Russia

Facts

Economy
Vast natural resources including gas, oil, timber and minerals as well as huge amounts of arable land offer great economic power and potential. Sheer size, geographic isolation and few decent seaports have historically limited advancement. Marxist centralized politics and infrastructure prevented efficient exploitation of these resources for the people's benefit, but did allow for large-scale plundering. Oligarchs, Russia's homemade billionaires, at an opportune moment seized control of what has been state industries, thus concentrating most of the economy in the hands of a few man. Centralized forces under a strong president, a revamped manufacturing sector and high oil prices turned around the economic disaster of the 1990s to a stronger performing decade from 2000 to 2010, but government rhetoric makes it difficult to obtain accurate figures. What is undeniable is that Russia's poor and unemployed number in the millions, and the economy remains very dependent on oil and gas exports. A huge budget deficit, endemic corruption and bribery, a crumbling and aged infrastructure, limited foreign investment, low productivity (both industrially and agriculturally) and, most alarmingly, rapid demographic decline - all present a challenging future for Russia.