Exercises. 1. Answer the following questions:

1. Answer the following questions:

1. Where is the Russian Federation situated?

2. What is the total area of the country?

3. What countries does Russia border on?

4. What mountain chain separates Europe from Asia?

5. How many rivers are there in Russia?

6. Which is the longest river in Europe?

7. What do you know about lake Baikal?

8. Do you know what strait separates Russia from America?

9. What mineral resources is the Russian Federation rich in?

10. What is climate like in Russia?

11. What can you say about the Russian economy?

12. What great Russians do you know?

2. Find in the text the English equivalents to the Russian words and word combinations:

1. In the юге Russia граничит с China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Грузией and Azerbaijan.

2. It also has a морскую границу with the USA.

3. There is hardly a country in the world where such a разнообразие пейзажей and растительности can be found.

4. There are several горных цепей on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others.

5. In the middle of the country the climate is умеренный and continental.

6. It is its largest political, научный, cultural and industrial centre.

MOSCOW

Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre. It was founded 8 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky. Historians have accepted the year of 1147 as the start of Moscow's history. Gradually the city became more and more powerful. In the 13^th century Moscow was the centre of the struggle of Russian lands for the liberation from the tartar yoke. In the 16^th century under Ivan the Terrible Moscow became the capital of the new united state. Though Peter the Great moved the capital to St Petersburg in 1712, Moscow remained the heart of Russia. That's why it became the main target of Napoleon's attack. Three quarters of the city was destroyed by fire during Napoleon's occupation, but by the mid-19^th century Moscow had been completely restored. After the October revolution Moscow became the capital again.

Now Moscow is one of the greatest cities in Europe. Its total area is about nine hundred square kilometers (ancient Moscow occupied the territory of the present-day Kremlin). The population of the city is over 8 million.

Moscow is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. The heart of Moscow is Red Square. It has more historic associations than any other place in Moscow. The Kremlin and St Basil's Cathedral (Vasily Blazheny) are masterpieces of ancient Russian architecture. The main Kremlin tower, the Spasskaya Tower, has become the symbol of the country. On the territory of the Kremlin you can see old cathedrals, the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great, the Palace of Congresses, the Tzar-Cannon and the Tzar-Bell, the biggest cannon and bell in the world. St Basil's Cathedral was built in the mid-16^th century in memory of the victory over Kazan. There is a legend that Ivan the Terrible blinded the architects Barma and Postnic, because he didn't want them to create another masterpiece.

There are a lot of beautiful palaces, old mansions, cathedrals, churches and monuments in Moscow. Now Moscow is being reconstructed and we hope that in a few years the city will become even more beautiful.

There are more than 80 museums in Moscow. The largest museums are the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts and the State Tretyakov Gallery. Other unique museums in Moscow include the All-Russian Museum of Folk Arts, the Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art, Mikhail Glinka Museum of Musical Culture and many others.

Moscow is famous for its theatres. The best-known of them is the Bolshoi Opera House. Drama theatres and studios are also very popular.

Moscow is a city of students. There are over 80 higher educational institutions in it, including several universities.

Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the centre of political life of the country.