THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION STATE SYSTEM

The Russian Federation is set up by the Constitution of 1993. Under the Constitution Russia is a presidential republic. The President of the Russian Federation is the head of the state and is elected directly by the people. In fact he has much power. The President serves as the commander- in-chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties, enforces federal laws may veto a bill approved by the Federal Assembly. The President can even dissolve the Duma.

The Federal Government consists of 3 branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by President. The parliament of the Russian Federation is the representative and legislative organ of the state consisting of two chambers: the Council of Federation and the State Duma, which makes laws. The Council of Federation is the upper chamber and the State Duma is the Lower Chamber. Each chamber is headed by a speaker and is elected for a term of 4 years.

The highest executive and administrative body of state authority of Russia is the government of Russia, which is headed by the Prime Minister. The Powers the Government has are rather numerous for example-direction of economic, social and cultural development, drafting current and long term plans and the Budget of the country.

Justice is administrated by the courts of different instances. The Supreme Court is the highest and the district (city) people’s courts are the lowest in the judicial system. The Supreme Court represents the judicial branch of power. In our country the majority of the criminal and civil cases are considered in the people’s courts. The Constitutional Court has the right to declare actions of the President the Federation Assembly and the Federal Government unconstitutional.

Today the state symbol of Russia is a three-coloured banner. It has 3 horizontal stripes: white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one stands for the sky, and the red one symbolizes liberty. It was the first state symbol that replaced the former symbols in 1991.

A new national emblem is a two-headed eagle. It is the most ancient symbol of Russia. It originates from the heraldic emblem of Ryricovitchies.

At present, the political and economic situation in the country is rather complicated. There are a lot of problems in the national economy of the Russian Federation. But in spite of the problems Russia is facing at present there are a lot of opportunities for our country to become one of the leading countries in the world.

MOSCOW

Moscow, with the population of nearly nine million, is spread over a vast area of a thousand square kilometers. Originally, however it was nothing but a small fortress lost amid woods and marshes. Founded in 1147 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruki, Moscow was named after the Moskva River on the bank of which it was built. In the course of time Moscow grew into a real city, which became the center of a principality. During the whole history of Russia Moscow occupiedthe leading place in the political and cultural life of the Russian people.

In the 13^th century ancient Russ fell under the yokeof the Tatar-Mongol invaders for two hundred years. Only in 1480, in the reign of Grand Duke Ivan III, the foreign yoke was thrown off. In the 15^th century, Moscow became the capital of the Russian state and the largest economic and cultural center of the country.

Nowadays, it is a political, administrative and educational centre of the country. Moscow’s numerous plants and factories produce different goods for the population and various machines for all branches of national economy. Moscow is also a large educational and scientific center. There are many educational establishments of various kinds and research institutes in Moscow. The oldest Russian educational establishment Moscow University is also here. It was founded by M. Lomonosov, a Great Russian scientist of the 18^th century.

Moscow is beautiful. We admire its fine buildings, palaces, architectural monuments, green parks and squares.

The traffic system was also greatly improved. The Moscow underground is without doubt the best in the world. It connects the centerof the city with almost all districts and suburbs of Moscow. The underground is the quickest and most convenient means of transport.

Many important events in the history of Russia are connected with the nameof Moscow. The Moscow Kremlin is one of the world’s largest collection of historic and art treasures.

The city is famous for its historical monuments, museums, and art galleries. A wonderful collection of world famous pictures by Repin, Levitan, Surikov and other Russian and contemporary artists is exhibited in the Tretjakov Gallery. In the world famous Bolshoi Theatre we can see the best ballet performances and listen to Russian and foreign operas.