is an honorary title awarded in the Russian Federation. It was established by the Federal Law of May 9, 2006. The title is awarded to Russian cities whose defenders displayed courage, steadfastness and mass heroism in fierce battles in the cities themselves or in their environs. The title is also awarded to the Hero Cities of the Russian Federation.

A stele depicting the city’s coat of arms and the text of the executive order by the President of the Russian Federation to bestow this title on the city is to be erected in each City of Military Glory and special public commemorative events are to be arranged, as well as regular celebratory fireworks on February 23 (Defender of the Fatherland Day), May 9 (Victory Day), and City Day.

was established by a decree of the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet of April 9, 1962, to commemorate the world’s first manned space flight by Yury Gagarin.

On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yury Gagarin was launched into space on the Vostok spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, completing an orbital flight around the Earth which lasted 108 minutes.

In honor of the fiftieth anniversary of human space flight, by its resolution of 7 April 2011 the General Assembly of the United Nations declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight.

was established in 2005 under the Federal Law On the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation. The term of office of the Civic Chamber is two years and its purpose is to help citizens interact with government officials and local authorities in order to take into account the needs and interests of citizens, to protect their rights and freedoms in the process of shaping and implementing state policies, and to exercise public control over the activities of executive authorities.

The Civic Chamber is formed in three stages. In the first stage, the President appoints 42 citizens who, in turn, elect 42 representatives from among national non-governmental organisations. Finally, representatives from regional and interregional public associations also nominate their candidates of whom 42 are approved by the two-thirds of the Chamber who have already been appointed.

Conclusions, suggestions, or addresses by the Civic Chamber are advisory in nature.

The Civic Chamber prepares and publishes an annual report on the state of civil society in the Russian Federation.

Detailed information on the Civic Chamber is available at its official website at http://www.oprf.ru/en.

is currently made up of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

The Organisation’s objectives are strengthening peace, international and regional security and stability, and the collective protection of freedom, territorial integrity, and sovereignty of its member-states, to be achieved first and foremost through political means.

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On May 15, 1992, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan signed the Tashkent Collective Security Treaty (CST). Azerbaijan signed the treaty on September 24, 1993, Georgia on September 9, 1993, and Belarus on December 31, 1993.

The treaty entered into force on April 20, 1994 for a term of five years, with the possibility of an extension. On April 2, 1999, the presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan signed a protocol to extend the treaty for further five years. However, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Uzbekistan declined the treaty extension.

It was decided at the Moscow session of the CST on May 14, 2002, to convert the CST into a full-fledged international organisation: the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO).

On December 2, 2004, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution granting the CSTO observer status.

On August 16, 2006, a resolution was signed in Sochi to restore Uzbekistan’s CSTO membership.

The Organisation’s supreme body is the Collective Security Council (CSC) consisting of the heads of the Organisation’s member-states.

Its permanent body is the Secretariat, headed by the Secretary General appointed by the CSC from among citizens of the member-states and reporting to the Council.

On February 4, 2009, a special session of the CSTO’s Collective Security Council in Moscow passed a resolution to create the Collective Rapid Reaction Force (CRRF).

Detailed information on CSTO is available at its official website at http://www.odkb.gov.ru/start/index_aengl.htm

was founded on December 8, 1991 in Viskuli residence of the Belarusian government in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, when the leaders of Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine signed the CIS Creation Agreement. On December 21, 1991, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the leaders of eleven of the post-Soviet sovereign states (all except the three Baltic states and Georgia) signed the Protocol to this Agreement.

In accordance with the Protocol, the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation, the Republic of Tajikistan, the Republic of Turkmenistan, the Republic of Ukraine, and the Republic of Uzbekistan formed the Commonwealth of Independent States based on the principles of equality. Georgia joined the Commonwealth in December 1993, but terminated its CIS membership on August 18, 2009.

The Commonwealth’s member-states are independent and equal subjects of international law.

