{
  "Introduction": {
    "Background": {
      "text": "Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century, more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05 contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in the formation of a parliament and other reforms. Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial household. The communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. After defeating Germany in World War II as part of an alliance with the US (1939-1945), the USSR expanded its territory and influence in Eastern Europe and emerged as a global power. The USSR was the principal adversary of the US during the Cold War (1947-1991). The Soviet economy and society stagnated in the decades following Stalin’s rule, until General Secretary Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt to modernize communism, but his initiatives inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other independent republics. ++ Following economic and political turmoil during President Boris YELTSIN's term (1991-99), Russia shifted toward a centralized authoritarian state under the leadership of President Vladimir PUTIN (2000-2008, 2012-present) in which the regime seeks to legitimize its rule through managed elections, populist appeals, a foreign policy focused on enhancing the country's geopolitical influence, and commodity-based economic growth. Russia faces a largely subdued rebel movement in Chechnya and some other surrounding regions, although violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus."
    }
  },
  "Geography": {
    "Location": {
      "text": "North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean, extending from Europe (the portion west of the Urals) to the North Pacific Ocean"
    },
    "Geographic coordinates": {
      "text": "60 00 N, 100 00 E"
    },
    "Map references": {
      "text": "Asia"
    },
    "Area": {
      "total": {
        "text": "17,098,242 sq km"
      },
      "land": {
        "text": "16,377,742 sq km"
      },
      "water": {
        "text": "720,500 sq km"
      }
    },
    "Area - comparative": {
      "text": "approximately 1.8 times the size of the US"
    },
    "Land boundaries": {
      "total": {
        "text": "22,408 km"
      },
      "border countries": {
        "text": "Azerbaijan 338 km, Belarus 1,312 km, China (southeast) 4,133 km, China (south) 46 km, Estonia 324 km, Finland 1,309 km, Georgia 894 km, Kazakhstan 7,644 km, North Korea 18 km, Latvia 332 km, Lithuania (Kaliningrad Oblast) 261 km, Mongolia 3,452 km, Norway 191 km, Poland (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km, Ukraine 1,944 km"
      }
    },
    "Coastline": {
      "text": "37,653 km"
    },
    "Maritime claims": {
      "territorial sea": {
        "text": "12 nm"
      },
      "contiguous zone": {
        "text": "24 nm"
      },
      "exclusive economic zone": {
        "text": "200 nm"
      },
      "continental shelf": {
        "text": "200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation"
      }
    },
    "Climate": {
      "text": "ranges from steppes in the south through humid continental in much of European Russia; subarctic in Siberia to tundra climate in the polar north; winters vary from cool along Black Sea coast to frigid in Siberia; summers vary from warm in the steppes to cool along Arctic coast"
    },
    "Terrain": {
      "text": "broad plain with low hills west of Urals; vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia; uplands and mountains along southern border regions"
    },
    "Elevation": {
      "mean elevation": {
        "text": "600 m"
      },
      "elevation extremes": {
        "text": "lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m ++ highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m (highest point in Europe)"
      }
    },
    "Natural resources": {
      "text": "wide natural resource base including major deposits of oil, natural gas, coal, and many strategic minerals, reserves of rare earth elements, timber",
      "note": {
        "text": "formidable obstacles of climate, terrain, and distance hinder exploitation of natural resources"
      }
    },
    "Land use": {
      "agricultural land": {
        "text": "13.1% ++ arable land 7.3%; permanent crops 0.1%; permanent pasture 5.7%"
      },
      "forest": {
        "text": "49.4%"
      },
      "other": {
        "text": "37.5% (2011 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Irrigated land": {
      "text": "43,000 sq km (2012)"
    },
    "Population - distribution": {
      "text": "population is heavily concentrated in the westernmost fifth of the country extending from the Baltic Sea, south to the Caspian Sea, and eastward parallel to the Kazakh border; elsewhere, sizeable pockets are isolated and generally found in the south"
    },
    "Natural hazards": {
      "text": "permafrost over much of Siberia is a major impediment to development; volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands; volcanoes and earthquakes on the Kamchatka Peninsula; spring floods and summer/autumn forest fires throughout Siberia and parts of European Russia",
      "volcanism": {
        "text": "significant volcanic activity on the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands; the peninsula alone is home to some 29 historically active volcanoes, with dozens more in the Kuril Islands; Kliuchevskoi (elev. 4,835 m), which erupted in 2007 and 2010, is Kamchatka's most active volcano; Avachinsky and Koryaksky volcanoes, which pose a threat to the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, have been deemed Decade Volcanoes by the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior, worthy of study due to their explosive history and close proximity to human populations; other notable historically active volcanoes include Bezymianny, Chikurachki, Ebeko, Gorely, Grozny, Karymsky, Ketoi, Kronotsky, Ksudach, Medvezhia, Mutnovsky, Sarychev Peak, Shiveluch, Tiatia, Tolbachik, and Zheltovsky"
      }
    },
    "Environment - current issues": {
      "text": "air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; groundwater contamination from toxic waste; urban solid waste management; abandoned stocks of obsolete pesticides"
    },
    "Environment - international agreements": {
      "party to": {
        "text": "Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling"
      },
      "signed, but not ratified": {
        "text": "Air Pollution-Sulfur 94"
      }
    },
    "Geography - note": {
      "text": "largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount El'brus is Europe's tallest peak; Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, is estimated to hold one fifth of the world's fresh water"
    }
  },
  "People and Society": {
    "Population": {
      "text": "142,355,415 (July 2016 est.)"
