People Around Me. My Countrymen and Myself.

The sense of common identity, the sense of

a singularly important national ‘we’ which

Is distinguished from all others who make

up an alien ‘they”.

Rupert Emerson

I … do not call the sod under my feet

My country. But language, religion, laws,

Government, blood-identity of these makes

Men of one country.

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Recommended grammar:

Prepositions and conjunctions. Articles with geographical names. Enough, too + Infinitive. Past tenses. Used to.

BUILDING-UP YOUR VOCABULARY

Russia’s total population in 2006 was estimated at 142,8 ml, making the country the sixth most populous, after China, India, the United States, Indonesia, and Brazil. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 the number of immigrants to Russia has exceeded the number of Russians leaving the country. However, the rate of natural increase (=the number of births compared to the number of deaths) has been negative since 1992. In 2006 the birth rate was 10.4 per 1,000, while the death rate was 15.2 per 1,000.

Russia is the only major industrialized country in which demographic indicesare worse than in earlier years, largely because illnesses have increased as the quality and availability of health care have declined. Although it has increased slightly since 1994, male life expectancy of 59 years in 2005 is still below the 64 years in 1990; female life expectancy during the same period dropped from 74 years to 72 years. Infant mortality rose from 17.4 deaths per 1,000 births in 1990 to 18.1 per 1,000 in 2000, and then started to decrease gradually, reaching the rate of 11 deaths per 1,000 in 2005.

The overall population density of Russia is about 9 persons per sq km (22 per sq mile), but the population is unevenly distributed across the country. The population density of a particular area generally reflects the land’s agricultural potential, with localized population centers occurring at mining and industrial centers. Most of the country’s people are concentrated in the so-called fertile triangle, which has its base along the western border between the Baltic and Black seas and tapers eastward across the southern Urals into southwestern Siberia. Although the majority of the population remains concentrated in European Russia, the country experienced substantial eastward migration before 1917 and after World War II (1939-1945), especially to southern and far eastern Siberia. Such migration was strongly encouraged by the government during the Soviet period. In recent years, this migration has been reversed, with many Russian citizens leaving northern Siberia and far eastern Russia for European Russia.

Throughout much of rural European Russia, the population density averages about 25 persons per sq km (65 per sq mile). The heaviest population densities are in sprawling urbanized areas such as Moscow Oblast. On the other hand, more than one-third of the country’s territory has a population density of fewer than 1 person per sq km (3 per sq mile). This includes part of northern European Russia and huge areas of Siberia.

From 1989 to 1996 nearly half of all urban settlements declined in population, although several towns and cities increased dramatically in size during the same period, especially those associated with oil and natural gas production in western Siberia and the Volga-Urals regions. The population in several towns in the North Caucasus area increased rapidly in the 1990s as a result of the inflow of refugees from war-torn Chechnya.

During the Soviet period thousands of ethnic Russians migrated to other Soviet republics. This trend began to reverse in the mid-1970s, and since the dissolutionof the USSR ethnic Russians have returned to the Russian Federation in even larger numbers. Southwestern Russia (from the North Caucasus to southwestern Siberia), Moscow, and Saint Petersburg have been the main destinations for immigrants. Foreign nationals, such as Chinese, have immigrated to far eastern Russia and large cities in European Russia in comparatively small numbers.

During the pre-Christian era the vast territory that became Russia was sparsely inhabited by tribal peoples, many of whom were described by ancient Greek and Roman writers. The largely unknown north, a region of extensive forests, was inhabited by tribes later known collectively as Slavs. These Slavs were the ancestors of the modern Russian people. Far more important to the ancient Greeks and Romans were southern peoples in Scythia, an indeterminate region that included the greater part of southeastern Europe and Central Asia. Portions of this region were occupied by a succession of horse-riding nomadic peoples, including, chronologically, the Cimmerians, Scythians, and Sarmatians. In these early times, Greek traders and colonists established many trading posts and settlements, particularly along the north coast of the Black Sea and in Crimea.

Large stretches of open plain facilitated the immigration of outside peoples. Such migrations resulted in successive invasions, the establishment of settlements, and the assimilation of people who spoke different languages. Thus, in the early centuries of the Christian era, Germanic Goths displaced the Asian peoples of Scythia and established an Ostrogothic (eastern Goth) kingdom on the Black Sea. In the 4th century nomadic Hunsinvaded from Asia and conquered the Ostrogoths. The Huns held the territory constituting the present-day Ukraine and most of present-day Moldova until their defeat in Western Europe in the mid-5th century. Later came the Mongolian Avars, followed by the nomadic Asian Magyars, and then the Turkic Khazars, who remained influential until about the mid-10th century.

