Exercise2.

Put the letters in order to complete the phrases.

1. The August 1998 financial ____________ was a major political blow for Russia, and undermined the fortunes of many of the oligarchs (chras).

2. The Duma headquarters is located in central Moscow, a few steps from _______________ Square (Magnee).

3. . ________________is much honored to chair the Group of Twenty in 2011. (Fanrce)

3. ____________ is the head of the state. (teh Pdinreset).

4. Russia's parliament, which is called the Federal Assembly, consists of a 450-member lower house known as_____________ and a 178-member upper house called the Federation Council (teh Satte Daum).

Exercise3.

Prepare a short presentation on one of these topics:

• History of The Russia’s State Duma

• Special powers of The Russia’s State Duma

• Latest election in Russia (Parties and coalitions).

Answer the following questions

1. Is Russia presidential republic or federal republic?

2. What does the Federal Government consist of?

3. Who is the head of the state?

4. What role does the President play in the government? What are the responsibilities of the President?

5. What is the legislative power vested in?

6. How does a bill become a law?

7. What are the executive and the judicial branches represented by?

8. Who appoints the Chairman of the Government?

9. What are the national symbols of Russia?

10. Where was the two-headed eagle in the Coat of Arms of Russia borrowed from?

11. When do the Russian celebrate their National Flag Day?

12. How old is the national flag of Russia? Who was his original designer? What did he design the flag for? What were and what are the flag colours and symbolic? What did and what do they mean?

13. Who elects the Federal Council?

14. What is the population of Russia? What are its largest ethnic groups?

15. What are the main political parties of Russia?

Exercise4. Work with your partner. Decide whether you agree (a) or disagree (d) with these statements about the political system of Russia.

	A	D
The constitution guarantees citizens the right to choose their place of residence and to travel abroad.
The state symbol of Russia is the Russian national flag with equal upright bands of blue, white, and red. The official language in Russia is Russian. But there are more than 140 other languages and dialects. Some Russian big-city governments restrict the constitutional right to choose the place of residence through residential registration rules.
Group of Eight (G8) includes the USA, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Russia).
The Russian Federation is a parliamentary monarchy.
The executive and judicial branches of power are checked by the Federal Assembly.
The G20 was established in 1999, in the wake of the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, to bring together major advanced and emerging economies to stabilize the global financial market.
The double-headed eagle is a common symbol in heraldry (the study of coats of arms - гербоведение) and vexillology (the study of flags).
Foreign citizens do not have to submit a completed migration card at the Russian Federation border checkpoint (контрольно-пропускной пункт).
The Golden Two-Headed Eagle was borrowed by the Tsar Ivan III from the Byzantine Empire.
The State Duma was first introduced in 1906 and was Russia's first elected parliament.