About Russia

Russia or the Russian Federation, with an area of 17.075.400 km² the largest country in the world, has a multi-ethnic population consisting of more than 100 ethnic groups. The Russians are the dominant people, accounting for more than 80 % of the entire population. All of the other ethnic groups are small in numbers compared with the Russians, the Tatars with 3,8 % of the whole population being the largest one. Other important nationalities include the Bashkirs, Buryats, Chechens, Chuvash, Ingushi, Kabardinians, Kalmyks, Karelians, Komi, Mari or Cheremiss, Mordovians, Ossetians, Tuvans, Udmurts and Yakuts.

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic as one of the 15 Union Republics of the former USSR embraced 16 Autonomous Republics, 5 Autonomous Oblasts (areas) and 10 Autonomous Okrugs (districts). During 1990 and 1991 many autonomous formations unilaterally upgraded their status to that of a Sovereign Republic. On 13 March 1992 a new Treaty of Federation was signed between the central government and 86 of the then 88 'Federative Entities' including 18 Autonomous Republics. The Republics of Tatarstan and Chechnia refused to sign it. Later a seperate Ingush Republic was constituted within the Russian Federation.

With an area of 3.103.200 km² Sakha is the largest territory in this World Directory, larger than 90 % of the sovereign states listed in the World Directory of National Parliamentary Libraries.

The Federation Treaty distributes powers and sovereignty between the Russian Federation and the Republics within the Russian Federation as they are now called (as well as the other autonomous regions, which as 'below second-tier' entities are not included in this Directory). The 18 enumerated exclusive powers of the Federation (Article 1) include the typical federal powers, viz. foreign affairs, defence, citizenship, international commerce, customs, finance, currency, and nationwide public services such as telecommunications, transport and power supply. Criminal, civil and commercial law and organization and procedure of courts are Federal powers, too, and the principles of economic, social and cultural policies are determined by the Federation as well. The concurrent list (Article 2) enumerates 11 powers which include public order and safety, education, culture, science and technology, public health, social security, land and property, natural resources, environment protection, labour law, family law as well as the determination of the principles of local government and the principles of taxation by the Republics. In the event of conflict Federal law will prevail. The residual powers fall to the Republics.

Whereas the distribution of powers as enumerated in Articles 1 and 2 of the Federation Treaty seems to signal that the balance of power is definitely weighted towards the centre, Article 3 concedes to the Republics the status of subjects in international relations and external trade, i.e. they may conclude treaties with sovereign states and with other Republics within the Russian Federation. The coordination of the international relations and external trade of the Republics is effected jointly by the Russian Federation and the Republics.

The uneven tendency in the distribution of powers may be taken as evidence of the fact that the constitutional development of Russia is still very much in a state of flux and will probably remain so for some years. Therefore, both the 19 Republics which have acceded to the Federation Treaty and Chechnia as well as Tatarstan have been included in this Directory with their unicameral Soviets and the institutions which provide library and information services to these parliaments.

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