The russian federation

Russia is one of the biggest states in the world. Its official name is the Russian Federation.

It occupies the territory of about 17 million square kilometers and covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia.

Russia is wished by the Arctic Ocean in the north, by the Atlantic Ocean in the west and the Pacific Ocean in the east. It is also washed by 12 seas; the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Baltic Sea, (he Black Sea and many others.

Russia borders on many counters: Finland. Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, the Ukraine, the Republic of Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan. China, Mongolia and others.

Russia is a country which has n rich variety of scenery. In the north you can see tundra and taiga, vast steppes in the south, forests and plains in r midland, deserts in the south.

The main mountain chains arc the Altai, the Caucasus, the Urals. The Ural naturally separates European and Asian parts of Russia.

There are two great plains in Russia: the great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland.

Russia is rich in small and big rivers and lakes. The Volga river is a symbol of Russia. It flows into the Caspian Sea. It is the longest river in Europe. The biggest Siberian rivers are the Ob, the Lena and the Yenisei. They flow from the South to the North. There is another important river in the Asian part of Russia. It is the Amur which is in the Far East and flows into the Pacific Ocean

All of these rivers are good for navigation and they also produce electric power.

In Siberia, there is the deepest and the most beautiful lake of Russia. Lake Baikal is also considered to be the most beautiful in the world.

Thousands of Russians are eager to visit this lake in order to see its picturesque scenery and taste the famous fish from the lake.

The water in the lake is very clear. The stones on the bottom of it can be seen.

The climate in Russia is varied as the country covers half of Europe and a third of Asia, from arctic in the North to subtropical in the South, but in the centre of it, the climate is continental.

Russia is a multinational country: over 100 nationalities inhabit it. The population of Russia is above 160 mln people.

The Russian Federation is one of the richest countries in the world in natural resources. It has big reserves of oil, natural gas, coal, iron, ore, gold, copper, nickel, silver and other minerals.

Russia is a country of modern technology. Many enterprises of Russia, its plants and factories produce computers and cars, tractors and clocks, refrigerators and TV-sets, electric motors and so on. Timber processing, textile goods, clothes and furs, foodstuffs and papermaking are the leading branches in the Russian industry.

Russia is a country of high developed agriculture. Wheat, barley, flax and oats as well as corn are the main crops in Russia. Cattle breeding is very im­portant, too.

Russia is a country of highly developed science, culture and education. There is the Academy of Sciences, many higher educational establishments, a lot of theatres, art galleries and libraries.

Russia is a country of mixed economy. The production is controlled by both the government and private producers.

Russia is a Presidential Republic. The President is the head of the state. The Federal government unites three branches: legislative, executive and judi­cial. Each branch is controlled and checked by the President.

The legislative power is represented by the Federal Assembly which consists of two chambers: the Council of Federation and the Slate Duma.

The executive power belongs to the Government with the Prime minister a the head.

The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court.

The state symbol of Russia is a three-coloured banner with three horizontal stripes on it: white, blue and red.

Тема№7 «Рязань»

Ryazan

Ryazan is an old Russian city. It was founded in 1095. In 1995 we celebrated the 900^th anniversary of our city. It should be said that Ryazan played an important role defending Russia from the Tatar’s invaders. The old City (town), the so-called old Ryazan, was well fortified. It was considered a large cultural centre of Russia.

By the beginning of the 13^th century Ryazan had grown into a prospering city. It had developed its own architecture. Ryazan handicrafts in the 12^th-13^th centuries produced fine gold and silver articles.

In 1237 a terrible misfortune fell upon the town and its citizens. For five days they defended the city but the enemy was stronger and the Tatars’ invaders destroyed the town. Almost all citizens were killed their houses burnt down. But then the town was rebuilt and became the capital of a strong prosperous principality.

Nowadays Ryazan is a large industrial, scientific and cultural centre. Is population is over half a million people. It is situated on the Oka river.

At the beginning of our century it was built mainly with one or two storeyed houses. It has changed greatly since that time. You can see many fine buildings of glass and stone in the centre and in the suburbs too.

There are many places of interest in our city: the Ryazan Art Museum, the Museum of Regional Studies, the Pavlov’s memorial house. The Ryazan Kremlin is a masterpiece of Russian architecture. It is greatly admired by the tourists and by our citizens. We always show our guests the monuments to Tziolkovsky, Yesenin, Pavlov and the Monument to the Soviet-Polish friendship, our Drama and Puppet theatres.

There are many plants and factories in our city. It is also a city of students. There are five institutes in it.

Ryazan is famous for its well-known citizens. They were the first to raise the people’s volunteer corps during the war against the French invaders in 1812.

Everybody knows the name of the famous decembrist M.S.Lunin. He was one of the organizers of the North Society. Our famous scientists Pavlov, Tsiolkovsky, Semenov-Tanshansky, Sevastyanov made a great contribution to the development of physiology, space exploration, geography and geology. We are proud of poets, writers and artists who lived and worked in Ryazan and its region: Yesenin, Saltykov-Shedrin, Paustovsky, Simoniv, Solzenitsin, Pozalostin and many others. A lot of our fellow citizens fought bravely together with all Soviet people during the Great patriotic war. The whole world knows the names of Poletayev, Kashirin, Deinekin and many others.

We like our city and are proud of its history.