1.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
2.
Russia
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Russia, also officially the Russian Federation, is a country in Eurasia. The European western part of the country is more populated and urbanised than the eastern. Russias capital Moscow is one of the largest cities in the world, other urban centers include Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod. Extending across the entirety of Northern Asia and much of Eastern Europe, Russia spans eleven time zones and incorporates a range of environments. It shares maritime borders with Japan by the Sea of Okhotsk, the East Slavs emerged as a recognizable group in Europe between the 3rd and 8th centuries AD. Founded and ruled by a Varangian warrior elite and their descendants, in 988 it adopted Orthodox Christianity from the Byzantine Empire, beginning the synthesis of Byzantine and Slavic cultures that defined Russian culture for the next millennium. Rus ultimately disintegrated into a number of states, most of the Rus lands were overrun by the Mongol invasion. The Soviet Union played a role in the Allied victory in World War II. The Soviet era saw some of the most significant technological achievements of the 20th century, including the worlds first human-made satellite and the launching of the first humans in space. By the end of 1990, the Soviet Union had the second largest economy, largest standing military in the world. It is governed as a federal semi-presidential republic, the Russian economy ranks as the twelfth largest by nominal GDP and sixth largest by purchasing power parity in 2015. Russias extensive mineral and energy resources are the largest such reserves in the world, making it one of the producers of oil. The country is one of the five recognized nuclear weapons states and possesses the largest stockpile of weapons of mass destruction, Russia is a great power as well as a regional power and has been characterised as a potential superpower. The name Russia is derived from Rus, a state populated mostly by the East Slavs. However, this name became more prominent in the later history, and the country typically was called by its inhabitants Русская Земля. In order to distinguish this state from other states derived from it, it is denoted as Kievan Rus by modern historiography, an old Latin version of the name Rus was Ruthenia, mostly applied to the western and southern regions of Rus that were adjacent to Catholic Europe. The current name of the country, Россия, comes from the Byzantine Greek designation of the Kievan Rus, the standard way to refer to citizens of Russia is Russians in English and rossiyane in Russian. There are two Russian words which are translated into English as Russians
3.
Federal subjects of Russia
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Since March 18,2014, the Russian Federation constitutionally consists of 85 federal subjects, although the two most recently added subjects are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. Three Russian cities of importance have a status of both city and separate federal subject which comprises other cities and towns within federal city keeping old structure of postal address. In 1993, there were 89 federal subjects listed, by 2008, the number of federal subjects had been decreased to 83 because of several mergers. In 2014, Sevastopol and the Republic of Crimea became the 84th and 85th federal subjects of Russia, every federal subject has its own head, a parliament, and a constitutional court. Federal subjects have their own constitution and legislation, subjects have equal rights in relations with federal government bodies. The federal subjects have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council and they do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy. Composition of post-Soviet Russia was formed during the history of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic within the USSR, the Federation Treaty was included in the text of the 1978 Constitution of the Russian SFSR. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, the system became de jure closer to other modern federal states with a republican form of government in the world. There are several groupings of Russian regions, Federal subjects should not be confused with the eight Federal districts which are not subdivisions of Russia, are much larger and each encompass many federal subjects. Federal districts were created by Executive Order of the President of Russia specially for presidential envoys, an official government translation of the Constitution of Russia in Article 5 states,1. Another translation of the Constitution of Russia gives for article 65, each federal subject belongs to one of the following types, b. ^ According to Article 13 of the Charter of Leningrad Oblast, however, St. Petersburg is not officially named to be the administrative center of the oblast. ^ According to Article 24 of the Charter of Moscow Oblast, however, Moscow is not officially named to be the administrative center of the oblast. ^ Not recognized internationally as a part of Russia, the merging process was finished on March 1,2008. No new mergers have been planned since March 2008, Федерального конституционного закона №7-ФКЗ от30 декабря2008 г. Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования, Опубликован, Российская газета, №237,25 декабря1993 г
4.
