who formed the commonwealth of independent states

e. Turmoil in the Soviet Union continued, as there were several attempts at overthrowing Gorbachev. On December 8, 1991, the Soviet Union ceased to exist. Boris Yeltsin, president of the Russian Republic, formed the Commonwealth of Independent States (C. I. S.). After 45 years, the Cold War was over.

Cold War: A Brief History The End of the Cold War With the passing of several Soviet leaders, Mikhail Gorbachev assumed control of the Soviet Union.

His rise to power ushered in an era of perestroika (restructuring) and of glasnost (openness). Reagan and Gorbachev leaving the Reykjavik Summit U. S.-Soviet relations improved considerably during the middle 1980s. At a dramatic summit meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, in October 1986, Gorbachev proposed a 50-percent reduction in the nuclear arsenals of each side, and for a time it seemed as though a historic agreement would be reached.

The summit ended in failure, owing to differences over SDI. However, on December 8, 1987, the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty was signed in Washington, eliminating an entire class of nuclear weapons.

The INF Treaty was the first arms-control pact to require an actual reduction in nuclear arsenals rather than merely restricting their proliferation. As the decade came to an end, much of the Eastern Bloc began to crumble. The Hungarian government took down the barbed wire on its border with Austria and the West.

The Soviet Union did nothing in response. Although travel was still not completely free, the Iron Curtain was starting to unravel.

On November 10, 1989, one of the most famous symbols of the Cold War came down: the Berlin Wall. By the end of the year, leaders of every Eastern European nation except Bulgaria had been ousted by popular uprisings. By mid-1990, many of the Soviet republics had declared their independenc

Page 22 of 27

With the dissolution of Soviet Union, the main goal of the Bush administration was economic and political stability and security for Russia, the Baltics, and the states of the former Soviet Union. Bush recognized all 12 independent republics and established diplomatic relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

The Collapse of the Soviet Union After his inauguration in January 1989, George H. W. Bush did not automatically follow the policy of his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, in dealing with Mikhail Gorbachev and the Soviet Union. Instead, he ordered a strategic policy re-evaluation in order to establish his own plan and methods for dealing with the Soviet Union and arms control.

Boris Yeltsin makes a speech from atop a tank in front of the Russian parliament building in Moscow, U. S. S. R., Monday, Aug. 19, 1991. (AP Photo)Conditions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, however, changed rapidly. Gorbachev’s decision to loosen the Soviet yoke on the countries of Eastern Europe created an independent, democratic momentum that led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, and then the overthrow of Communist rule throughout Eastern Europe.

While Bush supported these independence movements, U. S. policy was reactive. Bush chose to let events unfold organically, careful not to do anything to worsen Gorbachev’s position. With the policy review complete, and taking into account unfolding events in Europe, Bush met with Gorbachev at Malta in early December 1989. They laid the groundwork for finalizing START negotiations, completing the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, and they discussed the rapid changes in Eastern Europe.

Bush encouraged Gorbachev’s reform efforts, hoping that the Soviet leader would succeed in shifting the USSR toward a democratic system and a market oriented economy.

Gorbachev’s decision to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a presidency for the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that eventually destabilized Communist control and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Following the May 1990 elections, Gorbachev faced conflicting internal political pressures: Boris Yeltsin and the pluralist movement advocated democratization and rapid economic reforms while the hard-line Communist elite wanted to thwart Gorbachev’s reform agenda. Facing a growing schism between Yeltsin and Gorbachev, the Bush administration opted to work primarily with Gorbachev because they viewed him as the more reliable partner and because he made numerous concessions that promoted U. S. interests.

Plans proceeded to sign the START agreement. With the withdrawal of Red Army troops from East Germany, Gorbachev agreed to German reunification and acquiesced when a newly reunited Germany joined NATO. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the United States and the Soviet leadership worked together diplomatically to repel this attack.

Yet for all of those positive steps on the international stage, Gorbachev’s domestic problems continued to mount. Additional challenges to Moscow’s control placed pressure on Gorbachev and the Communist party to retain power in order to keep the Soviet Union intact. After the demise of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the Caucasus demanded independence from Moscow.

In January 1991, violence erupted in Lithuania and Latvia. Soviet tanks intervened to halt the democratic uprisings, a move that Bush resolutely condemned. By 1991, the Bush administration reconsidered policy options in light of the growing level of turmoil within the Soviet Union.

Three basic options presented themselves. The administration could continue to support Gorbachev in hopes of preventing Soviet disintegration. Alternately, the United States could shift support to Yeltsin and the leaders of the Republics and provide support for a controlled restructuring or possible breakup of the Soviet Union.

The final option consisted of lending conditional support to Gorbachev, leveraging aid and assistance in return for more rapid and radical political and economic reforms. Unsure about how much political capital Gorbachev retained, Bush combined elements of the second and third options.

The Soviet nuclear arsenal was vast, as were Soviet conventional forces, and further weakening of Gorbachev could derail further arms control negotiations.

To balance U. S. interests in relation to events in the Soviet Union, and in order to demonstrate support for Gorbachev, Bush signed the START treaty at the Moscow Summit in July 1991. Bush administration officials also, however, increased contact with Yeltsin. The unsuccessful August 1991 coup against Gorbachev sealed the fate of the Soviet Union. Planned by hard-line Communists, the coup diminished Gorbachev’s power and propelled Yeltsin and the democratic forces to the forefront of Soviet and Russian politics.

Bush publicly condemned the coup as “extra-constitutional,” but Gorbachev’s weakened position became obvious to all. He resigned his leadership as head of the Communist party shortly thereafter—separating the power of the party from that of the presidency of the Soviet Union.

The Central Committee was dissolved and Yeltsin banned party activities. A few days after the coup, Ukraine and Belarus declared their independence from the Soviet Union. The Baltic States, which had earlier declared their independence, sought international recognition.

Amidst quick, dramatic changes across the landscape of the Soviet Union, Bush administration officials prioritized the prevention of nuclear catastrophe, the curbing of ethnic violence, and the stable transition to new political orders. On September 4, 1991, Secretary of State James Baker articulated five basic principles that would guide U. S. policy toward the emerging republics: self-determination consistent with democratic principles, recognition of existing borders, support for democracy and rule of law, preservation of human rights and rights of national minorities, and respect for international law and obligations.

The basic message was clear—if the new republics could follow these principles, they could expect cooperation and assistance from the United States. Baker met with Gorbachev and Yeltsin in an attempt to shore up the economic situation and develop some formula for economic cooperation between the republics and Russia, as well as to determine ways to allow political reforms to occur in a regulated and peaceful manner.

In early December, Yeltsin and the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus met in Brest to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), effectively declaring the demise of the Soviet Union. On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor. Earlier in the day, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his post as president of the Soviet Union, leaving Boris Yeltsin as president of the newly independent Russian state.

People all over the world watched in amazement at this relatively peaceful transition from former Communist monolith into multiple separate nations.

With the dissolution of Soviet Union, the main goal of the Bush administration was economic and political stability and security for Russia, the Baltics, and the states of the former Soviet Union. Bush recognized all 12 independent republics and established diplomatic relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

The Collapse of the Soviet Union

The Collapse of the Soviet Union After his inauguration in January 1989, George H. W. Bush did not automatically follow the policy of his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, in dealing with Mikhail Gorbachev and the Soviet Union. Instead, he ordered a strategic policy re-evaluation in order to establish his own plan and methods for dealing with the Soviet Union and arms control.

Boris Yeltsin makes a speech from atop a tank in front of the Russian parliament building in Moscow, U. S. S. R., Monday, Aug. 19, 1991. (AP Photo)Conditions in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, however, changed rapidly. Gorbachev’s decision to loosen the Soviet yoke on the countries of Eastern Europe created an independent, democratic momentum that led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, and then the overthrow of Communist rule throughout Eastern Europe.

While Bush supported these independence movements, U. S. policy was reactive. Bush chose to let events unfold organically, careful not to do anything to worsen Gorbachev’s position. With the policy review complete, and taking into account unfolding events in Europe, Bush met with Gorbachev at Malta in early December 1989. They laid the groundwork for finalizing START negotiations, completing the Conventional Forces in Europe treaty, and they discussed the rapid changes in Eastern Europe.

Bush encouraged Gorbachev’s reform efforts, hoping that the Soviet leader would succeed in shifting the USSR toward a democratic system and a market oriented economy.

Gorbachev’s decision to allow elections with a multi-party system and create a presidency for the Soviet Union began a slow process of democratization that eventually destabilized Communist control and contributed to the collapse of the Soviet Union.

Following the May 1990 elections, Gorbachev faced conflicting internal political pressures: Boris Yeltsin and the pluralist movement advocated democratization and rapid economic reforms while the hard-line Communist elite wanted to thwart Gorbachev’s reform agenda. Facing a growing schism between Yeltsin and Gorbachev, the Bush administration opted to work primarily with Gorbachev because they viewed him as the more reliable partner and because he made numerous concessions that promoted U. S. interests.

Plans proceeded to sign the START agreement. With the withdrawal of Red Army troops from East Germany, Gorbachev agreed to German reunification and acquiesced when a newly reunited Germany joined NATO. When Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the United States and the Soviet leadership worked together diplomatically to repel this attack.

Yet for all of those positive steps on the international stage, Gorbachev’s domestic problems continued to mount. Additional challenges to Moscow’s control placed pressure on Gorbachev and the Communist party to retain power in order to keep the Soviet Union intact. After the demise of Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, the Baltic States and the Caucasus demanded independence from Moscow.

In January 1991, violence erupted in Lithuania and Latvia. Soviet tanks intervened to halt the democratic uprisings, a move that Bush resolutely condemned. By 1991, the Bush administration reconsidered policy options in light of the growing level of turmoil within the Soviet Union.

Three basic options presented themselves. The administration could continue to support Gorbachev in hopes of preventing Soviet disintegration. Alternately, the United States could shift support to Yeltsin and the leaders of the Republics and provide support for a controlled restructuring or possible breakup of the Soviet Union.

The final option consisted of lending conditional support to Gorbachev, leveraging aid and assistance in return for more rapid and radical political and economic reforms. Unsure about how much political capital Gorbachev retained, Bush combined elements of the second and third options.

The Soviet nuclear arsenal was vast, as were Soviet conventional forces, and further weakening of Gorbachev could derail further arms control negotiations.

To balance U. S. interests in relation to events in the Soviet Union, and in order to demonstrate support for Gorbachev, Bush signed the START treaty at the Moscow Summit in July 1991. Bush administration officials also, however, increased contact with Yeltsin. The unsuccessful August 1991 coup against Gorbachev sealed the fate of the Soviet Union. Planned by hard-line Communists, the coup diminished Gorbachev’s power and propelled Yeltsin and the democratic forces to the forefront of Soviet and Russian politics.

Bush publicly condemned the coup as “extra-constitutional,” but Gorbachev’s weakened position became obvious to all. He resigned his leadership as head of the Communist party shortly thereafter—separating the power of the party from that of the presidency of the Soviet Union.

The Central Committee was dissolved and Yeltsin banned party activities. A few days after the coup, Ukraine and Belarus declared their independence from the Soviet Union. The Baltic States, which had earlier declared their independence, sought international recognition.

The basic message was clear—if the new republics could follow these principles, they could expect cooperation and assistance from the United States. Baker met with Gorbachev and Yeltsin in an attempt to shore up the economic situation and develop some formula for economic cooperation between the republics and Russia, as well as to determine ways to allow political reforms to occur in a regulated and peaceful manner.

In early December, Yeltsin and the leaders of Ukraine and Belarus met in Brest to form the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), effectively declaring the demise of the Soviet Union. On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag lowered for the last time over the Kremlin, thereafter replaced by the Russian tricolor. Earlier in the day, Mikhail Gorbachev resigned his post as president of the Soviet Union, leaving Boris Yeltsin as president of the newly independent Russian state.

People all over the world watched in amazement at this relatively peaceful transition from former Communist monolith into multiple separate nations.

With the dissolution of Soviet Union, the main goal of the Bush administration was economic and political stability and security for Russia, the Baltics, and the states of the former Soviet Union. Bush recognized all 12 independent republics and established diplomatic relations with Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia and Kyrgyzstan.

Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, twelve independent republics emerged from the USSR: Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Baltic states regained independence: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; the Russian SFSR reconstituted itself as the Russian Federation and is recognized as the continuing legal personality and sole successor state of the Soviet Union.

Russia

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedianavigation search""Russian Federation"" redirects here. For other uses of ""Russia"", see Russia (disambiguation).

Coordinates: 60°N 90°ERussian FederationРосси́йская Федерaция ( Russian)Rossiyskaya Federatsiya Flag Coat of arms Anthem: "" Gosudarstvenny gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii "" ( transliteration)""State Anthem of the Russian Federation""Location of Russia (green) Russian-administered Crimea ( disputed; light green) a Capital and largest city Moscow55°45′N 37°37′EOfficial languages Russian Recognised national languages See Languages of Russia Ethnic groups (2010 [1])81.0% Russian3.7% Tatar1.4% Ukrainian1.1% Bashkir1.0% Chuvash0.8% Chechen11.0% others / unspecified Religion See Religion in Russia Demonym Russian Government Federal semi-presidentialconstitutional republic [2]•President Vladimir Putin•Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev•Chairman of the Federation Council Valentina Matviyenko•Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin Legislature Federal Assembly•Upper house Federation Council•Lower house State Duma Formation• Arrival of Rurik [3] 862•Kievan Rus' 882•Grand Duchy of Moscow 1283•Tsardom January 16, 1547•Empire October 22, 1721•Republic September 14, 1917•Russian State September 23, 1918•Russian SFSR November 7 (October 25, OS), 1917•Soviet Union December 30, 1922•Sovereignty Declaration June 12, 1990•CIS Declaration December 8, 1991 b• Russian SFSR renamed into the Russian Federation December 25, 1991 b•Current constitution December 12, 1993Area• Total 17,075,200 [4] km 2 (6,592,800 sq mi) ( 1st)• Water (%) 13 [5] (including swamps)Population• 2018 estimate 144,526,636 [6] (without Crimea) [7] ( 9th)• Density 8.4/km 2 (21.8/sq mi) ( 225th)GDP ( PPP) 2018 estimate• Total $4.152 trillion [8] ( 6th)• Per capita $28,918 [8] ( 49th)GDP (nominal) 2018 estimate• Total $1.522 trillion [8] ( 12th)• Per capita $10,630 [8] ( 67th)Gini (2015) 37.7 [9]medium · 98HDI (2015) 0.804 [10]very high · 49th Currency Russian ruble ( ₽) ( RUB)Time zone ( UTC +2 to +12)Date format dd.mm.yyyy Drives on the right Calling code +7ISO 3166 code RUInternet TLD.ru.su.рфThe Crimean Peninsula is recognized as territory of Ukraine by a majority of UN member nations, but is de facto administered by Russia.

[11]The Belavezha Accords was signed in Brest, Belarus on December 8, creating the Commonwealth of Independent States in which the Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR ratified the accords on December 12, denouncing the 1922 treaty.

On December 25, Russian SFSR was renamed the Russian Federation and the following the day on December 26, the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union ratified the accords, effectively dissolving the Soviet Union.

Russia ( Russian: Росси́я, tr. Rossiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijə] ), also officially known as the Russian Federation [12] (Russian: Росси́йская Федерaция, tr.

Rossiyskaya Federatsiya, IPA: [rɐˈsʲijskəjə fʲɪdʲɪˈratsɨjə] ), is a sovereign country in Eurasia. [13] At 17,125,200 square kilometres (6,612,100 sq mi), [14] Russia is the largest country in the world by area, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area, [15] [16] [17] and the ninth most populous, with over 144 million people at the end of December 2017. [6] The European western part of the country is much more populated and urbanised than the eastern; about 77% of the population live in European Russia.

Russia's capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world; other major urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast ), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea.

It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the U. S. state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. The East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. [18] Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century.

In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, [19] beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium.

[19] Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde in the 13th century. [20] The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde, and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'.

By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland on the west to Alaska on the east. [21] [22]Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the world's first constitutionally socialist state. [23] The Soviet Union played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II, [24] [25] and emerged as a recognized superpower and rival to the United States during the Cold War. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the world's second largest economy, largest standing military in the world and the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. [26] [27] [28]

[29] It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic. The Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. [30] Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, [31] making it one of the leading producers of oil and natural gas globally.

[32] [33] The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. [34] Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower.

It is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, as well as a member of the G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and the World Trade Organization (WTO), as well as being the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and one of the five members of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), along with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

Contents1 Etymology2 History2.1 Early history2.2 Kievan Rus'2.3 Grand Duchy of Moscow2.4 Tsardom of Russia2.5 Imperial Russia2.6 February Revolution and Russian Republic2.7 Soviet Russia and civil war2.8 Soviet Union2.9 Russian Federation3 Politics3.1 Governance3.2 Foreign relations3.3 Military3.4 Political divisions4 Geography4.1 Topography4.2 Climate4.3 Biodiversity5 Economy5.1 Agriculture5.2 Energy5.3 Transport5.4 Science and technology5.5 Space exploration5.6 Water supply and sanitation6 Demographics6.1 Largest cities6.2 Ethnic groups6.3 Language6.4 Religion6.5 Health6.6 Education7 Culture7.1 Folk culture and cuisine7.2 Architecture7.3 Visual arts7.4 Music and dance7.5 Literature and philosophy7.6 Cinema, animation and media7.7 Sports7.8 National holidays and symbols7.9 Tourism8 See also9 References10 External links Etymology Main articles: Rus' people and Rus' (name)See also: Russian (disambiguation)The name Russia is derived from Rus', a medieval state populated mostly by the East Slavs.

However, this proper name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants ""Русская Земля"" (russkaja zemlja), which can be translated as ""Russian Land"" or ""Land of Rus'"". In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus' by modern historiography.

The name Rus itself comes from the early medieval Rus' people, Swedish merchants and warriors [35] [36] who relocated from across the Baltic Sea and founded a state centered on Novgorod that later became Kievan Rus. An old Latin version of the name Rus' was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus' that were adjacent to Catholic Europe.

The current name of the country, Россия (Rossija), comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Rus', Ρωσσία Rossía —spelled Ρωσία ( Rosía pronounced [roˈsia]) in Modern Greek. [37]The standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is "" Russians "" in English [38] and rossiyane ( Russian: россияне) in Russian. There are two Russian words which are commonly translated into English as ""Russians"". One is ""русские"" ( russkiye ), which most often means ""ethnic Russians "".

Another is ""россияне"" ( rossiyane ), which means "" citizens of Russia, regardless of ethnicity"".

Translations into other languages often do not distinguish these two groups. History Main article: History of Russia Early history Further information: Scythia, Early Slavs, East Slavs, Huns, Turkic expansion, and Prehistory of Siberia See also: Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Uralic Nomadic pastoralism developed in the Pontic-Caspian steppe beginning in the Chalcolithic. [39]In classical antiquity, the Pontic Steppe was known as Scythia. Beginning in the 8th century BC, Ancient Greek traders brought their civilization to the trade emporiums in Tanais and Phanagoria.

Ancient Greek explorers, most notably Pytheas, even went as far as modern day Kaliningrad, on the Baltic Sea. Romans settled on the western part of the Caspian Sea, where their empire stretched towards the east. [ dubious – discuss] [40] In the 3rd to 4th centuries AD a semi-legendary Gothic kingdom of Oium existed in Southern Russia until it was overrun by Huns.

Between the 3rd and 6th centuries AD, the Bosporan Kingdom, a Hellenistic polity which succeeded the Greek colonies, [41] was also overwhelmed by nomadic invasions led by warlike tribes, such as the Huns and Eurasian Avars. [42] A Turkic people, the Khazars, ruled the lower Volga basin steppes between the Caspian and Black Seas until the 10th century.

[43]The ancestors of modern Russians are the Slavic tribes, whose original home is thought by some scholars to have been the wooded areas of the Pinsk Marshes.

[44] The East Slavs gradually settled Western Russia in two waves: one moving from Kiev toward present-day Suzdal and Murom and another from Polotsk toward Novgorod and Rostov. From the 7th century onwards, the East Slavs constituted the bulk of the population in Western Russia [45] and assimilated the native Finno-Ugric peoples, including the Merya, the Muromians, and the Meshchera.

Kievan Rus'Main articles: Rus' Khaganate, Kievan Rus', and List of early East Slavic states Kievan Rus' in the 11th century The establishment of the first East Slavic states in the 9th century coincided with the arrival of Varangians, the traders, warriors and settlers from the Baltic Sea region.

Primarily they were Vikings of Scandinavian origin, who ventured along the waterways extending from the eastern Baltic to the Black and Caspian Seas. [46] According to the Primary Chronicle, a Varangian from Rus' people, named Rurik, was elected ruler of Novgorod in 862. In 882 his successor Oleg ventured south and conquered Kiev, [47] which had been previously paying tribute to the Khazars, founding Kievan Rus'.

Oleg, Rurik's son Igor and Igor's son Sviatoslav subsequently subdued all local East Slavic tribes to Kievan rule, destroyed the Khazar khaganate and launched several military expeditions to Byzantium and Persia. In the 10th to 11th centuries Kievan Rus' became one of the largest and most prosperous states in Europe.

[48] The reigns of Vladimir the Great (980–1015) and his son Yaroslav the Wise (1019–1054) constitute the Golden Age of Kiev, which saw the acceptance of Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium and the creation of the first East Slavic written legal code, the Russkaya Pravda.

In the 11th and 12th centuries, constant incursions by nomadic Turkic tribes, such as the Kipchaks and the Pechenegs, caused a massive migration of Slavic populations to the safer, heavily forested regions of the north, particularly to the area known as Zalesye.

[49]The Baptism of Kievans, by Klavdy Lebedev The age of feudalism and decentralization was marked by constant in-fighting between members of the Rurik Dynasty that ruled Kievan Rus' collectively. Kiev's dominance waned, to the benefit of Vladimir-Suzdal in the north-east, Novgorod Republic in the north-west and Galicia-Volhynia in the south-west. Ultimately Kievan Rus' disintegrated, with the final blow being the Mongol invasion of 1237–40 [50] that resulted in the destruction of Kiev [51] and the death of about half the population of Rus'.

