Country Profile

Country: Russian Federation

Committee: UNGA
Agenda:
The Impact of Transnational
Organized Crime on Security
and The Economy
History
Russia, the worlds largest nation, borders European and
Asian countries as well as the Pacific and Arctic oceans.
Its landscape ranges from tundra and forests to
subtropical beaches. Its famous for novelists Tolstoy
and Dostoevsky, plus the Bolshoi and Mariinsky ballet
companies. St. Petersburg, founded by legendary Russian
leader Peter the Great, features the baroque Winter
Palace, now housing part of the Hermitage Museums art
collection.
Founded in the 12th century, the Principality of Muscovy
was able to emerge from over 200 years of Mongol
domination (13th-15th centuries) and to gradually
conquer and absorb surrounding principalities. In the
early 17th century, a new ROMANOV Dynasty
continued this policy of expansion across Siberia to the
Pacific. Under PETER I (ruled 1682-1725), hegemony
was extended to the Baltic Sea and the country was
renamed the Russian Empire. During the 19th century,

more territorial acquisitions were made in Europe and

Asia. Defeat in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05
contributed to the Revolution of 1905, which resulted in
the formation of a parliament and other reforms.
Repeated devastating defeats of the Russian army in
World War I led to widespread rioting in the major cities
of the Russian Empire and to the overthrow in 1917 of
the imperial household. The communists under Vladimir
LENIN seized power soon after and formed the USSR.
The brutal rule of Iosif STALIN (1928-53) strengthened
communist rule and Russian dominance of the Soviet
Union at a cost of tens of millions of lives. After
defeating Germany in World War II as part of an alliance
with the US (1939-1945), the USSR expanded its
territory and influence in Eastern Europe and emerged as
a global power. The USSR was the principal adversary of
the US during the Cold War (1947-1991). The Soviet
economy and society stagnated in the decades following
Stalins rule, until General Secretary Mikhail
GORBACHEV
(1985-91)
introduced
glasnost
(openness) and perestroika (restructuring) in an attempt
to modernize communism, but his initiatives
inadvertently released forces that by December 1991
splintered the USSR into Russia and 14 other
independent republics.
Following economic and political turmoil during
President Boris YELTSIN's term (1991-99), Russia
shifted toward a centralized authoritarian state under the
leadership of President Vladimir PUTIN (2000-2008,
2012-) in which the regime seeks to legitimize its rule
through managed elections, populist appeals, a foreign
policy focused on enhancing the country's geopolitical
influence, and commodity-based economic growth.

Russia faces a largely subdued rebel movement in

Chechnya and some other surrounding regions, although
violence still occurs throughout the North Caucasus.

Geography
Russia is the largest country in the world; its total
area
is
17,075,400
square
kilometres
(6,592,800 sq mi). There are 23 UNESCO World
Heritage Sites in Russia, 40 UNESCO biosphere
reserves, 41 National Parks and 101 nature reserves.
It lies between latitudes 41 and 82 N and
longitudes 19 E and 169 W.
Russia's territorial expansion was achieved largely in the
late 16th century under the Cossack Yermak
Timofeyevich during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, at a
time when competing city-states in the western regions
of Russia had banded together to form one country.
Yermak mustered an army and pushed eastward where
he conquered nearly all the lands once belonging to the
Mongols defeating their ruler, Khan Kuchum.
Russia has a wide natural resource base, including major
deposits of timber, petroleum, natural gas, coal, ores and
other mineral resources.

Foreign Relations:
The Russian Federation is recognized in international
law as a successor state of the former Soviet Union.
Russia continues to implement the international
commitments of the USSR, and has assumed the
USSR's permanent seat in the UN Security Council,

membership in other international organisations, the

rights and obligations under international treaties,
and property and debts. Russia has a multifaceted
foreign policy. As of 2009, it maintains diplomatic
relations with 191 countries and has 144 embassies.
The foreign policy is determined by the President and
implemented by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
Russia.
As the successor to a former superpower, Russia's
geopolitical status has often been debated, particularly in
relation to unipolar and multipolar views on the global
political system. While Russia is commonly accepted to
be a great power, in recent years it has been
characterized by a number of world leaders, scholars,
commentators and politicians as a currently reinstating
or potential superpower.
As one of five permanent members of the UN Security
Council, Russia plays a major role in maintaining
international peace and security. The country participates
in the Quartet on the Middle East and the Six-party
talks with North Korea. Russia is a member of the G8
industrialized nations, the Council of Europe, OSCE,
and APEC. Russia usually takes a leading role in
regional organisations such as the CIS, EurAsEC, CSTO,
and the SCO. Russia became the 39th member state of
the Council of Europe in 1996. In 1998, Russia ratified
the European Convention on Human Rights. The legal
basis for EU relations with Russia is the Partnership and
Cooperation Agreement, which came into force in 1997.
The Agreement recalls the parties' shared respect for
democracy and human rights, political and economic
freedom and commitment to international peace and
security. In May 2003, the EU and Russia agreed to