Meanwhile, during this long period of successive invasions, the Slavic tribes in the area northeast of the Carpathian Mountains had begun a series of migratory movements. As these migrations took place, the western tribes in the region eventually evolved as the Moravians, Poles, Czechs, and Slovaks; the southern tribes as the Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and a Slavic people who were conquered by but soon assimilated the Turkic Bulgars; and the eastern tribes as a people who later gave rise to the modern Russians, Ukrainians, and Belarusians. The East Slavs became renowned traders. The systems of rivers and waterways extending through the territory from the Valday Hills facilitated the establishment of Slav trading posts, notably the cities of Kyiv (Kiev), which is the present-day capital of the Ukraine, and Novgorod, directly north of Kyiv. Along these waterways the Slavs transported goods between the Baltic and Black seas.

Notes:

Scythia [`siӨiә] - Скифия (территория в Северном Причерноморье, которую населяли древние племена скифов - Scythians)

Cimmerian [si`miәriәn] - киммериец, киммерийка (племена, обитавшие в VIII -VII в.в. до н. э. в Северном Причерноморье)

Goth [goӨ] - гот (из древнегерманского племени готов (не существует с VIII века н.э)

Ostrogothic [`ostrәugoӨik] - остготский

Magyars [`mægja:z] - мадьяры

Carpathian Mountains [ka:`peiӨjәn] – Карпатские горы

Slavic

West South East

___________ _________ ___________

The history of Russia dates back to the ancient times. It is unique and full of paradoxes. Russia has always suffered from unexpected invasionsfrom the West, South, and East, internal problems connected with impostors constantly trying to take advantage of Russia, its treasures and people. And, of course, Russia itself was a bit backward, in some ways it was always deaf to the civilization coming from the West. Red tape and stubborn officials tried to slow down progress and culture. But, on the other hand, there were a lot of celebrities, who enjoyed popularity and gained reputation as highly educated and gifted people. Russia is proud of them: they are great musicians, scientists, poets and many others.

It is worth mentioning, that millions of Russians gave their lives for the liberation of Russia from numerous invaders: Chin-gis-han, Napoleon, and Hitler. Their plans ofenslavement of Russia were crushed and went to pieces. But the country’s losses were irreplaceable, too. We’ve always paid too much for our independence. After the break-up of the USSR in 1991, Russia faced not only old problems, but new and even unexpected ones, like ethnic clashes. It put the country into a deep economic and political crisis, which lasted during the 90s. During that period we lost a lot of doctors, scientists and musicians, who fled Russia looking for a better life. At present you can meet our former countrymen in almost any country in the world. Life has changed greatly by now. We are trying to introduce a new way of economy – capitalism with its free market. A great number of people still see this way as alien to our mentality, which results in a lot of jobless people, living on the dole and finding it difficult to make both ends meet. At the same time we witness how our economy is gradually overcoming the economic and social deadlock. And in spite of the current problems, we can't help hoping that our prosperity is a matter of time, and in our lifetime Russia will become a great power, as it used to.

The Arctic The Far East

North America The Middle East

The Caribbean Asia

Latin (South) America The Pacific

The Atlantic North Africa

Scandinavia Central Africa

Europe Southern Africa

Australasia The Indian Ocean

The Antarctic

With –ish: British Irish Flemish Turkish Spanish

With –(i)an: Canadian Brazilian American Russian Australian

With –ese: Japanese Chinese Guyanese Burmese Maltese Taiwanese

With –i: Iraqi Kuwaiti Pakistani Yemeni Bangladeshi

With –ic: Arabic Icelandic

Special forms: French Greek Swiss Dutch

Scotland, Hungary, Argentine, Wales, Italy, Indonesia, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine, Mexico, Germany, Portugal, Congo

1. What are the main ethnic groups in Russia? The USA? Great Britain?

2. Which countries, strictly speaking, are located in Scandinavia?

3. What are the five countries with the highest population?

4. How many languages are there in the world?

5. Where is Kiribati?

6. Where do people speak Inuit?

7. What are the five most widely spoken languages?

(a) Arab and Arabic

(b) Scottish and Scotch

(c) Oriental and Occidental

Russia has one of the widest varieties of ethnic groups in the world (over 160 ethnic groups according to 2002 All-Russian Population Census), but ethnic Russians form the vast majority of the population (79.8%). In 2002 the non-Russian population constituted only 20% of the total, with the largest minority, the Tatars, making up only 3.8%. Ukrainians (2%), the Chuvash (1.1%), and Bashkirs (1.2%) are the only other minorities constituting more than 1% of the population. Other minorities include Chechens, Armenians, Mordovians, Belarusians, Germans, etc. Thirty-two ethnic groups have their own administrative territories. Thousands of people have left ethnic administrative territories in recent years. Although Birobijan (Jewish Autonomous Region) was originally created for the Jewish people of the Soviet Union, it has never been a major area of Jewish settlement; emigration in the post-Soviet era has caused its Jewish population to become even smaller.

The Russian language is the country’s official language and it is the most commonly spoken in business, government, and education. Ethnic Russians speak their native tongue almost exclusively, though most Russians living in the areas of other ethnic groups can speak the ethnic language as well. People belonging to other nationalities and ethnic groups are bilingual. More than 100 languages are spoken in Russia. Some of the ethnic republics have declared official regional languages, but millions of non-Russians have adopted Russian as their mother tongue. Among the most bilingual are the Ingush people.

