Russia: facts to know.LAND AND PEOPLE: Russia is the world's largest country, stretching across both Europe and Asia. But its population of 145,500,000 is only half as large as that of the U.S. Most of the people live in the European part of Russia. LANGUAGE: Russian is the official language, but many of Russia's 190 minorities speak their own language as well. GOVERNMENT: Presidential-parliamentary democracy. Vladimir Putin, formerly the head of the KGB KGB: see secret police. KGB Russian Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (“Committee for State Security”) Soviet agency responsible for intelligence, counterintelligence, and internal security. , Russia's spy agency, has been President since December 31, 1999. ECONOMY: Industrial nation, rich in natural resources, including oil, natural gas, metals, and timber. But only 8 percent of the land is arable (farmable). Twelve years after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia is still struggling to change from a government-run to a free-market economy free-market economy n → economía de libre mercado free-market economy n → économie f de marché free-market economy n . PER CAPITA [Latin, By the heads or polls.] A term used in the Descent and Distribution of the estate of one who dies without a will. It means to share and share alike according to the number of individuals. GDP GDP (guanosine diphosphate): see guanine. *: $9,700, compared with $37,600 in the U.S. LITERACY: 99 percent. LIFE EXPECTANCY Life Expectancy 1. The age until which a person is expected to live. 2. The remaining number of years an individual is expected to live, based on IRS issued life expectancy tables. : Males, 59 years; females, 72 years. * GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product; per capita means per person. It is the amount of all items produced by the country in a year, divided by the population. QUESTIONS 1. What is the capital of Russia?-- 2. Russia is fighting a war in what part of its territory?-- 3. The Ural Mountains Ural Mountains Mountain range, Russia and Kazakhstan. Generally held to constitute the boundary between Europe and Asia, the range extends north-south for some 1,550 mi (2,500 km) from just south of the Kara Sea to the Ural River; a southward spur extends into northwestern divide Europe and Asia. The mountains lie near which line of longitude on the map?-- 4. In the east, which body of water divides Russia and the U.S. at their closest point?-- 5. What are the latitude and longitude latitude and longitude Coordinate system by which the position or location of any place on the Earth's surface can be determined and described. Latitude is a measurement of location north or south of the Equator. of St. Petersburg?-- 6. Which major European Russian city is north of the Arctic Circle?-- 7. What percentage of Russia's land is arable?-- 8. What is the name of the huge region of Russia that stretches across northern Asia?-- 9. Rivers east of the Ural Mountains generally flew in which direction to the sea?-- 10. After Russia, what was the second-largest Soviet republic?-- ANSWERS 1. Moscow 2. Chechnya 3. 60[degrees]E 4. Bering Strait 5. 60[degrees] N, 30[degrees]E 6. Murmansk 7. 8% 8. Siberia 9. north 10. Kazakhstan |
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