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 midlands, tundra and taiga in the north, highlands and deserts in the east.

     There are two Great Plains in Russia: the Great Russian Plain and the West Siberian Lowland. There are several mountain chains on the territory of the country: the Urals, the Caucasus, the Altai land others. The largest mountain chain- the Urals, separates Europe from Asia.

     There are over two million rivers in Russia. Europe's biggest river, the Volga flows into the Caspian Sea. The main Siberian Rivers: the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena flow from the south to the north. The Amur in the Far East flows into the Pacific Ocean.

     Russia is rich in beautiful lakes. The world's deepest lake(1600m) is Lake Baikal. It is much smaller than the Baltic 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 concentrating in the European north of the country, in Siberia and in the Far East

     On the West territory of the country, there are various types of climate from Arctic in the north to subtropical in the south. In the middle of the country the climate is temperate and continental.

     Russia is very rich in oil, coal, iron ore, natural gas, copper, nickel and other natural resources.

     The ecological situation in Russia is not very safe. Pollution in some industrial towns is high. Some parts of western Russia were badly influenced by radiation from Chernobyl in 1986. In many places wildlife is in danger. Anyhow, more and more people are beginning to realize that a clean environment is extremely important. We all hope that the situation will soon become better.