Russia
Vital indicators
The countrys socio-economic and political conditions can better be understood by studying indicators such as life expectancy and literacy rates.
The statistics are impressive, although one thing that may be of concern to anyone is the difference in life expectancy between the men and the women in this country. The disparities in life expectancy have been attributed to unhealthy lifestyles of the men in this country. Russians have the unsavory reputation of drinking too much vodka, something that has been attributed to the cold climatic conditions (irony). According to (United Nations), the smoking prevalence rates for men are 60 while that of females are 25, an indicator of the unhealthy lifestyle the men in Russia live.
For other comparison purposes however, it would be helpful to first look at similar statistics from a neighboring country, and for diversity purposes, avoid countries that were part of the USSR. This is informed by the wisdom that there must be some inherent similarities in population characteristics for former USSR countries to the extent that the resulting political, social and economic order may be too similar, and not representative of the diversity of the region. For that reason, Finland, a Scandinavian country to the North of Russia makes a good comparison. Coincidentally, the country was under Russian rule that ended in 1917. Finland is an extensively welfare state with a small population, and a high quality of life compared to Russia.
Prevalent diseases and infections
Russia has a number of diseases that anyone getting in to the country would face a high risk of contracting. It would not be helpful to provide a list of diseases that are merely prevalent in Russia instead, it would be better to focus on diseases that are infectious because these are the ones that represent high risk for anyone visiting the country. According to (Indexmundi), the following list represents infectious diseases that are common in Russia.
Analysis
The statistics tell a story. They actually validate the claim made earlier on that the quality of life for the Finnish is much better than that of the Russian. However the facts have to be looked at contextually to reflect the historical nature of these countries for the figures to make sense. To start with, Russia was under control of communism for close to 70 years with near disastrous effects to the countrys economy. To date, the country is still reeling from the effects of this policy, and it would be unfair to expect the effect to be undone within a short period of time.
The countrys transition was not without problems, there was the economic crisis in 1998 that saw the cash strapped government of Boris Yeltsin pay civil servants in the form of locally produced goods. However, the country has since made great strides, and has had an average economic growth of 7 since 1998, which has led to the doubling of the citizens disposable income (Central Intelligence Agency). Finland on the other hand, has had sound economic policies since the 1950s when it moved away from the largely agrarian economy towards industrialization. It therefore follows that the country has since then improved the quality of life for its citizens because it has always had the economic means for infrastruture and social spending. One distinguishing factor between the two countries is the disease prevalence, especially the fact that Finland shows low prevalence of water borne diseases. High prevalence of water borne diseases is a symptom of poor sanitation conditions, something that is prevalent in societies with poorly developed healthcare systems as well as inefficent water supply infrastructure.
Structured overview
Russia is the largest country in the world in terms of size with a population of over 140 million people. It is a country of enornous natural resources, and is currently the largest exporter of oil and natural gas in the world. Given the countrys size, it also follows that the climate is diverse to reflect the large area of the country that traverses many climatic zones. Some of the climatic zones include the siberia, polar North, southern steppes and the Artic coast. Most of the Russian population is however urban, with 73 of the population living in urban centers (Globalis ).
In terms of ethnicity, Russia is one of the most ethnically diverse societies in the world with over 160 native languages.
Evidently, the Russian dialect is the language that is spoken by the majority of the Russians, and is in fact, the official language. According (Vor) the Russian language is spoken by over 288 million people, meaning that the language is spoken even by those outside the country, most of who are former citizens of the defunct USSR. Russians are very proud of themselves, from their dressing, their flag, language culture and anything that symbolizes being Russian, something attributable to military might and past successes in space exploration. In addition, it is usual for countries with social and political conditions that resemble socialism andor communism like the former USSR, and to some extent the current Russia, to indoctrinate its citizens with philosophies that promote unquestioning loyalty to country. In Russia therefore, ones pride is in being Russian by doing anything Russian, for example, speaking the Russian language or singing the national anthem.
Religion in Russia has undergone a number of changes since the introduction of a clause that ended the era of the Russian Orthodox Church as the official religion of the country in 1904. The introduction of freedom of worship was however short lived because in 1917 there was the communist revolution frustrated the application of this freedom in the country for the next seventy years. However, with the collapse of communism in 1991, religious freedom was once again reintroduced, and since then, the Russian religion has been diverse.
From the figures, it is evident that there is a large number of Russians who do not practice religion. That is the legacy of 70 years of soviet rule during which time, the official religion was atheism.
Like all other aboriginals in the world, the Russian aboriginals are finding modernization having an adverse effect on their lives. The groups are spread all through the vast country, but most have had their populations greatly reduced due to effects of modernization that has denied them their traditional lifestyles such as hunting. The country has over 30 aborigine groups, some with a population less than three hundred (vulkaner). These groups have somewhat experienced a degree of marginalization, although this is common with all aboriginals. Other groups such the elderly, men at the lower end of the labor market and sufferers of HIVAIDS also face constant marginalization from the mainstream society.
There has been a great deal of women empowerment in the country since the fall of Soviet republics, with women having the same literacy standards as the men. This has however led to an uneasy relationship between men and women, thus affecting the family structure in the society. The divorce rates are now higher (50), and a good number of ladies are postponing having babies as they seek to advance their careers (White).
