The document provides information about Russia, including its government structure, geography, population, borders, rivers, lakes, vegetation, mountains, and major cities. Russia has a federal republic government led by a president and prime minister. It is the largest country by area, covering much of northern Eurasia. Russia has a population of over 100 million people and borders many other countries and bodies of water. Major geographical features include Lake Baikal, the Volga River, and the Ural and Caucasus mountain ranges. Key cities discussed are Moscow, St. Petersburg, and several large regional centers.

1. The Republic of the Russian Federation

3. The Russian Symbols

4. The Russian National Government The President and his aides (helpers) The Council of Ministers with the Prime Minister The Federal Council (the upper house) The State Duma (the lower House) The Federal Assembly (the Parliament)

5. Geographical Position With an area of 17,075,400 square kilometres, Russia is the world's largest country.

6. Geographical Position It cover s almost twice the territory of either the United States or China.

7. Population Russia ranks sixth in the world in population. The great majority of the people are Russians, but there also are some 70 smaller national groups .

8. Population Many of these are extremely small—in some cases consisting of only a few thousand individuals—and, in addition to Russians, only a handful of groups have more than a million members each: Chuvash Tatars Ukrainians Bashkir Belarusians and Mordvins.

9. On its northern and eastern sides Russia is bounded by the Arctic and Pacific oceans. On the south it borders North Korea, China, Mongolia, and the former Soviet republics of Kazakstan, Azerbaijan, and Georgia. On the southwest and west it borders the former Soviet republics of the Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, and Estonia, as well as Finland and Norway. The Borders

10. T he largest European river is the Volga . Rising in the Valdai Hills , it follows a course of 3,530 km to the Caspian Sea. Smaller, but still impressive, rivers in the European section ar e the Don ( 1870 km), the Northern Dvina and the Pechora . R iver s the Volga-Don Ship Canal the Avacha River , Kamchatka the Volga River near Saratov the Don

11. In Siberia there are many gigantic rivers: the Ob (3,650 km ) , which with its main tributary, the Irtysh (4248 km) , extends for a continuous 5,410 km, the Yenisey (4,090 km), and the Lena (4,400 km). T he Amur (2,820 km) forms the boundary that divides Russia and China. R iver s the Lena River the Ob River The Angara River The Yenisey River the Amur River the Irtysh

12. Lakes L ake Onega Lake Ladoga The Baikal The Baikal There are a lot of lakes in Russia. Lake Baikal is the oldest existing freshwater lake on Earth (20–25 million years old), as well as the deepest continental body of water, having a maximum depth of 1,620 metres. L ake s in Karelia Blue Lake s in Kamchatka

13. There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the midland, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east. Russia has one-sixth of the world’s forests. Steppe Birch forest Tundra Taiga Desert

14. Mountains the Caucasus mountain range There are many high mountains in Russia. Among them there are the Caucasus mountain s, the Urals, the Altai Mountains, the Sayan Mountains and many others. Mount Elbrus is the highest peak of the Caucasus mountains . It’s 5,642 m. Of the 127 volcanoes in Kamchatka , 22 are still active . Southern Ural Mountains Mount Elbrus the Altai Mountains A volcano in Kamchatka the Khibini Mountains

15. Moscow is the capital of Russia, its political, economic, commercial and cultural centre. It was founded 8,5 centuries ago by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky in 1147. It is one of the largest and most beautiful cities in Europe. The Kremlin and the Arkhangelsky Cathedral on the Moskva River A vestibule of the Kremlin Red Square and Cathedral of St. Basil the Blessed

16. Moscow The Bolshoi Theatre Triumphal Arch Tretyakov Gallery Christ the Savior Cathedral The Tsar Bell The Tsar Cannon

17. St. Petersburg the Hermitage Museum The Winter Palace and Alexandiisky column Ismailovsky Cathedral St. Isaac Cathedral The monument to chyzhik-pyzhik The Summer Garden Petropavlovsky Fortress

18. The Suburbs of St. Petersburg Petrodvorets The Grand Cascade at Petrodvorets

19. The Suburbs of St. Petersburg P avlovsk

20. The Suburbs of St. Petersburg P ushkin

21. Big Cities Samara Astrakhan Saratov Novgorod Murmansk Yekaterinburg Nizhny Novgorod No vosibirsk Omsk Kazan Volgograd