Russia fared poorly in its war with Japan in 1904-1905. It lost its forward positions in Manchuria, much of its fleet, and some three hundred thousand casualties. A product of Russian imperial expansion in northwest Asia, the conflict grew out of its ambitions, which clashed with those of the Japanese. Japan wanted Korea, a free hand in southern Manchuria, and general regional hegemony. The Russians had almost exactly the same goals. Japan offered a diplomatic settlement, which the Russians turned down. Faced with no peaceful solution, the Japanese launched a surprise attack on Russian positions in the Far East in January 1904...

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Until 1906 Russia had no elected representative institution for the whole country. Created as the result of Tsar Nicholas II's promise to allow for one in the October Manifesto of 1905, the Gosudarstvennaya Duma (State Assembly) represented great democratic hopes to many Russians...

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Much ink has been spilled in assessing the importance of public opinion in foreign policy. In the context of Imperial Russia, public opinion long appeared to be irrelevant. An elitist state run by remote and unaccountable (to all but the tsar) officials paid little attention to public opinion with regard to foreign policy and almost any other subject. Policy was made on the basis of interests and their evaluation, often flawed, by high-ranking servitors of the state...

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ristocracy has many meanings in modern contexts. Traditional views of Imperial Russia contextualize its aristocracy as a study in decline during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The class of hereditary landowners that had long held sway over Russian political, social, and economic life seemed to be on the wane. Over time it owned less land, held fewer positions, and enjoyed less prominence than at any other time in its history. Together with the rise of new social groups that controlled more of Russia's wealth and civic prominence, the old-fashioned estate system seemed out of touch, and its pinnacle, the aristocracy, appeared to be in decline...

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Principal exports have traditionally been oil, natural gas, minerals, military equipment and weapons, gold, shipping, and transport services. Principal imports include machinery and equipment, consumer goods, medicines, meat, grain, sugar, and semifinished metal products. Mainly because of high international oil prices, export revenue soared after 2000. Import growth picked up over the same period as a result of rising real incomes and real ruble appreciation. The trade surplus increased to $87 billion in 2004...

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A central marketplace is a common feature of urban areas in Russia. Outside of Moscow and St. Petersburg, small open markets and kiosks are the primary retail establishments. Nationwide distribution channels are still largely undefined...

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Russia's tax system has historically been confusing, inefficient, unwieldy, and overbearing. Businesses and individuals routinely fail to pay their taxes on time, if at all. The government's need for money to pay pensions and salaries fueled a proliferation of taxes, including a tax on people crossing Russia's borders, additional levies on freight, new transit fees, and a tax on yields from government securities. In 1996, 26 tax collectors were killed, six were kidnapped, and 41 had their homes burned down. In the first half of 1997, the government only collected 57% of its targeted tax revenues...

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In 2005, Russia's labor force was estimated at 74.22 million. As of 2004, it was estimated that agriculture accounted for 10.3% of the country's workforce, with 68.3% in the services sector, and 21.4% in industry. Although Russia's unemployment rate in 2005 was estimated at 7.6%, a considerable number of workers were underemployed...

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In September 1991, a foreign investment law promoting the transfer of capital, technology, and know-how went into effect. Nonresidents may acquire partial shareholdings or form wholly owned subsidiaries in Russia. Foreign firms may obtain licenses to exploit natural resources. Foreign investors can be exempted from import duties and export taxes, and there is limited relief from profits tax, varying by sector and region. However, foreign investors remain concerned with the overall business climate in Russia. Vague business laws, an incoherent tax system, crime and corruption in commercial transactions, and a weak commitment to reform continue to erode investor confidence...

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In 1993, a total of 1,524 Russian companies were licensed to sell insurance and another 750 companies had applied for licenses. However, fewer than 2% of the operating firms had assets over r100 million ($80,000), and premium volume for the first nine months of 1993 amounted to only 1.3% of the GDP (as compared with volume of 2.9% for the former Soviet Union in 1990)...

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