First Half of Russia Presentation

Kelli BennettCarly GarrisonJosh Overcash

Joseph WilliamsMelissa Williams

RussiaKelli Bennett

Carly GarrisonJosh Overcash

Joseph WilliamsMel Williams

Type of Society Geographical

Location oEurasia

o East of Europe; North of China, Kazakhstan, and Mongolia

LandscapeEverything from

grasslands to tundra and taiga

Type of Society

Type of Society o Industrial Society (Stalin)

oPost-Soviet collapse Economic Crisiso1990-1995: Industrial Output & GDPoShock therapy, hyperinflation, povertyoPrivatization

Type of Society

Current boundaries since December 1991

A brief historyo Kievan Rus’ (Vikings) – 9th century, ChristianoMongolso1453; “Russia”o1547; Tsardom, Ivan IVo1682; Peter I, Russiao1905; Bloody Revolution & Dumao1917; Russia Revolutiono1991; Fall of Soviet Union

Type of Society

Technology & Economy

Economic Activity

MajoroLargest natural gas reservesoSecond largest coal reserves o8th largest oil reserves. oLeading natural gas exporteroSecond leading oil exporter.

oMinor: mining, machine building, defense, shipbuilding, textiles, foodstuffs

oGross domestic product per capita at $14,600 in 2007, an 8.1 % from 2006. oGDP (PPP) – 2.076 trillion, ranked 7th by CIA World FactbookoAverage salary was $540 per month in 2007 ($920 PPP)oPopulation below poverty line was 12.5 % in 2007oLow inflation and strict budget lead to growthoIndustrial output in 2007 grew by 6.3 % compared to 2006oMoscow is the most expensive city to live in

Economic Development

PopulationThe primary causes of Russia's population

decrease and loss of about 700,000 to 800,000 citizens each year are a high

death rate, low birth rate, high rate of abortions, and a low level of immigration.

Attempts to thwart this population decline include acts by the government to get their people to conceive, the act was

known as National Conception Day.

Low Birth Rate Due to high rates of alcoholism and economic hardship, women feel less than encouraged to

have children in Russia. Women in Russia have a birth rate of 1.3 per women per lifetime. In order to have Russia reach stable population

replacement rate women would need to have 2.1 children per lifetime. The crude birth rate of Russia is 10 per 1000 people; the world average

is twice as high.

Abortion One person has said that there are more abortions than there are births in Russia.

The online news source mosnews.com reported that in 2004 1.6 million women had abortions in Russia while 1.5 million

gave birth. In 2003, the BBC reported that Russia had, "13 terminations for every 10

live births."

The infant mortality rate is 11.6

High Death RateRussia has a very high death rate of 15 deaths

per 1000 people per year. The world death rate is 9 per thousand people per year.

Alcohol related deaths represent the bulk of emergency room visits. Men have a life

expectancy of 59 while women are expected to live to be 72. The reason for this is because of men higher propensity for

alcoholism and alcohol related deaths.Emigration

Additionally, immigration into Russia is low - immigrants are primarily a trickle of ethnic

Russians moving out of former republics (but now independent countries) of the Soviet

Union. Brain drain and emigration from Russia to Western Europe and other parts of the world

is high as native Russians seek to better their economic situation.

Religion

Religion

Russian Orthodoxy is the dominant religion

Other Major Religions:oChristianity

oIslamoBuddhismoJudaism

oIt is estimated that 16 % of the population consider themselves non believers

o In a way they attempt to create a strong identity, but it is difficult because of uprisings from the other religious parties, such as the

Muslims. oRussia has throughout history been trying to create a national

identity, and it's always been based on the national majority, which has been a problem with the minorities, such as other religious

parties oAttempts:

Russians have two words for "Russian" (as in person, not language) - one means "Russian (ethnically)" and one means "Russian (by

citizenship)." "what is your father's name?"

Three basic tenants: universal suffrage, "mothering," and sharing.

Russian National Identity

Sub-National Identity

oA sub-national identity created by religion. Compared to the estimated 3-15 million

practicing Orthodox, there are 1.5-4 million practicing Muslims.

oMinor sub-national language is English, with ~7 million speakers, compared to ~143 million

speaking the major Russian language (~1:20 ratio)

Polity and Conflict

The government of Russia is known as the Federal Presidential Republic

Russia relies mainly on a constitution known as the Constitution of the

Russian Federation and was established in 1993. Other sources of law are the Presidential decrees and

USSR legislations

United Russia

Communist Party of the Russian Federation

Liberal Democratic Party of Russia

Fair Russia

Political Parties

Three Branches of Government:Executive, Federal Assembly (legislative), and Judicial

ExecutiveoThe head of the entire state

is the President in a multi party system

oThe head of executive party is prime minister and is

elected by the President and is confirmed by the parliament

Federal Assembly

There are two chambers1. Upper Branch

Federation Council

2. Lower BranchState Duma

Russian

Court Syste

m

Constitutional court It can

determine the constitutionality of

claims.

Supreme Court of Arbitration

It has final jurisdiction over all commercial

claims.

Supreme CourtIt has final jurisdiction

over all criminal, civil, and administrative law cases.

o In the 2006 G8 Summit President Vladimir Putin addressed the

growing problem of corruption in Russia. Mr. Putin said that Russia’s

growing corruption is one of the most serious barriers to the development of the state.

Corruption in Russia

o Russia is believed to have a shadow economy that is

twice as big as their economy. This belief has

lead to the assumption that Russia’s biggest source of

corruption comes from the state.

o It is generally believed that bribes are more

effective and less time consuming than seeking

legitimate redress through governmental outlets.