Originally the civil ensign, this flag was first
recognized for use on land in 1883, and was used
until the fall of the Kerensky Government in
1917. It was re-adopted as the flag of the Russian Federation in August of 1991.


General [comparable U.S. figures follow in brackets]
Name: Russian Federation; independence declared August 24, 1991
Area: 6.5 million square miles [3.8 million square miles]
Population: 147.5 million [260.7 million]
Official language: Russian (over 140 other languages and dialects currently in use)
Currency: Ruble (technically consists of 100 kopeks, at present obsolete)
Rate of exchange: 29.5 = about $1 (March, 2002; for current rate, see Xenon Laboratories)
Demographics
Population density: 22 per square mile [69 per square mile]
Ethnic composition: Russians: 81%; Tatars: 4%; Ukrainians: 3%; Chuvash: 1.2%; Others (less than 1% each): 10.5%
Age structure: 0-14 years: 20% [22%]; 15-64 years: 67% [65%]; 65 years+: 13% [13%]
Literacy: 98%
Economy
GDP: $452 billion (1997 estimated)
Exports: $88.3 billion (1996)
Imports: $59.8 billion (1996)
Foreign debt: $130 billion (year end, 1996)
Labor force: 73 million (1996)
Unemployment: 9.3% nominal (1996), considerable additional underemployment
Agriculture
Arable land: 11% [20%]
Land use: arable - 8%; meadows and pastures - 5%; forest and woodland - 45%; other - 42%
Main crops: grain, cotton, sugar beets, potatoes, vegetables, sunflowers
Major Cities and Populations (year founded in parenthesis)
Moscow (1147) - 9 million
St. Petersburg (1703) - 4.9 million
Nizhny Novgorod (1221) - 1.42 million
Novosibirsk (1893) - 1.41 million
Yekaterinburg (1723) - 1.37 million
Samara (1586) - 1.2 million
Vladivostok (1860) - 0.63 million
(Sources: State Department Background Notes 1998; CIA World Factbook 1997 )

Major Holidays
January 1 - New Year's Day
January 7 - Russian Orthodox Christmas.
March 8 - International Women's Day (also known as the "Spring Holiday")
April 4 - May 8 - Russian Orthodox Easter (must be calculated each year). The first Sunday after the first full moon following the vernal equinox; this day must follow Passover. If it does not, the Easter is celebrated the following Sunday.
May 1 - International Labor Day
May 9 - Victory Day (1945)
June 12 - Russian Independence Day
December 12 - Constitution Day
December 24-25 - (European) Christmas. Celebrated selectively, depending on ties and degree of contact with Westerners.
Please note: If a holiday falls on a Thursday