[52] The invading Mongol elite, together with their conquered Turkic subjects (Cumans, Kipchaks, Bulgars), became known as Tatars, forming the state of the Golden Horde, which pillaged the Russian principalities; the Mongols ruled the Cuman-Kipchak confederation and Volga Bulgaria (modern-day southern and central expanses of Russia) for over two centuries. [53]Galicia-Volhynia was eventually assimilated by the Kingdom of Poland, while the Mongol-dominated Vladimir-Suzdal and Novgorod Republic, two regions on the periphery of Kiev, established the basis for the modern Russian nation.

[19] The Novgorod together with Pskov retained some degree of autonomy during the time of the Mongol yoke and were largely spared the atrocities that affected the rest of the country. Led by Prince Alexander Nevsky, Novgorodians repelled the invading Swedes in the Battle of the Neva in 1240, as well as the Germanic crusaders in the Battle of the Ice in 1242, breaking their attempts to colonize the Northern Rus'.

Grand Duchy of Moscow Main article: Grand Duchy of Moscow Sergius of Radonezh blessing Dmitry Donskoy in Trinity Sergius Lavra, before the Battle of Kulikovo, depicted in a painting by Ernst Lissner The most powerful state to eventually arise after the destruction of Kievan Rus' was the Grand Duchy of Moscow (""Muscovy"" in the Western chronicles), initially a part of Vladimir-Suzdal. While still under the domain of the Mongol - Tatars and with their connivance, Moscow began to assert its influence in the Central Rus' in the early 14th century, gradually becoming the leading force in the process of the Rus' lands' reunification and expansion of Russia.

[54] Moscow's last rival, the Novgorod Republic, prospered as the chief fur trade center and the easternmost port of the Hanseatic League. Times remained difficult, with frequent Mongol-Tatar raids. Agriculture suffered from the beginning of the Little Ice Age.

As in the rest of Europe, plague was a frequent occurrence between 1350 and 1490. [55] However, because of the lower population density and better hygiene—widespread practicing of banya, a wet steam bath—the death rate from plague was not as severe as in Western Europe, [56] and population numbers recovered by 1500. [55]Led by Prince Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow and helped by the Russian Orthodox Church, the united army of Russian principalities inflicted a milestone defeat on the Mongol-Tatars in the Battle of Kulikovo in 1380.

Moscow gradually absorbed the surrounding principalities, including formerly strong rivals such as Tver and Novgorod. Ivan III (""the Great"") finally threw off the control of the Golden Horde and consolidated the whole of Central and Northern Rus' under Moscow's dominion.

He was also the first to take the title ""Grand Duke of all the Russias"". [57] After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, Moscow claimed succession to the legacy of the Eastern Roman Empire. Ivan III married Sophia Palaiologina, the niece of the last Byzantine emperor Constantine XI, and made the Byzantine double-headed eagle his own, and eventually Russia's, coat-of-arms.

Tsardom of Russia Main article: Tsardom of Russia Tsar Ivan the Terrible, illustration in Tsarsky Titulyarnik, 17th century In development of the Third Rome ideas, the Grand Duke Ivan IV (the ""Terrible"") [58] was officially crowned first Tsar ("" Caesar "") of Russia in 1547. The Tsar promulgated a new code of laws ( Sudebnik of 1550 ), established the first Russian feudal representative body ( Zemsky Sobor) and introduced local self-management into the rural regions.

[59] [60]During his long reign, Ivan the Terrible nearly doubled the already large Russian territory by annexing the three Tatar khanates (parts of the disintegrated Golden Horde ): Kazan and Astrakhan along the Volga River, and the Siberian Khanate in southwestern Siberia. Thus, by the end of the 16th century Russia was transformed into a multiethnic, multidenominational and transcontinental state.

However, the Tsardom was weakened by the long and unsuccessful Livonian War against the coalition of Poland, Lithuania, and Sweden for access to the Baltic coast and sea trade. [61] At the same time, the Tatars of the Crimean Khanate, the only remaining successor to the Golden Horde, continued to raid Southern Russia.

[62] In an effort to restore the Volga khanates, Crimeans and their Ottoman allies invaded central Russia and were even able to burn down parts of Moscow in 1571. [63] But in the next year the large invading army was thoroughly defeated by Russians in the Battle of Molodi, forever eliminating the threat of an Ottoman–Crimean expansion into Russia.

The slave raids of Crimeans, however, did not cease until the late 17th century though the construction of new fortification lines across Southern Russia, such as the Great Abatis Line, constantly narrowed the area accessible to incursions.

[64]Kuzma Minin appeals to the people of Nizhny Novgorod to raise a volunteer army against the Polish invaders The death of Ivan's sons marked the end of the ancient Rurik Dynasty in 1598, and in combination with the famine of 1601–03 [65] led to civil war, the rule of pretenders, and foreign intervention during the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century.

[66] The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth occupied parts of Russia, including Moscow. In 1612, the Poles were forced to retreat by the Russian volunteer corps, led by two national heroes, merchant Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky. The Romanov Dynasty acceded to the throne in 1613 by the decision of Zemsky Sobor, and the country started its gradual recovery from the crisis. Russia continued its territorial growth through the 17th century, which was the age of Cossacks. Cossacks were warriors organized into military communities, resembling pirates and pioneers of the New World.

In 1648, the peasants of Ukraine joined the Zaporozhian Cossacks in rebellion against Poland-Lithuania during the Khmelnytsky Uprising in reaction to the social and religious oppression they had been suffering under Polish rule. In 1654, the Ukrainian leader, Bohdan Khmelnytsky, offered to place Ukraine under the protection of the Russian Tsar, Aleksey I. Aleksey's acceptance of this offer led to another Russo-Polish War.

Finally, Ukraine was split along the Dnieper River, leaving the western part, right-bank Ukraine, under Polish rule and the eastern part ( Left-bank Ukraine and Kiev) under Russian rule. Later, in 1670–71, the Don Cossacks led by Stenka Razin initiated a major uprising in the Volga Region, but the Tsar's troops were successful in defeating the rebels. In the east, the rapid Russian exploration and colonisation of the huge territories of Siberia was led mostly by Cossacks hunting for valuable furs and ivory.

Russian explorers pushed eastward primarily along the Siberian River Routes, and by the mid-17th century there were Russian settlements in Eastern Siberia, on the Chukchi Peninsula, along the Amur River, and on the Pacific coast. In 1648, the Bering Strait between Asia and North America was passed for the first time by Fedot Popov and Semyon Dezhnyov. Imperial Russia Main article: Russian Empire Peter the Great, Tsar of All Russia in 1682–1721 and the first Emperor of All Russia in 1721–1725.

Portrait by Paul Delaroche in the Kunsthalle Hamburg. Under Peter the Great, Russia was proclaimed an Empire in 1721 and became recognized as a world power. Ruling from 1682 to 1725, Peter defeated Sweden in the Great Northern War, forcing it to cede West Karelia and Ingria (two regions lost by Russia in the Time of Troubles ), [67] as well as Estland and Livland, securing Russia's access to the sea and sea trade.

[68] On the Baltic Sea Peter founded a new capital called Saint Petersburg, later known as Russia's ""Window to Europe"".

Peter the Great's reforms brought considerable Western European cultural influences to Russia. The reign of Peter I's daughter Elizabeth in 1741–62 saw Russia's participation in the Seven Years' War (1756–63). During this conflict Russia annexed East Prussia for a while and even took Berlin. However, upon Elisabeth's death, all these conquests were returned to the Kingdom of Prussia by pro-Prussian Peter III of Russia.

Catherine II (""the Great""), who ruled in 1762–96, presided over the Age of Russian Enlightenment. She extended Russian political control over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and incorporated most of its territories into Russia during the Partitions of Poland, pushing the Russian frontier westward into Central Europe.

In the south, after successful Russo-Turkish Wars against Ottoman Turkey, Catherine advanced Russia's boundary to the Black Sea, defeating the Crimean Khanate. As a result of victories over Qajar Iran through the Russo-Persian Wars, by the first half of the 19th century Russia also made significant territorial gains in Transcaucasia and the North Caucasus, forcing the former to irrevocably cede what is nowadays Georgia, Dagestan, Azerbaijan and Armenia to Russia.

[69] [70] This continued with Alexander I's (1801–25) wresting of Finland from the weakened kingdom of Sweden in 1809 and of Bessarabia from the Ottomans in 1812. At the same time, Russians colonized Alaska and even founded settlements in California, such as Fort Ross.

Village Fair, by Boris Kustodiev In 1803–1806, the first Russian circumnavigation was made, later followed by other notable Russian sea exploration voyages. In 1820, a Russian expedition discovered the continent of Antarctica. In alliances with various European countries, Russia fought against Napoleon 's France.

The French invasion of Russia at the height of Napoleon's power in 1812 reached Moscow, but eventually failed miserably as the obstinate resistance in combination with the bitterly cold Russian winter led to a disastrous defeat of invaders, in which more than 95% of the pan-European Grande Armée perished. [71] Led by Mikhail Kutuzov and Barclay de Tolly, the Russian army ousted Napoleon from the country and drove through Europe in the war of the Sixth Coalition, finally entering Paris.

Alexander I headed Russia's delegation at the Congress of Vienna that defined the map of post-Napoleonic Europe. The officers of the Napoleonic Wars brought ideas of liberalism back to Russia with them and attempted to curtail the tsar's powers during the abortive Decembrist revolt of 1825.

At the end of the conservative reign of Nicolas I (1825–55), a zenith period of Russia's power and influence in Europe was disrupted by defeat in the Crimean War. Between 1847 and 1851, about one million people died of Asiatic cholera. [72]Nicholas's successor Alexander II (1855–81) enacted significant changes in the country, including the emancipation reform of 1861.

These Great Reforms spurred industrialization and modernized the Russian army, which had successfully liberated Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War. Emperor Nicholas II of Russia and his family were murdered by the Bolsheviks in 1918The late 19th century saw the rise of various socialist movements in Russia.

Alexander II was killed in 1881 by revolutionary terrorists, and the reign of his son Alexander III (1881–94) was less liberal but more peaceful. The last Russian Emperor, Nicholas II (1894–1917), was unable to prevent the events of the Russian Revolution of 1905, triggered by the unsuccessful Russo-Japanese War and the demonstration incident known as Bloody Sunday.

The uprising was put down, but the government was forced to concede major reforms ( Russian Constitution of 1906 ), including granting the freedoms of speech and assembly, the legalization of political parties, and the creation of an elected legislative body, the State Duma of the Russian Empire.

The Stolypin agrarian reform led to a massive peasant migration and settlement into Siberia. More than four million settlers arrived in that region between 1906 and 1914. [73]February Revolution and Russian Republic Main articles: February Revolution, Russian Provisional Government, and Russian Republic See also: Russian Constituent Assembly election, 1917 and Russian Democratic Federative Republic In 1914, Russia entered World War I in response to Austria-Hungary's declaration of war on Russia's ally Serbia, and fought across multiple fronts while isolated from its Triple Entente allies.

In 1916, the Brusilov Offensive of the Russian Army almost completely destroyed the military of Austria-Hungary.

However, the already-existing public distrust of the regime was deepened by the rising costs of war, high casualties, and rumors of corruption and treason. All this formed the climate for the Russian Revolution of 1917, carried out in two major acts. The February Revolution forced Nicholas II to abdicate; he and his family were imprisoned and later executed in Yekaterinburg during the Russian Civil War.

The monarchy was replaced by a shaky coalition of political parties that declared itself the Provisional Government. On September 1 (14), 1917, upon a decree of the Provisional Government, the Russian Republic was proclaimed.

[74] On January 6 (19), 1918, the Russian Constituent Assembly declared Russia a democratic federal republic (thus ratifying the Provisional Government's decision). The next day the Constituent Assembly was dissolved by the All-Russian Central Executive Committee.

White army Civil War -era propaganda poster Soviet Russia and civil war Main articles: October Revolution, Russian Civil War, and White movement See also: Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and Russian Constitution of 1918An alternative socialist establishment existed alongside, the Petrograd Soviet, wielding power through the democratically elected councils of workers and peasants, called Soviets.

The rule of the new authorities only aggravated the crisis in the country, instead of resolving it. Eventually, the October Revolution, led by Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the Provisional Government and gave full governing power to the Soviets, leading to the creation of the world's first socialist state.

Following the October Revolution, a civil war broke out between the anti-Communist White movement and the new Soviet regime with its Red Army. Bolshevist Russia lost its Ukrainian, Polish, Baltic, and Finnish territories by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that concluded hostilities with the Central Powers of World War I. The Allied powers launched an unsuccessful military intervention in support of anti-Communist forces.

In the meantime both the Bolsheviks and White movement carried out campaigns of deportations and executions against each other, known respectively as the Red Terror and White Terror.

By the end of the civil war, Russia's economy and infrastructure were heavily damaged. Millions became White émigrés, [75] and the Povolzhye famine of 1921 claimed up to 5 million victims.

[76]Soviet Union Main articles: Soviet Union and History of the Soviet Union See also: Treaty on the Creation of the USSRThe Russian SFSR at the moment of formation of the USSR in 1922The Russian SFSR as a part of the USSR in 1940, after 1924–1936 intra-Soviet territorial changes and the separation of the Karelo-Finnish SSR in 1940The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (called Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic at the time), together with the Ukrainian, Byelorussian, and Transcaucasian Soviet Socialist Republics, formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union, on December 30, 1922.

Out of the 15 republics that would make up the USSR, the largest in size and over half of the total USSR population was the Russian SFSR, which came to dominate the union for its entire 69-year history.

Following Lenin's death in 1924, a troika was designated to govern the Soviet Union. However, Joseph Stalin, an elected General Secretary of the Communist Party, managed to suppress all opposition groups within the party and consolidate power in his hands.

Leon Trotsky, the main proponent of world revolution, was exiled from the Soviet Union in 1929, and Stalin's idea of Socialism in One Country became the primary line. The continued internal struggle in the Bolshevik party culminated in the Great Purge, a period of mass repressions in 1937–38, during which hundreds of thousands of people were executed, including original party members and military leaders accused of coup d'état plots.

[77]Under Stalin's leadership, the government launched a planned economy, industrialisation of the largely rural country, and collectivization of its agriculture. During this period of rapid economic and social change, millions of people were sent to penal labor camps, [78] including many political convicts for their opposition to Stalin's rule; millions were deported and exiled to remote areas of the Soviet Union.

[78] The transitional disorganisation of the country's agriculture, combined with the harsh state policies and a drought, led to the Soviet famine of 1932–1933. [79] The Soviet Union, though with a heavy price, was transformed from a largely agrarian economy to a major industrial powerhouse in a short span of time.

Under the doctrine of state atheism in the Soviet Union, there was a ""government-sponsored program of forced conversion to atheism "" conducted by Communists. [80] [81] [82] The communist regime targeted religions based on State interests, and while most organized religions were never outlawed, religious property was confiscated, believers were harassed, and religion was ridiculed while atheism was propagated in schools.

[83] In 1925 the government founded the League of Militant Atheists to intensify the persecution. [84] Accordingly, although personal expressions of religious faith were not explicitly banned, a strong sense of social stigma was imposed on them by the official structures and mass media and it was generally considered unacceptable for members of certain professions (teachers, state bureaucrats, soldiers) to be openly religious.

As for the Russian Orthodox Church, Soviet authorities sought to control it and, in times of national crisis, to exploit it for the regime's own purposes; but their ultimate goal was to eliminate it. During the first five years of Soviet power, the Bolsheviks executed 28 Russian Orthodox bishops and over 1,200 Russian Orthodox priests.

Many others were imprisoned or exiled. Believers were harassed and persecuted. Most seminaries were closed, and the publication of most religious material was prohibited. By 1941 only 500 churches remained open out of about 54,000 in existence prior to World War I. The Appeasement policy of Great Britain and France towards Adolf Hitler 's annexation of Austria and Czechoslovakia did not stem an increase in the power of Nazi Germany.

Around the same time, the Third Reich allied with the Empire of Japan, a rival of the USSR in the Far East and an open enemy of the USSR in the Soviet–Japanese Border Wars in 1938–39.

The siege of Leningrad during World War II was the deadliest siege of a city in history In August 1939, the Soviet government decided to improve relations with Germany by concluding the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, pledging non-aggression between the two countries and dividing Eastern Europe into their respective spheres of influence.

While Hitler conquered Poland and France and other countries acted on a single front at the start of World War II, the USSR was able to build up its military and occupy the Western Ukraine, Hertza region and Northern Bukovina as a result of the Soviet invasion of Poland, Winter War, occupation of the Baltic states and Soviet occupation of Bessarabia and Northern Bukovina. On June 22, 1941, Nazi Germany broke the non-aggression treaty and invaded the Soviet Union with the largest and most powerful invasion force in human history, [85] opening the largest theater of World War II.

Although the German army had considerable early success, their attack was halted in the Battle of Moscow. Subsequently, the Germans were dealt major defeats first at the Battle of Stalingrad in the winter of 1942–43, [86] and then in the Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943.

Another German failure was the Siege of Leningrad, in which the city was fully blockaded on land between 1941 and 1944 by German and Finnish forces, and suffered starvation and more than a million deaths, but never surrendered. [87] Under Stalin's administration and the leadership of such commanders as Georgy Zhukov and Konstantin Rokossovsky, Soviet forces took Eastern Europe in 1944–45 and captured Berlin in May 1945.

In August 1945 the Soviet Army ousted the Japanese from China's Manchukuo and North Korea, contributing to the allied victory over Japan. Sputnik 1 was the world's first artificial satellite The 1941–45 period of World War II is known in Russia as the "" Great Patriotic War "".

The Soviet Union together with the United States, the United Kingdom and China were considered as the Big Four of Allied powers in World War II [88] and later became the Four Policemen which was the foundation of the United Nations Security Council.

[89] During this war, which included many of the most lethal battle operations in human history, Soviet military and civilian deaths were 10.6 million and 15.9 million respectively, [90] accounting for about a third of all World War II casualties. The full demographic loss to the Soviet peoples was even greater. [91] The Soviet economy and infrastructure suffered massive devastation which caused the Soviet famine of 1946–47 [92] but the Soviet Union emerged as an acknowledged military superpower on the continent. The RSFSR in 1956–1991, mostly after territorial acquisitions according to WWII treaties, the accession of Tuva in 1944, the transfer of the Crimean Oblast in 1954 and the incorporation of the Karelo-Finnish SSR in 1956.

In 1991, the borders of the Russian SFSR became the Russian Federation's international borders with sovereign states After the war, Eastern and Central Europe including East Germany and part of Austria was occupied by Red Army according to the Potsdam Conference.

Dependent socialist governments were installed in the Eastern Bloc satellite states. Becoming the world's second nuclear weapons power, the USSR established the Warsaw Pact alliance and entered into a struggle for global dominance, known as the Cold War, with the United States and NATO.

The Soviet Union supported revolutionary movements across the world, including the newly formed People's Republic of China, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and, later on, the Republic of Cuba. Significant amounts of Soviet resources were allocated in aid to the other socialist states. [93]After Stalin's death and a short period of collective rule, the new leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the cult of personality of Stalin and launched the policy of de-Stalinization.

The penal labor system was reformed and many prisoners were released and rehabilitated (many of them posthumously). [94] The general easement of repressive policies became known later as the Khrushchev Thaw. At the same time, tensions with the United States heightened when the two rivals clashed over the deployment of the United States Jupiter missiles in Turkey and Soviet missiles in Cuba.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, thus starting the Space Age. Russia's cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth, aboard the Vostok 1 manned spacecraft on April 12, 1961. Following the ousting of Khrushchev in 1964, another period of collective rule ensued, until Leonid Brezhnev became the leader.

The era of the 1970s and the early 1980s was designated later as the Era of Stagnation, a period when economic growth slowed and social policies became static. The 1965 Kosygin reform aimed for partial decentralization of the Soviet economy and shifted the emphasis from heavy industry and weapons to light industry and consumer goods but was stifled by the conservative Communist leadership.

Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev and U. S. President Ronald Reagan in Red Square during the Moscow Summit, May 31, 1988In 1979, after a Communist-led revolution in Afghanistan, Soviet forces entered that country. The occupation drained economic resources and dragged on without achieving meaningful political results. Ultimately, the Soviet Army was withdrawn from Afghanistan in 1989 due to international opposition, persistent anti-Soviet guerilla warfare, and a lack of support by Soviet citizens.

Russian President Boris Yeltsin stands on a tank during the August Coup of 1991, two months after the first presidential elections. The white-blue-red pre-revolutionary flag (in the bottom right corner) became the symbol of the antitotalitarian resistance and democratic transformation.

[95]From 1985 onwards, the last Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who sought to enact liberal reforms in the Soviet system, introduced the policies of glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to end the period of economic stagnation and to democratise the government.

This, however, led to the rise of strong nationalist and separatist movements. Prior to 1991, the Soviet economy was the second largest in the world, [96] but during its last years it was afflicted by shortages of goods in grocery stores, huge budget deficits, and explosive growth in the money supply leading to inflation. [97]By 1991, economic and political turmoil began to boil over, as the Baltic republics chose to secede from the Soviet Union.

On March 17, a referendum was held, in which the vast majority of participating citizens voted in favour of changing the Soviet Union into a renewed federation. In August 1991, a coup d'état attempt by members of Gorbachev's government, directed against Gorbachev and aimed at preserving the Soviet Union, instead led to the end of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

On December 25, 1991, the USSR was dissolved into 15 post-Soviet states. Russian Federation Main articles: History of Russia (1992–present), Russia and the United Nations, and 1993 Constitution of Russia See also: Commonwealth of Independent States, War of Laws, and 1993 Russian constitutional crisis Moscow International Business Center In June 1991, Boris Yeltsin became the first directly elected President in Russian history when he was elected President of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, which became the independent Russian Federation in December of that year.

During and after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, wide-ranging reforms including privatization and market and trade liberalization were undertaken, [98] including radical changes along the lines of "" shock therapy "" as recommended by the United States and the International Monetary Fund. [99] All this resulted in a major economic crisis, characterized by a 50% decline in both GDP and industrial output between 1990 and 1995.

[98] [100]The privatization largely shifted control of enterprises from state agencies to individuals with inside connections in the government. Many of the newly rich moved billions in cash and assets outside of the country in an enormous capital flight.

