The Republic of Karelia

Ø 1) Read the text and answer the questions:

a) Where is Karelia situated? What countries and districts does it border on?

b) When was it founded?

c) What was the first name of the republic?

d) What nationalities make the population of Karelia?

e) What is the social structure of the population of Karelia?

The Republic of Karelia is situated in the northwest of Russia. It is a part of the Northwest federal district of the Russian Federation. It was founded on June 8, 1920 as the Karelian Labour Commune on the territory of the former Olonets province. Since November 13, 1991 the Republic has its modern name.

The area of Karelia makes 1.06% of the total territory of Russia. Karelia borders on Finland in the West, on Leningrad district in the South, on Murmansk and Archangelsk district, in the East. In the North-West the Republic is washed by the White Sea.

As of January 1, 2009 the population of the Republic of Karelia makes 687.5 thousand people. Urban population makes 76.4 %. The share of the population younger than working-age makes 15.4%, working-age population makes 64.5%, people older than working-age make 20.1%. Population size involved in economy is 351, 400 people, the unemployed make 32, 300 people. The official unemployment rate makes 2.6% of the economically active population.

The official language in Karelia is Russian. The Republic is a multinational constituency of the Russian Federation. Representatives of 213 nationalities live there. According to the data of the All-Russia population census of 2002, the national pattern of the population is the following: Russians are 76.6%, Karelians are 9.2%, Byelorussians are 5.3%, Ukrainians are 2.7%, Finns are 2.0%, Vepps are 0.7%.

The overall objective of the long-term social and economic development of Karelia is improvement of the quality of life in the Republic on the basis of steady balanced development of economy, formation of the future development potential and the Republic’s active participation in the system of international and inter-regional exchanges.

According to the Constitution of Russia the Republic of Karelia is the constituency of the Russian Federation. The Republic of Karelia is establishing its system of bodies of the government independently according to the foundations of the constitutional system of the Russian Federation and general principles of organization of representative and executive public authorities, and established federal laws.

Governing in the Republic of Karelia is carried out by the Legislative Assembly of the Republic of Karelia, Government headed by the Head of the Republic of Karelia, and other enforcement authorities, area bodies of federal authorities, and judicial bodies.

Karelia is the country of rocks, boulders and tens of thousands of lakes. Various, and frequently unique relief of Karelia reflects geological history of the region of the last 3.5 billion years. Karelia is often figuratively called “a severe land of lakes and woods”, emphasizing the leading elements of its landscape, unique combinations created by spaces of fantastic contours of a number of lakes and divided by rocky-subdued interfluves covered with taiga greens.

The economy of the Republic of Karelia is based on processing local kinds of natural resources (timber and minerals), use of tourist and recreational potential and favourable economic and geographical frontier location. These factors define specialization and regional features of the economy of the Republic.

Ø 2) Say whether the statements below are true or false and justify your answer:

a) The overall objective of the long-term development of Karelia is to invest in education because it produces the intellectual capital that drives economic development.

b) The system of government in Karelia is based on the constitutional system of the Russian Federation.

c) Karelia is the country of lakes and forests.

d) The surface of Karelia reflects geological history of the last 1.5 million years.

e) The economy is based on mining of minerals and logging of timber.