Pskov Oblast
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Pskov Oblast is a federal subject of Russia, located in the west of the country. Its administrative center is the city of Pskov, as of the 2010 Census, its population was 673,423. Pskov Oblast is the westernmost federal subject of contiguous Russia, in the northwest, Pskov Oblast is limited by Lake Peipus, which makes up most of the state border with Estonia. The oblast is located in the Baltic Sea drainage basin, mostly in the basin of the Narva River, the biggest river of this basin is the Velikaya, which flows across the whole oblast from south to north and drains into Lake Peipus. The drainage basin of the Velikaya covers the territory of the oblast, with the exception of relatively minor areas in its southern, eastern. The rivers in the southeast drain into the Lovat, which has its source in Belarus and crosses Pskov Oblast from south to north, the Lovat is a major tributary of Lake Ilmen and is itself in the Neva Rivers basin. Another tributary of Lake Ilmen is the Shelon River, which flows in the part of the oblast. Finally, minor areas in the lie in the basin of the Western Dvina. A short stretch of the Western Dvina makes up the border between Pskov and Tver Oblasts, the north of the oblast is flat and swampy, whereas the central and the southern parts are formed by glacial landscapes. There are many lakes, especially in the south, the biggest one, after Lake Peipus, is Lake Zhizhitskoye, with an area of 51.3 square kilometers. It is located in the southeast of the oblast, in the basin of the Western Dvina, wood is one of the most important natural resources in the oblast, with forests taking up to one third of the territory. Total wood reserves as of January 1,2005 were estimated to be at 331,200,000 cubic meters, Pskov lands had significant importance in Russian history. Until the 1230s Pskov was a principality, and subsequently was subordinated to Novgorod and became a republic, in Pskov Republic the highest authority belonged to the assembly of citizens. In 1348, the Treaty of Bolotovo was concluded, recognizing independence of Pskov, however, Pskov quickly run into dependence from the Grand Duchy of Moscow, the emerging regional superpower, and after 1399 Moscow appointed vice-roys to Pskov. The formal independence ended in 1510, when Pskov was occupied by the troops of Vasili III of Russia, throughout the history, Pskov Lands were always located in the west of Russian Lands and were almost constantly at war. In particular, in 1242 the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus stopped the expansion of the Teutonic Knights to the East, during the Livonian War in 1581, the Polish troops laid siege to Pskov. The southeastern part of the oblast was a part of the Principality of Toropets before it was appended to Moscow in the 15th century, december 29,1708 Tsar Peter the Great issued an edict which established seven governorates. The north of the present area of Pskov Oblast, which at the time belonged to Russia, was a part of Ingermanland Governorate, in 1727, a separate Novgorod Governorate was established, and the area was transferred there
5.
Pechory
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Pechory is a town and the administrative center of Pechorsky District in Pskov Oblast, Russia. Its population in the 2010 Census was 11,195, having fallen from 13,056 recorded in the 2002 Census and 11,935 in the 1989 Census and this population includes a few hundred ethnic Estonians. It was founded as a posad in the 16th century near the Pskov-Caves Monastery, during the reign of Ivan the Terrible, Pechory was an important border stronghold. Boris Sheremetev began his campaign of 1701 in Pechory and the fortification was besieged by Swedes in the course of the Great Northern War in 1701 and 1703, after the war, Pechory lost its military significance. In the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, in 1727, separate Novgorod Governorate was split off and in 1772, Pskov Governorate was established, it existed as Pskov Viceroyalty between 1777 and 1796. In 1776, Pechory was granted rights and Pechorsky Uyezd was established, but in 1797, the uyezd was abolished. From February to December 1918, Pechory was occupied by the Germans, during the Estonian War of Independence, the town was occupied by the Estonian army on March 29,1919. Under the terms of the Tartu Peace Treaty, Pechory and the territory around it, called Setomaa, were given to Estonia in 1920. During the years between the World Wars, Petseri, as it was called at that time, was the center of Petseri County, under the Estonian rule, the town population more than doubled, predominantly due to arrival of ethnic Estonians. In May 1925, most of the owned by the Pskov-Caves Monastery was confiscated by the Estonian government. St. Peters Lutheran Church was built in 1926, after the annexation of Estonia by the Soviet Union in 1940, the town originally remained a part of the Estonian SSR. During World War II, the town was occupied by the German Army from July 10,1941 until August 11,1944, on January 16,1945, Pechory and most of Petseri County were transferred to Pskov Oblast of the Russian SFSR and Pechorsky District was established. In 1956, Pechory Secondary School No.2 was opened for Estonian-speaking students, Estonia is reported to have dropped this claim in November 1995. Within the framework of administrative divisions, Pechory serves as the center of Pechorsky District. As a municipal division, the town of Pechory, together with forty-two rural localities, is incorporated within Pechorsky Municipal District as Pechory Urban Settlement, Pechory is famous for the Russian Orthodox Pskov-Caves Monastery. Also, St. Peters Evangelical Lutheran church is situated in the town and it is famous for its historic organ. Закон №833-оз от5 февраля2009 г, Вступил в силу со дня официального опубликования. Опубликован, Псковская правда, №20,10 февраля2009 г, Закон №420-оз от28 февраля2005 г
6.
