Russia [Viktor
CHERNOMYRDIN]; Russian People's Republican Party [Aleksandr LEBED];
Congress of Russian Communities [Dmitriy ROGOZIN]; Women of Russia
[Alevtina FEDULOVA and Yekaterina LAKHOVA]
anti-market and/or ultranationalist : Communist Party of the Russian
Federation [Gennadiy ZYUGANOV]; Liberal Democratic Party of Russia
[Vladimir ZHIRINOVSKIY]; Agrarian Party [Mikhail LAPSHIN]; Power To
the People [Nikolay RYZHKOV and Sergey BABURIN]; Russian Communist
Workers' Party [Viktor ANPILOV and Viktor TYULKIN]
note: some 269 political parties, blocs, and associations tried to
gather enough signatures to run slates of candidates in the 17
December 1995 Duma elections; 43 succeeded

Political pressure groups and leaders: NA

International organization participation: BIS (pending member), BSEC,
CBSS, CCC, CE, CERN (observer), CIS, EBRD, ECE, ESCAP, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MTCR, NACC, NSG, OAS
(observer), OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council, UNAVEM III,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMIBH, UNMIH, UNMOP,
UNOMIG, UNPREDEP, UNTAES, UNTSO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
(applicant), ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission : Ambassador Yuliy Mikhaylovich VORONTSOV
chancery: 2650 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007
telephone : [1] (202) 298-5700 through 5704
FAX: [1] (202) 298-5735
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires John F. TEFFT
embassy : Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
telephone: [7] (095) 252-24-51 through 59
FAX: [7] (095) 956-42-61
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue,
and red

Economy

Economy - overview: Russia, a vast country with a wealth of natural
resources, a well-educated population, and a diverse, but declining,
industrial base, continues to experience formidable difficulties in
moving from its old centrally planned economy to a modern market
economy. Most of 1996 was a lost year for economic reforms, with
government officials focused in the first half of the year on
President YEL'TSIN's reelection and then on his medical problems. The
only major success was in the fight against inflation, which fell fr