About Russia

1. We are Russians. We are identical with the peoples of the other nations of the world. We study, like music and sport, go traveling and hiking, fell in love. Reading is the most popular pastime. Once in the 11th century Russia was called ''Gardarica''-a country of cities and now we continue constructing cities and towns, villages, hydro-power stations. Russia is not the country where bears walk along the streets and indigenous people play balalaika We can be proud of Russia, its history and people. We are friendly and hospitable, full of wit and humour.
2. St. Petersburg is considered to be the most beautiful city in Russia. It attracts tourists by its imperial and aristocratic palaces such as the complex of Smolny Convent and Institute, the Cathedral of ST. Isaak, the impressive blue and gold Pushkin Palace and the magnificent palace and fountains of Peterhof.
3. The Hermitage is the gem of Russia with its magnificent collection of European art.
4. The cities of "Golden Ring" remind us of ancient Russia and its roots. Uglich, Kostroma, Yaroslavl are among the first Russian cities. Yaroslavl was founded in the 11th century and it is the oldest city on the Volga, our greatest river. You'll be captivated by magestic cathedrals and remains of ancient sites.
5. Russia has been blessed with prominent writers, poets, singers and artists. A lot of places are connected with their names. Pushkins Heritage Trail takes you to Mikhailovskoye and Tsarskoye Selo.
6. North Caucasus inspired great poets and writers, composers and singers such as Lermontov, Pushkin, Tolstoy, Shalyapin. This region is packed with fascinating sites, galleries, statues, house-museums.
7. Caucasian Mineral Waters resort is the largest natural area of preferential protection in the South of Russia. It includes picturesque towns of Kislovodsk, Yessentuci, Pyatigosk. Mineral springs, healthy climate, fascinating and inimitable in its beauty landscape of mountains, abundance of sun and warmth glorified this salubrious region. Ecologically safe low-salt mineral waters are recommended for treatment and prevention of gastrointestinal tract diseases.
8. 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.

9. There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegatation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, higlands and deserts in the east.
10. 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.
11. Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake (1,600 meters) is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller then the Baltic Sea, but there is much more water in it part in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can cont the stones on the bottom.
12. 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.
13. On the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.

14. Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources.
15. Siberia evokes a séance of some thing powerful and vast: the visions of the boundless taiga, mighty rivers thousands of kilometres long. The vastness of Siberia is amazing. Its boundaries are more than 14 000 kilometers long. Few countries in the world can compare with it in size of territory.
16. Siberia is divided into Western and Eastern Siberia. Western Siberia is more populated then Eastern Siberia. It is packed with and small towns.
17. The largest city is Novosibirsk, an unofficial capital of Siberia. The city is young - less than a hundred years old. The population is 1 400 000.
18. Another big city is Krasnoyarsk; the centre of Krasnoyarsk Territory. Its area is 2 406 000 sq. kilometres; it takes up one-tenth of whole Russian area. The territory of the region is ten times the size of Great Britain, 4 times size of France, six and half the size of Germany. Yenisei, the main river is 3 487 kilometers long, it flows from the south to the Arctic Ocean.
19. Moscow is the capital of Russian and the largest industrial and cultural centre of the country. It is one of the oldest Russian cities. It was founded in 1147 by Yuri Dolgoruki. It was situated on the trade way from the Baltic Sea to the Caspian Sea.
20. Moscow is famous for its beautiful old cathedrals, churches and monasteries, some of which date back to the 15th-17th centuries.
21. The historical centre of Moscow is Kremlin. It is the oldest part of Moscow. It was built as a for tress on the bank of the Moscow River.
22. There are many other places of interest in Moscow, such as Red Square, St. Basil's Cathedral, the Tretyakov Gallery, the new building of Moscow University, the Luzhniki Stadium and a lot more. Some of them have a word-wide fame.
23. Moscow is one of the world's cultural, scientific, educational and art centres.
24. Sport plays an important role in our life. Football is very popular in Russia. Rugby and cricket is not very popular in Russia, but there are some rugby teams. Russian children play football or handball at school. The most popular sports in Russian are football, hockey and figure skating. As for football, Russian boys play football in every yard, when it becomes warm enough. there are many professional and amateur teams. Russia is also known for its gymnasts, chess players and skiers.
25. The national symbols of Russia. The flag has three equal stripes - white, blue and red. The state anthem is "The Anthem of Russia" by Mikhalkov. The state coat of arms represents the two-headed eagle.

26. Russian Peculiarities.
Birch bark and wood
Build without nails
Icon
Izba
Kremlin
Matryoshka dolls, nesting dolls
Museum of wooden architecture
Russian church architecture
Russian cuisine
Russian folklore
27. Main dishes of Russian Cuisine.
Blink (pancakes) with caviar
Borshch
Home-made jams
Russian salad
Salted and pickle mushrooms
Shchi

28. Folk handicraft and Russian souvenirs.
Gzhel plates and dishes. Now gzhel dishes have blue flowers and ornaments against a white backgrounds.
Zhostovo trays. Bright flowers and fruit against a black or red background.
Khokhloma wooden plates and dishes, furniture. Red and black floral ornaments against a golden background.
Amber stings of beads and other amber decoration
Decoration made of malachite
Dymkovo earthen toy. Richly dressed ladies, horsemen, scenes of everyday life.
Baskets and boxes of all types made of birch bark
Palech miniature (lacquer miniature on paper -Mache boxes)
Wood carving
Vologda lace

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