Курсовая: Welcome to Russia

Курсовая: Welcome to Russia

Project

3. Science

About Russia

Russia was the largest Republic in the former USSR. But now it has become an

independent State.

It is situated in the Eastern part of Europe and in the Northern part of Asia.

The country is washed by 12 seas and three oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic

and the Atlantic oceans. The seas are: the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the

Okhotsk Sea, the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea and others.

The climate in Russia varies from arctic in the north to continental in the

central part of the country and subtropical in the South. Winters are cold,

windy and snowy, especially in the northern part of the country. The coldest

point of the northern hemisphere, where temperatures are minus 70˚C, is

located in Siberia. Summers are hot and dry, especially in the South region

of the country, in such cities like Sochi, Anapa and others. Autumn usually

brings rains and fogs.

The land of Russia varies from thick forests to barren deserts, from high

peaked mountains to deep valleys. There are two Great Plains in Russia: they

are the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Plain. There are some

mountain chains. The biggest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from

Asia. In Asian part of Russia we can find another big mountain chain, the

Altai. There are about 150 volcanoes in Kamchatka Peninsula, 30 of which are

active. One can find deserts in the Far East, Arctic zones of tundra in the

North. These territories are inhabited by various animals, birds and insects.

In the north of Russia live the walrus, seal, white bear, polar fox and

reindeer. In the forest zone live the bear, wolf, fox, lynx, sable, ermine,

elk, wild bear and in the Far East the tiger and leopard. Among the trees

growing in the European part of Russia are birch, pine and oak: in Siberia –

cedar, larch and fir trees and in the Far East – cork trees, lotus, ginseng

and lianas.

There are very many rivers in Russia, the longest of them are the Volga in

Europe and the Yenissei and the Ob in Asia. The world’s deepest lake - Lake

Baikal, with the depth of 1600 metres, is situated in Russia, too. Its water

is the purest in the world.

Russia borders on many countries: 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 in the south

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”