Биболетова – 9 класс – Часть 2 – Рабочая тетрадь – Раздел 4 – Упражнение 2

The Russian Federation, situated in Eurasia, is the largest country in the world with its area of 17 million square kilometres. Its population of 147 million people is also very high. The official language of the country is Russian and the nationality is also Russian. But it should be pointed out that there are a lot of ethnic groups such as Ukrainian, Chuvash, Bashkir, Belarussian, Mordva and other nations in Russia and that Russians make up 81.5% of the population. The Russian capital is Moscow and other major cities are St Petersburg, Nizhni-Novgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Samara, Tver, Volgograd, Omsk, Novosibirsk, Chelyabinsk, Perm and others. Russia is divided into 21 republics, 6 territories, 49 provinces, 10 autonomous areas, and 1 autonomous region. Russia borders China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south, Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belarussia and the Ukraine in the west and also Russia has a sea border with the USA. The highest mountain in Russia is Elbrus which is 5,642 metres high; the longest river is a Lena which is 4,400 kilometres long and the largest lake is Baikal which occupies the territory of 31,5 square kilometres and is 1,620 metres deep. If speaking about the name of the country, its official and political name is the Russian Federation, but it is also called Russia. After the revolution the 1917 it was known as the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic or RSFSR. The poetic name of the country is Rus. The Russian flag is sometimes called the Imperial Flag. It consists of three equal stripes of white, blue and red. The first flag of this design appeared more than 300 years ago. Later a black double-headed eagle on a golden background was added to the flag of Russia. It should be pointed out that the white colour symbolizes frankness and generosity, the blue colour symbolizes honesty and wisdom and the red colour symbolises courage and love. The Russian National Emblem is the golden double-headed eagle with I horseman (St George) on a shield on the eagle’s breast with a red background. Above the two heads of the eagle, there is a historical crown, which now is a symbol of the sovereignty of the Russian Federation and of its parts.