Contemporary Seismic Code of Russia and Other Countries of Former Soviet Union

This paper reviews the seismic hazard issues on the territory of Russia and some other Former Soviet Union countries. The USSR included 15 states that had a unified political and economic system. In 1991, after the collapse of the USSR, 15 independent states were formed on the territory of the previously united country and thus new boundaries were formed, and the existing environmental problems have become cross-border. After the USSR eventually disintegrated, new building codes were introduced by each Republic (and the difference between the states is rather big). Some independently seismic hazard maps were developed, according to its individual specificities (which show considerable discrepancies along national borders), and they independently participated in several international projects on seismic risk assessment.