The Russian Federation. Акопян Л.Г. - 5 стр.

to be engaged in agriculture                        быть занятым в сельском хо-
                                                    зяйстве
to produce grain                                    производить зерно
a dairy product                                     молочный продукт
a granary                                           житница
a constitutional republic                            конституционная республика
the legislative power                               законодательная власть
to be vested in                                     осуществляться (чем-либо)

     1.2 Text 1
The Russian Federation
       In area, the Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. Its total area is
about 17 million square kilometres. It occupies most of Eastern Europe and Northern
Asia. Russia stretches from the Baltic Sea in the West to the Pacific Ocean in the East
and from the Arctic Ocean in the North to the Black Sea and the Caucasus, the Altai,
and the Sayan mountains, and the Amur and the Ussuri rivers in the South. It is bordered
by Norway and Finland in the north-west, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine in
the West, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south-west, and Kazakhstan , Mongolia, China
along the southern border. The federation comprises 21 republics.
    The land of Russia varies from thick forests to barren deserts, from high peaked
mountains to deep valleys. Russian Federation is located on two plains, Great Russian
Plain and West Siberian Lowland. The longest mountain chains are the Urals, separating
Europe from Asia, the Caucasus, the Altai. Russia’s most important rivers are the Volga,
Europe’s biggest river, flowing into the Caspian Sea, the main Siberian rivers (the Ob,
the Yenisei and the Lena), and the Amur in the Far East, flowing into the Pacific Ocean.
The total number of rivers in Russia is over two million. The world’s deepest lake –
Lake Baikal, with the depth of 1600 metres, is situated in Russia, too.
    The climate in Russia varies from arctic in the north to continental in the central part
of the country and subtropical in the south.
    The current population of Russia is about 50 million people; 82 % of the population
are Russians.
    Russia is a highly-industrialized-agrarian republic. Its vast mineral resources include
oil and natural gas, coal, iron, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, gold and other non-ferrous
metals. Russia has the world’s largest oil and natural gas resources. Three-quarters of
the republic’s mineral wealth is 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.
       The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with the population of about 10
million people.


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