A Country Study: Russia

• Russia
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Preface
• Table A. Chronology of Important Events
• Country Profile - Visit new updated Profile (PDF)
  • Country
  • Geography
  • Society
  • Economy
  • Transportation and Telecommunications
  • Government and Politics
  • National Security

• Introduction
• Chapter 1 - Historical Setting: Early History to 1917 (Zenon E. Kohut and David M. Goldfrank)
  • Early History
    • The Inhabitants of the East European Plain
    • The East Slavs and the Varangians
    • The Golden Age of Kiev
    • The Rise of Regional Centers
    • The Mongol Invasion
  • Muscovy
    • The Rise of Muscovy
    • The Evolution of the Russian Aristocracy
    • Ivan IV
    • The Time of Troubles
    • The Romanovs
    • Expansion and Westernization
  • Early Imperial Russia
    • Peter the Great and the Russian Empire
    • The Era of Palace Revolutions
    • Imperial Expansion and Maturation: Catherine II
  • Ruling the Empire
    • War and Peace, 1796-1825
    • Reaction under Nicholas I
  • Transformation of Russia in the Nineteenth Century
    • Economic Developments
    • Reforms and Their Limits, 1855-92
    • Foreign Affairs after the Crimean War
    • The Rise of Revolutionary Movements
    • Witte and Accelerated Industrialization
    • Radical Political Parties Develop
    • Imperialism in Asia and the Russo-Japanese War
  • The Last Years of the Autocracy
    • Revolution and Counterrevolution, 1905-07
    • The Stolypin and Kokovtsov Governments
    • Active Balkan Policy, 1906-13
    • Russia at War, 1914-16
    • The Fatal Weakening of Tsarism

• Chapter 2- Historical Setting: 1917 to 1991 (Thomas Skallerup and James P. Nichol)
  • Revolutions and Civil War
    • The February Revolution
    • The Period of Dual Power
    • The Bolshevik Revolution
    • Civil War and War Communism
  • The Era of the New Economic Policy
    • Lenin's Leadership
    • Stalin's Rise to Power
    • Foreign Policy, 1921-28
    • Society and Culture in the 1920s
  • Transformation and Terror
    • Industrialization and Collectivization
    • The Purges
    • Mobilization of Society
    • Foreign Policy, 1928-39
  • The War Years
    • Prelude to War
    • The Great Patriotic War
  • Reconstruction and Cold War
    • Reconstruction Years
    • Onset of the Cold War
    • The Death of Stalin
  • The Khrushchev Era
    • Collective Leadership and the Rise of Khrushchev
    • Foreign Policy under Khrushchev
    • Khrushchev's Reforms and Fall
  • The Brezhnev Era
    • Collective Leadership and the Rise of Brezhnev
    • Foreign Policy of a Superpower
    • The Economy under Brezhnev
    • Culture and the Arts in the 1960s and 1970s
    • The Death of Brezhnev
  • The Leadership Transition Period
    • The Andropov Interregnum
    • The Chernenko Interregnum
  • The Gorbachev Era
    • Gorbachev's First Year
    • New Thinking: Foreign Policy under Gorbachev
      • Perestroika
      • Glasnost
      • Demokratizatsiya
    • Gorbachev's Reform Dilemma
    • Nationality Ferment
    • The August Coup and Its Aftermath

• Chapter 3 - Physical Environment and Population (Glenn E. Curtis and David McClave)
  • Physical Environment
    • Global Position and Boundaries
    • Administrative and Territorial Divisions
    • Topography and Drainage
      • Topography
      • Drainage
    • Climate
  • Environmental Problems
    • Environmental Conditions
      • Major Crises
      • Air Quality
      • Water Quality
      • Soil and Forests
      • Radioactive Contamination
    • The Response to Environmental Problems
  • Population
    • Demographic Conditions
      • Fertility
      • Abortion
      • Mortality
    • Migration
      • Issues and Procedures
      • Migration Patterns
  • Future Prospects

• Chapter 4 - Ethnic, Religious, and Cultural Setting (Glenn E. Curtis and Marian Leighton)
  • Ethnic Composition
    • The Russians
    • Minority Peoples and Their Territories
      • The North Caucasus
      • The Northern Republics
      • The Volga and Ural Republics
      • The Republics of Siberia
    • Other Ethnic Groups
      • Germans
      • Koreans
      • Roma
    • Movements Toward Sovereignty
      • The Chechnya Dilemma
      • The Caucasus Region in the Federation
      • Responses and Prospects
  • Religion
    • The Russian Orthodox Church
      • Beliefs and Ritual
      • Church History
    • Other Religions
      • Non-Orthodox Christian Religions
      • Islam
      • Judaism
    • Religion and Foreign Policy
  • The Russian Language
  • Literature and the Arts
    • Literature
      • The Beginnings
      • Peter and Catherine
      • The Nineteenth Century
      • The Soviet Period and After
    • Music
    • Ballet
    • Architecture and Painting
  • Outlook

• Chapter 5 - The Society and Its Environment (Glenn E. Curtis and Marian Leighton)
  • Social Structure
    • Social Stratification
    • Wages and Work
    • Rural Life
    • Social Organizations
    • The Family
    • The Role of Women
    • Sexual Attitudes
  • Education
    • The Soviet Heritage
    • The Post-Soviet Education Structure
      • Infrastructure
      • Teachers
      • Curriculum
      • Grade Structure
      • Private Schools
      • Educational Achievement
    • Higher Education
    • Education and Society
  • Health
    • Health Conditions
      • Maternity, Infant Care, and Birth Control
      • Alcohol, Narcotics, and Tobacco
      • Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome
    • The Health System
  • Housing
    • The Soviet Era
    • Post-Soviet Conditions
    • Land Reform and Private Enterprise
  • Social Welfare
    • Pensions
    • Worker Protection and Benefits
    • The Homeless