During the Soviet era the Soviet government helped many smaller ethnic groups develop their own alphabets and vocabularies. At the same time the USSR’s educational policies ensured widespread use of the Russian language.

most of the people or things; a group of people of a different race or religion than most people in the country; language; an official count of all the people in a country; able to speak two languages equally well; to start to use a particular method, language, etc.

Russia inherited a well-developed, comprehensive system of education from the Soviet period, with an extensive network of preschool, elementary, secondary, and higher educational institutions. Enrollment in preschools, which is optional, has dropped since the Soviet period, as tuition became more expensive after 1991. Free, compulsory education begins at the age of 6, when children enter primary schoolfor an intensive course of study from grades one to four. Intermediate education begins with grade five and continues through grade nine. Children can then enter upper-level schools or vocational-technical programs, which include on-the-job training. The majority of students are instructed in the Russian language, and General Certificates of Secondary Education as well as diplomas are granted only in Russian, Bashkir, and Tatar. Other non-Russian languages are taught to various degrees, usually only for the first few years of instruction.

Undergraduate training in higher educational institutions generally involves a four- or five-year course of study, after which students may enroll in a one- to three-year program of graduate training. In the mid-1990s about 4.5 million students were enrolled in Russian institutions of higher education. Graduate students who successfully complete their courses of study, comprehensive examinations, and the defense of their dissertations receive candidate of science degrees, which are roughly equivalent to doctoral degrees in the United States. A higher degree, the doctor of sciences, is awarded to established scholars who have made outstanding contributions to their disciplines.

Since 1991 the system of higher education has undergone considerable changes. Private schools, some operated by religious organizations, have opened in large numbers. Public institutions of higher education, once heavily supported by the state, have had to cover a much larger share of their operating costs. In order to attract support from potential sponsors, regional authorities upgraded more than 100 teacher-training colleges to universities or academies, which are more prestigious. As a result, new teacher-training institutes were created to ensure that Russia trains an adequate number of future educators.

The most prominent Russian universities are Moscow State University, Saint Petersburg State University, Kazan’ State University, and Novosibirsk State University. Other important universities are located in Rostov-na-Donu (Rostov-on-Don), Nizhniy Novgorod, Tomsk, Vladivostok, and Voronezh. In addition to universities and institutes, Russia has one of the world’s foremost organizations devoted to scholarly research, the Russian Academy of Sciences.

state terms seminar degree co-educational academic

private primary tutorial graduate nursery school fees

grant secondary lecture break up compulsory

When children are two or three years old, they sometimes go to a (a) ______, where they learn simple songs and games. Their first real school is called a (b) ____ school. In Britain children start this school at the age of five. The (c) ____year in Britain begins in September and is divided into three (d) _____. Schools (e) _____ for the summer holiday in July. (f) ____ education begins at the age of about eleven, and most schools at this level are (g) _____, which means boys and girls study together in the same classes. In Britain education is (h) ____ from five to sixteen years of age, but many children remain at school for another two or three years after 16 to take higher exams. Most children go to (i) ____ schools, which are maintained by the government or local education authorities, but some children go to (j) ____ schools , which can be very expensive. University courses normally last three years and then students (k) _____, which means they receive their (l) ____. At university, teaching is by (m) _____ (= an individual lesson between a teacher and one or two students), (n) ____ (= a class of students discussing a subject with a teacher), (o) ____ (= when a teacher gives a prepared talk to a number of students) and of course private study. Most people who receive a university place are given a (p) ____ by the government to help pay their (q) ___ and living expenses.

(a) to sit an exam and to set an exam

(b) to take an exam and to pass an exam

(c) compulsory and voluntary

(d) to educate and to bring up

(e) a pupil and a student

up to of at by from in into

1. Which school do you go ______?

2. He left school _____ the age _____ 18.

3. The summer term ends _______ July.

4. She’s not at home, she’s _________ school.

5. She goes ________ Sussex University.

6. His lecture was divided _____ four parts.

7. School breaks ___ next Friday.

8. He is now _____ university.

9. She is _____ the same class as her brother.

10. Students usually receive a grant ____ the state.

11. They’re given a grant ____ the state.

(a) pro- and anti-

(b) an election and a referendum

election campaign support polling day opinion poll vote polling station predict ballot box candidate

People sometimes try to (a)____the result of an election weeks before it takes place. Several hundred people are asked which party they prefer, and their answers are used to guess the result of the coming election. This is called an (b)_____.

Meanwhile each party conducts its (c)____with meetings, speeches, television commercials and party members going from door to door encouraging people to (d)____their party. In Britain everyone over 18 is eligible to (e)____. The place where people go to vote in an election is called a (f)____and the day of the

election is often known as a (g)____. The voters put their votes in a (h)____and later they are counted. The (i)____with the most votes is then declared the winner.

cabinet alliance right-wing prime minister one-party states