C. Read and translate the text. Russia is one of the largest countries in the world
Russia is one of the largest countries in the world. The vast territory of Russia lies in the eastern part of Europe and the northern part of Asia. Russia extends across the whole of northern Asia and 40% of Europe through 11 time zones. At 17,075,200 square kilometers Russia is the largest country in the world: it covers more than an eighth of the Earth’s land area. It borders on China, Kazakhstan, Finland, Norway and many other countries. With 142 million people it is the ninth largest in terms of population. According to the Constitution Russia is a federation and formally a semi-presidential republic, where the President is the head of state and the Prime Minister is the head of the government. Russia's 160 ethnic groups speak some 100 languages. According to the 2002 census, 142.6 million people speak Russian, followed by Tatar with 5.3 million and German with 2.9 million speakers. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism are Russia’s traditional religions. As a state symbol the two-headed eagle first appeared in the XVth century when the country was called Moscovia. The most common version states that two heads of the eagle symbolize two parts of Russia – European and Asian and their importance for the country. Peter the Great was the first to use the three - colour Russian national flag. In those times red colour symbolized the Earth, blue – the sky, and white – the world of God. Russia has the world's greatest reserves of mineral and energy resources and is known as an energy superpower. It has the world's largest forest reserves and its lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world’s fresh water.
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