Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. It occupies about one-seventh part of dry land. It is situated in Europe and Asia. Its total area is over 17 million square kilometres.

The country is washed by seas and oceans.

There are different types of climate on the territory of the country. It is very cold in the North even in summer. The central part of the country has mild climate: winters are cold, springs and autumns are warm or cool, summers are hot and warm. In the South the temperature is usually above zero all year round, even in winter. Summer is really hot, the climate is very favourable. The climate of Siberia is continental: summers are hot and dry, winters are very cold.

Some parts of our country are covered with mountains and hills.

There are many rivers in Russia, the longest rivers are the Volga in Europe and the Yenisei and the Ob in Asia. The deepest lakes are the Baikal and the Ladoga.

The Russian Federation is very rich in mineral resources, such as oil, natural gas, coal, iron, gold and others.

Russia borders on many countries. Among them are Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Poland, China, Mongolia, Korea.

Moscow is the capital of our country. It was founded in 1147. It is a wonderful city. There are many sights in Moscow. You can see many museums, art galleries, theatres, churches and monuments in our capital. People of our country are proud of the Moscow Kremlin. There are also many big beautiful cities in Russia.

The population of Russia is about 150 million people. 83 per cent of the population are Russians. 70 per cent of the population live in cities.