RUSSIA
Prepared by
Elena V. Fedorova
VSUE Vladivostok,2005
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RUSSIAN
FEDERATION
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Russia on the map of the world
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A MAP OF THE COUNTRY
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General Information
 Area :
total: 17,075,200 sq km
land: 16,995,800 sq km
water: 79,400 sq km
 Common borders with
* Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania in the Northwest;
* Belarus and Poland in the West;
* Ukraine in the Southwest;
* Georgia, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan in the South;
* China, Mongolia and North Korea in the Southeast.
Coastline: 37,653 km
 Russia is washed by
* the Arctic Ocean - the Barents, Beloye (White). Kara, Laptev,
East Siberian and Chukchi Seas in the North;
* the Baltic Sea in the Northwest;
* the Black, Azov and Caspian Seas in the Southwest;
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General Information
Contd.
 The territory of Russia
* 11 time belts - from the 2nd to the 24th.
* From north to south: 4,000 kilometers
* From east to west - 9,000 kilometers.
* The overall borderline of the RF is 60,932.8
kilometers.
Russia occupies one-eighth of the Earth's
land surface and more than 3/4 of the territory
of the former USSR.
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General Information
Contd.
 Climate: steppes; tundra; subarctic.
 Terrain: broad plain with low hills; vast
coniferous forest and tundra; uplands and
mountains.
 Elevation extremes:
• lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
• highest point: Gora El'brus 5,633 m
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General Information
Contd.
 Natural resources:
* oil, natural gas, coal, timber
 Land use:
• arable land: 7.33%
• permanent crops: 0.11%
• other: 92.56% (2001)
Irrigated land: 46,630 sq km (1998 est.)
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General Information
Contd.
 Natural hazards: volcanic activity; volcanoes
and earthquakes; spring floods and
summer/autumn forest fires.
 Environment - current issues: air pollution
from heavy industry; industrial, municipal, and
agricultural pollution of inland waterways and
seacoasts; deforestation; soil erosion; soil
contamination from improper application of
agricultural chemicals; scattered areas of
sometimes intense radioactive contamination;
groundwater contamination from toxic waste;
urban solid waste management; etc.
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Time zones
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People
 Population: 143,420,309 (July 2005 est.)
 Age structure: 0-14 years: 14.6% (male
10,704,617/female 10,173,313)
15-64 years: 71.3% (male 49,429,716/female
52,799,740)
65 years and over: 14.2% (male
6,405,027/female 13,907,896) (2005 est.)
 Population growth rate: -0.37% (2005 est.)
 Birth rate: 9.8 births/1,000 population (2005
est.)
 Death rate: 14.52 deaths/1,000 population
(2005 est.)
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People
Contd.
 Ethnic groups: Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%,
Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%,
other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census)
 Religions: Russian Orthodox, Muslim, other
 Languages: Russian, many minority languages
 Literacy:
• total population: 99.6%
• male: 99.7%
• female: 99.5% (2003 est.)
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THANK YOU
FOR ATTENTION AND
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT,
FRIENDS!
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Russia
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General Information
Contd.
 Russia includes:
* 21 autonomous republics,
* 49 "oblasts" (regions),
* 6 "krais" (territories),
* 10 autonomous "okrugs" (districts),
* 1 autonomous "oblast,"
* 2 capital cities - Moscow and St. Petersburg
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Geography
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COUNTRY PROFILE
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Geography
Languages
Constitution
People
Religions
National
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Political Administrative System
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Central federal district
Northwestern federal district
Volga federal district
Southern federal district
Ural federal district
Siberian federal district
Far-Eastern federal district
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Central Federal District
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Belgorod Region
Bryansk Region
Ivanovo Region
Kaluga Region
Kostroma Region
Kursk Region
Lipetsk Region
Moscow
Moscow Region
Ryazan Region
Smolensk Region
Tambov Region
Tula Region
Tver Region
Vladimir Region
Voronezh Region
Yaroslavl Region
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gions: Belgorod, Bryansk, Vladimir, Voronezh, Ivanov, Kaluga, Kostroma, Kursk, Lipetsk, M
square kilometers. It borders Belarus and Ukraine in the west, the Northwestern Federal Dis
n - 37,309,000. Most of the people live in the cities.
spected iron ores (Kursk Magnetic Anomaly).
