The Far East: people and culture

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broad-leaved Korean pine forests change to Asian spruce forests, dwarf pine thickets and alpine tundras. Several temperate climate animals, such as wild bear, several species of deer, the black Himalayan bear and the Siberian tiger etc., are connected with the main zonal vegetation formation. Although about of 70 % of the range of mixed broad-leaved Korean pine forests occur on the territory of NE China, the Russian part of the range remained much less disturbed. Vascular flora consists of almost 2500 species, with half of them having East-Asian type distribution.

The natural resources of the territory are varied. This territory is by far the largest wood producer in the Russian Far East. The region has as much standing timber as the entire United States. Lumbering and wood processing are the leading branches of local industry. For us Russians, the forest has long been a source of livelihood. It yielded nature's bounty - timber, game and fish from forest streams and lakes. The timber resources of this territory are estimated at many billions of cubic feet and have become one of the main items of export. The Khabarovsk Territory has the largest industrial production and is the only region in the Russian Far East where machine building dominates industry (30%). Its huge specialized plants have produced more equipment than almost all of the rest of the Russian Far East put together. What's missing is production for the local market. Reorientation of the local heavy industry style has failed to materialize so far. The territory's timber industry leads the Russian Far East in logging and lumber production. But the territory has also the biggest energy deficit in the Russian Far East. It has Far

East Russia‟s only iron and steel plant (with an annual capacity of approximately 1 million tons) and both Far East Russia‟s oil refineries with acombined annual capacity of 8 to 10 million tons. Major export items are timber, ferrous metals, and oil products. Major trading partners are Japan and Korea.

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The Khabarovsk territory is also the prime producer of fish and marine resources in this country. Alaska polloc, cod, laminaria, salmon, herring and crab are caught here. Fur hunting is flourishing in the territory as well. This exciting area is also the only place where one can meet such exotic animals as tigers, leopards and sables. But over recent decades, the Siberian tiger (also called the Amur tiger, the Far East tiger, and the Ussuri tiger; Panthera tigris altaica) has drastically declined in number and distribution in the general Far East region of Russia, China, and Korea. The remaining tigers occur in increasingly fragmented and isolated habitats of old and closed-canopy conifer and hardwood forests of Korean pine, Mongolian oak, and many other species. Continued logging of these forests and development throughout the remaining tiger range for human occupation will likely cut off some of the remaining tiger populations. As tiger populations dwindle and become isolated into small pockets, each population pocket will be subject to far greater risks of local extinction, than if populations were linked by high quality habitat. One solution entails identifying and conserving forest habitat for tigers along corridors so that population centers and breeding individuals can interact geographically. Where necessary to ensure population viability of tigers, habitat corridors could span administrative and even international boundaries to ensure the largest effective breeding populations.

Rich natural resources caused the exploration and settling of the Amur river valley, mainly in the middle of the 19th century. But these lands and seas were actually discovered and claimed for Russia centuries ago. Bands of Cossacks and enterprising pioneers left Siberia and "walked towards the sun". Some of the courageous trail-blazers were in search of new lands, others were after furs and pelts. In fact, territorial expansion was fuelled by a lust for furs. Serfs who fled from their landowners came to the eastern areas for freedom.

In 1858 Russia and China signed the Aigun Treaty followed by the Beijing Treaty two years later. These two treaties legally determined the

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Russian frontiers in the Far East of the continent. Then a number of military outposts were built to guard the borders. Later these military stockades grew into towns. Khabarovsk, founded in 1858, was one of them. They say that the former governor-general of Eastern Siberia, count Muraviev Amursky, chose the location for the future Khabarovsk. He was a true, faithful and sagacious public servant. He knew exactly what Russia needed - the development of the eastern regions of this country.

But for many years these towns were just garrisons and fur-trading posts. The construction of the Trans-siberian Railroad changed the situation. Siberian development was hamstrung by vast distances and poor communications. Transport was by means of riverboat, horse-drawn carriage or sledge. Ideas for a railroad had long been floated and ignored. Finally, in 1886, Tsar Alexander III authorized the construction. The final link of the world's longest railroad was completed in 1916. It was now possible to ride trains nonstop from the English Channel to the Pacific. The development of the area went into high gear. Cities grew like mushrooms along the line. The immigrant population leapt above 8 million. New plants and workshops were built. All this brought about the development of the productive forces in the area, but it was slowed down unfortunately by the beginning of the Civil War.

