СЛОВА И ВЫРАЖЕНИЯ, НАИБОЛЕЕ ЧАСТО ВСТРЕЧАЮЩИЕСЯ В НАУЧНО-ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЙ ЛИТЕРАТУРЕ

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                                 Topics for oral discussion

                           THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

  Russia, the largest country in the world, occupies the territory of 17 mln square kilometers. It has always attracted visitors from neighbouring and distant countries. Russia is proud of its architec­ture, painting, and music. A lot of tourists come to our country to see its beauty and to admire its cultural achievements. As a rule they want to visit Moscow, St. Petersburg and the towns of the “Golden Ring”

  The Russian Federation was founded in 1991. The Constitution was adopted in 1993. Russia is a Presidential Republic. It is headed by the President. The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties, enforces laws, appoints the Prime Minister, cabinet members, and key judges.

The Russian government consists of three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. The power is distributed in such a way that each branch checks and balances the others. The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists of the Federation Council (upper house) and the State Duma (lower house). The members of the State Duma are elected by popular vote for a four-year period. The Fed­eration Council is not elected. It is formed of the heads of the regions. Each Chamber is headed by the Chairman. Legislature is initiated in the State Duma. But to become a law a bill must be approved by the Lower and Upper Houses and signed by the President. The executive power be­longs to the Government. The judicial branch is represented by the Con­stitutional Court, the Supreme Court, and regional courts.

  The national flag of the Russian Federation is three coloured: white, blue and red. The symbol of the country is a two-headed eagle.

   There are over two million rivers in Russia. The greatest rivers are the Don and Volga in its European part, and the Ob and Yenisey in West Siberia. The Ob is the longest river in Russia, but the Volga is the most important one. Many Russian towns are located along the Volga river. Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world’s deepest lake is Lake Baikal. The water in the lake is very clear.

  Russia is densely populated, but its population (about 150 mln) is unequally distrib­uted. People prefer to live in the European part of the country. Siberia is thinly inhabited. There are more than sixty nationalities and ethnic groups in Russia. Russia is an urban country — the majority of the Russian citi­zens live in cities. As Russia occupies vast territories there are various climatic zones in the country. Continental climate, with cold winters and warm summers prevails on the territory of Russia.

Russia is rich in mineral deposits such as coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as of iron ore, copper, zinc, lead, nickel, aluminium, and tin. Natural resources determine the development of the Russian economy. Russia's heavy industries produce much of the nation's steel and most of its heavy machinery.        

                       The Republic of Bashkortostan

The Republic of Bashkortostan – a sovereign republic within the Russian Federation – was proclaimed on October 11, 1990. Political and economic independence inspires and gives new strength to each of inhabitants – from a rank-and-file worker to the President. At the same time, this independence places a great responsibility upon inhabitants for the fate and the future of the Republic.

Bashkortostan is located along the South Urals and the adjacent plains. Its territory is 143.600 square kilometers and the population is over 4 million people. About a hundred nationalities inhabit Bashkortostan: Bashkirs, Russians, Tatars, Chuvashes, Maris, Ukrainians, and Germans. The Republic numbers 20 cities, the largest being Ufa, Sterlitamak, Salavat, Neftekamsk, Oktyabrski. The capital city is Ufa.

The supreme body of the legislative and representative branch is the bicameral State Assembly - Kurultai. The highest executive organ is the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The Bashkortostan of today is one of the few regions of Russia developing without being subsidized from the federal centre. Moreover, the Republic participates in financing certain federal programs. All this has been the result of political and economic independence of Bashkortostan within the Russian Federation, of a well thought-out and balanced state policy in the sphere of economy.

In this connection it should be noted that the current state regulation has nothing in common with the former administrative-command system. Reasonable state regulation of the economy in the conditions of a transition to a market is being effected not by interfering with companies' operations and management, but by creating the environment for their smooth functioning, through developing and implementing dedicated programs for the promotion of certain industries and social support of the population, through streamlining the production-stimulating taxation system, through a strict enforcement of the laws of the Russian Federation and those of the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The powerful economic potential of the Republic of Bashkortostan contributes to a successful development the Republic's foreign economic activities. Bashkortostan has been searching and finding efficient ways to develop foreign trade, to attract investments to the economy. Interstate relations in the economic and political spheres are vibrantly developing with direct contacts being established with international organizations and funds. Good contacts have been established with embassies and trade representations of West and East European countries, of the USA, India, Turkey, Japan, Thailand, Australia and the Arab countries.

The dominating in the industrial potential of Bashkortostan are extracting industries - oil, gas and coal production, mining, timber procurement. Bashkortostan is a leading centre for chemical and petrochemical industries.

The present Bashkortostan belongs to Russian largest industrial centers specializing in raw materials extraction and processing, semi-finished goods production and export to other regions. Possessing abundant natural resources, a powerful scientific and manufacturing capability and – the main asset – hard-working and friendly people, the Republic of Bashkortostan is sure to cope with this challenging task.