Russia is the largest country in the world by area, located simultaneously in two parts of the world: 1/3 - in Eastern Europe, and 2/3 - in Northern Asia. The official name is the Russian Federation. The state also includes the Kaliningrad Region (in the west of the main territory of the country, separated from it by Latvia and Lithuania) and a number of islands in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. On land, Russia borders with 14 states. Two-thirds of the Russian borders are maritime.
For the population of Russia character. It is the first type of reproduction, negative natural growth, "aging of the nation", active migration processes (departure to developed countries, influx of labor from neighboring countries).
The area is 17,124,442 sq . km .
2010 Census - 142,856,536
Rosstat's estimate for 2019 is 146,780,720
The first type of reproduction is characteristic of the Russian population, negative natural growth, "aging of the nation", active migration processes (departure to developed countries, influx of labor from neighboring countries). The population is unevenly distributed throughout the country.
The average population density is low - 8,557 people per sq. km.
The level of urbanization in Russia is quite high - 74.15% (2016) (72.3 as of 2002)
Russia is a multinational state with representatives of more than 120 nations and nationalities living on its territory.
Russia is a multinational state with representatives of more than 120 nations and nationalities living on its territory.
Russia, like other post-Soviet countries, is now making the transition to a market economy.
The leading role in the Russian economy is played by industrial production, represented by almost all branches of the extractive and manufacturing industries. The leading industries are mechanical engineering, metallurgy and chemical industry, which rely on a powerful fuel and energy complex.
The leading branch of the fuel industry is oil and gas. Russia ranks first in the world in natural gas production, and third in oil production. The electric power industry is mainly based on thermal power plants operating on coal and brown coal, oil shale, natural gas, peat. Russian hydroelectric power plants are the most powerful in the world. Nuclear power plants account for about 10% of total electricity production.
Ferrous metallurgy operates on its own raw materials and fuel.
The leading role in the Russian economy is played by industrial production, represented by almost all branches of the extractive and manufacturing industries. The leading industries are mechanical engineering, metallurgy and chemical industry, based on a powerful fuel and energy complex.
The main metallurgical bases are Central (Moscow, Lipetsk, Cherepovets, Novy Oskol, Elektrostal), Ural (Nizhny Tagil, Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk), Siberian (Novokuznetsk, Krasnoyarsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur). Non-ferrous metallurgy is well developed, copper, nickel, cobalt, lead, zinc, tin, titanium, magnesium are smelted.
A feature of the Russian industry is the presence of a powerful military-industrial complex (MIC). The military-industrial complex of Russia is a system of enterprises producing military equipment, weapons and ammunition. The MIC concentrates the most qualified personnel, the best equipment and production organizers.
Animal husbandry prevails in agriculture.
Transport in Russia is well developed. Railway transport occupies a leading place in the transport system. In Russia, it has an extensive network of inland waterways, the role of river transport is great. Russian maritime transport mainly serves foreign trade. Due to the intensive development of oil and gas production in Russia in recent decades, the role of pipeline transport has increased. Aviation transport covers almost all areas of the country.
Russia is located simultaneously in two parts of the world: 1/3 - in Eastern Europe, and 2/3 - in Northern Asia. The official name is the Russian Federation. The state also includes the Kaliningrad Region, located to the west of the main territory of the country and separated by Latvia and Lithuania, and a number of islands in the Arctic and Pacific Oceans. On land, Russia borders with 14 states: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, North Korea. 2/3 of the Russian borders are maritime. The largest state in the world by its territory is also the country with which Ukraine has the longest land border (2,063 km).
In terms of population, Russia is among the top ten countries in the world. The population is unevenly distributed throughout the country, which is determined by the diversity of natural conditions, the history of development and the level of development of individual areas. The peculiarity of the placement of the population of Russia is the presence of two types of settlement of the territory. In the Arctic zone, Siberia, on the vast expanses of tundra and taiga, only 1/15 of the population lives - about 10 million people. At the same time, a large part of European Russia, the south of Siberia and the Far East is occupied by a zone of continuous settlement, called the main settlement strip. Occupying 1/3 of the territory, it concentrates more than 93% of the population of Russia.
The level of urbanization in Russia is quite high - 76%. In areas with extreme natural conditions, the share of the urban population is growing to 92%.
Russia is a multinational state with representatives of more than 120 nations and nationalities living on its territory. Russians make up 82.5% of the total population of the country, 4% are Ukrainian, Belarusians, Tatars. The main religion of Russia is Orthodoxy, which is professed by more than 9/10 of all believers. The country's second largest religion by number of adherents is Islam. It is practiced by Tatars, Bashkirs and almost all peoples of the North Caucasus (except Ossetians).
The official language is Russian, it also serves as the language of international communication.
Moscow, the capital of the Russian Federation, is Russia's largest and one of the most important political, industrial and cultural centers in the world. The area of the city is about 1000 km2, the population is about 11300,000 people.
The main role in the Russian economy is played by industrial production, represented by almost all branches of the extractive and manufacturing industries. The leading industries are mechanical engineering, metallurgy and chemical industry, which rely on a powerful fuel and energy complex.
