The Russian Federation. Акопян Л.Г. - 15 стр.

including the Moscow Canal, Moskva River and Volga-Don Canal make the port areas
of the city accessible to shipping from the Baltic, White, Black and Caspian seas and the
Sea of Azov.
     Moscow covers an area of about 880 square kilometres. Concentric boulevards
divide the city into several sections. At the centre of the concentric circles and
semicircles are the Kremlin, the former governmental seat of Russia and Red Square,
which form the centre of a radial strect system.
     There are many places of interest in Moscow. The city is famous for its historic
monuments, art galleries and theatres. The Historical Museum, the Pushkin Museum of
Fine Arts, The Tretyakov State Picture Gallery are world famous. Moscow is proud of
the Bolshoi, Maly and Art Theatres.
     Moscow is an industrial centre with highly developed engineering, electric, light,
heavy and chemical industries. It is a scientific centre too. The Russian Academy of
Sciences, the oldest University, many schools of higher learning, colleges and scientific
institutions are located here.
      Moscow is the country’s largest sport centre. It often becomes a scene of
international sports festivals. Moscow has a modern underground system famous for its
marble-walled stations. The Metro was opened in 1935. Since then, building work of the
Metro has continued for one day. It is developing permanently. Each day the Metro
transports about 5 million passengers
      The history of Moscow dates back to 1147. It was founded by Yuri Dolgoruki.
There is a monument to him in Moscow. Since then Moscow’s name has not left the
pages of history.

                                      St. Petersburg
      St. Petersburg lies on the same parallel as Alaska and the southern part of
Greenland. But its climate due to the warm Gulfstream is milder. The winters are
warmer than in Moscow, it becomes dark early during the short winter days but in early
summer the white nights last for weeks.
     Founded as Saint Petersburg in 1703 by Peter the Great it was Russia’s capital until
1918.
     The second largest city in Russia St. Petersburg has above 5 million residents. Now
the city is one of the most important cultural centers. It has more than 40 institutions of
higher education and large number of research institutes. St. Petersburg is indeed a
wonderful city: at every turn there is something to catch your eye. The Winter Palace,
the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, St. Jsaac’s Cathedral, the Peter-and-Paul Fortress,
the Admiralty building attract thousands of tourists from every corner of the world.
     Petersburg’s many museums house some of the world’s most famous art collections.
The Hermitage, for example, contains the richest collection of pictures in the world. The
city is called the Northern Venice because there are 65 rivers, arms and canals there with
artistically decorated bridges. The beautiful city St. Petersburg is situated on the banks
of the Neva and occupies an area exceeding 32 thousand hectares. The history of the city
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