C.J. Cox Instructor

Former USSR Central & North Asia F Ten Geographic Qualities F Regions & States F Historical Geography F Physical Geography F Cultural Geography

Ten Geographic Qualities F 1. Region Covers 1/6 of world’s total landmass F 2. Most of region is at high latitudes which are cold, dry & harsh

Ten Geographic Qualities F 3. Russia has more neighbors than any other country F 4. Very small population for the land size & most are concentrated I the west F 5. Few good & suitably located ports - almost landlocked

Ten Geographic Qualities F 6. Multinational Empire dominated by Russia F 7.Large scale experiment in national economic planning –communisim F 8. Russia - divided by Ural mountains with European Russia to the West

Ten Geographic Qualities F 9. Hundreds of ethnic groups isolated by distance and geographic barriers F 10. Largest reserves of natural resources in the world

Relative Location of Former USSR

Former USSR Central & North Asia F Ten Geographic Qualities F Regions & States F Historical Geography F Physical Geography F Cultural Geography

States of the Former USSR F Russia F European States -Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Ukraine, Moldova, Belarus F Caucasus States - Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia F Central Asian States, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakstan, Turkmenistan & Kyrgyzstan

Former USSR Central & North Asia F Ten Geographic Qualities F Regions & States F Historical Geography F Physical Geography F Cultural Geography

Historical Geography Pre Tsarist - before Ivan IV - 16th century Tsarist Period 16th century to 1917 Cossackcs carried Russian presence to Pacific & Alaska Peter the Great Catherine Bolshevik Revolution 1917 Break -up of the Soviet Union 1991 Future of Russia?

Former USSR Central & North Asia F Ten Geographic Qualities F Regions & States F Historical Geography F Physical Geography F Cultural Geography

Physical Geography of Former USSR F Plate Tectonics F Plateaus F Deserts F Mountains F Rivers F Lakes F Climates

Physical Geography of Former USSR F Rivers –Volga –Ob –Lena –Don F Lakes –Baikal –Lodoga

Physical Geography of Former USSR F Seas –Aral –Barents –Bering –Okhotsk –Black –Caspian

Physical Geography of Former USSR F Landform Regions –Russian Plain –Ural Mountain –West Siberian Plain –Central Siberian Plateau –East Siberian Uplands –Kazak Uplands –Caucasus Mountains –Kamchatka Pennisula

Mountain Ranges Urals Caucasus Mountains

Physical Geography of Former USSR F Climates –North Asia is dominated by Snow Climates know as Humid Continental & Subartic –Central Asia is dominated by dry Desert & Steppe Climates –Mountainous regions provide a variety of Mid-latitude climates to Ice Climates

Former USSR Central & North Asia F Ten Geographic Qualities F Regions & States F Historical Geography F Physical Geography F Cultural Geography

Cultural Geography of Former USSR –Population –Languages –Religion –Agriculture –Economics –Historical Geography

Population per square kilometer

Cartogram of World Population

Dot Density Map Showing World Population

Russia: Kazakhstan: Kyrgyzstan: Tajikistan: Turkmenistan: Uzbekistan: Azerbaijan: Armenia: Georgia: Estonia: Latvia: Lithuania: Belarus: Ukraine: Moldova: Cultural Geography of Former USSR F Population –Population exceeds 300 million –concentration in western 1/3 of region –numerous ethnic groups in defined regions

Russia: 18 Kazakhstan: 25 Kyrgyzstan: 26 Tajikistan: 41 Turkmenistan: 46 Uzbekistan: 22 Azerbaijan: 23 Armenia: 14 Georgia: 17 Estonia: 15 Latvia: 19 Lithuania: 13 Belarus: 13 Ukraine: 14 Moldova: 21 Former USSR F Population Characteristics –Birth rates 9/1000 –Death rates 13/1000 –Natural Increase -.04.% –Infant Mortality 15/1000 –Doubling Time -----yrs –Pop <15 20% –Pop > 65 13%

Cultural Geography of Former USSR F Languages –Indo European dominates the region –Southern areas have large areas speaking Altaic Languages –Uralic Language Family originated in the Urals

Cultural Geography of Former USSR F Religions –Orthodox Christian dominates the Slavic Regions –Islam dominates the Central Asia Republics –Communism sought to eradicate traditional religions

Cultural Geography of Former USSR F Religion – Religious landscapes

Cultural Geography of Former USSR F Commercial Agriculture –Commercial Ranching –Commercial Diarying Nomadic Herding of the Central Asian Republics Absence of Agriculture in the northern latitudes

F Economy –large quantities of resources u many remotely located u many located under permafrost –large manufacturing sector of economy producing industrial goods –large non-skilled labor force Cultural Geography of Former USSR

F Cities are centers for manufacturing (secondary), F Developing Service industries as Capitalism matures as an economic system F Limited Information Technologies F Military Technologies remain

Former USSR Central & North Asia F Ten Geographic Qualities F Regions & States F Historical Geography F Physical Geography F Cultural Geography

C.J. Cox Instructor