tripoli, gypsum, limestone, chalk; glass, mold, building and ballast sand, brick earth, claydite
ry's industrial production. The most important industries are ferrous metallurgy, electricity ge
nko
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North Western Federal District
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Arkhangelsk Region
Kaliningrad Region
Komi Republic
Leningrad Region
Murmansk Region
Nenets Autonomous Area
Novgorod Region
Republic of Karelia
Vologda Region
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2 republics (Karelia, Komi), 7 regions (Archangel, Vologda, Kaliningrad, Leningrad, Murman
orth, the NWFD borders on Norway and Finland and is washed by the White, Barents, and K
c composition: more than 100 different ethnic groups.
eveloped mining areas (Murmansk Region) boasting major effective sources of mineral raw
ts of diamonds, bauxites, oil, gas, gas condensate, carbonate raw materials, industrial and b
posit of amber (Kaliningrad Region) accounting for over 90% of the world reserves.
erkesov.
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Volga Federal District
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Chuvashia Republic
Khabarovsk territory
Kirov Region
Komi-Permyak Autonomous Area
Nizhni Novgorod Region
Orenburg Region
Penza Region
Perm Region
Republic of Bashkortostan
Republic of Mariy-El
Republic of Mordovia
Republic of Tatarstan
Samara Region
Saratov Region
Udmurt Republic
Ulyanovsk Region
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15 subjects of the Russian Federation, including six republics (Bashkortostan, Marii-El, Mor
District in the north, the Ural Federal District in the east, the Southern Federal District in the
in terms of population. Its multi-ethnic population accounts for 22.1% of Russia's total (32,1
ussia's industrial production (23.9%). Engineering and the fuel and energy industry hold lea
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Southern Federal District
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Astrakhan Region
Kabardin-Balkar Republic
Karachai-Cherkes Republic
Krasnodar Territory
Republic of Adygea
Republic of Daghestan
Republic of Ingushetia
Republic of Kalmykia
Republic of North Ossetia - Alania
Rostov Region
Stavropol territory
Volgograd Region
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subjects of the Russian Federation: 8 republics (Adygeya, Daghestan, Ingushetia, Kabardin
sq. km. In the west it borders the Black Sea and the Azov Sea, in the north - Ukraine and the
e than 120 ethnic groups: Russians, Ingushis, Osetians, Circassians, Abazins, Nogais, Kara
e oil and gas (the Krasnodar Territory is Russia's oldest oil-producing region - since 1864), b
sten, heavy spar, polymetals, rare-earth metals, silver, gold, marble and marbleized building
in the North Caucasus. It holds more than 6.5 billion tons of coal reserves. New coal mines
ources of fresh water - the Azov-Kuban reservoir - has a significant reserve of thermal and m
non-ferrous industry, and chemical, petrochemical and woodworking industries.
oped due to favorable climatic conditions and fertile soils (Krasnodar and Stravropol Territor
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Ural Federal District
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Chelyabinsk Region
Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area
Kurgan Region
Sverdlovsk Region
Tyumen Region
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ous areas (Khanty-Mansi, Yamalo-Nenets) and 4 regions (Kurgan, Sverdlovsk, Tyumen, Ch
uth, the UFD borders on Kazakhstan; in the west, on the Volga and North Western Federal
hnic composition: over 120 ethnic groups, including small Northern peoples.
17% of national industrial output and 15% of federal budget revenues. It boasts almost one
system and the main enterprises of Russia's biggest oil companies - LUKOIL, YUKOS, Tyum
es of building stone, building sand, brick clays, and ornamental stone. There are numerous
ing, fuel-and-power, nuclear, and agricultural industries are important.
shev.
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Siberian Federal District
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Altai Territory
Chita region
Evenki Autonomous Area
Irkutsk Region
Kemerovo Region
Krasnoyarsk Territory
Novosibirsk Region
Omsk Region
Republic of Altai
Republic of Buryatia
Republic of Khakassia
Republic of Tyva
Taimyr Autonomous Area
Ust-Ordynsk Buryat Autonomous Region
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ubjects of the Russian Federation, including 4 republics (Altai, Buryat, Tyva and Khakas), 2
e kilometers. It borders China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan in the south, the Far-Eastern Fede
lives in the countryside. The Kemerovo region is the exception. It is one of Russia's most d
s: polymetallic ores, salt, mirabilite, iron ore, tungsten, molybdenum, berillium, tin, fluor-spar,
res carrying valuable additives such as bismuth, indium, scandium and others. Titanium ore
and Omsk regions). Work is underway to implement a program for the development of gas fi
in the development of the District's economy, with coal and electricity production forming its
odworking enterprises (including sawmills and pulp-and-paper mills).
