ABSTRACT
This chapter provides all basic political, economic, and demographic data on a territorial unit of the Russian Federation, Komi Republic, which is located on the northeast Russian plain and borders Arkhangelsk, Tyumen, Sverdlovsk, Perm, and Kirov oblasts. Over half of the population is Russian, while indigenous people, the Komi, make up less than one quarter of its citizens. Komi has trade partners in over 40 foreign countries. As a result, Komi is extremely vulnerable to price fluctuations. The worldwide drop in oil prices hurt Komi, forcing it to sell an additional 1 million tons of unprocessed oil in 1997. In March 1997 the Komi Supreme Court ruled that republican laws on local self-government were in violation of federal laws and demanded that local elections be held by October 1997. This order was then delayed by another case brought before the Russian Constitutional Court.
