The Russian Federation is a Presidential (or a constitutional) republic. The President is the head of the state and is elected directly by the people. In fact he has much power, he controls all the three branches of power. The President can even dissolve the Duma if he doesn't agree with his suggestions three times rinning. The President has his administration, but it's not part of the Federal Government. The President is involved in the work of the legislative and executive branches.
The Federal Assembly represents the Legislative branch of power. It's made up of the two houses: the Federation Counsil and the State Duma, which make laws. The Federal Assembly is also calld the Parlamrnt, but it's not its oficial name. Both chambers are headed by chairmen sometimes called speakers. The Duma consists of 450 deputies (one half is elected personally py the population, and the other half consists of the deputies who are appointed by their parties after voting). The members of the Federation Counsil are elected on a different basis. There are two representatives of each subject of the RF (89 subjects). Every law to be adapted must be approved by the State Duma, the Counsil of Federation and signed by the President. The President can veto laws passed by the Federal Assembly, but it can pass laws over the President's veto a two-thirds majority.
The Federal Government represents the executive branch of power. The President appoints its head, the Chainman of the Government, but the Dums must approve his appointment.
The juridical branch of power consists of the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and lower Courts. The responsibility of the Constitutional Court is to analyse the new laws to make sure they correspond to the laws of the state. The Constitutional Court has tte right to declare actions of the President, the Federal Assembly and the Federal Government unconstitutional. The Supreme Court is the higest instance for civil and criminal cases.
Olya invites Mary to her house
Olya and Mary are schoolgirls. They study in an eleven-year school in Sosnovka.
Olya lives in Green Street. Her father is a doctor. The family lives near the hospital. There are two big houses there. They live in one of them. The house consists of five rooms. The doctor's family is large. There are six of them: Father, Mother, two sons and two daughters. One day Olya invites Mary to show her their house and take tea with the family. Mary thanks Olya for her invitation. It is Saturday. The family is at home.
When Mary comes Olya welcomes her and says, "Good afternoon!" Mary answers, "Good afternoon!" Olya introduces Mary to her father, mother, sister and brothers.
Before they have tea Olya shows her friend their house. "This is the dining-room, it is the biggest room of the house. On the right you see Father's study, it is smaller than the other rooms. On the left there is the living-room, it is a little smaller than the dining-room. Opposite there are two bedrooms. This is our bedroom. My sister and I sleep in it. And that is my brothers' bedroom. The rooms are not large but we like them very much. This is the kitchen and that is our bathroom. And how many rooms are there in your house?" "We have three rooms. Our rooms are not so large as yours. We have a small house and a little garden behind the house. In the garden there are many beautiful flowers and beds with vegetables."
The Renaissance
The Renaissance or the revival of learning was the period then european culture was at it's high. It lasted from the 14'th centure till 17'th centure, and was coursed by complex economic situation and social conditions. The feudal system was been shuttled by the bourgeoisie, thich was getting stronger and stronger. It was more profitable to unite under a single rouler. Absolute monacy came into being. This lead to the forming of nations and the true sense of the world. New social and economic conditions called for the new ideology, because the catholic dogmas didn't correspond to the new trend of life. For this reason in many european countries the protestant religion sprend up and national churches were established.
Instead of the blind face ordered by the catholic then appeared a new outlook which was called humanism. The time demanded positive recional knowledge and this demand was supplied: in astronomy by Copernicus, in philosophy by Tomas More, in geography by Columbus, Vaska de Gama and others. Leonardo de Vinci was force a new feory of art: "It was the greatest progressive revolution that mankind have so far experience, a time, thich called for "Giants" and produced Giants in power and thought, passion and character in universality and language."
An example of a typical men of the Renaissance period was: the famous Englishmen sir Walter Raleigh, he was a soldier, sailor, explorer, pirate, coloniser, historian, thilosother and a poet. He was much interested in science and literature. He wrote works of geography and lead expedition to South America. He was an outstanding poet. His poems are full of profound wisdom, written with great elegance and salacity of style. He organised of "academy". Christother Marlowe the greatest dramatist (before Shakespear). But the most important of most this writer and one of the greatest men of this period was sir Thomas More.
Leisure
When we have time for leisure, we usually need something that can amuse and interest us. There are several ways to do this. People use radio or television. They switch on the radio set or TV set and choose the programme they like best. Some people like music. They listen (o various concerts of modern and old music, new and old songs, and see dances.
