Life in Russia

It is quite possible that Russia may be best known for its long, and sulphurous spends. This extreme coldness also aided the country as a whole by keeping invaders at bay For example, Adolf Hitler, and his Nazi army, were hesitant in entering the country during World War II. In Moscow, degree Celsius c everywheres the ground for at least five months of the year. In the Northern most(prenominal) region of Russia, there is snow present for between eight and ten months. Most of the coastal waters, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, and streams, remain frozen during the majority of the year.But after the harsh winter months have past, the weather swings harshly in the opposite direction. During the warmest days of the summer, it is non uncommon for the mercury to hit 100? F, although they average around 60? F. precipitation throughout the year, rain, sleet, and snow, is usually light to moderate. The wettest fiber of the country is the European Plain, or the East Siberian Uplands, where rain falls on a daily alkali during the spring. The majority of the vast inland receives little or no rain, but approximately four feet of snow during the winter.Russians, like Ameri great deals, enjoy watching television, and reading. They also hunch to p drop chess visit the movie theaters soak up the culture of an opera, or play travel to a local museum go for a walk, or participate in sports. The establishment of Russia strongly sustainments athletic events, in particular team sports. Soccer is unopposed as the most popular participant, and spectator sport in the country. Russians also enjoy gymnastics, basketball, and during the winter, ice hockey is a hit among the children of the countrymen. Russians also enjoy nature. They really enjoy going on hikes, and spending time in the forests. more have country cottages called dachas. There, they garden, hike, bicycle, swim, fish, gather mushrooms, and take part in the early(a) outdoor activities. Russian mass also love going on vacation to places other than their dachas during the summer. Popular vacationing sites include the Black Sea, the Baltic Sea, and the Volga River. In Russia, fighting has been a way of life, as seen during all parts of its history. Russia has been a fighting country since the 800s. They were involved in constant war with the Mongols. Also, courteous war has been a enormous problem for the Russians.In the early 1600s, a civil war broke out, inspired by an invasion by the Mongols, and the political confusing that followed about killed the country as a whole. Most recently, Russia was involved in World War I, fighting countries such as Germany, and Austria-Hungary. Shortly after, there was another civil war between the Communists and the anti-Communists. This war lasted two years, and ended up with a commie victory that led to the establishment of the USSR, or the Union of Soviet Social Republics, or in Russian, Rus Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, A union of the s everal countries that lay around Russia.Politically the USSR was divided (from 1940 to 1991) into 15 constituent or union republics-, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Estonia Gerogia, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia Russia, Tadzhikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, until its breakup in 1991. Since then, Russia, and other Soviet republics have become independent nations. The most well known being the Ukraine. Ukraine broke off, and quickly established its own currency, the Ukraine Ruble.The Ukraine is constantly bragging to Russia of all its wealth, but the Ukraine also boasts much higher(prenominal) inflation, and higher unemployment, for they are not as successful as they brag to Russia to be. Russias wellness care is free to its citizens. The governance cares a pot about the health of its citizens, and it most certainly shows. Theyre committed to meeting the basic needs of its people. Because of their poor economic claim, the government does not have sufficien t funds to support its health-care systems. This has led to medicine and equipment shortages, and low wages for health-care providers.Russia has an abundance of farmland. Due to the short growing season, insufficient rainfall, and lack of fertile soil, farming in Russia is extremely difficult. Many of the farms are operated like government factories. These farms are called sovkhozys. People do work, but dont have much say in whats grown. The other farms, called Kolkhozys, are government controlled, but partly managed by the farmers. What goes on here is that the farmers decide what to grow and the government tells them if it is acceptable to them or not. The major crops grown in Russia are barely, fruits, oats, potatoes, sunflowers, rye, sugar beets, and wheat.The diet of the Russians is very healthy and hearty. They eat bread virtually every meal. They also consume large quantities of sugar. Their main mode of preparing fodder is by frying. They also drink large amounts of tea be cause coffee is too expensive. Their trademark drink is Vodka. They also drink wine, champagne, beer, and other alcoholic beverages. Alcohol convolute has been and remains to be a major social problem in Russia. The education in Russia is much different then the USAs method of education its people. It consists of first through 10th grade, plus higher education.Using this method, which may seem abridged to Americans, eliminates two years of useless(prenominal) classes, and allows for Russians to leave school, and both begin to work, or go on to higher education. Elementary school consists of first through fourth grade. Classes meet six days a hebdomad for 4 ? hours a day with shorter periods on Saturday. Courses include math, art, music, language, P. E. , simple skills, and history. Intermediate grades consist of fifth through eighth grade. They meet thirty hours a calendar week and are taught, zoology, physics, geography, shop work, and chemistry.Secondary grades consist of ninth through tenth grades and consist of math, science and work skills in different trades. This is to meet the governments need for specialists in science and Industry. Graduates with high marks receive medals and are relieved from required mandatory service so the can continue their education these mandatory services include 2 years of military service for all graduates, except when they are relieved to pursue higher education. The higher schools that are present in Russia consist of 650 specialized schools and 70 universities