    },
    "Nationality": {
      "noun": {
        "text": "Russian(s)"
      },
      "adjective": {
        "text": "Russian"
      }
    },
    "Ethnic groups": {
      "text": "Russian 77.7%, Tatar 3.7%, Ukrainian 1.4%, Bashkir 1.1%, Chuvash 1%, Chechen 1%, other 10.2%, unspecified 3.9%",
      "note": {
        "text": "nearly 200 national and/or ethnic groups are represented in Russia's 2010 census (2010 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Languages": {
      "text": "Russian (official) 85.7%, Tatar 3.2%, Chechen 1%, other 10.1%",
      "note": {
        "text": "data represent native language spoken (2010 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Religions": {
      "text": "Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule; Russia officially recognizes Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism as traditional religions"
      }
    },
    "Age structure": {
      "0-14 years": {
        "text": "16.94% (male 12,385,281/female 11,726,473)"
      },
      "15-24 years": {
        "text": "9.71% (male 7,071,489/female 6,754,928)"
      },
      "25-54 years": {
        "text": "45.16% (male 31,528,258/female 32,753,350)"
      },
      "55-64 years": {
        "text": "14.27% (male 8,727,233/female 11,591,221)"
      },
      "65 years and over": {
        "text": "13.92% (male 6,152,252/female 13,664,930) (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Dependency ratios": {
      "total dependency ratio": {
        "text": "43.1%"
      },
      "youth dependency ratio": {
        "text": "24%"
      },
      "elderly dependency ratio": {
        "text": "19.1%"
      },
      "potential support ratio": {
        "text": "5.2% (2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Median age": {
      "total": {
        "text": "39.3 years"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "36.4 years"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "42.3 years (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Population growth rate": {
      "text": "-0.06% (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Birth rate": {
      "text": "11.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Death rate": {
      "text": "13.6 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Net migration rate": {
      "text": "1.7 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Population distribution": {
      "text": "population is heavily concentrated in the westernmost fifth of the country extending from the Baltic Sea, south to the Caspian Sea, and eastward parallel to the Kazakh border; elsewhere, sizeable pockets are isolated and generally found in the south"
    },
    "Urbanization": {
      "urban population": {
        "text": "74% of total population (2015)"
      },
      "rate of urbanization": {
        "text": "-0.13% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Major urban areas - population": {
      "text": "MOSCOW (capital) 12.166 million; Saint Petersburg 4.993 million; Novosibirsk 1.497 million; Yekaterinburg 1.379 million; Nizhniy Novgorod 1.212 million; Samara 1.164 million (2015)"
    },
    "Sex ratio": {
      "at birth": {
        "text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
      },
      "0-14 years": {
        "text": "1.06 male(s)/female"
      },
      "15-24 years": {
        "text": "1.05 male(s)/female"
      },
      "25-54 years": {
        "text": "0.96 male(s)/female"
      },
      "55-64 years": {
        "text": "0.75 male(s)/female"
      },
      "65 years and over": {
        "text": "0.45 male(s)/female"
      },
      "total population": {
        "text": "0.86 male(s)/female (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Mother's mean age at first birth": {
      "text": "24.6 (2009 est.)"
    },
    "Maternal mortality rate": {
      "text": "25 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Infant mortality rate": {
      "total": {
        "text": "6.9 deaths/1,000 live births"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "7.7 deaths/1,000 live births"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "6 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Life expectancy at birth": {
      "total population": {
        "text": "70.8 years"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "65 years"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "76.8 years (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Total fertility rate": {
      "text": "1.61 children born/woman (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Contraceptive prevalence rate": {
      "text": "68%",
      "note": {
        "text": "percent of women aged 15-44 (2011)"
      }
    },
    "Health expenditures": {
      "text": "7.1% of GDP (2014)"
    },
    "Physicians density": {
      "text": "4.31 physicians/1,000 population (2006)"
    },
    "Hospital bed density": {
      "text": "9.7 beds/1,000 population (2006)"
    },
    "Drinking water source": {
      "improved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 98.9% of population ++ rural: 91.2% of population ++ total: 96.9% of population"
      },
      "unimproved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 1.1% of population ++ rural: 8.8% of population ++ total: 3.1% of population (2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Sanitation facility access": {
      "improved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 77% of population ++ rural: 58.7% of population ++ total: 72.2% of population"
      },
      "unimproved": {
        "text": " ++ urban: 23% of population ++ rural: 41.3% of population ++ total: 27.8% of population (2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate": {
      "text": "NA"
    },
    "HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS": {
      "text": "NA"
    },
    "HIV/AIDS - deaths": {
      "text": "NA"
    },
    "Major infectious diseases": {
      "degree of risk": {
        "text": "intermediate"
      },
      "food or waterborne diseases": {
        "text": "bacterial diarrhea"
      },
      "vectorborne diseases": {
        "text": "tickborne encephalitis (2016)"
      }
    },
    "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": {
      "text": "26.2% (2014)"
    },
    "Education expenditures": {
      "text": "3.9% of GDP (2012)"
    },
    "Literacy": {
      "definition": {
        "text": "age 15 and over can read and write"
      },
      "total population": {
        "text": "99.7%"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "99.7%"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "99.6% (2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": {
      "total": {
        "text": "15 years"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "15 years"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "15 years (2014)"
      }
    },
    "Unemployment, youth ages 15-24": {
      "total": {
        "text": "13.7%"
      },
      "male": {
        "text": "13.3%"
      },
      "female": {
        "text": "14.1% (2014 est.)"
