The number of new streets increases every month. The longest of them is Leningradsky Prospect. It runs for 15 kilometres.
Moscow is the seat of the Russian Parliament (the Duma) and the centre of the political life of the country.
Yaroslavl (Ярославль)
Yaroslavl is an ancient city to the north of Moscow. It was founded in 1010 by Prince Yaroslav the Wise. There is an old beautiful legend about the foundation of Yaroslavl. Once Prince Yaroslav with his warriors came to the place where the Kotorosl River flowed into the Volga. The Prince liked the place, but the pagans who lived there didn't like this invasion and let their sacred bear kill the Prince, but Yaroslav fought against the sacred animal and killed it with his pole axe. Then he founded the fortress and it was called Yaroslavl and the coat of arms of the town was a bear with a pole axe on its shoulder.
Yaroslavl has the rich historic past. It saw the Tatar invasion, the Polish intervention, was damaged during the Revolution and suffered a lot. But in spite of all these difficult periods of history it has remained magnificently beautiful and it is one of the greatest attractions for tourists. Yaroslavl is one of the cities of the Golden Ring of Russia. Every day a lot of tourists come to visit this ancient Russian city and admire its wonderful cathedrals, monasteries, churches and the famous embankment.
The first Russian theatre was built in Yaroslavl by Feodor Volkov. Yaroslavl is a big industrial city. Big plants and factories produce engines, paints, oil, tires, and other important things. The first in the world plant producing synthetic rubber was built in Yaroslavl, too.
When we speak about this city we can't help mentioning Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman cosmonaut, who was born there.
In 2005 Yaroslavl became a member of UNESCO because of its wonderful architecture and rich history.
Russian Holidays and Traditions (Праздники и традиции России)
Every country has customs and traditions. I want to tell you about some holidays and traditions of my country.
Russians really love holidays. We usually celebrate them with a lot of food, presents and in big companies of relatives and friends.
There are three types of holidays in Russia. They are family holidays, state holidays and religious holidays.
Let me tell you about family holidays first. They include birthdays, anniversaries, weddings and others. Each family has its own traditions of celebrating this or that holiday. For example, my family celebrates my birthday for two days. On the first day I celebrate it with my parents, grandparents, my uncle and aunt. The second day of celebration is only for my close friends. They usually come in a big group with a lot of presents. I like my birthday very much.
State or public holidays in Russia include Constitution Day, New Year's Day, the International Women's Day, May Day, Victory Day and Russia Day. During these holidays, people do not work. They spend time with their families and friends or go to the centre of big cities to celebrate there. Banks, companies and some shops do not work on these days either.
New Year's Day is the major holiday in Russia. We put up a New Year tree and decorate it with colourful toys and glass balls. The main fir-tree of the country is put up in the State Kremlin Palace. Small fir trees are put up in shop windows, in streets and squares, even on roofs of buildings. A lot of people like buying natural fir trees, others prefer plastic ones. Children like the holiday a lot. They can stay up late and then get their presents. At ten minutes to midnight on the 31-st of December families gather in front of the TV-set and watch the president making his traditional speech. After the clock on the main tower of the Kremlin strikes midnight, everybody says Happy New Year and drinks champagne. After that the time for presents comes. Russian children believe that Father Frost brings presents. After all the presents are given out, Russians have fun, drink, eat, and play games all night long.
Victory Day is a very important holiday for Russian history. On this day we remember those who protected our country from the German invaders during World War II. A great parade is held on this day in Red Square. Numerous war and patriotic films are shown on television. On this day people congratulate veterans and give them flowers.
The so-called religious holidays include Christmas, Easter and others. There is also a pagan holiday - Shrovetide or Pancake Day. These holidays are not state, so people usually work and study on these days. At Shrovetide, people see spring in, eat pancakes and burn a scarecrow, which symbolizes winter.
Russian Christmas is celebrated on the 7-th of January, but there is no exact date for Easter, it is different every year.
Nowadays foreign celebrations are becoming more and more popular in Russia. They are Halloween and St. Valentine's Day. On Halloween Day some clubs organize parties and masquerades. St. "Valentine's Day is mostly popular with young people. They usually buy presents for their girlfriends and boyfriends such as chocolate and sweets and make greeting cards in the shape of a heart.
I like Russian holidays and look forward to celebrating each of them!

Education in Russia (1) (Образование в России)
Every Russian citizen has the right to free education. Before going to school children may go to nursery schools or kindergartens. At the age of six children start going to school. First they go to primary school where they learn to read, write and count. Primary school finishes in the 3-rd form. Then pupils go to secondary school. After the 9-th form pupils take school exams and get a school certificate. After it they can choose either to stay at school or go to a college to get a profession. Most pupils stay at school and finish it with a school diploma which allows them to enter an institution of higher education.