Subdivisions of Russia
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Russia is divided into several types and levels of subdivisions. Since March 18,2014, the Russian Federation consisted of eighty-five federal subjects that are constituent members of the Federation, however, two of these federal subjects—the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol—are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine. All federal subjects are of equal rights in the sense that they have equal representation—two delegates each—in the Federation Council. They do, however, differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy, there are 6 types of federal subjects—22 republics,9 krais,46 oblasts,3 federal cities,1 autonomous oblast, and 4 autonomous okrugs. According to the Treaty, the Republic of Crimea is accepted as a subject with the status of a republic while the City of Sevastopol has received federal city status. Neither the Republic of Crimea nor the city of Sevastopol are politically recognized as parts of Russia by most countries and this was interpreted by the governments of the federal subjects as a sign that the matters of the administrative-territorial divisions became solely the responsibility of the federal subjects. As a result, the modern structures of the federal subjects vary significantly from one federal subject to another. Autonomous okrugs, while being under the jurisdiction of federal subject, are still constitutionally recognized as federal subjects on their own right. Chukotka Autonomous Okrug is an exception in that it is not administratively subordinated to any federal subject of Russia. Okrugs are usually former autonomous okrugs that lost their federal subject status due to a merger with another federal subject. According to the law, the units of the division are as follows, Municipal district. In practice, municipal districts are formed within the boundaries of existing administrative districts. In practice, urban okrugs are usually formed within the boundaries of existing cities of federal subject significance, intra-urban territory of a federal city, a part of a federal citys territory. In Moscow, these are called municipal formations, in St. Petersburg—municipal okrugs, towns, in Sevastopol, they are known as municipal okrugs and a town. Territories not included as a part of municipal formations are known as inter-settlement territories and this municipal formation type would typically be established within the borders of existing city districts. In June 2014, Chelyabinsky Urban Okrug became the first urban okrug to implement intra-urban divisions, all of the federal subjects are grouped into nine federal districts, each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia. For economic and statistical purposes the federal subjects are grouped into twelve economic regions, economic regions and their parts sharing common economic trends are in turn grouped into economic zones and macrozones. In order for the Armed Forces to provide an efficient management of units, their training, and other operational activities
7.
Area
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Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a two-dimensional figure or shape, or planar lamina, in the plane. Surface area is its analog on the surface of a three-dimensional object. It is the analog of the length of a curve or the volume of a solid. The area of a shape can be measured by comparing the shape to squares of a fixed size, in the International System of Units, the standard unit of area is the square metre, which is the area of a square whose sides are one metre long. A shape with an area of three square metres would have the area as three such squares. In mathematics, the square is defined to have area one. There are several formulas for the areas of simple shapes such as triangles, rectangles. Using these formulas, the area of any polygon can be found by dividing the polygon into triangles, for shapes with curved boundary, calculus is usually required to compute the area. Indeed, the problem of determining the area of plane figures was a motivation for the historical development of calculus. For a solid such as a sphere, cone, or cylinder. Formulas for the areas of simple shapes were computed by the ancient Greeks. Area plays an important role in modern mathematics, in addition to its obvious importance in geometry and calculus, area is related to the definition of determinants in linear algebra, and is a basic property of surfaces in differential geometry. In analysis, the area of a subset of the plane is defined using Lebesgue measure, in general, area in higher mathematics is seen as a special case of volume for two-dimensional regions. Area can be defined through the use of axioms, defining it as a function of a collection of certain plane figures to the set of real numbers and it can be proved that such a function exists. An approach to defining what is meant by area is through axioms, area can be defined as a function from a collection M of special kind of plane figures to the set of real numbers which satisfies the following properties, For all S in M, a ≥0. If S and T are in M then so are S ∪ T and S ∩ T, if S and T are in M with S ⊆ T then T − S is in M and a = a − a. If a set S is in M and S is congruent to T then T is also in M, every rectangle R is in M. If the rectangle has length h and breadth k then a = hk, let Q be a set enclosed between two step regions S and T
8.
