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The Russian Federation

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. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometres. The country is bordered by 12 seas and 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south, Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, and the Ukraine. It also has a sea-border with the USA.

There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.

There are two great plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain chains in the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others.  

There are over two million rivers in Russia. The biggest rivers are the Volga, the Ob, the Yenisei, the Lena and the Amur. Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake is Lake Baikal.

There is no other country in which the climate differs so much from one part to another. On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. When it is still winter in the northern regions of our country the first warm days arrive in the south. For example, in Murmansk and Archangel April is still a winter month, while in Sochi in April you can see green trees full of blossoms.

Russia is very rich in oil, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.

The European part of the country is densely-populated, and most people live in cities and towns. The largest Russian cities are Moscow, St Petersburg, Nizniy Novgorod, Yekaterinburg, Volgograd, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Samara, Kazan etc.

The capital of Russia is Moscow. It is the country's largest political, scientific, cultural and industrial centre. It is one of the oldest Russian cities.

Russian villages have a magnificent beauty too. I’m sure any foreign visitor will be amazed to see beautiful wooden houses, surrounded with nice flourishing gardens.

        But the main Russia’s treasure is its people, of course. The population of the country is 150 million people. You can see people of different nationalities in my country, such as

Russians, Tatars, Ukrainians, Bashkirs, Chuvash        , Chechen, Armenians and others.

Russians are very industrious, brave and hospitable. They are fond of being with other people and enjoying social life. They have a great sense of patriotism. They are generous, emotional, kind-hearted and loyal to their families. Russians are known to be faithful and tradition-loving.

My country is unique. That’s why thousands of people from all over the world visit Russia. The country's history is long and eventful. There are more than 150, 000 historical and architectural landmarks and monuments. There are many places of interest in Russia. And foreigners come to explore its historic buildings, to see its museums and galleries, its streets and parks. But the greatest reason is the curious desire to find out something about the life of the Russian people, and their mysterious Russian Soul.

Almost every nation and country has a reputation of some kind. To my mind, the main traits of Russian character are hospitality, "open heart", "golden hands", wise Russian fairytales reflect this wisdom. Our people are hardworking, patient, never loosing hope for better life. The Russians are the talented nation. Russia gave the world beautiful names of Pushkin and Lermontov, Chaikovsky and Repin, thousands of names of world famous poets, writers, composers, scientists and austronauts. Besides our country is famous for Russian traditional specific crafts and skilled craftsmen. Painted boxes of Gzhel and Khokhloma, coloured shawls of Pavlov Posad, clay toys of Dymkovo, laces of Vologda are known all over the world. The symbols of Russia are matryoshkas and samovars. Russian people are very religious. They like celebrating such holidays as Troisa, Easter and Christmas. We have a lot of ancient cultural traditions: we sing Russian folk songs and chastushki, dance Barinya and perform khorovods, ride in troikas. Traditional Russian cooking is world-famous for such dishes as okroshka, shi, pelment, kurnik, kvass. We begin to build and reconstruct churches. The example of it is the building of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. It is the symbol of reviving human feelings, national pride and patriotism