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By its total area Russia is the largest country in the world. It occupies some 17,000 million square kilometres. The country is situated in the North hemisphere on the continent of Eurasia and is washed by 3 oceans (the Pacific in the east, the Arctic in the north and the Atlantic in the west) and numerous seas (the Baltic Sea, the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea, the Chukchi Sea, the Bering Sea, the Sea of Okhotsk, the Sea of Japan, the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea).
Russia has both sea and land borders. It borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south, Norway, Finland, the Baltic States (Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia), Byelorussia and the Ukraine in the west. Russia sea-borders on the USA. Kaliningrad region borders on Poland.
The distance between the most northern and most southern points is more than 4,000 kilometres and the most eastern point is about 10,000 kilometres away from the most western point. The territory of Russia is so large that it is situated in 11 time zones.
Russia has about 3,000,000 rivers, the longest one is the Volga. Other important rivers are the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur. The main lakes are the Baikal (the deepest in the world - 1600 metres, the world's greatest fresh water reservoir), the Ladoga lake, the Onega lake.
But there are about 3,000,000 beautiful lakes in Russia. The main plains are the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain chains of which the largest and the most important is the Urals, it separates the European part of Russia from the Asian part. There are other important mountain chains such as the Caucasus and the Altai, mostly in the southern part of Russia. The highest peaks are the Peak of Communism (7495), the Peak of Pobeda (7439) and Lenin Peak (7134).
Mountains greatly influence the climate of Russia. Most of Russia's territory is in the temperate zone, covered with forests and plains. About half of Russia's territory is covered with forests. The north of Russia is situated in the arctic and subarctic zones with tundra and taiga, the south is situated in the subtropical zone with steppes and deserts.
Russia is rich in many mineral resources, especially in coal, natural gas, and ores. Russia is one of few countries that have almost all mineral resources in its depths.
Some people think it doesn't matter much what country to live in. But I don't understand them. I don't want to live anywhere else but in Russia. I think that there's no place like home. Russia is our motherland, and Russian is our mother tongue. I have known it since my childhood. I read Russian books, I know the Russian culture. I can easily understand people in the streets. I love Russian nature, and I'm proud of my country, of its riches, people and history. Of course I understand that now Russia is going through a period of difficulties. Me country has changed its economy and its political structure.
Russia as a state is a constitutional, or parliamentary republic. The capital of the country is Moscow. The head of the state is the President who controls all the three branches of power. The Federal Assembly, consisting of the Council of Federation and the State Duma exercises the legislative power. The Federal Assembly is also called the Parliament, though it is not its official name. Both chambers (the Council of Federation and the State Duma) are headed by chairmen sometimes called speakers. The State Duma consists of 450 deputies. 225 are elected personally by the population. The other half consists of the deputies who are appointed by their parties after party-list voting according to which every party gains a number of seats. The members of the Council of Federation are elected on a different basis. Two representatives of each subject of the Federation are to be elected, and there are 89 subjects in the Russian Federation. Every law to be adapted must be approved by the State Duma, the Council of Federation and signed by the President.
Now Russia isn't a perfect state, but it is much closer to the ideal state, as I see it, than it was 20 years ago. The interests, needs and wishes of a citizen of a human being become more important than those of the state. The state protects its citizens, the Parliament is¬sues laws which protect freedoms and rights of the citizens of Russia. My country step by become a state functioning in accordance with Law.
The laws are obligatory for all people, no matter if they are rich or poor. Russian economy is now rather stable, and there are all kinds of goods produced. It is, to my mind, one of the features of an ideal state. The stability of the Russian economic situation is caused by fact that the rate of the national currency is rather stable now. Of course it would be better if it were stable or even grew up a little. But now the rate of inflation is low, and it is predictable. In an ideal state the bank system works steadily and predictably, all investments are insured. In Russia now there is a law according to which all banks have to develop an investment insuring sys¬tem. Unlike an ideal state, Russia has a lot of debts, but we should bear in mind that these debts were made by Russia after the former Soviet Union had fallen apart, and the debt of Russia itself is only a small part. Now Russia starts paying back its debts. The Russian budget becomes more are more balanced every year.
