Geography and Climate of Russia

Ex. 1. Look through the text and say what it is about.

Ex. 2. Try to guess the meaning of the underlined words. Check yourself with a dictionary.

The geographical position and climate of a country influence the country's economy; they influence lifestyles and the health of its people, as well as the national character. The Russian Federation, or Russia is the largest country in the world. Its total area is 17,075,400 square kilometres (6,592,800 sq mi). There are 23 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia, 40 UNESCO biosphere reserves, 41 national parks and 101 nature reserves. It lies between latitudes 41° and 82° N, and longitudes 19° E and 169° W. Its vast territory lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. The country is washed by three oceans (the Arctic, the Atlantic, the Pacific) and twelve seas (the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Okhotsk Sea, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, the Azov Sea and others). Russia borders on many countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania in the north, China, Mongolia, North Korea and others in the south-east, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine in the west, and others. The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high mountains to deep valleys. Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range. The Caucasus contain Mount Elbrus, Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,633 m. The more central Ural Mountains, a north-south range that forms the divide between Europe and Asia, are also notable.

Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water, providing it with one of the world's largest surface water resources. Its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's liquid fresh water. The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world's deepest, purest, oldest and most capacious fresh water lake. Baikal alone contains over one-fifth of the world's fresh surface water. Other major lakes include Ladoga and Onega, two of the largest lakes in Europe. Russia is second only to Brazil in volume of the total renewable water resources. Of the country's 100,000 rivers, the Volga is the most famous, not only because it is the longest river in Europe, but also because of its major role in Russian history. The Siberian rivers Ob, Yenisey, Lena and Amur are among the longest rivers in the world. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes in the country. Notable rivers of Russia in Europe are the Volga, Don, Kama, Oka and the Northern Dvina, while several other rivers originate in Russia but flow into other countries, such as the Dnieper and the Western Dvina. In Asia, important rivers are the Ob, Yrtysh, Yenisei, Angara, Lena, Amur and Kolyma. The largest lakes are Baikal, Ladoga and Onega. Baikal is the deepest fresh-water lake in the world and its water is the purest on Earth. The climate of Russia is varied, from arctic and subarctic in the north, continental in the centre, to subtropical in the south.

The Russian Federation is extremely rich in natural and mineral resources. It has deposits of oil, gas, iron, gold, non-ferrous metals and many minerals.

The economy of Russia is going through a transitional period from the centrally planned socialist economy to a market economy. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 the greater part of industries were privatized, agriculture and land underwent partial privatization later and are still undergoing it. After the crisis of 1997 and the depreciation of the rouble followed by sharp deterioration in living standards for most of the population, Russia's economy faced recession. The economy started recovering in 1999, partially because of high export prices on oil and gas which Russia is rich in. Russia is still heavily dependent on export of oil, gas and timber, while its industrial and farming sectors are still weak as compared with those of the developed countries, but the rate of economic growth of the country is very high. Russia has a market economy with enormous natural resources, particularly oil and natural gas. It has the 8th largest economy in the world by nominal GDP and the 6th largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). Since the turn of the 21st century, higher domestic consumption and greater political stability have caused economic growth in Russia. The country ended 2008 with its ninth straight year of growth, averaging 7% annually between 2000 and 2008. Real GDP per capita, PPP (current international $) was 19,840 in 2010. Growth was primarily driven by non-traded services and goods for the domestic market, as opposed to oil or mineral extraction and exports.

The current population of Russia is about 143 million people as of 2012. Russia is the world's ninth most populous nation. The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with a population of about 11 million people. Russia is a parliamentary republic. Head of State in the country is President, directly elected for a four-year term, who has considerable executive power and is head of the executive branch of the government. The government consists of three branches: legislative (the Federal Assembly, consisting of the Federation Council and the State Duma), executive (the government, or the Cabinet of Ministers) and judicial (the system of courts, including the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and other courts). The Russian Federation comprises 83 federal subjects. These subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council. However, they differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.The national flag of Russia is a white-blue-and-red banner. The national language of the Russian Federation is Russian. The Orthodox Church is the dominant religion in Russia.

Ex.3.Make up the plan of the story

Ex. 4. Find in the text and write out:

1) names of Russian lakes, seas and rivers

2) names of Russian governmental institutions

3) main cardinal points

4) names of natural resources

5) main aspects of economical development

6) synonyms to the word ‘big’

Ex. 5. Find in the text the English the equivalents to the following word-combinations

быть расположенным на…

состоять из…

рядом с северным побережьем Европы

состоять из …(3)

общая площадь

быть отделенным от…

омываться чем-либо

называться

поверхность

быть очень разнообразным

иметь большое количество чего-нибудь

обширная равнина

оказывать влияние на …

формироваться кем-либо

назначаться кем-либо

быть представленным кем-либо

ведущая отрасль промышленности

иметь богатые природные запасы/ полезные ископаемые

Ex.6. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English

1. Считается, что географическое положение и климат оказывают влияние на экономику, стиль жизни страны и национальный характер. 2. Обширная территория России омывается тремя океанами и двенадцатью морями и граничит со многими странами. 3. Ландшафты разнообразны, от лесов до пустынь, от высоких гор до глубоких долин и включают большое количество горных цепей, в том числе Кавказ с самой высокой точкой Европы — горой Эльбрус, Уральские горы, Алтай и т. д. 4. В России много больших рек и озер, в том числе Байкал, самое глубокое и чистое пресноводное озеро в Европе. 5. После распада Советского Союза Россия проходит через переходный период — от социалистической экономики, основанной на централизованном планировании, к рыночной экономике. 6. Большая часть отраслей промышленности России уже приватизирована, а сельское хозяйство все еще проходит приватизацию.