Russian Revolution of 1917

The February Revolution (Russian: Февра́льская револю́ция, IPA: [fʲɪvˈralʲskəjə rʲɪvɐˈlʲʉtsɨjə]) of 1917 was the first of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was centered on Petrograd, then the capital (now St. Petersburg), on Women's Day in March (late FebruaryJulian calendar). The revolution, confined to the capital and its vicinity and lasting less than a week, involved mass demonstrations and armed clashes with police and gendarmes, the last loyal forces of the Russian monarchy. In the last days mutinous Russian Army forces sided with the revolutionaries. The immediate result of the revolution was the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II, the end of the Romanov dynasty, and the end of the Russian Empire. The Tsar was replaced by a Russian Provisional Government under Prince Georgy Lvov. The Provisional Government was an alliance between liberals and socialists who wanted political reform. They set up a democratically-elected executive and constituent assembly. At the same time, socialists also formed the Petrograd Soviet, which ruled alongside the Provisional Government, an arrangement termed Dual Power.

in the
This revolution appeared to break out spontaneously, without any real leadership or formal planning. Russia had been suffering from a number of economic and social problems, which were compounded by the impact of World War I. Bread rioters and industrial strikers were joined on the streets by disaffected soldiers from the city's garrison. As more and more troops deserted, and with loyal troops away at the Front, the city fell into a state of chaos, leading to the overthrow of the Tsar.

The February Revolution was followed in the same year by the October Revolution, bringing Bolshevik rule and a change in Russia's social structure, and paving the way for the USSR.

Wounded Russian soldiers retreating from the front

The revolution was provoked not only by Russian military failures during the First World War, but also by public dissatisfaction with the way the country was being run on the Home Front by Tsarina Alexandra Fyodorovna of Hesse and Tsar Nicholas's ministers. The economic challenges Russia faced fighting a total war also contributed.
In August 1914, all classes supported and virtually all political deputies voted in favour of the war (despite calls from "defeatists", including Lenin of the Bolshevik party, that it was not a war worth fighting). The declaration of war was accompanied by a wave of jingoism and flag-waving, which served to effect a temporary moratorium on internal strife. After a few initial victories, such as in Galicia in 1915 and with the Brusilov offensive in 1916, the Tsar's armies were confronted with a number of very serious defeats. Nearly six million casualties had been accrued by January 1917. Mutinies sprang up more often (most due to simple war weariness), morale was at its lowest, and the (newly called up) officers and commanders were at times very incompetent. Like all of the major armies, Russia's armed forces suffered from inadequate supply. The pre-revolution desertion rate ran at around 34,000 a month. Meanwhile, the wartime alliance of industry, Duma and Stavka (Military High Command) started to work outside of the Tsar's control.
In an attempt to boost morale and to repair his own reputation of being a weak ruler, Nicholas announced in the summer of 1915 that he would become the new Commander-in-Chief of the army, in defiance of almost universal advice to the contrary. The result was disastrous on three grounds. Firstly, it associated the monarchy with the unpopular war; secondly, Nicholas proved a poor leader of men on the front line, often irritating his own commanders with his interference; and thirdly, whilst at the front, he was unavailable to govern. This left the reins of power to his wife, the German Tsarina Alexandra, who was unpopular and accused of being a spy and under the thumb of her confidant Rasputin, himself so unpopular that he was assassinated by the nobility in December 1916. The very assassination drove another wedge between monarchy and country over whether or not his death required grieving or celebration. Regardless, the Tsarina proved an ineffective ruler in a time of war, announcing a rapid succession of different Prime Ministers and angering the Duma. The lack of strong leadership is illustrated by a telegram from Octobrist politician Mikhail Rodzianko to the Tsar on 11 March [O.S. 26 February] 1917, in which Rodzianko begged for a minister with the "confidence of the country" be instated immediately. Delay, he wrote, would be "tantamount to death".
On the home front, a famine was looming and commodities were becoming scarce as a result of problems with the overstretched railroad network. Meanwhile, refugees from German-occupied Russia came in their millions. The Russian economy, which had just seen one of the highest growth rates in Europe, was blocked from the continent's markets by the war. Though industry did not collapse, it was put under considerable strain and when inflation soared, wages could not keep up. The Duma (lower house of parliament), composed of liberal deputies, warned Tsar Nicholas II of the impending danger and counselled him to form a new constitutional government, like the one he had dissolved after some short-term attempts in the aftermath of the 1905 Revolution. The Tsar ignored the Duma's advice. Historian Edward Acton argues that "by stubbornly refusing to reach any modus vivendi with the Progressive Bloc of the Duma... Nicholas undermined the loyalty of even those closest to the throne [and] opened an unbridgeable breach between himself and public opinion." In short, the Tsar no longer had the support of the military, the nobility or the Duma (collectively the élites), at the same time as the legitimacy of the monarchy with the Russian people was at a low ebb. The result was revolution.

