To be subject to – подчиняться чему-то
To be meant to be home to – считаться “родиной” чего-либо
Locally elected legislature – законодательная власть, избираемая на местном уровне
Substantial or predominant ethnic minority – основное или преобладающее этническое меньшинство
Presidential envoy – представитель президента
Plenipotentiary Representative – уполномоченный представитель
To oversee smth – наблюдать за чем либо
To serve as liaisons – “служить” / быть связующим звеном
To be responsible for – быть ответственным за
To share common economic trends – “идти” в одном экономическом направлении
To reassert federal authority – заново подтверждать федеральную власть
To scrutinize - досконально исследовать, изучать (что-л.)
Regional charter – региональный устав
To gain the right to dissolve subjects' parliament – приобретать право распускать парламент субъектов
Ascertain - выяснять, устанавливать; убеждаться, удостоверяться
Violation of federal laws – нарушение федеральных законов
In restricting laws – в ограничении законов
To contravene federal law - преступать, нарушать федеральный закон
Curtailment - сокращение, урезывание, укорачивание, уменьшение
Judiciary – зд. законность
To forestall - следовать впереди; предвосхищать, опережать
System of rotation of federal employees – система ротации федеральных служащих
To coincide with – совпадать с чем-то
Ex. I Mach the word combination with its definition:
1. It is a place regarded as a place of origin.
2. It means to be most frequent or common.
3. It is a person who can serve as mediator, intermediary, negotiator or go-between.
4. It means to correspond in nature, character, or function.
5. It means to inspect, examine, to supervise.
6. It means to examine closely and minutely.
7. It means to be liable to be called to account as the primary cause, motive, or agent.
a. a home to
b. Predominant
c. To oversee
d. to scrutinize
e. to coincide with
f. to be responsible for
g. to serve as liaisons
Ex. II Read and translate the text “Administrative and territorial divisions”.
Ex. 1II Answer the following questions:
1. How many subjects does Russia consist of?
2. What are the rights of these federal subjects?
3. What are the autonomous okrugs?
4. What is meant to be home to a specific ethnic minority?
5. What is the difference between autonomous okrugs and oblasts?
6. What is the federal district?
7. What is the official title of the presidential envoy?
8. What is the official task of the Plenipotentiary Representative?
9. Why do you think the federal subjects are grouped into twelve economic regions?
10. Why do you think the federal districts were created?
11. What happens if subjects’ governments disobey federal law?
12. Who oversees a system of rotation of federal employees throughout the regions? Why do they do it?
13. What allows the Plenipotentiary Representatives to have direct access to the command structure of the military and security apparatus?
Ex. IV Agree or disagree with the following statements:
1. These subjects are of equal federal rights in the sense that they have equal representation in the Federation Council.
2. Autonomous okrugs, while federal subjects in their own right, are at the same time considered to be administrative divisions of other federal subjects.
3. There are several autonomous oblasts in Russia.
4. The federal districts are a level of administration for the convenience of the federal government of the Russian Federation.
5. Each district includes several federal subjects and each federal district has 3 Plenipotentiary Representatives.
6. The official task of the Plenipotentiary Representative is to oversee the work of federal agencies in the regions and help them to solve different problems.
7. Federal districts' envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.
8. The federal districts were created in May 2000 by Boris Eltsen.
9. The Plenipotentiary Representatives and their staff ascertain the extent of a subjects' violation of federal laws and norms.
10. The creation of the federal districts has assisted in creating laws and practices of the subjects which contravene federal law.
11. The Plenipotentiary Representatives are overseeing a system of rotation of federal employees throughout the regions in order to make them dependent on local leaders.
Ex. V Translate the following sentences into Russian:
1. The Russian federation consists of 83 subjects.
2. All federal subjects differ in the degree of autonomy they enjoy.
3. All autonomous republics have their own constitution, president and parliament.
4. Each district includes several federal subjects and each federal district has a Plenipotentiary Representative.
5. As a rule, Plenipotentiary Representative is responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.
6. The creation of the federal districts has assisted in restricting laws and practices of the subjects which contravene federal law.
7. The federal districts coincide exactly with the Interior Ministry forces' military regions, and coincide closely with the Defense Ministry regions.
8. All subjects of the Russian Federation are sure to cooperate with the federal government.
9. The Federation Council was elected to scrutinizeе republican constitutions and regional charters.
Ex. VI Translate the following sentences into English:
1. Субъекты Российской Федерации отличаются по степени автономности.
2. Все субъекты Российской Федерации должны подчиняться федеральным законам.
3. Как правило, на территории автономных республик проживают представители этнических меньшинств.
4. Представители законодательной власти, избираемой на местном уровне, не являются представителями президента РФ.
5. В автономных округах может проживать как преобладающее этническое меньшинство, так и представители других наций.
6. Основной работой уполномоченных представителей президента является наблюдение за работой местных властей.
7. Представитель президента является связующим звеном между cубъектом федерации и федеральным правительством.
8. Экономические регионы, которые в свою очередь сгруппированы в экономические зоны и макрозоны, развиваются в одном экономическом направлении.
9. Президент приобретает право распускать парламент субъектов, если они нарушают федеральный закон.
