Unit 2. The russian federation The Russian Federation Today: General Outlook

A. Pre-Reading Activities

Task I. Study the vocabulary notes that will help you to understand the text better:

abundant (adj) – изобилующий, богатый (чем-либо)

ancient (adj) – древний

appointment (n) – назначение на должность

approve (v) – одобрять, считать правильным, утверждать

armed forces – вооруженные силы, армия

banner (n) – знамя, флаг

barred (adj) – запрещенный, закрытый

barren (adj) – неплодородный

bill (n) – акт парламента; закон; законодательный акт

chamber (n) – палата

commander-in-chief (n) – главнокомандующий

complicate (v) – усложнять, затруднять

consecutive (adj) – последующий

consent (n) – согласие

counterterrorism (n) – борьба с терроризмом

declare (v) – заявлять, объявлять; провозглашать

decline (n) – падение, упадок, ухудшение

deputy (n) – представитель, депутат, заместитель

desert (n) – пустыня

disintegration (n) – распад

easternmost (adj) – самый восточный

election (n) – выборы

eligible (adj) – имеющий право быть избранным; подходящий

enforce (v) – вводить в действие, обеспечивать исполнение

executive (adj) – исполнительный

extract (v) – добывать, получать

faith (n) – вера

fertile (adj) – плодородный

foothills (n) – подошва, нижние склоны холма или горного кряжа

founding (adj) – учредительный, являющийся основателем

hem (v) – окружать, окаймить

heritage (n) – наследство, наследие

horde (n) – орда

inhabitant (n) – житель

judicial (adj) – судебный

legislative (adj) – законодательный

liberty (n) – свобода

mineral fuel – минеральное топливо

minority (n) – меньшинство

mountain chain – горная цепь, горный хребет

nonferrous metals – цветные металлы

nonproliferation (n) – нераспространение

occur (v) – возникать, происходить

orthodox (adj) – ортодоксальный, православный, общепризнанный

permafrost (n) – вечная мерзлота

permanent (adj) – постоянный

petrochemical (adj) – нефтехимический

plain (n) – равнина, низменность

popular vote – народное голосование, голоса избирателей

population density – плотность населения

remote (adj) – дальний

renowned (adj) – прославленный, известный

reserves (n) – ресурсы

responsible (adj) – ответственный

security (n) – безопасность

sprawling (adj) – растянувшийся, растянутый

steppe (n) – степь

stretch (v) – простираться, иметь протяжение

taper (v) – сузить(ся), заостряться

temperate (adj) – умеренный (о климате)

treaty (n) – международный договор

valley (n) – долина

vest (v) – наделять (правами, властью), возлагать (обязанности)

veto (v) – налагать вето (на что-либо), запрещать

westernmost (adj) – самый западный

Task II. Mind the following proper nouns:

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) – Азиатско-Тихоокеанское экономическое сотрудничество

CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) – СНГ, Содружество Независимых Государств

Council of Federation – Совет Федерации

Federal Assembly – Федеральное Собрание

G 8 (the Group of 8: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) – страны «Большой восьмерки»

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) – ОБСЕ, Организация по безопасности и сотрудничеству в Европе

Shanghai Cooperation Organization (the SCO) – Шанхайская организация сотрудничества

State Duma – Государственная Дума

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) – Союз Советских Социалистических Республик, СССР

United Nations (UN) – ООН, Организация Объединенных Наций

B. Reading and Comprehension Activities

Task III. Go through the text and check your understanding by doing the tasks that follow:

Russia is an independent country officially known as the Russian Federation. In terms of territory, Russia is the world’s largest country. With a total area of more than 17 million square kilometres, Russia covers about one-eighth of the world’s land surface.

Until the disintegration of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or ‘Soviet Union’) in 1991, the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic was the largest and dominant administrative component of the Soviet Union. In August 1991, the Russian Republic was one of the 15 countries that declared independence from the Soviet Union.

