9. Answer the questions:

1) Where is the Russian Federation situated?

2) What oceans is our country washed by?

3) Can you name any seas, which Russia is washed by?

4) What is the total area of the country?

5) What countries does the Russian Federation border on in the west (in the east)?

6) What can you say about the relief in Russia?

7) What mountain chains are there on the territory of our country?

8) What sea does the Europe's biggest river flow into?

9) What is the world's deepest lake famous for?

10) What types of climate are there in Russia?

11) What mineral resources is Russia rich in?

10. Tell about geographical location and mineral resources of our country using your answers.

11. Match a word on the left with a word on the right to make common expressions and translate them:

appoint approve federal national social

contract government referendum to the position treaties

12. Match these expressions with their definitions.

1) competition and mutual restraint among the various branches of government

2) submission of an issue of public importance to the direct vote of the electorate

3) an agreement, entered into by individuals, that results in the formation of the state or of organized society, the prime motive being the desire for protection, which entails the surrender of some or all personal liberties

4) a formal agreement or contract between two or more states, such as an alliance or trade arrangement

5) to assign officially, as for a position, responsibility

13. Study the following words from the text:

adopt – (официально) принимать (что-л.)

bicameral – двухпалатный

branch - ветвь

chamber - палата

checks and balances – сдержки и противовесы

constitutional crisis – кризис конституционной власти

declare war – объявить войну

deem – книжн. полагать, считать

executive power – исполнительная власть

legal document – юридический документ

legislative power – законодательная власть

overturn – опровергать

power of the purse – право кошелька

representative democracy – представительная демократия

supreme – верховный, высший

wherein – книжн. где

14. Read the text about the government and politics in Russia and answer the questions after it:

Pic. 40. Entrance to the Kremlin Senate, part of the Moscow Kremlin and the working residence of the Russian president

According to the Constitution, which was adopted by national referendum on 12 December 1993 following the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, Russia is a federation and formally a semi-presidential republic, wherein the President is the head of the state and the Prime Minister is the head of the government. The Russian Federation is fundamentally structured as a representative democracy. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Federal Assembly. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, which serves as the country's supreme legal document and as a social contract for the people of the Russian Federation.

Pic. 41. The White House, the seat of the Russian Government

The federal government is composed of three branches:

• Legislative: The bicameral Federal Assembly, made up of the State Duma and the Federation Council adopts federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has power of impeachment, by which it can remove the President.

• Executive: The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto legislative bills before they become law, and appoints the Cabinet and other officers, who administer and enforce federal laws and policies.

• Judiciary: The Constitutional Court, Supreme Court, Supreme Court of Arbitration and lower federal courts, whose judges are appointed by the Federation Council on the recommendation of the president, interpret laws and can overturn laws they deemunconstitutional.

Pic. 42. Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and President Dmitry Medvedev

The president is elected by popular vote for a four-year term^]; election last held 2 March 2008. The national legislature is the Federal Assembly, which consists of two chambers; the 450-member State Duma and the 176-member Federation Council. Leading political parties in Russia include United Russia, the Communist Party, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia and Fair Russia.

1. When was the Russian constitutional crisis?

2. When was the Constitution adopted according to which Russia is a federation?

3. What is the head of the state?

4. What is the head of the government?

5. What branches does the federal government comprise?

6. What do these branches consist of?