Russia is a multiethnic state. We have 92 different ethnic groups within the Khabarovsk territoryalone, although Russians are the largest group. There are also many Ukrainians, Tatars and Jews in this territory. The smallest people group of this country - the Negidals - about 500 people all in all, also live here in the valleys of the Amgun and Amur rivers. Negidals are one of the 8 local indigenous groups of the Khabarovsk Territory. The total number of aborigines here is a bit over 22,000. The 10,000 Nanai people represent the most numerous group. There are also Ulchi, Eveni, Udegee and other indigenous people who live in this area. Their lives improved dramatically in just one generation. Written languages have been created. Traditional hunting, reindeer breeding and

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fishing no longer dominate their life. But national self-awareness grows and we understand that there are problems and needs in the social, economic and cultural life of the aboriginal people. The nationalities question has become very acute in Russia. Yes, that's true, illiteracy was wiped out among them but at the same time they began to lose their national consciousness, their native tongue, their folklore and their traditions.

Ethnic issues as urgent as they are should be considered with utmost care. The fact that the Russian Far East is a multiethnic community does not make it easier. The ethnic problems differ in different parts of our country and eventually we hope to create a favourable social climate for all the ethnic groups.

The Russian Far East is living through exciting times now. Plenty of different projects are being set up for the future development of this area. The Russian Far East, a region ten times the size of Texas, ensures a window to the densely populated and dynamically developing Pacific Region. Numerous raw materials, lumber, fur-pelts, honey, herbs, including the famous ginseng and eleutherococcus, meet the demand on the domestic and foreign market.

For most Westerners this part of the world is synonymous with salt mines and snowbound exile. This immense Russian backyard has indeed been used for four centuries as a human dustbin. But it's a land of great beauty and its people are among Russia's jolliest, proudest, most open-hearted and open-minded. The "wild East" of Russia has still much of the frontier aroma.

Assignments from the text “The Far East Of Russia”

I. Questions and points to discuss:

1.What territories does the Russian Far East consist of?

2.What is the continental climate peculiar for?

3.Describe the composition of plant species of the Russian Far East.

4.What species of animals live in the Russian Far East?

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5.What are the main branches of the local industry?

6.What does the local fishing industry produce?

7.What species of animal are traded for their fur?

8.The Amur tiger population spreads more and more, doesn't it?

9.When did the exploration and settling of the Amur river valley start?

10.Where did the first settlers come from?

11.From what moment did the active development of the Russian Far East start

12.How many ethnic groups live in the Russian Far East?

13.The lives of local aborigines have changed greatly, haven't they?

14.Enumerate the positive and negative sides of the process of ethnic change.

15.What is the Russian Far East famous for?

II. Look through words on the left and find one or two synonymous words for them on the right:

R.border

III.Give English equivalents for the following:

IV. Fill in the words from the box:

humidity, garrisons, vegetation, cut off, acute, lumber, temperate, maple, bounty, dwindle.

1.Red leaves of … are very beautiful.

2.… is widely exported from Russia to foreign countries.

3.People find it difficult to bear strong … in summer.

4.Nature's … is boundless. Nature is the source of our livelihood.

5.The territory of the Far East belongs to the … zone.

6.Populations of rare Far Eastern species … .

7.More and more intensive logging of Far Eastern forests will likely … remaining tiger populations.

8.… of the region is rich and varied. There are a lot of plant species there.

9.The nationalities question is really ... in such a multiethnic country as Russia.

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10. For many years there were only … and fur-trading posts in the Far East.

V. Replace words in italics by those from the text:

1.The construction of the Trans-siberian Railroad had the necessary result of developing the Far East.

2.The world changes abruptly.

3.Slaves fled from their landowners to the Far East looking for freedom.

4.Extinction of some Far Eastern species is a very urgent problem.

5.It is necessary to spread measures to protect the Ussuri tiger

6.Far Eastern pioneers were brave people.

7.Nowadays logging of Far Eastern forests has speeded up.

8.The native language of aborigines tends to disappear.

9.Russian and Chinese statesmen put their names to the Beijing Treaty.

10.Sable and mink are traded for their beautiful skins.

VI. Translate into Russian:

1.Образ березы представлен в русской поэзии.

2.Тополь - наиболее широко распространенное дерево в Хабаровске.

3.Липовый мед считается самым полезным.

4.Мне нравятся красные листья клена осенью.

5.В хвойном лесу легко дышится.

6.Древесина дуба и ясеня широко используется в мебельной промышленности.

7.Сосна, ель и пихта (silver fir) остаются зимой зелеными, а лиственница (larch) теряет свои иголки.

8.Растительность Дальнего Востока очень разнообразна.

9.Я предпочитаю умеренный климат.

10.Наблюдать животных в их естественной среде обитания очень интересно.

11.Отнеси свои туфли в мастерскую.

