Dr. Strom?
For both Russia and the United Kingdom, there was inflation. However, there was falling employment rates in Britain (i think in kotkin, it said that jobs were protected in Russia). In order to raise revenue, the various governments taxed people very harshly. In the USSR, all the resources were spent on enlarging the military and all the corruption led to money being sent to private offshore banks. There were many reforms, most famously Thatcherism and Perostoika.
That's basically the only things I have so far for the paper.

I doubt very much that it is United Kingdom people e-mailing you - much more likely to be someone from another country trying to scam you, but if you do find a way to block ALL spam from your computer we would all like to know how you did it.

....

It's a country

THE UNITED KINGDOM AND IRELAND (as it was once labeled), while technically correct if IRELAND is taken as the name of the country and not the island, can easily be misconstrued. THE UNITED KINGDOM AND THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND would not be correct since there is no country whose name is REPUBLIC OF IRELAND. THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ÉIRE is correct (two non-overlapping countries) but it contains a mixture of languages. Hence BRITAIN AND IRELAND (two non-overlapping islands) -- perhaps not quite adequate either since it might not encompass the various associated outlying islands.
Let's begin by reviewing the terminology:


BRITAIN, the largest island in the archipelago just north of France; the island of Britain contains three countries: ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, and WALES.

ENGLAND is one of the countries of Britain.

SCOTLAND is one of the countries of Britain.

WALES is one of the countries of Britain.

NORTHERN IRELAND is a jurisdiction having approximately the same status as England, Scotland, and Wales, but on a different island.

The UNITED KINGDOM is the union of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including whatever islands are also included in those countries. The full name of the United Kingdom is THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND. The United Kingdom itself is a country. Thus it is a country that is made up of four countries. A country made of countries might seem a paradox, yet the countries that make up the UK, especially England, Scotland, and Wales, do not think of themselves as anything less; Scotland has its own Parliament and banknotes, Wales has its own language and National Assembly, all three have national identities going back more than a thousand years, and the Encyclopedia Britannica calls them countries (next item). Perhaps more to the point, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES, and NORTHERN IRELAND are listed in the USPS Index of Countries and Localities. (According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term UNITED KINGDOM was first used in 1801 and, until 1921, included Ireland.)

GREAT BRITAIN is a term that means different things to different people. Canada Post uses it as their only recognized name for the United Kingdom. Webster's dictionary defines "Britain" as "the island of Great Britain", and defines Great Britain as "(a) island comprising England, Scotland, and Wales, or (b) United Kingdom" (which in turn is defined to include Northern Ireland). The Encyclopedia Britannica says "Technically, Great Britain is one of the two main islands that make up the British Isles. By this definition it includes the countries of England, Scotland, and Wales. Popularly, Great Britain is the shortened name for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." The OED says that Great Britain is "the whole island containing England, Wales, and Scotland, with their dependencies". William Wallace says, however, that the term "is actually a remnant of the Norman Conquest times, and was used to distinguish between Large Britain (Grande Bretagne) and Little Britain (Petite Bretagne, Brittany). It has nothing to do with Empire or world domination and simply refers to the time when the island was administered and fought over by the French." In any case, the ambiguity of the term Great Britain -- is it a country, an island, or a group of islands? -- suggests it is best avoided.


The BRITISH ISLES is another unclear geographical term denoting (according to both Webster and the OED) Great Britain, Ireland, and the adjacent islands, including the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. Another term to avoid, since the Irish do not consider their island a British isle. A better term would be "The Islands of Britain and Ireland". BRITISH ISLES is sometimes used in postal addresses, but only within the UK postal system, e.g. when sending mail from England to the Isle of Man (the USPS does not recognize the term, and does not need it, as explained below).

The CROWN DEPENDENCIES include the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, which are self-governing, and not part of the UK. Opinions are divided as to whether these and other "adjacent islands" such as the Scottish islands (Outer Hebrides) are also "British Isles" or part of "Great Britain" (see conflicting definitions above).

The UNITED KINGDOM AND ISLANDS refers to England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.
3 years ago

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. They all used to be separate but merged over the years, while keeping their own identity. So it's sort of federal but it would be incorrect to say that it is - it's not quite. The most important bit of government is the overall UK one, and England doesn't have it's own government at all. Scotland and Wales didn't either until about 10 years ago.