y
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Far Eastern Federal District
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Amur Region
Chukotka Autonomous Area
Jewish Autonomous Region
Kamchatka Region
Koryak Atonomous Area
Magadan Region
Maritime Territory
Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
Sakhalin Region
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0 subjects of the Russian Federation, including 2 Territories (Khabarovsk, Maritime), 5 Regi
Strait, Proliv Izmeny, and Sovetsky Proliv) and on China. In the north, it is washed by the Ea
composition: more than 100 ethnic groups, including Russians, Ukrainians, Yakuts, the Nana
msomolskiy and Khingan-Olonoyskiy ore areas), mercury, apatite ores (Dzhugdzhur and Bala
stem of long-distance pipelines. The carrying capacity of the Okha-Komsomolsk main pipelin
huge water reserves, both surface and subterranean and is a leading area on the national sc
world scale and unique both numerically and quality-wise. The Sakhalin-Kurile basin is one
h raw material reserves, and the existing industrial and social potential create favorable con
Pulikovsky.
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Time zones
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each belt. The width of a time belt is 15 degrees in longitude. The first belt is the one in the
meridian runs.
In reality, on the ground the borderlines between the time belts run not along meridians bu
close to the meridians. For large countries crossed by several time belts, the borderline be
of administrative-territorial division of those countries.
The territory of the Russian Federation includes 11 time belts - from the 2nd to the 24th. Th
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatski is 9 hours.
The difference between Moscow and West European cities is not very big. It is three hours
hours' difference with Paris, Rome, Vienna and Berlin. The time difference with America is
to 13 hours with Hawaii.
In Russia, like in many other countries, there is "winter" time introduced for saving electrici
Going over from winter to summer time usually occurs on the last Sunday of March, and g
Sunday of October. When such a change is made, clocks and watches are put one hour a
Because it is difficult to change one local time into another, it was agreed to use common w
activity (in particular, in radio communication). It is time that corresponds to the zero (Gree
World time is called Universal Time (UT), and in scientific and technical literature a more e
used in practice in different countries and associated with world time is called Universal Tim
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the outdated name for world time.
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Languages
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The Russian Language
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In accordance with Article 68 of the Russian Constitution, the Russian language is a state language in
Russia's territory. It is taught as first language in educational institutions, official documents are
published in Russian, and Russian is used in the country's legislative, executive and judicial
institutions. However, the fact that Russian is a state language throughout the Russian Federation
does not mean that subjects of the Federation cannot designate ethnic languages as a state language
in their territory.
Russian is one of the world's commonest languages. In 1990 there were more than 250 million
Russian-speaking people in the world. Russian is the mother tongue of more than 100 million people.
Russian is the working language of the executive bodies of the Commonwealth of Independent States
and the Russia-Belarus Union state. It has the status of a working language at the World Customs
Organization and is used in the harmonized system of commodity description and encoding. Russian
is one of the six official languages of the United Nations.
Russian belongs to the Eastern group of Slavonic languages of the Indo-European family of
languages. The written language is based on the Russian alphabet. As distinct from Romanic and
Germanic languages, the article and perfect verbal forms are absent from the Russian language. Its
case system is much more developed, and the Russian sentence has a looser word order. With a
reform of the Russian language in the offing, a draft bill On the Russian Language and a style sheet
and orthographic rules are being studied by research institutions and the Russian Language Council
under the government.
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Constitution
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Constitution
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Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
Chapter
1. The Fundamentals of the Constitutional System
2. Rights and Freedoms of Man and Citizen
3. The Federal Structure
4. The President of the Russian Federation
5. The Federal Assembly
6. The Government of the Russian Federation
7. Judicial Power
8. Local self-Government
9. Constitutional Amendments and Review of the Constitution
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We, the multinational people of the Russian Federation, united by a common fate on our
land, establishing human rights and freedoms, civic peace and accord, preserving the
historically established state unity, proceeding from the universally recognized principles
of equality and self-determination of peoples, revering the memory of ancestors who
have conveyed to us the love for the Fatherland, belief in the good and justice, reviving
the sovereign statehood of Russia and asserting the firmness of its democratic basic,
striving to ensure the well-being and prosperity of Russia, proceeding from the
responsibility for our Fatherland before the present and future generations, recognizing
ourselves as part of the world community, adopt the CONSTITUTION OF THE
RUSSIAN FEDERATION.