The leading fuel industry is gas. Russia ranks first in the world in terms of gas production. Mechanical engineering is also one of the leading industries in Russia. 40% of the total working population is employed in this area, in addition, mechanical engineering accounts for about 20% of the country's gross output.
The production of equipment for the ferrous metallurgy and mining industry is concentrated in the Urals, a small part is in Siberia. Russia is among the top ten countries with the most developed automotive industry.
The chemical industry of Russia is also one of its most developed industries. The basic chemistry is especially developed - the production of mineral fertilizers, soda, sulfuric acid and other products.
The main feature of the Russian industry is the presence of a powerful military-industrial complex (MIC). The military-industrial complex of Russia is a system of enterprises producing military equipment, weapons and ammunition. The military-industrial complex concentrates the most qualified personnel, the best equipment and skilled production organizers.
Agriculture in Russia has a complex structure. Crop production is most developed in forest-steppe and steppe areas. Its leading industry is grain farming. The main crops are rye, wheat, oats, corn, millet, buckwheat, rice, legumes (peas, beans, soybeans, lentils). Of the almost 80 million hectares of sown area, they occupy more than half. The main grain areas are the Don, Kuban, Volga region, Southern Urals, Western Siberia. Technical crops occupy only 6% of the total sown area. The most common is sunflower, mainly it is grown in the North Caucasus (mainly in the Rostov region and Krasnodar Krai). Sugar beet takes about 900 thousand. Ha, mainly in the steppe zone.
Animal husbandry specializes in cattle breeding of meat and dairy and dairy directions. Sheep are bred in the south of the steppe zone and in some mountainous areas. Reindeer husbandry is developed in the tundra. Pig and poultry farming is a mandatory branch of suburban farms. In the forest-steppe and steppe zones, the traditional branch of Russia - horse breeding is being revived. In the forest areas, the population is engaged in fur-bearing animal fishing.
The leading place in the transport system of Russia is occupied by rail transport. Road transport in Russia lags behind the level of industrialized countries in many respects. For its further development, it is necessary to solve many problems such as improving the quality of most highways, building new highways, replenishing the fleet of cars and buses, most of which are outdated.
In Russia, it has an extensive network of inland waterways, the role of river transport is great. It is most important where there are no other modes of transport, especially in the Far North. More than 2/3 of the total cargo turnover of river traffic falls on the Volga-Kama basin. Russian maritime transport mainly serves foreign trade. The largest ports on the Black Sea are Novorossiysk and Tuapse (export, import of grain), on the Baltic - St. Petersburg (export of timber), on the Barents - Murmansk (export of apatites, non-ferrous metals), in the Far East - Vladivostok and Nakhodka (various cargoes). Due to the intensive development of oil and gas production in Russia in recent decades, the role of pipeline transport has increased. In terms of its performance, this type of transport is superior to rail. Its share in the total cargo turnover is 57%.
Aviation transport covers almost all areas of the country.
In the context of the development of market relations in Russia, significant changes are taking place in the service sector. There is a significant increase in the volume of services inherent exclusively in the market economy: banking, financial, insurance, real estate, legal, hotel.
A promising branch of the Russian service sector is the tourism industry. Priority areas of inbound tourism are: educational, environmental, safari tours (fishing, hunting), sea cruises in the Far East.
General characteristics of the country
Russia is a Eurasian country, occupies the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. So, the country is located in northeastern Eurasia, in the Northern and Eastern hemispheres. Only the extreme eastern part of Russia, Chukotka, is located in the Western Hemisphere. The names Russia and the Russian Federation, according to the country's Constitution (1993), are equivalent. Russia has been an independent country since 1480. Then it was called Muscovy, the modern name - since 1721. Since gaining independence and until now, Russia has not lost its independence.
The extreme northern point of the country is Cape Chelyuskin, the extreme southern point is the outskirts. Derbent is in Dagestan on the border with Azerbaijan, the extreme western one is on the outskirts. Pskov region, or semi-enclave Kaliningrad region, the extreme eastern - Cape Dezhneva. The maximum distance between the western and eastern borders of the country is 9 thousand km, between the northern and southern - 4 thousand km.
The main part of the territory of Russia is located in ten time zones: third (Moscow); fourth (Ural); fifth; sixth; seventh; eighth; ninth; tenth (Sakhalin); eleventh (Kamchatka) and twelfth (Chukchi). The difference between Eastern European (Moscow time) and Moscow time is 1:00.
The length of the borders of Russia is 58.6 thousand km., including Land - 14.3 thousand. Km, sea - 44.3 thousand Km. In the northwest, the country borders with Norway and Finland, in the west with Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine (Fig. 23), in the southwest with Georgia and Azerbaijan, in the south with Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. Along the borders of its semi-enclave - the Kaliningrad region, Russia borders Lithuania and Poland. The maritime borders are with Japan and the USA. In the Arctic since 1926, a separate Russian sector has been allocated. Estonia is making territorial claims to Russia in various forms - to the districts of Ivangorod and Pechora (Petseri); Latvia - Pytalovo (Abrene); Japan - the Southern Kuriles. Russia puts forward territorial claims to Ukraine (Sevastopol, Crimea, Tuzla Island), Georgia (Abkhazia), Kazakhstan (Trans-Ural region and North-Eastern Kazakhstan).