10. В стране введена система ротации федеральных служащих, чтобы избежать их зависимости от местных властей.
Ex. VII Look at the map of federal subjects and speak about Autonomous okrugs, republics and regions (oblasts) of Russia.
Ex. VII Speak about the difference between Federal subjects and Federal districts.
Ex. VIII Find nonfinite forms of the verb in the following sentences. Define its form and function in the sentence:
1. All of the federal subjects are grouped into seven federal districts, each administered by an envoy appointed by the President of Russia.
2. Federal districts’ envoys serve as liaisons between the federal subjects and the federal government and are primarily responsible for overseeing the compliance of the federal subjects with the federal laws.
3. Autonomous okrugs, while federal subjects in their own right, are at the same time considered to be administrative divisions of other federal subjects (with Chukotka Autonomous Okrug being the only exception).
Text 4 GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL CONDITIONS
Political System
In the political system established by the 1993 constitution, the president wields considerable executive power. There is no vice president, and the legislative branch is far weaker than the executive. The bicameral legislature consists of the lower house (State Duma) and the upper house (the Federation Council). The president nominates the highest state officials, including the prime minister, who must be approved by the Duma. The president can pass decrees without consent from the Duma. He also is head of the armed forces and of the Security Council. Duma elections were held most recently on December 2, 2007, and presidential elections on March 2, 2008. The pro-government party, United Russia, won a majority (more than two-thirds) of the seats in the Duma. Of the three other parties that won seats in the Duma, two of them--Just Russia and the Liberal Democratic Party--are considered to have a pro-Kremlin orientation. The final party represented in the Duma--the Communist Party--is the only opposition party. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's (OSCE) Office of Democratic Institutions and Human Rights did not observe the Duma elections because of restrictions placed on the observer mission by the Government of Russia and delays in issuing visas. Parliamentarians of the OSCE and the Council of Europe who observed the elections concluded that they were "not fair and failed to meet Council of Europe commitments and standards for democratic elections." They noted that the elections took place in an atmosphere which seriously limited political competition. Frequent abuses of administrative resources, media coverage strongly in favor of United Russia, and the revised election code combined to hinder political pluralism.
Dmitriy Medvedev, running as United Russia's candidate, was elected to a four-year term as President on March 2, 2008, with 70.28% of the vote. The Russian constitution does not allow presidents to serve more than two consecutive terms. A December 2008 law extended the terms of Duma deputies from four to five years and presidential terms from four to six years. The new terms take effect with the next elections, which for the Duma are scheduled to occur in December 2011 and for President in March 2012.
Russia is a federation, but the precise distribution of powers between the central government and the regional and local authorities is still evolving. The Russian Federation consists of 84 administrative units, including two federal cities, Moscow and St. Petersburg. The constitution explicitly defines the federal government's exclusive powers, but it also describes most key regional issues as the joint responsibility of the federal government and the regional administrative units. In 2000, President Putin grouped the regions into seven federal districts, with presidential appointees established in Moscow and six provincial capitals. In March 2004, the Constitution was amended to permit the merger of some regional administrative units. A law enacted in December 2004 eliminated the direct election of the country's regional leaders. Governors are now nominated by the president and confirmed by regional legislatures.
Judicial System
The Russian judicial system consists of the Constitutional Court, courts of general jurisdiction, military courts, and arbitrage courts. The Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation is a court of limited subject matter jurisdiction. The 1993 constitution empowers the Constitutional Court to arbitrate disputes between the executive and legislative branches and between Moscow and the regional and local governments. The court also is authorized to rule on violations of constitutional rights, to examine appeals from various bodies, and to participate in impeachment proceedings against the president. The July 1994 Law on the Constitutional Court prohibits the court from examining cases on its own initiative and limits the scope of issues the court can hear. The system of general jurisdiction courts includes the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, regional level courts, district level courts and justices of the peace.
The Duma passed a Criminal Procedure Code and other judicial reforms during its 2001 session. These reforms help make the Russian judicial system more compatible with its Western counterparts and are seen by most as an accomplishment in human rights. The reforms have reintroduced jury trials in certain criminal cases and created a more adversarial system of criminal trials that protect the rights of defendants more adequately. Another significant advance in the new Code is the transfer from the Procuracy to the courts of the authority to issue search and arrest warrants. There are rising concerns, however, that prosecutors have selectively targeted individuals for political reasons, as in the prosecution of Yukos Oil CEO Mikhail Khodorkovskiy. In spite of the general tendency to increase judicial independence (for example, by recent considerable salary raise to judges), many judges still see their role not as of impartial and independent arbiters, but as of government officials protecting state interests.
Active vocabulary
to wield executive power – обладать исполнительной властью
legislative branch – законодательная ветвь власти
executive branch – исполнительная ветвь власти
bicameral – двухпалатный (например, парламент)
to pass decrees without consent from the Duma – принимать постановления(указы) без согласия Думы
restrictions – ограничения
elections - выборы
to meet commitments and standards – соответствовать (удовлетворять) обязательствам и стандартам
to limit political competition – ограничить политическое соревнование
in favor of - в чью-л. пользу; к чьей-л. выгоде, ради чего-то
to be elected to a four-year term as President – быть выбранным в качестве президента на 4х летний срок