      }
    }
  },
  "Government": {
    "Country name": {
      "conventional long form": {
        "text": "Russian Federation"
      },
      "conventional short form": {
        "text": "Russia"
      },
      "local long form": {
        "text": "Rossiyskaya Federatsiya"
      },
      "local short form": {
        "text": "Rossiya"
      },
      "former": {
        "text": "Russian Empire, Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic"
      },
      "etymology": {
        "text": "Russian lands were generally referred to as Muscovy until PETER I officially declared the Russian Empire in 1721; the new name sought to invoke the patrimony of the medieval eastern European Rus state centered on Kyiv in present-day Ukraine; the Rus were a Varangian (eastern Viking) elite that imposed their rule and eventually their name on their Slavic subjects"
      }
    },
    "Government type": {
      "text": "semi-presidential federation"
    },
    "Capital": {
      "name": {
        "text": "Moscow"
      },
      "geographic coordinates": {
        "text": "55 45 N, 37 36 E"
      },
      "time difference": {
        "text": "UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)"
      },
      "note": {
        "text": "Russia has 11 time zones, the largest number of contiguous time zones of any country in the world; in 2014, two time zones were added and DST was dropped"
      }
    },
    "Administrative divisions": {
      "text": "46 provinces (oblastey, singular - oblast), 21 republics (respublik, singular - respublika), 4 autonomous okrugs (avtonomnykh okrugov, singular - avtonomnyy okrug), 9 krays (krayev, singular - kray), 2 federal cities (goroda, singular - gorod), and 1 autonomous oblast (avtonomnaya oblast')",
      "oblasts": {
        "text": "Amur (Blagoveshchensk), Arkhangel'sk, Astrakhan', Belgorod, Bryansk, Chelyabinsk, Irkutsk, Ivanovo, Kaliningrad, Kaluga, Kemerovo, Kirov, Kostroma, Kurgan, Kursk, Leningrad, Lipetsk, Magadan, Moscow, Murmansk, Nizhniy Novgorod, Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Omsk, Orenburg, Orel, Penza, Pskov, Rostov, Ryazan', Sakhalin (Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk), Samara, Saratov, Smolensk, Sverdlovsk (Yekaterinburg), Tambov, Tomsk, Tula, Tver', Tyumen', Ul'yanovsk, Vladimir, Volgograd, Vologda, Voronezh, Yaroslavl'"
      },
      "republics": {
        "text": "Adygeya (Maykop), Altay (Gorno-Altaysk), Bashkortostan (Ufa), Buryatiya (Ulan-Ude), Chechnya (Groznyy), Chuvashiya (Cheboksary), Dagestan (Makhachkala), Ingushetiya (Magas), Kabardino-Balkariya (Nal'chik), Kalmykiya (Elista), Karachayevo-Cherkesiya (Cherkessk), Kareliya (Petrozavodsk), Khakasiya (Abakan), Komi (Syktyvkar), Mariy-El (Yoshkar-Ola), Mordoviya (Saransk), North Ossetia (Vladikavkaz), Sakha [Yakutiya] (Yakutsk), Tatarstan (Kazan'), Tyva (Kyzyl), Udmurtiya (Izhevsk)"
      },
      "autonomous okrugs": {
        "text": "Chukotka (Anadyr'), Khanty-Mansi-Yugra (Khanty-Mansiysk), Nenets (Nar'yan-Mar), Yamalo-Nenets (Salekhard)"
      },
      "krays": {
        "text": "Altay (Barnaul), Kamchatka (Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy), Khabarovsk, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Perm', Primorskiy [Maritime] (Vladivostok), Stavropol', Zabaykal'sk [Transbaikal] (Chita)"
      },
      "federal cities": {
        "text": "Moscow [Moskva], Saint Petersburg [Sankt-Peterburg]"
      },
      "autonomous oblast": {
        "text": "Yevreyskaya [Jewish] (Birobidzhan)"
      },
      "note 1": {
        "text": "administrative divisions have the same names as their administrative centers (exceptions have the administrative center name following in parentheses)"
      },
      "note 2": {
        "text": "the United States does not recognize Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the municipality of Sevastopol, nor their redesignation as the Republic of Crimea and the Federal City of Sevastopol"
      }
    },
    "Independence": {
      "text": "24 August 1991 (from the Soviet Union); notable earlier dates: 1157 (Principality of Vladimir-Suzdal created); 16 January 1547 (Tsardom of Muscovy established); 22 October 1721 (Russian Empire proclaimed); 30 December 1922 (Soviet Union established)"
    },
    "National holiday": {
      "text": "Russia Day, 12 June (1990)"
    },
    "Constitution": {
      "text": "several previous (during Russian Empire and Soviet eras); latest drafted 12 July 1993, adopted by referendum 12 December 1993, effective 25 December 1993; amended 2008, 2014 (2016)"
    },
    "Legal system": {
      "text": "civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts"
    },
    "International law organization participation": {
      "text": "has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
    },
    "Citizenship": {
      "citizenship by birth": {
        "text": "no"
      },
      "citizenship by descent only": {
        "text": "at least one parent must be a citizen of Russia"
      },
      "dual citizenship recognized": {
        "text": "yes"
      },
      "residency requirement for naturalization": {
        "text": "3-5 years"
      }
    },
    "Suffrage": {
      "text": "18 years of age; universal"
    },
    "Executive branch": {
      "chief of state": {
        "text": "President Vladimir Vladimirovich PUTIN (since 7 May 2012)"
      },
      "head of government": {
        "text": "Premier Dmitriy Anatolyevich MEDVEDEV (since 8 May 2012); First Deputy Premier Igor Ivanovich SHUVALOV (since 12 May 2008); Deputy Premiers Arkadiy Vladimirovich DVORKOVICH (since 21 May 2012), Olga Yuryevna GOLODETS (since 21 May 2012), Aleksandr Gennadiyevich KHLOPONIN (since 19 January 2010), Dmitriy Nikolayevich KOZAK (since 14 October 2008), Vitaliy Leontyevich MUTKO (since 19 October 2016), Dmitriy Olegovich ROGOZIN (since 23 December 2011), Sergey Eduardovich PRIKHODKO (since 22 May 2013), Yuriy Petrovich TRUTNEV (since 31 August 2013)"
      },
      "cabinet": {
        "text": "the \"Government\" is composed of the premier, his deputies, and ministers, all appointed by the president; the premier is also confirmed by the Duma"
      },
      "elections/appointments": {
        "text": "president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 6-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 4 March 2012 (next to be held in March 2018); note - term length extended to 6 years from 4 years in late 2008, effective after the 2012 election; there is no vice president; premier appointed by the president with the approval of the Duma"