Events

Protests

Putilov workers protesting in the streets

At the beginning of February, Petrograd workers began several strikes and demonstrations. On 7 March [O.S. 22 February], workers at Putilov, Petrograd's largest industrial plant, announced a strike. Although some clashes with the Tsar's forces did occur, no one was injured on the opening day. The strikers were fired, and some shops closed, resulting in further unrest at other plants.
The next day, a series of meetings and rallies were held for International Women's Day, which gradually turned into economic and political gatherings. Demonstrations were organised to demand bread, and these were supported by the industrial working force who considered them a reason for continuing the strikes. The women workers marched to nearby factories bringing out over 50,000 workers on strike. By 10 March [O.S. 25 February], virtually every industrial enterprise in Petrograd had been shut down, together with many commercial and service enterprises. Students, white-collar workers and teachers joined the workers in the streets and at public meetings. In the streets, red banners appeared and the crowds chanted "Down with the German woman! Down with Protopopov! Down with the war!"
To quell the riots, the Tsar looked to the army. At least 180,000 troops were available in the capital, but most were either untrained or injured. Historian Ian Beckett suggests around 12,000 could be regarded as reliable, but even these proved reluctant to move in on the crowd, since it included so many women. It was for this reason that when, on 11 March [O.S. 26 February], the Tsar ordered the army to suppress the rioting by force, troops began to mutiny.

Tsar's return and abdication

The Tsar had returned to his frontline base at Stavka on 7 March [O.S. 22 February]. After violence erupted, however, Mikhail Rodzianko, Chairman of the Duma, sent the Tsar a report of the chaos in a telegram (exact wordings and translations differ, but each retains a similar sense):

The situation is serious. The capital is in a state of anarchy. The Government is paralyzed. Transport service and the supply of food and fuel have become completely disrupted. General discontent is growing... There must be no delay. Any procrastination is tantamount to death.

—Rodzianko's first telegram to the Tsar, March 11 [O.S. February 26] 1917.

Nicholas' response on 12 March [O.S. 27 February], perhaps based on the Empress' earlier letter to him that the concern about Petrograd was an over-reaction, was one of irritation that "again, this fat Rodzianko has written me lots of nonsense, to which I shall not even deign to reply." Meanwhile, events were unfolding in Petrograd. The bulk of the garrison mutinied, starting with the Volynsky Life Guards regiment. In addition, the Cossack units that the government had come to rely on for crowd control, began to show signs that they supported the people. Although few actively joined the rioting, many officers were either shot or went into hiding; the ability of the garrison to hold back the protests was all but nullified, symbols of the Tsarist regime were rapidly torn down around the city and governmental authority in the capital collapsed – not helped by the fact that Nicholas had prorogued the Duma that morning, leaving it with no legal authority to act. The response of the Duma, urged on by the liberal bloc, was to establish a Temporary Committee to restore law and order; meanwhile, the socialist parties re-established the Petrograd Soviet, first created during the 1905 revolution, to represent workers and soldiers. The remaining loyal units switched allegiance the next day.