Russian Census (2010)
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The Russian Census of 2010 is the first census of the Russian Federation population since 2002 and the second after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Preparations for the census began in 2007 and it took place between October 14 and October 25, the census was originally scheduled for October 2010, but was moved to 2013 allegedly for financial reasons, although it was also speculated that political motives were influential in the decision. However, in late 2009 Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin announced that the Government of Russia allocated 10.5 billion rubles in order to conduct the census as originally scheduled, Results showed the population to stand at 142.9 million. Since the previous 2002 census, population has decreased by 2.3 million, according to the 2010 census, urban population is 105.3 million, rural population is 37.5 million. The urbanisation rate is currently 73. 7%, the median age is 38 years. The ethnic composition is dominated by Russians, demographics of Russia Russian Census 2010 final results Results of 2010 All-Russia population census Official website of the 2010 Census
9.
Population density
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Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume, it is a quantity of type number density. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and most of the time to humans and it is a key geographical term. Population density is population divided by land area or water volume. Low densities may cause a vortex and lead to further reduced fertility. This is called the Allee effect after the scientist who identified it, commonly this may be calculated for a county, city, country, another territory, or the entire world. The worlds population is around 7,000,000,000, therefore, the worldwide human population density is around 7,000,000,000 ÷510,000,000 =13.7 per km2. If only the Earths land area of 150,000,000 km2 is taken into account and this includes all continental and island land area, including Antarctica. If Antarctica is also excluded, then population density rises to over 50 people per km2, thus, this number by itself does not give any helpful measurement of human population density. Several of the most densely populated territories in the world are city-states, microstates, cities with high population densities are, by some, considered to be overpopulated, though this will depend on factors like quality of housing and infrastructure and access to resources. Most of the most densely populated cities are in Southeast Asia, though Cairo, for instance, Milwaukee has a greater population density when just the inner city is measured, and the surrounding suburbs excluded. Arithmetic density, The total number of people / area of land, physiological density, The total population / area of arable land. Agricultural density, The total rural population / area of arable land, residential density, The number of people living in an urban area / area of residential land. Urban density, The number of people inhabiting an urban area / total area of urban land, ecological optimum, The density of population that can be supported by the natural resources. S. States by population density Selected Current and Historic City, Ward & Neighborhood Density
10.
Time in Russia
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There are eleven time zones in Russia, which currently observe times ranging from UTC+02,00 to UTC+12,00. Daylight saving time is not used in Russia, since 4 December 2016, the time zones are as follows, Daylight saving time in Russia was originally introduced on 30 June 1917 by a decree of the Russian Provisional Government. However, it was abandoned by a Decree of the Soviet government five months later, Daylight saving time was re-introduced in the USSR on 1 April 1981, by a decision of the Council of Ministers of the USSR. The usage of daylight saving time continued after the Soviet collapse but ended in 2011, on 27 March 2011, clocks were advanced as usual, but they did not go back on 30 October 2011, effectively making Moscow Time UTC+4 permanently. In the Russian Empire, most of the observed solar time. During the late 19th century, Moscow Mean Time was introduced on 1 January 1880,2,30,17 corresponds to 37. 6166667°, the longitude of Moscow. Other parts of Russia kept solar time for several years. At this time, Russia had the Julian calendar with 12 or 13 days less date compared to Western Europe, so it is possible to say the Moscow actually had GMT-285,29,43, GMT-309,29,43 and GMT-309,28,41. Russia adopted the Gregorian calendar on Thursday,14 February 1918, after the Soviet Union was created, Moscow Time became UTC+2 and the various other time zones were introduced throughout Russia and the rest of the Soviet Union, for example Irkutsk Time GMT+7. Between 1917-1922 the time was ordered, with daylight savings time some of those years. On 21 June 1930, the Soviet Union advanced all clocks by one hour, Moscow Time was now GMT+3 and Irkutsk Time GMT+8. On 1 April 1981, daylight saving time was re-introduced, clocks were moved one hour forward on 1 April, on 1 April 1981,00,00,00, Oymyakonsky District changed its time zone from MSK+6 to MSK+8. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+9 to UTC+12, on 1 April 1982,00,00,00, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug changed its time zone from MSK+10 to MSK+9, thus eliminating Anadyr Time. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+14 to UTC+13, on 27 March 1988,02,00,00, Saratov and Volgograd oblasts changed its time zone from MSK+1 to MSK. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+5 to UTC+4, on 23 May 1993,00,00,00, Novosibirsk Oblast changed its time zone from MSK+4 to MSK+3. The change occurred during DST effectively changing the offset from UTC+8 to UTC+7, on 28 May 1995,00,00,00, Altai Krai and Altai Republic changed its time zone from MSK+4 to MSK+3. On 30 March 1997,02,00,00, Sakhalin Oblast changed its time zone from MSK+8 to MSK+7, on 1 May 2002,03,00,00, Tomsk Oblast changed its time zone from MSK+4 to MSK+3. On 1 January 2004,00,00,00, New Siberian Islands, Tomponsky District, the following time zone changes occurred on 28 March 2010, which, in particular, led to abolition of two of the eleven time zones
11.
