Economy

1. The Russian Federation

1. Study the following country profile and make up as many questions as you can:

Full name: Russian Federation

Population: 142.5 million (UN, 2007)

Capital: Moscow

Area: 17 million sq km (6.6 million sq miles)

Major language: Russian

Major religions: Christianity, Islam

Life expectancy: 59 years (men), 73 years (women) (UN)

Monetary unit: 1 rouble = 100 kopecks

Main exports: Oil and oil products, natural gas, wood and wood products, metals, chemicals, weapons and military equipment

GNI per capita: US $4,460 (World Bank, 2006)

Internet domain: .ru

International dialling code: +7

President: Dmitry Medvedev (2008)

2. Make up sentences using the information above and the words in the box:

to cover to number to export to speak to occupy surface territory to count economy resources

ex. The full name of our country is the Russian Federation.

3. Make a dialogue about our country profile with your partner using your own sentences and questions from the previous exercises.

4. Choose the words concerning the geographical location of some country:

area climate plains economy resources

nature desert executive opportunity legislative

border subtropical diversity highland parliamentary

cover count territory vegetation scientific

Europe various forests steppes iron ore

occupy mountain chamber variety temperate

south arctic judicial tundra decrease

surface territory council supreme continental

5. Use these words to complete the sentences:

1. Russia is the largest … in the world.

2. The … in Russia is very rich.

3. Russia is extremely rich in … .

4. The country impresses with its … and size.

5. The climate ranges from the Arctic north to the generally ... south.

6. The Russian Federation occupies the first place in the world for its … .

7. Most of Russia consists of vast stretches of … that are predominantly … to the south and heavily forested to the north, with … along the northern coast.

6. Match a word on the left with a word on the right to make common expressions:

arable energy fishing forest fresh mineral semi-presidential transcontinental vast federal

country distances fleet land republic reserves resources superpower water subjects

7. Now use the phrases in the following sentences:

1. The Russian Federation is a ... extending over much of northern Eurasia.

2. It is a ... comprising 83 … .

3. Russia has the world's greatest reserves of mineral and …, and is considered an … .

4. Russia has the world's largest … and its lakes contain unfrozen … .

5. Russian … are a major contributor to the world's fish supply.

6. Russia possesses 10% of the world's … .

7. The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of … is Lake Baikal.

8. Read the text, translate it and check up your answers.

The Russian Federation is a transcontinental country extending over much of northern Eurasia. Russia shares land borders with the following countries: Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Abkhazia, Georgia, South Ossetia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It also borders the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Caspian Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Black Sea. Russia is close to the United States (Alaska) and Japan.

At 17,075,400 square kilometers (6,592,800 sq mi), Russia is the largest country in the world, covering more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area; with 142 million people, it is the ninth largest by population. Russia has the world's greatest reserves of mineral and energy resources, and is considered an energy superpower. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world's unfrozen fresh water.

The Russian Federation with its topography, its climates, vegetation, and soils span vast distances. From north to south the East European Plain is clad sequentially in tundra, coniferous forest (taiga), mixed and broad-leaf forests, grassland (steppe), and semi-desert (fringing the Caspian Sea) as the changes in vegetation reflect the changes in climate.

Pic. 36. Central Russian Upland, Zaraysk Pic. 37. Sochi, Krasnodar Krai

Pic. 38. The plains of Western Siberia, Vasyugan River, Tomsk Oblast

Russia has the world's largest forest reserves and is known as “the lungs of Europe”. It provides a huge amount of oxygen for not just Europe, but the world. With access to three of the world's oceans — the Atlantic, Arctic and Pacific — Russian fishing fleets are a major contributor to the world's fish supply. The Caspian is the source of what is considered the finest caviar in the world.

Pic. 39. Saranpaul, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug

Mountain ranges are found along the southern borders, such as the Caucasus (containing Mount Elbrus, Russia's and Europe's highest point at 5,642 m / 18,511 ft) and the Altai, and in the eastern parts, such as the Verkhoyansk Range or the volcanoes on Kamchatka. The Ural Mountains form a north-south range that divides Europe and Asia, rich in mineral resources. Russia possesses 10% of the world's arable land.

Russia has thousands of rivers and inland bodies of water, providing it with one of the world's largest surface water resources. The largest and most prominent of Russia's bodies of fresh water is Lake Baikal, the world's deepest, purest, most ancient and most capacious freshwater lake. Other major lakes include Lake Ladoga and Lake Onega, two largest lakes in Europe. Of Russia'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. Europe's big­gest river, the Volga, flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Si­berian rivers (the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena) flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pa­cific Ocean.

On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate. It ranges from the Arctic north to the generally temperate south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.