Learn Russian: Это моя родина.

In Russian, the present tense of the verb 'to be' (am, is, are) is normally left out. You simply put the subject and the noun right next to each other. So, Это моя родина literally translates as 'This my homeland'.

Родина is a feminine word. Why do we use the neuter word это instead of the feminine эта?

When you use 'this is' or 'it is' to state what something is, you always use the fixed neuter form это, no matter the gender of the following noun. You only use эта if 'this' is acting as a pointing word directly attached to the noun, like in эта родина (this homeland).

Why is the word for 'my' written as моя?

Russian possessive words must match the gender of the noun they describe. Because родина ends in -а, it is a feminine noun. Therefore, you must use the feminine form моя instead of the masculine (мой) or neuter (моё).