| Description | Russian Federation
Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
A former imperial power and then a union of communist countries, the Russian Federation is a northern Asian nation that straddles the Arctic Ocean. With its capital in Moscow, the nation is a confederation of 49 oblasts, 21 republics, 10 autonomous okrugs, 6 krays, 2 federal cities and 1 autonomous oblast. Its people are a diverse mix with ethnic Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Chuvash, Bashkir, Belarusian, Moldavian and others. Most are either Orthodox Christians or Muslim. The official language is Russian but English is spoken by many professionals and educators.
The Russian Federation is led by the popularly elected President. He heads the Presidential Administration which is a body of advisors, Presidential staff, secretaries and clerks. The Presidential Administration is a body without authority. The Head of Government is the Prime Minister and his several Deputy Prime Ministers. The many Prime Ministers in cooperation of department ministers comprise the Cabinet Government which oversees the administration of the entire nation. There is no Vice President. If the President is unable to carry out his duties, the Prime Minister assumes the role.
Legislation is the jurisdiction of the bicameral Federalnoye Sobraniye (Federal Assembly). It is comprised of the Sovet Federatsy (Federation Council) and the Gosudarstvennaya Duma (State Duma).
Ten most populous regions (2002 Census):
1. City of Moscow - 10,382,754
2. Moscow Oblast - 6,618,538
3. Krasnodar Kray - 5,125,221
4. City of Saint Petersburg - 4,661,219
5. Sverdlovsk Oblast - 4,486,214
6. Rostov Oblast - 4,404,013
7. Bashkortostan Republic - 4,104,336
8. Tatarstan Republic - 3,779,265
9. Chelyabinsk Oblast - 3,603,339
10. Nizhegorod Oblast - 3,524,028
Twenty most populous cities (2002 Census):
1. Moscow - 10,382,754
2. Saint Petersburg - 4,661,219
3. Novosibirsk - 1,425,508
4. Nizhny Novgorod - 1,311,252
5. Yekaterinburg - 1,293,537
6. Samara - 1,157,880
7. Omsk - 1,134,016
8. Kazan - 1,105,289
9. Chelyabinsk - 1,077,174
10. Rostov-na-Donu - 1,068,267
11. Ufa - 1,042,437
12. Volgograd - 1,011,417
13. Perm - 1,001,653
14. Krasnoyarsk - 909,341
15. Saratov - 873,055
16. Voronezh - 848,752
17. Tolyatti - 702,879
18. Krasnodar - 646,175
19. Ulyanovsk - 635,947
20. Izhevsk - 632,140 |