Wikimedia Commons
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Wikimedia Commons is an online repository of free-use images, sound, and other media files. It is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation, the repository contains over 38 million media files. In July 2013, the number of edits on Commons reached 100,000,000, the project was proposed by Erik Möller in March 2004 and launched on September 7,2004. The expression educational is to be according to its broad meaning of providing knowledge. Wikimedia Commons itself does not allow fair use or uploads under non-free licenses, for this reason, Wikimedia Commons always hosts freely licensed media and deletes copyright violations. The default language for Commons is English, but registered users can customize their interface to use any other user interface translations. Many content pages, in particular policy pages and portals, have also translated into various languages. Files on Wikimedia Commons are categorized using MediaWikis category system, in addition, they are often collected on individual topical gallery pages. While the project was proposed to also contain free text files. In 2012, BuzzFeed described Wikimedia Commons as littered with dicks, in 2010, Wikipedia co-founder Larry Sanger reported Wikimedia Commons to the FBI for hosting sexualized images of children known as lolicon. Wales responded to the backlash from the Commons community by voluntarily relinquishing some site privileges, over time, additional functionality has been developed to interface Wikimedia Commons with the other Wikimedia projects. Specialized uploading tools and scripts such as Commonist have been created to simplify the process of uploading large numbers of files. In order to free content photos uploaded to Flickr, users can participate in a defunct collaborative external review process. The site has three mechanisms for recognizing quality works, one is known as Featured pictures, where works are nominated and other community members vote to accept or reject the nomination. This process began in November 2004, another process known as Quality images began in June 2006, and has a simpler nomination process comparable to Featured pictures. Quality images only accepts works created by Wikimedia users, whereas Featured pictures additionally accepts nominations of works by third parties such as NASA, the three mentioned processes select a slight part from the total number of files. However, Commons collects files of all quality levels, from the most professional level across simple documental, files with specific defects can be tagged for improvement and warning or even proposed for deletion but there exists no process of systematic rating of all files. The site held its inaugural Picture of the Year competition, for 2006, all images that were made a Featured picture during 2006 were eligible, and voted on by eligible Wikimedia users during two rounds of voting
12.
Russian language
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Russian is an East Slavic language and an official language in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and many minor or unrecognised territories. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of the four living members of the East Slavic languages, written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century and beyond. It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages and it is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the eighth most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers, the language is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Russian is also the second most widespread language on the Internet after English, Russian distinguishes between consonant phonemes with palatal secondary articulation and those without, the so-called soft and hard sounds. This distinction is found between pairs of almost all consonants and is one of the most distinguishing features of the language, another important aspect is the reduction of unstressed vowels. Russian is a Slavic language of the Indo-European family and it is a lineal descendant of the language used in Kievan Rus. From the point of view of the language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Rusyn. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the 15th or 16th century, is considered to have played a significant role in the formation of modern Russian. In the 19th century, the language was often called Great Russian to distinguish it from Belarusian, then called White Russian and Ukrainian, however, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language and it is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a hard target language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy. The standard form of Russian is generally regarded as the modern Russian literary language, mikhail Lomonosov first compiled a normalizing grammar book in 1755, in 1783 the Russian Academys first explanatory Russian dictionary appeared. By the mid-20th century, such dialects were forced out with the introduction of the education system that was established by the Soviet government. Despite the formalization of Standard Russian, some nonstandard dialectal features are observed in colloquial speech. Thus, the Russian language is the 6th largest in the world by number of speakers, after English, Mandarin, Hindi/Urdu, Spanish, Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a choice for both Russian as a second language and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics, samuel P. Huntington wrote in the Clash of Civilizations, During the heyday of the Soviet Union, Russian was the lingua franca from Prague to Hanoi
13.