      },
      "election results": {
        "text": "Vladimir PUTIN elected president; percent of vote - Vladimir PUTIN (United Russia) 63.6%, Gennadiy ZYUGANOV (CPRF) 17.2%, Mikhail PROKHOROV(Civic Platform) 8%, Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY (LDPR) 6.2%, Sergey MIRONOV (A Just Russia) 3.9%, other 1.1%; Dmitriy MEDVEDEV (United Russia) approved as premier by Duma; vote - 299 to 144"
      },
      "note": {
        "text": "there is also a Presidential Administration that provides staff and policy support to the president, drafts presidential decrees, and coordinates policy among government agencies; a Security Council also reports directly to the president"
      }
    },
    "Legislative branch": {
      "description": {
        "text": "bicameral Federal Assembly or Federalnoye Sobraniye consists of the Federation Council or Sovet Federatsii (166 seats; 2 members in each of the 83 federal administrative units - oblasts, krays, republics, autonomous okrugs and oblasts, and the federal cities of Moscow and Saint Petersburg - appointed by the top executive and legislative officials; members serve 4-year terms) and the State Duma or Gosudarstvennaya Duma (450 seats; as of February 2014, the electoral system reverted to a mixed electoral system for the 2016 election in which one-half of the members are directly elected by simple majority vote and one-half directly elected by proportional representation vote; members serve 5-year terms)"
      },
      "elections": {
        "text": "State Duma - last held on 18 September 2016 (next to be held in fall 2021)"
      },
      "election results": {
        "text": "State Duma - United Russia 76.3%, CPRF 9.3%, LDPR 8.7%, A Just Russia 5.1%, Rodina 0.2%, CPI 0.2%, independent 0.2%; seats by party - United Russia 343, CPRF 42, LDPR 39, A Just Russia 23, Rodina 1, CPI 1, independent 1"
      },
      "note": {
        "text": "the State Duma now includes 2 representatives each from the Republic of Crimea and Federal City of Sevastopol, two annexed Ukrainian regions that the US does not recognize as part of Russia"
      }
    },
    "Judicial branch": {
      "highest court(s)": {
        "text": "Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (consists of 170 members organized into the Judicial Panel for Civil Affairs, the Judicial Panel for Criminal Affairs, and the Military Panel); Constitutional Court (consists of 19 members); note - in February 2014, Russia’s Superior Court of Arbitration was abolished and its former authorities transferred to the Supreme Court, which in addition to being the country’s highest judicial authority for appeals, civil, criminal, administrative cases, and military cases, and the disciplinary judicial board, now has jurisdiction over economic disputes"
      },
      "judge selection and term of office": {
        "text": "all members of Russia's 3 highest courts nominated by the president and appointed by the Federation Council (the upper house of the legislature); members of all 3 courts appointed for life"
      },
      "subordinate courts": {
        "text": "Higher Arbitration Court; regional (kray) and provincial (oblast) courts; Moscow and St. Petersburg city courts; autonomous province and district courts; note - the 14 Russian Republics have court systems specified by their own constitutions"
      }
    },
    "Political parties and leaders": {
      "text": "A Just Russia [Sergey MIRONOV] ++ Civic Platform or CPI [Rifat SHAYKHUTDINOV] ++ Communist Party of the Russian Federation or CPRF [Gennadiy ZYUGANOV] ++ Liberal Democratic Party of Russia or LDPR [Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY] ++ Rodina [Aleksei ZHURAVLYOV] ++ United Russia [Dmitriy MEDVEDEV]",
      "note": {
        "text": "78 political parties are registered with Russia's Ministry of Justice (as of October 2015), but only six parties maintain representation in Russia's national legislature, and two of these only have one deputy apiece"
      }
    },
    "Political pressure groups and leaders": {
      "text": "Confederation of Labor of Russia or KTR ++ Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Russia ++ Golos Association in Defense of Voters' Rights ++ Memorial ++ Movement Against Illegal Migration ++ Russkiye ++ Solidarnost ++ The World Russian People's Congress ++ Union of the Committees of Soldiers' Mothers ++ Union of Russian Writers",
      "other": {
        "text": "business associations; environmental organizations; religious groups (especially those with Orthodox or Muslim affiliation); veterans groups"
      }
    },
    "International organization participation": {
      "text": "APEC, Arctic Council, ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIS, BRICS, BSEC, CBSS, CD, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, CIS, CSTO, EAEC, EAEU, EAPC, EAS, EBRD, FAO, FATF, G-20, GCTU, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAIA (observer), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OIC (observer), OPCW, OSCE, Paris Club, PCA, PFP, SCO, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNMIL, UNMISS, UNOCI, UNSC (permanent), UNTSO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC"
    },
    "Diplomatic representation in the US": {
      "chief of mission": {
        "text": "Ambassador Sergey Ivanovich KISLYAK (since 16 September 2008)"
      },
      "chancery": {
        "text": "2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007"
      },
      "telephone": {
        "text": "[1] (202) 298-5700, 5701, 5704, 5708"
      },
      "FAX": {
        "text": "[1] (202) 298-5735"
      },
      "consulate(s) general": {
        "text": "Houston, New York, San Francisco, Seattle"
      }
    },
    "Diplomatic representation from the US": {
      "chief of mission": {
        "text": "Ambassador John Francis TEFFT (since 19 November 2014)"
      },
      "embassy": {
        "text": "Bolshoy Deviatinskiy Pereulok No. 8, 121099 Moscow"
      },
      "mailing address": {
        "text": "PSC-77, APO AE 09721"
      },
      "telephone": {
        "text": "[7] (495) 728-5000"
      },
      "FAX": {
        "text": "[7] (495) 728-5090"
      },
      "consulate(s) general": {
