1. He remains president, but wields little power in the country.
2. Congress is expected to pass the bill.
3. The Democrats have a slim majority in the House.
4. There is no restriction on filming in the area.
5. In our country the president wields considerable executive power.
6. The president can pass decrees without consent from the Duma.
7. Government of Russia placed restrictions on the observer mission, so that’s why Duma elections were not observed by anybody.
8. The last electorial campaign was not fair and failed to meet Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections.
9. Dmitriy Medvedev, running as United Russia's candidate, was elected to a four-year term as President on March 2, 2008 and according to the Russian constitution he will not serve more than two consecutive terms.
10. It was President Putin who grouped the regions into seven federal districts, with presidential appointees established in Moscow and six provincial capitals.
11. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a court of limited subject matter jurisdiction.
12. The Duma passed a Criminal Procedure Code and other judicial reforms.
Ex. VI Translate the following sentences in English:
1. Властью может обладать не только успешный человек.
2. В России законодательная власть принадлежит государству.
3. Законопроект был принят без существенных изменений.
4. Срок полномочий президента истекает в 2011 году.
5. Некоторые проправительственные партии используют неправильные методы на выборах.
6. Для того, что удовлетворять всем требованиям демократических выборов, России потребуется несколько лет.
7. В Европе считают Российскую судебную систему несовершенной.
8. Конституционный суд имеет право рассматривать дела о нарушении конституционных прав.
9. Верховный Суд РФ находится в Москве, тогда как Конституционный Суд недавно переехал в Санкт-Петербург.
Ex. VII Put the verb in brackets into the correct form:
1. The political system (to establish) by the 1993 constitution. 2. The bicameral legislature (to consist) of the lower house and the upper house. 3. The Duma elections (to hold) on December 2, 2007. 4. Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (not to observe) the last Duma elections. 5. They (to note) that the elections (to take) place in an atmosphere which seriously (to limit) political competition. 6. The Russian Federation (to consist) of 84 administrative units, including two federal cities. 7. In March 2004, the Constitution (to amend) to permit the merger of some regional administrative units. 8. The recent reforms (to reintroduce) jury trials in certain criminal cases. 9. Another significant advance in the new Code (to be) the transfer from the Procuracy to the courts of the authority to issue search and arrest warrants.
Text 5 ECONOMY
Economical situation
The Russian economy underwent tremendous stress in the 1990s as it moved from a centrally planned economy to a free market system. Difficulties in implementing fiscal reforms aimed at raising government revenues and a dependence on short-term borrowing to finance budget deficits led to a serious financial crisis in 1998. Lower prices for Russia's major export earners (oil and minerals) and a loss of investor confidence due to the Asian financial crisis exacerbated financial problems. The result was a rapid and steep decline (60%) in the value of the ruble, flight of foreign investment, delayed payments on sovereign and private debts, a breakdown of commercial transactions through the banking system, and the threat of runaway inflation.
The Russian economy bounced back quickly from the 1998 crisis and enjoyed over nine years of sustained growth averaging about 7% due to a devalued ruble, implementation of key economic reforms (tax, banking, labor and land codes), tight fiscal policy, and favorable commodities prices. Household consumption and fixed capital investments both grew by about 10% per year during this period and replaced net exports as the main drivers of demand. Inflation and exchange rates stabilized due to a prudent fiscal policy. Foreign exchange reserves grew to close to $600 billion by mid-2008, the third-largest in the world, of which more than $200 billion were classified as stabilization funds designed to shelter the budget from commodity price shocks. The balance of payments experienced twin surpluses until mid-2008 in the current and capital accounts, which accounted for the phenomenal growth of reserves. As of July 1, 2006, the ruble became convertible for both current and capital transactions. Russia prepaid its entire Soviet-era Paris Club debt of $22 billion in late 2006, but by October 2008 foreign external debt totaled $540 billion, of which $500 billion was short-term debt owed by private sector banks and corporations.
The global economic crisis hit Russia hard, starting with heavy capital flight in September 2008, which caused a crisis in its stock market. Several high-profile business disputes earlier in 2008, as well as the Georgian war helped drive capital out of Russia. By mid-September, Russia’s stock market had collapsed, as businesses sold shares to raise collateral required by international lending institutions. As the global financial crisis gathered steam in the fall of 2008, the accompanying steep fall in global demand, commodity prices, and tightening of credit served to almost grind Russia’s economic growth to a halt in the fourth quarter of 2008, to 1.1% down from 9.5% during the same period in 2007. The Central Bank of Russia responded by pumping liquidity into Russian banks, which helped avert a banking crisis. At the same time, the government attempted a managed devaluation, which successfully avoided a run on the ruble and bank deposits but at the cost of a steep decline in foreign exchange reserves to $387 billion by mid-February 2009. This in turn prompted S&P and Fitch rating agencies to downgrade Russia’s sovereign debt to the lowest investment-grade. With the exchange rate in line with global oil prices by end-January 2009, according to preliminary data from the Central Bank, the balance of payments stabilized, with a current account surplus of $11.1 billion in the first quarter of 2009. Capital outflows slowed to $38.8 billion from $130.5 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.
Economic regions
Russia is divided into twelve economic regions groups of administrative units sharing the following characteristics:
· Common economic and social goals and participation in development programs;
· Relatively similar economic conditions and potential;
· Similar climatic, ecological, and geological conditions;
· Similar methods of technical inspection of new construction;
· Overall similar living conditions of the population.
No federal subject can belong to more than one economic region.
Economic regions are also grouped into economic zones (also called "macrozones"). An economic region or its parts can belong to more than one economic zone.
Establishment and abolishment of economic regions and economic zones or any changes in their composition are decided upon by the federal government of Russia.
This division into economic regions is different from the division into federal districts—the former is done solely for economic and statistical purposes, while the latter is purely administrative.
Fig. 4 Economic regions of the RF
Active vocabulary
to implement fiscal reforms - осуществлять денежные реформы
to aim at / for - стремиться к (чему-л.)
government revenue – правительственный доход
short - term borrowing – краткосрочный кредит (ссуда, заимствование)
investor confidence – доверие инвестора
to exacerbate financial problems - обострять финансовые проблемы
steep decline – крутой спад
sovereign and private debts – зд. правительственные и частные долги
to bounce back - выздоравливать, приходить в норму
household consumption – затраты на домашнее хозяйство
exchange rate – валютный курс
prudent fiscal policy – разумная денежная политика
to shelter the budget – зд. защищать бюджет
twin surpluses – идентичные (одинаковые) излишки
current and capital transactions – операции по текущим и капитальным счетам
stock market – фондовая биржа
to raise collateral – повысить гарантии (увеличить дополнительно обеспечение)
grind – зд. подавленный
halt – прекращение, завершение
to pump liquidity – вкладывать, вливать ликвидность
to avert a banking crisis – предотвращать банковский кризис
to avoid a run on the ruble deposits – избегать массового изъятия рублевых вкладов
current account surplus - активное/положительное сальдо по текущим операциям
capital outflow – отлив / утечка капитала
establishment and abolishment – создание и упразднение
Ex. I Mach the word / word combination with its definition:
1. to pump liquidity
2. twin surpluses
3. capital outflow
4. stock market
5. sovereign debts
6. private debts
a. A debt instrument guaranteed by a government.
b. It is a public market for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price.
c. The central bank can do this action in case money is needed to tackle any withdrawal of deposits.
d. It is money owed by individuals and businesses within a given country.
e. It is a similar amount or a quantity in excess of what is needed.
f. It is an economic term describing capital leaving a particular economy.
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