[garimabansal]

Facts about Russia, India’s northern friend



While 2008 is being marked as the Year of Russia in India, 2009 will be the Year of India in Russia. The yearlong festivals are being held to enhance people-to-people contacts and bridge the information gap between the two countries that has developed after the break-up of the Soviet Union. Below are some facts about Russia that will hopefully whet Indians’ interest towards their northern friend and neighbour.
1. Russia’s territory is two-thirds of that of the Soviet Union, but it is still the world’s largest country. Russia’s territory is nearly six times the size of India’s, but its population is eight times smaller. Russians have 44 times more land area per capita than Indians do.
2. Even though its territory has shrunk Russia has longer borders than the Soviet Union had - 61,000 kilometres. Russia is washed by 12 seas and shares borders with more neighbours than any other country in the world. Russia’s borders with seven out of 16 neighbours are yet to be legally formalized. Practically all of its neighbours have territorial claims to Russia, either officially or unofficially.
3. Russia accounts for 38 percent of all natural resources in the world. It is endowed with a quarter of all forests, 42 percent of natural gas, 15 percent of oil, 43 percent of coals, 50 percent of vanadium and 100 percent of iridium.
4. Oil and gas exports earned Russia more than $600,000,000 per day last year.
5. Russia is the coldest country in the world. The average annual temperature is minus 5.5°C. For comparison, the average annual temperature in Iceland is 1.2°C. Nearly 60 percent of Russian territory is in the permafrost zone. Notwithstanding the fact that Russia is one of the world’s most sparsely populated countries, 23 of the world’s 25 coldest cities with populations over 500,000 are located in Russia. Heating accounts for two-thirds of Russia’s energy needs.
6. Over the past 15 years Russia’s population has shrunk from 148.5 million to 142 million. The government has vowed to stop the population decline by 2011.
7. Russians drink some 2 billion litres of vodka and other strong drinks a year, which work out at 17 litres of undiluted alcohol per capita - the absolute record in the world. One of the more popular vodka brands is “Putinka”, named after President Vladimir Putin, even though the Russian President does not drink.
8. Russia’s globetrotting President, who will step down in May, has visited 65 countries and territories on five continents over some 190 foreign trips during his eight years in office.
9. Russia’s economy has expanded from a $200 billion to a $1.2 trillion over the past eight years. Russia has emerged as the 7th largest economy in the world measured in Purchasing Power Parity. Russia’s average income per capita — measured by GNI per capita — amounted to $5,780 in 2006, which is well ahead of Brazil($4,730), not to mention India ($820).
10. Russia boasts the world’s third largest foreign currency reserves of over $500 billion. Foreign Direct Investment in 2007 amounted to $47 billion, compared with $19.5 billion for India.
11. Russia has more than 100 dollar billionaires, according to Audit Chamber Chairman Sergei Stepashin. This is more than any other country apart from the United States. The number of Russian billionaires grew by 60 percent in a single year.
12. With personal incomes growing at more than 10 percent a year, Russia is fast turning into a middle-class society. Last year Russians bought 2.8 million new cars, twice as many as Indians. There are 166 million mobile phone subscribers in Russia, which has a population of 142 million. Russian hunger for imported goods is so great that transit routes through Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia get clogged with trucks carrying new cars, televisions and machinery. Last winter queues stretched for more than 60 km on the Russian border. India is about the only country that does not partake in the Russian economic boom: Indian exports to Russia hardly amount to $1 billion, which constitutes 0.6 per cent of Russian imports.
13. Russia is the second most attractive country for immigrants after the U.S. According to the World Bank’s latest report, 12.1 million immigrants, mostly from the former Soviet states, came to Russia in 2005. In the same year 11.5 million people emigrated from Russia, which is also the second highest volume after Mexico. Every year immigrant workers in Russia send back home over $11 billion.

(source:The Hindu)