[101] The depression of the economy led to the collapse of social services; the birth rate plummeted while the death rate skyrocketed. [102] Millions plunged into poverty, from a level of 1.5% in the late Soviet era to 39–49% by mid-1993.

[103] The 1990s saw extreme corruption and lawlessness, the rise of criminal gangs and violent crime. [104]The 1990s were plagued by armed conflicts in the North Caucasus, both local ethnic skirmishes and separatist Islamist insurrections. From the time Chechen separatists declared independence in the early 1990s, an intermittent guerrilla war has been fought between the rebel groups and the Russian military.

Terrorist attacks against civilians carried out by separatists, most notably the Moscow theater hostage crisis and Beslan school siege, caused hundreds of deaths and drew worldwide attention. Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's external debts, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution.

[105] High budget deficits caused the 1998 Russian financial crisis [106] and resulted in a further GDP decline.

[98]From left: Patriarch Alexy II, Vladimir Putin, Boris Yeltsin On December 31, 1999, President Yeltsin unexpectedly resigned, handing the post to the recently appointed Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who then won the 2000 presidential election. Putin suppressed the Chechen insurgency although sporadic violence still occurs throughout the Northern Caucasus.

High oil prices and the initially weak currency followed by increasing domestic demand, consumption, and investments has helped the economy grow for nine straight years, improving the standard of living and increasing Russia's influence on the world stage. [107] However, since the World economic crisis of 2008 and a subsequent drop in oil prices, Russia's economy has stagnated and poverty has again started to rise.

[108] While many reforms made during the Putin presidency have been generally criticized by Western nations as undemocratic, [109] Putin's leadership over the return of order, stability, and progress has won him widespread admiration in Russia.

[110]On March 2, 2008, Dmitry Medvedev was elected President of Russia while Putin became Prime Minister. Putin returned to the presidency following the 2012 presidential elections, and Medvedev was appointed Prime Minister.

In 2014, after President Viktor Yanukovych of Ukraine fled as a result of a revolution, Putin requested and received authorization from the Russian Parliament to deploy Russian troops to Ukraine. [111] [112] [113] [114] [115] Following a Crimean referendum in which separation was favored by a large majority of voters, [116] [117] [118] [119] [120] [121] the Russian leadership announced the accession of Crimea into the Russian Federation, though this and the referendum that preceded it were not accepted internationally.

On March 27 the United Nations General Assembly voted in favor of a non-binding resolution opposing the Russian annexation of Crimea by a vote of 100 member states in favour, 11 against and 58 abstentions.

[122]In September 2015, Russia started military intervention in the Syrian Civil War, consisting of air strikes against militant groups of the Islamic State, al-Nusra Front (al-Qaeda in the Levant), and the Army of Conquest. Politics Main article: Politics of Russia Governance President Vladimir Putin Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev According to the Constitution of Russia, the country is a federation and semi-presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of state [123] and the Prime Minister is the head of government.

The Russian Federation is fundamentally structured as a multi-party representative democracy, with the federal government composed of three branches: Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly of Russia, made up of the 450-member State Duma and the 166-member Federation Council, adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse and the power of impeachment of the President.

Executive: The President is the Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the Government of Russia (Cabinet) and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.

Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the President, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deem unconstitutional. The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term, but not for a third consecutive term). [124] Ministries of the government are composed of the Premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (whereas the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma).

Leading political parties in Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party, and A Just Russia.

In 2013, Russia was ranked as 122nd of 167 countries in the Democracy Index, compiled by The Economist Intelligence Unit, [125] while the World Justice Project, as of 2014, ranked Russia 80th of 99 countries surveyed in terms of rule of law.

[126]Foreign relations Main article: Foreign relations of Russia As a transcontinental country, Russia is a member of both the Council of Europe (COE) and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue. The Russian Federation became the 39th member state of the Council of Europe on February 28, 1996Member states, observers and partners of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)The Russian Federation is recognized in international law as a successor state of the former Soviet Union.

[29] Russia continues to implement the international commitments of the USSR, and has assumed the USSR's permanent seat in the UN Security Council, membership in other international organisations, the rights and obligations under international treaties, and property and debts.

Russia has a multifaceted foreign policy. As of 2009, it maintains diplomatic relations with 191 countries and has 144 embassies.

The foreign policy is determined by the President and implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia. [127]As the successor to a former superpower, Russia's geopolitical status has often been debated, particularly in relation to unipolar and multipolar views on the global political system.

While Russia is commonly accepted to be a great power, in recent years it has been characterized by a number of world leaders, [128] [129] scholars, [130] commentators and politicians [131] as a currently reinstating or potential superpower.

[132] [133] [134]Russia is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council. The country participates in the Quartet on the Middle East and the Six-party talks with North Korea. Russia is a member of the G8 industrialized nations, the Council of Europe, OSCE, and APEC. Russia usually takes a leading role in regional organisations such as the CIS, Eur As EC, CSTO, and the SCO.

[135] Russia became the 39th member state of the Council of Europe in 1996. [136] In 1998, Russia ratified the European Convention on Human Rights. The legal basis for EU relations with Russia is the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 1997. The Agreement recalls the parties' shared respect for democracy and human rights, political and economic freedom and commitment to international peace and security.

[137] In May 2003, the EU and Russia agreed to reinforce their cooperation on the basis of common values and shared interests. [138] Former President Vladimir Putin had advocated a strategic partnership with close integration in various dimensions including establishment of EU-Russia Common Spaces.

[139] Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has developed a friendlier relationship with the United States and NATO. The NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 to allow the United States, Russia and the 27 allies in NATO to work together as equal partners to pursue opportunities for joint collaboration. [140]Leaders of the BRICS nations in 2016: (l-r) Michel Temer of Brazil, Narendra Modi of India, Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Jacob Zuma of South Africa Russia maintains strong and positive relations with other BRIC countries.

India is the largest customer of Russian military equipment and the two countries share extensive defense and strategic relations. [141] In recent years, the country has strengthened bilateral ties especially with the People's Republic of China by signing the Treaty of Friendship as well as building the Trans-Siberian oil pipeline and gas pipeline from Siberia to China.

[142] [143]An important aspect of Russia's relations with the West is the criticism of Russia's political system and human rights management (including LGBT rights, media freedom, and reports about killed journalists) by Western governments, the mass media and the leading democracy and human rights watchdogs. In particular, such organisations as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch consider Russia to have not enough democratic attributes and to allow few political rights and civil liberties to its citizens. [144] [145] Freedom House, an international organisation funded by the United States, ranks Russia as ""not free"", citing ""carefully engineered elections"" and ""absence"" of debate.

[146] Russian authorities dismiss these claims and especially criticise Freedom House. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has called the 2006 Freedom in the World report ""prefabricated"", stating that the human rights issues have been turned into a political weapon in particular by the United States.

The ministry also claims that such organisations as Freedom House and Human Rights Watch use the same scheme of voluntary extrapolation of ""isolated facts that of course can be found in any country"" into ""dominant tendencies"".

[147]Military Main article: Russian Armed Forces Military-patriotic recreation park of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation2015 Moscow Victory Day Parade: Russians at « Immortal regiment », carrying portraits of their ancestors who fought in World War II.

The Russian military is divided into the Ground Forces, Navy, and Air Force. There are also three independent arms of service: Strategic Missile Troops, Aerospace Defence Forces, and the Airborne Troops.

In 2006, the military had 1.037 million personnel on active duty. [148] It is mandatory for all male citizens aged 18–27 to be drafted for a year of service in Armed Forces. [107]Russia has the largest stockpile of nuclear weapons in the world. It has the second largest fleet of ballistic missile submarines and is the only country apart from the United States with a modern strategic bomber force.

[34] [149] Russia's tank force is the largest in the world, its surface navy and air force are among the largest ones. The country has a large and fully indigenous arms industry, producing most of its own military equipment with only a few types of weapons imported. Russia is one of the world's top supplier of arms, a spot it has held since 2001, accounting for around 30% of worldwide weapons sales [150] and exporting weapons to about 80 countries.

[151] The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, SIPRI, found that Russia was the second biggest exporter of arms in 2010–14, increasing their exports by 37 per cent from the period 2005–2009. In 2010–14, Russia delivered weapons to 56 states and to rebel forces in eastern Ukraine. [152]The Russian government's published 2014 military budget is about 2.49 trillion rubles (approximately US$69.3 billion), the third largest in the world behind the US and China.

The official budget is set to rise to 3.03 trillion rubles (approximately US$83.7 billion) in 2015, and 3.36 trillion rubles (approximately US$93.9 billion) in 2016. [153] However, unofficial estimates put the budget significantly higher, for example the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) 2013 Military Expenditure Database estimated Russia's military expenditure in 2012 at US$90.749 billion.

[154] This estimate is an increase of more than US$18 billion on SIPRI's estimate of the Russian military budget for 2011 (US$71.9 billion). [155] As of 2014, Russia's military budget is higher than any other European nation. Political divisions Main article: Subdivisions of Russia Russian President Vladimir Putin and Akhmad Kadyrov, former rebel and head of the Chechen Republic, 2000Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and President of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiyev in Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, 2011Federal subjects According to the Constitution, the country comprises eighty-five federal subjects, [156] including the disputed Republic of Crimea and federal city of Sevastopol.

[157] In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were eighty-nine federal subjects listed, but later some of them were merged. These subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council. [158] However, they differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.46 oblasts (provinces): most common type of federal subjects, with locally elected governor and legislature.

[159]22 republics: nominally autonomous; each is tasked with drafting its own constitution, direct-elected [159] head of republic [160] or a similar post, 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.9 krais (territories): essentially the same as oblasts.

The ""territory"" designation is historic, originally given to frontier regions and later also to the administrative divisions that comprised autonomous okrugs or autonomous oblasts.4 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.1 autonomous oblast (the Jewish Autonomous Oblast ): historically, autonomous oblasts were administrative units subordinated to krais.

In 1990, all of them except for the Jewish AO were elevated in status to that of a republic.3 federal cities (Moscow, Saint Petersburg, and Sevastopol ): major cities that function as separate regions. Further information: Political status of Crimea and Sevastopol and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation Federal districts Federal subjects are grouped into eight federal districts, each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia.

[161] Unlike the federal subjects, the federal districts are not a subnational level of government, but are a level of administration of the federal government.

Federal districts' envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.

Geography Main article: Geography of Russia See also: List of Russian explorers Moscow St. Petersburg Novgorod Novosibirsk Yekaterinburg Nizhny Novgorod Kazan Chelyabinsk Omsk Samara Rostov Ufa Krasnoyarsk Perm Voronezh Volgograd Arkhangelsk Pyatigorsk Sochi Irkutsk Yakutsk Khabarovsk Vladivostok Magadan Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky Kaliningrad Köppen climate types of Russia Russia is the largest country in the world; its total area is 17,075,200 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi).

[162] [163] It lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W. Russia's territorial expansion was achieved largely in the late 16th century under the Cossack Yermak Timofeyevich during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, at a time when competing city-states in the western regions of Russia had banded together to form one country.

Yermak mustered an army and pushed eastward where he conquered nearly all the lands once belonging to the Mongols, defeating their ruler, Khan Kuchum. [164]Russia has a wide natural resource base, including major deposits of timber, petroleum, natural gas, coal, ores and other mineral resources.

Topography The two most widely separated points in Russia are about 8,000 km (4,971 mi) apart along a geodesic line. These points are: a 60 km (37 mi) long Vistula Spit the boundary with Poland separating the Gdańsk Bay from the Vistula Lagoon and the most southeastern point of the Kuril Islands.

The points which are farthest separated in longitude are 6,600 km (4,101 mi) apart along a geodesic line. These points are: in the west, the same spit on the boundary with Poland, and in the east, the Big Diomede Island.

The Russian Federation spans 11 time zones. Mount Elbrus, the highest point of the Caucasus, Russia and Europe Most of Russia consists of vast stretches of plains that are predominantly steppe to the south and heavily forested to the north, with tundra along the northern coast.

Russia possesses 10% of the world's arable land. [165] Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, which at 5,642 m (18,510 ft) is the highest point in both Russia and Europe) and the Altai (containing Mount Belukha, which at the 4,506 m (14,783 ft) is the highest point of Siberia outside of the Russian Far East ); and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes of Kamchatka Peninsula (containing Klyuchevskaya Sopka, which at the 4,750 m (15,584 ft) is the highest active volcano in Eurasia as well as the highest point of Asian Russia ).

The Ural Mountains, rich in mineral resources, form a north-south range that divides Europe and Asia.

Russia has an extensive coastline of over 37,000 km (22,991 mi) along the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, as well as along the Baltic Sea, Sea of Azov, Black Sea and Caspian Sea. [107] The Barents Sea, White Sea, Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, East Siberian Sea, Chukchi Sea, Bering Sea, Sea of Okhotsk, and the Sea of Japan are linked to Russia via the Arctic and Pacific.

Russia's major islands and archipelagos include Novaya Zemlya, the Franz Josef Land, the Severnaya Zemlya, the New Siberian Islands, Wrangel Island, the Kuril Islands, and Sakhalin.

The Diomede Islands (one controlled by Russia, the other by the United States) are just 3 km (1.9 mi) apart, and Kunashir Island is about 20 km (12.4 mi) from Hokkaido, Japan. Volga River in Samara Oblast Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water, providing it with one of the world's largest surface water resources.

Its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's liquid fresh water. [166] The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world's deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water lake. [167] Baikal alone contains over one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water. [166] Other major lakes include Ladoga and Onega, two of the largest lakes in Europe.

Russia is second only to Brazil in volume of the total renewable water resources. Of the country's 100,000 rivers, [168] the Volga is the most famous, not only because it is the longest river in Europe, but also because of its major role in Russian history.

[107] The Siberian rivers Ob, Yenisey, Lena and Amur are among the longest rivers in the world. Climate Main article: Climate of Russia Taiga forest, Yugyd Va National Park in the Komi Republic Sochi, Black Sea coast The enormous size of Russia and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the humid continental climate, which is prevalent in all parts of the country except for the tundra and the extreme southeast.

Mountains in the south obstruct the flow of warm air masses from the Indian Ocean, while the plain of the west and north makes the country open to Arctic and Atlantic influences.

[169]Most of Northern European Russia and Siberia has a subarctic climate, with extremely severe winters in the inner regions of Northeast Siberia (mostly the Sakha Republic, where the Northern Pole of Cold is located with the record low temperature of −71.2 °C or −96.2 °F), and more moderate winters elsewhere.

Both the strip of land along the shore of the Arctic Ocean and the Russian Arctic islands have a polar climate. The coastal part of Krasnodar Krai on the Black Sea, most notably in Sochi, possesses a humid subtropical climate with mild and wet winters.

In many regions of East Siberia and the Far East, winter is dry compared to summer; other parts of the country experience more even precipitation across seasons. Winter precipitation in most parts of the country usually falls as snow. The region along the Lower Volga and Caspian Sea coast, as well as some areas of southernmost Siberia, possesses a semi-arid climate.

Climate data for Russia (records)Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Record high °C (°F) 22.2 (72) 23.8 (74.8) 30.3 (86.5) 34.0 (93.2) 37.7 (99.9) 43.2 (109.8) 45.4 (113.7) 43.5 (110.3) 41.5 (106.7) 33.7 (92.7) 29.1 (84.4) 25.0 (77) 45.4 (113.7)Record low °C (°F) −71.2 (−96.2) −67.8 (−90) −60.6 (−77.1) −57.2 (−71) −34.2 (−29.6) −9.7 (14.5) −9.3 (15.3) −17.1 (1.2) −25.3 (−13.5) −48.7 (−55.7) −58.5 (−73.3) −64.5 (−84.1) −71.2 (−96.2)Source: Pogoda.ru.net [170] January record low:"" February, April, May, October, December record low: [171]Throughout much of the territory there are only two distinct seasons—winter and summer—as spring and autumn are usually brief periods of change between extremely low and extremely high temperatures.

[169] The coldest month is January (February on the coastline); the warmest is usually July. Great ranges of temperature are typical. In winter, temperatures get colder both from south to north and from west to east. Summers can be quite hot, even in Siberia. [172] The continental interiors are the driest areas. Biodiversity Main articles: List of ecoregions in Russia, List of mammals of Russia, List of birds of Russia, List of freshwater fish of Russia, and Wildlife of Russia The brown bear is a popular symbol of Russia, particularly in the West.

From north to south the East European Plain, also known as Russian Plain, is clad sequentially in Arctic tundra, coniferous forest ( taiga ), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland ( steppe ), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea), as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate.

Siberia supports a similar sequence but is largely taiga. Russia has the world's largest forest reserves, [173] known as ""the lungs of Europe"", [174] second only to the Amazon Rainforest in the amount of carbon dioxide it absorbs.

There are 266 mammal species and 780 bird species in Russia. A total of 415 animal species have been included in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation as of 1997 and are now protected. [175] There are 28 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia, [176] 40 UNESCO biosphere reserves, [177] 41 national parks and 101 nature reserves. Economy Main articles: Economy of Russia and Timeline of largest projects in the Russian economy Moscow International Business Center Russia has an upper-middle income mixed economy [178] with enormous natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas.

It has the 12th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the 6th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Since the turn of the 21st century, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have bolstered economic growth in Russia.

The country ended 2008 with its ninth straight year of growth, but growth has slowed with the decline in the price of oil and gas. Real GDP per capita, PPP (current international) was 19,840 in 2010. [179] Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports.

[107] The average nominal salary in Russia was $967 per month in early 2013, up from $80 in 2000. [180] [181] In May 2016 the average nominal monthly wages fell below $450 per month, [182] and tax on the income of individuals is payable at the rate of 13% on most incomes.

[183] Approximately 19.2 million of Russians lived below the national poverty line in 2016, [184] significantly up from 16.1 million in 2015. [103] Unemployment in Russia was 5.4% in 2014, down from about 12.4% in 1999. [185] Officially, about 20–25% of the Russian population is categorized as middle class; however some economists and sociologists think this figure is inflated and the real fraction is about 7%.

[186] After the United States, the European Union and other countries imposed economic sanctions after the annexation of Crimea and a collapse in oil prices, the proportion of middle-class could decrease drastically. [187] [188]Russia's GDP by purchasing power parity (PPP) since 1989 (in international dollars adjusted for both purchasing power and inflation at 2013 prices).

Oil, natural gas, metals, and timber account for more than 80% of Russian exports abroad. [107] Since 2003, the exports of natural resources started decreasing in economic importance as the internal market strengthened considerably. As of 2012 the oil-and-gas sector accounted for 16% of GDP, 52% of federal budget revenues and over 80% of total exports.

[189] [190] [191] Oil export earnings allowed Russia to increase its foreign reserves from $12 billion in 1999 to $597.3 billion on August 1, 2008. As of April 2017, foreign reserves in Russia fell to 332 USD Billion. [192] The macroeconomic policy under Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin was prudent and sound, with excess income being stored in the Stabilization Fund of Russia.

[193] In 2006, Russia repaid most of its formerly massive debts, [194] leaving it with one of the lowest foreign debts among major economies. [195] The Stabilization Fund helped Russia to come out of the global financial crisis in a much better state than many experts had expected. [193]A simpler, more streamlined tax code adopted in 2001 reduced the tax burden on people and dramatically increased state revenue.

[196] Russia has a flat tax rate of 13%. This ranks it as the country with the second most attractive personal tax system for single managers in the world after the United Arab Emirates. [197] According to Bloomberg, Russia is considered well ahead of most other resource-rich countries in its economic development, with a long tradition of education, science, and industry. [198] The country has a higher proportion of higher education graduates than any other country in Eurasia.

[199]On May 21, 2014, Russia and China signed a $400 billion gas deal. Starting 2019 Russia plans to provide natural gas to China for the next 30 years. The economic development of the country has been uneven geographically with the Moscow region contributing a very large share of the country's GDP.

[200] Inequality of household income and wealth has also been noted, with Credit Suisse finding Russian wealth distribution so much more extreme than other countries studied it ""deserves to be placed in a separate category.""

[201] [202] Another problem is modernisation of infrastructure, ageing and inadequate after years of being neglected in the 1990s; the government has said $1 trillion will be invested in development of infrastructure by 2020. [203] In December 2011, Russia was approved as a member of the World Trade Organisation after 18 years of dialogue, allowing it a greater access to overseas markets. [204] Some analysts estimate that WTO membership could bring the Russian economy a bounce of up to 3% annually.

[205] Russia ranks as the second-most corrupt country in Europe (after Ukraine), according to the Corruption Perceptions Index. The Norwegian-Russian Chamber of Commerce also states that "" [c]orruption is one of the biggest problems both Russian and international companies have to deal with.""

[206] Corruption in Russia is perceived as a significant problem [207] impacting all aspects of life, including public administration, [208] [209]law enforcement, [210] healthcare [211] and education.

[212] The phenomenon of corruption is strongly established in the historical model of public governance in Russia and attributed to general weakness of rule of law in Russia. [208] According to 2016 results of Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International, Russia ranked 131th place out of 176 countries with score 29.

[213]There are many different estimates of the actual cost of corruption. [214] According to official government statistics from Rosstat, the ""shadow economy"" occupied only 15% of Russia's GDP in 2011, and this included unreported salaries (to avoid taxes and social payments) and other types of tax evasion.

[215] According to Rosstat's estimates, corruption in 2011 amounted to only 3.5 to 7% of GDP. In comparison, some independent experts maintain that corruption consumes as much of 25% of Russia's GDP. [216] A World Bank report puts this figure at 48%. [217] There is also an interesting shift in the main focus of bribery: whereas previously officials took bribes to shut their eyes to legal infractions, they now take them simply to perform their duties.

[218] Many experts admit that in recent years corruption in Russia has become a business. In the 1990s, businessmen had to pay different criminal groups to provide a "" krysha "" (literally, a ""roof"", i.e., protection).

Nowadays, this ""protective"" function is performed by officials. Corrupt hierarchies characterize different sectors of the economy, [214] including education.

[214]In the end, the Russian population pays for this corruption. [214] For example, some experts believe that the rapid increases in tariffs for housing, water, gas and electricity, which significantly outpace the rate of inflation, are a direct result of high volumes of corruption at the highest levels. [219] In the recent years the reaction to corruption has changed: starting from Putin's second term, very few corruption cases have been the subject of outrage.

