The Russian Feder ation is a parliamentary republic.

Country's leader is a president who is elected for a term of 4 years. At the same time he is also the Supreme commander-in-chief of Military Powers.

Since March, 2000 the President of Russia is V.

Putin. Legislative and representative bodies of the RF is two-chamber Federal Assembly (Council of Federation and State Duma). Executive power is carried out by Government of Russia.

Russia is the federal state. In accordance with the Constitution 1993 the RF consists of 89 equitable subjects of federation, including 49 regions and 6 territories (in the mainly Russian regions), 21 national republic (Karelia, Komi, Mordovia, Mari-El, Chuvashia, Udmurtia, Tatarstan, Bashkortostan, Kalmykia, Adygei, Karachai-Cherkess, Kabardino-Balkaria, Daghestan, Ingushetia, Chechnya, North Osetiya-Alaniya, Altai, Khakassia, Buryatiya, Tuva, Sakha – Yakutia), 10 autonomous districts (Nenets, Komi-Permyak, Khanty-Mansiysk, Yamal-Nenets, Taimyr, Evenki, Ust-Ordynskiy Buryat, Agin Buryat, Koryak, Chukot), 1 autonomous region (Jewish) and 2 cities of federal submission such as Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

All subjects of federation have equal political status, identical representation in Council

of Federation, but in accordance with the economic and social potential they strongly differentiate.

Subjects are considerably different in

area.

At the local level all administrative territorial units are divided into districts which consist of rural and city administrations.

Russia (the Russian Federation) is the state with the biggest territory in the world. Its area is 17,1 mln sq km (10,6 mln sq miles), that makes more than 1/9 of dry land.

Russia is located in three hemispheres (northern, eastern and western) and occupies north -eastern part of the greatest continent

- Eurasia. Territory of Russia is in 11 time zones (from the 2nd to the 12th), but 11th and 12th zones are united in one, therefore zone time in Russia differs not for 11, but for 10 hours.

Russia is washed by waters of three oceans: the Arctic in the north, the Atlanti in the west and the Pacific in the east, and has the most extensive boundaries which are a 62,3 thousand km (38,7 thousand miles), from which 24,6 thousand km are land, and 37,7 thousand km are marine. (23,4 thousand miles). Such enormous territory and extensive boundaries cause many features of geopolitical position

of the country.

Geopolitical position of Russia became considerably worse as a result of liquidation of political block of countries of the Warsaw agreement and economic union ???? (Council for Mutual Economic Assistance). Greater part of former socialistic countries-allies of USSR has already entered in EEC (European Economic Community) and military block of NATO, the leader of which is the USA.

After them some former allied republics USSR joined in western association (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania). As a resul of all these geopolitical changes Russia in relation to the West practically got back to the state of times of Ivan the Terrible (XVI).

As a result of breaking-up of USSR Russia lost comfortable outlets to the seas, well equipped ports on Baltic (Riga, Tallin, Klaipeda, Ventspils) and on the Black sea (Odessa, Ilichevsk, Nikolaev, Sevastopol) and many naval bases. Having lost considerable territories Russia lost part of resource potential (deposits), and enormous general funds as factories, soldiery bases, sanatorium-and-spa institutions of all-union submission, facilities of the space center Baikonur (now it is necessary to pay Kazakhstan annual rent at 115 million dollars for them), etc. To compensate these losses, it was necessary in a great deal anew to create an industrial infrastructure (building of new carrying oil port on the Baltic sea in Ust-Lug, expansion of port powers in ports remaining in European part of country such as in Saint-Petersburg, Murmansk and Novorossisk, building of roundabout railway lines and pipelines and others).