        "text": "Saint Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg"
      }
    },
    "Flag description": {
      "text": "three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red",
      "note": {
        "text": "the colors may have been based on those of the Dutch flag; despite many popular interpretations, there is no official meaning assigned to the colors of the Russian flag; this flag inspired several other Slav countries to adopt horizontal tricolors of the same colors but in different arrangements, and so red, blue, and white became the Pan-Slav colors"
      }
    },
    "National symbol(s)": {
      "text": "bear, double-headed eagle; national colors: white, blue, red"
    },
    "National anthem": {
      "name": {
        "text": "\"Gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii\" (National Anthem of the Russian Federation)"
      },
      "lyrics/music": {
        "text": "Sergey Vladimirovich MIKHALKOV/Aleksandr Vasilyevich ALEKSANDROV"
      },
      "note": {
        "text": "in 2000, Russia adopted the tune of the anthem of the former Soviet Union (composed in 1939); the lyrics, also adopted in 2000, were written by the same person who authored the Soviet lyrics in 1943"
      }
    }
  },
  "Economy": {
    "Economy - overview": {
      "text": "Russia has undergone significant changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, moving from a centrally planned economy towards a more market-based system. Both economic growth and reform have stalled in recent years, however, and Russia remains a predominantly statist economy with a high concentration of wealth in officials' hands. Economic reforms in the 1990s privatized most industry, with notable exceptions in the energy, transportation, banking, and defense-related sectors. The protection of property rights is still weak, and the state continues to interfere in the free operation of the private sector. ++  ++ Russia is one of the world's leading producers of oil and natural gas, and is also a top exporter of metals such as steel and primary aluminum. Russia's reliance on commodity exports makes it vulnerable to boom and bust cycles that follow the volatile swings in global prices. ++  ++ The economy, which had averaged 7% growth during 1998-2008 as oil prices rose rapidly, has seen diminishing growth rates since then due to the exhaustion of Russia’s commodity-based growth model. ++  ++ A combination of falling oil prices, international sanctions, and structural limitations pushed Russia into a deep recession in 2015, with the GDP falling by close to 4%. Most economists expect this downturn will continue through 2016. Government support for import substitution has increased recently in an effort to diversify the economy away from extractive industries. Although the Russian Ministry of Economic Development is forecasting a modest growth of 0.7% for 2016 as a whole, the Central Bank of Russia (CBR) is more pessimistic and expects the recovery to begin later in the year and a decline of 0.5% to 1.0% for the full year. Russia is heavily dependent on the movement of world commodity prices and the CBR estimates that if oil prices remain below $40 per barrel beyond 2016, the resulting shock would cause GDP to fall by up to 5%."
    },
    "GDP (purchasing power parity)": {
      "text": "$3.745 trillion (2016 est.) ++ $3.774 trillion (2015 est.) ++ $3.92 trillion (2014 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "data are in 2016 dollars"
      }
    },
    "GDP (official exchange rate)": {
      "text": "$1.268 trillion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "GDP - real growth rate": {
      "text": "-0.8% (2016 est.) ++ -3.7% (2015 est.) ++ 0.7% (2014 est.)"
    },
    "GDP - per capita (PPP)": {
      "text": "$26,100 (2016 est.) ++ $26,300 (2015 est.) ++ $27,300 (2014 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "data are in 2016 dollars"
      }
    },
    "Gross national saving": {
      "text": "24.7% of GDP (2016 est.) ++ 23.8% of GDP (2015 est.) ++ 23.7% of GDP (2014 est.)"
    },
    "GDP - composition, by end use": {
      "household consumption": {
        "text": "55.8%"
      },
      "government consumption": {
        "text": "19.9%"
      },
      "investment in fixed capital": {
        "text": "21.6%"
      },
      "investment in inventories": {
        "text": "-3.2%"
      },
      "exports of goods and services": {
        "text": "25.8%"
      },
      "imports of goods and services": {
        "text": "-19.9% (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "GDP - composition, by sector of origin": {
      "agriculture": {
        "text": "4.7%"
      },
      "industry": {
        "text": "33.1%"
      },
      "services": {
        "text": "62.2% (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Agriculture - products": {
      "text": "grain, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk"
    },
    "Industries": {
      "text": "complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; defense industries (including radar, missile production,"
    },
    "Industrial production growth rate": {
      "text": "0.7% (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Labor force": {
      "text": "77.41 million (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Labor force - by occupation": {
      "agriculture": {
        "text": "9.4%"
      },
      "industry": {
        "text": "27.6%"
      },
      "services": {
        "text": "63% (2014)"
      }
    },
    "Unemployment rate": {
      "text": "8.2% (2016 est.) ++ 5.6% (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Population below poverty line": {
      "text": "11.2% (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Household income or consumption by percentage share": {
      "lowest 10%": {
        "text": "5.7%"
      },
      "highest 10%": {
        "text": "42.4% (2011 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Distribution of family income - Gini index": {
      "text": "42 (2014) ++ 41.7 (2011)"
    },
    "Budget": {
      "revenues": {
        "text": "$186.5 billion"
      },
      "expenditures": {
        "text": "$236.6 billion (2016 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Taxes and other revenues": {
      "text": "14.7% of GDP (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)": {
      "text": "-4% of GDP (2016 est.)"