The capital of the country, Moscow, is an administrative, commercial, industrial, and cultural hub in the heart of European Russia.

Russia stretches from its westernmost point in the city of Kaliningrad, just north of Warsaw, Poland, to its easternmost point at Big Diomede Island in the Bering Strait. Within eyesight is Little Diomede Island, belonging to the United States just off the coast of Alaska’s Seward Peninsula. Russia’s great breadth of territory includes many different geographical regions. These include areas of permafrost (areas of eternal ice) in Siberia and the Far North as well as taiga and steppes. Much of Russia’s northern and eastern coastline is hemmed in by ice for much of the year, complicating navigation. However, Russia has year-round warm water seaports at Murmansk on its northwestern coastline of the Barents Sea and at Vladivostok at the far eastern coast on the Sea of Japan.

It is bordered by Norway and Finland in the north-west, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine in the West, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south-west, and Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China along the southern border. The federation comprises 21 republics.

The land of Russia varies from thick forests to barren deserts, from high peaked mountains to deep valleys. The country is located on two plains, Great Russian Plata and West Siberian Lowland. The longest mountain chains are the Urals, separating Europe from Asia, the Caucasus, and the Altai. Russia’s most important rivers are the Volga, Europe’s biggest river, flowing into the Caspian Sea, the main Siberian rivers (the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena), and the Amur in the Far East, flowing into the Pacific Ocean. The total number of rivers in Russia is over 2 million. The world’s deepest lake, Lake Baikal, with the depth of 1,600 m, is situated in Russia, too.

Russia has one-sixth of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.

The country contains the greatest reserves of mineral resources of any country in the world. Although minerals are abundant, many are in remote areas with extreme climate conditions, which makes them expensive to extract. Russia is especially rich in mineral fuels; it is also well endowed with most of the nonferrous metals.

On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.

Russia’s total population in 2009 was estimated at 140,041,250, making the country less populous than China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil. Unlike these other countries, however, Russia’s total population has been in steady decline since the early 1990s. The population density of a particular area generally reflects the land’s agricultural potential, with localized population centers occurring at mining and industrial centers. Most of the country’s people are concentrated in European Russia in the so-called fertile triangle, which has its base along the western border between the Baltic and Black seas and tapers eastward across the southern Urals into southwestern Siberia. The heaviest population densities are in sprawling urbanized areas such as Moscow Oblast.

Russia developed a large urban population during the Soviet period, despite government attempts to limit the populations of major urban centers. Today, 73% of Russia’s population lives in urban areas. More than ten cities, most in European Russia, have more than 1 million inhabitants. The largest city by far is Moscow. The next largest city is Saint Petersburg, a leading port and major industrial center situated on the Gulf of Finland. Other large cities include Omsk, western Siberia’s chief petrochemical center; Chelyabinsk, in the foothills of the Ural Mountains; Kazan’, capital of the republic of Tatarstan, located along the middle course of the Volga River; and Perm’, a major industrial center in the Kama River region to the west of the Urals. Ufa is an important petrochemical center in the southern Urals, and Rostov-na-Donu is a commercial, industrial, and transportation center in southern European Russia on the lower stretch of the Don River. Volgograd, a center of machinery production and other industrial activity, lies on the lower course of the Volga River.

Russia has one of the widest varieties of ethnic groups in the world, but ethnic Russians form the vast majority, or about 80 % of the population. The non-Russian population constitutes about 20% of the total, with the largest minority, the Tatars, making up only about 4%. Ukrainians and Chuvash are the only other minorities constituting more than 1% of the population. Other minorities include Belarusians, Germans, Bashkirs, and Jews (considered an ethnic group in Russia).

The Russian language is the country’s official language and it is the most commonly spoken in business, government, and education. Russia’s 160 ethnic groups speak approximately 100 languages.

Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are identified as Russia’s only traditional religions. The law limits the activities of organizations that represent any other religious faith.

