Россия, Москва, русские традиции (english)

My country-Russia. The Russian FederativeRepublic is one of the largest countries in the world. It covers the easternpart of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its area is about 17 millionsquare kilometers. R is washed by the seas of the Pacific, theAtlantic, and the Arctic oceans. It is also washed by the Black sea, theCaspian sea and the sea of

Azov. In the south R borders on China,Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and other countries. In the west it borders on Norway,Finland, the Baltic states, Belorussia, Ukraine and others.The scenery of Rvaries a lot from region to region. There are steppes in the south, plains andtaiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east. On the territory of R there are different typesof climate.

In the north the climate is arctic, in the south it is subtropicaland in the middle of the country it is moderate and continental.R has two greatplains. One of them is the Great Russian plain and the other one is WestSiberian lowland. The largest and themost famous river in R isthe Volga river. It is of great historical, economic and cultural importance toR.

The Volga river flows into the Caspian sea, which is inreality the largest lake in the world but not the sea. The deepest lake in theworld is lake Baikal. It is about 1600 meters deep. It is also the cleanestlake. Nearly in the middle of R there is the mountain chain,which separates Europe from Asia. It is named the Urals and it is the largestmountain chain in

R.R has one-sixth of the world s forests. They areconcentrated in the European north of the country, in the Siberia and in thefar east. There are different types of forests in R. They variesfrom leaf-bearing to conifer forests. R is very rich in coal, iron, oil, natural gas, goldand other natural resources. The state is both industrial and agricultural.The population of the country is about 150million people

with more then 100 nations and nationalities living in it.At present R is a republic.It means that the head of the state is a president who is elected by the secretballot. The president appoints the prime minister who then forms thegovernment. The legislative power belongs to the parlament which consist of twochambers. The upper chamber is the Federal Council and the lower chamber is thestate

Duma.Nowadays there are a lot of problems in thesocial, political and economic spheres, but our country has a lot ofopportunities for it to become powerful and one of the leading countries in theworld as it used to be. Moscow. Moscow is the capital of Russia. It is alsothe largest Russian city. Its area is about 880 square kilometers. Mis Russian political, economic, educational, transport, historical and culturalcentre.

There are a lot of museums, universities, factories, researchlaboratories, airports, railway stations, theatres, etc.Interest in M and its historyhas been especially on the rise on the eve of its 850th anniversary.Changes that are observed in the Russian capital with every passing day largelywhet this interest. Throughout the ages M attracted and inspiredpoets, artists, travellers. They have left us pictures of the Mof years ago enabling us to see its streets and squares and the

way Muscoviteslived.The history of Russian capital is veryvivid. M was founded more than 8 centuries ago by Prince YuriDolgoruky. It is interesting that Dolgoruky was his nickname. Dolgoruky means long hands . He was called so because he wanted to collect Russian landsaround M. The year of 1147 is accepted as the start of

Mhistory. M was sit in the crossing of two rivers the Moskva andthe Neglinnaya. There are many rivers in M but most of them areunderground. There are many legends about the origin of the name of the city.According to one of the legends that was the names of the tribe Mos and hiswife Kwa. But the historian Karamzin says it originates from ugro-finish words dark water

.In the 16th century Mbecame the capital of the country. In 1721 Peter the Great moved the capital toSt. Petersburg. Only after the October revolution M became thecapital again.Modern M is very beautiful.Architectural monuments are being restored, cathedrals are being rebuilt, shiningwith their golden domes. Destroyed sanctuaries such as the

Kazan cathedral inRed Square, the Resurrection Gate, the Chapel of the Virgin of Iberia and theCathedral of Christ the Savior have been given a new lease of life. Mstreets and squares such as Tverskaya, Lubuanka and Okhotny Ryad have regained their historical names.

A lotof museums and exhibitions are opened in M. A lot of newmonuments appeared. For example Peter the Great by Tzaritelli or SaintGeorge slaying the Dragon . The most popular sightseeing of M isthe Kremlin. The word Kremlin means fortress. The Kremlin has 20 towers andit is surrounded by the stone wall which is up to 21 meters in height. Thethickness of the walls is about 5-6 meters.

The Kremlin is the place where Russiantzars were crowned and now its the seat of the Russian Government. The heart ofM is Red Square. At one end of it there stands St. Basil scathedral. It is famous for its varicolored domes and unique architecture. Itwas erected in 1552 by the orders of Ivan the Terrible to commemorate hisvictory over the Tartars of Kazan on the Volga. One of the landmarks of theKremlin is the

Tower of Ivan the Great. The Tzar-bell, which is one of thelargest bells in the world is situated near the tower.The Tretyakow gallery is a real treasurefor art-lovers. It was opened in the middle of the last century by Tretyakow.He was a merchant. He patronized a lot of the contribution of developing art inRussia. Nowadays the Tretyakow gallery is the richest art gallery in

Russia.In modern M one can findeverything he needs. There are a lot of sport and nightclubs for youth and alot of theatres, exhibitions and museums for people of all ages. Mis famous for its underground. The stations of it are decorated with mosaic,engravings etc. I was born in M and I havelived all my life here.

I consider M to be my home. I simplyadore this city. If I had a chance to be born once again I would like to beborn in M.Russian holidays. Our country is a country of great culture.Russians has a lot of holidays and customs. The most important of them are NewYear s day, Women s day, May day, Victory day, Independence day.

The New year is celebrated on the 31stof December. There are some traditions on New year. People decorate a New yeartree and wait for the Father Frost to bring them presents.The Independence day is a new holiday. Itsonly been celebrated since June the 12th 1992 when the firstpresident of Russia was elected.

On such days as New year s day, Victoryday, Women s day and so on people do not work.Russians have some holidays that are ofreligion origin. They are Christmas and Easter. Christmas is celebrated on the7th of January. On this day people celebrate the birthday of JesusChrist. Easter Symbolizes the resurrection of

Jesus Christ. On this holiday wehave traditional brightly painted boiled eggs and special cakes.Mazhorova Anastasia.