The Army Chiefs and the ministers who had come to advise the Tsar suggested that he abdicate the throne. He did so on 15 March [O.S. 2 March], on behalf of himself and his son, the hemophiliac Tsarevich. Nicholas nominated his brother, the Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich, to succeed him. But the Grand Duke realised that he would have little support as ruler, so he declined the crown on 16 March [O.S. 3 March], stating that he would take it only if that was the consensus of democratic action by the Russian Constituent Assembly, which shall define form of government for Russia. Six days later, Nicholas, no longer Tsar and addressed with contempt by the sentries as "Nicholas Romanov", was reunited with his family at the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoe Selo. He and his family and loyal retainers were placed under protective custody by the Provisional Government.

History of Russia prior to Russian Revolution

Tradition says the Viking Rurik came to Russia in 862 and founded the first Russian dynasty in Novgorod. The various tribes were united by the spread of Christianity in the 10th and 11th centuries; Vladimir “the Saint” was converted in 988. During the 11th century, the grand dukes of Kiev held such centralizing power as existed. In 1240, Kiev was destroyed by the Mongols, and the Russian territory was split into numerous smaller dukedoms. Early dukes of Moscow extended their dominion over other Russian cities through their office of tribute collector for the Mongols and because of Moscow's role as an administrative and trade center.
In the late 15th century, Duke Ivan III acquired Novgorod and Tver and threw off the Mongol yoke. Ivan IV—the Terrible (1533–1584), first Muscovite czar—is considered to have founded the Russian state. He crushed the power of rival princes and boyars (great landowners), but Russia remained largely medieval until the reign of Peter the Great (1689–1725), grandson of the first Romanov czar, Michael (1613–1645). Peter made extensive reforms aimed at westernization and, through his defeat of Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava in 1709, he extended Russia's boundaries to the west. Catherine the Great (1762–1796) continued Peter's westernization program and also expanded Russian territory, acquiring the Crimea, Ukraine, and part of Poland. During the reign of Alexander I (1801–1825), Napoléon's attempt to subdue Russia was defeated (1812–1813), and new territory was gained, including Finland (1809) and Bessarabia (1812). Alexander originated the Holy Alliance, which for a time crushed Europe's rising liberal movement.

Alexander II (1855–1881) pushed Russia's borders to the Pacific and into central Asia. Serfdom was abolished in 1861, but heavy restrictions were imposed on the emancipated class. Revolutionary strikes, following Russia's defeat in the war with Japan, forced Nicholas II (1894–1917) to grant a representative national body (Duma), elected by narrowly limited suffrage. It met for the first time in 1906 but had little influence on Nicholas.

Russian Federation - Introduction

Russian Federation Российская Федерация Rossiyskaya Federatsiya
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem:  "Государственный гимн Российской Федерации" "Gosudarstvenny gimn Rossiyskoy Federatsii"  (transliteration) "State Anthem of the Russian Federation"
Capital and largest city		Moscow 55°45′N 37°37′E / 55.750°N 37.617°E / 55.750; 37.617
Official languages		Russian official throughout the country; 27 other languages co-official in various regions
Ethnic groups (2010[1])		81.0% Russian 3.7% Tatar 1.4% Ukrainian 1.1% Bashkir 1.0% Chuvash 11.8% others / unspecified
Demonym		Russian
Government		Federal semi-presidential constitutional republic
-	President	Vladimir Putin
-	Prime Minister	Dmitry Medvedev
Legislature		Federal Assembly
-	Upper house	Federation Council
-	Lower house	State Duma
Formation
-	Kievan Rus'	882
-	Grand Duchy of Moscow	1283
-	Tsardom of Russia	16 January 1547
-	Russian Empire	22 October 1721
-	Russian SFSR	6 November 1917
-	Part of Soviet Union	10 December 1922
-	Russian Federation	25 December 1991
Area
-	Total	17,098,242 km2 (1st) 6,592,800 sq mi
-	Water (%)	13[2] (including swamps)
Population
-	2013 estimate	143,500,000[3] (9th)
-	Density	8.4/km2 (217th) 21.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2012 estimate
-	Total	$ 3.380 trillion[4]) (5th)
-	Per capita	$23,549[5] (43rd)
GDP (nominal)		2012 estimate
-	Total	$2.014 trillion[6]) (8th)
-	Per capita	$14,037[7] (50th)
Gini (2008)		42.3[8] medium · 83rd
HDI (2013)		0.788[9] high · 55th
Currency		Russian ruble (RUB)
Time zone		(UTC+3 to +12a)
Date format		dd.mm.yyyy
Drives on the		right
Calling code		+7
ISO 3166 code		RU
Internet TLD		.ru .su .рф
a.	Excluding +5.