Great Britain is the name of the island that England, Scotland and Wales are on, and we use "Britain" as a quick way of meaning the UK. Anything relating to the whole UK is British because, well, what would it be otherwise, "United Kingdom-ish"?

Edit - haha, typical for this site. Thumbs down for a totally accurate answer.

They are all countries within the United Kingdom, just that Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved Governments (The independent ability to govern themselves) But laws etc. work the same way they have been, basically determined by the Supreme court and the Houses of Parliament. Going to war etc is ultimately the decision of HRM, Elizabeth Regina, the Queen. She would be approached by the Prime Minister who would give her the low down on the sitch. then she would make the decision whether she employs her troops. (The entire country's reserves) I jest a little with my language there, but that's basically how it goes. The UK is one country, and uses one currency, and is still part of the Commonwealth as is Canada and Australia. (Or basically any country which has the Queen's head on it's currency. It used to be much more extensive, but those are countries which are left)

It's not as hard as it looks. Basically, the UK is a country (also a sovereign state) made up of four parts, each of which is also often called a country (but they are not states). England is the largest country in the UK, followed by Scotland, then Wales, and then Northern Ireland.

The term Great Britain applies only to England, Scotland and Wales.

UK stands for The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Britain (without the "Great") is an informal name for the UK.

London is in England, but because England is also in Great Britain, and Great Britain is in the UK, you can also say that London is in Great Britain, or that London is in the UK, or that London is in Britain.

London is the capital of England and the capital of the UK. The capital of Wales is Cardiff; the capital of Scotland is Edinburgh; the capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast.

Places to visit in London include:

Tower of London
Oxford Street Shops
London Eye
Tower Bridge
Buckingham Palace
Houses of Parliament/Big Ben

for more visit www.visitlondon.com

Oxford Street shops are normally where the high priced clothes are but there may be some moderately priced shops there.

To get around London you can use the bus service which is frequent and there are many stops throughout the city. We also have the "Tube" or "London Underground" system which is an underground train system connecting many stations in and around London. Tickets are available from the stations. For more details about transport in London, visit http://www.tfl.gov.uk/

Enjoy your visit to the United Kingdom

As a Gibraltarian myself I have to say that Gibraltar is very important to the United Kingdom as a military base, even at this time and age. We the people of Gibraltar where born British and have been bought up British.
God save the Queen

happy reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom

To settle this once & for all.

The UNITED KINGDOM is the union of England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including whatever islands are also included in those countries.
The full name of the United Kingdom is THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND.
The United Kingdom itself is a country. Thus it is a country that is made up of four countries. A country made of countries might seem a paradox, yet the countries that make up the UK, especially England, Scotland, and Wales, do not think of themselves as anything less; Scotland has its own Parliament and banknotes, Wales has its own language and National Assembly, all three have national identities going back more than a thousand years, and the Encyclopedia Britannica calls them countries). Perhaps more to the point, ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, WALES, and NORTHERN IRELAND are listed in the USPS Index of Countries and Localities. (According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term UNITED KINGDOM was first used in 1801 and, until 1921, included Ireland.)

GREAT BRITAIN is a term that means different things to different people. Canada Post uses it as their only recognized name for the United Kingdom. Webster's dictionary defines "Britain" as "the island of Great Britain", and defines Great Britain as "(a) island comprising England, Scotland, and Wales, or (b) United Kingdom" (which in turn is defined to include Northern Ireland). The Encyclopedia Britannica says "Technically, Great Britain is one of the two main islands that make up the British Isles. By this definition it includes the countries of England, Scotland, and Wales. Popularly, Great Britain is the shortened name for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." The OED says that Great Britain is "the whole island containing England, Wales, and Scotland, with their dependencies". William Wallace says, however, that the term "is actually a remnant of the Norman Conquest times, and was used to distinguish between Large Britain (Grande Bretagne) and Little Britain (Petite Bretagne, Brittany). It has nothing to do with Empire or world domination and simply refers to the time when the island was administered and fought over by the French." In any case, the ambiguity of the term Great Britain -- is it a country, an island, or a group of islands? -- suggests it is best avoided.

I remember the difference by remembering that the UK would be Great (Britain) without Northern Ireland. Not a slur but an easy way to remember