Administrative divisions of Pskov Oblast
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Administratively, Pskov Oblast is divided into two cities and towns of oblast significance and twenty-four districts. In terms of the population, the biggest administrative districts are Pskovsky District and Ostrovsky District, in terms of the area, the biggest administrative district is Bezhanitsky District, the smallest one is Pushkinogorsky District. Dedovichsky Urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction, Dedovichi with 11 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Dnovsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Dno with 5 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Gdovsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Gdov with 8 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Krasnogorodsky Urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction, Krasnogorodsk with 6 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Kunyinsky Urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction, Kunya with 8 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Loknyansky Urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction, Loknya with 6 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Nevelsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Nevel with 10 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Novorzhevsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Novorzhev with 8 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Novosokolnichesky Towns under the jurisdiction, Novosokolniki with 9 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Opochetsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Opochka with 8 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Ostrovsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Ostrov with 8 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Palkinsky Urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction, Palkino with 6 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Pechorsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Pechory with 6 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Plyussky Urban-type settlements under the jurisdiction, Plyussa Zaplyusye with 3 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Porkhovsky Towns under the jurisdiction, Porkhov with 13 volosts under the districts jurisdiction. Pskovsky with 17 volosts under the districts jurisdiction, Pushkinogorsky Urban-type settlements under the districts jurisdiction, Pushkinskiye Gory with 5 volosts under the districts jurisdiction
14.
Pskovsky District
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Pskovsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the twenty-four in Pskov Oblast, Russia. Lake Peipus forms the border with Estonia in the west, the area of the district is 3,600 square kilometers. Its administrative center is the city of Pskov, the district is located east and southeast of Lake Peipus, into which the rivers in the north of the district flow directly. The central and the parts of the district lie in the basin of the Velikaya River. The two biggest tributaries of the Velikaya within the district are the Pskova and the Cheryokha Rivers, minor areas in the east of the district lie in the basin of the Shelon River. 36% of the territory is covered by forests. Remdovsky Zakaznik in the north of the district is one of three federally protected nature reserves in Pskov Oblast, it was established to protect lowlands adjacent to Lake Peipus, the history of the area is essentially a part of the history of Pskov. Until the 14th century, the area, together with Pskov, was dependent on Novgorod, then became independent, in the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate. In 1727, separate Novgorod Governorate was split off, and in 1772, the area was a part of Pskovsky Uyezd of Pskov Governorate. On August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished, and Pskovsky District was established and it included parts of former Pskovsky Uyezd. The governorates were abolished as well, and the became a part of Pskov Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. On July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished. On February 15,1935, parts of Pskovsky District were transferred to newly established Karamyshevsky and Palkinsky Districts. Between March 22,1935 and September 19,1940, Pskovsky District was a part of Pskov Okrug of Leningrad Oblast, between August 1941 and July 1944, Pskovsky District was occupied by German troops. On August 23,1944, the district was transferred to newly established Pskov Oblast, on August 1,1927, Seryodkinsky District was established as well, with the administrative center in the selo of Seryodka. It included parts of former Gdovsky Uyezd of Saint Petersburg Governorate, the district was a part of Pskov Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. In 1935, a part of the territory was transferred to Polnovsky District. Between August 1941 and February 1944, Seryodkinsky District was occupied by German troops, on August 23,1944, the district was transferred to Pskov Oblast
15.