The Russian Federation is set up by the Constitution of 1993. Under the Constitution Russia is a presidential republic. The Federal Government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by the President.

The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers. The Upper Chamber is the Council of Federation; the Lower Chamber is the State Duma. The members of the Federal Assembly are elected by popular vote for a four-year period.

Each Chamber is headed by the Speaker. Legislature may be initiated in either of the two Chambers. But to become a law a bill must be approved by both Chambers and signed by the President. The President may veto the bill.

The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties, enforces laws, appoints ministers to be approved by the Federal Assembly. The President is elected by popular vote for a six-year term (eligible for a second term but constitutionally barred for a third consecutive term). Ministries of the Government are composed of the Premier and his deputies, ministers, and selected other individuals; all are appointed by the President on the recommendation of the Prime Minister (the appointment of the latter requires the consent of the State Duma).

The executive power belongs to the Government which is headed by the Prime Minister. The first action of the Prime Minister on appointment is to form the Cabinet.

The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court, Supreme Arbitration Court and the regional courts.

The leading political parties in Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and Just Russia.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Russia assumed the USSR’s place in the United Nations (UN). Consequently, Russia also gained a permanent position on the United Nations Security Council, the UN organ responsible for maintaining international peace and security. In 1991 Russia became a founding member of the CIS, which includes most of the former Soviet republics. The country is also a member of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); Partnership for Peace, a program intended to strengthen relations between member countries of the NATO and central and Eastern European countries; and the Council of Europe (CE). Russia became a limited partner in NATO in May 2002 under a landmark accord allowing the country to help set joint policy on a limited range of issues, such as nonproliferation and counterterrorism. Russia is also a member of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialized nations and APEC.

Today the state symbol of Russia is a three-coloured banner. It has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one stands for the sky, and the red one symbolizes liberty. It was the first state symbol that replaced the former symbols in 1991. The national anthem of Russia is ‘The Patriotic Song’ by M. Glinka. A new national emblem is a two-headed eagle. It is the most ancient symbol of Russia. It originates from the heraldic emblem of the Ruricovitches. All these symbols are official. They have been approved by the Federal Assembly.

Russia’s unique and vibrant culture developed, as did the country itself, from a complicated interplay of native Slavic cultural material and borrowings from a wide variety of foreign cultures. In the Kievan period (10^th-13^th centuries), the borrowings were primarily from Eastern Orthodox Byzantine culture. During the Muscovite period (14^th-17^th centuries), the Slavic and Byzantine cultural substrates were enriched and modified by Asiatic influences carried by the Mongol hordes. Finally, in the modern period (since the 18^th century), the cultural heritage of Western Europe was added to the Russian melting pot.

The nation can boast a long tradition of excellence in every aspect of the arts and sciences. Some of the most-renowned museums in the world are found in Moscow and St. Petersburg. In Moscow the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum houses treasures of western European art, while the Tretyakov Gallery has a strong collection of Russian art. Moscow’s Kremlin, the former seat of communist power and the home of the Russian president, also contains a series of museums that include notable cathedrals and features the stunning architecture of the Kremlin building. The Tolstoy Museum Estate in Moscow features an excellent literary collection. In St. Petersburg the Hermitage is one of the great art museums of the world, the Russian Museum displays the world’s largest collection of Russian art, and the Russian Museum of Ethnography details Russian culture and daily life throughout history. St. Petersburg is also home to the country’s oldest museum, the Kunstkammer (formally Peter the Great’s Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography), which is now under the direction of the history department of the prestigious Russian Academy of Sciences. Moreover, in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, the former tsarist palaces at Pavlovsk, Pushkin, and Petrodvorets have been restored as museums. They are popular destinations for both Russians and foreign tourists.

Russia is a keen sporting country, successful at a number of sports and continuously finishing in the top rankings at the Olympic Games. Among the most played sports are football, ice hockey and basketball.