After finishing school pupils can go on to higher education. There are a lot of institutes and universities in Russia. They offer various departments which an entrant can choose according to his or her abilities. It is difficult to enter an institute. Entrants should attend university courses and then pass entrance exams. Nowadays a new examination system is being introduced. The so-called General State Exam allows pupils to enter any Russian university if they get good and excellent marks for it. This system hasn't been settled yet, but in some regions of Russia it works already. Pupils take this examination after the 11-th form.
Students in Russian universities usually have five years of studies. At the end of every semester students have an examination session and take exams. If students pass the exams well they get a scholarship paid by the government. In most universities and institutes graduates have to pass State exams and defend their final project. After graduating from an institution of higher education they can continue studies and enter a post-graduate school. After defending a dissertation they get a Master's Degree. In medical universities students usually study for 6 years.
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Education in Russian Federation(2)
In Russian Federation children begin going to school at the age of seven. First they study at the elementary school. It lasts three or four years. At the elementary school children get the elementary education, they learn to read, write and count. From the fifth form the secondary education begins. Children begin to learn different subjects, such as literature, chemistry, physics, biology, computing, foreign languages and so on. The nine-year secondary education is compulsory in our country, but after completing the nine-year schooling pupils face the first serious decision in their lives. They have to decide either to continue their studies in the tenth and eleventh forms at a general secondary school, or to transfer to specialized colleges, that is to say, choose a particular career. Colleges give young people a secondary education plus trade training. This means that after finishing a college they are educated and financially independent, able to go straight to a job. Except general secondary schools there are a lot of specialized schools, where more attention is paid to a particular subject, mostly to a foreign language. Besides, there are many private schools now, where the education is not free of charge» After finishing school or college young people may enter institute or university to get the higher education. After finishing the fourth course they get the bachelor's degree and after graduating from the postgraduate course - the master's degree. To study is not an easy thing, of course, but nowadays it is quite necessary to be highly skilled and educated specialist.
Russian Sports
There are many popular kinds of sport in Russia. They are: hockey, skating, figure skating, skiing, football, swimming, running, judo and others. There are many stadiums, sport clubs, gyms and swimming-pools now. Many national and international matches and championships take place in Russia. The most important sports events are broadcast live from the stadiums. Numerous people come to watch the games, others prefer to do this at home watching special sports channels.
Water kinds of sport are popular in our country. These include swimming, diving, water skiing and boating. Fishing is very popular in all parts of Russia, too.
Football is one of the most popular sports in the country. There are several football clubs and football fans not only come to watch matches, but play football themselves. Hockey is very popular, too.
Russia is famous for its chess players, tennis players and figure-skaters. At the 2006 Turin Olympic Games our country won several gold medals in figure skating.
Physical education is one of the main subjects in Russian schools now. During the lessons pupils play different sports games, take part in school, district and city sports competitions.
Such sports activities as bowling and billiards have become very popular with the Russians, especially young ones. Such indoor games are played in sports centres and clubs.
Even though many Russian people do not have time for going in for sport, they still find some hours to do sports activities.
Russia
The Russian Federation is the largest country in the world. It occupies about one seventh of the earth's surface. Russia covers the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Its total area is about 17 million square kilometers. The country is washed by 12 seas of 3 oceans: the Pacific, the Arctic and the Atlantic. In the south Russia borders on China, Mongolia, Korea, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Azerbaijan. In the west it borders on Norway, Finland, the Baltic States, Belorussia, and the Ukraine. It also has a sea border with the USA.
The population of Russia is 145.5 million people. 83 per cent are Russians. There are 1030 towns and cities in Russia. Moscow is the capital and the biggest city with a population of about 9 million people.
There is hardly a country in the world where such a variety of scenery and vegetation can be found. We have steppes in the south, plains and forests in the central region, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.
Russia is located on two plains. They are the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several moun¬tain chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai and others. The largest mountain chain, the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.
Russia is a land of long rivers and deep lakes. There are over two million rivers in our country. The broad Volga River system is of great historic, economic and cultural importance to the country. It became the cradle of such ancient towns as Vladimir, Tver, Yaroslavl, Kazan, and Nizhny Novgorod. Volga is Europe's biggest river. It runs into the Caspian Sea which is in fact the largest lake in the world. The main Siberian rivers - the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena - flow from south to north. The Amur in the Par East flows into the Pacific Ocean.
Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake (1600 metres) is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic I Sea, but there is much more water in it than in the Baltic Sea. The water in the lake is so clear that if you look down you can count the stones on the bottom.
Russia has one sixth of the world's forests. They are concen¬trated in the European north of the country, in Siberia and m the Far East.
Over the vast territory of the country there are various types of climate, from arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. But the temperate zone with four seasons prevails.
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