which are currently educating some 6 ? illion students.Most programs take five years to complete, and then they must work for the government for 3 years, in order to repay their country for relieving them of their mandatory military service. They receive their diploma after one year of work. Russia thinks education is their road to success, and rather of offering countless useless classes, Russia provides healthy education, with strong emphasis on chemistry. Th ey have over 52 million students and a strong majority of Russias country men are able to read and write in their native language.The U. S. S. R has a long constitution that gives all political cause to the people and their elected representatives. However the countrys completely controlled by the communists. The Soviet Union lets no other political party to oppose the communist party. The ironic thing is and 17 million of the people in Russia are actually communists. Russias government resembles a triangle because each government body has to report to a higher authority. At the top of this triangle is the Supreme Soviet of the USSR The members are elected to 5 year terms and they only meet twice a year for about two weeks.They pass without question all the laws proposed by the communists party. The freedom of the Supreme Soviet is the head of state or president. He is elected by the communist leaders and he handles legislative matters between sessions of the Supreme Soviet. The c ouncil of Ministers are another government group in Russia and are the highest executive body. It controls economic and cultural life through various ministries and committees. The council of ministries also handles relations with other nations. It consists of 120 members, many of them are the highest ranking officials in the communist party.The Russian Jewish-Orthodox Church was the central organized religion of Russia until the communists came to power. Communists are atheistic (people who are against the belief in God or Gods) and they view religion as Opium for the people a drug, or disease. When the communists came to power they destroyed performes and killed church leaders. However religion in Russia survived. In the 1940s, persecutions and restrictions eased up mainly because the church supported the governments choice of being involved in world war two. Then in the late 1850s the communists began closing non official places of worship.They also time-tested hard to discour age religion through education and propaganda. Still religion survived, there are 20 to 45 million followers of the Russian Orthodox Church The people in the former Soviet Union are still among the most spiritually open people in the world especially the youth and for this, the number is rising. Muslims are the second largest religious group. Some religions like Jehovahs witness are strictly prohibited by the communists. Russian language is remarkably similar even though there is such a diverse population. Russian language is understood from the west to the east part of the country.The Russian language is based on the Cyrillic alphabet. Certain minorities in Russia have their own language but they speak Russian as a second language. Russia like most countries has both urban and rural life styles. ? of Russias people live in cities. Russia has 35 cities that have 800,000 people or more, and Moscow along with St. Petersberg has 4 million. Many modern conveyances such as plumbing and air conditioning are not form. There is also a shortage of food and too much crime in Russian cities. Farmers populate much of Russia rural areas.There is also a lot less education and health care in the rural areas of Russia, for schools are not easily paid for in areas such as these. Russia is one of the richest countries on essential resource. Russias vast area provides for a lot of forest space, and water for hydraulic energy. There are also extensive mineral deposits. Russia also has a wide variety of found and animal life. Industry is vital to Russias economy. Moscow and St. Petersberg are the biggest areas for manufacturing in Russia. Russia produces a lot heavy machinery and has many chemical, oil, and plant refineries as well.St. Petersberg also has a large ship building industry, and an even larger airplane parts industry. There is heavy trading with the US in airplane parts. Russias chemical plants produce items such as chemical fibers, mineral fertilizers, plastics, and synthetic resins. Transportation in Russia is very difficult because of its lack of roadstead and its vastness. Trains are the most common form of transportation and shipping. Aero Flat is Russias national airline and makes up most airline travel, although most people are unable to afford the enormous bill created by purchasing an airline ticket through Aero Flat.Roads are not commonly found because only 60 out of every 1,000 Russians own a car. City travel in Russia is taken care of by buses, trains, and subways. Communication equipment is unevenly distributed and not modernized, because of this only 15 out of every 100 Russians own a telephone. Russia is in a state of economic turmoil at the moment. It has had a lot of trouble moving from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. However Russia is making advancements under president Yeltsin Inflation take flight from 131% to 22% in 1996.These advancements are partially due to the fact that now, 80% of industry i s now privatized meaning, that 80% of all goods produced in Russia, are produced in a private sector of the country, by companies who control themselves. As of May 16, 1999, one United States Dollar would be converted into 24. 7367 Russian Rubles. Currently over 30 billion United States Dollars circulate throughout Russia, for just as in all foreign countries, the Russians hold on to the Dollars, and when the exchange rate is just right, they can make a pretty profit from their Dollar. Unemployment is not a very big problem in Russia.Only 9. 3% of its population remain unemployed, going away a 73 million manned labor force ready to work. Many of these men work closely with the government, packaging and shipping exports, or receiving and checking over its imports. Major exports of the country include petroleum, natural gas, metals, and chemicals. Hard to find in Russia, and therefore heavily imported are machinery, medicines, meat, grains, and especially sugar. The majority of this t rading is do with North America, although Russia is also close trade partners with most of Europe, Japan, and some third world countries.