Unit 5 Russia and Central Asia

Physical Characteristics The land area for this region covers 8.5 million sq. miles and spans 11 time zones

Northern Landforms The northern landforms include part of the North European Plain 75% of the people in this region live in this area The land here is good for farming; the soil is black in color due to the nutrients in the soil (chernozem) The Ural Mts. divide the continents of Europe and Asia This area also includes Siberia

Southern Landforms This area of this region is mountainous and semiarid due to its relationship with bodies of water The Caucasus Mts. Are located here as well as the Tian Shan Mts.; these mountain chains prevent moisture from entering the region There are two deserts located within this region (Kara Kum and Kyzyl Kum)

Rivers and Lakes This region has many rivers which drain into the surrounding waters and are used for hydroelectric power Saltwater lakes within this region include the Caspian Sea (the worlds largest), the Black Sea, and the Aral Sea Freshwater lakes include Lake Baikal (the world’s deepest)

Resources Coal, iron ore, oil, and natural gas Resources are abundant here but can be hard to get to and remove due to the terrain and distance from other areas Most of the resources are located in Siberia which has arctic and sub-arctic conditions year round

Climate and Vegetation The most dominant climate regions are humid continental and sub arctic, but the climates do vary The vast distance over the land reduces the amount of moisture because of its distance from the water (continentalality) Central Asia countries have dry climates due to the mountains The Transcaucasian nations (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) have Mediterranean climates due to the location near the Mediterranean Sea The vegetation includes large areas of tundra, permafrost, taiga and steppe

Government This region was once inhabited by the Vikings and the Mongols By the 1400’s the Rus had pushed the Mongols out of this region and established an empire In 1917 the citizens of Russia led a revolt against the czar led by V.I. Lenin This revolution known as the Bolshevik Revolution would establish Communism In 1922 the Soviet Union (USSR) was formed, and their communist government would control most aspects of its citizens lives After WWII the USSR would take over much of Eastern Europe and Central Asia

In 1985 the leader of the USSR (Gorbachev) allowed more political and economic freedoms, not the strict rule of communism In 1991 the USSR fell apart and 15 independent republics were formed Today most of these republics, led by Russia, have some form of democracy These republics are still adjusting to democracy

Economy The USSR had a command economy where the government controlled production and distributed wealth to its people The Soviet government took control of the resources of the nations, which included mining and agriculture The USSR built collective farms where several farms in one area were working together to produce the same goods The USSR built up the cotton production in the Central Asian nations by building irrigation systems to bring water to these areas

The USSR built the Trans-Siberian Railroad to get to their resources and use them in industry Since the fall of the USSR in 1991 the republics have had trouble adapting to a capitalistic economy (free market) The technology had to be updated and they had to switch some factories from heavy industry to light industry Today these nations play to their strengths and establish their economies around what they do well; in the West they farm (wheat), Russia is still industrial, and Central Asia is agricultural (cotton)

Culture This region has a diverse society In Central Asia the peoples are of Turkic and Mongolian heritage In the West the people are descendents of the Russian and Finnish groups Under Soviet control religion was prohibited, now Orthodox Christianity is practice in the West and Islam and Buddhism is practiced in the Central Asian Republics The onion shaped domed roofs are major architectural style in this region and were developed to keep the snow off the roof tops and collapsing

The Central Asian nations use their textile industries to create oriental style rugs Some people in the Central Asian nations still live a nomadic lifestyle and live in yurts People in this region continue to hold on to their traditional values and customs while adapting to new ideas and technology –Ex. Faberge eggs, matrioshka dolls, samovars (tea pots), ballet

Human and Environment Interaction The Aral Sea has been shrinking since 1960 (80% loss of water) The water from the Aral Sea is mainly used for irrigation Runoff from fertilizers in the surrounding fields has contaminated the water causing disease Pollution is a major concern for this region The Soviets increased their industrial power quickly and overlooked environmental issues in doing so Air pollution and water pollution are both concerns from unclean industry

Extremes in the Siberian weather creates problems for those who live there Since most of the land is permafrost is thaws and freezes In the warmer months the ice melts and leaves stagnant water and mosquitoes that spread disease The thawing and freezing of the land creates building concerns and buildings are built on concrete pillars so they do not sink

Places and things of interest Russia and Central Asia

Red Square, Moscow

Kremlin in Moscow

St. Basils Cathedral

St. Petersburg, Russia

Soviet style apartments

Mosque in Kyrgyzstan

Mosque in Kazakhstan

Faberge Egg

Samovar used to heat water and brew tea

Nomadic yurt