Russia is the legal successor of the USSR, it is a permanent member of the UN Security Council. After the collapse of the USSR (1991), Russia became a founding member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which included Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan. At the initiative of Russia, a political organization has been created whose task is to promote the unification of the legislation of the member countries - the Interparliamentary Assembly (headquarters - St. Petersburg). It includes the CIS member states, except Turkmenistan. Also, at the initiative of Russia, the Tashkent Pact military-political organization (Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia) and the Eurasian Economic Community were created. 1999 Russia and Belarus declared their desire to create a united Russian-Belarusian state in the future.
Natural conditions and resources.
Russia is characterized by the most types and forms of relief that occur in nature. The dominant type of relief, which occupies almost 3/4 of the country's territory, is plains. The Eastern European and Western Plains, the largest in the world, stand out especially. The territory of the south of the European part of Russia is occupied by the Pre-Caucasus and the north-eastern slopes of the Greater Caucasus. The highest point of the Russian Caucasus and the whole of Russia is the city of Elbrus (5642 m.). Between the East European and West Siberian plains, the Ural Mountain system stretches along the meridian. To the east of the Western Plain, in the interfluve of the Yenisei and Lena, there is an extensive Middle plateau. Descending to the north and east, the plateau passes into the North Siberian Lowland and the Central Yakutsk Plain. From the south, the entire territory of Siberia is closed by a mountain belt. These are mainly mountain systems - Altai, Western and Eastern Sayans, Transbaikalia and the Stanovoe Highlands. In the extreme south-east, beyond the Amur River, there is the mountainous country of Sikhote-Alin. The northeast of Russia has a mountainous character - the spine of the Persian, Verkhoyansky ridge, Chukchi and Koryak Highlands. There are many passive and active volcanoes in Kamchatka and the Kuriles. The most active of them and the highest in the country and Eurasia is the Klyuchevskaya Sopka volcano (4750 m.).
Russia is washed by twelve seas (except the Caspian Sea), which belong to three oceans. In the west, these are the Baltic, Azov and Black Seas of the Atlantic Ocean. In the north - the White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, Chukchi - seas of the Arctic Ocean. In the east - the Bering, Okhotsk, and Japanese seas of the Pacific Ocean. There are 2000 lakes in the country. Especially famous are Baikal - the deepest lake in the world, picturesque Ladoga with the archipelago of the Valaam Islands, strict Onega - with a unique architectural ensemble on Kizhi Island and the polar lake Taimyr. In Russia, about 120,000 years (with a length of more than 10 km.). A typical, and one of the largest rivers of the country is the Volga, which flows into the closed Caspian Sea. Volga is the "national" Russian river. Most of its basin is included in the area of compact settlement of Russians. The basin of the Atlantic Ocean includes Neva, Don, Kuban. The most abundant rivers flow into the Arctic Ocean: the Northern Dvina, Pechora, Ob with Irtysh, Yenisei with Angara, Lena, Kolyma, etc. Amur, Anadyr and others carry their waters to the Pacific Ocean.
Due to the large extent of the territory from north to south of Russia, four climatic zones cross: Arctic; subarctic; temperate and subtropical. four types of climate are characterized respectively.
The huge size of the territory determines the diversity of regional conditions and resources for economic activity. In terms of the scale of natural resource potential, Russia has practically no analogues in the world.
Forests in the country occupy almost 2/3 of the entire area, and the total wood stock exceeds 81600 million. M3. The main forest-forming species are coniferous - 82%. Russia accounts for 1/4 of the world's timber reserves, for which it ranks first in the world. The country's forest resources are concentrated mainly in the eastern regions, in the Urals and in Siberia.
Russia accounts for almost 1/2 of the world's coal resources, about 1/7 of the world's oil reserves and 1/3 of natural gas. The country ranks first in the world in terms of coal and gas reserves. The main coal basins of Russia exploited are the Pechora (Vorkutinsky) and Kuznetsk (Kuzbass). Brown coal - Moscow region and Kansk-Achinsk. Approximately 70% of the country's balance oil reserves are located in Western Siberia, the rest are in the Volga region, the Russian Caucasus and other areas. The largest natural gas deposits are located in Western Siberia (about 80%). Significant natural gas deposits are also in the Volga region, the Urals and other places.
Russia is rich in ferrous metals and especially non-ferrous metals. The Kursk magnetic anomaly (KMA) in the South-Western region accounts for almost 55% of the balance reserves of iron ores. Deposits of almost all non-ferrous metals are represented in the country. Polymetallic ores are common in the Russian Caucasus, the Krasnoyarsk Territory (Norilsk Ore District), Transbaikalia and Primorye. The largest deposits of copper ores are located in the Russian Caucasus, the southern Urals and Transbaikalia (Udokan). Nickel ores are known in the country in the Norilsk ore district and on the Kola Peninsula. Bauxite reserves are located in the Urals, in the Arkhangelsk and Leningrad regions and other areas. Tin deposits are confined to the Pacific Ore Belt - Eastern Siberia and the Russian Far East. Gold deposits are also located there.
