Russia By: Katherine Davis, Courtney Clark and Niko Souza

"Map- Russia." Russian Atlas. Highbeam Reasearch, Web. 14 March 2011.

Government - Constitution The Russian Constitution defines the federal government's specific powers, but it also describes the key regional issues as the main responsibility of the federal government and the Federation components. The absolute distribution of powers among the central government, regional, and local authorities is still evolving. - Political Parties The pro-market democrats: Our Home Is Russia; Yabloko Bloc; Russia's Democratic Choice Party; Forward Russia! The centrists and special interest parties: the Congress of Russian Communities and the Women of Russia. The anti-market and/or ultranationalist parties: Communist Party of the Russian Federation; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia; Agrarian Party; Power to the People; Russian Communist Worker's Party. Other political Parties active in the elections include Unity and Accord, the Democratic Party of Russia, Truth and Order, the National Patriotic Bloc, Russia's Regions, and the Congress of Russian Communities. Carraway, William. "Russia." Journey to Asia. Korean History Project, 21 January Web 16 March 2011.

Government Type of Government: Constitutional federation. President: Dmitry Medvedev Prime Minister: Vladimir Putin Independence: August 24, Constitution: December 12, Branches: Executive--president, prime minister (chairman of the government).Legislative--Federal Assembly (Federation Council, State Duma). Judicial--Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Arbitration, Office of Procurator General. Subdivisions: 83 federal subjects (members of the Federation), including 21 republics, 9 krays, 46 oblasts, 2 federal cities, 1 autonomous oblast, and 4 autonomous okrugs. Suffrage: Universal at 18 years. Bureau of Public Affairs: Electronic Information and PublicationsBureau of Public Affairs: Electronic Information and Publications. "Background notes: Russia". March,

Economics Russia has met with large changes since the collapse of the Soviet Union, moving from a globally-isolated, centrally-planned economy to a more market-based and globally-integrated economy. Russian industry is primarily split between globally-competitive commodity producers. In 2009 Russia was the world's largest exporter of natural gas, the second largest exporter of oil, and the third largest exporter of steel and primary aluminum. The economic decline bottomed out in mid-2009 and the economy began to grow in the first quarter of High oil prices buoyed Russian growth in the first quarter of 2011 and could help Russia reduce the budget deficit inherited from the lean years of " Russia." The World Factbook. CIA. 8 March Web. 18 March

Economics With the break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia's economy went into abrupt flop. The low point was 1998, when an economic crisis led to a big devaluation.

Economics Russia's economy is still much smaller than other G8 countries. Income is less than one-tenth of G8 levels.

Culture Russian Society & Culture The Russian family is dependent upon all its members. Most families live in small apartments, often with 2 or 3 generations sharing little space. Most families are small, often with only one child because most women must also work outside of the house in addition to bearing sole responsibility for household. Russian culture is rich, spanning centuries of Russian history. Russian culture includes art, food, traditions, literature, attitudes and more. Ethnic groups: Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, other 14.4%. Religion: Russian Orthodox, Islam, Judaism, Roman Catholicism, Protestant, Buddhist, other. "Russia - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette." Kwintessential.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 16 March Kerry, Kubilious. "Russian Culture." About.com. New York Times Company, n.d. Web. 16 March 2011.

Major Events 1989: Soviet Union is destroyed; fall of the Berlin Wall The dissolution of the soviet union on 26 December 1991, the Russian Federation became an independent country.dissolution of the soviet unionRussian Federation May, 1992-Formation of Russian armed forces. Army general Pavel Grachev appointed minister of defense. "Russia." History Russian Abroad.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 18 March "Russian History Timeline." Web. 22 May 2009

Works Cited "Russia - Language, Culture, Customs and Etiquette." Kwintessential.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 16 March Kerry, Kubilious. "Russian Culture." About.com. New York Times Company, n.d. Web. 16 March "Background Notes- Russia." U.S Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs, June 14, Web. 17 March "Russia." History Russian Abroad.com. n.p. n.d. Web. 18 March " Russia." The World Factbook. CIA. 8 March Web. 18 March Carraway, William. "Russia." Journey to Asia. Korean History Project, 21 January Web 16 March "Map- Russia." Russian Atlas. Highbeam Reasearch, Web. 14 March russian-history-timeline.htm