The capital of Russia is Moscow and it is also one of the main political, scientific, industrial and cultural centres. It’s population is about 10 million people. Other big cities are St. Petersburg, Sverdlovsk, Samara, Omsk, Novosibirsk and many others.
Russia has population of about 150 million people of over a hundred nationalities. Nearly one hundred languages are spoken in the country. The European part of the country is densely peopled, and most population live in cities and towns and their outskirts.
Russia is a highly-industrialized-agrarian country. Its vast mineral resources include oil, natural gas, coal, iron ore, nickel, zinc, lead, aluminium, gold, diamonds, zinc and almost all other minerals. Russia has the world’s largest oil and natural gas resources. Three-quarters of the country’s mineral wealth are concentrated in Siberia and the Far East.
Approximately 10 million people are engaged in agriculture and they produce half of the region’s grain, meat, milk and other dairy products. The largest granaries are located in the North Caucasus and the Volga and the Amur regions.
Russia has very long and rich history. That’s why we have many different customs and traditions. For example, there are many villages in Russia famous for their specific crafts: painted boxes in Palekh, wooden tableware in Khokhloma and toys in Dymkovo. Log houses, usually decorated with wood carving are typical for Russian villages. People in Russian villages performed traditional Khorovods (a kind of round dance) and chastushki (folk chanted rhymes) and rode in troikas (carriages drawn by teams of three horses abreast) and, of course, village residents still prefer to drink tea from samovars. Traditional Russian Cooking includes porridges, pancakes, various aspics, cabbage, chicken and fish soup and kvass (a beverage made from fermented rye bread). Siberian cuisine has such dishes as stroganina (frozen fish) and pelmeni (meat-filled dumplings).
Our country has always played one of the leading parts in the world politics and economics. But, at present, there are a lot of problems in the national economy of the Russian Federation. The industrial production is decreasing. The prices are constantly rising, the rate of inflation is very high. People are losing their jobs because many factories and plants are going bankrupt.
State System of Russia
The Russian Federation, or the Russian Federative Republic, is set up by the Constitution of 1993.
Under the Constitution Russia is a presidential republic. The federal government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by the President.
The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers. The Upper Chamber is the Council of Federation: the Lower Chamber is the State Duma.
Each chamber is headed by the Speaker. Legislature may be initiated in either of the two Chambers. But to become a law a bill must be approved by both Chambers and signed by the President. The President may veto the bill.
The President is commander - in chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties, enforces laws, appoints ministers to be approved by the Federal Assembly.
The executive power belongs to the Government headed by the Prime Minister. The first action of the Prime Minister on appointment is to form the Cabinet.
The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the regional courts.
The members of the Federal Assembly are elected by popular vote for a four-year period.
Today the state symbol of Russia is a three-colored banner. It has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one stands for the sky, and the red one symbolizes liberty. It was the first state symbol that replaced the former symbols in 1991. The hymn of Russia was written by Alexandrov. A new national emblem is a two-headed eagle. It is the most ancient symbol of Russia. It originates from the heraldic emblem of the Ruricovitches. All these symbols are official. They have been approved by the Federal Assembly.
Russia is famous for great scientists such as Lomonosov, Mendeleev, Tzyolkovskii, Popov, Sacharov, Korolev, writers – Pushkin, Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Lermontov, Chekhov, painters, actors. And also is famous for the great discoveries as the first man in the space, the discovery of the hydrogen bomb which contributed to the development of society and world.
About Moscow
General Information
Moscow is the largest economic, political, and scientific center of Russia. The city's wealth of scientific, technical and industrial potential form the basis of its economy.
The many large industrial enterprises that operate within the city represent various industry sectors, including ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, engineering and metalworking, building materials, light industry, food, and defense, among others.
Major car manufacturing, aircraft, and engineering plants, as well as textile- and food-industry and municipal construction enterprises, are located in Moscow. Moscow is also one of the largest transportation centers in Russia and Eastern Europe.