• Chapter 6 - The Economy (William Cooper)
  • Historical Background
    • The Eras of Lenin and Stalin
    • The Postwar Growth Period
    • Reform and Resistance
    • The Perestroika Program
    • Unforeseen Results of Reform
  • Economic Reform in the 1990s
    • The Yeltsin Economic Program
      • Macroeconomic Stabilization Measures
      • Economic Restructuring Measures
    • Monetary and Fiscal Policies
      • Inflation
      • Exchange Rates
    • Privatization
    • Economic Conditions in Mid-1996
  • Natural Resources
  • Agriculture
    • Crops
    • Agricultural Policy
      • Soviet Policy
      • The Gorbachev Reforms
      • Yeltsin's Agricultural Policies
    • Agricultural Production
  • Energy
    • Exploitation and Consumption
    • Oil
    • Natural Gas
    • Coal
    • Nuclear Energy
    • Conventional Power Generation
    • Foreign Investment in Oil and Gas
  • Banking and Finance
    • The Soviet Financial System
    • The Financial Sector in the 1990s
      • Reform of the Banking System
      • Commercial Banks
      • Other Financial Institutions
    • Taxation
  • The Labor Force
    • Unemployment
    • Wages
  • Manufacturing
    • Ferrous Metallurgy
    • Nonferrous Metallurgy
    • The Automotive Industry
    • Machine Building
    • Light Industry
    • Chemicals
  • Transportation and Telecommunications
    • Transportation
      • Roads
      • Railroads
      • Air Transportation
      • Water Transportation
      • Pipelines
      • Public Transportation
      • Transportation Reform
    • Telecommunications
      • The Soviet Period
      • Telecommunications in the 1990s
  • Foreign Economic Relations
    • Foreign Trade
    • Foreign Investment
    • Foreign Debt
  • The Economic Outlook

• Chapter 7 - Government and Politics (James P. Nichol)
  • Historical Background
  • The Constitution and Government Structure
    • The Executive Branch
      • Presidential Powers
      • Informal Powers and Power Centers
      • Presidential Elections
      • The Government (Cabinet)
    • The Parliament
      • Structure of the Federal Assembly
      • Legislative Powers
      • The Legislative Process
      • Clashes of Power, 1993-96
    • The Judiciary
      • Judicial Reform
      • Structure of the Judiciary
  • Local and Regional Government
    • The Federation Treaty and Regional Power
      • Local Jurisdictions under the Constitution
      • Power Sharing
      • Presidential Power in the Regions
    • The Separatism Question
  • Political Parties and Legislative Elections
    • The Elections of 1993
    • The Elections of 1995
  • Civil Rights
    • General Civil Rights Guarantees
    • Criminal Justice Protections
  • The Media
    • The Print Media
    • The Broadcast Media
  • The Political Outlook

• Chapter 8 - Foreign Relations (James P. Nichol)
  • The Emergence of Russian Foreign Policy
    • The Search for Objectives
    • The State of the Federation Speeches
  • The Foreign Policy Mechanism
    • The President
    • The Security Council
    • The Parliament
    • The Government (Cabinet)
      • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
      • The Ministry of Defense
  • Regional Policies
    • The Near Abroad
      • Moldova
      • Georgia
      • Central Asia
      • Other Former Soviet Republics
    • The United States
      • The Yeltsin-Bush Summits
      • The Yeltsin-Clinton Summits
    • Western Europe
    • NATO
    • Central Europe
      • The NATO Issue
      • Russia's Role in the Former Yugoslavia
    • China
    • Japan
    • Other Asian States
    • The Third World
    • The Middle East
    • Latin America
  • Foreign Policy Prospects

• Chapter 9 - The Armed Forces (William Baxter)
  • Historical Background
  • Military Doctrine
    • Soviet Doctrine
    • The Doctrine of 1993
      • Political Principles
      • Military Principles
      • Military-Technical and Economic Principles
      • The Doctrine of the Future
  • The Geopolitical Context
    • Chechnya
    • The Commonwealth of Independent States
      • Georgia
      • Armenia
      • Azerbaijan
      • Moldova
      • Central Asia
    • Kaliningrad
    • China
    • The NATO Issue
    • Nuclear Arms Issues
  • The Defense Industry
    • Structure and Conditions
    • The Defense Budget
    • New Weaponry Acquisitions
    • Foreign Arms Sales
    • Prospects for the Defense Industry
  • Force Structure
    • Command Structure
    • Ground Forces
    • Naval Forces
    • Air Forces
    • Air Defense Forces
    • Strategic Rocket Forces
    • Airborne Troops
  • Performance
    • Troop Support Elements
    • Crime in the Military
    • Training
      • Military Schools
      • Field Training
    • Reform Plans
  • Prospects for the Military

• Chapter 10 - Internal Security (Amy W. Knight)
  • Internal Security Before 1991
  • Successor Agencies to the KGB
    • Ministry of Security (MB)
    • Federal Counterintelligence Service (FSK)
    • Federal Security Service (FSB)
    • Federal Agency for Government Communications and Information (FAPSI)
    • Main Guard Directorate (GUO)
    • Federal Border Service and Border Security
      • Border Security Agencies
      • Post-Soviet Border Policy
  • Security Operations in Chechnya
  • Crime
    • Crime in the Soviet Era
    • The Crime Wave of the 1990s
      • Crime Statistics
      • Organized Crime
      • Nuclear Security
      • Terrorism
      • Narcotics
  • The Criminal Justice System
    • Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD)
    • The Procuracy
    • Criminal Law Reform in the 1990s
    • Secrecy Laws
    • How the System Works
  • Prisons
  • Outlook

• Appendix. Tables
• Bibliography
• Glossary