Those who are fond of sports listen to or watch football and hockey matches. These are the most popular kinds of sports. There are a lot of fans among people. They can also see championships in athletics and other kinds of sports.-Everybody likes to see skating and dancing on the ice. Radio and television extend our knowledge about the world in which we live. Television helps us to 'visit' different lands, see new plants, animals, unusual birds, fish and insects, mountains and valleys, lakes, rivers, and seas. We are shown different countries, cities and towns and people who live there. On TV people could even see both sides of the Moon. This is what we can do at home. If we want to go out, there arc a lot of cinemas, theatres, museums, Houses of Culture and clubs in our country where we can spend our free time.
In big cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg it is often difficult to decide where to go in the evening. Newspapers tell us what is on at cinemas and theatres. If you are a theatre-goer, you will choose a play you want to see. If you are a film fan, you will go to a cinema. When new interesting plays are on. it is not easy to get tickets, because the theatres play to full houses every night. Then you must book tickets. In small towns and villages they have no actors of their own. So they invite a group of actors from a big town or a city to show plays.
Everyone likes to see the plays. Schools usually get tickets for their pupils. They go to the theatre with their teachers and have talks about the play they have seen. The cinema has really become the most popular kind of art. Films are shown in cinemas, clubs. Houses of Culture and even schools in villages. Young and old people like to see films very much, and when a good film is on, the house is usually full. In small towns and villages both Houses of Culture and clubs are the centres of cultural activities which are carried out through different sections. Those who like to dance join a dancing section. Those who are interested in music join a musical section where they are taught to play different musical instruments.
People who are fond of sports can join sport sections, such as football, skiing, boating, chess, and others. The art section is one of the most popular with the people, because they can learn to create beautiful things there. Some members are taught to paint, and they organize local exhibitions of their paintings. Some do cutting work, others grow flowers and take part in town and region flower-shows. Old traditions are coming to life. In some villages they build 'Huts on hen's legs', taverns in the old Russian style such as 'Lubava' on the way from Moscow to Novgorod, where people can meet their friends, have pleasant talks, eat Russian food and listen to Russian music.
So you can see how interesting are the ways in which leisure time can be spent.
Education in Russia
Citizens of Russia have the right to education which is guaranteed by the Constitution. The public educational system in our country incorporates pre-school, general school, specialized secondary and higher education.
Pre-school consists of kindergartens and creches. Children there learn reading, writing and arithmetic. But pre-school education isn't compulsory - children can get it at home.
Compulsory education is for children from 6(7) to 17 years of age.
The main link in the system of education is the general school which prepares the younger generation for life and work in modern production. There are various types of schools: general secondary schools, schools specializing in a certain subject, high schools, lyceums and so on. Tuition in most of them is free of charge, but some new types of schools are fee-paying. The term of study in a general secondary school is 11 years and consists of primary, middle and upper stages. At the middle stage of a secondary school the children learn the basic laws of nature and society at the lessons of history, algebra, literature, physics and many others.
After 9th form pupils have to sit for examinations. Also they have a choice between entering the 10th grade of a general secondary school and enrolling in a specialized secondary or vocational school.
Persons who finish the general secondary school, receive a secondary education certificate, giving them the right to enter any higher educational establishment. Entrance examinations are held in July and August. Institutions are headed by rectors; the faculties are headed by the deans. One has to study in the institute for 5 years. Higher educational institutions train students in one or several specializations.
Means of communication
People use various means of communication to got from one place to another.
In the old days people had to travel several days, weeks and months to get to the place they needed. They either went on foot, by coaches driven by horses or on horseback or by boats and ships. Then trains, trams, cars, buses, airplanes, underground and other means appeared. Many people like to travel by air as it is the fastest way of travelling.
A lot of people like to travel by train because they can look at passing villages, forests and fields through windows. Some people like to travel by car. There they can go as slowly or as fast as they like. They can slop when and where they want. People who live in big cities use various means of communication to get from one place to another.
Do you know what means of communication Londoners use? Londoners use the underground railway. They call it 'the tube'. London's underground is the oldest in the world. It was opened in 1863. Londoners use buses. The first bus route was opened in London in 1904. Today there are hundreds of routes there. The interesting thing is that some of the routes are the same as many years ago. London's buses are double-decked buses. Londoners do not use trams, though London was the first city where trams appeared. And now it is one of the biggest cities in the world where there are no trams. The last tram left the streets of London many years ago. Londoners use cars. You can see a lot of cars in London streets.
When Londoners leave the town, they use trains, ships or airplanes.