    },
    "Public debt": {
      "text": "13.7% of GDP (2016 est.) ++ 9.4% of GDP (2015 est.)",
      "note": {
        "text": "data cover general government debt, and include debt instruments issued (or owned) by government entities other than the treasury; the data include treasury debt held by foreign entities; the data include debt issued by subnational entities, as well as in"
      }
    },
    "Fiscal year": {
      "text": "calendar year"
    },
    "Inflation rate (consumer prices)": {
      "text": "7.2% (2016 est.) ++ 15.5% (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Central bank discount rate": {
      "text": "11% (31 December 2015 est.) ++ 17% (31 December 2014)",
      "note": {
        "text": "this is the so-called refinancing rate, but in Russia banks do not get refinancing at this rate; this is a reference rate used primarily for fiscal purposes"
      }
    },
    "Commercial bank prime lending rate": {
      "text": "12.7% (31 December 2016 est.) ++ 15.73% (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of narrow money": {
      "text": "$199.7 billion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $151.5 billion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of broad money": {
      "text": "$926.8 billion (31 October 2014 est.) ++ $1.087 trillion (31 December 2013 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of domestic credit": {
      "text": "$818.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $603.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Market value of publicly traded shares": {
      "text": "$393.2 billion (31 December 2015 est.) ++ $385.9 billion (31 December 2014 est.) ++ $770.7 billion (31 December 2013 est.)"
    },
    "Current account balance": {
      "text": "$38.56 billion (2016 est.) ++ $69 billion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Exports": {
      "text": "$259.3 billion (2016 est.) ++ $341.5 billion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Exports - commodities": {
      "text": "petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, metals, wood and wood products, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures"
    },
    "Exports - partners": {
      "text": "Netherlands 11.9%, China 8.3%, Germany 7.4%, Italy 6.5%, Turkey 5.6%, Belarus 4.4%, Japan 4.2% (2015)"
    },
    "Imports": {
      "text": "$165.1 billion (2016 est.) ++ $193 billion (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Imports - commodities": {
      "text": "machinery, vehicles, pharmaceutical products, plastic, semi-finished metal products, meat, fruits and nuts, optical and medical instruments, iron, steel"
    },
    "Imports - partners": {
      "text": "China 19.2%, Germany 11.2%, US 6.4%, Belarus 4.8%, Italy 4.6% (2015)"
    },
    "Reserves of foreign exchange and gold": {
      "text": "$365.5 billion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $368.4 billion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Debt - external": {
      "text": "$514.8 billion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $520.2 billion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of direct foreign investment - at home": {
      "text": "$348 billion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $342.9 billion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad": {
      "text": "$359.3 billion (31 December 2016 est.) ++ $336.3 billion (31 December 2015 est.)"
    },
    "Exchange rates": {
      "text": "Russian rubles (RUB) per US dollar - ++ 68.06 (2016 est.) ++ 60.938 (2015 est.) ++ 60.938 (2014 est.) ++ 38.378 (2013 est.) ++ 30.84 (2012 est.)"
    }
  },
  "Energy": {
    "Electricity - production": {
      "text": "1.064 trillion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - consumption": {
      "text": "1.065 trillion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - exports": {
      "text": "8.12 billion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - imports": {
      "text": "8.87 billion kWh (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - installed generating capacity": {
      "text": "248 million kW (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from fossil fuels": {
      "text": "68.8% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from nuclear fuels": {
      "text": "10.1% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from hydroelectric plants": {
      "text": "20.2% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Electricity - from other renewable sources": {
      "text": "0.4% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - production": {
      "text": "10.25 million bbl/day (2015 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - exports": {
      "text": "4.888 million bbl/day (2013 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - imports": {
      "text": "29,650 bbl/day (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Crude oil - proved reserves": {
      "text": "80 billion bbl (1 January 2016 es)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - production": {
      "text": "6.053 million bbl/day (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - consumption": {
      "text": "3.693 million bbl/day (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - exports": {
      "text": "2.308 million bbl/day (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Refined petroleum products - imports": {
      "text": "44,600 bbl/day (2013 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - production": {
      "text": "603.9 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - consumption": {
      "text": "453.3 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - exports": {
      "text": "184.5 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - imports": {
      "text": "33.9 billion cu m (2014 est.)"
    },
    "Natural gas - proved reserves": {
      "text": "47.8 trillion cu m (1 January 2016 es)"
    },
    "Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption of energy": {
      "text": "1.726 billion Mt (2013 est.)"
    }
  },
  "Communications": {
    "Telephones - fixed lines": {
      "total subscriptions": {
        "text": "36,524,978"
      },
      "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
        "text": "26 (July 2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Telephones - mobile cellular": {
      "total": {
        "text": "227.288 million"
      },
      "subscriptions per 100 inhabitants": {
        "text": "160 (July 2015 est.)"