Since 1990, Moscow has been the acknowledged leader of Russian economic reform. The increased influence of Moscow's economy in the new Russian economy is characterized by a substantial increase in Moscow's share in the revenues and expenditures of the RF budget.
Natural and Economic Resources
Moscow is situated in the center of the Russian plain, covering the interfluve of the Volga and Oka rivers, the Smolenskaya and Moskovskaya uplands, the Klinsko-Dmitrovskaya Ridge, and the bogged Meshcherskaya Lowland (with elevations up to 285 m).
1. The Smolensko-Moskovskaya moraine upland is developed on the northwest of Moscow. It has smooth topography with altitudes of 175-185 m.
2. The Moskvoretsko-Okskaya moraine-erosion plain in courses into the city from the south and is called the Teplostanskaya Upland. It is an undulating erosion surface with altitudes of 200-250 m composed of Mesozoic rocks covered by loams. It is cut by deep ravines and flat-bottom valleys.
3. The Meshcherskaya outwash plain is situated on the east of the city. It is a flat sandy lowland with isolated moraine uplands. Altitudes are up to 160 m.
The soils are sod-podzolic, light gray in color.
Moscow has a moderate continental climate with an average July temperature of +17°C and an average January temperature of -10°C. Precipitation ranges from 450 to 650 mm annually.
The Moscow River is the city's main waterway, traversing it from northwest to southeast. The length of the river's course within the city limits is almost 80 km. About 50 tributaries flow into the Moscow River, the largest one being the Yauza River.
The city's park system is based on 17 forest parks; 17 city, 58 district, and 9 specialized parks; 14 gardens; about 700 public gardens; and 100 boulevards.
Science
Moscow has built up a stable educational system that reacts quickly and sensitively to the educational requirements of various strata and groups of the population and offers city residents a wide range of educational services.
The Moscow Government has adopted a special municipal program called "Modernizing Education in Moscow," which defines the further course of development of education for 2002-2004.
A total of 3767 institutions operate in the Moscow Education Committee system. There are more than 1.3 million students in educational institutions, along with nearly 200 000 teachers, industrial training specialists, tutors, medical personnel, and administrators.
During preparations for the 2001-2002 school year, a considerable amount of work was done to develop and rationalize the existing system of educational institutions with regard for the population's requirements. As a result, innovative schools have been set up in each of Moscow's administrative districts: a cadet school in the Eastern Administrative District; education centers in the Southeastern, Eastern, Western, and Southern administrative districts; a pro gymnasium in the North-eastern Administrative District; gymnasia in the Southeastern, North-eastern, and Northern administrative districts; a lycee in the Southern Administrative District; general education schools with advanced study in various subjects; and a center in the Eastern Administrative District for social and work adaptation and career guidance for orphaned children and children left without parental care.
In 2001, new educational institutions for children needing psychological and medical assistance for educational and social problems, as well as supplementary educational institutions, were established as an adjunct to the existing ones.
In order to meet the requirements of highly motivated children, gymnasium classes (in addition to the existing 225) have been set up in 34 general educational institutions and lycee classes, in 7 (in addition to the existing 73). Instruction based on ethno cultural education programs has been organized in 5 general educational institutions (in addition to the existing 65).
In order to provide children with a well-rounded upbringing and to meet family needs, 150 groups for young children and 197 short-duration development groups for children not attending preschool institutions have been set up.
In accordance with the Moscow Government's Program, 1474 million rubles have been spent to provide 1 006 900 students with free meals and compensation for meals. Another 368.1 million rubles have been earmarked for health-improvement measures in the Moscow school system.
A plan for publishing and distributing textbooks has been fulfilled. Five million textbooks and literary texts have been delivered to the capital's schools, for which 360 million rubles were allocated from the city budget. In addition, more than 250 000 texts at a total cost of 8 million rubles were sent to Russian-language schools in the CIS and the Baltic States in 2001.
Literature:
1. Russian-English dictionary
2. English-Russian dictionary
3. English for Teenagers
Shcheglov Ivan, 10 “V”
