RUSSIA official name: Russian Federation Russian flag

1917-1991: Communist Government 1991-Present: Democracy GOVERNMENT OF RUSSIA 1547-1917: Absolute Monarchy: 1917-1991: Communist Government 1991-Present: Democracy Absolute monarchy – Though the picture is of Peter the Great (one of the more “progressive” Russian rulers), Russia’s monarchs were hesitant to share power with their people. While other monarchies around them became constitutional (or “enlightened”), this unwillingness to give people guaranteed political rights helped lead to the rise of groups like the Bolsheviks. Communist period – Command economy with a totalitarian regime – Religion outlawed and people afraid to speak out against the government. Current period – Democracy/Republic: The people were given the right to vote, and in name the public has supreme control over their government. However, much like Latin America, government corruption and “election fixing” have resulted in a less than free society. Russian government is organized into a Federation: States are self governing, with little direction from the national government. (Like the original government of the U.S. or the Confederate States). Under Putin, states lost some of their autonomy as Putin made local governor positions appointive by Moscow (instead of elective).

CZARIST RUSSIA Czars conquered land around Russia making it the size it is today. Ivan the Great Ivan the Terrible Peter the Great Catherine the Great Winter Palace

Czar Nicholas II (rule:1894-1917) Not prepared for the responsibilities of the throne. Did not allow representative power of the people. Major Accomplishment: Trans Siberian Railroad (see map left) Gave up the throne, family assasinated by the new leadership. Nicholas’s father passed away at only 49, and Nicholas at 26 seemed ill prepared and untrained for the throne. The world was changing. Most monarchies were now constitutional, not absolute. Nicholas turned his back on any notion of giving away any power to elected representatives in Russia. Shortly after he came to the throne, a deputation of peasants and workers from various towns' local assemblies (zemstvos) came to the Winter Palace proposing court reforms, such as the adoption of a constitutional monarchy,[16] and reform that would improve the political and social life of the peasantry. Nicholas II abdicated following the February Revolution of 1917 during which he and his family were imprisoned first in the Alexander Palace at Tsarskoye Selo, then later in the Governor's Mansion in Tobolsk, and finally at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg. Nicholas II, his wife, his son, his four daughters, the family's medical doctor, the Tsar's valet, the Empress' lady-in-waiting, and the family's cook were killed in the same room by the Bolsheviks on the night of 16/17 July 1918. This led to the canonization of Nicholas II, his wife the Empress Alexandra and their children as martyrs by various groups tied to the Russian Orthodox Church within Russia and, prominently, outside Russia. This is the basis for the animated movie Anastasia. Photo of King George V (England) on right and Nicholas, first cousins. Notice the strong physical resemblance.

Communist Russia Mikhail Gorbachev: Introduced changes that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin: 1st Leader of Communist Russia Joseph Stalin: Leader of Communist Russia (USSR) after Lenin

The Cold War (1945-1991) This “war” was a battle of words and build up of weapons between USSR and USA. Specific events during the Cold War intensified hostilities, or decreased them. Vietnam War, Korean War For more info read pg 371 of your blue book The Cold War began when Truman told Stalin that the U.S. created an atomic bomb while at Potsdam near the end of World War II. Stalin actually already knew about the A-bomb, as he had spies within the U.S. atomic bomb program – even though they were allies in the war. Although the war was “COLD” in that the U.S. and USSR didn’t fight directly, they were directly involved in supplying weapons and directing regional war efforts. In other words, anyone who says that no one died in the Cold War isn’t Korean, Vietnamese, Afghan, etc. 1957 – Soviets launch Sputnik, the first manmade satellite, which convinces the U.S. that we are behind in technology and leads to the space race. 1960 – USSR shot down a US U-2 spy plane over their land 1961 – Cuban Missile crisis brought the world dangerously close to open war between the U.S. and USSR. The USSR was forced to abandon missile bases in Cuba. 1970s – A period of improved relations called détente, which made arms reduction possible.

The Fall of Communism and the end of the USSR By 1991 each of the 15 republics (similar to states in the US) that made up the USSR declared their independence. Russia was the largest and most powerful of these. This would be like each of the states in the US becoming their own countries rather than states. The US would no longer exist!!