Among the non-metallic raw materials, apatites, potassium salts and diamonds are distinguished. The world's largest deposits of apatites are located on the Kola Peninsula (Khibiny) and in the Eastern Sayans. The main area of distribution of potash salts is the Urals. Diamond deposits are concentrated in the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia.
According to the natural living conditions of people (comfort level), only about 1/3 of the territory of Russia is suitable for living without special means of protection from the adverse effects of harsh natural conditions. These are the southwestern and southern favorable and favorable areas. The remaining 2/3 are unfavorable, unfavorable and very unfavorable territories. Only Canada can be an analogue of this among other countries of the world.
The political system and the political and administrative structure. According to the political system, Russia is a presidential-parliamentary republic. According to the Constitution of 1993, the legislative authority in the country is the Federal Assembly. They consist of two chambers - the Federation Council and the State Duma. The Federation Council consists of two representatives from each region of Russia: one by one from the representative and executive bodies of state power. The State Duma consists of 450 deputies. They are elected according to the proportional-majority system. That is, 225 - on party lists and 225 - in single-mandate constituencies. The head of state and the actual head of the executive branch is the President of Russia. The scope of the powers of the President of Russia is somewhat greater than in other countries. Executive power in the country is exercised by the Government of Russia, headed by the Prime Minister.
Reproduction and population structure. The natural growth of the Russian population in the 1990s became negative. The birth rate in 1897 was 50.5%; 1989 - 14.6% in 1999.. All 9%. Mortality, respectively, is 34.8%; Yu, 6% and 14.0%. So, the natural population growth of 1897. It was equal to 15.7%, 1989 - 4.0% and 1999 has already become negative (-5.0%).
In 1999 - 52% of the population were women (1989 - 53%). As we can see, there is a process of leveling the sexual structure of the Russian population. The average life expectancy of men is 61 years, of women - significantly more - 73 years. About 88% of the country's population lives in families, the rest are singles and family members living separately. The average family size in Russia is 3.2 people. This indicator has the lowest value in the north-west of the country (2.8 people), higher in the Russian Caucasus - 4.3 people.
The largest share of the employed is in industry (28%), agriculture - 14%, construction, transport and communications - 18%. A relatively large proportion of people employed in education, science, culture and healthcare is 19%, the service sector accounts for 12%, the remaining 9% are other industries. With the beginning of economic reforms in Russia, the problem of unemployment has sharply worsened. At the end of the 1990s, 1500,000 were officially registered. A person is unemployed (2% of the workforce). But the actual number of unemployed is much larger and amounts to about 5 million.
The average level of education of the Russian population (the number of people with education per 1000 people over 15 years old) is 806. On the territory of the country, it ranges from 750 in Pskov, Kostroma, Kirov, Tambov and other regions to 850-900 in the Murmansk Region, Yakutia and Khabarovsk Territory and 902 in Moscow.
During the 1990s, in Russia's external migrations, immigration into the country was several times higher than emigration. This is due to the collapse of the 1991 USSR and the events after that. During this period, about 2500,000 people entered Russia. People, mainly from other post-Soviet countries, 1200,000 of them. People are refugees, 2/3 of whom are Russians. However, only about half of the refugees received the official status of "internally displaced persons". Most of the "internally displaced persons" came from Tajikistan - about 150 thousand. People, Georgia - 110, Azerbaijan - 90, Uzbekistan - 70, Kazakhstan - 60, Kyrgyzstan - 50 Emigration from Russia during this period amounted to almost 500,000. About 1/2 of them are Germans and 12% are Jews.
Internal migrations of a country have their own specifics. In the 1920s and 1980s, migrations from villages to cities were very intense. By 1927-1988 . The number of Russian rural population decreased from 76 to 39 million. Human. For about the same period, the main internal Russian migration direction was from European Russia to Asian Russia - to the areas of new development. Since the early 1990s, the direction of migration flows has changed to the opposite - from Asian Russia to European Russia. About 700,000 have moved during this period. People, 0600000 of them. A person from the Russian Far East and 0.1 from Eastern Siberia. In European Russia in general and in the Russian Caucasus in particular, refugees from the Chechen Republic, about 500,000, are a very important problem. Human. Most of them settled in Ingushetia, Dagestan, Stavropol Krai. There are still tangible consequences in Russia of the anti-human policy of "resettlement of peoples" carried out in Soviet times. For the first time, in 1937, 200 thousand were resettled. Koreans from Primorsky Krai to Kazakhstan and Central Asia. During the Second World War, Germans, Kalmyks, Karachays, Balkars, Ingush, Chechens were evicted. In 1956-1957 . Kalmyks, Karachays, Balkars, Ingush, Chechens were returned to their homeland, but the situation of the 1940s was not completely restored.