Historical overview
Major historical events that shaped the current Russia started in 1904. It was in 1904 that the country introduced freedom of worship ending the dominance of Russian Orthodox Church. 1917 was the year that the communist revolution started and reached its zenith in 1922, leading to the emergence of communism. It was from this point on that citizens lost their civil liberties such as the right to worship, something that has led to the high incidences of atheism in the country.
The Second World War is also another event that shaped the country. The country played a major role in the war, and subsequently, emerged as a major military power in the world. The end of the war however led to another war that was to be known as the cold war, which pitted the country against the US. The cold war led to an arms race as each of the country sought to strengthen its military, and to date Russia and US remain the highest defense spenders in the world. In addition, the two countries treat each other with a lot of suspicion, the best example being the constant attempt by Russia to reduce US influence in Eastern Europe. Russia, as a result, is in constant conflict with its neighbors, an example Ukraine and Georgia. The countrys aim is to become the dominant power in the region to the exclusion of the US, and to do this, the country regularly uses its oil and natural gas resources to intimidate its neighbors. However, soon the country will have to contend with rising Chinese influence in the region.
Living standards
With the over ten years of sustained economic growth, the quality of life for the Russians has greatly improved, and as noted earlier, the country has seen an improvement in the disposable income of the citizens. According to (Central Intelligence Agency), the service industry employs 58.8 of the population, which is a positive indicator as far as living standards are concerned, which remains a far cry from the 73.2 which is the proportion of those employed by the service industry in Switzerland. Citizens of Switzerland have been known to enjoy some of the highest living standards in the world to the extent that the population living under the poverty line is negligible while for Russia 15 of the population live under the poverty line.
Russian housing is mainly made up of the soviet era housing, which is old and in constant need of rehabilitation, which is a different situation from the Switzerland housing which is advanced, although there is a perennial shortage of houses in the country. In terms of electricity consumption Russia has a per capita consumption of 6,968.565 kWh, while Switzerland has a per capita consumption of 7,897.628 kWh. Another comparison between these two countries that is indicative of the disparities in living standards is the mobile phone penetration. While Switzerland has 920,655 per 1 million people, Russia has 838.495 per 1 million people.
One area that Russia clearly trails Switzerland is access to water. Most of Russias water sources are heavily polluted, something that has led to the country having difficulties in supplying its citizens with clean drinking water. According to (B, M and A.), although Russia is endowed with enormous water resources, 50 of its population drinks poor quality water, while Switzerland, on the other hand, is able to provide clean water to all its citizens.
Switzerland is a very safe country with violent crime being virtually nonexistent. In fact, the rare occurrences of the crime have been attributed to foreigners, a contrast to Russia, which has a high crime rate, and especially organized crime. One of the things one is always advised to do when visiting Russia is to avoid showing off. To stay safe one is better off keeping such things money in possession a secret because any form of behavior that betrays the amount of money in possession might lead to an attack
The Russian police are very much alike to those of the communist regime. They are not a service per se, meaning that they do not have a lot of regards for human rights. In other words, while the security systems in most of the civilized countries can be termed as police service, the Russian police are a police force.
Medical care in Russia is the same one inherited from the Soviets, but the positive factor regarding the Russian healthcare system is that it has sufficient staffing compared to other health care systems in the world. Switzerland, being a welfare state, operates a healthcare system that makes health insurance compulsory for all its citizens, and thus all the citizens of the Switzerland have access to healthcare.
According to (travelguide), Switzerlands transport system is one of the finest in the world, with 95 of the arrivals happening at less than 5 minutes delay, while 75 of the arrivals happen with delays of less than one minute delay. The same cannot be said of Russia, whose transport system is heavily reliant on the old rail transport inherited from the Soviets. Most of the well developed transport infrastructure is based in Moscow, which indicates a huge inequality in infrastructure development.
Although the press is not fully free in Russia, per capita access to television and radio remain high. According to (culturalpolicies), 99.6 of the population has access to radio, while 88.3 of the population has access to television. Switzerlands figures are at about 98, but nevertheless, the Russian market is growing.
The entertainment center of Russia is Moscow, which has many theaters, clubs and other entertainment attractions, but, the countryside too is full of attractions such as parks, natural features, and for those who may enjoy traveling, there is the trans-Siberian railway. Similarly, Switzerland entertainment scenery is characterized by a vibrant nightlife, but unlike Russia, the entertainment is well distributed in all the cities across the country. Each of the cities in the country has a symphony orchestra with some having local folk entertainment, this is in addition to amusement parks, films, animations and so on.
In terms of cost of living, Switzerland has a much higher cost of living compared to Russia. To put this in to perspective, the cost of cable television and internet in Russia is 40 while the cost in Switzerland is 93. Similarly, the cost of general house utilities in Russia is 40 while the same costs 641 in Switzerland.
Symbols and culture
Some of the Heroes in Russia include Ivan III, who was the first tsar, Alexander nevsky and Boris Godunov. Most of the modern day leaders such as Stalin, Yeltsin are not yet heroes, but some of them including Vladimir Putin, Mikhail Gorberchev may become heroes in future once the impacts of their leaderships are fully comprehended. The Tsar culture in Russia was alive from the 16th century, and naturally, national heroism was bound to revolve around them.
Holidays in Russia are a fair mix of celebrations. A trait that comes out of these holidays is the influence of the Russian Orthodox Church because even though Russia is a secular state, it adheres to the calendar of the Russian Orthodox Church. Other than that peculiarity, Russian holidays are multi dimensional.
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