 Erik Rodriguez Cerda POL 2H

 Gained independence from Soviet Union on August 24, 1991  Constitution was drafted on July 12, 1993 and adopted by referendum on December 12, 1993 (amended in 2008)  Universal suffrage at age 18  Civil law system and judicial review of legislation

 Capital is Moscow  Central government is organized as a federation (46 provinces, 21 republics, 4 autonomous okrugs, 9 krays, 2 federal cities, 1 autonomous oblast)

 Government divided into 3 branches  Executive branch currently headed by Vladimir Putin (chief of state, won May 2012 election with 63.6% of vote)  Served as president from 2000 – 2008, prime minster from 2008 – 2012, and is currently serving president  Under previous constitution, term was limited to 4 years. However, after 2008 amendment, term was expanded to 6 years

 Premier of government is Dmitriy Medvedev (appointed by Vladimir Putin) o Was previously President from 2008 – 2012, during which Putin served as prime minister Cabinet is composed of premier, deputies, and ministers; all of which are appointed by president and confirmed by the Duma

 Legislative branch divided into bicameral assembly consisting of an upper house (Federation council), and a lower house (State Duma)  Federation Council o 166 seats, with two representatives from each district. These are not elected by population, but instead chosen by top executive and legislative officials from that district. No set term lengths, terms determined by region represented.  State Duma o 450 seats, with members winning seats via proportional representation from parties winning at least 7% of vote. Elected by popular vote to serve 5 year terms.

 The highest courts are the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (consists of 23 members), Constitutional Court (19 members), Superior Court of Arbitration (consists of a chairman and 4 deputy chairmen)

 78 political parties are registered, but only four have representation in the national legislature  The leading party (represented in the Duma) is United Russia, which controls 49.6% and 238 seats  The Communist Party of the Russian Federation (CPRF) holds around 19.2% and holds 92 seats  Just Russia has 13.2% and 64 seats  The smallest of the major parties is the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), which owns 11.7% and 56 seats in the Duma.

 After the fall the Soviet Union, economy was moved from centrally planned to more free market regulated economy, with movement to privatize industry (with the exception of energy and military)  This resulted in the creation of oligarchs who controlled much of the media, business, and some energy  Vladimir Putin moved to break up these oligarch’s influence and power, but ended up shifting much of it to his close group of associates

 Russia’s main exports include: Oil and oil products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, weapons and military equipment o Top export partners: Netherlands 14.6%, China 6.8%, Germany 6.8%, Italy 6.2%, Turkey 5.2%, Ukraine 5.2%, Belarus 4.7%  The state-run gas supplier, Gazprom, is the largest supplier in the world, and is directly responsible for much of Europe’s needs  Since so much emphasis is placed on oil and other raw exports, rises and drops in prices have a tremendous impact on the economy

 GDP: $2.553 trillion (compared to the U.S. $16.72 trillion (2013 est.)  GDP - per capita: $18,100 (compared to U.S. $52, est.)  GDP - composition, by sector of origin: agriculture: 4.2%, industry: 37.5%, services: 58.3% (compared to U.S. agriculture: 1.1%, industry: 19.5%, services: 79.4% (2013 est.)  Labor Force: million (compared to U.S million)

 Life expectancy is 63 years for men, 75 years for women  Around 78% of the population is composed of white Russians o The remaining percentage is made up of various ethnic groups, including :Tatar 3.7%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Bashkir 1.1%, Chuvash 1%, Chechen 1%, other 10.2%, unspecified 3.9% (overall, more than 190 different groups were recorded in the 2010 census)  The largest religion is Orthodox Christianity, followed by Islam o Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.) [These numbers represent practicing worshippers]

 Population: 142,470,272 (July 2014 est.) (compared to U.S million)  Health expenditures: 6.2% of GDP (2011) [country comparison to the world: 103]  Education expenditures: 4.1% of GDP (2008) [country comparison to the world: 110]  Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write o total population: 99.7% [male: 99.7%, female: 99.6% (2010 est.)]

 Many environmental issues facing Russia, most of which date back to Soviet rule  75% of surface water and 50% of all water is contaminated, as only 8% of wastewater is treated before being returned to water sources  Much of Russia uses nuclear energy, but because of outdated technology and lack of funding, most plants are extremely unsafe and do not do a good job of eliminating waste properly o Most waste was simply dumped into the Sea of Japan up until 1993

 Most of Russia’s energy comes from fossil fuels (68% of total)  There are renewable sources, but they are vastly underdeveloped o The potential for solar power is around 2.3 trillion tce, or 20% of total power output, instead of current 1%  Total carbon emissions are about 11.6 tonnes per capita (US is 16.2 tonnes per capita)  Municipal waste per capita is about 563 kilograms per capita (US is 725 kilograms per capita)