The russian federation

The Russian Federation is the largest country of the world. It occupies about 1/7 of the Earth surface. The country is situated in Eastern Europe, Northern and Central Asia. Its total area is over 17 million square km.

Our land is washed by 12 seas, most of which are the seas of three oceans: the Arctic the Atlantic and the Pacific. In the south and in the west the country borders on fourteen countries. It also has a sea-border with the USA.

There is hardly a country in the world where such a great variety of flora and fauna can be found as m our land. Our country has numerous forests, plains and steppes, taiga and tundra, highlands and deserts. The highest mountains in our land are the Altai, the Urals and the Caucasus. There are over two thousands rivers in the Russian Federation The longest of them are the Volga, the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur. Our land is also rich in various lakes with the deepest lake in the world. Baikal, included.

On the Russian territory there are 11 time zones. The climate conditions are rather different, from arctic and moderate to continental and subtropical. Our country is one of the richest in natural resources countries in the world: oil, natural gas, coal, different ores, ferrous and non-ferrous metals and other minerals.

The Russian Federation is a multi-national state. It comprises many national districts, several autonomous republics and regions. The population of the country is over 140 million people

Moscow is the capital of our Homeland. It is the largest political scientific, cultural and industrial center of the country and one of the most beautiful cities, on the globe. Russian is the official language of the state. The national symbol of the Russian federation is a white-blue-red banner.

The Russian Federation is a constitutional republic headed by the President, the country government consists of three branches: legislative executive and judicial. The President controls only the executive branch the government, but not the Supreme Court and Federal Assembly.

The legislative power belongs to the Federal Assembly comprising two chambers: the Council of Federation (upper Chamber) and the State Duma (lower Chamber) Each chamber is headed by the Speaker The« executive power belongs to the government (the Cabinet of Ministers) headed by the Prime Minister. The judicial power belongs to the system of Courts comprising the Constitutional Court the Supreme Court and federal courts.

Our country has a multi-party system. The largest and most influential political parties are the Communist party, the "Fatherland-All Russia", Liberal-Democratic and some others.

The foreign policy of the Russian Federation is that of international cooperation, peace and friendship with all nations irrespective of their political and social systems.

Republic of bashkortostan

The Republic of Bashkortostan - a sovereign republic within the Russian Federation - is located along the South Urals and the adjacent plains. Its territory is 143,600 square kilometers and the population is over 4 million people} In terms of population, Bashkortostan ranks seventh among Russia's republics, territories and regions. About a hundred nationalities inhabit the Republic. The indigenous population is Bashkirs. From the point of natural conditions Bashkortostan can be divided into three parts - western, mountainous and Bashkir Trans Urals. The western part is located upon the Russian Plains. It is most favourable for life and business activities. It is here that the majority of the population lives. Highland Bashkortostan encompasses the South Ural Mountains, least auspicious to farming and manufacturing and thus least developed. Bashkir Trans-Urals forms a narrow strip to the east of the Ural Mountains along the Republic's eastern border merging with the West Siberian Plains. Bashkortostan's climate is continental with moderately warm, sometimes hot, summers and cold winters. More than 600 rivers and 800 lakes trim the beauty of the Republic's nature. Many of the rivers, including the largest - the Ural and the Aghidel belong to the Caspian Sea basin. Bashkortostan is rich in forests, the predominant species being birch-tree, conifers, lime-tree, oak and maple. About 6 million cubic meters of timber are annually procured and more than half of these are subsequently processed. The Republic accounts for nearly a third of all lime-tree forests of Russia. It is the lime-tree that makes Bashkir honey world-famous. The latter's taste and bouquet, as well as the superb quality of the famous healing koumiss (fermented mare's milk) are contributed to by a rare combination of the vegetation growing in Bashkortostan/The mineral riches of Bashkortostan include iron ore, copper, gold, zinc, aluminum, chromium, brown coal, natural gas, salt, manganese, gypsum, limestone and many other deposits numbering well over three thousand] Oil is the main mineral resource of the land. Oil related industries - power generation, oil refining, chemical, gas and petrochemical - have become most prominent. Diverse natural riches, a favourable pattern of population distribution, and a convenient geographical location promote the development of manufacturing and agribusiness. Bashkortostan ranks second in the Urals region as regards its manufacturing potential, and outstrips Russia's republics and many of the CIS countries in terms of national income. Being the focal point of the major cargo traffic between the European and Asian parts of the country, the Republic of Bashkortostan offers extensive facilities for exports and imports of raw materials, fuel and manufactured items, maintaining trade and business ties with both the West and the East. The BAL (Bashkir Airlines) carrier connects Ufa with the largest cities in Russia, the post-Soviet republics and abroad. The length of railways is 2,900 km, and that of navigable river routes is 960 km. Adoption on October 11, 1990, of the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Bashkortostan opened up a new phase in the evolution of our Republic as a sovereign state within the Russian Federation, a state possessing an immense economic and spiritual potential] The Republic has established itself as a reliable, economically and politically stable region, which is prepared to cooperate and interact on an equal footing with all regions of Russia, with the federal authorities, and foreign partners. Sovereignty has given to the Republic an opportunity to independently determine its economic policy, to rationally manage its natural riches, production capability and earnings in the best interest and for the benefit of the people, legislative body of the Republic According to the Constitution of the Republic of Bashkortostan, only the State Assembly is entitled to adopt a Constitution, Codes, Laws, and any amendments thereto; it determines, jointly with the President, the domestic and foreign policies of the Republic, endorses the State Budget, supervises its execution; gives its consent to the President's nomination of a Prime Minister; passes a decision to hold elections of the President, deputies of the State Assembly and local authorities; elects the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the Supreme Court of Arbitration; appoints the Procurator and the Commissioner of the Republic of Bashkortostan for Human Rights] At least once a year the Parliament shall hear and discuss the President's message on the main guidelines of the home and foreign policies. The State Assembly wields many other powers and authority as well. The State Assembly is elected for the term of five years. A Secretariat is formed to maintain its activities. The republican legislative base will have to eliminate imperfections and conflicts existing with federal laws, co create a comprehensive system for legal regulation of the economy conforming to up-to-date conditions and requirements the reforms. Streamlining is required for the legislation on investment activities (including those involving foreign capital), on consumer and manufacturing cooperatives, on finance-industrial groups, and on registration by the state of real estate and on transactions therewith. Against the background of political tension in many of the country's regions Bashkortostan stands out for stability and peaceful atmosphere. The Republic numbers 21 cities, the largest being Ufa, Sterlitamak, Salavat, Neftekamsk, Oktyabrski.