In a move that created some controversy, Vladimir Putin signed a law in December 2000 that reinstated the music from the Soviet Union’s anthem as the new anthem of the Russian Federation. Download mp3 (5,7mb)
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Russia covers an area of 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,849 sq. miles) and spans 11 time zones, making it the world’s largest country in terms of territory. It has a population of 142,008,838, according to the Russian State Statistics Service. The capital and, with a population of over 10 million, by far the largest city in Russia, is Moscow.
The Russian Federation is divided into 83 subjects of the federation (subyekty federatsii), commonly known as the “regions” (regiony). 46 of these carry the official name oblast (in English also translated as “region”); 21 are republics ( respublika); 4 are autonomous districts (avtonomny okrug); 9 are territories (krai); two – Moscow and St. Petersburg – are federal cities (gorod federalnovno znacheniya), and one is an autonomous region (avtonomnaya oblast).
The administrative heads of the regions are often referred to as the “governors,” although their official titles vary. (The heads of several of the republics, for example, have the title of "president.") In 2000, the regional heads lost much of their power when President Vladimir Putin stripped them of their seats in the Federation Council and divided Russia into seven new administrative entities called Federal Districts. The heads of the regions now meet in the largely ceremonial State Council.
There are significant attempts to merge regions, strengthening what former President Putin had called 'the power vertical' in the country. For example, Taimyr and Evenkia have populations of around 37,000 and 18,000 respectively and lie beside the more developed Krasnoyarsk. Thee presence of separate administrative structures creates diseconomies of scale and trade barriers retarding business development in the region, merging two sparsely populated but resource-rich regions into the Krasnoyarsk territory, with a population of nearly 3 million, makes economic sense, and there are lobby groups pursuing this. First deputy speaker of the Duma, Lyubov Sliska, echoed Kremlin policy when she said similar mergers should take place until the number of regions in Russia is reduced to about half the current 83.
1. On December 1, 2005, Perm Oblast and Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug merged into Perm Krai.
2. On January 1, 2007, Evenk and Taymyr Autonomous Okrugs merged into Krasnoyarsk Krai.
3. On July 1, 2007, Kamchatka Oblast and Koryak Autonomous Okrug will merge to form Kamchatka Krai.
4. On January 1, 2008, Ust-Orda Buryat Autonomous Okrug will be merged into Irkutsk Oblast.
5. On March 1, 2008, Chita Oblast and Agin-Buryat Autonomous Okrug merged to form Zabaykalsky Krai.
Only 20% of Russia’s regions operate without budget subsidies, according to the Ministry of Regional Development. The Ministry’s press service listed the regions not dependent on subsidies as Moscow, St Petersburg, the Yamal-Nenets, Nenets, Agin-Buryat and Khanty-Mansi autonomous areas, the Perm Territory, the Komi Republic, and the Tyumen, Samara, Lipetsk, Vologda, Sverdlovsk, Leningrad, Yaroslavl, Chelyabinsk and Orenburg regions. Aggregate federal budget subsidies to regions amounted to almost Rbs440 bln ($16.6 bln) in January-October 2006, or an average of 14.61% of the regions’ consolidated budget revenues. ( source: FCNovisti)
Related articles:
Russia's Regions: Facts & Figures, United Nations Development Programme, May 2007.
Russia’s Population Declining by Two Villages Every Day Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty Newsline (Nov. 22, 2004)
Last updated July 1, 2008
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