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RUSSIA

Officially Russian Federation, Russian Rossiya or Rossiyskaya Federatsiya country that stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. Once the preeminent republic of the Union of Soviet

Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.), Russia has been an independent country since the dissolution of the union in December 1991. Under the Soviet system it was called the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic (R.S.F.S.R.). With an area of 6, 592, 800 square miles (17, 075, 400 square kilometres), Russia is the world's largest country, covering almost twice the territory of either the United States or China. It ranks sixth in the world in population, following China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil. The great majority of the people are Russians, but there also are some 70 smaller national groups living within its borders. Most of the population is concentrated in a great triangle in the western, or European, part of the country, although over the past three centuries—and particularly during the early and mid-20th century—there was a steady flow of people eastward to the Asiatic section commonly referred to as Siberia.»

From Encyclopæ dia Britannica 2006 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD

Geography

Read and translate the text.

1.vast – обширный, огромный

2.to be densely populated – быть густонаселенным

3.the rest – оставшаяся часть

4.to stretch - протягиваться

5.to border on – граничить с (чем-либо)

6.to vary from smth. to smth. – варьировать, изменяться от чего-либо до чего-либо

7.plain - равнина

8.resource - ресурс

9.oil - нефть

10.natural ga – природный газ

11.coal - уголь

12.iron - железо

13.zink - цинк

14.lead - свинец

15.nickel - никель

16.aluminium - алюминий

17.gold - золото

18.non-ferrous metal – цветной металл

19.deposit - месторождение

20.wealth – богатство

Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. The vast territory of Russia lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometres.

The European part of Russia is densely populated. About 145 million of people live in the country; 82% of the population are Russians, the rest are smaller national groups.

Russia stretches from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east and from the Artic 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.

Russian shores are washed by 12 seas of the Atlantic, Pacific and Artic Oceans.

It borders on many countries, such as Norway, Finland, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Belarus in the north-west and west, China, Mongolia, North Кorea, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the south-east and south.

Due to the large territory, the climate varies from artic in the north to continental in the central

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part of the country and subtropical in the south. The greater part of the territory is a vast plain with low mountain ranges and long rivers. There are about 2 million rivers and 2 million lakes in the country.

Russia is rich in mineral resources. They include oil and natural gas, coal, iron, zink, lead, nickel, aluminium, gold and other non-ferrous metals. Russia has the world’s largest oil and natural gas deposits. Three-quarters of the country’s mineral wealth is concentrated in Siberia and the Far East.