      }
    },
    "Telephone system": {
      "general assessment": {
        "text": "the telephone system is experiencing significant changes; more than 1,000 companies licensed to offer communication services; access to digital lines has improved, particularly in urban centers; progress made toward building the telecommunications infrast"
      },
      "domestic": {
        "text": "cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in man"
      },
      "international": {
        "text": "country code - 7; connected internationally by undersea fiber -optic cables; satellite earth stations provide access to Intelsat, Intersputnik, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Orbita systems (2011)"
      }
    },
    "Broadcast media": {
      "text": "13 national TV stations with the federal government owning 1 and holding a controlling interest in a second; state-owned Gazprom maintains a controlling interest in 2 of the national channels; government-affiliated Bank Rossiya owns controlling interest i (2016)"
    },
    "Internet country code": {
      "text": ".ru; note - Russia also has responsibility for a legacy domain \".su\" that was allocated to the Soviet Union and is being phased out"
    },
    "Internet users": {
      "total": {
        "text": "104.553 million"
      },
      "percent of population": {
        "text": "73.4% (July 2015 est.)"
      }
    }
  },
  "Transportation": {
    "National air transport system": {
      "number of registered air carriers": {
        "text": "32"
      },
      "inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers": {
        "text": "661"
      },
      "annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers": {
        "text": "76,846,126"
      },
      "annual freight traffic on registered air carriers": {
        "text": "4,761,047,070 mt-km (2015)"
      }
    },
    "Civil aircraft registration country code prefix": {
      "text": "RA (2016)"
    },
    "Airports": {
      "text": "1,218 (2013)"
    },
    "Airports - with paved runways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "594"
      },
      "over 3,047 m": {
        "text": "54"
      },
      "2,438 to 3,047 m": {
        "text": "197"
      },
      "1,524 to 2,437 m": {
        "text": "123"
      },
      "914 to 1,523 m": {
        "text": "95"
      },
      "under 914 m": {
        "text": "125 (2013)"
      }
    },
    "Airports - with unpaved runways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "624"
      },
      "over 3,047 m": {
        "text": "4"
      },
      "2,438 to 3,047 m": {
        "text": "13"
      },
      "1,524 to 2,437 m": {
        "text": "69"
      },
      "914 to 1,523 m": {
        "text": "81"
      },
      "under 914 m": {
        "text": "457 (2013)"
      }
    },
    "Heliports": {
      "text": "49 (2013)"
    },
    "Pipelines": {
      "text": "condensate 122 km; gas 163,872 km; liquid petroleum gas 1,378 km; oil 80,820 km; oil/gas/water 40 km; refined products 13,658 km; water 23 km (2013)"
    },
    "Railways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "87,157 km"
      },
      "broad gauge": {
        "text": "86,200 km 1.520-m gauge (40,300 km electrified)"
      },
      "narrow gauge": {
        "text": "957 km 1.067-m gauge (on Sakhalin Island)"
      },
      "note": {
        "text": "an additional 30,000 km of non-common carrier lines serve industries (2014)"
      }
    },
    "Roadways": {
      "total": {
        "text": "1,283,387 km"
      },
      "paved": {
        "text": "927,721 km (includes 39,143 km of expressways)"
      },
      "unpaved": {
        "text": "355,666 km (2012)"
      }
    },
    "Waterways": {
      "text": "102,000 km (including 48,000 km with guaranteed depth; the 72,000-km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea) (2009)"
    },
    "Merchant marine": {
      "total": {
        "text": "1,143"
      },
      "by type": {
        "text": "bulk carrier 20, cargo 642, carrier 3, chemical tanker 57, combination ore/oil 42, container 13, passenger 15, passenger/cargo 7, petroleum tanker 244, refrigerated cargo 84, roll on/roll off 13, specialized tanker 3"
      },
      "foreign-owned": {
        "text": "155 (Belgium 4, Cyprus 13, Estonia 1, Ireland 1, Italy 14, Latvia 2, Netherlands 2, Romania 1, South Korea 1, Switzerland 3, Turkey 101, Ukraine 12)"
      },
      "registered in other countries": {
        "text": "439 (Antigua and Barbuda 3, Belgium 1, Belize 30, Bulgaria 2, Cambodia 50, Comoros 12, Cook Islands 1, Cyprus 46, Dominica 3, Georgia 6, Hong Kong 1, Kiribati 1, Liberia 109, Malaysia 2, Malta 45, Marshall Islands 5, Moldova 5, Mongolia 2, Panama 49, Romania (2010)"
      }
    },
    "Ports and terminals": {
      "major seaport(s)": {
        "text": "Kaliningrad, Nakhodka, Novorossiysk, Primorsk, Vostochnyy"
      },
      "river port(s)": {
        "text": "Saint Petersburg (Neva River)"
      },
      "oil terminal(s)": {
        "text": "Kavkaz oil terminal"
      },
      "container port(s) (TEUs)": {
        "text": "Saint Petersburg (2,365,174)"
      },
      "LNG terminal(s) (export)": {
        "text": "Sakhalin Island"
      }
    }
  },
  "Military and Security": {
    "Military branches": {
      "text": "Ground Troops (Sukhoputnyye Voyskia, SV), Navy (Voyenno-Morskoy Flot, VMF), Air Forces (Voyenno-Vozdushniye Sily, VVS); Airborne Troops (Vozdushno-Desantnyye Voyska, VDV), Missile Troops of Strategic Purpose (Raketnyye Voyska Strategicheskogo Naznacheniya, RVSN) referred to commonly as Strategic Rocket Forces, and Aerospace Defense Troops (Voyska Vozdushno-Kosmicheskoy Oborony or Voyska VKO) are independent \"combat arms,\" not subordinate to any of the three branches; Russian Ground Troops include the following combat arms: motorized-rifle troops, tank troops, missile and artillery troops, air defense of the Ground Troops (2014)"
    },
    "Military service age and obligation": {
      "text": "18-27 years of age for compulsory or voluntary military service; males are registered for the draft at 17 years of age; 1-year service obligation (conscripts can only be sent to combat zones after 6 months of training); reserve obligation for non-officers to age 50; enrollment in military schools from the age of 16, cadets classified as members of the armed forces",
      "note": {
        "text": "the chief of the General Staff Mobilization Directorate announced in March 2015 that for health reasons, only 76% of draftees called up during the spring 2015 draft campaign were fit for military service (2015)"