Settlement of the population. The level of urbanization in Russia is 73%, in 1989 it was equal to 74%. There are 1,037 cities and 2,193 urban-type settlements in the country. Among the cities, the most are small (up to 50 thousand. People) - 709 and almost the same number of average (50-100 thousand People) - 163 and large (over 100 thousand. Person) - 165. The density of the urban settlement network in European Russia is about 20 times higher than in Asian Russia. Among the major cities, 13 millionaire cities stand out: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Samara, Chelyabinsk, Omsk, Perm, Kazan, Ufa, Rostov-on-Don, Volgograd. So, 11 of them are in European Russia and only 2 are in Asian Russia. Large (0.5-1.0 million Man) twenty cities. The largest of them are Krasnoyarsk, Voronezh, Saratov. Interestingly, three of the twenty major cities are not the centers of Russian regions (subjects of the federation), these are: Togliatti (Samara region); Novokuznetsk (Kemerovo region); Naberezhnye Chelny (Tatarstan). The largest cities are Moscow (9.0 million People), St. Petersburg (5.0 million Person), Nizhny Novgorod (1500000. Man). Moscow - the capital of Russia (in 1480-1712 And since 1918). St. Petersburg was the capital of Russia in 1712-1918. The millionaire cities of European Russia form two systems: the Western Russian and the Volga. The West Russian consists of St. Petersburg, Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod. The Volga region includes the millionaire cities located on the Volga River, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Volgograd and in its basin: Perm, Ufa. So, the center of two systems of millionaire cities in European Russia is Nizhny Novgorod. A purely Russian (former Soviet) phenomenon is "closed cities". They were and remain the centers of nuclear missile and space production. Since 1995, the "Closed cities" of Russia began to "open". The largest "closed cities" are: Tomsk - 7 (about 110 thousand People); Krasnoyarsk - 26 (about 100 thousand. People); Sverdlovsk - 4 and Chelyabinsk - 65 (about 90 thousand each). People); Arzamas - 16 (about 80 thousand. Man) the former famous Sarov in Mordovia.
The rural population lives in 153 thousand . Rural settlements of different types and populations. The average population of rural settlements is 255 people. The largest share (48%) of the rural population lives in large villages with a population of more than 1,000 people. Slightly less (45%) - in medium-sized villages with a population of 100 to 1000 people. The smallest share (7%) is in small villages with a population of up to 100 people.
The most important indicator of the population of the territory is the population density. According to this indicator - 9 people / km2, Russia belongs to the least populated countries in the world. In Ukraine, for example, the population density is 80 people / km2. The population density of European Russia (27 people / km2) is nine times higher than in Asian Russia (3 people / km2). In the Central-Western Economic Region, in particular, it is 63 people / km2, Volga 31 people / km2, Ural 25 people / km2. The main settlement strip of the country lies south of the line St. Petersburg-Kirov-Perm-Middle Urals-Tobolsk-Tomsk-Krasnoyarsk-Middle Baikal-the beginning of the Amur. About 90% of the population of Russia is concentrated here, all the cities are millionaires and most of the major cities.
The national composition of the population. According to the national composition of the population, the country belongs to the most difficult in the world. Russia, in this regard, can only be compared with India. The majority of the country 's population belongs to four language families: Indo-European (87% of the population); Altai (8%), Ural (2%); Caucasian (2%). Here and below are the data for 1989. The main people of Russia are Russians, the Slavic group of the Indo-European family, numbering 120 million. People, or 82% of the population. This indicates their absolute and decisive advantage in the national composition of the country's population. The largest ethnic minorities by number are: Tatars - 5.5 million. People (3.8% of the population of Russia); Ukrainians - 4.4 million people (3.0%); Chuvash - 1.8 million people (1.2%); Bashkirs - 1.4 million people (0.9%); Belarusians - 1.2 million people (0.8%); Mordvins - 1.1 (0.7%); Chechens - 0900000. a person (0.6%). The main part of Russians is concentrated within the main band of settlement. Most of the population of the main indigenous ethnic minorities live in their autonomous entities. 68% of Tatars, 71% of Mordvins, 88% of Evenks and 98% of Jews live outside their autonomous entities!
Mainly to the south of the Russians, in the North Caucasus, the Ural-Volga region and Siberia, the peoples of the Altai language family - Turkic, Mongolian and other groups - are settled. The main Turkic peoples are Tatars, Chuvash, Bashkirs, Yakuts, Kumyks (Dagestan), Tuvans, Karachays; Mongolian - Buryats and Kalmyks.
The peoples of the Uralic language family live mainly in the north of the Russians - from the Kola Peninsula to the Yenisei. The largest of them are: Mordvins, Udmurts, Mari, Komi, Komi-Permyaks, Karelians, Nenets.
In the extreme south of European Russia, in the North Caucasus, there is a relatively small habitat of Caucasian peoples. Numerous of them are: Chechens; Avars (Dagestan); Kabardins; Dargins and Lezgins (Dagestan); Ingush; Adygeans.
