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Geographical outline

Russia stretches over a vast expanse of eastern Europe and northern Asia. It is the world’s largest country. Russia covers almost twice the territory of either the United States or China. In the west Russia borders on Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, and Poland through Kaliningrad province. In the south our country borders on Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, and North Korea.

Russia is washed by twelve seas and three oceans. It confronts the Baltic Sea in the west. The Black, Caspian, and Azov Seas wash Russia in the south. The Arctic Ocean and conjoined seas such as the White, Barents, Kara, Laptev, East-Siberian Seas are in the north. The Pacific Ocean and conjoined seas including the Bering, Okhotsk, and Japanese Seas wash Russia in the east.

Russia’s main regions are the Russian (or East European) Plain, the Ural Mountains, the West Siberian Plain, the Central Siberian Plateau, and the Far East.

The Russian Plain takes up the European part of Russia. There are low, rolling uplands and broad rivers there. In the north the relief of the plain is scattered with lakes and swamps. In the southern part of the plain the river basins are cut by valleys and ravines. In the south, the Russian Plain is edged by the Caucasus Mountains between the Black and Caspian seas. The Urals form the eastern boundary of the Russian Plain. It is held that the Urals separate Europe from Asia. The Urals stretch for about 2,100 km from north to south. The highest peak, Mount Narodnaya, reaches 1,895 m, and other mountain tops range from 900 to 1,500 m. The West Siberian Plain merges in the east with the Central Siberian Plateau. The easternmost part of Russia is bounded by various mountain chains. The Far East of Russia includes the Kamchatka and Chukchi peninsulas and the Kuril and Sakhalin Islands.

The most important rivers in the European part of Russia are the Don and the Volga. The Volga River, which flows in the Caspian Sea, is of great historic, economic, and cultural importance to Russia. It has become the cradle of such ancient Russian cities as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod. In the West Siberia the greatest rivers are the Ob and Yenisey. They flow along the most extensive lowland in the world. The Yenisey flows into the Kara Sea.

In Russia there are about 3,000,000 beautiful lakes. The Baikal is the deepest lake in the world. Other important lakes are the Ladoga Lake and Onega Lake.

Russia rinks sixth in the world in the size of its population. The great majority of the population of Russia are Russians. Russia is inhabited by sixty other nationalities. The population of Russia is unequally distributed. The bulk of the people live in the European part of the country.

There are various types of climate on the territory of Russia. Continental climate, with cold winters and mild or warm summers prevails. The harshness of the Russian climate limits the amount of arable land to about one-seventh of the total area.

Different latitudinal climatic regimes are mirrored in Russia’s flora. A treeless tundra with mosses and grasses extends along the entire Arctic coast. In the south it gives way to taiga. This coniferous forest growing on swampy ground covers more than half of the country. In European Russia, towards the south the taiga is replaced by a zone of mixed coniferous and deciduous forest which in the south transfers into mixed forest-steppe and finally into the almost treeless, grass-covered steppe.

Russia has the richest deposits of mineral resources in the world. It is one of the world’s biggest producers of coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as of iron, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, and tin.

The development of the Russian economy is determined by its natural resources. Russia’s heavy industries are well-developed. They produce much of the nation’s steel and most of its heavy machinery, such as steam boilers, grain-harvesting combines, automobiles, locomotives, and machine tools. Russia’s chemical industry is also well-developed. Light industry is not so highly-developed and centers mainly on the production of textiles.

Task 1. Find answers to the following questions in the text:

1. Where is Russia situated?

2. What is Russia washed by?

3. What are Russia’s main regions?

4. What can you tell about each region?

5. What are the most important rivers in Russia?

6. What is the deepest lake in Russia?

7. What can you say about the population of Russia?

8. What types of climate are there on the territory of Russia?

9. Is Russia’s flora rich?

10. What can you say about Russia’s natural resources?

11. Is Russia’s industry well-developed?

Task 2.Try to define the key notes of the text after answering the questions and write a summary.

Task 3. Speak about Russia according to the following plan:

1. Russia’s physical features.

2. Climate.

3. Population.

4. Flora.

5. Industry.

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