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Russia |
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Capital city: Moscow
Ethnic groups that make up the population: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belarusian 0.8%, Moldavian 0.7%, other 8.1% (1989) Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other Languages: Russian, other Literacy rate (Definition: age 15 and over can read and write): Total population: 99.6%; Male: 99.7%; Female: 99.5% (2003 est.) Legal system: It is based on civil law system; judicial review of legislative acts. Industries: complete range of mining and extractive industries producing coal, oil, gas, chemicals, and metals; all forms of machine building from rolling mills to high-performance aircraft and space vehicles; shipbuilding; road and rail transportation equipment; communications equipment; agricultural machinery, tractors, and construction equipment; electric power generating and transmitting equipment; medical and scientific instruments; consumer durables, textiles, foodstuffs, handicrafts Agriculture: grain, sugar beets, sunflower seed, vegetables, fruits; beef, milk GDP: purchasing power parity - $1.409 trillion (2002 est.) GDP per capita: purchasing power parity - $9,700 (2002 est.) Currency: Russian ruble (RUR) School system: Russian children go to school at the age between 6 and 7. They attend school for 10 years and then finish it at 16 (or17). If one does not perform properly during the acadenic year and one's grades are below satisfactory, he or she can be forced to study the failed year again ('to be left for the second year' as it is said here in Russia). They usually spend all the ten years in one building as all the three schools are in the same building. School years are divided into 3 sub-schools: primary, secondary and high. Primary is 4 years, secondary is 5 and high is 2. School starts on September 1 and remains in session till the end of May, with June being the month of exams. The school year is comprised of 4 terms with vacations in between: one week in November, two weeks in January, one week in the end of March and almost 3 months in summer (except for the time when students are busy with their exams). Family unit (role of women and children): Women and old women are much respected. It’s considered polite if while being in the metro and seeing a woman or an old woman coming in and there’re no free seats, man offers her his seat. Women make 46.9% of the employed population in Russia . The greatest proportion of working women are in public health service (85%), education (81%), credit and finance (78%), information and accounting services (75%), whilst the lowest share is in the construction industry (22%). The Russian population is increasingly abandoning a tradition of maintaining large, extended families--a family form that was quite common in the past. As economic and other incentives to preserve extended families disappear, the process of splitting-up the family has intensified due, in particular, to the separation of young families from their parents. The majority of young married couples desire to live apart from their parents. Those living with their parents generally want to live separately, and those already separated do not want to join them. Misc. interesting facts: It is the largest country in the world in terms of area but unfavorably located in relation to major sea lanes of the world; despite its size, much of the country lacks proper soils and climates (either too cold or too dry) for agriculture; Mount Elbrus is Europe 's tallest peak. Handicrafts: Matryoshka – the traditional Russian doll has symbolized Russian folk art since the end of the 19th century; Woodburn or Pokerwork dolls are the distinctive plain wooden dolls that have designs burned into the wood using a hot poker; Other crafts are: shawls, brooches, lacquer boxes, enamel jewelry, wooden toys, and metal trays
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