A glance at your country. What would you tell your british/american guests about your country/region?

19. A glance at your country. What would you tell your british/american guests about your country/region?

Russia is the largest country in the world. The official name of the country – The Russian Federation. The population of Russia is about 150 million people. It is a multinational country. It occupies about one seventh part of dry land. Its total area is over 17 million square kilometers. It covers half of Europe and the third part of Asia and is located in Eastern Europe and Northern and Central Asia.

Russia borders on Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, Finland, Norway, China, Japan, Korea and other countries.

Russia is washed by the Pacific Ocean in the east and the Arctic Ocean in the north. The main rivers are the Volga, the Yenisey, the Ob and the Lena.

On the vast territory of Russia there are four climatic zones. They are the arctic, the subarctic, the temperate, and the subtropical zones. The subtropical climate is the warmest. The central part of Russia has the moderate climate with four distinct seasons, which differ greatly in the weather. The most part of the territory of the country has continental climate.

There are several mountain chains in Russia: the Urals and the Altai.

Siberia covers millions of square kilometers. The Baikal Lake, the deepest fresh water lake in the world, is in Siberia. It contains about twenty percent of the world's fresh water supply.

Almost 10 per cent of Russia is tundra, a treeless, marshy plain. Tundra soils are extremely poor and frozen for much of the year.

Russia is rich in mineral deposits, such as coal, oil, iron ore, gas, copper, lead, gold and others.

Russia has a developed industry. Russia has various branches of industry, such as metallurgical, automobile and chemical industry. It has made a great progress in science and engineering.

Russia has always been a great agricultural country. Russian agriculture produces almost all the farm crops known in the world. The total area under cultivation is largely occupied by grain crops such as wheat, maize, barley, rye, oats, etc. The rest is occupied by potatoes and other vegetables, legumes, fruits and industrial crops. In the orchards and peaches and berries of all kinds. Horses, oxen, cows and sheep feed in the meadows. Cattle farming gives us meat and milk. Poultry farming supplies us with eggs and meat.

The highest legislative body of the Russian Federation is the Russian Parliament (Duma). The executive power is held by the President and the Cabinet of Ministers. The President is Head of State. Now the President is Dmitriy Medvedev. The Russian Federation is a free union of a number of region territories and autonomous republics.

Our country is great, and I'm very proud of it. Russia famous for its outstanding people – scientists, writers, poets, travellers and explorers. Russia is one of the largest trading countries. Russia has nuclear weapons, a strong army and remains a widely – respected country.

Now thousands of people from all over the world visit Russia. The country's history is long and eventful. There are more than 150 000 historical and architectural landmarks and monuments. There are many places of interest in Russia. And foreigners come to explore its streets and parks. But the greatest to my mind is the great will to find out something about life of Russian people. How do Russian live? How do they work and spend their free time? People visiting Russia want to see that for themselves. That's why Russia encourages international tourism.