~RUSSIA~ Heidi Eberhardt R5 Pd8

Russia’s capital: Moscow Location: Northern Asia, bordering the Arctic Ocean, between Europe and the North Pacific Ocean Area: Approximately 1.8 times the size of the U.S. Russia’s flag

-Moscow (Russia’s capital) The city Moscow is most political, economic, cultural and scientific center of Russia and on the continent. ~Population(the 2010 Census results): is 11,514,330. ~According to Forbes 2011, Moscow has the largest community of billionaires.

-St. Petersburg “The Bronze Horseman” A monument of Peter the Great, the Founder of St. Petersburg. It was built by order of Empress Catherine the Great as a tribute to her predecessor on the Russian throne. From 1713 to 1728 and from 1732 to 1918, Saint Petersburg was the Imperial capital of Russia. In 1918 the central government bodies moved from Saint Petersburg (then named Petrograd) to Moscow. It is Russia's second largest city after Moscow with almost 5 million inhabitants. Saint Petersburg is a major European cultural center, and also an important Russian port on the Baltic Sea.

Russian Cuisine Okroshka(cold soup)Shchi(hot soup) Pelmeni(meat main dish) Syrniki with Kissel(pie/pancake type) Dressed Herring (salad) Kavass (Non-alcoholic drink)

Russian Alphabet The Russian Alphabet is a form of the Cyrillic script, developed in the First Bulgarian Empire during the 10th century AD at the Preslav Literary School. The modern Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters.

Currency ~Called the Ruble ~ Russian ruble is one of the world's oldest currencies ~ During the czar rule Russian rubles were one of the worlds highly valued currencies as they were backed by serious stockpiles of gold. BUT…. ~ Over the past hundred years the value of the ruble has changed sharply.

Current President ~Since May 7, 2012 ~Term Length: 6 years, renewable once