Interaction between nations within the framework of the Commonwealth is conducted through its coordinating institutions, namely, the Council of Heads of State, the Council of Heads of Government, the Interparliamentary Assembly, and the Executive Committee.

brings together the full range of Russian enterprises, from small businesses to large corporations, industrial and financial groups.

The RF CCI’s main tasks are to represent entrepreneurs’ interests in dealing with state authorities; to help shape the legal environment and business infrastructure; and to provide assistance to Russian entrepreneurs in establishing business ties with foreign partners.

The Chamber’s framework includes 170 territorial chambers of commerce and industry.

The RF CCI is a member to the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Chambers Federation, Eurochambres, the Council of Heads of CCIs in CIS Member-States, and other international and regional organisations.

Additional information is available at the RF CCI’s official website at http://www.tpprf.ru/en/

was established on December 19, 2009, in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where the leaders of the three states – Dmitry Medvedev, Alexander Lukashenko, and Nursultan Nazarbayev – signed the Joint Statement on its founding. The first phase of the Customs Union’s functioning began on January 1, 2010, with the introduction of a uniform customs tariff.

The Customs Union’s highest bodies are the Interstate Councils of the heads of states and governments of its members. Its joint permanent governing body is the Customs Union Commission.

The Customs Union formation envisages creation of a common customs territory where no customs duties or economic restrictions will apply, save for special protective, anti-dumping and compensatory measures. Within the Customs Union, a uniform customs tariff and other uniform measures regulating the commodity trade with third nations will be applied.

encompasses 18 federal constituent entities of the Russian Federation: Belgorod Region, Ivanovo Region, Kaluga Region, Kostroma Region, Kursk Region, Lipetsk Region, Moscow, Moscow Region, Orel Region, Ryazan Region, Smolensk Region, Tambov Region, Tula Region, Tver Region, Vladimir Region, Voronezh Region, and Yaroslavl Region. The district’s administrative centre is the city of Moscow.

The Central Federal District is located in the European part of Russia, has an area of 652.7 thousand square kilometres (3.8 percent of Russia’s territory) and a population of 37.3 million people (25.5% of the nation’s inhabitants). Major European rivers, including the Volga, Don, and Dnieper, originate on the district’s territory.

The district’s main natural resource is the iron ore at the Kursk Magnetic Anomaly (KMA) – the most powerful iron ore basin in the world which is estimated to contain deposits of 200 to 210 million tonnes, or about half of the planet’s iron ore reserves and is located within the Kursk, Belgorod, and Orel Regions.

Engineering and metalworking are leading sectors of the CFD’s industries. Other well-developed sectors include the rocket and space industry, aircraft engineering, the electronic and radio sector, railway trains manufacturing, and the chemical industry. 30% of the nation’s light industry output is generated in the CFD.

is the upper chamber of the Federal Assembly or parliament of the Russian Federation. It is made up of two representatives from each of Russia’s federal constituent entities: one each from the legislative and executive bodies of regional authority.

The Council of Federation is a permanent body. Its sessions are held on an as-needed basis, but no less than twice per month. Members of the Council of Federation fulfil their duties on a permanent basis. Sessions of the Council of Federation are held in Moscow, from January 25 through July 15 and from September 16 through December 31.

The chamber’s main function is to exercise legislative powers. The Council of Federation examines federal constitutional laws and federal laws approved or passed by the State Duma.

It is mandatory for the Council of Federation to review federal laws passed by the State Duma on the following matters: the federal budget; federal taxes and duties; financial, currency, credit and customs regulation and money issue; ratification and denunciation of the Russian Federation’s international treaties; the status and protection of the Russian Federation’s state borders; and war and peace.

The Council of Federation is responsible, in particular, for approving the President of Russia’s executive orders on imposing martial law or declaring a state of emergency; deciding on the possibility of using the Russian Federation’s Armed Forces outside of Russia’s territory; calling an election of the President of Russia; and dismissing the President of Russia from office.

Members of the Council of Federation have immunity throughout their terms in office.