Russia  also officially known as the Russian Federation It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects. From northwest to southeast, Russia shares land borders with Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland (both with Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia, and North Korea. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk and the US state of Alaska across the Bering Strait. At 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than one-eighth of the Earth's inhabited land area. Russia is also the world's ninth most populous nation with 143 million people as of 2012. Extending across the entirety of northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans nine time zones and incorporates a wide range of environments and landforms.
The nation's history began with that of the East Slavs, who emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, the medieval state of Rus arose in the 9th century. In 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus' ultimately disintegrated into a number of smaller states; most of the Rus' lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion and became tributaries of the nomadic Golden Horde. The Grand Duchy of Moscow gradually reunified the surrounding Russian principalities, achieved independence from the Golden Horde, and came to dominate the cultural and political legacy of Kievan Rus'. By the 18th century, the nation had greatly expanded through conquest, annexation, and exploration to become the Russian Empire, which was the third largest empire in history, stretching from Poland in Europe to Alaska in North America.
Following the Russian Revolution, the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic became the largest and leading constituent of the Soviet Union, the world's first constitutionally socialist state and a recognized superpower, which played a decisive role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the world's first spacecraft, and the first astronaut. The Russian Federation became the successor state of the Russian SFSR following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, and is recognized as the continuing legal personality of the All-Union state.

The Russian economy ranks as the eighth largest by nominal GDP and fifth largest by purchasing power parity. Russia's extensive mineral and energy resources, the largest reserves in the world,have made it one of the largest producers of oil and natural gas globally. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction. Russia is a great power and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, a member of the G8, G20, the Council of Europe, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, the Eurasian Economic Community, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and is the leading member of the Commonwealth of Independent States.
The name Russia is derived from Rus, a medieval state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this proper name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants "Русская Земля" (russkaya zemlya) which could be translated as "Russian Land" or "Land of Rus'". In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus' by modern historiography. The name Rus itself comes from Rus people, a group of Varangians (possibly Swedish Vikings) who founded the state of Rus (Русь).

Music of Fiji

Rank and Economy

The rank of Fiji from the poorest is 105 and fro the richest is 99 with gdp per capita using atlas method in 2003 is 2,360 $ and in other measurement such as IMF, WB and CIA measured in 2007,2007, and 2008 using nominal method
IMF.........................................WB...........................................CIA
rank/measure...........................rank/measure.........................rank/measure
88/3,824..............................73/4,097...............................94/3,710

Fiji Economy

Fiji economy depends on its innumerable natural resources like, flora and fauna, fishing and also mineral resources. The other factors that are important in the economy of Fiji are the agricultural sectors, sugar industries and also the growing travel and tourism industries. Fiji economy is much developed in comparison with the other Pacific island economies though it is still a developing nation.

