Open Joint Stock Company Gazprom

APPENDIX A — OVERVIEW OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATIONThe following information has been extracted from publicly available sources. It has not beenindependently verified by Gazprom. Neither Gazprom nor the Managers accept any responsibility forthe accuracy or completeness of this information.GeneralThe Russian Federation, or Russia, is a sovereign and democratic federal republic, consisting of89 subfederal political units (the "Federation Subjects"), and is constituted as a federation of republics,territories, regions, cities of federal importance and autonomous regions. It is the largest state toemerge from the former Soviet Union, covering an area of approximately 17.1 million square kilometres.Russia covers one-tenth of the world's land surface, making it the largest country in the world, almosttwice the size of the United States.Of the population of approximately 145 million, approximately 82% is ethnic Russian and a highpercentage (approximately 73%) live in cities and towns. The two largest cities are Moscow, withapproximately 8.55 million inhabitants, and St. Petersburg, with approximately 4.7 million inhabitants.Russia is a leading world producer of natural resources. The oil and gas industry plays animportant role in the domestic economy. There are also substantial mineral deposits including iron,nickel, copper, diamonds and gold, as well as timber.International RelationsRussia is a member of the United Nations (and a permanent member of the Security Council),the IMF, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and the European Bank forReconstruction and Development. Russia succeeded to the former Soviet Union's "observer status" tothe General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (currently, the World Trade Organisation) which wasgranted in May 1990 and in June 1993 made an official announcement of its intention to join the GeneralAgreement on Tariffs and Trade. Discussions regarding Russia's admission to the World TradeOrganisation started in 1995 and are continuing. Russia has also been awarded Most Favoured Nationstatus by several members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD").Russia has been granted observer status in a number of OECD committees and formally applied formembership in May 1996.Political Structure and Recent Political DevelopmentsFederal StructureIn 1990, Russia declared its sovereignty (though not its independence from the Soviet Union). InDecember 1991 Russia, Belarus and Ukraine joined together to dissolve the Soviet Union and form theCommonwealth of Independent States (the "CIS"). The CIS was subsequently joined by another 9former Soviet republics. Members of the CIS have entered into a series of political and economicagreements among them-selves.The Federation Treaty of 31 March 1992, signed by the majority of the Federation Subjects,initially gave to each a measure of control over budgetary and external policy as well as over the naturalresources of their territories, and the Constitution of Russia (the "Constitution") and individual treatiesbetween the Federation and some of the Federation Subjects subsequently confirmed and refined theterms of the division of authority between the Federation and its subjects.In general, disputes between the Federal authorities and Federation Subjects have been resolvedpeace-fully through a political process. The military confrontation in the Chechen Republic has been theexception. There has been military confrontation in the Chechen Republic between December 1994 andAugust 1996 (followed by a peace treaty in May 1997) and then again from August 1999 to date, withthe fighting now reduced to sporadic outbreaks. In January 2001 President Putin announced plans fora significant reduction in troop numbers and an eventual end to anti-terrorist operations. A local police95