The Russian Federation. Акопян Л.Г. - 8 стр.

the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates
Europe from Asia.
There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe’s biggest river, the Volga, flows into
the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian rivers – the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena – flow,
from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.
   Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world’s deepest lake (1,600 metres) is Lake
Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it than in
the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the
stones on the bottom.
   Russia has one-sixth of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in the European
north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East.
On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the
north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate
and continental.
   Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral
resources.
   Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of State is the President. The legislative
powers are exercised by the Duma.
   The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is its largest political, scientific, cultural and
industrial centre. It is one of the oldest Russian cities.
At present, the political and economic situation in the country is rather complicated.
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.

1.10 Listen to the text and be ready to answer the questions on it (see 7.1; 7.2; 7.3)

1.11 Speak on the topic Russia: geography and economy

      2 Section 2
State system of the Russian Federation

2.1 Topical vocabulary

to be set up by smth.                               быть учрежденным, основан-
                                                    ным в соответствии с чем-либо
under the Constitution                              в соответствии с конституцией
a presidential republic                             президентская республика
the federal government                             федеральное правительство
a branch                                           власть (как часть правительства)

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