Russia
Government, Economy, and Entertainment
Government
Russia is a federation, with its capitol located in Moscow. Th government controls 46 provinces, 21 republics, 4 autonomous okrugs, 9 krays, 2 federal cities, and 1 autonomous oblast. The government consists of a Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branch and is currently run by president Vladimir Putin. The Executive branch consists of a head of state, head of government, and cabinet. The cabinet is appointed by the president, while the president is elected through popular vote. No vice president serves under the president. The Legislative branch consists of a bicameral Federal Assembly, which is appointed by the head executive and legislative officials. The assembly holds 450 seats and each region is designated 2 representatives. The Judicial branch consists of a supreme court (170 members), and the constitutional court (19 members). All members are nominated by the president and appointed by the Federation Council. All members are appointed for life. Russia also as subordinate courts like the Higher Arbitration Court, regional and provincial courts, Moscow and St. Petersburg courts, and autonomous province and district courts. Each Russian province have specific court systems that go with their constitution.
Dmitri Medvedev
Chairman of the government
Kremlin
Government building
The White House of Russia
Serves as primary office of the government
Economic Level of Development
Since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russia's economy as improved immensely, but they still struggle in some areas. Unless Russia increases relations with other countries and globalizes its economy more, they will continue to struggle.
GDP and Per Capita
Russia has an estimated GDP of $2.1 trillion dollars. This is one of the highest in the world, which shows how highly developed the economy is. Russia currently has a per capita of $25,000, which is fairly average in the world, but it is by no means great. This shows how money in the country is divided among the people very unevenly.
Currency
The currency is the Russian Ruble, which is worth near nothing compared to the US dollar. The Ruble is worth $0.020 US dollars.
Population Living Below Poverty
11% of the population lives below the poverty line, which is roughly 11 million people. This is fairly low compared to most countries. This is around the same percentage as the United States.
Imports
Russia imports about $320 billion in goods from other countries a year. Most of this comes from China (17%), Germany (13%), Ukraine (5%), while only 4% comes from the US. They import mainly machinery products, vehicle parts, pharmaceutical products, metals, and meats.
Exports
Russia exports around $520 billion in goods to foreign countries. They export mostly to Netherlands (11%), Germany (8%), China (7%), Italy (6%), and Ukraine (5%). They are tenth in the world for income from exports. They currently make more money from exports than they lose from imports, which is really beneficial for the country. The country mainly exports petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, metals, and wood products.
Holidays
The Russians celebrate Christmas like us, but on different days. Christmas is celebrated on January 7th. To them chrisms is a time of good deeds and miracles. New years is celebrated on January 1st like us, but they continue the celebration up to the 5th; some even celebrate a second New Years on the 14th. Defender of the Motherlands Day is celebrated on February 23rd and is a tribute to generations of soldiers. Victory Day is celebrated on May 9th and it commemorates the millions that died in World War 2. Russian Day is celebrated June 12th celebrates the Declaration of Sovereignty of the Russian Federation in 1991.
Music
Traditional music in Russia was usually folk and church music. Later on, music like opera was introduced, which became very popular. Nowadays the people of Russia like to listen to pop, rock hip-hop, jazz, and classical music. Like most countries, Russia has a rich culture full of many traditions.
Dance
Russia is known for traditional folk dances such as barynya and khorovod. They are also big in ballet.
Famous People
Their are many known famous people from Russia such as Mila Kunis who is a successful actor in America. Others such as Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova are star tennis players. One of the most famous Russians is Leo Tolstoy who wrote books like War and Peace.
Work Cited
Bradford, Alina. "Russian Culture: Facts, Customs & Traditions." LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 9 Feb. 2015. Web. 8 May 2015.
Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency. Web. 8 May 2015.