IG, UNOMSIL, UNPREDEP, 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
consulate(s) general: New York, San Francisco, and Seattle

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador James F. COLLINS
embassy: Novinskiy Bul'var 19/23, Moscow
mailing address: APO AE 09721
consulate(s) general: St. Petersburg, Vladivostok, Yekaterinburg

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

Economy

Economy--overview: Seven years after the collapse of the USSR,
Russia is still struggling to establish a modern market economy and
achieve strong economic growth. Russian GDP has contracted an
estimated 43% since 1991, including a 5% drop in 1998, despite the
country's wealth of natural resources, its well-educated population,
and its diverse--although increasingly dilapidated--industrial base.
By the end of 1997, Russia had achieved some progress. Inflation had
been brought under control, the ruble was stabilized, and an
ambitious privatization program had transferred thousands of
enterprises to private ownership. Some important market-oriented
laws were also passed, including a commercial code governing
business relations and an arbitration court for resolving economic
disputes. But in 1998, the Asian financial crisis swept through the
country, contributing to a sharp decline in russia's earnings from
oil exports and resulting in an exodus of foreign investors. Matters
came to a head in August 1998 when the government allowed the ruble
to fall precipitously and stopped payment on $40 billion in ruble
bonds. Ongoing problems include an undeveloped legal and financial
system, poor progress on restructuring the military-industrial
complex, and persistently large budget deficits, largely reflecting
the inability of successive governments to collect sufficient taxes.
Russia's transition to a market economy has also been slowed by the
growing prevalence of payment arrears and barter and by widespread
corruption. The severity of Russia's economic problems is dramatized
by the large annual decline in population, estimated by some
observers at 800,000 people, caused by environmental hazards, the
decline in health care, and the unwillingness of peop