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 kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas of 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 Ukraine. It also has a sea border with the USA.
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 the Pacific Ocean.
Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world’s deepest lake (1.600 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 has one-sixth of the world’s forests. They are concentrated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East. On the vast territory of the country there are various of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.
Russia is a parliamentary republic. The Head of 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 center. 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. The industrial production is decreasing. The prices are constantly rising, the rate of inflation is very high. People are losing their jobs because many factories and plants are going bankrupt. 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. I’m sure that we, the younger generation, can do very much to make Russia as strong and powerful as in used to be.
Mikhail Lermontov
Born in Moscow in a noble family, the poet spent his youth in Tarakhany, his grandmother's estate in the province of Penza. In 1828, Lermontov was sent to Moscow University's boarding school for young gentlemen and in 1830 he entered the university itself. Shortly afterwards, as a result of a clash with the reactionary teaching staff, Lermontov was obliged to leave the university and entered the St. Petersburg School of Ensigns of the Guards and the Cavalry Cadets. He completed his studies there in 1834 and was given a comission in the Hussar Regiment of the Imperial Guard. In 1837 the poet exiled to the Caucasus for having written his poem on Pushkin's death, which he blamed on the ruling circles of Russia under Nicolas I. The works he wrote after his return from exile together with his independent behaviour earned the dislike and enmity of the court and he was exiled to Caucasus a second time. As a result of intrigues by officers of the gendarmerrie, or secret police, he was provoked into a personal quarrel with an old schoolfellow, Major Martynov, and this led to the duel on 15 July 1841 in which the poet was killed. He was not quite twenty-seven.
Михаил Лермонтов
Потомственный дворянин, родился в Москве, однако детство провел в имении бабушки, Таракани. В 1928 поступил в пансион при Московском Университете, а в 1930 -- и в сам Университет. Однако вскоре, в результате конфликта с реакционно настроенными преподавателями,вынужден был оставить университет, после чего поступил в юнкерскую школу в Санкт-Петербурге, которую закончил в 1834. По окончании школы получил назначение в гусарский полк Императорской охраны. В 1837 был выслан на Кавказ за свое стихотворение на смерть Пушкина, в которой он обвинял царский режим. Затем вернулся из ссылки, но за свои работы был сослан вторично. Там и погиб, был убит на подстроенной дуэли 15 июля 1841 года своим школьным другом, майором Мартыновым в возрасте неполных двадцати семи лет.
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