Putin's system is remarkable for its ubiquitous and open merging of the civil service and business, as well as its use of relatives, friends, and acquaintances to benefit from budgetary expenditures and take over state property. Corporate, property, and land raiding is commonplace. [214]On March 26, 2017, protests against alleged corruption in the federal Russian government took place simultaneously in many cities across the country.

[220] They were triggered by the lack of proper response from the Russian authorities to the published investigative film He Is Not Dimon To You, which has garnered more than 20 million views on You Tube. A new wave of mass protests has been announced for June 12, 2017. [221]Over two million VAZ-2105s were produced from 1980 to 2010.

A Lada Vesta. Lada is the brand of Avto VAZ, the largest Russian car manufacturer. The Russian central bank announced plans in 2013 to free float the Russian ruble in 2015. According to a stress test conducted by the central bank Russian financial system would be able to handle a currency decline of 25%–30% without major central bank interference.

However, the Russian economy began stagnating in late 2013 and in combination with the War in Donbass is in danger of entering stagflation, slow growth and high inflation.

The recent decline in the Russian ruble has increased the costs for Russian companies to make interest payments on debt issued in U. S. dollar or other foreign currencies that have strengthened against the ruble; thus it costs Russian companies more of their ruble-denominated revenue to repay their debt holders in dollars or other foreign currencies.

[222] As of March 2016, the ruble was devalued more than 50 percent since July 2014. [223] Moreover, after bringing inflation down to 3.6% in 2012, the lowest rate since gaining independence from the Soviet Union, inflation in Russia jumped to nearly 7.5% in 2014, causing the central bank to increase its lending rate to 8% from 5.5% in 2013. [224] [225] [226] In an October 2014 article in Bloomberg Business Week, it was reported that Russia had significantly started shifting its economy towards China in response to increasing financial tensions following its annexation of Crimea and subsequent Western economic sanctions.

[227]Agriculture Main articles: Agriculture in Russia and Fishing industry in Russia Rye Fields, by Ivan Shishkin. Russia is the world's top producer of barley, buckwheat and oats, and one of the largest producers and exporters of rye, sunflower seed and wheat.

Russia's total area of cultivated land is estimated at 1,237,294 square kilometres (477,722 sq mi), the fourth largest in the world. [228] From 1999 to 2009, Russia's agriculture grew steadily, [229] and the country turned from a grain importer to the third largest grain exporter after the EU and the United States.

[230] The production of meat has grown from 6,813,000 tonnes in 1999 to 9,331,000 tonnes in 2008, and continues to grow. [231]This restoration of agriculture was supported by a credit policy of the government, helping both individual farmers and large privatized corporate farms that once were Soviet kolkhozes and which still own the significant share of agricultural land.

[232] While large farms concentrate mainly on grain production and husbandry products, small private household plots produce most of the country's potatoes, vegetables and fruits. [233]Since Russia borders three oceans (the Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific), Russian fishing fleets are a major world fish supplier. Russia captured 3,191,068 tons of fish in 2005. [234] Both exports and imports of fish and sea products grew significantly in recent years, reaching $2,415 and $2,036 million, respectively, in 2008.

[235]Sprawling from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific Ocean, Russia has more than a fifth of the world's forests, which makes it the largest forest country in the world. [173] [236] However, according to a 2012 study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the Government of the Russian Federation, [237] the considerable potential of Russian forests is underutilized and Russia's share of the global trade in forest products is less than four percent.

[238]Energy Main articles: Energy in Russia and Nuclear power in Russia Russia is a key oil and gas supplier to much of Europe. In recent years, Russia has frequently been described in the media as an energy superpower. [239] [240] The country has the world's largest natural gas reserves, [241] the 8th largest oil reserves, [242] and the second largest coal reserves.

[243] Russia is the world's leading natural gas exporter [244] and second largest natural gas producer, [33] while also the largest oil exporter and the largest oil producer.

[32]Russia is the 3rd largest electricity producer in the world [245] and the 5th largest renewable energy producer, the latter because of the well-developed hydroelectricity production in the country. [246] Large cascades of hydropower plants are built in European Russia along big rivers like the Volga. The Asian part of Russia also features a number of major hydropower stations; however, the gigantic hydroelectric potential of Siberia and the Russian Far East largely remains unexploited.

Russia was the first country to develop civilian nuclear power and to construct the world's first nuclear power plant. Currently the country is the 4th largest nuclear energy producer, [247] with all nuclear power in Russia being managed by Rosatom State Corporation.

The sector is rapidly developing, with an aim of increasing the total share of nuclear energy from current 16.9% to 23% by 2020. The Russian government plans to allocate 127 billion rubles ($5.42 billion) to a federal program dedicated to the next generation of nuclear energy technology. About 1 trillion rubles ($42.7 billion) is to be allocated from the federal budget to nuclear power and industry development before 2015.

[248]In May 2014 on a two-day trip to Shanghai, President Putin signed a deal on behalf of Gazprom for the Russian energy giant to supply China with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year.

Construction of a pipeline to facilitate the deal was agreed whereby Russia would contribute $55bn to the cost, and China $22bn, in what Putin described as ""the world's biggest construction project for the next four years."" The natural gas would begin to flow sometime between 2018 and 2020 and would continue for 30 years at an ultimate cost to China of $400bn.

[249]Transport Main articles: Transport in Russia, History of rail transport in Russia, and Rail transport in Russia The marker for kilometre 9288 at the end of the Trans-Siberian Railway in Vladivostok Railway transport in Russia is mostly under the control of the state-run Russian Railways monopoly.

The company accounts for over 3.6% of Russia's GDP and handles 39% of the total freight traffic (including pipelines) and more than 42% of passenger traffic. [250] The total length of common-used railway tracks exceeds 85,500 km (53,127 mi), [250] second only to the United States. Over 44,000 km (27,340 mi) of tracks are electrified, [251] which is the largest number in the world, and additionally there are more than 30,000 km (18,641 mi) of industrial non-common carrier lines.

Railways in Russia, unlike in the most of the world, use broad gauge of 1,520 mm ( 4 ft 11 27⁄ 32in ), with the exception of 957 km (595 mi) on Sakhalin island using narrow gauge of 1,067 mm ( 3 ft 6 in ).

The most renowned railway in Russia is Trans-Siberian ( Transsib ), spanning a record 7 time zones and serving the longest single continuous services in the world, Moscow- Vladivostok (9,259 km (5,753 mi)), Moscow– Pyongyang (10,267 km (6,380 mi)) [252] and Kiev –Vladivostok (11,085 km (6,888 mi)).

[253]As of 2006 Russia had 933,000 km of roads, of which 755,000 were paved. [254] Some of these make up the Russian federal motorway system.

With a large land area the road density is the lowest of all the G8 and BRIC countries. [255]Much of Russia's inland waterways, which total 102,000 km (63,380 mi), are made up of natural rivers or lakes. In the European part of the country the network of channels connects the basins of major rivers. Russia's capital, Moscow, is sometimes called ""the port of the five seas"", because of its waterway connections to the Baltic, White, Caspian, Azov and Black Seas.

Yamal, one of Russia's nuclear-powered icebreakers [256]Major sea ports of Russia include Rostov-on-Don on the Azov Sea, Novorossiysk on the Black Sea, Astrakhan and Makhachkala on the Caspian, Kaliningrad and St Petersburg on the Baltic, Arkhangelsk on the White Sea, Murmansk on the Barents Sea, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean.

In 2008 the country owned 1,448 merchant marine ships. The world's only fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers advances the economic exploitation of the Arctic continental shelf of Russia and the development of sea trade through the Northern Sea Route between Europe and East Asia. By total length of pipelines Russia is second only to the United States. Currently many new pipeline projects are being realized, including Nord Stream and South Stream natural gas pipelines to Europe, and the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline (ESPO) to the Russian Far East and China.

Russia has 1,216 airports, [257] the busiest being Sheremetyevo, Domodedovo, and Vnukovo in Moscow, and Pulkovo in St. Petersburg. Typically, major Russian cities have well-developed systems of public transport, with the most common varieties of exploited vehicles being bus, trolleybus and tram.

Seven Russian cities, namely Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Samara, Yekaterinburg, and Kazan, have underground metros, while Volgograd features a metrotram. The total length of metros in Russia is 465.4 kilometres (289.2 mi). Moscow Metro and Saint Petersburg Metro are the oldest in Russia, opened in 1935 and 1955 respectively.

These two are among the fastest and busiest metro systems in the world, and some of them are famous for rich decorations and unique designs of their stations, which is a common tradition in Russian metros and railways.

Science and technology This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources.

Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2018) ( Learn how and when to remove this template message)Main articles: Timeline of Russian inventions and technology records, Science and technology in Russia, List of Russian scientists, and List of Russian inventors Mikhail Lomonosov, polymath scientist, inventor, poet and artist Ivan Pavlov (1849–1936), physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate in 1904Science and technology in Russia blossomed since the Age of Enlightenment, when Peter the Great founded the Russian Academy of Sciences and Saint Petersburg State University, and polymath Mikhail Lomonosov established the Moscow State University, paving the way for a strong native tradition in learning and innovation.

In the 19th and 20th centuries the country produced a large number of notable scientists and inventors. The Russian physics school began with Lomonosov who proposed the law of conservation of matter preceding the energy conservation law.

Russian discoveries and inventions in physics include the electric arc, electrodynamical Lenz's law, space groups of crystals, photoelectric cell, superfluidity, Cherenkov radiation, electron paramagnetic resonance, heterotransistors and 3D holography. Lasers and masers were co-invented by Nikolai Basov and Alexander Prokhorov, while the idea of tokamak for controlled nuclear fusion was introduced by Igor Tamm, Andrei Sakharov and Lev Artsimovich, leading eventually the modern international ITER project, where Russia is a party.

Since the time of Nikolay Lobachevsky (the "" Copernicus of Geometry "" who pioneered the non-Euclidean geometry) and a prominent tutor Pafnuty Chebyshev, the Russian mathematical school became one of the most influential in the world.

[258] Chebyshev's students included Aleksandr Lyapunov, who founded the modern stability theory, and Andrey Markov who invented the Markov chains. In the 20th century Soviet mathematicians, such as Andrey Kolmogorov, Israel Gelfand, and Sergey Sobolev, made major contributions to various areas of mathematics. Nine Soviet/Russian mathematicians were awarded with the Fields Medal, a most prestigious award in mathematics.

Recently Grigori Perelman was offered the first ever Clay Millennium Prize Problems Award for his final proof of the Poincaré conjecture in 2002. [259]Russian chemist Dmitry Mendeleev invented the Periodic table, the main framework of modern chemistry. Aleksandr Butlerov was one of the creators of the theory of chemical structure, playing a central role in organic chemistry. Russian biologists include Dmitry Ivanovsky who discovered viruses, Ivan Pavlov who was the first to experiment with the classical conditioning, and Ilya Mechnikov who was a pioneer researcher of the immune system and probiotics.

Many Russian scientists and inventors were émigrés, like Igor Sikorsky, who built the first airliners and modern-type helicopters; Vladimir Zworykin, often called the father of TV; chemist Ilya Prigogine, noted for his work on dissipative structures and complex systems; Nobel Prize-winning economists Simon Kuznets and Wassily Leontief; physicist Georgiy Gamov (an author of the Big Bang theory) and social scientist Pitirim Sorokin.

Many foreigners worked in Russia for a long time, like Leonard Euler and Alfred Nobel. Russian inventions include arc welding by Nikolay Benardos, further developed by Nikolay Slavyanov, Konstantin Khrenov and other Russian engineers. Gleb Kotelnikov invented the knapsack parachute, while Evgeniy Chertovsky introduced the pressure suit.

Alexander Lodygin and Pavel Yablochkov were pioneers of electric lighting, and Mikhail Dolivo-Dobrovolsky introduced the first three-phase electric power systems, widely used today. Sergei Lebedev invented the first commercially viable and mass-produced type of synthetic rubber. The first ternary computer, Setun, was developed by Nikolay Brusentsov.

The Sukhoi Su-57 is a fifth-generation jet fighter being developed for the Russian Air Force. Soviet and Russian space station Mir Soyuz TMA-2 is launched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, carrying one of the first resident crews to the International Space Station In the 20th century a number of prominent Soviet aerospace engineers, inspired by the fundamental works of Nikolai Zhukovsky, Sergei Chaplygin and others, designed many hundreds of models of military and civilian aircraft and founded a number of KBs ( Construction Bureaus) that now constitute the bulk of Russian United Aircraft Corporation.

Famous Russian aircraft include the civilian Tu -series, Su and Mi G fighter aircraft, Ka and Mi -series helicopters; many Russian aircraft models are on the list of most produced aircraft in history. Famous Russian battle tanks include T34, the most heavily produced tank design of World War II, [260] and further tanks of T-series, including the most produced tank in history, T54/55.

[261] The AK47 and AK74 by Mikhail Kalashnikov constitute the most widely used type of assault rifle throughout the world—so much so that more AK-type rifles have been manufactured than all other assault rifles combined.

[262]With all these achievements, however, since the late Soviet era Russia was lagging behind the West in a number of technologies, mostly those related to energy conservation and consumer goods production.

The crisis of the 1990s led to the drastic reduction of the state support for science and a brain drain migration from Russia. In the 2000s, on the wave of a new economic boom, the situation in the Russian science and technology has improved, and the government launched a campaign aimed into modernisation and innovation. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev formulated top priorities for the country's technological development: Efficient energy use Information technology, including both common products and the products combined with space technology Nuclear energy Pharmaceuticals [263]Currently Russia has completed the GLONASS satellite navigation system.

The country is developing its own fifth-generation jet fighter and constructing the first serial mobile nuclear plant in the world. Space exploration Russian achievements in the field of space technology and space exploration are traced back to Konstantin Tsiolkovsky, the father of theoretical astronautics.

[264] His works had inspired leading Soviet rocket engineers, such as Sergey Korolyov, Valentin Glushko, and many others who contributed to the success of the Soviet space program in the early stages of the Space Race and beyond. In 1957 the first Earth-orbiting artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched; in 1961 the first human trip into space was successfully made by Yury Gagarin.

Many other Soviet and Russian space exploration records ensued, including the first spacewalk performed by Alexey Leonov, Luna 9 was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon, Venera 7 was the first to land on another planet ( Venus ), Mars 3 then the first to land on Mars, the first space exploration rover Lunokhod 1, and the first space station Salyut 1 and Mir.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some government-funded space exploration programs, including the Buran space shuttle program, were cancelled or delayed, while participation of the Russian space industry in commercial activities and international cooperation intensified.

Nowadays Russia is the largest satellite launcher. [265] After the United States Space Shuttle program ended in 2011, Soyuz rockets became the only provider of transport for astronauts at the International Space Station. Water supply and sanitation Main article: Water supply and sanitation in Russia In Russia, approximately 70 per cent of drinking water comes from surface water and 30 per cent from groundwater.

In 2004, water supply systems had a total capacity of 90 million cubic metres a day. The average residential water use was 248 litres per capita per day.

[266] One fourth of the world's fresh surface and groundwater is located in Russia. The water utilities sector is one of the largest industries in Russia serving the entire Russian population. Demographics Main articles: Demographics of Russia and Rossiyane Federal subjects by population density. The population is most dense in the European part of the country, with milder climate, centering on Moscow, St Petersburg and other cities. Percentage of ethnic Russians by region in 2010 >80%70—79%50—69%20—49%<20%Natural population growth rate in Russia, 2015.

Ethnic Russians comprise 81% of the country's population. [1] The Russian Federation is also home to several sizeable minorities. In all, 160 different other ethnic groups and indigenous peoples live within its borders. [267] Though Russia's population is comparatively large, its density is low because of the country's enormous size.

Population is densest in European Russia, near the Ural Mountains, and in southwest Siberia. 73% of the population lives in urban areas while 27% in rural ones. [268] The results of the 2010 Census show a total population of 142,856,536. [269]Russia's population peaked at 148,689,000 in 1991, just before the dissolution of the Soviet Union. It began to experience a rapid decline starting in the mid-1990s. [270] The decline has slowed to near stagnation in recent years because of reduced death rates, increased birth rates and increased immigration.

[271]In 2009, Russia recorded annual population growth for the first time in fifteen years, with total growth of 10,500. [271] 279,906 migrants arrived to the Russian Federation the same year, of which 93% came from CIS countries.

[271] The number of Russian emigrants steadily declined from 359,000 in 2000 to 32,000 in 2009. [271] There are also an estimated 10 million illegal immigrants from the ex-Soviet states in Russia.

[272] Russia is home to approximately 116 million ethnic Russians [267] and about 20 million ethnic Russians live outside Russia in the former republics of the Soviet Union, [273] mostly in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. [274]The 2010 census recorded 81% of the population as ethnically Russian, and 19% as other ethnicities: [1] 3.7% Tatars; 1.4% Ukrainians; 1.1% Bashkirs; 1% Chuvashes; 11.8% others and unspecified. According to the Census, 84.93% of the Russian population belongs to European ethnic groups (Slavic, Germanic, Finnic other than Ugric, Greek, and others).

This is a decline from the 2002, when they constituted for more than 86% of the population. [1]Russia's birth rate is higher than that of most European countries (13.3 births per 1000 people in 2014 [271] compared to the European Union average of 10.1 per 1000), [275] but its death rate is also substantially higher (in 2014, Russia's death rate was 13.1 per 1000 people [271] compared to the EU average of 9.7 per 1000).

[275] The Russian Ministry of Health and Social Affairs predicted that by 2011 the death rate would equal the birth rate because of increase in fertility and decline in mortality.

[276] The government is implementing a number of programs designed to increase the birth rate and attract more migrants. Monthly government child-assistance payments were doubled to US$55, and a one-time payment of US$9,200 was offered to women who had a second child since 2007. [277]In 2006, in a bid to compensate for the country's demographic decline, the Russian government started simplifying immigration laws and launched a state program ""for providing assistance to voluntary immigration of ethnic Russians from former Soviet republics"".

[278] In 2009 Russia experienced its highest birth rate since the dissolution of the Soviet Union. [271] [279] In 2012, the birth rate increased again. Russia recorded 1,896,263 births, the highest number since 1990, and even exceeding annual births during the period 1967–1969, with a TFR of about 1.7, the highest since 1991. (Source: Vital statistics table below)In August 2012, as the country saw its first demographic growth since the 1990s, President Putin declared that Russia's population could reach 146 million by 2025, mainly as a result of immigration.

[280]Largest cities Main article: List of cities and towns in Russia by populationv t e Largest cities or towns in Russia Rosstat ( 2016 [281] [282]/2017)Rank Name Federal subject Pop.

Rank Name Federal subject Pop. Moscow Saint Petersburg1Moscow Moscow [283] 12,381,000 11 Rostov-na-Donu Rostov Oblast 1,120,000Novosibirsk Yekaterinburg2 Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg [283] 5,282,000 12Krasnoyarsk Krasnoyarsk Krai [284] 1,084,0003Novosibirsk Novosibirsk Oblast [285] 1,603,000 13Perm Perm Krai 1,042,0004Yekaterinburg Sverdlovsk Oblast [286] 1,456,000 14Voronezh Voronezh Oblast 1,032,0005Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod Oblast1,267,00015Volgograd Volgograd Oblast1,016,0006Kazan Tatarstan [287] 1,232,000 16Krasnodar Krasnodar Krai [288] 881,0007Chelyabinsk Chelyabinsk Oblast [289] 1,199,000 17Saratov Saratov Oblast 843,0008Omsk Omsk Oblast [290] 1,178,000 18Tolyatti Samara Oblast [291] 711,0009Samara Samara Oblast [291] 1,170,000 19Izhevsk Udmurtia [292] 646,00010Ufa Bashkortostan [293] 1,126,000 20Ulyanovsk Ulyanovsk Oblast 622,000Ethnic groups Main article: Ethnic groups in Russia Russia is a multi-national state with over 170 ethnic groups designated as nationalities; the populations of these groups vary enormously, from millions (e.g., Russians and Tatars) to under 10,000 (e.g., Samis and Inuit ).

[294]Ethnic groups in Russia Russian Cossack family in Siberia Yakuts in Sakha Republic Armenians in Volgograd Komi peoples Kalmyks in Elista Northern Caucasus folk costumes: (l-r) Ossetians, Circassians, Kabardians, and Chechens.

Language Area where Russian language is spoken as an official or a minority language Main articles: Russian language, Languages of Russia, and List of endangered languages in Russia Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages.

[13] According to the 2002 Census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3 million and Ukrainian with 1.8 million speakers. [295] Russian is the only official state language, but the Constitution gives the individual republics the right to establish their own state languages in addition to Russian.

[296]Despite its wide distribution, the Russian language is homogeneous throughout the country. Russian is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, as well as the most widely spoken Slavic language.

[297] It belongs to the Indo-European language family and is one of the living members of the East Slavic languages, the others being Belarusian and Ukrainian (and possibly Rusyn ).

Written examples of Old East Slavic ( Old Russian) are attested from the 10th century onwards. [298]Russian is the second-most used language on the Internet after English, [299] one of two official languages aboard the International Space Station [300] and is one of the six official languages of the UN.

