Education in Russia (1) (Образование в России)

Every Russian citizen has the right to free education. Before going to school children may go to nursery schools or kindergartens. At the age of six children start going to school. First they go to primary school where they learn to read, write and count. Primary school finishes in the 3-rd form. Then pupils go to secondary school. After the 9-th form pupils take school exams and get a school certificate. After it they can choose either to stay at school or go to a college to get a profession. Most pupils stay at school and finish it with a school diploma which allows them to enter an institution of higher education.

After finishing school pupils can go on to higher education. There are a lot of institutes and universities in Russia. They offer various departments which an entrant can choose according to his or her abilities. It is difficult to enter an institute. Entrants should attend university courses and then pass entrance exams. Nowadays a new examination system is being introduced. The so-called General State Exam allows pupils to enter any Russian university if they get good and excellent marks for it. This system hasn't been settled yet, but in some regions of Russia it works already. Pupils take this examination after the 11-th form.

Students in Russian universities usually have five years of studies. At the end of every semester students have an examination session and take exams. If students pass the exams well they get a scholarship paid by the government. In most universities and institutes graduates have to pass State exams and defend their final project. After graduating from an institution of higher education they can continue studies and enter a post-graduate school. After defending a dissertation they get a Master's Degree. In medical universities students usually study for 6 years.

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Education in Russian Federation(2)

In Russian Federation children begin going to school at the age of seven. First they study at the elementary school. It lasts three or four years. At the elementary school children get the elementary education, they learn to read, write and count. From the fifth form the secondary education begins. Children begin to learn different subjects, such as literature, chemistry, physics, biology, computing, foreign languages and so on. The nine-year secondary education is compulsory in our country, but after completing the nine-year schooling pupils face the first serious decision in their lives. They have to decide either to continue their studies in the tenth and eleventh forms at a general secondary school, or to transfer to specialized colleges, that is to say, choose a particular career. Colleges give young people a secondary education plus trade training. This means that after finishing a college they are educated and financially independent, able to go straight to a job. Except general secondary schools there are a lot of specialized schools, where more attention is paid to a particular subject, mostly to a foreign language. Besides, there are many private schools now, where the education is not free of charge» After finishing school or college young people may enter institute or university to get the higher education. After finishing the fourth course they get the bachelor's degree and after graduating from the postgraduate course — the master's degree. To study is not an easy thing, of course, but nowadays it is quite necessary to be highly skilled and educated specialist.

Russian Sports

There are many popular kinds of sport in Russia. They are: hockey, skating, figure skating, skiing, football, swimming, running, judo and others. There are many stadiums, sport clubs, gyms and swimming-pools now. Many national and international matches and championships take place in Russia. The most important sports events are broadcast live from the stadiums. Numerous people come to watch the games, others prefer to do this at home watching special sports channels.

Water kinds of sport are popular in our country. These include swimming, diving, water skiing and boating. Fishing is very popular in all parts of Russia, too.

Football is one of the most popular sports in the country. There are several football clubs and football fans not only come to watch matches, but play football themselves. Hockey is very popular, too.

Russia is famous for its chess players, tennis players and figure-skaters. At the 2006 Turin Olympic Games our country won several gold medals in figure skating.

Physical education is one of the main subjects in Russian schools now. During the lessons pupils play different sports games, take part in school, district and city sports competitions.

Such sports activities as bowling and billiards have become very popular with the Russians, especially young ones. Such indoor games are played in sports centres and clubs.

Even though many Russian people do not have time for going in for sport, they still find some hours to do sports activities.

Russia

The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one seventh of the earth's surface. Russia 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, Belorussia, and the Ukraine. It also has a sea border with the USA.

The population of Russia is 145.5 million people. 83 per cent are Russians. There are 1030 towns and cities in Russia. Moscow is the capital and the biggest city with a population of about 9 million people.

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 central region, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.

Russia is located on two plains. They are the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain 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.

Russia is a land of long rivers and deep lakes. There are over two million rivers in our country. The broad Volga River system is of great historic, economic and cultural importance to the country. It became the cradle of such ancient towns as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod. Volga is Europe's biggest river. It runs into the Caspian Sea which is in fact the largest lake in the world. The main Siberian rivers — the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena — flow from south to north. The Amur in the Par East flows into the Pacific Ocean.

Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake (1600 metres) is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic I 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 m the Far East.

Over the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. But the temperate zone with four seasons prevails. Winters are cold and windy with a lot of snow. Summers are rather hot and dry. In Siberia the temperature in winter falls to 50 degrees below zero. The coldest registered temperature was 70 degrees.

The animal world in the north includes the walrus, the seal, the polar bear and the polar fox. In the central zone there are a lot of wolves and foxes, hares and squirrels. The famous Russian furs come from the sable, mink and ermine. The brown bear of the Russian forests is a kind of symbol of Russia.

Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources. Three quarters of the country's minerals, oil and natural gas, coal, gold and diamonds come from Siberia.

The Russian Federation is a Presidential Republic. The federal government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative powers are exercised by the Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers: the Council of Federation and the State Duma. The executive power belongs to the government which is headed by the Prime Minister. The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and regional courts. All three branches are controlled by the President.

Today the flag of Russia is a three-coloured banner. The hymn of Russia is written by A. Alexandrov and S. Mikhalkov. A new national emblem is the two-headed eagle, the most ancient symbol of Russia.

Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other mineral resources. Three quarters of the country's minerals, oil and natural gas, coal, gold and diamonds come from Siberia.

There are a lot of opportunities for our country to become one of the leading countries in the world. I’m sure that we, the younger generation, can do a lot to make Russia as strong and powerful as she used to be.