VIII. Insert the articles where necessary.

… United Nations officially came into existence on 24 October, 1945. … USSR was one of … co-founding states and first UN members.

… oldest UN presence in … Russian Federation is … United Nations Information Centre in Moscow established in 1948. Most of other UN entities were set up in … Russian Federation at … beginning of 1990s.

Currently over 15 UN structures are providing support to … Government and … people of … Russian Federation in addressing … key development challenges … country is facing.

IX. Fill in the blanks with suitable prepositions.

The demographic situation remains one … the most worrying development issues in Russia. The demographic crisis is mainly due … a) high mortality rates primarily caused … unhealthy lifestyles and non-infectious diseases, as well as increasingly affected … the epidemic spread … HIV and the highest TB mortality … Europe; and b) low fertility which is part … a long-term trend, characteristic … most … the industrialized countries and related … the modernization / transition processes. In addition, migration remains a social policy challenge … significant impact … the overall demographic trends. While low fertility rates are not uncommon … industrialized countries, high mortality rates certainly are.

X. Make a summary of the text “Demography”.

XI. Give a thorough consideration to the possible national efforts to solve the problem of the demographic crisis in Russia.

1.2.2. Education

Read the text to fulfil the tasks

At the end of 2005 the President announced establishment of national priority projects in the following areas: education, health, housing, agriculture. The literacy rate in Russia is 99% according to the Global Education Digest 2006, published annually by the UNESCO Institute of Statistics thanks to the efforts of the Russian Government for retaining of the free compulsory primary education. However, due to the economical and social challenges the secondary education rate has decreased during the last decade.

As of 2006 there are more than 60 000 schools in Russia providing education services to approximately 20 mln pupils, thereby, more than 98% of school-aged children and adolescents are covered by primary and secondary education. Correlation between pupils and teachers is 17 pupils per 1 teacher. Tertiary education is traditionally very popular in Russia. There are more than 8.5 mln students in more than 1000 higher education institutions (universities, academies, institutes).

UNESCO programmes implemented in the country in close cooperation with governmental bodies and aimed at enhancement of methodology and content of education as well as building-up the quality of education services corresponds to the strategic goals that the Russian education system is facing nowadays. Joint efforts of Russia and its international partners in the field of education contribute to the achievement of both Education for All and Millennium Development Goals.

Educational quality, which was traditionally high, is threatened by falling funding levels and low efficiency in the use of public resources. Many rural schools are not economically viable, and it is virtually impossible to provide a decent education in these schools. While new media such as the Internet could be a solution for the problem of village schools in remote regions, Internet access is out of reach for most rural students and their families in Russia.