Import and export trades are a very important part of the whole Fiji economy. The products that are imported here are, food, machines and some others while the main export products from this island nation are garments and sugar. Sugar industry in Fiji is a major part of the growing economy of this country. Travel and tourism is another strong pillar of Fiji economy. The countries from where most of the travelers come to visit this beautiful island nation are, New Zealand, Australia, US and also UK. But Fiji has some problems on the way of its economic growth also. Some of these are, emigration problems, natural calamities, homelessness and some others.

How to Export from Fiji
How to export from Fiji is the question regarding the trade of Fiji. Fiji has a growing economy that has export as one of its very important part. Fiji has a number of materials and natural resources that are very much helpful in building a strong economic backbone of this island country.

Naturally therefore, how to export from Fiji, is a question that has the answer regarding various aspects related to the foreign trade, export, transportation and export materials of Fiji.

Fiji is a central south Pacific island country, that has a number of natural resources. Using these materials Fiji has already reached to a position that can be said that economically stable. As a part of this economic scenario in Fiji, the field of export and foreign trade has much contribution. Fiji has the sugar industry as one of the main pillars of its growing economy. Sugar and related many foodstuff are exported from Fiji. Another important export material from Fiji is, garment. The textile industry is another important part of Fiji trade. Moreover, the fishing industry, which earns a huge amount of foreign currency for Fiji, is another very important part of Export from Fiji.

Infrastructure in Fiji
Infrastructure in Fiji is a very good one and favorable for further growth. The infrastructure of Fiji consist of the water supply, electricity, transportation, industries and some other factors. Fiji gives the native people a very good infrastructure that help in further development of the nation.

The municipalities and the government take good care of all these matters that contribute to the well being of a country in general.

Water supply in Fiji is one of the basic infrastructure and this aspect of this country is well maintained and looked after. Almost all the people of Fiji get fresh water from the piped water supply. This water supply department is maintained by the public service department of the government. The quality of the water that is supplied is very good.

Electricity, which is another important part of the Fiji infrastructure, is well maintained in the country. All most all the areas of the country has the access to electricity. Electricity distribution and other controls are done by the Fiji Electricity Authority. But now-a-days there are pressing need and more demand of electricity. As a result, many other electricity producers are encouraged to take part in this field. The main sources of Fiji electricity are, water and diesel.

Fiji infrastructure provides very good transportation system to the people in Fiji. Fiji has a very good road transportation system. By road all the major cities and towns are interrelated in Fiji. Moreover, there are water ferry system and international airport as well which are also popular mode of transportation in this country. Fiji has many industries of which the sugar industry is the main pillar of economy here.

Fiji Real Estate
Fiji real estate has a very important part in the whole economic web of this island country. There are a number of real estate properties, homes, houses, resorts, hotels and many other properties for sale in Fiji. Moreover, there are many real estate agents working either individually or with any real estate firms in Fiji. These real estate firms and real estate agents make the transactions related to real estate properties very easy. Fiji real estate field is buzzing with all these aspects in the country.

Fiji real estate properties can be found in many of the exotic locations that make the transaction of these real estate properties very interesting. Some of these real estate properties that are on sale in Fiji are,

Koro Seaview Estate: This huge real estate property is located in the wonderful and exotic island of Koro. This real estate property has a beautiful beach within it and place for housing also. Moreover, this property is also near the Government ferry and also the international airport. The exotic location of this beach property is really unparalleled.

Private Garden Villa: This is a really very nice home for sale in Fiji. This private villa has two very spacious bedrooms with bathroom, dining and sitting rooms. All the rooms are very spacious. Moreover, this villa is located in a very picturesque location which is an extra addition to the overall beauty of this property.

Fiji Bank
Fiji banks are many and several branches. There are a number of banks that are operating in Fiji. The most important banks of Fiji are the Reserve Bank of Fiji, Bank Of Baroda, Colonial Fiji Ltd and many others. These banks are notable for offering a number of services to the people here.