reinforce their cooperation on the basis of common

values and shared interests. Former President Vladimir
Putin had advocated a strategic partnership with close
integration
in
various
dimensions
including
establishment of EU-Russia Common Spaces. Since the
dissolution of the Soviet Union, Russia has developed a
friendlier relationship with the United States and NATO.
The NATO-Russia Council was established in 2002 to
allow the United States, Russia and the 27 allies in
NATO to work together as equal partners to pursue
opportunities for joint collaboration.

Government:
The president is elected by popular vote for a six-year
term (eligible for a second term, but not for a third
consecutive term). Ministries of the government are
composed of the Premier and his deputies, ministers, and
selected other individuals; all are appointed by the
President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister
(whereas the appointment of the latter requires the
consent of the State Duma). Leading political parties in
Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the,
and A Just Russia. In 2013, Russia was ranked as 122nd
of 167 countries in the Democracy Index compiled by
the Economist.

Economy:
Russia has undergone significant changes since the
collapse of the Soviet Union, moving from a centrally
planned economy towards a more market-based system.
Both economic growth and reform have stalled in recent

years, however, and Russia remains a predominantly

statist economy with a high concentration of wealth.
Russia has a developed, high-income market economy
with enormous natural resources, particularly oil and
natural gas. It has the 15th largest economy in the world
by nominal GDP and the 6th largest by purchasing power
parity (PPP). Since the turn of the 21st century, higher
domestic consumption and greater political stability have
bolstered economic growth in Russia.

Foreign Policy:
Russias view of the modern world, as well as its goals
and objectives are reflected in the Foreign Policy
Concept adopted in 2013. It evaluates the global situation
and analyses the processes unfolding in the world and its
regions. On its basis the foreign strategy of the country
has been found in full recognition of the fundamentally
new geopolitical situation in the world. The system of
international relations is in transition as a new
polycentric world order is taking root. We are witnessing
the creation of a fundamentally new global model
marked by growing competition in all spheres, including
social and economic development and moral values.
Evidently, Russia is well placed to consolidate its role as
one of the centres of the new multipolar system and
actively impact the global situation with a view to
ameliorating it, strengthening security and stability,
putting in place favourable external conditions for the
countrys internal development to ensure sustainable
economic growth and thus a higher quality of life for
Russian citizens. The independent foreign policy pursued

by Russia in accordance with modern trends and longstanding traditions is in increasingly high demand in the
world, attracting a wide range of partners from Asia,
Africa, Latin America and Europe.
Russia has
consistently advocated an inclusive and positive agenda
aimed not at restricting but rather amplifying ties
between states. Our country stands ready to join efforts
with all those who are equally willing to cooperate in line
with the principles of equality, mutual respect, mutual
benefit and norms of international law, as well as
recognition of the central role of the United Nations in
global affairs. The work of the UN Security Council, the
Group of 20, BRICS, SCO and CSTO clearly
demonstrates the efficiency of joint efforts. Conversely,
the Ukrainian crisis was a consequence of a policy of
strengthening ones own security at the expense of
others, which has been pursued by Western states for
over a quarter of a century aiming to expand areas under
their geopolitical control. This was manifested by
successive waves of NATO expansion despite assurances
to the contrary at the highest level and in violation of
solemn declarations on the establishment of a system of
equal and indivisible security in the Euro-Atlantic space.
The current negative turn in global affairs is not our
choice. Russia will continue working under these
circumstances and remains open for dialogue. There is
no viable alternative to mutually beneficial and equalfooted cooperation between Russia and the EU, as our
countries are closely intertwined by virtue of numerous
geographic, economic, historical and human ties. We are
ready to mutually approximate positions and seek
compromises, but only on the basis of equality and true
consideration of each others interests, excluding any

attempts of blackmail and diktat. The establishment of

the Eurasian Economic Union is making a tangible
contribution to the development of wide-ranging
cooperation in the region. We are convinced that gradual
steps towards creating a common economic and
humanitarian space from Lisbon to Vladivostok based on
the principles of equal and indivisible security should
serve as a strategic guideline in shaping a new
architecture on the European continent. In this regard it
seems particularly important to establish direct dialogue
between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic
Union, including their respective supranational executive
bodies, with a view to perfecting models of mutually
beneficial and equal-footed harmonisation of the
processes of European and Eurasian integration. - See
more
at:
http://www.russianmission.eu/en/russianforeign-policy#sthash.cB5hoBsv.dpuf