4. The russian federation

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. Its total area is about

17 million square kilometers. It occupies most of Eastern Europe and Northern Asia.

Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. The oceans are: the Arctic,

the Atlantic, the Pacific. The seas are: the White Sea, the Barents Sea, the Okhotsk

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

Russia borders on many countries, such as Mongolia and China in the south-

east, Finland and Norway in the north-west, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus and the Ukraine

in the West, Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south-west, and so on.

The federation comprises 21 republics.

The land of Russia varies very much from forests to deserts, from high moun-

tains to deep valleys. The main mountain chains are the Urals, the Caucasus and the

Altai. There are a lot of great rivers and deep lakes on its territory. The longest rivers

are the Volga in Europe and the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena in Asia. The largest

lakes are Ladoga and Baikal. Baikal is the deepest lake in the world and its water is

the purest on earth, its depth is of 1600 meters.

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

part of the country and subtropical in the south.

Russia is a highly-industrialized-agrarian republic. Its vast mineral resources in-

clude oil and natural gas, coal, iron, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, gold and other

non-ferrous metals. Russia has the world’s largest oil and natural gas resources.

Three-quarters of the republic’s mineral wealth is 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 current population of Russia is more than 150 million people. The European

part of the country is densely peopled, and most population live in cities and towns

and their outskirts.

The capital of the Russian Federation is Moscow, with the population of about

10 million people.

Russia is a presidential republic. It is one of the leading powers in the world.

-

5. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is situated off the

northwestern coast of Europe. The UK lies on the British Isles. There are some 5500

islands. The two main islands are: Great Britain and Ireland. They are separated from

the continent by the English Channel and the Strait of Dover. The western coast of

the country is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Irish Sea, the eastern coast is

washed by the North Sea. The area of the UK is some 244100 square kilometres. Its

population is over 57 million people. English is the official language, but it is not the

only language which people speak in the country.

The United Kingdom is made up of four

countries: England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland. England is the southern part

of Great Britain. Birmingham is the Britain’s

“second city”. Rifles, pistols, various

machinery, railway cars, motor cars, electrical

equipment, scientific instruments and many

other things are produced in Birmingham in

great quantities. Sheffield is the city of steel.

The main centers of the textile region are

Liverpool and Manchester. Liverpool is the

second after London port of Great Britain.

Wales is one of the big mining districts in

Britain. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.

Scotland is the northern part of Great

Britain. Scotland is an agricultural country.

The old capital of Scotland is Edinburgh. Glas-

gow is the third largest city in Great Britain. It

is known the world over for its shipbuilding yards.

Northern Ireland occupies the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland. Its capi-

tal is Belfast.

Britain has been many centuries in the making. The Romans conquered most

part of Britain, but were unable to subdue the independent tribes in the west and in

the north. Other invaders were Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Vikings and Normans. For

many centuries this country was known simply as England. It had strong army and

navy. It waged numerous colonial wars. In the modern world England was the first

country, where capitalism was established.

The surface of the British isles varies very much. The north of Scotland is moun-

tainous and is called Highlands, while the south, which has beautiful valleys and

plains, is called Lowlands. The north and west of England are mountainous, but all

the rest – east, centre and south-east – is a vast plain. Mountains are not very high.

Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain (1343 m).

There are a lot of rivers in Great Britain, but they are not very long. The Severn

is the longest river, while the Thames is the deepest and the most important one.

The UK is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the

world’s largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft and

navigation equipment. One of the chief industries of the country is shipbuilding.

The position of Great Britain gives it a temperate climate. Britain lies in the

eastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is surrounded by the sea, which makes the cli-

mate warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

The Gulf Stream influences the English climate greatly. It makes the sea warm.

The climate is not the same in all parts of England. The western part of England

is warmer than the eastern one and it also has more rains. The western hills and

mountains shut out some of the mild winds from the Atlantic. On the western coast

gales are always strong. The south-western part winds are the most frequent. They

usually bring mild weather.

There is much humidity in the air of England. Britain is well known as a foggy

country. The annual temperature in London is about 8 degrees.

British political system

Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That means it is

a country governed by a king or queen who accepts the

advice of a parliament. It is also a parliamentary de-

mocracy. That is, it is a country whose government is

controlled by a parliament which has been elected by the

people. In other words, the basic system is not so different

from anywhere else in Europe. The highest positions in

the government are filled by members of the directly

elected parliament. In Britain, as in many European countries, the official head of

state, whether a monarch (as in Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark) or a presi-

dent (as in Germany, Greece and Italy) has little real power.

However, there are features of the British system of government which make it

different from that in other countries and which are not 'modern' at all. The most no-

table of these is the question of the constitution. Britain is almost alone among mod-

ern states in that it does not have 'a constitution' at all. Of course, there are rules,

regulations, principles and procedures for the running of the country - all the things

that political scientists and legal experts study and which are known collectively as

'the constitution'. But there is no single written document which can be appealed to as

the highest law of the land and the final arbiter in any matter of dispute. Nobody can

refer to 'article 6' or 'the first amendment' or anything like that, because nothing like

that exists.

The activities of Parliament in Britain are more or less the same as those of the

Parliament in any western democracy. It makes new laws, gives authority for the

government to raise and spend money, keeps a close eye on government activities

and discusses those activities.

The British Parliament works in a large building called the Palace of Westmin-

ster (popularly known as 'the Houses of Parliament'). This contains offices, commit-

tee rooms, restaurants, bars, libraries and even some places of residence. It also con-

tains two larger rooms. One of these is where the House of Lords meets, the other is

where the House of Commons meets. The British Parliament is divided into two

'houses', and its members belong to one or other of them, although only members of

the Commons are normally known as MPs (Members of Parliament). The Commons

is by far the more important of the two houses.

A unique feature of the British parliamentary system is its hereditary element.

Unlike MPs, members of the House of Lords (known as 'peers') are not elected. They

are members as of right. In the case of two-thirds of them, this 'right' is the result of

their being the holder of an inherited aristocratic title. The House of Lords is there-

fore a relic of earlier, undemocratic times. The fact that it still exists is perhaps typi-

cally British. It has been allowed to survive but it has had to change, losing most of

its power and altering its composition in the process.

The House of Lords (like the monarchy) has little, if any, real power any more.

All proposals must have the agreement of the Lords before they can become law. But

the power of the Lords to refuse a proposal for a law which has been agreed by the

Commons is now limited. After a period which can be as short as six months the pro-

posal becomes law anyway, whether or not the Lords agree.

The position of British Prime Minister (PM) is in direct contrast to that of the

monarch. Although the Queen appears to have a great deal of power, in reality she

has very little. The PM, on the other hand, appears not to have much power but in re-

ality has a very great deal indeed. The Queen is, in practice, obliged to give the job of

Prime Minister to the person who can command a majority in the House of Com-

mons. This normally means the leader of the party with the largest number of MPs.

There are three main political parties in Great Britain: the Labour, the Conserva-

tive and the Liberal parties.

-