Industry of Fiji

Fiji's industry is based primarily on processing of agricultural products, mainly sugarcane and coconut, and on mining and processing of gold and silver. Other major product groups are processed foods, and garments. In 2001 sugar production fell 14% to 293,000 cubic tons, well short of previous norms of close to 350,000 cubic tons. The government ascribes problems with sugar production to expiring land leases, poor mill performance, high incidence of cane burning, and cane transportation problems. Years of underinvestment in farms, sugar mills and power, water, and transportation infrastructure have resulted in declining quality as well as quantity. In February 2003 the Japanese rejected a shipment of Fiji sugar because of poor quality.

The gold industry suffered due to low world market prices (below $300 oz.) prevailing from late 1998 to mid-2002, but faces better prospects in the sharp rise to over $370 oz. in early 2003. Gold production is concentrated in the 66-year-old Vatukoula mine operated by Emperor Mines, which calculates that the mine will last another 10 or 15 year.

The garment industry in Fiji began in 1988, and in 2002 produced a record value of about $150 million. In 1996, there were at least 68 garment manufacturing factories operating in tax-free zones, earning $141 million. About a dozen factories were closed in 2001, with a loss of 5000 to 6000 jobs, but other operations were expanding. Garment industry exports, at $143 million for 2001, were down, however, due to disruptions in relations with customers from trade sanctions.

Overall, the value of merchandise trade declined about 9% in 2001, and is not expected to surpass the $557 million of 1997 or even the $532 million of 1999 until 2003. Tourism receipts were $228.9 million in 2001, an improvement on 2000, but still constrained by post-coup political uncertainties. Expensive power, lack of trained labor, and the limited local market have also inhibited industrial production. Overall, the value of manufacturing in Fiji, which had declined 6.2% in 2000, increased an estimated 11.5% in 2001, but is projected, by the IMF, to have increased only 1.5% in 2002, with non-sugar manufacturing down .9% in value.

Agriculture of Fiji

Fiji Agriculture

Agriculture, which was once a major stronghold of Fiji’s economy, now comprises only 8.9% of the nation’s GDP. More than three-quarters of all Fijian households used to engage in agricultural-related activities, but now many of those workers have switched over to the growing service industry.
Sugarcane is Fiji’s most important agricultural industry, accounting for over one-third of all of Fiji’s industrial activity. Indigenous Fijians own most farmland and local residents of Indian ancestry farm it and produce about 90% of all sugarcane, which is then processed into raw sugar and molasses in the Fiji Sugar Corporation, which is predominantly owned and run by the government. The European Union is the largest export market for Fiji’s sugar.
Coconut and copra (the dried meat of the coconut) are also important agricultural products that are widely used and exported from Fiji. There was a ban on exporting copra until 1998, and since then a new copra-buying company has emerged, raising the price of copra considerably. Fiji also grows and exports bananas, pineapples, watermelons, cereal, rice, corn, ginger, cocoa and tobacco.

Geography of Fiji

Fiji closeup map (not included: Ceva-i-Ra in the southwest and Rotuma in the north

Fiji's location in Oceania

Fiji, MISR image NASA.

Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific, lying about 4,450 km (2,775 mi) southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km (1,100 mi) north of New Zealand. Of the 322 islands and 522 smaller islets making up the archipelago, about 106 are permanently inhabited. Viti Levu, the largest island, covers about 57% of the nation's land area, hosts the two official cities (the capital Suva, and Lautoka) and most other major towns, such as Ba, Nasinu, and Nadi (the site of the international airport), and contains some 69% of the population. Vanua Levu, 64 km to the north of Viti Levu, covers just over 30% of the land area though is home to only some 15% of the population. Its main towns are Labasa and Savusavu. In the northeast it features Natewa Bay, carving out the Loa peninsula.
Both islands are mountainous, with peaks up to 1300 m rising abruptly from the shore, and covered with tropical forests. Heavy rains (up to 304 cm or 120 inches annually) fall on the windward (southeastern) side, covering these sections of the islands with dense tropical forest. Lowlands on the western portions of each of the main islands are sheltered by the mountains and have a well-marked dry season favorable to crops such as sugarcane.
Other islands and island groups, which cover just 12.5% of the land area and house some 16% of the population, include Taveuni southeast off Vanua Levu and Kadavu Island, south off Viti Levu (the third and fourth largest islands respectively), the Mamanuca Group (just off Nadi) and Yasawa Group (to the north of the Mamanucas), which are popular tourist destinations, the Lomaiviti Group (just off Suva) with Levuka, the former capital and the only major town on any of the smaller islands, located on the island of Ovalau, and the remote Lau Group over the Koro Sea to the east near Tonga, from which it is separated by the Lakeba Passage.
Two outlying regions are Rotuma, 400 km to the north, and the uninhabited coral atoll and cay Ceva-i-Ra or Conway Reef, 450 km to the southwest of main Fiji. Culturally conservative Rotuma with its 2000 people on 44 km² geographically belongs to Polynesia, and enjoys relative autonomy as a Fijian dependency.
Fiji Television reported on 21 September 2006 that the Fiji Islands Maritime and Safety Administration (FIMSA), while reviewing its outdated maritime charts, had discovered the possibility that more islands could lie within Fiji's Exclusive Economic Zone.
More than half of Fiji's population lives on the island coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centers. The interior is sparsely populated because of its rough terrain.

History of Fji

History

Fiji, which had been inhabited since the second millennium B.C., was explored by the Dutch and the British in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1874, an offer of cession by the Fijian chiefs was accepted, and Fiji was proclaimed a possession and dependency of the British Crown. In the 1880s large-scale cultivation of sugarcane began. Over the next 40 years, more than 60,000 indentured laborers from India were brought to the island to work the plantations. By 1920, all indentured servitude had ended. Racial conflict between Indians and the indigenous Fijians has been central to the small island's history.

Fiji became independent on Oct. 10, 1970. In Oct. 1987, Brig. Gen. Sitiveni Rabuka staged a coup to prevent an Indian-dominated coalition party from taking power. The military coup caused an exodus of thousands of Fijians of Indian origin who suffered ethnic discrimination at the hands of the government.

A new constitution, which took effect in July 1998, provided for a multiracial cabinet and raised the prospect of a coalition government. The previous constitution had guaranteed dominance to ethnic Fijians. In 1999, Fiji's first ethnic Indian prime minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, took office.

Prime Minister Is Deposed in Attempted Coup

Continuing ethnic tensions, partly fueled by economic problems, plunged Fiji into a national nightmare in 2000. On May 19, a group of armed soldiers entered Parliament and took three dozen people hostage, including Prime Minister Chaudhry. George Speight, a part-Fijian businessman, led the insurrection, and he demanded that the 1998 constitution be rewritten to allow dominance of ethnic Fijians. The standoff lasted two months. In July 2000, Speight and other coup leaders were taken into custody and charged with treason. In Feb. 2002, Speight was sentenced to death, but his sentence was commuted.

Although the coup was foiled, deposed prime minister Chaudhry and his democratically elected government were not restored to power. Instead, the military and the Great Council of Chiefs, a group of 50 traditional Fijian leaders, appointed an interim government dominated by ethnic Fijians. Elections were held in 2001, but no party achieved a majority. Interim prime minister Laisenia Qarase's Fijian United Party won 31 of 71 seats, and Qarase was sworn in as prime minister in September. His cabinet consisted entirely of ethnic Fijians, but the supreme court declared Qarase's government unconstitutional in 2003. In 2004, political infighting stalled the implementation of a new multiethnic cabinet. Much to Prime Minister Qarase's displeasure, Vice President Ratu Jope Seniloli and four other prominent figures were convicted for their part in the 2000 coup and imprisoned in Aug. 2004. In 2005, Qarase backed a highly controversial bill that included an amnesty clause for the 2000 coup leaders. The bill was supported by the Great Council of Chiefs and the ethnic Fijian establishment but vehemently rejected by the opposition (led by former prime minister Chaudhry, who was deposed in the coup) as well as the military. Qarase was narrowly reelected in May 2006 for another five-year term.

