Russia and its Former Republics Physical Geography

Crossing the “ Wild East ” at the end of the 19th century Siberia was like the Wild West they built the Trans-Siberian Railroad that would link Moscow to the Pacific

1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall…

…marked the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union (USSR)

The fall of the USSR in 1991 initiated a number of issues in the region

1. Regional Conflicts

Transcaucasia and Eastern Europe: many ethnic groups

When the Soviet Union fell from power… People’s loyalties fell back on their own ethnic groups Czechs: Czech Republic Slovakia: Slovakians Croatia: Croatians Serbia: Serbians Chechnya: Chechen This has caused numerous problems….

Major areas of conflict A. Chechnya: Remained a part of Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union but have fought for independence from Russia Russia has invaded more than once to prevent its desired independence Why? Oil and other valuable natural resources in the region

B. The Balkans

South Slavs: the Croats, Slovenes and Serbs Each formed its own kingdom on the Balkan Peninsula In 1929 the kingdoms were combined into what we know as Yugoslavia Bad Blood: During WW2, the Croats cooperated with the Nazis and its leaders were responsible for the massacre of many Jews and Serbs

After the war, Josip Tito became the Communist dictator of Yugoslavia and encouraged citizens to think of themselves as Yugoslavs In 1946, a new constitution organized Yugoslavia into a nation of 6 republics: Bosnia, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia and Slovenia

When the Soviet Union fell in 1991, several of these republics declared independence based on ethnic divisions The Serbs, a very large and powerful ethnic group, tried to prevent these regions from leaving Yugoslavia using military tactics, murder and other forms of violence such as ethnic cleansing (the policy of eliminating an ethnic group through violence)

NATO troops were finally called in but not before 200,000 people were killed and millions had fled for their lives

2. Economic Reform When the Soviet Union fell, the economy, once completely controlled by the government, fell apart also. The new government tried privatizaton, meaning selling government businesses to private citizens. In other words - capitalism

If the Russian economy is a dinosaur…

What would it be if it looked like this?

3. Chernobyl, Ukraine Chernobyl – a 1986 explosion of a nuclear plant in western Russia. This occurred largely because of lack of government efficiency and regard for safety.

The explosion contaminated 100,000 square miles of land in the Ukraine, Russia & Belarus 250,000 people were evacuated from the area Cost related to incident is estimated to be over $300 billion This incident is related to illnesses in the region, including cancer, especially in children “Chernobyl Heart”