The Russian
Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies
about one-seventh of the earth's surface. It covers the eastern
part of Europe and the northern part of Asia.
There are two
great plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West
Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain chains on the
territory of the country: the Urals, 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 Pacific Ocean.Russia is rich in
beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake (1600 meters) 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 is very
rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and
other mineral resources.
Russia is a
parliamentary republic. The Head of the 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.
But in spite of
the problems Russia is facing at present, there are a lot of
opportunities for this country to become one of the leading
countries in the world.