Dr. Senilagakali Is Installed As Prime Minister in Fiji's Fourth Coup

In December Fiji's military commander, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, announced he had assumed executive power, deposed Prime Minister Qarase, and appointed Jona Senilagakali, a medical doctor, as interim prime minister. It was the country's fourth coup since 1987. Tensions had built up over several years between the military and Qarase over a corruption scandal and issues regarding the 2000 coup—the military accused the prime minister of excessive leniency toward those who had orchestrated that coup.

In January 2007, Bainimarama reinstated Josefa Iloilo as president. Senilagakali resigned as interim prime minister, and Bainimarama succeeded him.

Bainimarama and the military grabbed more power in April of 2009. Reacting to a ruling by Fiji's Court of Appeal, which stated that the military government was illegally appointed after the 2006 coup and that democratic elections should be held as soon as possible, Bainimarama refused to step down and instead increased censorship of Fiji's media, expelled foreign journalists, and announced that elections would not be held until 2014. President Ratu Josefa Iloilo, believed to be a puppet of Bainimarama, announced that he head repealed the Constitution. Iloilo retired in July and was replaced by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.

In September, the Commonwealth of Nations, an association of Great Britain and its dependencies and former dependencies, suspended Fiji, saying the country had failed to make progress toward returning to a democracy

Fiji - Introduction

Fiji  is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, France's New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas, France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast and Tuvalu to the north.
The country comprises an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of circa 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The furthest island is Onu-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 850,000. The former contains Suva, the capital and largest city. Most Fijians, i.e. three-quarters, live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi (tourism) or Lautoka (sugar cane industry). Viti Levu's interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Dutch and the British explored Fiji, which was a Crown Colony until 1970, this administration lasting almost a century. During World War II, thousands of Fijians volunteered to aid in Allied efforts via their attachment to the New Zealand and Australian army units. The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) consist of land and naval units.
Fiji is one of the most developed economies in the Pacific island realm due to an abundance of forest, mineral and fish resources. Today, the main sources of foreign exchange are its tourist industry and sugar exports. The country's currency is the Fijian dollar.

Following a coup in 2006, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau became Fiji's president after a high court ruled that the military leadership was unlawfully appointed. Fiji's local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development.
Fiji's main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name "Fiji" is derived, though the common English pronunciation is based on that of their island neighbours in Tonga. Its emergence can be described as follows:

Fijians first impressed themselves on European consciousness through the writings of the members of the expeditions of Cook who met them in Tonga. They were described as formidable warriors and ferocious cannibals, builders of the finest vessels in the Pacific, but not great sailors. They inspired awe amongst the Tongans, and all their Manufactures, especially bark cloth and clubs, were highly valued and much in demand. They called their home Viti, but the Tongans called it Fisi, and it was by this foreign pronunciation, Fiji, first promulgated by Captain James Cook, that these islands are now known.

"Feejee", the Tonganized spelling of the English pronunciation, was used in accounts and other writings until the late 19th century, by missionaries and other travelers visiting Fiji.
Association football, or soccer, was traditionally a minor sport in Fiji, popular largely amongst the Indo-Fijian community, but with international funding from FIFA and sound local management over the past decade, the sport has grown in popularity in the wider Fijian community. It is now the second most-popular sport in Fiji after rugby (union 15's and union 7's).

The Fiji Football Association is a member of the Oceania Football Confederation. The national football team defeated New Zealand 2–0 in the 2008 OFC Nations Cup,FIFA World Cup to date. Fiji won the Pacific Games football tournament in 1991 and 2003.
 on their way to a joint-record third placed finish. However, they have never reached a