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People
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Nationalities in the population of
Russia
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y representatives of more than a hundred nationalities and ethnic groups. The majority of the
ately 93% of the country's overall population, out of which more than 80% are Russians.Mor
azians, Adygeis, Balkars, Ingushetians, Kabardins, Karachayevs, Ossetians, Cherkessians
th - Altais, Buryats, Tuvas, Khakass, Shors, Yakuts and almost three dozen of the so-called
ethnic composition of the population of Russia were obtained during the national census in
: total population - 147022, Russians - 119866 (81.53%), Tatars - 5522 (3.76%), Ukranians
n: 146370, Russians - 117884 (80.58%), Tatars - 5821 (3.98%), Chuvash 1837 (1.26%), Pe
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Nationalities in the population of
Russia
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Bashkirs
Byelorussians
Chechens
Chuvash
Germans
Mordva
Peoples of Daghestan
Russians
Tatars
Ukrainians
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Religions in Russia
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Religions in Russia
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Buddhism
Islam
Judaism
Orthodoxy
Roman Catholicism
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i-confessional state formation in spite of the fact that in the pre-revolutionary period of Russ
eligious life in the country acquired freedom, for the first time in the history of Russia, the Co
e religious-confessional structure of Russia during the past 15-20 years.Today there are ap
ussia - Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism, Judaism and Catholicism - there are also numerous reli
aditional for Russia - Lutherans, Protestants, Old Believers, followers of Zoroastriansm, fire-
ation, such as "The Church of Jesus," "New Apostolic Church," charismatic movements suc
" - Mormones ("Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints"), Jehovah's Witnesses, White B
vement ("New Age," "New Aquarius") of an occult nature that have as their objective to deve
mainly on young people.
est religious currents in Russia are: Christianity, first of all, Orthodoxy that is traditional for R
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Buddhism
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followers. The religion is professed by less than one percent - around 900,000 people - of th
l of Budhism traditional to Russia. Other forms of Buddhism, predominantly marginal, have b
l heterogeneity, Russia's Buddhist sangha (community) does not have a single center.
is the Buddhist Traditional Sangha of Russia (BTSR), the successor of the USSR Buddhist
ia (BCSBR) is an alternative to the BTSR. It sprung up in July 1998 after its followers seized
and local centralized organizations: Inter-District Buddhist Society of Tyva, Tyva Buddhist S
Kalmykia are members of the Buddhist Association of Kalmykia, which is headed by a repre
es (based in Ivolginsk and Aginskoye datsans), their student body totalling 150 people.
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Islam
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he peoples belonging to the Nakhsko-Dagestani and Abkhazo-Adygian language families, t
n the Russian Federation.The Muslims in the Turkic group of peoples profess Hanafi Maz'h
re represented rather weakly. They include certain marginal syncretic Sufi Orders, the Akhm
not have a single center. The Soviet pattern for the administrative-territorial division of the M
ting the Muslim wold in Russia is going on between the Central Spiritual Board of Muslims in
ssia and the European members of the CIS (CSBM) is the successor of the Orenburg Maho
maximally rigid organizational structure - its chairman, bearing the title of Supreme Mufti and
uslim communities throughout Russia with the exception of the Northern Caucasus and the
marily a consultative body that includes equitable SBMs, the heads of which automatically be
hat is fully controlled by its Chairman, Mufti Ravil Gainutdin, is the Spiritual Board of Muslims
R) was established in August 1997 by the former head of the Supreme Coordinating Center
rds of the Muslims in Northern Caucasia (CCSBMNC) that includes the majority of SBMs of
f the Republic of Ichkeria (Chechnya) formally united more than 600 communities. At 57
the mo
Judaism
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ulation, Judaism is the fourth biggest religion in Russia. The number of the faithful is believe
s represented by both Talmudic and non-Talmudic varieties. The main trends in Talmudic Ju
single center and is split on the confessional principle. The main clash for spheres of influen
nizations, but they do not wield much influence.
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Orthodoxy
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argest religious association in Russia. At the moment is consists of 128 eparchies (dioceses
deaneries (Finnish, Hungarian and Mexican) and 5 eparchies. Parishes of the Russian Orth
8 eparchies, more than 19,000 parishes and approximately 480 monasteries.
n 150 archpriests, 17,500 priests and 2,300 deacons.
