Project work School - #12 Form – 7c Completed by: - Kate Beloussova Supervisor: – N.P.Dmitrieva Municipal comprehensive establishment Pyatigorsk secondary comprehensive school with advanced English #12 Pyatigorsk 2010

Russia- is my Homeland!

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, Byelorussia, the Ukraine. It also has a sea-borders with the USA.

We have very beautiful scenery : 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 mountains 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 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 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.

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

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 centre. It's one of the oldest Russian cities.

Firstly, about Russian people. To my mind, the main traits of their characters which differ them from other people are hospitality, their «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 wonderful names of A.Pushkin and M.Lermontov, P.Tchaikovsky and I.Repin, thousands of names of world famous poets, writers, composers, scientists. I. Levitan – a famous Russian artist P. Tchaikovsky – a composer

All of them are the pride of the nation because they send the beauty of our nature and people. Y. Gagarin – the first Russian cosmonaut D. Mendeleev – a famous scientist

Besides these great names in literature and music, our country is famous for Russian traditional specific crafts, its skilled craftsmen. Painted boxes of Palekh, colored shawls of Pavlov Posad, clay toys of Dymkovo, laces of Vologda are known all over the world.

The names of Gzhel and Khokhloma are considered to be the symbols of Russia as well as matryoshkas and samovar.

The history of Khokhloma goes back into the 17th century. Producing of tableware-dishes, spoons, mugs was begun at that time on the banks of the great Russian river Volga. The prevailing colours are black, yellow, golden, green and red.

And nowadays this craft is sure to be saved, it will be developed and brought into the future by the new generation of painters.

There are many national holidays in Russia, when people all over the country do not work have special celebrations. The major holidays are: New Year's Day, Women's Day, May Day, Victory Day and Independence Day.

That`s all that I would like to tell you about Russia!!!