The Giant of Eastern Europe Russia The Giant of Eastern Europe

Objectives Give a basic definition of communism. Describe a buffer state. Why might a buffer state be useful? Name and describe the conflict that centered around Russia and the United States in the Twentieth Century. Describe the area, climate, and resources of Siberia. Understand the difference between European Russia and Siberian Russia.

Terms and Places W A R S A W P A C T S O V I E T U N I O N Soviet Union or USSR was a single nation of many ethnic groups controlled by Russia. Russia The Soviet Union Warsaw Pact was an alliance of nations controlled by Russia. The Warsaw Pact Cold War was a conflict between the Warsaw Pact and NATO. NATO Buffer state is a weaker nation that lies between unfriendly stronger nations. Russia W A R S A W P A C T The Soviet states create a buffer for Russia. NATO S O V I E T U N I O N The Warsaw Pact nations create a buffer for Soviet Union.

Terms and Places Soviet Union or USSR was a single nation of many ethnic groups controlled by Russia. Warsaw Pact was an alliance of nations controlled by Russia. Cold War was a conflict between the Warsaw Pact and NATO. Buffer state is a weaker nation that lies between unfriendly stronger nations. Volga is the name of the longest river in Europe. Communism is an economic system which bans private property. Baikal is the largest lake in the world by volume.

Physical Geography

Russia is larger than the United States, including Alaska.

Where are the borders of Russia? Russia is bordered on the north by the Arctic Ocean To the east lies eastern Europe. It is bordered on the east by the Pacific Ocean. Russia and Kazakhstan share vast plains called steppes. Where are the borders of Russia? Mountains separate Russia from Mongolia and China.

Siberia includes a great lake, called Baikal. Lake Baikal has more water than any other lake. Its fresh water is home to seals and other wildlife usually found in salt water.

What are the physical features of European Russia? Ural Mountains Great Plains crossed with rivers The most important river in Russia is the Volga. The Volga flows into the Caspian Sea.

It also has Great Seas in each corner. White Sea Ural Mountains It also has Great Seas in each corner. Baltic Sea Caspian Sea Black Sea

The Volga is the longest river in Europe. The Volga also drains a larger area than any other river in Europe. Eleven of the twenty largest cities of Russia, including the capital, Moscow, lie in the Volga Drainage Basin. The Russians love this river and often refer to it as “Mother Volga”. The Volga remains an important river for shipping. “Mother Volga”

Populations

This region is called “European Russia.” Ural Mountains Ural Mountains Most of the population of Russia is west of the Ural Mountains.

Many people living in Russia are not Russians.

History

Growth of Russian Empire

Criminals and those that disagreed with the czar were often sent to Siberia to live. Russia was ruled for centuries by emperors called czars, including Ivan the Terrible.

Another Czar, Peter the Great, tried to modernize Russia.

Lenin The Czars lasted until World War One. By that time, Russia was an Empire, dominating countries like Finland, Poland, and Ukraine. During the World War One, a revolution overthrew the Czar. Lenin The new leaders called themselves Communists. They shot the Czar and his family.

However, these gains were completed at a great cost However, these gains were completed at a great cost. People were forced to work and were fed little. They often died doing this work. They called the work camps gulags. The Soviet Union made great efforts to catch up with Western Europe and the United States, such as digging this canal between the White Sea and the Baltic Sea.

Other slave-labor sites in the Soviet Union included mines in frozen Siberia or building the Trans-Siberian Railway. The labor force was almost entirely made up of "enemies of the people" - prisoners convicted of "political" offences. Trans-Siberian Railway

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18116112

Soviet Russia was controlled by dictators like Lenin and Stalin. After World War II, the Soviet Union controlled almost all of Eastern Europe. Stalin

Soviet Union Russia Warsaw Pact Ukraine Poland Belarus Baltics Hungary Czechoslovakia Baltics Hungary Buffer States

Poland Poland Czech-Slovakia Czech Slovakia Hungary Romania Hungary Romania Bulgaria Bulgaria Until 1989, Russia was the Soviet Union and controlled the Warsaw Pact. After1989, Russia lost the Soviet Union countries, lost the Warsaw Pact, and now is in danger of losing Ukraine.

Russian cotleta Pelmeni - small balls of minced meat covered with pastry Berry Piroshky Golubci - minced meat covered with a cabbage leaf  Borscht – beet soup served cold

Name the largest city in Eastern Europe. Name the economic system that dominated Russia for most of the Twentieth Century. Moscow Communism Name the longest river in Europe. Briefly describe the system of communism. The Volga Under communism, there is no private property; the government owns everything. Which of the following most challenges Russia’s ability to defend itself? Russia’s north is permanently frozen. Russia’s south is blocked with mountains that are difficult to cross. Russia’s west has no defensible barriers like seas and mountains. The Pacific Coast is swampy and Russians cannot built rail there.

Please read “Imperial Russia to the Soviet Union.” World Studies: Europe and Russia. Pearson-Prentice-Hall, 2005. pgs. 62-69. About 6 ½ pages And “Russia: A Huge Country Takes a New Path.” World Studies: Europe and Russia. Pearson-Prentice-Hall, 2005. pgs. 198-204. corruption, post-communism, Chechnya, Siberia, Moscow. About 4 ½ - 5 pages

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Extra Material

Moscow The Volga The Kremlin The Russian Great Lakes https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8BJd--JfTQ

Tsar or Czar is the name of the king or emperor of Russia. Russian Federation is an alliance of Eastern Europe controlled by Russia today.