Economy Since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991… Russia has tried to develop a Free Market economy (like the USA). Poverty and famine are still issues. Corruption & crime has spread rapidly. Economy Moscow International Business Center 9th largest economy in the world; large energy sector and manufactured goods sector Hyperinflation resulted from the removal of Soviet price controls and again following the 1998 Russian financial crisis. Assuming the role as the continuing legal entity of the Soviet Union, Russia took up the responsibility for settling the USSR's external debts, even though its population made up just half of the population of the USSR at the time of its dissolution.[17] Where once all enterprises belonged to the state and were supposed to be equally owned amongst all citizens, they were privatized and fell into the hands of a few, who became immensely rich. Government employees, particularly medical doctors and teachers, do not receive their salaries for months, sometimes up to 6-8 months. It does not mean that they don't receive salaries at all. It started in early 90s, first as delays with payments. So the first time one received his salary a week later, then next month - 2 weeks later, and so on. Eventually it happens that in June you receive your salary for last December. One receives some money regularly, and he can survive, though the government owes him thousands. This way was quickly picked up by the other organizations, and now even if one works for a private company, he might not receive his salary on time. The government constantly promises to fix outdated payments, and pay pensions and salaries to people working in a budget system on time, but for many years it's only promises. Before the year 2000, the Russian tax system was very complicated. Counting all the taxes supposed to be paid, the total amount could reach 90%, including taxes on the salaries for employees. To pay 100 rubles to an employee, an employer had to pay about 80 rubles of tax to the state: pension funds, social insurance, medical insurance and so on. It has since been reworked to 13% flat tax on income.

Population Majority live in Western part of Russia. Why do you think this is so? Moscow has 11.5 million people; St. Petersburg 4.8 million; 10 other cities over 1 million people Mixed economy – Socialized public services but free market capitalism

CHERNOBYL 1986 A reactor overheated during a test of the reactors power supply causing causig radioactive material to spread into parts of Europe. Issues: Health problems for people and their unborn children continue in this area even today. The explosion at the power station and subsequent fires inside the remains of the reactor resulted in the development and dispersal of a radioactive cloud in a radius of approximately 28,000 km (over 10,000 square miles) which drifted not only over Russia, Belarus, andUkraine, but also over the European part of Turkey, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Finland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Poland, Estonia,Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Ireland, France, and Corsica.[7]), Canada[8] and the United Kingdom (UK).[9][10] In fact, the initial evidence in other countries that a major exhaust of radioactive material had occurred came not from Soviet sources, but from Sweden. It was Sweden's search for the source of radioactivity that led to the first hint of a serious nuclear problem in the Western Soviet Union. Contamination from the Chernobyl disaster was not evenly spread across the surrounding countryside, but scattered irregularly depending on weather conditions. Reports from Soviet and Western scientists indicate that Belarus received about 60% of the contamination that fell on the former Soviet Union. A large area in Russia south of Bryansk was also contaminated, as were parts of northwestern Ukraine. 203 people were hospitalized immediately, of whom 31 died. Most of these were fire and rescue workers trying to bring the disaster under control, who were not fully aware of how dangerous the radiation exposure was. 135,000 people were evacuated from the area. Health officials have predicted that over the next 70 years there will be a 2% increase in cancer rates in much of the population exposed to the radioactive contamination released from the reactor. Thyroid cancer has been the most common form of fatal cancer resulting from the accident. The so-called "Red Forest" of pine trees, previously known as Worm Wood Forest and located immediately behind the reactor complex, lay within a 10 km zone and was killed off by heavy radioactive fallout. The forest is so named because in the days following the disaster the trees appeared to have a deep red hue as they died because of extremely heavy radioactive fallout. In the post-disaster cleanup operations, a majority of the 4 km² forest was bulldozed and buried. The site of the Red Forest remains one of the most contaminated areas in the world.

The Shrinking Aral Sea 1960’s: Soviet Union diverted two rivers that fed the Aral Sea into the desert as irrigation for farming. Continues to shrink at an alarming rate. In the 1960s, the Soviet Union undertook a major water diversion project on the arid plains of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. The region’s two major rivers, fed from snowmelt and precipitation in faraway mountains, were used to transform the desert into fields for cotton and other crops. Before the project, the two rivers left the mountains, cut northwest through the Kyzylkum Desert—the Syr Darya to the north and the Amu Darya to the south—and finally pooled together in the lowest part of the desert basin. The lake they made, the Aral Sea, was once the fourth largest lake in the world. Picture on the left shows the Aral Sea in 1989. Picture on the right is from 2008. Kazakhstan is now undertaking efforts to save the Aral Sea, which is also very polluted. A dam project was completed in 2005 to this end, and the water level has risen modestly in response.