3. Прочитайте текст и составьте к нему пять специальных вопросов, начинающихся с вопросительных слов: who, what, when, where, how.

The inauguration ceremony started at 11.45 a.m. For the first time in recent years, the presidential motorcade entered the Kremlin through the Savior Gates, which had been shut for cars before. At noon the President walked to the fanfare of trumpets into the St. Andrew Hall of the Great Kremlin Palace. Shortly before, army servicemen dressed in the uniforms of the Russian soldiers of the 1812 Patriotic War had brought the National Flag of the Russian Federation, the Presidential Standard, the Special Copy of the Constitution, and the Presidential Emblem.

Having put his right hand on the Constitution, the President took the oath of service: "In performing my duties as the President of the Russian Federation, I pledge to respect and protect the rights and liberties of every citizen; to observe and protect the Constitution of the Russian Federation; to protect the sovereignty and independence, security and integrity of the state and to serve the people faithfully."

4. Работа в парах. Посмотрите на схему государственного устройства Российской Федерации. Задайте друг другу по пять вопросов. Совместно с партнером подготовьте небольшую презентацию о государственном устройстве РФ.

5. Прочитайте и переведите текст.

TEXT

STATE SYSTEM OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

The Constitution states that Russia shall be a democratic and federal state with a republican form of government based on the rule of law. The people of Russia shall be the only source of power in the Russian Federation. The Constitution proclaims a broad array of civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights that are guaranteed by the state. Generally, these rights conform to the international standards as established by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, and the International Covenant on Human Rights of 1966.

The Federation consists of eighty-two constituent components. Any matter, which is not defined by the Constitution as an issue of federal or joint concern, is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the constituent component of the federation.

State power is exercised on the basis of its separation by the President of the Russian Federation, the bicameral Federal Assembly (legislature), the Government, and the courts.

The system of government is similar to the mixed presidential and parliamentary regime. The President who is elected by general election for a term of six years is the Head of State, his powers are quite expansive. He appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister and members of the Government, dismisses the Government and dissolves the legislature, and nominates federal judges, justices of the Supreme and Constitutional Courts, Chairman of the central bank, and the Prosecutor General. Being the head of the executive branch, the President may preside over meetings of the Government; however, unlike the American President, he is not considered to be the head of the Government. In legislative area, presidential powers include the right of initiating, signing, promulgating, and vetoing legislation. The legal status of Government corresponds to the Western cabinet structure.

The legislature – the Federal Assembly– is a permanently working body and consists of two separate chambers, the State Duma and the Federation Council, which have different powers and responsibilities. The Federation Council consists of two representatives from each constituent component of the Russian Federation. This chamber is obligated to examine all bills passed by the State Duma on budgetary, tax, and other fiscal issues, as well as issues dealing with war and peace, and with treaty ratification. The Federation Council’s jurisdiction includes the approval of border changes between the components, approval of presidential decrees on introduction of the state of emergency and martial law, usage of the Armed Forces beyond Russia’s territory, call for presidential elections, and removing the president from office by impeachment. The State Duma is the lower chamber, and its main duty is to pass laws, which are then sent to the Federation Council for confirmation. The State Duma consists of 450 members elected by party lists through a proportional electoral system.