Background: Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy, was able to emerge
from over 200 years of Mongol domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually
conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the early 17th century, a new
Romanov Dynasty continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the
Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony was extended to the Baltic
Sea and the country was renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century,
more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and Asia. Repeated devastating
defeats of the Russian army in World War I led to widespread rioting in the
major cities of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of the imperial
household. The Communists under Vladimir LENIN seized power soon after and
formed the USSR. The brutal rule of Josef STALIN (1928-53) strengthened Russian
dominance of the Soviet Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. The Soviet
economy and society stagnated in the following decades until General Secretary
Mikhail GORBACHEV (1985-91) introduced glasnost (openness) and perestroika
(restructuring) in an attempt to modernize Communism, but his initiatives
inadvertently released forces that by December 1991 splintered the USSR into 15
independent republics. Since then, Russia has struggled in its efforts to build
a democratic political system and market economy to replace the strict social,
political, and economic controls of the Communist period. While some progress
has been made on the economic front, recent years have seen a recentralization
of power under Vladimir PUTIN and an erosion in nascent democratic institutions.
A determined guerrilla conflict still plagues Russia in Chechnya.
Location: Northern Asia (that part west of the Urals is included with Europe), bordering
the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean
Population: 143,420,309 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.6% (male 10,704,617/female 10,173,313)
15-64
years: 71.3% (male 49,429,716/female 52,799,740)
65 years and
over: 14.2% (male 6,405,027/female 13,907,896) (2005 est.)
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