The Russian Federation

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world.
There’s hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery can be found.

Arms

Map of Russia

It occupies about one-seventh of the earth’s surface.
Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers.

Flag

Choose the right item.
1. The official name of our homeland is …
a) Russia b) the Russian Federation c) the Republic of the Russian Federation
2. There are……... republics and 68 other regions in the Russian Federation. a) 21 b)12 c)17
3. The National Government of Russia consists of.... a) the President and the Prime Minister b) the President and the Council of Ministers
c) the President, the Council of Ministers and the Federal Assembly
4. There are ………Houses in the Federal Assembly. a) two b) three c) four
5. The lower House of the Federal Assembly is …………
a) the State Duma b) the Council of Ministers c) the Federal Council
6. The population of Russia is about a) 148 000 000 b) 48000000 c) 548 000 000
7. The Head of the Republic of the Russian Federation is ………..
a) the President b) the Prime Minister c) the Speaker of the State Duma
8. The original name of the city founded on the Neva banks by Peter the Great was ……….
a) Petrograd b) St Petersburg c) Leningrad
9. The five ancient Russian towns which are known as Zolotoe Koltso (the Golden Ring) include Rostov Veliky, Suzdal, Vladimir, Zvenigorod and ………….
a) Tver b) Smolensk c) Yaroslavl
10. Russia is a land of over ... nationalities. a) 10 b) 100 c) 1000

The Kremlin

The Cathedral of St.Basil

State Historical Museum
on the Red Square

The Mausoleum

The Red Square

The Tzar-Cannon

The Tzar-Bell

The Cathedral of Basil the Blessed
The monument to Minin and Pozharsky
the Lenin’s Mausoleum
the Historical Museum
the Cathedral of Assumption
the Cathedral of Annunciation
the Cathedral of Archangels
Oruzheynaya Palata
the Granovitaya Palata
the Spasskaya Tower
the Bell Tower of Ivan the Great
the Tzar-Cannon
the Tzar-Bell
The Red Square

- Excuse me, can you tell me the way to Red Square?
- Certainly, go down Twerskaya Street, turn to the right and you’ll be in red Square.
- Thank you very much. How far is it from here?
- If you walk it’ll take you ten minutes or a quarter of an hour.
- Is there a bus or a trolleybus?
- Yes, any bus will take you. There’s a bus stop just over there.
- Thank you very much.
- You’re welcome.

Match these important dates in the history of Russia
with the events.

Make sure that you know the Russian national holidays and festivals and match the names of the holidays, the dates and their descriptions.

Palace Bridge

The Hermitage

Kazan cathedral

St.Isaac's cathedral

Presidents of Russia

Boris Yeltsin was the first president

Vladimir Putin was the second president

Medvedev is the third president of the Russian Federation

Did you know that…
…..Moscow, the capital of Russia was named after the River Moskva on which it stands? The name of the river has many possible origins. For example a) from Slavonic moskva = “wet, swampy”; b) from Slavonic most-kva = “bridge water”; c) from’ mosca = “river, water”
….St Isaak’s Cathedral in St Petersburg is decorated with 112 granite columns? About half a million people from different parts of Russia took part in its building.
….there are 93 rivers and streams, 20 canals, and more than 100 lakes in St Petersburg?
…the State Museum of Revolution in Moscow used to be the famous English Club which rich people visited?
….Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited Russia in October 1994? It was the first visit to Russia by a reigning British monarch. She visited Moscow and St Petersburg.
…..the Romanov tsars are blood relatives to the Windsors? Tsar Nicholas II was a cousin of the Queen’s grandfather. His wife, Alexandra grew up at the court of her grandmother Queen Victoria.
…..the Bolshoi Theatre is the oldest theatre in Moscow? It was founded on 28 March, 1776. But the theatre got its beautiful building so familiar to any Muscovite only in 1915.
…..Russian people say “Neither fur nor feather” before beginning something important? But English-speaking people (mostly actors) say “Break a leg”.

— born in Moscow into a family belonging to the “cream” of Moscow society
— received his early education at home
— at the age of eight composed his first poem
— published his first poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila “in 1820 and became famous
— created literary Russian, wrote a lot of poems
— had political views close to the “Decembrists”
— died after a duel
— buried in Svyatogorsk Monastery near his family estate Mikhailovskoye
— the best known work is “Eugene Onegin” (1823-1831)
Alexander Pushkin
(1799-1837),
the greatest poet and writer

Peter Tchaikovsky
(1840-1893),
a Russian composer
— was born in a village near modem Izhevsk
— composed a lot of symphonies, created beautiful music for operas and ballets
— his most famous operas — “Eugene Onegin “(1878), “Iolanta” (1891), “The Queen of Spades” (1890); his famous ballets — “Swan Lake’ “The Sleeping Beauty”, “The Nutcracker”
— the Tchaikovsky House Museum in Klin was opened in 1894
— the International Tchaikovsky Music Competition started in 1958 in Moscow

Georgy Zhukov
(1896-1974),
a famous Russian officer,
marshal of the USSR
— was born into the family of a poor shoemaker
— at the age of 11 went to Moscow to find some job
— took part in World War I
— in 1940 became a general of the Soviet Army
— took part in many battles during World War II
— was at the head of the armies in Moscow, Stalingrad, Leningrad, Kursk battles
— in 1969 wrote a book about his life
— was four times the Hero of the country