An ideal state has a highly-developed system of social insurance. It means that the country invests its money in pensions, public health education and sport. In such a country a person has an insurance and doesn't have to pay much when he or she enters a university or visits a doctor. When a person retires, he or she doesn't have to starve, but gets a pension and can afford travelling abroad, medical care and good food.
I also think that an ideal state has a multi-party system as Russia has now.
There are many political parties in Russia. The most well-known are the Communist party of the Russian Federation, the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, the «Unity» party, the «Regions of Russia» party, the «Motherland - All Russia» party, the «Apple» party und «The Union of the Right Forces».
The executive power is headed by the President, who controls the Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers, or the Government. The President appoints the ministers, and the Council of Federation approves them.
The main law of Russia is the Constitution. It guarantees the rights of the citizens of Russia. The most important rights that all people have are the following: the right on life, on freedom in choosing the religion, on the privacy of the house, correspondence and life, on education, on healthcare, on juridical protection. These are important rights, but I would also mention the right on the alternative army service.
The juridical branch of power consists of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and lower courts. The responsibility of the Constitutional Court is to analyse the new laws to make sure they correspond to the laws of the Russian Federation. The Supreme Court is the highest instance for the civil and criminal cases.
Russia is now a highly-developed country. During the last decade of the XX" century the economic situation was a dramatic one. The industrial production was quickly decreasing, plants and factories went bankrupt, there were millions of unemployed. The rate of inflation was high.
By now the country has come to a different situation. The difficulties of political and economical character are being overcome, more and more factories and small businesses start working. Everywhere you can see advertisements saying «Needed for the position of...», fewer people are unemployed. The gas extracting industry develops quickly because of several reasons one of which is that gas is less polluting than oil and coal. Concerning the machine-building industry we must remember about new cars and other machines which have appeared lately. Our country is invited to participate in the international space programme and is constructing a module for the international space station. The food industry supplies the Russians with all imaginable food. There are a lot of agricultural products which Russia was short of in the second half of the XX century.
Russia is a country of ancient and unique culture. It dates back to the pagan times. Now Russia is proud of being the Motherland to many celebrities. The culture of Russia is famous all over the world. Russian opera and ballet, music, fine arts, literature, and circus are believed to be the finest examples of professionalism and genius. As for the ballet, the Russian school of ballet is famous for its well-trained and hard-working dancers. Masterpieces of Russian opera are in the collection of the best operas of the world. The Russian school of painting began with icon-painting. Well-known icon-painters Pheophan Greek and Andrey Rublyov, as well as unknown artists, created masterpieces which attract tourists from all over the world. Russian literature is known as an example of good style, lyricism and psychologism. Modern writers are appreciated not only in Russia, but also in many countries. Michail Sholokhov was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1965, Vladimir Nabokov wrote the world-famous novel «Lolita» which has become a bestseller; he also translated into English «Eugene Onegin» by Pushkin. Modern detective novels by Vainer brothers, and Marinina are entertaining, their characters look like real people. Science fiction by Strugatsky brothers gives much food for thought. Verse of Russian poets, such as Pushkin, Lermontov, Krylov, Yesenin, Mayakovsky, Rozhdestvensky, are translated into many languages. The Russian poet Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996) was awarded a Nobel Prize in 1987. Russian circus was and is famous for the new «emotional», or «pain-free» school of animal training. Russian conjurers Kio and Akopyan worked miracles on the stage. The cinema of Russia is popular all over the world. Vladimir Menshov was awarded an International prize for his film «Moscow does not believe tears». Nonna Mordyukova was chosen one of the twenty best actresses of the twentieth century. Russian achieve-ments in sport are great.