12.Из окна вагона мы могли видеть заснеженные холмы.

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13.Промышленность Хабаровского края производит большое количество черных металлов.

14.Построение Транссибирской магистрали повлекло за собой развитие региона. Оно значительно ускорилось.

15.Крепостные бежали на Дальний Восток в поисках свободы.

16.Вымирание некоторых дальневосточных видов является серьезной

проблемой.

VII. Translate into English using words and phrases from the text:

1.В хвойных лесах преобладают сосна, ель, пихта и лиственница.

2.Древесина, меха и лекарственные растения являются важнейшим объектом экспорта.

3.На Дальнем Востоке ловят треску, лосося, сельдь и краба.

4.Вы любите блюда из морской капусты?

5.В парке было много дубов, ясеней, берез, лип, кленов, вязов и тополей.

process) большое количество черных металлов и других видов сырья.

7.Количество мест обитания уссурийского тигра сокращается.

8.Граф Муравьев-Амурский был дальновидным политическим деятелем.

9.Среди исконных жителей Дальнего Востока была искоренена неграмотность.

10.Этот район густо заселен.

11.Деревообрабатывающая промышленность – одна из ведущих отраслей местной промышленности.

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TEXT 5.

THE NATURAL RESOURCES OF THE KHABAROVSK TERRITORY The Khabarovsk Territory, with a total area of 320 square miles and a

population of 1.8 million people, was formed in 1938.

The territory is situated in the very centre of the Far East and borders on the Magadansky and Amursky regions, the Maritime Territory, Yakutia and China.

The eastern part of the Khabarovsk Territory is washed by the waters of the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk. The topography of this territory is characterized by mountains which are not very high, about 6,000 – 7,000 feet. The Central Amurskaya Lowland occupies the very middle of the Khabarovsk Territory.

There are many rivers and lakes in this area. The longest river is the Amur (about 2,700 miles), one of the ten longest rivers in the world. The Amur River is very important for transportation.

The climate of the territory is typically monsoonal which is characterized by very strong winds. The average winter temperature drops to -15 – 20 0F. In summer it gets very humid and temperatures reach 75 – 80 0F, sometimes up to 90 0F.

The Khabarovsk Territory is very rich in mineral resources: tin, wolfram, copper, silver, zinc, lead, gold, iron and brucite.

The Far East is known for its peculiar combination of flora and fauna from the North and the South.

Different trees and shrubs mingle forming a wonderful mozaic. Many places are untrodden by man and make a paradise for animals.

The forest is called “green gold “. The stock of wood of the territory is more than 13 billion cubic metres of about 200 different varieties. The most valuable species are ash, oak, spruce, birch and cork-tree.

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Ginseng, often called the “root of life”, is the most unique plant of this area. For many centuries people have believed that ginseng is somewhat like a panacea. The most valuable part of this plant is its root which can reach 20 – 25 inches in length. Here is a legend about the miraculous ginseng:

“Once upon a time there lived two hostile tribes. One of them was called the Gin-Seng tribe. Brother Gin-Seng and his sister May belonged to this tribe. Once, during a fight with enemies Gin-Seng captured a handsome young man. May and the captive fell in love with each other at first sight. But their happiness did not last long for Gin-Seng was strongly against their love. Being an honest soldier, Gin-Seng decided to challenge his sister‟s beloved to a duel during which he was killed. May went mad with grief and despair because of her brother‟s death and fled to the taiga. She cried bitterly on her way, and where her tears dropped there appeared delicate blue flowers of the ginseng plant which resembled her tears.”

Far Eastern fauna is also diverse. There are 110 types of mammals: sables, beavers, sea-otters, leopards, wolves, lynxes, racoons, squirrels, foxes, weasels, wolverines, roes, hares, reindeer, elks and others.

The tiger is the biggest of all wild cats, reaching a length of ten feet. The Ussuri tiger belongs to the group of endangered species. Its sumptuous coat is a wonderful camouflage, making it invisible in the woods. The tiger is amazingly hardy; it can withstand hard frosts and deep snow. Its long warm coat and a layer of fat protect the tiger from the cold. Nor does it fear heat. Tigers are excellent swimmers and usually prey near water, mostly on hoofed animals but their gastronomical tastes are wide-ranging. Tigers mature very slowly. A fullgrown tiger can weigh as much as 700 pounds. At the age of four, a female tiger typically has a litter of 2 or 3 but no more than 50% of cubs survive.

The Ussuri tiger was hunted till 1947. The unlimited demand and high prices of its meat, bones, whiskers and skin from which different medications, amulets and carpets were made, made hunting tigers worth the risk. Tigers are