Union.
Market development
Overall economic growth in Russia has been a major driver of the agribusiness developments in recent years. Through increased living standards, demand for food and beverages went up as well as the demand for more varied, convenience and quality products. Consumers' spending on food increases very rapidly and food is increasingly bought in modern supermarkets. In order to respond to market developments, the Russian agricultural and food industry needs investments in technology developments (both 'hard ware' - machinery, etc. - and 'soft ware' - knowledge and skills) aiming at improving productivity levels and quality of produce. Foreign direct investment may facilitate the restructuring and modernisation of the sector but the inflow is still rather low. Government support programs, largely through providing loans and credit subsidies, play a crucial role, yet these measures may not be very effective if accompanying policy reforms with respect to the financial sector and public administration are not carried through.
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