Реферат: The Urals

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TheRussian character and identity have long been influenced by the fact thatRussia spreads across the two continents: Europe and Asia. The boundary betweenthe two continents lies along the Ural Mountains that also mark the beginningof Siberia. Siberia covers a vast area of over five million square kilometers.For several decades Siberia was strictly off limits to foreigners and only inthe early 1990s it became accessible for everybody. The population of Siberiahas grown both from a mix of adventurers and fortune seekers who settled therevoluntarily and those who were forced there for criminal and political reasons.Tzar Nicolas II and his family were the most prominent people who were forcedthere. In the center of Yekaterinburg there is a monument to Jakov Sverdlov, ahigh ranking official, who was responsible for the execution of the royalfamily. The brutal execution took place in 1918 in the basement room of the housein Yekaterinburg. That house was bulldozed in 1977, as it was an inconvenientreminder of bloody methods of the Communist regime. The royal family was givena secret burial in an unmarked meadow. Controversies about the members of theroyal family continued until 1994 when the DNA testing identified the bodies ofnine people of the royal family including Anastasia who had been longconsidered to have survived by a miracle.

TheUrals have long supplied Russia with locally mined precious and semi-preciousstones. They are widely used by local craftsmen who create wonderful designs inorder to make exquisite and unique jewelry. Their masterpieces are famousworldwide.

Alexander V. Myskin, gr. 2o1