[301]35 languages are officially recognized in Russia in various regions by local governments. Distribution of Uralic, Altaic, and Yukaghir languages Geographical distribution of Finno-Ugric and Samoyedic peoples Ethnolinguistic groups in the Caucasus region Language Language family Federal subject (s) Source Abaza Northwest Caucasian Karachay-Cherkessia [302]Adyghe Northwest Caucasian Adygea [303]Altai Turkic Altai Republic [304] [305]Bashkir Turkic Bashkortostan; [306] see also regional law Buryat Mongolic Buryatia [307]Chechen Northeast Caucasian Chechnya [308]Cherkess Northwest Caucasian Karachay-Cherkessia [302]Chuvash Turkic Chuvashia [309]Crimean Tatar Turkic Republic of Crimea [310]Erzya Uralic Mordovia [311]Ingush Northeast Caucasian Ingushetia [312]Kabardian Northwest Caucasian Kabardino-Balkaria [313]Kalmyk Mongolic Kalmykia [314]Karachay-Balkar Turkic Kabardino-Balkaria Karachay-Cherkessia [302] [313]Khakas Turkic Khakassia [315]Komi Uralic Komi Republic [316]Hill Mari Uralic Mari El [317]Meadow Mari Uralic Mari El [317]Moksha Uralic Mordovia [311]Nogai Turkic Karachay-Cherkessia [302]Ossetic Indo-European North Ossetia–Alania [318]Tatar Turkic Tatarstan [319]Tuvan Turkic Tuva [320]Udmurt Uralic Udmurtia [321]Ukrainian Indo-European Republic of Crimea [310]Yakut Turkic Sakha Republic [322]Religion Main articles: Religion in Russia and Consecration of Russia Religion in Russia as of 2012 (Sreda Arena Atlas) [323] [324]Russian Orthodoxy 41.1%Other Orthodox 1.8%Other Christians 4.5%Islam 6.6%Buddhism 0.5%Rodnovery and other native faiths 1.2%Spiritual but not religious 25.2%Atheism and irreligion 13%Other and undeclared 6.1%Ivan Eggink's painting represents Vladimir listening to the Orthodox priests, while the papal envoy stands aside in discontent The Baptism of Vladimir, a fresco by Viktor Vasnetsov Russians have practised Orthodox Christianity since the 10th century.

According to the historical traditions of the Orthodox Church, Christianity was first brought to the territory of modern Belarus, Russia and Ukraine by Saint Andrew, the first Apostle of Jesus Christ. [325] Following the Primary Chronicle, the definitive Christianization of Kievan Rus' dates from the year 988 (the year is disputed [326] ), when Vladimir the Great was baptized in Chersonesus and proceeded to baptize his family and people in Kiev.

The latter events are traditionally referred to as the ""baptism of Rus'"" ( Russian: Крещение Руси, Ukrainian: Хрещення Русі) in Russian and Ukrainian literature.

Much of the Russian population, like other Slavic peoples, preserved for centuries a double belief ( dvoeverie) in both indigenous religion and Orthodox Christianity. At the time of the 1917 Revolution, the Russian Orthodox Church was deeply integrated into the autocratic state, enjoying official status.

This was a significant factor that contributed to the Bolshevik attitude to religion and the steps they took to control it. Bolsheviks consisted of many people with non-Russian, Communist Russians and influential Jewish backgrounds such as Vladimir Lenin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Grigori Sokolnikov who were indifferent towards Christianity and based on the writings of Jewish philosopher Karl Marx with Marxism–Leninism as an ideology went on to form the Communist party.

[327]Thus the USSR became one of the first communist states to proclaim, as an ideological objective, the elimination of religion [328] and its replacement with universal atheism. [329] [330] The communist government ridiculed religions and their believers, and propagated atheism in schools. [331] The confiscation of religious assets was often based on accusations of illegal accumulation of wealth. State atheism in the Soviet Union was known in Russian as gosateizm, [328] and was based on the ideology of Marxism–Leninism.

Marxist–Leninist Atheism has consistently advocated the control, suppression, and elimination of religion. Within about a year of the revolution, the state expropriated all church property, including the churches themselves, and in the period from 1922 to 1926, 28 Russian Orthodox bishops and more than 1,200 priests were killed.

Many more were persecuted. [332] After the collapse of the Soviet Union there has been a renewal of religions in Russia, and among Slavs various movements have emerged besides Christianity, including Rodnovery (Slavic Native Faith), Ringing Cedars' Anastasianism, Hinduism, [333] Siberian shamanism [334] and other religions. Currently, there is no official census of religion in Russia, and estimates are based on surveys only. In 2012 the research organization Sreda published Arena Atlas, a detailed enumeration of religious populations and nationalities in Russia, based on a large-sample country-wide survey.

They found that 46.8% of Russians declared themselves Christians (including 41% Russian Orthodox, 1.5% simply Orthodox or members of non-Russian Orthodox churches, 4.1% unaffiliated Christians, and less than 1% for both Catholic and Protestant), while 25% were spiritual but not religious, 13% were atheists, 6.5% were Muslims, 1.2% were followers of ""traditional religions honoring gods and ancestors"" (including Rodnovery, Tengrism and other ethnic religions ), and 0.5% were Tibetan Buddhists.

However, later that year, the Levada Center estimated that 76% of Russians were Christians, [335] and in June 2013, the Public Opinion Foundation [336] estimated that 65% of the population was Christian.

These findings are in line with Pew Research Center 's 2011 estimate that 73.6% of Russians were Christians, [337] with Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VCIOM)'s 2010 survey (~77% Christian), [338] and with Ipsos MORI 's 2011 survey (69%).

[339]The most recent Pew Research Center finding was that in 2015 71% of the population of Russia declared itself Eastern Orthodox, 15% religiously unaffiliated —a category which includes atheists, agnostics and those who describe their religion as “ nothing in particular ”, 10% Muslim, and 2% other Christians, while 1% belonged to other faiths.

[340] The religiously unaffiliated divided between 4% as atheists, 1% as agnostics and 10% as nothing in particular. [341] The study cited that during the communist era the government repression of religion was widespread, and due to the Soviet anti-religious legislation; in 1991 37% of the population of Russia was Eastern Orthodox.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union the affiliation to the Eastern Orthodox church have risen substantially and in 2015 about 71% of the population of Russia declared itself to be Eastern Orthodox, and the share of who identitied as religiously unaffiliated declined from a 61% in 1991 to 18% in 2008.

[342]Procession of Tsar Alexander II into Dormition Cathedral in Moscow during his coronation in 1856Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, and ethnic religions are recognised as Russia's traditional religions, marking the country's ""historical heritage"". [343]Traced back to the Christianization of Kievan Rus' in the 10th century, Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion in the country; smaller Christian denominations such as Catholics, Armenian Gregorians and various Protestant churches also exist.

The Russian Orthodox Church was the country's state religion prior to the Revolution and remains the largest religious body in the country. An estimated 95% of the registered Orthodox parishes belong to the Russian Orthodox Church while there are a number of smaller Orthodox churches.

[344] However, the vast majority of Orthodox believers do not attend church on a regular basis. Easter is the most popular religious holiday in Russia, celebrated by a large segment of the Russian population, including large numbers of those who are non-religious. More than three-quarters of the Russian population celebrate Easter by making traditional Easter cakes, coloured eggs and paskha.

[345]Trinity Lavra of St. Sergius, spiritual centre of the Russian Orthodox Church Islam is the second largest religion in Russia after Russian Orthodoxy.

[346] It is the traditional or predominant religion amongst some Caucasian ethnicities (notably the Chechens, the Ingush and the Circassians ), and amongst some Turkic peoples (notably the Tatars and the Bashkirs ). Buddhism is traditional in three regions of the Russian Federation: Buryatia, Tuva, and Kalmykia. According to various reports, the proportion of not religious people in Russia is between 16% and 48% of the population.

[347] According to recent studies, the proportion of atheists has significantly decreased over the decades after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. [348] [349]In cultural and social affairs Vladimir Putin has collaborated closely with the Russian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Kirill of Moscow, head of the Church, endorsed his election in 2012. Steven Myers reports, ""The church, once heavily repressed, had emerged from the Soviet collapse as one of the most respected institutions... Now Kiril led the faithful directly into an alliance with the state.""

[350] Mark Woods provides specific examples of how the Church under Patriarch Kirill of Moscow has backed the expansion of Russian power into Crimea and eastern Ukraine.

[351] More broadly the New York Times reports in September 2016 how that Church's policy prescriptions support the Kremlin's appeal to social conservatives: A fervent foe of homosexuality and any attempt to put individual rights above those of family, community or nation, the Russian Orthodox Church helps project Russia as the natural ally of all those who pine for a more secure, illiberal world free from the tradition-crushing rush of globalization, multiculturalism and women's and gay rights.

[352]On April 26, 2017, for the first time, The U. S. Commission on International Religious Freedom classified Russia as one of the world's worst violators of religious liberty, recommending in its 2017 annual report that the U. S. government deem Russia a ""country of particular concern"" under the International Religious Freedom Act and negotiate for religious liberty.

The report states, ""—it is the sole state to have not only continually intensified its repression of religious freedom since USCIRF commenced monitoring it, but also to have expanded its repressive policies....ranging from administrative harassment to arbitrary imprisonment to extrajudicial killing, are implemented in a fashion that is systematic, ongoing, and egregious.""

[353] On April 4, 2017 UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedoms of Peaceful Assembly and Association Maina Kiai, and UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion and Belief Ahmed Shaheed condemned Russia's treatment of Jehovah's Witnesses. [354] Many other countries and international organizations have spoken out on Russia's religious abuses.

[355] [356]Saint Basil's Cathedral, Moscow. Moscow Cathedral Mosque. Rodnover worshippers at the wooden temple of the Slavic Kremlin, Podolsky District, Moscow Oblast. A dom archi (дом арчы) or archi djete (арчы дьиэтэ), a Tengrist church in Yakutsk, Yakutia. Atsaysky datsan (Buddhist monastery) in Buryatia. Image of the 14th Dalai Lama at the Ustuu-Huree Buddhist monastery in Tuva. Stupa of Shad Tchup Ling, a Slavic Buddhist monastery in Kachkanar, Sverdlovsk Oblast. Followers of Anastasianism (Ringing Cedars) celebrating Ivan Kupala in Belgorod Oblast. Tuvan shamaness Ai-Churek (Moon Heart) performing a fire rite in Kyzyl, Tuva.

Russian Hindus celebrating Ratha Yatra in Moscow Oblast. Syncretic Temple of All Religions in Kazan, Tatarstan. Health Main article: Healthcare in Russia A mobile clinic used to provide health care at remote railway stations The Russian Constitution guarantees free, universal health care for all its citizens.

[357] In practice, however, free health care is partially restricted because of mandatory registration.

[358] While Russia has more physicians, hospitals, and health care workers than almost any other country in the world on a per capita basis, [359] since the dissolution of the Soviet Union the health of the Russian population has declined considerably as a result of social, economic, and lifestyle changes; [360] the trend has been reversed only in the recent years, with average life expectancy having increased 5.2 years for males and 3.1 years for females between 2006 and 2014.

[361]Due to the ongoing Russian financial crisis since 2014, major cuts in health spending have resulted in a decline in the quality of service of the state healthcare system. About 40% of basic medical facilities have fewer staff than they are supposed to have, with others being closed down. Waiting times for treatment have increased, and patients have been forced to pay for more services that were previously free.

[362] [363]As of 2014, the average life expectancy in Russia was 65.29 years for males and 76.49 years for females. [361] The biggest factor contributing to the relatively low life expectancy for males is a high mortality rate among working-age males. Deaths mostly occur from preventable causes, including alcohol poisoning, smoking, traffic accidents and violent crime.

[271] As a result, Russia has one of the world's most female-biased sex ratio s, with 0.859 males to every female. [107]Education Main article: Education in Russia Moscow State University Russia has the most college-level or higher graduates in terms of percentage of population in the world, at 54%. [364] Russia has a free education system, which is guaranteed for all citizens by the Constitution, [365] however entry to subsidized higher education is highly competitive.

[366] As a result of great emphasis on science and technology in education, Russian medical, mathematical, scientific, and aerospace research is generally of a high order. [367]Since 1990, the 11-year school education has been introduced. Education in state-owned secondary schools is free.

University level education is free, with exceptions. A substantial share of students is enrolled for full pay (many state institutions started to open commercial positions in the last years). [368]The oldest and largest Russian universities are Moscow State University and Saint Petersburg State University.

In the 2000s, in order to create higher education and research institutions of comparable scale in Russian regions, the government launched a program of establishing ""federal universities"", mostly by merging existing large regional universities and research institutes and providing them with a special funding.

These new institutions include the Southern Federal University, Siberian Federal University, Kazan Volga Federal University, North-Eastern Federal University, and Far Eastern Federal University. According to the 2018 QS World University Rankings, the highest-ranking Russian educational institution is Moscow State University, rated 95th in the world.

Culture Main article: Russian culture Folk culture and cuisine See also: Russian traditions, Russian jokes, Russian fairy tales, and Russian cuisine The Merchant's Wife by Boris Kustodiev, showcasing the Russian tea culture There are over 160 different ethnic groups and indigenous peoples in Russia.

[267] The country's vast cultural diversity spans ethnic Russians with their Slavic Orthodox traditions, Tatars and Bashkirs with their Turkic Muslim culture, Buddhist nomadic Buryats and Kalmyks, Shamanistic peoples of the Extreme North and Siberia, highlanders of the Northern Caucasus, and Finno-Ugric peoples of the Russian North West and Volga Region. Handicraft, like Dymkovo toy, khokhloma, gzhel and palekh miniature represent an important aspect of Russian folk culture. Ethnic Russian clothes include kaftan, kosovorotka and ushanka for men, sarafan and kokoshnik for women, with lapti and valenki as common shoes.

The clothes of Cossacks from Southern Russia include burka and papaha, which they share with the peoples of the Northern Caucasus. Russian cuisine widely uses fish, poultry, mushrooms, berries, and honey. Crops of rye, wheat, barley, and millet provide the ingredients for various breads, pancakes and cereals, as well as for kvass, beer and vodka drinks.

Black bread is rather popular in Russia, compared to the rest of the world. Flavourful soups and stews include shchi, borsch, ukha, solyanka and okroshka. Smetana (a heavy sour cream) is often added to soups and salads. Pirozhki, blini and syrniki are native types of pancakes.

Chicken Kiev, pelmeni and shashlyk are popular meat dishes, the last two being of Tatar and Caucasus origin respectively. Other meat dishes include stuffed cabbage rolls ( golubtsy) usually filled with meat. [369] Salads include Olivier salad, vinegret and dressed herring.

Russia's large number of ethnic groups have distinctive traditions regarding folk music. Typical ethnic Russian musical instruments are gusli, balalaika, zhaleika, and garmoshka.

Folk music had a significant influence on Russian classical composers, and in modern times it is a source of inspiration for a number of popular folk bands, like Melnitsa. Russian folk songs, as well as patriotic Soviet songs, constitute the bulk of the repertoire of the world-renowned Red Army choir and other popular ensembles. Russians have many traditions, including the washing in banya, a hot steam bath somewhat similar to sauna.

[56] Old Russian folklore takes its roots in the pagan Slavic religion. Many Russian fairy tales and epic bylinas were adapted for animation films, or for feature movies by the prominent directors like Aleksandr Ptushko ( Ilya Muromets, Sadko) and Aleksandr Rou ( Morozko, Vasilisa the Beautiful ).

Russian poets, including Pyotr Yershov and Leonid Filatov, made a number of well-known poetical interpretations of the classical fairy tales, and in some cases, like that of Alexander Pushkin, also created fully original fairy tale poems of great popularity.

Architecture Main articles: Russian architecture and List of Russian architects Stroganov Church in Nizhny Novgorod, a well known piece of Russian architecture Brick khrushchovka in Tomsk Since the Christianization of Kievan Rus' for several ages Russian architecture was influenced predominantly by the Byzantine architecture. Apart from fortifications ( kremlins ), the main stone buildings of ancient Rus' were Orthodox churches with their many domes, often gilded or brightly painted. Aristotle Fioravanti and other Italian architects brought Renaissance trends into Russia since the late 15th century, while the 16th century saw the development of unique tent-like churches culminating in Saint Basil's Cathedral.

[370] By that time the onion dome design was also fully developed. [371] In the 17th century, the ""fiery style"" of ornamentation flourished in Moscow and Yaroslavl, gradually paving the way for the Naryshkin baroque of the 1690s. After the reforms of Peter the Great the change of architectural styles in Russia generally followed that in the Western Europe.

The 18th-century taste for rococo architecture led to the ornate works of Bartolomeo Rastrelli and his followers. The reigns of Catherine the Great and her grandson Alexander I saw the flourishing of Neoclassical architecture, most notably in the capital city of Saint Petersburg.

The second half of the 19th century was dominated by the Neo-Byzantine and Russian Revival styles. Prevalent styles of the 20th century were the Art Nouveau, Constructivism, and the Stalin Empire style.

With the change in values imposed by communist ideology, the tradition of preservation was broken. Independent preservation societies, even those that defended only secular landmarks such as Moscow-based OIRU were disbanded by the end of the 1920s. A new anti-religious campaign, launched in 1929, coincided with collectivization of peasants; destruction of churches in the cities peaked around 1932.

A number of churches were demolished, including the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow. In Moscow alone losses of 1917–2006 are estimated at over 640 notable buildings (including 150 to 200 listed buildings, out of a total inventory of 3,500) – some disappeared completely, others were replaced with concrete replicas. In 1955, a new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, condemned the ""excesses"" of the former academic architecture, [372] and the late Soviet era was dominated by plain functionalism in architecture. This helped somewhat to resolve the housing problem, but created a large quantity of buildings of low architectural quality, much in contrast with the previous bright styles.

In 1959 Nikita Khrushchev launched his anti-religious campaign. By 1964 over 10 thousand churches out of 20 thousand were shut down (mostly in rural areas) and many were demolished. Of 58 monasteries and convents operating in 1959, only sixteen remained by 1964; of Moscow's fifty churches operating in 1959, thirty were closed and six demolished. Visual arts Main article: Russian artists A piece of Russian icon art known as Rublev 's Trinity Karl Bryullov (1799–1852), a key figure in transition from the Russian neoclassicism to romanticism. Early Russian painting is represented in icons and vibrant frescos, the two genres inherited from Byzantium.

As Moscow rose to power, Theophanes the Greek, Dionisius and Andrei Rublev became vital names associated with a distinctly Russian art. The Russian Academy of Arts was created in 1757 [373] and gave Russian artists an international role and status. Ivan Argunov, Dmitry Levitzky, Vladimir Borovikovsky and other 18th century academicians mostly focused on portrait painting. In the early 19th century, when neoclassicism and romantism flourished, mythological and Biblical themes inspired many prominent paintings, notably by Karl Briullov and Alexander Ivanov.

In the mid-19th century the Peredvizhniki ( Wanderers) group of artists broke with the Academy and initiated a school of art liberated from academic restrictions. [374] These were mostly realist painters who captured Russian identity in landscapes of wide rivers, forests, and birch clearings, as well as vigorous genre scenes and robust portraits of their contemporaries.

Some artists focused on depicting dramatic moments in Russian history, while others turned to social criticism, showing the conditions of the poor and caricaturing authority; critical realism flourished under the reign of Alexander II. Leading realists include Ivan Shishkin, Arkhip Kuindzhi, Ivan Kramskoi, Vasily Polenov, Isaac Levitan, Vasily Surikov, Viktor Vasnetsov, Ilya Repin, and Boris Kustodiev. The turn of the 20th century saw the rise of symbolist painting, represented by Mikhail Vrubel, Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, and Nicholas Roerich. The Russian avant-garde was a large, influential wave of modernist art that flourished in Russia from approximately 1890 to 1930.

The term covers many separate, but inextricably related art movements that occurred at the time, namely neo-primitivism, suprematism, constructivism, rayonism, and Russian Futurism. Notable artists from this era include El Lissitzky, Kazimir Malevich, Wassily Kandinsky, and Marc Chagall.

Since the 1930s the revolutionary ideas of the avant-garde clashed with the newly emerged conservative direction of socialist realism. Soviet art produced works that were furiously patriotic and anti-fascist during and after the Great Patriotic War. Multiple war memorials, marked by a great restrained solemnity, were built throughout the country.

Soviet artists often combined innovation with socialist realism, notably the sculptors Vera Mukhina, Yevgeny Vuchetich and Ernst Neizvestny.

Music and dance Main articles: Music of Russia, Russian ballet, Russian opera, Russian rock, Russian pop, and Russian composers The Snowdance scene from The Nutcracker ballet, composed by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Music in 19th century Russia was defined by the tension between classical composer Mikhail Glinka along with other members of The Mighty Handful, who embraced Russian national identity and added religious and folk elements to their compositions, and the Russian Musical Society led by composers Anton and Nikolay Rubinsteins, which was musically conservative.

The later tradition of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era, was continued into the 20th century by Sergei Rachmaninoff. [375] World-renowned composers of the 20th century include Alexander Scriabin, Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Dmitri Shostakovich and Alfred Schnittke.

Russian conservatories have turned out generations of famous soloists. Among the best known are violinists Jascha Heifetz, David Oistrakh, Leonid Kogan, Gidon Kremer, and Maxim Vengerov; cellists Mstislav Rostropovich, Natalia Gutman; pianists Vladimir Horowitz, Sviatoslav Richter, Emil Gilels, Vladimir Sofronitsky and Evgeny Kissin; and vocalists Fyodor Shalyapin, Mark Reizen, Elena Obraztsova, Tamara Sinyavskaya, Nina Dorliak, Galina Vishnevskaya, Anna Netrebko and Dmitry Hvorostovsky.

[376]During the early 20th century, Russian ballet dancers Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky rose to fame, and impresario Sergei Diaghilev and his Ballets Russes ' travels abroad profoundly influenced the development of dance worldwide. [377] Soviet ballet preserved the perfected 19th century traditions, [378] and the Soviet Union's choreography schools produced many internationally famous stars, including Galina Ulanova, Maya Plisetskaya, Rudolf Nureyev, and Mikhail Baryshnikov.

The Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow and the Mariinsky Ballet in St Petersburg remain famous throughout the world. [379]Modern Russian rock music takes its roots both in the Western rock and roll and heavy metal, and in traditions of the Russian bards of the Soviet era, such as Vladimir Vysotsky and Bulat Okudzhava. [380] Popular Russian rock groups include Mashina Vremeni, DDT, Aquarium, Alisa, Kino, Kipelov, Nautilus Pompilius, Aria, Grazhdanskaya Oborona, Splean and Korol i Shut.

Russian pop music developed from what was known in the Soviet times as estrada into full-fledged industry, with some performers gaining wide international recognition, such as t. A. T.u., Nu Virgos and Vitas. Literature and philosophy Main articles: Russian literature, Russian philosophy, Russian poets, Russian playwrights, Russian novelists, and Russian science fiction and fantasy Leo Tolstoy, novelist and philosopher In the 18th century, during the era of Russian Enlightenment, the development of Russian literature was boosted by the works of Mikhail Lomonosov and Denis Fonvizin.