The Ossetians, the most indigenous Indo-European people of Russia after the Russians, live in the same region. In the far east of Russia, in particular, Paleoasiatic peoples - Chukchi and Koryaks - are settled. The absolute majority of Russia's indigenous ethnic minorities have their own autonomous territorial entities: republics and autonomous districts. However, a number of indigenous ethnic minorities do not have national territorial autonomy: Nogais (ethnic heirs of the Golden Horde); Abazins; Evens (in the 1920s and 1930s, the Okhotsk-Even National District existed in the Far East); Shors; Veps; Nanais; nivkhs; selkups; yukaghirs; chum, etc. The largest centers of Ukrainian settlement in Russia are Moscow and the Moscow region - 438 thousand . People; St. Petersburg and Leningrad region - 200 thousand. Krasnodar Territory (part of the Ukrainian continuous ethnic territory, historical "Kuban", ethnographically journalistic "Crimson Wedge") - 182 thousand. People; Primorsky Krai (Ukrainian ethnic land "Green Wedge") - 185 thousand. Rostov region (the north-western territories of the region are part of the Ukrainian continuous ethnic territory) - 179 thousand people. In addition, almost the entire Belgorod Region and the south of the Voronezh Region are part of the Ukrainian continuous ethnic territory. Among the regions of Russia, the largest share of Ukrainian is in: Yamalo-Nenets and Chukotka Autonomous Okrugs (17% each); Magadan Region (15%); Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug (12%).
Geography of the economy. Since 1992. Russia has embarked on radical economic reforms. The gross national product (GNP) per capita in 1997 was $2,680. For comparison, the average GNP/MCC for countries was $16,790, America - $ 13,140, Asia - $ 2,450, Africa - $ 660.
Economic reforms are being carried out with the greatest speed in the old industrial areas: North-West; Central-West; Volga-Vyatka and Ural. Regional imbalances in the distribution of investments are noticeable. The Central-Western region, Western Siberia and the Ural-Volga region account for 1/5 of all investments, which in total gives 60%. About 40% of the exchange turnover is accounted for by the six largest commodity exchanges. Four of them are located in Moscow, one in Saratov (Russian Grain Commodity Exchange) and one in Omsk. In terms of bank capital, it is significantly superior to European Russia, where 4/5 of all banks and their authorized capital are concentrated. Moscow stands out especially sharply. 1/3 of all banks with almost half of the total authorized capital are concentrated here. The banks of the Urals and St. Petersburg go through Moscow banks. The monetary unit of the country is the ruble. In the structure of GDP, industry accounts for 28.3% of the real number of goods, construction - 8.5%, agriculture - 6.3%.
Industry. The share of Russia in global industrial production is 4%. So, Russia belongs to the main industrial countries of the world. The most important macro-regional feature of the placement of Russian industry is that the manufacturing industry is concentrated mainly in European Russia, and the mining industry in Asian Russia. In the structure of industry, three intersectoral complexes - fuel and energy, metallurgical, and machine-building account for about 2/3 of the volume of production. The fuel and energy complex holds the largest share in the structure of the country's industrial output - 29.4%. Russia ranks first in the world in natural gas production, second in electricity production (after the United States), third in oil production (after hay and Saudi Arabia) and coal (after China and the United States). Export of fuel and energy complex products is the main source of foreign exchange earnings of the country.
The structure of fuel resources in the regional context is characterized by the advantage of coal. Only in the North Caucasus, the Ural-Volga region and Western Siberia, oil and gas are of predominant importance. Coal, oil and gas industries are almost equally well developed in the structure of the fuel industry.
Coal accounts for 14% of the total production of mineral fuel, in the world 28-30%. There have been noticeable shifts in the development of the coal industry in the eastern direction. Now Asian Russia provides 3/4 of coal production. Total coal production is about 270 million tons. Open-pit coal mining accounts for more than half of the total volume. These are the Kansk-Achinsk and partially Kuznetsk basins. The main coal bases of Russia are the Kuznetsk and Pechora coal basins. The importance of the Kansk-Achinsk brown coal and South-Yakut coal basins is growing. The share of the Russian Donbass remains significant. According to the scale of production, Kuzbass is the leader by a large margin. It gives 1/3 of the total coal produced in the country.
Oil production is concentrated in three major oil and gas provinces: Western, Volga-Ural and Timan-Pechora. Together they provide more than 9/10 of all Russian oil. The largest of them are: LUK-oil (Langepasneftegaz, Uralnaftogaz, Kogalymneftegaz), YUKOS (Yuganskneftegaz) and Surgutneftegaz. 310-320 million tons of Oil are produced. Of these, about 70% are in Western Siberia, 25% are in the Ural-Volga region and 3% are in the Russian European North. The oil refining industry is developed in Russia. Historically, in the country, it has acquired a fuel oil direction. As a result, the share of fuel oil is almost 2/5 of all petroleum products (in the USA - 1/5). There are 28 oil refineries and 6 naphthomaslo plants in Russia. The oil refining industry is concentrated mainly in European Russia. The largest factories are: Ukhta (Russian European North); Ufa, Samara, Saratov, Volgograd (Ural-Volga region); Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan, Yaroslavl (Central Russia); Krasnodar, Tuapse, Grozny (Russian Caucasus); Omsk, Achinsk, Angarsk (Siberia).