The educational system of Russia is being changed now. There are two main changes: the adapting of the 12-year school and the adapting of the bachelor system in the higher education. At the age of 1 children can begin visiting nursery school if their mothers have to go to work, but almost all children go to the kindergarten (3-6). Then all children have to go to school: primary (6 or 7 to 9) and high (10-17 or 18). After finishing 9 forms you can choose to stay at school, enter a college or a technical school, or find a job. Those who want to enter a university, have to finish 11 forms (either at school or at a college). When you are a university student it is up to you to decide whether you study to be a bachelor (4 years), a specialist (5 years) or a holder of a master's degree (6 years).
I'm happy to live in Russia, I think that Russia is one of the most interesting countries to live-in. It is the world's largest country, and you can see almost any type of climate in our lands. There are some places which can be called national monuments for their beauty. You can enjoy travelling by the longest European river - the Volga, and have wonderful time on the shores of the deepest freshwater lake - the Baikal. The Russian nature is beautiful no matter where you are and what season it is.
At present it is interesting to see how the situation in Russia changes. The Russia Army is being reformed. It'll become smaller, but better-trained, professional and well-equipped. Russia opens its beauty to the world, it attracts tourists to its small and big hotels. Russian ballet, souvenirs, the white Nights of St. Petersburg, museums and concert halls attract many tourists every year.
Russia is an ancient country with many places of interest. Moscow, the capital of our country, offers tourists many sights (see card 2). Saint-Petersburg is one of the few cities which were built as capitals from the very beginning. Saint-Petersburg is a unique city with world-famous museums -the Hermitage and the State Russian museum. The Ethnography museum exposes Russian national clothes, musical instruments, plates and dishes. Russian church architecture can be studied in a trip around the Gold¬en Ring of Russia which includes Zagorsk, Pereslavi-Zalesky, Rostov, Kostroma, Suzdal and Vladimir. Novgorod, now a small town, is older than Moscow. Being one of the important political centres, it was not destroyed by the Tartar invaders. St. Sophia of Novgorod (1045-1052) is a wonderful example of the pre-Tartar church architecture. The monument «One Thousand Years of Russia» is a history textbook in metal. It includes more than one hundred figures of famous Russian people. The village of Vitoslavlitsy, a museum of wooden architecture, also attracts tourists from all over the world. In this museum in the open air you can see izbas of Russian peasants and village churches built without nails.
If I happened to choose a place for living, I wouldn't live anywhere but n Russia. But Russia offers a variety of places for living. There are many industrial cities, where you can enjoy visiting theatres, museums, cinemas and libraries. But such cities are noisy and full of smoke. There is heavy traffic in the streets but there are few parks and gardens. Life is very busy, everyone runs and hurries. At the same time, in Russia there are many small towns, where you can visit only one or two museums, one cinema, and sometimes theatre companies come from big cities on a tour.
Life in such towns is steady and stable, there is a lot of greenery everywhere, and you can catch fish in small rivers.
There are also many villages situated in the beautiful Russian countryside. There isn't much fun in the country - no cinemas, theatres or cafe's, but there is less pollution, the air is clear, and the sky is blue. You can learn a lot about Russian wildlife and farm animals. So if I were to choose a place for living, 1 wouldn't like to live in the country all the time. But a dirty, noisy city isn't appealing, either. I'd like to live somewhere where I could learn, visit libraries, cinemas and theatres, use a computer, navigate the Internet and enter a university. So, I'd like to live in a place like Velikiy Novgorod.
Novgorod is a great place for living. First of all, it is a historical settlement, where history itself speaks in a loud voice. You can study ancient Russian architecture, political life, education and other aspects of the life oа the Slavs. Novgorod is famous for excavation of birchbark notes (gramotas), from which our scientists have learnt a lot. During the Second World War Novgorod was occupied by the fascists and was badly ruined (only 9 buildings stood the difficulties of that war.) Novgorod houses two fine theatres, an outstanding historical museums and other museums, five cinemas and many youth clubs. There are many schools, several colleges and Novgorod State University with departments, satisfying any taste.
Novgorod is a clean, green, quiet town with a lot of parks. I think it is important. The Volkhov offers coolness in summer and ice-fishing in winter. That's why I'd like to live in Velikiy Novgorod.
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