, 26 theological seminaries and 29 theological schools that did not exist before the 1990s. T
ments is supervized by the Educational Committee of the ROC.
rmed at the end of the Xth century. It was headed by the Metropolitans obedient to the Patr
ations in 1721, the Church came under the supreme administration of the Holy and Governin
om (Council of Peoples Commissars) of the RSFSR on January 23 (February 5) 1918, the R
d in Russian Orthodoxy a movement under slogans of modernizing the cult that led to a sch
ly interfered in the affairs of the Church, and the clergy was subjected to reprisals. After the
politan Sergiy (Stragorodsky) Patriarchal Locum Tenens. Since 1983 the Moscow Patriarch
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bodies of church authority and administration are the Local Council, the Council of Archprie
Roman Catholicism
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creed in terms of the number of followers. There are nearly 500,000 people professing the r
communities, but their number shrunk dramatically after Ukraine and the modern Baltic cou
ssia-based Poles and Lithuanians, a portion of Germans, most Latgalians (a sub-ethnic gro
was restored in Russia on April 13, 1991. As of today, Russia has four Apostolic Administra
Aquinas College of Philosophy, Theology and History in Moscow with branches in St. Peter
ck many centuries. The Old Russian state was formed with active participation of individuals
ism," the official rupture between Rome and Constantinople. Historians assert, however, tha
the Roman Catholic Church in Russia is habitually dated by the year 1684, when Tsarevna
the Catholic Church in the Russian Empire was made to suffer some perceptible losses. Mo
nging to the Roman Catholic Church in the Russian Empire in the early 20th century. On Ap
ree "On Separation of the Church from the State" became the official pretext for the start of
te 1980s and the early 1990s assisted in the revival of the Roman Catholic Church. At their
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National Symbols
 National Anthem
 Flag
 Presidential Standard
 National Seal
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and the national anthem are symbols of the Russian state. The national symbols of the Rus
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National Anthem of the Russian
Federation
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nslation)
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Text of the National Anthem of the Russian Federation
(Lyrics by Sergei Mikhalkov; an unofficial translation)
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Russia, our holy great nation!
Russia, the country so dearly loved!
A powerful will, a tremendous glory,
Are your inheritance for future and past.
Refrain:
Glory to land of freedom and unity,
Nations as brothers united stand tall,
Given by ancestors, wisdom our national,
Glory, our land, we are proud of you!
From the southern seas to the polar region
Spread our forests and fields.
You are unique in the world, inimitable,
Native land protected by God!
Refrain.
Wide spaces for dreams and for living
Are opened for us by the coming years.
Faithfulness to our Fatherland gives us strength.
Thus it was, so it is and always will be!
Refrain:
Glory to land of freedom and unity,
Nations as brothers united stand tall,
Given by ancestors, wisdom our national,
Glory, our land, we are proud of you!
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The State Flag of the Russian
Federation
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The documents say this: "The State Flag of the Russian Federation
shall be a right-angled piece of bunting of three equivalent horizontal
stripes: upper, white; middle, blue; lower, red in color. The ratio of
the flag's width to its length shall be 2:3."
In fact, the State Flag of the Russian Federation reproduces the
merchant marine flag that existed in Russia since 1705 (from 1873
on, it was considered a state flag along with the Romanovs' blackgold-white dynastic flag).
The exact order of stripes on the flag is known since Peter I's times
as well: the upper stripe is white, the middle blue, and the lower red.
The arrangement of the stripes fitted in with the ancient concept of
the world: the physical and carnal world is below, the heavenly world
is above it, and the divine world is superimposed upon the two. In
the 19th century, the stripes were made to symbolize the concord of
the three East Slavic peoples: the Byelorussians, the Ukrainians,
and the Russians.
In Old Russia, the colors of the flag were always symbolic of human
qualities: white, nobility and frankness; blue, fidelity, integrity,
irreproachability, chastity; red, courage, audacity, self-sacrifice,
magnanimity and love.
The state flags of the Russian Federation are hoisted atop the
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Standard of the President of
the Russian Federati
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n Federation, a symbol of the presidential power, was formalised by President Boris Yeltsin o
ng of three equivalent horizontal stripes of the color of the National Flag - white, blue, and re
The staff has a tip in the shape of a metallic spear. A silver bracket fixed to the staff has the
me of the President's Kremlin residence, whereas the standard itself is permanently in the P
it is placed in the presidential plane and the presidential automobile, in rooms during impor
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National Coat of Arms of the
Russian Federation
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deration is an official state symbol of the Russian Federation. The State Duma passed on D
deration is a quadrangular red heraldic shield with rounded lower angles and a pointed extr
he red background keeps historical continuity with the color gamut of the late 15th - 17th cen
Russia's National Coat of Arms represents indissolubility and continuity of national history. Its
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 COUNTRY PROFILE
 Geography
 Political Administrative System
LanguagesRussian Language
Constitution PeopleNationalities Religions
National SymbolsNational
AnthemFlagPresidential StandardNational
Seal
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