Russia's main base for natural gas production is Western Siberia. It provides more than 9/10 of the total gas in the country. Other significant areas of gas production are the Timan-Pechora and Caspian (Orenburg, Astrakhan) provinces. Gas production, processing and transportation are concentrated in the Russian Joint Stock Company Gazprom. In its composition, the main role is played by the enterprises "Urengoygazprom", "Nadymgazprom", "Yamburggazvidobutok". They account for more than 85% of the total production. Natural gas is an important export commodity of Russia. The most important centers of the gas processing industry are located in European Russia. These are: Ukhta, Orenburg, Astrakhan, Krasnodar, Grozny, etc. Relatively recently, such enterprises were established in Siberia (Western) - Nizhnevartovsk, etc.
The Russian electric power industry produces about 880 billion rubles . kWh of electricity per year: 600 billion. Thermal power plants (TPP) generate 180 billion kWh. kW / h. - Hydroelectric power plants (HPP), 100 billion. kW / h. - Nuclear power plants (NPP). Most of the thermal electricity is produced in European Russia. The most thermal power plants are Reftinsky (3800000. kW) in the Urals and Kostroma (3600000. kW). Hydraulic electric power, on the contrary, is produced mainly in Asian Russia. The largest hydroelectric power plant in Russia, Sayano-Shushenskaya (6400000. kW); Krasnoyarsk (6,0); Bratskaya (4,6); Ust-Ilimsk (4300000. kW). The largest hydroelectric power station in European Russia is Samara (2500000. kW). Almost all nuclear power plants are located in European Russia. The largest of them: Kursk (4 million kW); Leningrad (4 million. kW); Balakovskaya (3 million. kW) in the Volga region; Smolenskaya (3 million kW). Russian power plants are integrated into power systems. The Unified Energy System (UES) of Russia is functioning. It includes the UES of European Russia and the United Energy System (UES) of Siberia. The UES of European Russia includes five UES: North-West; center; North Caucasus; Middle Volga and Urals. The ECO of Siberia is closely connected with the ECO of Northern Kazakhstan. The ECO of the Far East operates separately. Russia is characterized by a high level of development of ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, two subcomplexes of the metallurgical complex. It accounts for 16.5% of industrial production. Ferrous metallurgy enterprises produce about 40 million tons of cast iron and 50 million tons of steel. Iron ore production is about 70 million tons. Ferrous metallurgy in Russia lags behind developed countries in terms of technological development. The open-hearth method, which has practically ceased to exist in developed countries, produces more than 1/2 of steel in the country, and only 15% is produced by modern electrometallurgical. There are four areas of ferrous metallurgy: the Urals, the South, Siberia, and the North. Ural produces almost half of Russia's cast iron and steel. Most of them are provided by giant enterprises (in Magnitogorsk, Nizhny Tagil, Chelyabinsk, Novotroitsk). The South (KMA) yields 2/5 of the country's total iron ore. The largest enterprises are located in Lipetsk and Tula. Stary Oskol is the center of electrometallurgy. The most important centers of ferrous metallurgy in Siberia and the North are Novokuznetsk and Cherepovets, respectively.
There are three main areas in non-ferrous metallurgy: the Urals, the Russian European North, and Siberia. The main copper production area is the Urals. The main centers are Krasnouralsk, Kirovgrad, Revda, Kyshtym and Mednogorsk. The lead-zinc industry is confined to the areas of distribution of polymetallic ores: Sadon (North Caucasus); Salair (Kuzbass); Nerchinsk (Transbaikalia) and Dalnegorsk (Far East). The nickel-cobalt industry is developed, mainly in Norilsk (Taimyr Autonomous Okrug) and Kola (Murmansk Region). Districts. About 40% of alumina production (an intermediate product of aluminum smelting) falls in the Urals, 35% in Eastern Siberia and 20% in the Northwest. Large aluminum smelting enterprises are also located in Eastern Siberia, in Bratsk, Krasnoyarsk, Sayanogorsk and Shelekhov. Russia produces about 130 tons of gold and is in fifth place in the world by this indicator, after South Africa, the USA, Canada and Australia. More than half of the gold is mined in four regions: Yakutia and the Magadan region (30 tons each), the Irkutsk Region and the Krasnoyarsk Territory (10 tons each).
In Russia, mechanical engineering is one of the most geographically dispersed industries. In terms of volume, its share (19.1%) is greater than metallurgy.
The most important branch of mechanical engineering - machine tool construction historically began from Moscow and St. Petersburg. Heavy engineering is closely related to machine tool construction. Its main centers are: St. Petersburg (Electrosila, etc.); Yekaterinburg (Uralmash, etc.); Krasnoyarsk; Volgodonsk (Atommash) Rostov region .
