COUNTRY OVERVIEW
President: Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (acting president since December 31, 1999, president since May 7, 2000)
Prime Minister: Mikhail Mikhaylovich Kasyanov (since May 7, 2000)
Independence: August 24, 1991 (from Soviet Union). National holiday: Russia Day, June 12, 1990
Population (7/02E): 145 million
Location: Eurasia
Size: 6,592,850 sq. mi., slightly more than 1.8 times the size of the United States
Major Cities: Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Irkutsk, Murmansk, Yakutsk, Vladivostok
Languages: Russian, others
Ethnic Groups: Russian 81.5%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 3%, Chuvash 1.2%, Bashkir 0.9%, Belorussian 0.8%, Moldovan 0.7%, other 8.1%
Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other

ECONOMIC OVERVIEW
Minister of Economic Development and Trade: German Oskarovich Gref
Minister of Finance: Aleksey Leonidovich Kudrin
Currency: Ruble
Market Exchange Rate (11/6/02): $1 = 31.8 rubles
Nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (2001E): $319.3 billion; (2002E): $352.6 billion
Real GDP Growth Rate (2001E): 5.0%; (2002E): 4.1%
Inflation Rate (Change in Consumer Prices, Dec. 2000-Dec. 2001E): 21.6%; (2002E): 15.7%
Official Unemployment Rate (2001E): 8.8%; (2002E): 8.6%
Current Account Balance (2001E): $34.3 billion; (2002E): $27.1 billion
Major Trading Partners (2001): Germany, Ukraine, U.S., Belarus, Italy, Netherlands, Kazakhstan
Merchandise Exports (2001E): $101.6 billion; (2002E): $100.9 billion
Merchandise Imports (2001E): $53.8 billion; (2002E): $57.9 billion
Merchandise Trade Balance (2001E): $47.8 billion; (2002E): $43.0 billion
Major Exports: Petroleum and petroleum products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, and a wide variety of civilian and military manufactures
Major Imports: Machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, semifinished metal products
External Debt (2001E): $154 billion

ENERGY OVERVIEW
Deputy Prime Minister (for Energy Issues): Viktor Borisovich Khristenko
Minister of Energy: Igor Khanukovich Yusufov
Minster of Atomic Energy: Aleksandr Yuryevich Rumyantsev
Proven Oil Reserves (1/1/02E): 48.6 billion barrels
Oil Production (2001E): 7.29 million bb/d (of which 7.05 million bbl/d was crude); (2002E): 7.47 million bbl/d
Oil Consumption (2001E): 2.38 million bbl/d; (2002E): 2.42 million bbl/d
Net Oil Exports (2001E): 4.91 million bbl/d; (2002E): 5.05 million bbl/d
Major Oil Customers: Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States
Crude Refining Capacity (1/1/02E): 6.6 million bbl/d
Proven Natural Gas Reserves (1/1/02E): 1,700 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)
Natural Gas Production (2001E): 20.5 Tcf
Natural Gas Consumption (2001E): 13.8 Tcf
Net Natural Gas Exports (2001E): 6.7 Tcf
Coal Reserves (1/1/01E): 173 billion short tons
Coal Production (2000E): 281 million short tons (Mmst)
Coal Consumption (2000E): 298 Mmst
Electric Installed Capacity (2000E): 203 gigawatts (68% thermal, 21.5% hydro, 10.5% nuclear)
Electricity Generation (2000E): 836 billion kilowatt-hours (Bkwh)
Electricity Consumption (2000E): 767 Bkwh
Net Electricity Exports (2000E): 69 Bkwh

ENVIRONMENTAL OVERVIEW
Minister of Natural Resources: Vitaliy Grigoryevich Artyukhov
Total Energy Consumption (2000E): 28.1 quadrillion Btu* (7.1%) of world total energy consumption)
Energy-Related Carbon Emissions (2000E): 450.7 million metric tons of carbon (7.0% of world carbon emissions)
Per Capita Energy Consumption (2000E): 192.9 million Btu (vs. U.S. value of 351.0 million Btu)
Per Capita Carbon Emissions (2000E): 3.1 metric tons of carbon (vs. U.S. value of 5.6 metric tons of carbon)
Energy Intensity (2000E): 80,316 Btu/$1995 (vs U.S. value of 10,918 Btu/$1995)**
Carbon Intensity (2000E): 1.29 metric tons of carbon/thousand $1995 (vs U.S. value of 0.17 metric tons/thousand $1995)**
Sectoral Share of Energy Consumption (1997E): Industrial (64.3%), Residential (17.9%), Transportation (17.1%), Commercial (0.7%)
Sectoral Share of Carbon Emissions (1997E): Industrial (64.8%), Transportation (17.8%), Residential (17.4%)
Fuel Share of Energy Consumption (2000E): Natural Gas (45.5%), Coal (32.7%), Oil (18.5%)
Fuel Share of Carbon Emissions (2000E): Natural Gas (50.8%), Coal (26.2%), Oil (21.7%)
Renewable Energy Consumption (1997E): 2,482 trillion Btu* (1% increase from 1996)
Number of People per Motor Vehicle (1997): 6.5 (vs. U.S. value of 1.3)
Status in Climate Change Negotiations: Annex I country under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (ratified December 28th, 1994). Under the negotiated Kyoto Protocol (signed on March 11th, 1999, but not yet ratified), Russia has agreed to stabilize greenhouse gases at 1990 levels by the 2008-2012 commitment period.
Major Environmental Issues: air pollution from heavy industry, emissions of coal-fired electric plants, and transportation in major cities; industrial, municipal, and agricultural pollution of inland waterways and sea coasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil contamination from improper application of agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of sometimes intense radioactive contamination; ground water contamination from toxic waste.
Major International Environmental Agreements: A party to Conventions on Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands and Whaling. Has signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol.