Palkinsky District
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Palkinsky District is an administrative and municipal district, one of the twenty-four in Pskov Oblast, Russia. The area of the district is 1,191.2 square kilometers and its administrative center is the urban locality of Palkino. The population of Palkino accounts for 33. 1% of the total population. The district lies in the basin of the Velikaya River, the Velikaya itself crosses the district from south to north. The principal tributary of the Velikaya in the limits of the district is the Vyada, the largest lake, Lake Belaya Struga, has an area of 5.5 square kilometers. About 5% of the territory is occupied by swamps. The eastern part of the district is flat, the part is hilly. Until the 14th century, the area, together with Pskov, was dependent on Novgorod, then became independent, in the course of the administrative reform carried out in 1708 by Peter the Great, the area was included into Ingermanland Governorate. In 1727, separate Novgorod Governorate was split off, and in 1772, on August 1,1927, the uyezds were abolished and Palkinsky District was established, with the administrative center in the selo of Palkino. It included parts of former Pskovsky and Ostrovsky Uyezds, the governorates were abolished as well, and the district became a part of Pskov Okrug of Leningrad Oblast. On July 23,1930, the okrugs were abolished. On September 20,1931, Palkinsky District was abolished and merged into Ostrovsky District, on February 15,1935, the district was re-established on the territory which formerly constituted parts of Pskovsky and Ostrovsky Districts. Between March 22,1935 and September 19,1940, Palkinsky District was a part of Pskov Okrug of Leningrad Oblast, between August 1941 and July 1944, the district was occupied by German troops. On August 23,1944, the district was transferred to newly established Pskov Oblast, on October 15,1985, Palkino was granted urban-type settlement status. On January 14,1958, Kachanovsky District was abolished and split between Pechorsky and Palkinsky Districts, the part of the district along the state border is included into a border security zone, intended to protect the borders of Russia from unwanted activity. In order to visit the zone, a permit issued by the local Federal Security Service department is required, the main agricultural specializations in the district are meat and milk production, as well as potato growing. As of 2011, seven large- and mid-scale farms were active in the district, the railway connecting St. Petersburg and Vitebsk via Pskov crosses the eastern part of the district. The M20 highway, which also connects St. Petersburg and Vitebsk via Pskov, runs parallel to the railway, Palkino is connected by roads to Pskov, to Ostrov, and to the highway connecting Pskov and Riga
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Latvia
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Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2. The country has a seasonal climate. Latvia is a parliamentary republic established in 1918. The capital city is Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014, Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livs are the people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the two surviving Baltic languages. Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language, Latvia and Estonia share a long common history. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans, Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population has brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918, however, its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule and it ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic and developed country and member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, Latvia was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and it used the Latvian lats as its currency until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. The name Latvija is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes, henry of Latvia coined the Latinisations of the countrys name, Lettigallia and Lethia, both derived from the Latgalians. The terms inspired the variations on the name in Romance languages from Letonia. Around 3000 BC, the ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Balts established trade routes to Rome and Byzantium, trading local amber for precious metals, by 900 AD, four distinct Baltic tribes inhabited Latvia, Curonians, Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians, as well as the Livonians speaking a Finnic language
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Estonia
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Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia, across the Baltic Sea lies Sweden in the west and Finland in the north. The territory of Estonia consists of a mainland and 2,222 islands and islets in the Baltic Sea, covering 45,339 km2 of land and water, and is influenced by a humid continental climate. The territory of Estonia has been inhabited since at least 6500 BC, in 1988, during the Singing Revolution, the Estonian Supreme Soviet issued the Estonian Sovereignty Declaration in defiance of Soviet rule, and independence was restored on 20 August 1991. Estonia is a parliamentary republic divided into fifteen counties. Its capital and largest city is Tallinn, with a population of 1.3 million, it is one of the least-populous member states of the European Union, Eurozone, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, OECD and Schengen Area. Estonia is a country with an advanced, high-income economy that is among the fastest growing in the EU. Its Human Development Index ranks very highly, and it performs favourably in measurements of economic freedom, civil liberties, the 2015 PISA test places Estonian high school students 3rd in the world, behind Singapore and Japan. Citizens of Estonia are provided with health care, free education. Since independence the country has developed its IT sector, becoming one of the worlds most digitally advanced societies. In 2005 Estonia became the first nation to hold elections over the Internet, in the Estonian language, the oldest known endonym of the Estonians was maarahvas, meaning country people or people of the land. The land inhabited by Estonians was called Maavald meaning Country Parish or Land Parish, one hypothesis regarding the modern name of Estonia is that it originated from the Aesti, a people described by the Roman historian Tacitus in his Germania. The historic Aesti were allegedly Baltic people, whereas the modern Estonians are Finno-Ugric, the geographical areas between Aesti and Estonia do not match, with Aesti being further down south. Ancient Scandinavian sagas refer to a land called Eistland, as the country is called in Icelandic. Early Latin and other ancient versions of the name are Estia and Hestia, esthonia was a common alternative English spelling prior to 1921. Human settlement in Estonia became possible 13,000 to 11,000 years ago, the oldest known settlement in Estonia is the Pulli settlement, which was on the banks of the river Pärnu, near the town of Sindi, in south-western Estonia. According to radiocarbon dating it was settled around 11,000 years ago, the earliest human inhabitation during the Mesolithic period is connected to Kunda culture, which is named after the town of Kunda in northern Estonia. At that time the country was covered with forests, and people lived in communities near bodies of water
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