      }
    },
    "Military expenditures": {
      "text": "3.49% of GDP (2014) ++ 3.18% of GDP (2013) ++ 2.92% of GDP (2012) ++ 2.71% of GDP (2011)"
    }
  },
  "Transnational Issues": {
    "Disputes - international": {
      "text": "Russia remains concerned about the smuggling of poppy derivatives from Afghanistan through Central Asian countries; China and Russia have demarcated the once disputed islands at the Amur and Ussuri confluence and in the Argun River in accordance with the 2004 Agreement, ending their centuries-long border disputes; the sovereignty dispute over the islands of Etorofu, Kunashiri, Shikotan, and the Habomai group, known in Japan as the \"Northern Territories\" and in Russia as the \"Southern Kurils,\" occupied by the Soviet Union in 1945, now administered by Russia, and claimed by Japan, remains the primary sticking point to signing a peace treaty formally ending World War II hostilities; Russia's military support and subsequent recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia independence in 2008 continue to sour relations with Georgia; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea; Norway and Russia signed a comprehensive maritime boundary agreement in 2010; various groups in Finland advocate restoration of Karelia (Kareliya) and other areas ceded to the Soviet Union following World War II but the Finnish Government asserts no territorial demands; Russia and Estonia signed a technical border agreement in May 2005, but Russia recalled its signature in June 2005 after the Estonian parliament added to its domestic ratification act a historical preamble referencing the Soviet occupation and Estonia's pre-war borders under the 1920 Treaty of Tartu; Russia contends that the preamble allows Estonia to make territorial claims on Russia in the future, while Estonian officials deny that the preamble has any legal impact on the treaty text; Russia demands better treatment of the Russian-speaking population in Estonia and Latvia ++ Lithuania and Russia committed to demarcating their boundary in 2006 in accordance with the land and maritime treaty ratified by Russia in May 2003 and by Lithuania in 1999; Lithuania operates a simplified transit regime for Russian nationals traveling from the Kaliningrad coastal exclave into Russia, while still conforming, as an EU member state with an EU external border, where strict Schengen border rules apply; preparations for the demarcation delimitation of land boundary with Ukraine have commenced; the dispute over the boundary between Russia and Ukraine through the Kerch Strait and Sea of Azov is suspended due to the occupation of Crimea by Russia; Kazakhstan and Russia boundary delimitation was ratified on November 2005 and field demarcation should commence in 2007; Russian Duma has not yet ratified 1990 Bering Sea Maritime Boundary Agreement with the US; Denmark (Greenland) and Norway have made submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) and Russia is collecting additional data to augment its 2001 CLCS submission"
    },
    "Refugees and internally displaced persons": {
      "refugees (country of origin)": {
        "text": "311,407 (Ukraine) (2015)"
      },
      "IDPs": {
        "text": "27,000 (armed conflict, human rights violations, generalized violence in North Caucasus, particularly Chechnya and North Ossetia) (2015)"
      },
      "stateless persons": {
        "text": "101,813 (2015); note - Russia's stateless population consists of Roma, Meskhetian Turks, and ex-Soviet citizens from the former republics; between 2003 and 2010 more than 600,000 stateless people were naturalized; most Meskhetian Turks, followers of Islam with origins in Georgia, fled or were evacuated from Uzbekistan after a 1989 pogrom and have lived in Russia for more than the required five-year residency period; they continue to be denied registration for citizenship and basic rights by local Krasnodar Krai authorities on the grounds that they are temporary illegal migrants"
      }
    },
    "Trafficking in persons": {
      "current situation": {
        "text": "Russia is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking; with millions of foreign workers, forced labor is Russia’s predominant human trafficking problem and sometimes involves organized crime syndicates; workers from Russia, other European countries, Central Asia, and East and Southeast Asia, including North Korea and Vietnam, are subjected to forced labor in the construction, manufacturing, agricultural, textile, grocery store, maritime, and domestic service industries, as well as in forced begging, waste sorting, and street sweeping; women and children from Europe, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Central Asia are subject to sex trafficking in Russia; Russian women and children are victims of sex trafficking domestically and in Northeast Asia, Europe, Central Asia, Africa, the US, and the Middle East"
      },
      "tier rating": {
        "text": "Tier 3 - Russia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making a significant effort to do so; prosecutions of trafficking offenders remained low in comparison to the scope of Russia’s trafficking problem; the government did not develop or employ a formal system for identifying trafficking victims or referring them to protective services, although authorities reportedly assisted a limited number of victims on an ad hoc basis; foreign victims, the largest group in Russia, were not entitled to state-provided rehabilitative services and were routinely detained and deported; the government has not reported investigating reports of slave-like conditions among North Korean workers in Russia; authorities have made no effort to reduce the demand for forced labor or to develop public awareness of forced labor or sex trafficking (2015)"
      }
    },
    "Illicit drugs": {
      "text": "limited cultivation of illicit cannabis and opium poppy and producer of methamphetamine, mostly for domestic consumption; government has active illicit crop eradication program; used as transshipment point for Asian opiates, cannabis, and Latin American cocaine bound for growing domestic markets, to a lesser extent Western and Central Europe, and occasionally to the US; major source of heroin precursor chemicals; corruption and organized crime are key concerns; major consumer of opiates"
    }
  }
}