Various branches of transport engineering are developed in the country. The main centers of shipbuilding are St. Petersburg, Vyborg (Leningrad region), Murmansk, Vladivostok, Astrakhan. The main centers of locomotive construction are Kolomna, Moscow Region (diesel locomotives) and Novocherkassk, Rostov Region (electric locomotives). The main centers of car building: St. Petersburg, Tver, Bryansk, Nizhny Tagil (Sverdlovsk region) And the new Abakan center in Siberia. Various branches of the automotive industry are developed. The most important centers for the production of trucks: Moscow; Nizhny Novgorod; Naberezhnye Chelny (Tatarstan); Ulyanovsk; Miass (Chelyabinsk region). Volga Automobile Plant (VAZ) in Togliatti (Samara region) Gives almost 70% of all Russian passenger cars. Other centers for the production of passenger cars are Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Izhevsk. The automotive industry is developed in Likino (Moscow region), Pavlovo (Nizhny Novgorod region), Ulyanovsk, Kurgan, etc. Powerful centers of the Russian aviation industry are Moscow, Voronezh, Kazan, Ulyanovsk, Samara.
The areas of concentration of tractor construction are the Russian European North (St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk), Middle Russia (Vladimir, Lipetsk, Cheboksary) and the Ural-Volga region (Volgograd, Chelyabinsk). The profile of agricultural machinery enterprises corresponds to the specialization of agriculture in the regions of the country. The production of combine harvesters is located in Rostov-on-Don, Taganrog (Rostov region). And Krasnoyarsk. Potato harvesters are produced in Ryazan and Tula.
The main centers of the electrical industry are Moscow, St. Petersburg, Voronezh. The main enterprises of the rocket and space industry are concentrated in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Samara, Omsk and Krasnoyarsk.
Russia has various branches of the chemical industry - polymer materials, synthetic resins and plastics, chemical fibers, synthetic rubber, mineral fertilizers. Three types of mineral fertilizers are produced - nitrogen, phosphate and potash. The main centers of nitrogen fertilizers are Novgorod, Moscow, Lipetsk, Kemerovo. The production of phosphate fertilizers is concentrated in European Russia, the main centers are Kingisepp (Leningrad region), Uvarovo (Tambov region), Tolyatti (Samara region). All potash fertilizers in Russia are produced by Berezniki and Solikamsk (Perm region).
Russia ranks first in the world in the production of lumber (about 1/5), but is inferior to the United States in terms of logging (wood export). The Northern region, the Urals, Siberia and the Far East provide about 4/5 of all business timber. Large timber-processing complexes have been established in Siberia and the Far East: Bratsk, Ust-Ilimsky, Yenisei, Amur, etc. The pulp and paper industry is developed, almost 1600,000 tons of pulp and 2200,000 tons of paper are produced. The main centers of the pulp and paper industry: Kondopoga (Karelia); Arkhangelsk; Kotlas (Arkhangelsk region); Pravdinsk (Nizhny Novgorod region); Volzhsk (Mari El).
Agricultural industry. Since 1992. Reforms in agriculture have begun in Russia. The reorganization of socialized farms was actively taking place in the western regions of the forest, forest-steppe and steppe zones of European Russia. At that time, in the autonomous regions of the Ural-Volga region, collective farms and state farms still account for 60-90%, and in the autonomous regions of the North Caucasus - 70-90%. Today, about 10% of farmland is in state ownership, the rest of the land has been transferred to non-state agricultural producers. Almost 80% of the gross agricultural output is produced in the non-state sector. However, the reform of agriculture has not been without negative consequences. This is how the share of imports in the formation of food resources has grown. The main area of agricultural development coincides with the main band of settlement. Crop production in Russia is divided into a number of industries. Grain farming is widespread throughout the agricultural developed territory of the country. The most important food grain crop is wheat. The main territorial feature of wheat distribution is the advantage of winter wheat in the western macroregion of its area (to the Volga), and spring wheat in the eastern (beyond the Volga). This is due to the agro-climatic features of Russia. Gross wheat harvests at the beginning of the 1990s amounted to 50-55 million tons of grain. Barley crops mainly coincide with the territory of the grain farm. Rye tends to the northern outskirts of this territory, barley, on the contrary, in the southern. The area of corn cultivation is limited - the North Caucasus, the Lower Volga region and the Lower Don region. The main areas of sunflower cultivation are confined to the steppe zone and the eastern part of the forest-steppe of European Russia. In the early 1990s, 1.2 million tons of sunflower oil were produced, which does not meet the needs of the country. The main area of sugar beet cultivation includes the western and central regions of the forest-steppe. In the early 1990s, about 33 million tons of sugar beet were harvested and 3,600,000 tons of sugar were produced, which is only 2/3 of the needs. Potato crops predominate in most of the agricultural developed territory of the country. However, the highest territorial concentration of its crops is typical for the southern regions of the forest and northern parts of the forest-steppe zone. Average annual gross potato harvest in the first half of the 1990s. It was 36 million tons. Flax - long-lived - traditional Russian culture. Its area: St. Petersburg-Vologda-Nizhny Novgorod-Bryansk coincides with the zone of broad-leaved forests. Flax - dolgunets square 1960 . Until 1991, it was unreasonably reduced by more than three times.