By the early 19th century a modern national tradition had emerged, producing some of the greatest writers in Russian history. This period, known also as the Golden Age of Russian Poetry, began with Alexander Pushkin, who is considered the founder of the modern Russian literary language and often described as the ""Russian Shakespeare"".

[381] It continued with the poetry of Mikhail Lermontov and Nikolay Nekrasov, dramas of Alexander Ostrovsky and Anton Chekhov, and the prose of Nikolai Gogol and Ivan Turgenev. Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky have been described by literary critics as the greatest novelists of all time. [382] [383]By the 1880s, the age of the great novelists was over, and short fiction and poetry became the dominant genres.

The next several decades became known as the Silver Age of Russian Poetry, when the previously dominant literary realism was replaced by symbolism. Leading authors of this era include such poets as Valery Bryusov, Vyacheslav Ivanov, Alexander Blok, Nikolay Gumilev and Anna Akhmatova, and novelists Leonid Andreyev, Ivan Bunin, and Maxim Gorky.

Russian philosophy blossomed in the 19th century, when it was defined initially by the opposition of Westernizers, who advocated Western political and economical models, and Slavophiles, who insisted on developing Russia as a unique civilization. The latter group includes Nikolai Danilevsky and Konstantin Leontiev, the founders of eurasianism.

In its further development Russian philosophy was always marked by a deep connection to literature and interest in creativity, society, politics and nationalism; Russian cosmism and religious philosophy were other major areas. Notable philosophers of the late 19th and the early 20th centuries include Vladimir Solovyev, Sergei Bulgakov, and Vladimir Vernadsky. Alexander Pushkin Following the Russian Revolution of 1917 many prominent writers and philosophers left the country, including Bunin, Vladimir Nabokov and Nikolay Berdyayev, while a new generation of talented authors joined together in an effort to create a distinctive working-class culture appropriate for the new Soviet state.

In the 1930s censorship over literature was tightened in line with the policy of socialist realism.

In the late 1950s restrictions on literature were eased, and by the 1970s and 1980s, writers were increasingly ignoring official guidelines. Leading authors of the Soviet era include novelists Yevgeny Zamyatin (emigrated), Ilf and Petrov, Mikhail Bulgakov (censored) and Mikhail Sholokhov, and poets Vladimir Mayakovsky, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, and Andrey Voznesensky. The Soviet Union was also a major producer of science fiction, written by authors like Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, Kir Bulychov, Alexander Belayev and Ivan Yefremov.

[384] Traditions of Russian science fiction and fantasy are continued today by numerous writers. Cinema, animation and media Main articles: Cinema of Russia, Russian animation, Television in Russia, and Media of Russia Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the Washington studio of Russia Today TV with Margarita Simonyan Russian and later Soviet cinema was a hotbed of invention in the period immediately following 1917, resulting in world-renowned films such as The Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein.

[385] Eisenstein was a student of filmmaker and theorist Lev Kuleshov, who developed the Soviet montage theory of film editing at the world's first film school, the All-Union Institute of Cinematography.

Dziga Vertov, whose kino-glaz (""film-eye"") theory—that the camera, like the human eye, is best used to explore real life—had a huge impact on the development of documentary film making and cinema realism. The subsequent state policy of socialist realism somewhat limited creativity; however, many Soviet films in this style were artistically successful, including Chapaev, The Cranes Are Flying, and Ballad of a Soldier.

[385]The 1960s and 1970s saw a greater variety of artistic styles in Soviet cinema. Eldar Ryazanov 's and Leonid Gaidai 's comedies of that time were immensely popular, with many of the catch phrases still in use today. In 1961–68 Sergey Bondarchuk directed an Oscar -winning film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's epic War and Peace, which was the most expensive film made in the Soviet Union.

[386] In 1969, Vladimir Motyl 's White Sun of the Desert was released, a very popular film in a genre of ostern; the film is traditionally watched by cosmonauts before any trip into space. [387]Shukhov Tower on the Oka River served early radio and TV broadcasting. Russian animation dates back to late Russian Empire times. During the Soviet era, Soyuzmultfilm studio was the largest animation producer. Soviet animators developed a great variety of pioneering techniques and aesthetic styles, with prominent directors including Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Fyodor Khitruk and Aleksandr Tatarsky.

Many Soviet cartoon heroes such as the Russian-style Winnie-the-Pooh, cute little Cheburashka, Wolf and Hare from Nu, Pogodi!, are iconic images in Russia and many surrounding countries. The late 1980s and 1990s were a period of crisis in Russian cinema and animation. Although Russian filmmakers became free to express themselves, state subsidies were drastically reduced, resulting in fewer films produced.

The early years of the 21st century have brought increased viewership and subsequent prosperity to the industry on the back of the economic revival. Production levels are already higher than in Britain and Germany. [388] Russia's total box-office revenue in 2007 was $565 million, up 37% from the previous year.

[389] In 2002 the Russian Ark became the first feature film ever to be shot in a single take. The traditions of Soviet animation were developed recently by such directors as Aleksandr Petrov and studios like Melnitsa Animation. While there were few stations or channels in the Soviet time, in the past two decades many new state and privately owned radio stations and TV channels have appeared. In 2005 a state-run English language Russia Today TV started broadcasting, and its Arabic version Rusiya Al-Yaum was launched in 2007.

Censorship and Media freedom in Russia has always been a main theme of Russian media. Sports Main article: Sport in Russia The Russia national football team at UEFA Euro 2012Soviet and later Russian athletes have always been in the top four for the number of gold medals collected at the Summer Olympics. Soviet gymnasts, track-and-field athletes, weightlifters, wrestlers, boxers, fencers, shooters, cross country skiers, biathletes, speed skaters and figure skaters were consistently among the best in the world, along with Soviet basketball, handball, volleyball and ice hockey players. [390] The 1980 Summer Olympics were held in Moscow while the 2014 Winter Olympics were hosted in Sochi.

See also: Doping in Russia Russia has the most Olympic medals stripped for doping violations ( 51 ), the most of any country, four times the number of the runner-up, and more than a third of the global total, and 129 athletes caught doping at the Olympics, also the most of any country.

From 2011 to 2015, more than a thousand Russian competitors in various sports, including summer, winter, and Paralympic sports, benefited from a state-sponsored cover-up, [391] [392] [393] [394] [395] with no indication that the program has ceased since then. [396]KHL finals, the league is considered to be the second-best in the world Although ice hockey was only introduced during the Soviet era, the Soviet Union national team managed to win gold at almost all the Olympics and World Championships they contested.

Russian players Valery Kharlamov, Sergei Makarov, Vyacheslav Fetisov and Vladislav Tretiak hold four of six positions in the IIHF Team of the Century.

[397] Russia has not won the Olympic ice hockey tournament since the Unified Team won gold in 1992. Russia won the 1993, 2008, 2009, [398] 2012 and the 2014 IIHF World Championships. The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) was founded in 2008 as a successor to the Russian Superleague.

It is ranked the top hockey league in Europe as of 2009, [399] and the second-best in the world. [400] It is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia and consists of 29 teams, of which 21 are based in Russia and 7 more are located in Latvia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Finland, Slovakia, Croatia and China.

KHL is on the 4th place by attendance in Europe. [401]Bandy, also known as Russian hockey, is another traditionally popular ice sport. [402] The Soviet Union won all the Bandy World Championships for men between 1957–79 [403] and some thereafter too.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has continuously been one of the most successful teams, winning many world championships.

Dmitry Medvedev with the Russia men's national ice hockey team Opening of the 2014 Winter Olympics Association football is one of the most popular sports in modern Russia. The Soviet national team became the first European Champions by winning Euro 1960. Appearing in four FIFA World Cups from 1958 to 1970, Lev Yashin is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of football, and was chosen on the FIFA World Cup Dream Team.

[404] The Soviet national team reached the finals of Euro 1988. In 1956 and 1988, the Soviet Union won gold at the Olympic football tournament.

Russian clubs CSKA Moscow and Zenit St Petersburg won the UEFA Cup in 2005 and 2008. The Russian national football team reached the semi-finals of Euro 2008, losing only to the eventual champions Spain. Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, with 11 host cities located in the European part of the country and in the Ural region.

[405]In 2007, the Russian national basketball team won the European Basketball Championship. The Russian basketball club PBC CSKA Moscow is one of the top teams in Europe, winning the Euroleague in 2006 and 2008. Larisa Latynina, who currently holds the record for the most gold Olympic medals won by a woman, established the USSR as the dominant force in gymnastics for many years.

[406] Today, Russia is the leading nation in rhythmic gymnastics with Yevgeniya Kanayeva. Double 50m and 100m freestyle Olympic gold medalist Alexander Popov is widely considered the greatest sprint swimmer in history. [407] Russian synchronized swimming is the best in the world, with almost all gold medals at Olympics and World Championships having been swept by Russians in recent decades.

Figure skating is another popular sport in Russia, especially pair skating and ice dancing. With the exception of 2010 a Soviet or Russian pair has won gold at every Winter Olympics since 1964.

Since the end of the Soviet era, tennis has grown in popularity and Russia has produced a number of famous players, including Maria Sharapova. In martial arts, Russia produced the sport Sambo and renowned fighters, like Fedor Emelianenko. Chess is a widely popular pastime in Russia; from 1927, Russian grandmasters have held the world chess championship almost continuously. [408]The 2014 Winter Olympics were held in Sochi in the south of Russia. In 2016 the Mc Laren Report found evidence of widespread state-sponsored doping and an institutional conspiracy to cover up Russian competitors' positive drug tests.

[409] As of December 1, 2017 25 athletes are disqualified, 11 medals are stripped. Formula One is also becoming increasingly popular in Russia. In 2010 Vitaly Petrov of Vyborg became the first Russian to drive in Formula One, and was soon followed by a second – Daniil Kvyat, from Ufa – in 2014.

There had only been two Russian Grands Prix (in 1913 and 1914), but the Russian Grand Prix returned as part of the Formula One season in 2014, as part of a six-year deal. [410]Russia will host the 2018 FIFA World Cup, this will be the first football World Cup ever held in Eastern Europe, and the first held in Europe since 2006.

Russia will also host games of the Euro 2020. National holidays and symbols Main articles: Public holidays in Russia and Cultural icons of Russia Scarlet Sails celebration on the Neva river in Saint Petersburg There are seven public holidays in Russia, [411] except those always celebrated on Sunday.

Russian New Year traditions resemble those of the Western Christmas, with New Year Trees and gifts, and Ded Moroz ( Father Frost) playing the same role as Santa Claus. Orthodox Christmas falls on January 7, because the Russian Orthodox Church still follows the Julian calendar, and all Orthodox holidays are 13 days after Western ones.

Two other major Christian holidays are Easter and Trinity Sunday. Kurban Bayram and Uraza Bayram are celebrated by Russian Muslims. Further Russian public holidays include Defender of the Fatherland Day (February 23), which honors Russian men, especially those serving in the army; International Women's Day (March 8), which combines the traditions of Mother's Day and Valentine's Day; Spring and Labor Day (May 1); Victory Day (May 9); Russia Day (June 12); and Unity Day (November 4), commemorating the popular uprising which expelled the Polish occupation force from Moscow in 1612. Victory Day is the second most popular holiday in Russia; it commemorates the victory over Nazism in the Great Patriotic War. A huge military parade, hosted by the President of Russia, is annually organised in Moscow on Red Square.

Similar parades take place in all major Russian cities and cities with the status Hero city or City of Military Glory. Popular non-public holidays include Old New Year (the New Year according to the Julian Calendar on January 14), Tatiana Day (students holiday on January 25), Maslenitsa (a pre-Christian spring holiday a week before the Great Lent ), Cosmonautics Day (in tribute to the first human trip into space), Ivan Kupala Day (another pre-Christian holiday on July 7) and Peter and Fevronia Day (which takes place on July 8 and is the Russian analogue of Valentine's Day, focusing, however, on family love and fidelity).

Matryoshka doll taken apart State symbols of Russia include the Byzantine double-headed eagle, combined with St. George of Moscow in the Russian coat of arms.

The Russian flag dates from the late Tsardom of Russia period and has been widely used since the time of the Russian Empire. The Russian anthem shares its music with the Soviet Anthem, though not the lyrics. The imperial motto God is with us and the Soviet motto Proletarians of all countries, unite!

are now obsolete and no new motto has replaced them. The hammer and sickle and the full Soviet coat of arms are still widely seen in Russian cities as a part of old architectural decorations. The Soviet Red Stars are also encountered, often on military equipment and war memorials. The Red Banner continues to be honored, especially the Banner of Victory of 1945. The Matryoshka doll is a recognizable symbol of Russia, and the towers of Moscow Kremlin and Saint Basil's Cathedral in Moscow are Russia's main architectural icons.

Cheburashka is a mascot of the Russian national Olympic team. St. Mary, St. Nicholas, St. Andrew, St. George, St. Alexander Nevsky, St. Sergius of Radonezh and St. Seraphim of Sarov are Russia's patron saints.

Chamomile is the national flower, while birch is the national tree. The Russian bear is an animal symbol and a national personification of Russia, though this image has a Western origin and Russians themselves have accepted it only fairly recently.

The native Russian national personification is Mother Russia. Tourism Main article: Tourism in Russia Grand Cascade in Peterhof, a popular tourist destination in Saint Petersburg Tourism in Russia has seen rapid growth since the late Soviet period, first domestic tourism and then international tourism, fueled by the rich cultural heritage and great natural variety of the country.

Major tourist routes in Russia include a journey around the Golden Ring of ancient cities, cruises on the big rivers like the Volga, and long journeys on the famous Trans-Siberian Railway. In 2013, Russia was visited by 28.4 million tourists; it is the ninth most visited country in the world and the seventh most visited in Europe. [412] The number of Western visitors dropped in 2014. [413]The Motherland Calls in Volgograd is the tallest statue of a woman in the world (not including pedestals)The most visited destinations in Russia are Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the current and former capitals of the country.

Recognized as World Cities, they feature such world-renowned museums as the Tretyakov Gallery and the Hermitage, famous theaters like Bolshoi and Mariinsky, ornate churches like Saint Basil's Cathedral, Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, Saint Isaac's Cathedral and Church of the Savior on Blood, impressive fortifications like the Kremlin and Peter and Paul Fortress, beautiful squares and streets like Red Square, Palace Square, Tverskaya Street, Nevsky Prospect, and Arbat Street.

Rich palaces and parks are found in the former imperial residences in suburbs of Moscow ( Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno) and St Petersburg ( Peterhof, Strelna, Oranienbaum, Gatchina, Pavlovsk and Tsarskoye Selo ).

Moscow displays Soviet architecture at its best, along with modern skyscrapers, while St Petersburg, nicknamed Venice of the North, boasts of its classical architecture, many rivers, canals and bridges. Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan, shows a mix of Christian Russian and Muslim Tatar cultures. The city has registered a brand The Third Capital of Russia, though a number of other major cities compete for this status, including Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod.

The warm subtropical Black Sea coast of Russia is the site for a number of popular sea resorts, like Sochi, the follow-up host of the 2014 Winter Olympics. The mountains of the Northern Caucasus contain popular ski resorts such as Dombay. The most famous natural destination in Russia is Lake Baikal, the Blue Eye of Siberia.

This unique lake, the oldest and deepest in the world, has crystal-clear waters and is surrounded by taiga -covered mountains. Other popular natural destinations include Kamchatka with its volcanoes and geysers, Karelia with its lakes and granite rocks, the snowy Altai Mountains, and the wild steppes of Tuva.

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The CSTO grew out of the framework of the Commonwealth of Independent States, and first began as the CIS Collective Security Treaty (CST) which was signed on 15 May 1992, by Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, in the city of Tashkent.

Collective Security Treaty Organization

"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedianavigation search Collective Security Treaty OrganizationՀավաքական անվտանգության պայմանագրի կազմակերպությանАрганізацыя Дамовы аб калектыўнай бяспецыҰжымдық қауіпсіздік туралы шарт ұйымыЖамааттык коопсуздук жөнүндө келишим уюмуОрганизация Договора о коллективной безопасностиСозмони Аҳдномаи амнияти дастаҷамъӣFlag Formation 15 May 1992 (as Collective Security Treaty) 7 October 2002 (as Collective Security Treaty Organization)Type Military alliance Headquarters Moscow, Russia Location Eurasia Membership 6 members [show]2 observers [show]Official language Russian Secretary General Yuri Khatchaturov Website odkb-csto.org The Collective Security Treaty Organization ( CSTO; Russian: Организация Договора о Коллективной Безопасности, Organizacija Dogovora o Kollektivnoj Bezopasnosti, ODKB) is an intergovernmental military alliance that was signed on 15 May 1992.

In 1992, six post-Soviet states belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States —Russia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan—signed the Collective Security Treaty (also referred to as the ""Tashkent Pact"" or ""Tashkent Treaty""). [1] Three other post-Soviet states—Azerbaijan, Belarus, and Georgia—signed the next year and the treaty took effect in 1994.

Five years later, six of the nine—all but Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan—agreed to renew the treaty for five more years, and in 2002 those six agreed to create the Collective Security Treaty Organization as a military alliance. Uzbekistan rejoined the CSTO in 2006 but withdrew in 2012. Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed secretary general of the new organization.

On 23 June 2006, Uzbekistan became a full participant in the CSTO; and its membership was ratified by the Uzbek parliament on 28 March 2008.

[2] It suspended its membership in 2012. The CSTO is an observer organization at the United Nations General Assembly. The CSTO charter reaffirmed the desire of all participating states to abstain from the use or threat of force. Signatories would not be able to join other military alliances or other groups of states, [3] while aggression against one signatory would be perceived as an aggression against all.

To this end, the CSTO holds yearly military command exercises for the CSTO nations to have an opportunity to improve inter-organization cooperation. A CSTO military exercise called ""Rubezh 2008"" was hosted in Armenia, where a combined total of 4,000 troops from all seven constituent CSTO member countries conducted operative, strategic and tactical training with an emphasis towards furthering efficiency of the collective security element of the CSTO partnership.

[4] The largest of such exercises was held in Southern Russia and central Asia in 2011, consisting of more than 10,000 troops and 70 combat aircraft. [5] Also, Russia has won the right to veto the establishment of new foreign military bases in the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

In order to deploy military bases of a third country in the territory of the CSTO member-states, it is necessary to obtain the official consent of all its members.

[6]The CSTO employs a ""rotating presidency"" system in which the country leading the CSTO alternates every year.

[7]Contents [ hide ]1 Member states1.1 Potential future members1.2 History2 Policy agenda2.1 Information Technology & Cyber Security3 Recent developments4 Collective Rapid Reaction Force5 Kyrgyz conflict6 See also7 References8 External links Member states [ edit]Stamp of Kazakhstan, 2012Member and observer states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization: Country name Arms Flag Membership Year of entry Armenia full member 1994Belarus full member 1994Kazakhstan full member 1994Kyrgyzstan full member 1994Russia full member 1994Tajikistan full member 1994Afghanistan non-member observer state 2013Serbia non-member observer state 2013Former member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization: Country name Arms Flag Membership Year of entry Year of withdrawal Azerbaijanformer member state 1994 1999Georgiaformer member state 1994 1999Uzbekistanformer member state 1994 (first time)2006 (second time)1999 (first time)2012 (second time)Potential future members [ edit]In May 2007 the CSTO secretary-general Nikolai Bordyuzha suggested Iran could join the CSTO saying, ""The CSTO is an open organization.

If Iran applies in accordance with our charter, we will consider the application."" If Iran joined it would be the first state outside the former Soviet Union to become a member of the organization. The Republic of Serbia and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan have been accorded observer status in the CSTO. [8]History [ edit]Euler diagram showing the relationships among various supranational organisations in the territory of the former Soviet Unionv • d • e

Azerbaijan signed the treaty on 24 September 1993, Georgia on 9 December 1993 and Belarus on 31 December 1993. The treaty came into effect on 20 April 1994. The CST was set to last for a 5-year period unless extended.

On 2 April 1999, only six members of the CST signed a protocol renewing the treaty for another five-year period – Azerbaijan, Georgia and Uzbekistan refused to sign and withdrew from the treaty instead. At the same time Uzbekistan joined the GUAM group, established in 1997 by Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova, and largely seen as intending to counter Russian influence in the region.

Uzbekistan later withdrew from GUAM in 2005 and joined the CSTO in 2006 in order to seek closer ties with Russia.

On 28 June 2012, Uzbekistan suspended its membership in the CSTO. [9]Policy agenda [ edit]Information Technology & Cyber Security [ edit]Member nations adopted measures to counter cyber security threats and information technology crimes in a Foreign Ministers Council meeting in Minsk, Belarus. [10] Foreign Minister Abdrakhmanov put forward a proposal to establishing a Cyber Shield system. [10]Recent developments [ edit]During 2005, the CSTO partners conducted some common military exercises.

In June 2007, Kyrgyzstan assumed the rotating CSTO presidency. In October 2007, the CSTO signed an agreement with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe, to broaden cooperation on issues such as security, crime, and drug trafficking.

[11]On 6 October 2007, CSTO members agreed to a major expansion of the organization that would create a CSTO peacekeeping force that could deploy under a U. N. mandate or without one in its member states. The expansion would also allow all members to purchase Russian weapons at the same price as Russia.

[12]On 29 August 2008, Russia announced it would seek CSTO recognition of the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Three days earlier, on 26 August, Russia recognized the independence of Georgia's breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. [13]On 5 September 2008, Armenia assumed the rotating CSTO presidency during a CSTO meeting in Moscow, Russia.

[14]On 10 December 2010, the member states approved a declaration establishing a CSTO peacekeeping force and a declaration of the CSTO member states, in addition to signing a package of joint documents. [15]On 21 December 2011, Russia won the right to veto the establishment of new foreign military bases in the member states of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO). Additionally, Kazakhstan took over the rotating presidency of the CSTO from Belarus. [6]In August 2014, 3,000 soldiers from the members of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan participated in psychological and cyber warfare exercises in Kazakhstan under war games managed by CSTO.

[16]On March 19, 2015, the CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha offered to send a peacekeeping mission to Donbass, Ukraine. ""The CSTO has a peacekeeping capacity. Our peacekeepers continuously undergo corresponding training.

