A SUPPLEMENT TO EUROMONEYOverview of the economy The Russian Federation is an impressive country. Not only is it the largest country in the world, with 17 million square kilometres, it also brings together completely contradictory climatic conditions within one country, with arctic conditions in the north and hot, dry, steppes in the south. The Russian Federation also has marked regional cultural, ethnic, political, and economic variations, which only became clear with the dissolution of the former USSR at the end of 1991, and which put an end to the image maintained for decades of one large political and economic unit in the east. Today, this territorial diversity of Russia is one of the problems, but it is also an essential strength, for, in spite of the overall decline in the national economy, there are definitely regions which can be regarded as regions of hope and which could in future develop into flourishing economic centres. Such centres would enable Russia to make appropriate use of its wealth of natural resources and its considerable economic potential within the foreseeable future. Political situation: two options Boris Yeltsin was re-elected president of Russia in the summer of 1996. |