RUSSIAN COUNTRY-LIFERussia has always been a greatagricultural country. Russian agriculture produces almost all the farm cropsknown in the world. The total area under cultivation is largely occupied bygrain crops such as wheat, maize, barley, rye, oats, etc. The rest is occupiedby potatoes and other vegetables, legumes, fruits and industrial crops. In theorchards and fruit gardens one can see plums and apples, pears and peaches andberries of all kinds.Horses, oxen, cows and sheep feed in the meadows.
Cattlefarming gives us meat and milk. Poultry farming supplies us with eggs and meat.The situation in agricultural systemin Russia is not simple enough now. There are no state supported collective andstate farms any more as it was during the Soviet period. Now there areagricultural joint-stock companies and individual farming. Russian agricultureis undergone the process of economical changes.It is rather difficult tosurvive in the conditions of deep economic crisis, especially for individualfarmers.
But we hope that country-men will overcome all the difficulties of ourtimes and our agriculture will make steady advances, that will naturally meanbetter living standards for the Russian people.ENGLISH COUNTRY-SIDEEngland looks like one greatwell-ordered park. The hedges surrounding the gardens look beautiful in spring.In summer when they are covered with leaves and flowers they are even better.In autumn they are gold, brown and red. In winter they are still beautiful,especially in the early winter when you can see a few red berries.
As to theEnglish gardens they are extremely fine with wonderful variety of trees.Englishmen like to preserve oldtrees. There are trees which were too old to be cut down for the building ofships in Cromwell s time that is in the 17th century.As the climate in GreatBritain is very mild and there is much rain, the grass in Great Britain is muchbetter than anywhere else. The country-side with its large green meadows andgardens with little country-houses and farms is very pleasant to look at. COUNTRY-SIDENature has always been a favouritetheme for poets. Storms and adventures on the sea have inspired them to writestirring verses.
Great forests have led them to write solemn songs. Mountainsand valleys, hills and meadows, too, have given them inspiration.And, indeed,can you find anyone who would not be thrilled by the beauties of nature, whowould not be stirred by the charms of shape, colour and motion?I think everyone enjoys being out inthe country.
The-re is a great charm about gathering berries or looking formushrooms in the silence of the wood. Perhaps you enjoy sauntering in thefields or rambling through the sweet-scented woods where as you move along youstop now and then to admire the white-stemmed birch trees or some blossomingshrubs.You may like climbing lulls or following strange trails or looking forunusual plants. At the top of each hill, at each turn in the trail you comeupon something new, unexpected.Perhaps you prefer watching insects,animals or birds.
You may watch lines of busy animals as they carry bits offood to their lull-like home, or bees as they hover over flowers. The more youobserve, the more you come to know about the beauty of the world around you,and you find a new interest in trees and flowers, fields and valleys and in theanimals of the forest.KEEPING OUR ENVIRONMENTCLEANMany years ago people lived inharmony with the environment because industry was not much developed. Now thesituation is quite different.
People all over the world cannot ignore theproblem of the protection of the environment because of modem industry and theneed for energy. Newspapers and magazines write a lot about water pollution,air pollution and land pollution.There are some laws and decisions on thisimportant question. There are state organisations and international conventionswhich pay much attention to this problem.Many parts of the world are crowdednow, much of our waste, especially waste from factories, electric powerstations, the chemical industry and heavy industry are very dangerous.
Fishdies in the lakes, rivers and seas, forest trees die too.The problem of radiation has alsobecome a very important problem because it is very dangerous for health ofpeople. There is a science, named ecology, which study the relation betweenpeople and their environment.But each of us also must do everything possibleto keep our environment clean for ourselves and for the next generations.