If such a decision is taken by the United Nations, we stand ready to provide peacekeeping units.” [17]Collective Rapid Reaction Force [ edit]Main article: Collective Rapid Reaction Force On 4 February 2009, an agreement to create the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (KSOR) (Russian: Коллекти́вные си́лы операти́вного реаги́рования (КСОР)) was reached by five of the seven members, with plans finalized on 14 June.

The force is intended to be used to repulse military aggression, conduct anti-terrorist operations, fight transnational crime and drug trafficking, and neutralize the effects of natural disasters. Belarus and Uzbekistan initially refrained from signing on to the agreement; Belarus because of a trade dispute with Russia, and Uzbekistan due to general concerns.

Belarus signed the agreement the following October while Uzbekistan has yet to sign it. However a source in the Russian delegation said Uzbekistan would not participate in the collective force on a permanent basis but would ""delegate"" its detachments to take part in operations on an ad hoc basis.

[18] [19]On 3 August 2009 the foreign ministry of Uzbekistan criticized plans by Russia to establish a military base in southern Kyrgyzstan for the CSTO rapid reaction force, stating, ""The implementation of such projects on complex and unpredictable territory, where the borders of three Central Asian republics directly converge, may give impetus to the strengthening of militarization processes and initiate all kinds of nationalistic confrontations. […] Also, it could lead to the appearance of radical extremist forces that could lead to serious destabilization in this vast region.""

[20]Kyrgyz conflict [ edit]After Kurmanbek Bakiyev was ousted from office as President of Kyrgyzstan as a result of riots in Kyrgyzstan in April, 2010, he was granted asylum in Belarus.

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko expressed doubt about the future of the CSTO for failing to prevent Bakiyev's overthrow, stating, ""What sort of organization is this one, if there is bloodshed in one of our member states and an anticonstitutional coup d'etat takes place, and this body keeps silent?""

[21] Lukashenko had previously accused Russia of punishing Belarus with economic sanctions after Lukashenko's refusal to recognize the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, stating ""Economy serves as the basis for our common security.

But if Belarus’s closest CSTO ally is trying....to destroy this basis and de facto put the Belarusians on their knees, how can one talk about consolidating collective security in the CSTO space?"" [22] After refusing to attend a CSTO summit in 2009, Lukashenko said, ""Why should my men fight in Kazakhstan?

Mothers would ask me why I sent their sons to fight so far from Belarus. For what? For a unified energy market?

That is not what lives depend on. No!"" [23]During a trip to Ukraine to extend Russia's lease of the Crimean port Sevastopol in return for discounted natural gas supplies, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev was asked about whether Belarus could expect a similar deal and responded, ""Real partnership is one thing and a declaration of intentions is another; reaching agreement on working seriously, meeting each other halfway, helping each other is one thing and making decisions about granting permanent residence to people who have lost their job is another.""

The Belarusian President defended himself against this criticism by citing former Russian President Vladimir Putin 's invitation of Askar Akayev to Russia after he was ousted as President of Kyrgyzstan during the 2005 Tulip Revolution.

[24] The following month, President Medvedev ordered the CEO of Russia's natural gas monopoly Gazprom to cut gas supplies to Belarus. [25] Subsequently the Russian television channel NTV, run by Gazprom, aired a documentary film which compared Lukashenko to Bakiyev.

[26] Then the Russian President's foreign policy adviser Sergei Prikhodko threatened to publish the transcript of a CSTO meeting where Lukashenko said that his administration would recognize Abkhazian and South Ossetian independence. [27]In June 2010, ethnic clashes broke out between ethnic Kyrgyz and Uzbeks in southern Kyrgyzstan, leading interim Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva to request the assistance of Russian troops to quell the disturbances. Kurmanbek Bakiyev denied charges that his supporters were behind the ethnic conflict and called on the CSTO to intervene.

[28] Askar Akayev also called for the CSTO to send troops saying, ""Our priority task right now should be to extinguish this flame of enmity.

It is very likely that we will need CSTO peacekeepers to do that."" [29] Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said that ""only in the case of a foreign intrusion and an attempt to externally seize power can we state that there is an attack against the CSTO,"" and that, ""all the problems of Kyrgyzstan have internal roots,"" while CSTO Secretary General Nikolai Bordyuzha called the violence ""purely a domestic affair."" [30] Later however Bordyuzha admitted that the CSTO response may have been inadequate and claimed that ""foreign mercenaries"" provoked the Kyrgyz violence against ethnic Uzbek minorities.

[31]On 21 July 2010, interim Kyrgyz President Roza Otunbayeva called for the introduction of CSTO police units to southern Kyrgyzstan saying, ""I think it’s important to introduce CSTO police forces there, since we’re unable to guarantee people’s rights on our own,"" but added ""I’m not seeking the CSTO’s embrace and I don’t feel like bringing them here to stay but the bloodletting there will continue otherwise.""

[32] Only weeks later the deputy chairman of Otubayeva's interim Kyrgyz government complained that their appeals for help from the CSTO had been ignored. [33] The CSTO was unable to agree on providing military assistance to Kyrgyzstan at a meeting in Yerevan, Armenia, which was attended by Roza Otunbayeva as well as Alexander Lukashenko.

[34]See also [ edit]Russia portal Soviet Union portal Soviet Armed Forces Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations Eurasian Economic Community (EURASEC)Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU)GUAM Organization for Democracy and Economic Development (GUAM)Military alliance North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)Post-Soviet states Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO)Warsaw Pact References [ edit]^ ed, Alexei G. Arbatov ..., (1999).

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Pan ARMENIAN. Net.^ ""Meeting of the Collective Security Treaty Organisation"". President of Russia.^ ""Armenia to participate in Kazakhstan CSTO drills"".^ ""Bordyuzha: CSTO ready to deploy its peacekeepers to resolve conflict in Ukraine"".^ Sputnik (4 February 2009).

""CSTO's rapid-reaction force to equal NATO's - Medvedev"".^ With Russian Prodding, CSTO Begins Taking Shape Retrieved on 24 November 2009^ Tashkent Throws Temper Tantrum over New Russian Base in Kyrgyzstan, Eurasia Net, 3 August 2009^ Belarus leader raps Russia, may snub security summit, Reuters, 25 April 2010.^ Belarus-Russia rift widens, Minsk snubs Moscow meet, Reuters, 14 June 2009.^ Lukashenko Plays Coy With Kremlin, Moscow Times, 28 August 2009.^ Lukashenka dismisses Moscow’s criticism over Bakiyev, Belaplan, 25 April 2010.^ Russia Cuts Gas Supplies to Belarus, VOANews, 21 June 2010.^ Russia and Belarus: It takes one to know one, Economist, 22 July 2010.^ Tensions flare between Kremlin, Belarus strongman, Agence France-Presse, 14 August 2010.^ Moscow-led bloc may try to quell Kyrgyz clashes, Reuters, 14 June 2010.^ Cases of cash paid for Kyrgyz unrest – former president Archived 19 June 2010 at the Wayback Machine ., Russia Today, 17 June 2010.^ Kyrgyzstan tests Russia's regional commitments, Global Post, 15 June 2010.^ CSTO Chief Says Foreign Mercenaries Provoked Race Riots In Kyrgyzstan Archived 6 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine ., Eurasia Review, 1 July 2010.^ Kyrgyzstan takes decision on deploying CIS police force in South [ permanent dead link], Itar-Tass, 21 July 2010.^ Kyrgyz Official Criticizes Foreign Partners, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 11 August 2010.^ Russian-led bloc undecided on aid for Kyrgyzstan, Reuters, 20 August 2010.

External links [ edit]CSTO Official Site (in Russian)CSTO Official Site (in English)Official Site of the Parliamentary Assembly of the CSTO (in Russian)The Charter of the CSTO [ show]v t e Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) [ show]v t e Central Asian regional organizations [ show]v t e Soviet Union topics [ show]v t e Power in international relations Authority control World Cat Identities VIAF: 146787280 GND: 1026076781Categories: Commonwealth of Independent States Post-Soviet alliances 20th-century military alliances21st-century military alliances Intergovernmental organizations established by treaty International military organizations Military of Armenia Military of Belarus Military of Kazakhstan Military of Kyrgyzstan Military of Russia Military of Tajikistan Multilateral relations of Russia Post-Soviet states Organizations established in 1994 1994 establishments in Russia 1994 establishments in Asia1994 establishments in Europe United Nations General Assembly observers "

rch The Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS) is the international organization, or alliance of countries that used to form the Soviet Union. On December 8 1991, leaders of Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine met at the nature reserve called Belovezhskaya Pushcha in Belarus. They discussed the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). They reached an agreement about many points and signed a document creating the CIS. One of these points stated that the alliance would be open to all the republics of the Soviet Union.

Commonwealth of Independent States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedianavigation sea

Other nations with similar goals could also join the CIS. The Soviet Union had 15 republics: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. On 6th September 1991, the Soviet Union had recognized the independence of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Out of the remaining 12 republics, all (except Georgia) joined the CIS. Before joining the CIS, on 21st December 1991, leaders of these 11 countries had met in Kazakhstan to accept the original CIS agreement of 8th December 1991.

In December 1993, Georgia also joined the CIS. On 26th August 2006 Turkmenistan left the permanent membership, and became an associate member. On 15th August 2008 Georgia left the CIS membership, and Georgia's CIS membership officially ended on 17th August 2009.

With the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the Soviet Union ceased to exist. It was the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Many consider that with CIS, Russia continues to have some control over the former republics of the Soviet Union. The CIS has its headquarters at Minsk, Belarus. An Executive Director heads the CIS. The CIS is not a successor country to the Soviet Union.

The CIS is an organization or alliance of independent countries. It is more like the European Community. The member countries of the CIS had also signed many agreements for economic cooperation and defense cooperation. They have signed other agreements for cooperation in foreign policy and other matter. Other websites [ change | change source]http://cis.minsk.by Belarus Commonwealth of Independent States - Citizendium Categories:1991 establishments International organizations Political organizations Soviet Union Politics of Asia Politics of Europe

iety…Belarus, and Russia formed the Commonwealth of Independent States, which was then joined by eight other former republics of the defunct Soviet Union.

Commonwealth of Independent States

Alternative Titles: CIS, Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Russian Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv, free association of sovereign states formed in 1991 by Russia and 11 other republics that were formerly part of the Soviet Union.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) had its origins on Dec. 8, 1991, when the elected leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus (Belorussia) signed an agreement forming a new association to replace the crumbling Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U. S. S. R.). The three Slavic republics were subsequently joined by the Central Asian republics of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, by the Transcaucasian republics of Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, and by Moldova.

(The remaining former Soviet republics— Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia —declined to join the new organization.) The CIS formally came into being on Dec. 21, 1991, and began operations the following month, with the city of Minsk in Belarus designated as its administrative centre. In August 2008, following an escalation of hostilities between Russia and Georgia over the separatist region of South Ossetia, Georgia announced its intention to withdraw from the CIS.

The withdrawal was finalized in August 2009. Commonwealth of Independent States headquarters Commonwealth of Independent States headquarters, Minsk, Belarus. Hanna Zelenko The CIS’s functions are to coordinate its members’ policies regarding their economies, foreign relations, defense, immigration policies, environmental protection, and law enforcement. Its top governmental body is a council composed of the member republics’ heads of state (i.e., presidents) and of government (prime ministers), who are assisted by committees of republic cabinet ministers in key areas such as economics and defense.

The CIS’s members pledged to keep both their armed forces and the former Soviet nuclear weapons stationed on their territories under a single unified command.

In practice this proved difficult, however, as did the members’ efforts to coordinate the introduction of market-type mechanisms and private ownership into their respective economies. Learn More in these related articles: Russia: Ethnic relations and Russia’s near-abroad…the Soviet Union collapsed, a Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) was established to serve as a forum for the former Soviet republics. All the former republics eventually joined, except the Baltic republics. Moscow coined the term “the near-abroad” when discussing its foreign policy toward the newly independent states.

Russia still…Read More Russia: Foreign affairs…brought new life to the CIS by providing relatively active Russian leadership, in sharp contrast to the Yeltsin years, and he strengthened Russia’s ties with the Central Asian republics in order to maintain Russian influence in this vital area. Under Yeltsin the Russian army, starved of funds, had lost much…Read More Ukraine: Government and soc

Read More Ukraine: Independent Ukraine…Belarus agreed to establish the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Shortly thereafter the U. S. S. R. was formally disbanded. Read More Soviet Union…for the establishment of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), with an agreed common policy for foreign affairs and defense.

The CIS later came to include all the remaining republics except Georgia, but great difficulty was experienced in arriving at agreed policies.

The future thus remained uncertain, but there could…Read More More About Commonwealth of Independent States8 references found in Britannica articles Assorted Referencesbreakup of U. S. S. R. In Soviet Union In Soviet Union: The attempted couphealth care In medicine: Former Soviet Unionstates Belarus In Belarus: The emergence of independent Belarus Russia In Russia: Ethnic relations and Russia’s near-abroad In Russia: Foreign affairs Ukraine In Ukraine: Government and society In Ukraine: Independent Ukraine External Websites Article History Article Contributors Feedback Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article!Contact our editors with your feedback.

92)Signing of the agreement to establish the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), 8 December 1991In March 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev, the president of the Soviet Union, proposed a federation by holding a referendum to preserve the Union as the Union of Sovereign States.

Commonwealth of Independent States

"Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)Содружество Независимых ГосударствFlag Emblem Administrative Minsk / Moscow Largest city Moscow Official language Russian Type Confederation Membership 9 member states [show]2 associate states [show]Leaders•Executive Secretary Sergei Lebedev•Secretary General Alexey Sergeev Legislature Interparliamentary Assembly [1]Establishment•Belavezha Accords 8 December 1991•Collective Security Treaty Organisation 15 May 1992• Free trade agreement signed 18 October 2011 [2]•Free Trade Area established 20 September 2012Area• Total 20,972,387 [3] km 2 (8,097,484 sq mi)Population• 2017 estimate 282,214,245• Density 12.77/km 2 (33.1/sq mi)GDP ( PPP) 2016 estimate• Total US$5.429 trillion• Per capita US$19,238GDP (nominal) 2013 estimate• Total US$2.808 trillion• Per capita US$10,113HDI (2015) 0.734 high Currency Member states [show]Associate states [show]Time zone ( UTC +2 to +12)Drives on the right Website CIS.

Minsk.by The Commonwealth of Independent States ( CIS; Russian: Содружество Независимых Государств, СНГ, tr. Sodruzhestvo Nezavisimykh Gosudarstv, SNG ), also called the Russian Commonwealth (to distinguish it from the English-speaking Commonwealth of Nations [4] ), is a political and economic confederation of 9 member states and 2 associate members, all of which are former Soviet Republics located in Eurasia (primarily in Central to North Asia ), formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Georgia withdrew its membership in 2008, while the Baltic states ( Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania ), which regard their membership in the Soviet Union as an illegal occupation, chose not to participate.

The CIS has few supranational powers but aims to be more than a purely symbolic organization, nominally possessing coordinating powers in the realms of trade, finance, lawmaking, and security. It has also promoted cooperation on cross-border crime prevention. Furthermore, eight of the nine CIS member states participate in the CIS Free Trade Area.

Three organizations are under the overview of the CIS, namely the Collective Security Treaty Organization, the Eurasian Economic Union (alongside subdivisions, the Eurasian Customs Union and the Eurasian Economic Space, which comprises territory inhabited by over 180 million people), and the Union State.

While the first and the second are military and economic alliances, the third aims to reach a supranational union of Russia and Belarus with a common government, flag, currency, etc. Contents [ hide ]1 History2 Membership2.1 Member states2.2 Associate states2.3 Former member state3 Politics3.1 Executive Secretaries3.2 Interparliamentary Assembly4 Human rights5 Military6 Economy6.1 Common Economic Space6.2 Economic data7 Associated organisations7.1 Organisation of Central Asian Cooperation7.2 Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations8 Other activities8.1 Controversial election observation mission8.2 Russian language status8.3 Sports events9 See also10 Notes11 References12 External links History [ edit]Provisional flag of the CIS (1991–

The new treaty signing never happened as the Communist Party hardliners staged an attempted coup in August that year. Following the events of August, the republics [ which?] had declared their independence fearing another coup. A week after the Ukrainian independence referendum was held, which kept the chances of the Soviet Union staying together low, the Commonwealth of Independent States was founded on 8 December 1991 by the Byelorussia SSR, the Russian SFSR, and the Ukraine SSR, when the leaders of the three republics, met in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Natural Reserve, about 50 km (31 mi) north of Brest in Belarus and signed the ""Agreement Establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States"", known as the Creation Agreement ( Russian: Соглашение, Soglasheniye ).

The CIS announced that the new confederation would be open to all republics of the former Soviet Union, and to other nations sharing the same goals. The CIS charter stated that all the members were sovereign and independent nations and thereby effectively abolished the Soviet Union.

On 21 December 1991, the leaders of eight additional former Soviet Republics – Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan – signed the Alma-Ata Protocol which can either be interpreted as expanding the CIS to these states or the proper foundation or refoundation date of the CIS, [4] thus bringing the number of participating countries to 11.

[5] Georgia joined two years later, in December 1993. [6] At this point, 12 of the 15 former Soviet Republics participated in the CIS. The three Baltic states did not, reflecting their governments' and people's view that the post-1940 Soviet occupation of their territory was illegitimate (in 2004 they joined NATO and the European Union ). The CIS and Soviet Union also legally co-existed briefly with eachother until the December 26, 1991 when Soviet President Gorbachev stepped down, officially dissolving the Soviet Union.

This was followed by Ivan Korotchenya becoming Executive Secretary of the CIS on the same day. [7]Between 2003 and 2005, three CIS member states experienced a change of government in a series of colour revolutions: Eduard Shevardnadze was overthrown in Georgia; Viktor Yushchenko was elected in Ukraine; and Askar Akayev was toppled in Kyrgyzstan.

In February 2006, Georgia withdrew from the Council of Defense Ministers, with the statement that ""Georgia has taken a course to join NATO and it cannot be part of two military structures simultaneously"", [8] [9] but it remained a full member of the CIS until August 2009, one year after officially withdrawing in the immediate aftermath of the Russo-Georgian War. In March 2007, Igor Ivanov, the secretary of the Russian Security Council, expressed his doubts concerning the usefulness of the CIS, emphasising that the Eurasian Economic Community was becoming a more competent organisation to unify the largest countries of the CIS.

[10] Following the withdrawal of Georgia, the presidents of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan skipped the October 2009 meeting of the CIS, each having their own issues and disagreements with the Russian Federation. [11]In May 2009, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine joined the Eastern Partnership, a project which was initiated by the European Union (EU).

Membership [ edit]There are nine full member states of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Creation Agreement remained the main constituent document of the CIS until January 1993, when the CIS Charter ( Russian: Устав, Ustav) was adopted.

[12] The charter formalised the concept of membership: a member country is defined as a country that ratifies the CIS Charter (sec. 2, art. 7). Turkmenistan has not ratified the charter and changed its CIS standing to associate member as of 26 August 2005 in order to be consistent with its UN-recognised international neutrality status.

[13] [14]Although Ukraine was one of the founding countries and ratified the Creation Agreement in December 1991, Ukraine chose not to ratify the CIS Charter [15] [16] as it disagrees with Russia being the only legal successor state to the Soviet Union. Thus it does not regard itself as a member of the CIS. [6] [17] In 1993, Ukraine became an ""Associate Member"" of CIS.

[18] On 14 March 2014, a bill was introduced to Ukraine's parliament to denounce their ratification of the 1991 Agreement Establishing the CIS, following the Russian military intervention in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea, but was never approved.

[19] [20] [21] Following the 2014 parliamentary election, a new bill to denounce the CIS agreement was introduced. [22] [23] In September 2015, the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed Ukraine will continue taking part in CIS ""on a selective basis"".

[24] [25] Since that month, Ukraine has had no representatives in the CIS Executive Committee building. [24]In light of Russia's support for the independence of breakaway regions within Moldova, Georgia, and Ukraine, [26] [27] [28] as well as its violation of the Istanbul Agreement (see Adapted Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaty ), legislative initiatives to denounce the agreement on the creation of CIS were tabled in Moldova's parliament on 25 March 2014, though they were not approved.

[29] [30] [31] A similar bill was proposed in January 2018. [32] [33]Member states [ edit]Country [34] Agreement/protocol ratified Charter ratified Notes Azerbaijan 24 September 1993 24 September 1993Belarus 10 December 1991 18 January 1994 Founding state Kazakhstan 23 December 1991 20 April 1994 Founding state Kyrgyzstan 6 March 1992 12 April 1994 Founding state Armenia 18 February 1992 16 March 1994 Founding state Moldova 8 April 1994 15 April 1994Russia 12 December 1991 20 July 1993 Founding state Tajikistan 26 June 1993 4 August 1993Uzbekistan 4 January 1992 9 February 1994 Founding state Associate states [ edit]Country Agreement/protocol ratified Charter ratified Notes Turkmenistan26 December 1991Not ratified Founding state. Associate since 2005. Ukraine 10 December 1991Not ratified Founding state. Participated since formation.

Associate since 1993. Former member state [ edit]Country Agreement/protocol ratified Charter ratified Withdrawn Effective Notes Georgia3 December 1993 19 April 1994 18 August 2008 18 August 2009 Withdrew as a result of the Russo-Georgian War of 2008.

Politics [ edit]Executive Secretaries [ edit]Name Country Term Ivan Korotchenya Belarus 26 December 1991 – 29 April 1998Boris Berezovsky Russia 29 April 1998 – 4 March 1999Ivan Korotchenya Belarus 4 March – 2 April 1999Yury Yarov Russia 2 April 1999 – 14 June 2004Vladimir Rushailo Russia 14 June 2004 – 5 October 2007Sergei Lebedev Russia 5 October 2007 – Incumbent Interparliamentary Assembly [ edit]Meeting of CIS leaders in Bishkek, 2008.

The Interparliamentary Assembly was established in 27 March 1992 in Kazakhstan. On 26 May 1995 CIS leaders signed the Convention on the Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the Commonwealth of Independent States eventually ratified by nine parliaments.

