State System of the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation is set up by the constitution of 1993. Under the Constitution Russia is a presidential republic. The federal government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. Each of them is checked and balanced by the President.

The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly. It consists of two chambers. The Upper Chamber is the Council of Federation; the Lower Chamber is the State Duma.

Each chambers is headed by the Speaker. Legislature may be initiated in either of the two Chambers. But to become a law a bill must be approved by both Chambers and signed by the President. The President may veto the bill.

The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties, enforces laws, appoints ministers to be approved by the Federal Assembly.

The executive power belongs to the Government which is headed by the Prime Minister. The first action of the Prime Minister on appointment is to form the Cabinet.

The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and the regional courts.

The members of the Federal Assembly are elected by popular vote for a four-yearperiod.

Today the state symbol of Russia is a three-coloured banner. It has three horizontal stripes: white, blue and red. The white stripe symbolizes the earth, the blue one stands for the sky, and the red one symbolizes liberty. It was the first state symbol that replaced the former symbols in 1991. Since 1993 the hymn of Russia was “The Patriotic Song” by M. Glinka. But in 2000 it was changed. Now we have the hymn, that has the melody of the former USSR hymn, but the verses to it were written a new by S. Michalkov. A new national emblem is a two-headed eagle. It is the most ancient symbol of Russia. It originates from the heraldic emblem of the Ruricovitches. All these symbols are official. They have been approved by the Federal Assembly.

Answer the questions:

1) When was the Russian Federation set up?

2) What kind of state is it?

3) What does the federal government consist of?

4) What part does the President play in the government?

5) What is the legislative power vested in?

6) How many chambers does it consist of? Name them.

7) Who heads each chamber?

8) How does a bill become a law?

9) What are the functions of the President?

10) What are the executive and the judicial branches represented by?

11) What are the official symbols of Russia?

Find the endings to the following sentences

1) Russian is … 1) … a constitutional republic

2) The national symbols of the Russian 2) … by the President

Federation are … 3) … three branches legislative,

3) The Russian Federation is … executive and judicial

4) It is headed … 4) … the executive branch, the

5) The country government consist of … government

6) The President controls only … 5) … the official language of the state

7) The legislative power belongs to … 6) … a white-blue-red banner and a

8) The executive power is vested in … double-headed eagle

9) The Federal Assembly comprises … 7) … two chambers: the Council of

10) The judicial power belongs to … Federation and the State Duma

8) … the government

9) … the system of Courts

10) …the Federal Assembly

State if the following sentences correspond to the text. Correct them if necessary

1) Three branches of the federal government are checked and balanced by Speakers.

2) All the laws are usually approved by both Chambers and signed by the President.

3) After having been signed by the President the law becomes the bill.

4) The government is headed by the Prime Minister.

5) The Prime Minister may veto the bills, initiated in either of two Chambers. 11

6) The first action of the Prime Minister on appointment is to form the Cabinet.

7) The members of the Federal Government are elected by popular vote for a six-year period.

Complete the sentences and speak about the state symbols of Russia

1) The state symbol of Russia is …

2) It has three horizontal stripes …

3) The white stripe is the symbol of …

4) The blue stripe symbolizes …

5) The red stripe is the symbol of …

6) The three-coloured banner replaced …

7) “The Patriotic Song” by M. Glinka was …

8) The present-day hymn has the melody …

9) Its new verses were written by …

10) A two-headed eagle is the most ancient symbol of Russia, it appeared in Russia since …

11) These symbols of Russia are official and … by the Federal Assembly belong to, to be

represented by); to be headed by; to form

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 3850