* The total energy consumption statistic includes petroleum, dry natural gas, coal, net hydro, nuclear, geothermal, solar and wind electric power. The renewable energy consumption statistic is based on International Energy Agency (IEA) data and includes hydropower, solar, wind, tide, geothermal, solid biomass and animal products, biomass gas and liquids, industrial and municipal wastes. Sectoral shares of energy consumption and carbon emissions are also based on IEA data.

**GDP based on EIA International Energy Annual 2000

ENERGY INDUSTRY
Organization: Russia's energy sector is overseen by the Ministry of Energy, except for nuclear power, which is administered by the Ministry of Atomic Energy (Minatom).
Russia's Oil Sector is dominated by large joint-stock companies, although smaller independent producers also produce oil. The major vertically integrated companies include Lukoil, Yukos, Surgutneftegaz, Tyumen Oil (TNK), Tatneft, Sibneft, Slavneft, and Rosneft. Transneft has a monopoly over crude oil transport, while Transnefteprodukt transports petroleum products.
Russia's Natural Gas Sector is dominated by the joint-stock company Gazprom, which is 38% owned by the Russian government. Gazprom produces over 90% of the country's natural gas and also controls Russia's pipeline network. Itera has gained a foothold in the natural gas sector as Russia's second-largest natural gas exporter.
Russia's Coal Sector, formerly operated by RosUgol, a government-owned holding company that was organized along regional lines, has been restructured, with many unprofitable mines closed down, RosUgol eliminated, and the remaining efficient mines privatized. Kuzbassrazrezugol and Krasnoyarskugol were Russia's biggest coal producers in 2001.
Russia's Electricity Sector is operated by the joint-stock company Unified Energy Systems (UES), which is majority state-owned. UES controls approximately 70% of the country's distribution system, 21 thermal power plants, 8 nuclear power plants, and oversees the country's 72 regional electricity companies, known as energos.
Major Producing Oil Fields: Samotlor, Romashkino, Mamontov, Fedorov, Lyantor, Arlan, Krasnolenin, Vatyegan, Sutormin
Major Oil Terminals: Novorossiisk (Black Sea), Tuapse (Black Sea), Primorsk (Baltic Sea); Russia also uses ports at Ventspils (Latvia), Odesa (Ukraine), Klaipeda (Lithuania), and Butinge (Lithuania)
Major Oil Export Pipelines outside the Commonwealth of Independent States: Friendship (Druzhba) (1.2 million bbl/d nominal capacity)
Major Oil Refineries (1/1/02E) (Capacity in bbl/d): Omsk (566,000), Angarsk (441,000), Nizhniy Novgorod (438,000), Grozny (390,000), Kirishi (388,000), Novo-Ufa (380,000), Ryazan (361,000), Novo-Kuibishev (309,000), Yaroslavl (290,000), Perm (279,000), Ufaneftekhim (251,000), Salavatnefteorgsintez (247,000), Moscow (243,000), Ufa (235,000), Syzran (211,000), Volgograd (200,000), Saratov (177,000), Orsk (159,000), Samara-Kuibishev (154,000), Achinsk (147,000), Ukhta (127,000), Nizhnekamsk (120,000), Komsomolsk (108,000)
Major Foreign Oil Company Involvement: Agip, BP, British Gas, ChevronTexaco, Conoco, ExxonMobil, Neste Oy, Norsk Hydro, McDermott, Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Royal Dutch/Shell, Statoil, and TotalFinaElf.
Major Producing Natural Gas Fields: Urengoy, Yamburg, Medvezh, Orenburg, Severo Urengoy, Vyngapurov
Major Natural Gas Export Pipelines outside the Commonwealth of Independent States (Capacity): Brotherhood (Bratrstvo), Progress, and Union (Soyuz) (to Europe, via Ukraine) (1 Tcf each); Northern Lights (0.8 Tcf) (to Europe, via Belarus and Ukraine), Volga/Urals-Vyborg (to Finland) (0.1 Tcf); Yamal (to Europe, via Belarus) (1.0 Tcf); Blue Stream (0.56 Tcf) (to Turkey, under construction)
Major Coal Producing Basins: Chelyabinsk, Kansk-Achinsk, Kuznetsk, Lena, Moscow, Pechora, Raychikhinsk, South Yakutia, Taymyr, Zyryanka


Sources for this report include: Agence France Presse, Asia Pulse, Associated Press, BBC Monitoring International Reports, Central Asia & Caucasus Business Report, Caspian News Agency, Caspian Business Report, CIA World Factbook, Current Digest of the Post-Soviet Press, The Economist, Energy Day, The Financial Times, FSU Energy, FSU Oil and Gas Monitor, Gas Connections, Global Insight, Hart's European Fuel News, Interfax News Agency, The International Herald Tribune, International Petroleum Finance, ITAR-TASS News Agency, Mining & Metals Report, The Moscow Times, Oil and Gas Journal, Petroleum Economist, Petroleum Report, Platt's International Coal Report, Platt's Oilgram News, Polish News Bulletin, PR Newswire, Project Finance, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Reuters, RosBusinessConsulting Database, Russian Economic News, The Russian Oil & Gas Report, Turkish Daily News, Ukraine Business Report, U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Energy Information Administration, U.S. Department of State, Warsaw Business Journal, World Gas Intelligence, and World Markets Analysis.