Under the terms of the Convention, the IPA was invested with international legitimacy and is housed in the Tauride Palace in St Petersburg and acts as the consultative parliamentary wing of the CIS created to discuss problems of parliamentary cooperation and reviews draft documents of common interest and passes model laws to the national legislatures in the CIS (as well as recommendations) for their use in the preparation of new laws and amendments to existing legislation too which have been adopted by more than 130 documents that ensure the convergence of laws in the CIS to the national legislation.

The Assembly is actively involved in the development of integration processes in the CIS and also sends observers to the national elections. [35] The Assembly held its 32nd Plenary meeting in Saint Petersburg on 14 May 2009. Ukraine participates, but Uzbekistan does not.

[36] [37]Human rights [ edit]Since its inception, one of the primary goals of the CIS has been to provide a forum for discussing issues related to the social and economic development of the newly independent states. To achieve this goal member states have agreed to promote and protect human rights. Initially, efforts to achieve this goal consisted merely of statements of good will, but on 26 May 1995, the CIS adopted a Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

[38]Even before the 1995 human rights treaty, the Charter of the CIS that was adopted in 1991 created, in article 33, a Human Rights Commission sitting in Minsk, Belarus.

This was confirmed by decision of the Council of Heads of States of the CIS in 1993. In 1995, the CIS adopted a human rights treaty that includes civil and political as well as social and economic human rights.

This treaty entered into force in 1998. The CIS treaty is modeled on the European Convention on Human Rights, but lacking the strong implementation mechanisms of the latter. In the CIS treaty, the Human Rights Commission has very vaguely defined authority. The Statute of the Human Rights Commission, however, also adopted by the CIS Member States as a decision, gives the Commission the right to receive inter-state as well as individual communications.

CIS members, especially in Central Asia, continue to have among the world's poorest human rights records. Many activists point to the 2005 Andijan massacre in Uzbekistan, or the cult of personality around President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan (though not a CIS member), to show that there has been almost no improvement in human rights since the collapse of the Soviet Union in Central Asia.

The consolidation of power by President Vladimir Putin has resulted in a steady decline in the modest progress of previous years in Russia.

The Commonwealth of Independent States continues to face serious challenges in meeting even basic international standards. [39]Military [ edit]Main articles: Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS and Joint CIS Air Defense System The members of the council meeting in Moscow in 2017The CIS Charter establishes the Council of Ministers of Defense, which is vested with the task of coordinating military cooperation of the CIS member states.

To this end, the Council develops conceptual approaches to the questions of military and defense policy of the CIS member states; develops proposals aimed to prevent armed conflicts on the territory of the member states or with their participation; gives expert opinions on draft treaties and agreements related to the questions of defense and military developments; issues related suggestions and proposals to the attention of the CIS Council of the Heads of State.

Also important is the Council's work on approximation of the legal acts in the area of defense and military development. [ citation needed]An important manifestation of integration processes in the area of military and defense collaboration of the CIS member states is the creation, in 1995, of the joint CIS Air Defense System.

Over the years, the military personnel of the joint CIS Air Defense System grew twofold along the western, European border of the CIS, and by 1.5 times on its southern borders. [40]When Boris Yeltsin became Russian Defence Minister on 7 May 1992, Yevgeny Shaposhnikov, was appointed as Commander-in-Chief of the CIS Armed Forces, and his staff were ejected from the MOD and General Staff buildings and given offices in the former Warsaw Pact Headquarters at 41 Leningradsky Prospekt [41] on the northern outskirts of Moscow.

[42] Shaposhnikov resigned in June 1993. In December 1993, the CIS Armed Forces Headquarters was abolished.

[43] Instead, ""the CIS Council of Defence Ministers created a CIS Military Cooperation Coordination Headquarters (MCCH) in Moscow, with 50 per cent of the funding provided by Russia."" [44] General Viktor Samsonov was appointed as Chief of Staff. The headquarters has now moved to 101000, Москва, Сверчков переулок, 3/2, and 41 Leningradsky Prospekt has now been taken over by another Russian MOD agency.

The chiefs of the CIS general staffs have spoken in favor of integrating their national armed forces. [45]Economy [ edit]Main article: Commonwealth of Independent States Free Trade Area In 1994, the CIS countries ""agreed"" to create a free trade area (FTA), but the agreements were never signed.

The 1994 agreement would have covered all twelve then CIS members except Turkmenistan. [46]In 2009, a new agreement was begun to create a FTA, the CISFTA. [47] In October 2011, the new free trade agreement was signed by eight of the eleven CIS prime ministers; Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine at a meeting in St. Petersburg. As of 2013, it has been ratified by Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, and Armenia, and is in force only between those states.

[48]The free trade agreement eliminates export and import duties on a number of goods but also contains a number of exemptions that will ultimately be phased out. [49] An agreement was also signed on the basic principles of currency regulation and currency controls in the CIS at the same October 2011 meeting. [50]Corruption and bureaucracy are serious problems for trade in CIS countries. [51]Kazakhstan's President Nursultan Nazarbayev proposed that CIS members take up a digitization agenda to modernize CIS economies.

[52]Common Economic Space [ edit]After discussion about the creation of a common economic space between the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) countries of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan, agreement in principle about the creation of this space was announced after a meeting in the Moscow suburb of Novo-Ogarevo on 23 February 2003.

The Common Economic Space would involve a supranational commission on trade and tariffs that would be based in Kiev, would initially be headed by a representative of Kazakhstan, and would not be subordinate to the governments of the four nations. The ultimate goal would be a regional organisation that would be open for other countries to join as well, and could eventually lead even to a single currency.

On 22 May 2003, the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian Parliament) voted 266 votes in favour and 51 against the joint economic space. However, most believe that Viktor Yushchenko 's victory in the Ukrainian presidential election of 2004 was a significant blow against the project: Yushchenko has shown renewed interest in Ukrainian membership in the European Union and such membership would be incompatible with the envisioned common economic space.

Yushchenko's successor Viktor Yanukovych stated on 27 April 2010 ""Ukraine's entry into the Customs Union of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan is not possible today, since the economic principles and the laws of the WTO do not allow it, we develop our policy in accordance with WTO principles"".

[53] Ukraine is a WTO member. [53]A Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia was thus created in 2010, [54] with a single market envisioned for 2012. [55]Economic data [ edit]The data is taken from the United Nations statistics division and the United States Central Intelligence Agency.

[57]Country Population [56] (2016) GDP 2007 (USD)GDP 2012 (USD)GDP growth (2012) GDP per capita (2007) GDP per capita (2012)Belarus 9,480,042 45,275,738,770 58,215,000,000 4.3% 4,656 6,710Kazakhstan 17,987,736 104,849,915,344 196,642,000,000 5.2% 6,805 11,700Kyrgyzstan 5,955,734 3,802,570,572 6,197,000,000 0.8% 711 1,100Russia 143,964,513 1,294,381,844,081 2,022,000,000,000 3.4% 9,119 14,240Tajikistan 8,734,951 2,265,340,888 7,263,000,000 2.1% 337 900Uzbekistan 31,446,795 22,355,214,805 51,622,000,000 4.1% 831 1,800Azerbaijan 9,725,376 33,049,426,816 71,043,000,000 3.8% 3,829 7,500Moldova 4,059,608 4,401,137,824 7,589,000,000 4.4% 1,200 2,100Armenia 2,924,816 9,204,496,419 10,551,000,000 2.1% 2,996 3,500Associated organisations [ edit]Euler diagram showing the relationships among various supranational organisations in the territory of the former Soviet Union v • d • e Organisation of Central Asian Cooperation [ edit]Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan formed the OCAC in 1991 as Central Asian Commonwealth (CAC).

The organisation continued in 1994 as the Central Asian Economic Union (CAEU), in which Tajikistan and Turkmenistan did not participate. In 1998 it became the Central Asian Economic Cooperation (CAEC), which marked the return of Tajikistan. On 28 February 2002 it was renamed to its current name. Russia joined on 28 May 2004. [58] On 7 October 2005 it was decided between the member states that Uzbekistan will join [59] the Eurasian Economic Community and that the organisations will merge.

[60] The organisations joined on 25 January 2006. It is not clear what will happen to the status of current CACO observers that are not observers to Eur As EC ( Georgia and Turkey ).

Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations [ edit]Main article: Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations The post-Soviet disputed states of Abkhazia, Artsakh, South Ossetia, and Transnistria are all members of the Community for Democracy and Rights of Nations which aims to forge closer integration among the members.

Other activities [ edit]Controversial election observation mission [ edit]The CIS Election Monitoring Organisation ( Russian: Миссия наблюдателей от СНГ на выборах) is an election monitoring body that was formed in October 2002, following a Commonwealth of Independent States heads of states meeting which adopted the Convention on the Standards of Democratic Elections, Electoral Rights, and Freedoms in the Member States of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

The CIS-EMO has been sending election observers to member countries of the CIS since this time; they approved many elections which have been heavily criticised by independent observers.

[61]The democratic nature of the final round of the Ukrainian presidential election, 2004 which followed the Orange Revolution and brought into power the former opposition, was questioned by the CIS while the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) found no significant problems. This was the first time ever that the CIS observation teams challenged the validity of an election, saying that it should be considered illegitimate.

On 15 March 2005, the Ukrainian Independent Information Agency quoted Dmytro Svystkov (a spokesman of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry) that Ukraine has suspended its participation in the CIS election monitoring organisation. The CIS praised the Uzbekistan parliamentary elections, 2005 as ""legitimate, free and transparent"" while the OSCE had referred to the Uzbek elections as having fallen ""significantly short of OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections"".

[62] [63]Moldovan authorities refused to invite CIS observers in the Moldovan parliamentary elections, 2005, an action Russia criticised.

Many dozens such observers from Belarus and Russia were stopped from reaching Moldova. [64]CIS observers monitored the Tajikistan parliamentary elections, 2005 and in the end declared them ""legal, free and transparent."" The same elections were pronounced by the OSCE to have failed international standards for democratic elections. Soon after CIS observers hailed the Kyrgyz parliamentary elections of 2005 as ""well-organised, free, and fair"", as large-scale and often violent demonstrations broke out throughout the country protesting what the opposition called a rigged parliamentary election.

In contrast the OSCE reported that the elections fell short of international standards in many areas. [65]International observers of the Interparliamentary Assembly stated the 2010 local elections in Ukraine were organised well.

[66] While the Council of Europe uncovered a number of problems in relation to a new electorate law approved just prior to the elections [66] and the Obama administration criticised the conduct of the elections, saying they ""did not meet standards for openness and fairness"".

[67] [68]Russian language status [ edit]Russia has been urging that the Russian language receive official status in all of the CIS member states.

So far Russian is an official language in only four of these states: Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. Russian is also considered an official language in the region of Transnistria, and the autonomous region of Gagauzia in Moldova.

Viktor Yanukovych, the Moscow-supported presidential candidate in the controversial 2004 Ukrainian presidential election, declared his intention to make Russian an official second language of Ukraine. However, the Western-supported candidate Viktor Yushchenko, the winner, did not do so. After his early 2010 election as President Yanukovych stated (on 9 March 2010) that ""Ukraine will continue to promote the Ukrainian language as its only state language"".

[69]Sports events [ edit]At the time of the Soviet Union's dissolution in December 1991, its sports teams had been invited to or qualified for various 1992 sports events. A joint CIS team took its place in some of these. The "" Unified Team "" competed in the 1992 Winter Olympics and 1992 Summer Olympics, and a CIS association football team competed in UEFA Euro 1992.

A CIS bandy team played some friendlies in January 1992 and made its last appearance at the 1992 Russian Government Cup, where it also played against the new Russia national bandy team. The Soviet Union bandy championship for 1991–1992 was rebranded as a CIS championship. Since then, CIS members have each competed separately in international sport.

In 2017 a festival for national sports and games, Фестиваль национальных видов спорта и игр государств — участников Содружества Независимых Государств, was held in Ulyanovsk. The main sports were sambo, tug of war, mas-wrestling, gorodki, belt wrestling, lapta, bandy (rink), kettlebell lifting, chess and archery.

A few demonstration sports were also a part of the programme. [70]See also [ edit]Regional organisations in post-Soviet states Visegrad Group Comecon Eastern Bloc Notes [ edit]1. ^ The Commonwealth of Independent States and the Commonwealth of Nations are also called the ""Russian Commonwealth"" and the ""British Commonwealth"" respectively to differentiate between them.

[71] [ self-published source]References [ edit]^http://mfa.gov.by/en/organizations/membership/list/c2bd4cebdf6bd9f9.html^ CIS leaders sign free trade deal, 18 October 2011.

Retrieved 21 June 2015.^ Corresponds to the terrestrial surface. Including the Exclusive Economic Zones of each member state, the total area is 28 509 317 km².^ Plokhy, Serhii, The Last Empire: The final days of the Soviet Union, Oneworld, London (2014), ISBN 9781780746463, pp 356 – 365^ Alma-Ata Declaration: 11 countries accede to the CIS, 21 December 1991 ( English translation ).

Russian text here [1]^ a b Ratification status of CIS documents as of 15 January 2008 Archived 30 October 2008 at the Wayback Machine. ( Russian)^ Agreement on the Establishment of the CIS: 3 founding countries, 8 December 1991 ( unofficial English translation ). Russian text here [2]^ 3 February 2006 (11 September 2001). ""Georgia opts out of ex-Soviet military cooperation body"". Pravda. Ru. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ ""RIA Novosti – World – Georgia's quitting CIS council will not affect security – Russian minister"".

En.rian.ru. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ Russia questions further existence of the CIS post-soviet organisation Info NIAC^ Pannier, Bruce. ""Russia Facing Resistance With Allies On CIS's Southern Flank"". Rferl.org. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ CIS Charter, 22 January 1993 ( unofficial English translation ). Russian text here^ Decision on Turkmenistan's associate membership [ permanent dead link], CIS Executive Committee meeting in Kazan, Russia, 26 August 2005 (in Russian).^ Turkmenistan reduces CIS ties to ""Associate Member"", Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 29 August 2005.^ Conflict in the Former USSR.

Retrieved 25 September 2014.^ Russia and Nis Mineral Industry Handbook. Retrieved 25 September 2014.^ September 2008 Statement by Foreign Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Ohryzko, “Ukraine does not recognise the legal personality of this organisation, we are not members of the CIS Economic Court, we did not ratify the CIS Statute, thus, we cannot be considered a member of this organisation from international legal point of view.

Ukraine is a country-participant, but not a member country”^ Economic Interdependence in Ukrainian-Russian Relations.

Retrieved 25 September 2014.^ ""Bill introduced to withdraw Ukraine from CIS"". Kyiv Post. 15 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.^ ""Результати пошуку законопроектiв, зареєстрованих Верховною Радою України"". Retrieved 25 September 2014.^ ""Draft documents on Ukraine's withdrawal from CIS submitted to Verkhovna Rada"". Information Telegraph Agency of Russia. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 21 June 2014.^ ""Проект Постанови про припинення членства та участі України в органах Співдружності Незалежних Держав"".

Verkhovna Rada. Retrieved 30 November 2014.^ ""Проект Закону про зупинення дії Угоди про створення Співдружності Незалежних Держав"".

Verkhovna Rada. Retrieved 26 December 2014.^ a b Ukraine to selectively work as part of CIS, Bel TA (21 September 2015)^ Yatsenyuk says Ukraine will drop Commonwealth of Independent States criminal search database system on Aug 24, Kyiv Post (20 August 2015)^ Buckley, Neil (25 November 2014). ""Georgia calls on west to condemn Abkhazia treaty with Russia"". Financial Times. Retrieved 9 May 2015.^ Rettman, Andrew (7 May 2015). ""Donbas: A new 'black hole' in Europe"". Retrieved 9 May 2015.^ ""Russia Erecting Monument to 'Little Green Men' Who Took Over Crimea"". Moscow Times. 26 April 2015. Retrieved 9 May 2015.^ In Moldova propose to denounce the agreement on creation of CIS.

Ukrinform. 25 March 2014^ ""Proiectul hotărîrii cu privire la denunțarea Acordului de constituire a Comunității Statelor Independente"". Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Retrieved 4 November 2014.^ ""Proiectul legii cu privire la denunțarea Acordului de constituire a Comunității Statelor Independente nr.40-XII din 08.04.1994"".

Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Retrieved 4 November 2014.^ ""Proiectul hotărîrii cu privire la denunțarea Acordului de constituire a Comunității Statelor Independente"". Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. 2018-01-02. Retrieved 2018-01-29.^ ""Moldova Says It Would Leave CIS Only After Becoming EU Candidate"". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2018-01-25. Retrieved 2018-01-29.^ ""Сведения о ратификации документов, принятых в рамках СНГ в 1991 – 2014 годах"".

Commonwealth of Independent States. Retrieved 10 October 2014.^ Information and Publish. Department. ""CIS Inter-Parliamentary Assembly"". Cisstat.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ ""Member Nations of the CIS"". CIS Interparliamentary Assembly. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^http://m.ebrary.net/1043/economics/interparliamentary_assembly^ ""Commonwealth of Independent States Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms"". 1995. Retrieved 24 March 2013.^ ""Democracy Deficit Grows in Former Soviet Union"" 2011. date retrieved 12 February 2014^ ""Информация о Совете министров обороны государств – участников Содружества Независимых Государств"".

Cis.minsk.by. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ Johnson's Russia List #2142 Archived 6 March 2001 at the Wayback Machine ., 9 April 1998^ Odom, The Collapse of the Soviet Military, p.385-86^ Interfax, 22 December 1993, via Zbigniew Brzezinski, Paige Sullivan, 'Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States' CSIS, 1997, p.464 via Google Books^ SIPRI 1998 Annual, p.18^ ""CIS chiefs of staff want military integration."" RIA Novosti, 3 December 2010.^ ""Free Trade Agreement Between Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Kazakhstan, The Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan And The Kyrgyz Republic"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ Russia expects the CIS countries to create a free trade zone by yearend, 17 June 2010^ CIS Free Trade Agreement comes into force; Baker & Mc Kenzi, Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, 18 October 2012, 18 October 2011^ CIS leaders sign free trade deal, 19 October 2011^ Most CIS states sign free trade zone agreement, 19 October 2011^ ""Petro Jacyk Program – Centre for Russian and East European Studies, University of Toronto"" (PDF). Retrieved 25 September 2014.^ ""Nazarbayev proposes CIS modernisation, meets EUAU counterparts in Sochi"". Astana Calling.^ a b Yanukovych: Ukraine won't join Customs Union, Kyiv Post (27 April 2010)^ ""Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus plan on common economic space"". Rbcnews.com. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ ""Russia expects CIS countries to create free trade area"". En.rian.ru. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ ""World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision"". ESA. UN.org (custom data acquired via website). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved 10 September 2017.^ ""The World Factbook"".^ ""Central Asian Cooperation Organisation"". Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ ""Working group discusses Uzbekistan's accession to Eur As EC"". En.rian.ru. Archived from the original on 1 May 2013. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ ""Collective Security: A Timeline"". Centralasia.foreignpolicyblogs.com. Archived from the original on 10 May 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ ""Election fraud: How to steal an election"". The Economist. 3 March 2012. Retrieved 19 May 2012.^ ""Foreign observers differ in their evaluation of the election in Uzbekistan"". Enews.ferghana.ru. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ Alexander Yakovenko, the Spokesman of Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Answers a Russian Media Question Regarding International Observers' Conclusions on Election Results in Ukraine and Uzbekistan Archived 23 January 2009 at the Wayback Machine.^ CIS Observers Outraged by Deportation of Colleagues^ Kupchinsky, Roman. ""CIS: Monitoring The Election Monitors"". Rferl.org. Retrieved 23 July 2013.^ a b EU will not condemn the local elections in Ukraine, Razumkov Centre (3 November 2010)^ Interview: Top U. S. Diplomat Discusses Regional Developments, Abuses, Stalemates, And Cooperation, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (5 November 2010)^ Ukraine's Ballot Flawed, U. S. Says, The Wall Street Journal (4 November 2010)^ Yanukovych: Ukraine will not have second state language, Kyiv Post (9 March 2010)^ [3]^ Vinep A Kankam-da-Costa (2012). Who Is Fit to Rule America in the Twenty-First Century and Beyond?. Xlibris. p. 271. ISBN 9781479739653. Retrieved 17 November 2013. External links [ edit]Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Commonwealth of Independent States. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Commonwealth of Independent States. CIS Executive Committee Interparliamentary Assembly of Member Nations of the CISEconomic Court of the CISInterstate Statistical Committee of the CISCharter of the CISPINR – C. I. S. Struggles for Cohesion RZB Outlook For Commonwealth Of Independent States Food Security in Caucasus and Republic of Moldova (FAO)Kembayev, Zhenis. Legal Aspects of the Regional Integration Processes in the Post-Soviet Area. Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer Verlag, 2009 (summary and sample pages). Belarus Leads The CIS In 2013 [ show]v t e Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) [ show]v t e Current leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States [ show]v t e Regional organizations [ show]v t e Central Asian regional organizations [ show]v t e Power in international relations [ show]v t e Eastern Bloc [ show]v t e Soviet Union topics Authority control World Cat Identities VIAF: 131775197 LCCN: n92019874 ISNI: 0000 0001 2159 2250 GND: 2128486-6SELIBR: 125638 SUDOC: 032278780 BNF: cb12333917h (data) NLA: 35168055 BNE: XX194913 "

In a final step signifying the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, 11 of the 12 Soviet republics declare that they are forming the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Just a few days later, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced he was stepping down from his position. The Soviet Union ceased to exist.

Soviet republics proclaim the Commonwealth of Independent States

Cold War1991Soviet republics proclaim the Commonwealth of Independent States Share this:facebook twitter google+Print Cite

The 11 republics-Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, the Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan-signed an agreement creating the CIS. Only Georgia, embroiled in a civil war, abstained from participation. Exactly what they created was open to debate.

The CIS was not a new nation, but merely an “alliance” between independent states. The political meaning of the alliance was hazy. The independent states each took over the former Soviet government facilities within their borders. The military side of the CIS was even more confusing. They agreed to sustain any arms agreements signed by the former Soviet Union.

The former Soviet defense minister would retain control over the military until the CIS could agree on what to do with the nuclear weapons and conventional forces within their borders. Complicating the situation were terrific economic problems and outbreaks of ethnic violence in the new republics.

For Gorbachev, the announcement was the final signal that his power—and the existence of the Soviet Union—was at an end. Four days later, on Christmas Day, he announced his resignation.