Country Profile: Russian Federation (Observer)
BASIC FACTS
Russia is an Observer Country to NAM
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world by area spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It shares land borders with fourteen countries, is the world’s ninth-most populous country, and Europe’s most populous country. From 1922-1991 Russia was the largest and most Soviet Republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, and, following independence in 1991, assumed all international legal responsibilities of the Soviet Union. From 1945-1991 the Soviet Union and the United States of America led the Cold War East-Werst division of Europe and much of the globe. As such, Russia played an indirect, but critical role in the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement in opposition to the East-West ideological divide. As one of the five Nuclear-Weapon-States recognized under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Soviet Union and modern Russian Federation has played a central role in the global nuclear order since its inception. Today, Russia maintains the largest nuclear arsenal in the world.
Capital: Moscow
Russia is steadily advancing its plans to expand the role of nuclear energy, with a strong focus on developing new reactor technologies. Central to its strategy is the commitment to closing the nuclear fuel cycle, with fast neutron reactors playing a key role in achieving this goal. Nuclear exports are a major policy and economic priority for Russia, which is currently involved in the construction of approximately 20 reactors in other countries. Russia is recognized as a global leader in fast neutron reactor technology and is reinforcing this position through the Proryv ("Breakthrough") project. Domestically, Russia has 36 operable reactors with a total capacity of 26,802 MWe, 7 reactors under construction totaling 4,903 MWe, and 11 reactors that have been shut down, accounting for 4,893 MWe.
TREATIES AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATIONS
- Member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since 1957
- Signed 1925 Geneva Protocol in 1925
- Signed Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 1972
- Signed Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in 1993
- Signed Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in 1996
- Signed Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW) in 1981
- Signed International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terroris (ICSANT) in 2005
- Signed & Ratified Outer Space Treaty in 1967
- Signed & Ratified Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963
- Signed Sea-bed Treaty in 1971
- Signed Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 1968
AGREEMENTS (In Force):
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Agreement on the Privileges and Immunities of the International Atomic Energy Agency
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Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
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Amendment to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material
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Convention on Early Notification of a Nuclear Accident
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Convention on Assistance in the Case of a Nuclear Accident or Radiological Emergency
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Convention on Nuclear Safety
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Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management
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Application of safeguards in the USSR
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Protocol between the Russian Federation and the IAEA Additional to the Agreement between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the IAEA for the Application of Safeguards in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
REGIONAL GROUPS
- Member of the P5
- Member of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
- Member of the Eastern European Group
- Member of the G-20
- Member of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa group (BRICS)
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