2. Russia and the Republics span 11 time zones. The Ural Mountains are the continental boundary line for Europe and Asia. The word Caucasian comes from the Caucasus Mountains. The Asian part of Russia is known as Siberia. It is located east of the Urals. The Western Siberian Lowland is largest unbroken plain(1 million sq. mi.)- 5 x the size of Texas. The Tian Shan mountains along the borders of Kazakstan and Kyrgyzstan mean “Heavenly Mountains” in Chinese.

3. Siberia has the record for the coldest temperature outside of Antarctica. A -90°F has been recorded in Verkhoyansk (1892) and Oimekan (1933). The average winter temperature is -50°F. In the winter when Lake Baikal freezes, cargo trucks can drive on the ice to deliver their goods. It is “easier” to drive across Russia in winter than in summer. However, most roads are not paved and there is no highway system. It takes 7 days on the Trans-Siberian Railroad to travel from Moscow to Vladivostok. Until 1867, Alaska was a Russian territory. It was purchase for $7.2 million dollars. St. Petersburg’s name has changed 3 times since its creation in 1703. (Petrograd, Leningrad)

4. Karl Marx is considered the Father of Communism. He urged the workers of the world to unite. He was the inspiration of Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik (Russian) Revolution of 1917 and later leader of the Soviet Union. The USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) was created in 1924 and ended in 1991. The Soviet Union became a military and political superpower after World War II. Joseph Stalin (dictator: 1929-1953) was responsible for the enormous build-up of Soviet industry & military strength.

5. Stalin (#1) and Lenin (#5) are in the top 5 of the 20 th century’s megamurderers. Stalin (1929-53) is responsible for 42.6 million deaths and Lenin (1917-24) is responsible for 4 million.century’s megamurderers Stalin’s death average was 1,775,000 a year or 4,863 a day or 202.6 an hour or 3.37 a minute. 1945 to 1989 was known as the “Cold War”. The Soviet Union was behind an "iron curtain." People could neither leave nor enter without permission from the Soviet Government. Information going in and out of the U.S.S.R. was strictly regulated. The Soviet people did not have as much material wealth as Americans during the Communist Era. Consumer goods were nearly unavailable during Joseph Stalin’s rule.

6. Sputnik was the first satellite launched into orbit. Sputnik was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. The United States and the Soviet Union came close to nuclear war in 1962 because the Soviets built missiles in Cuba.

7. The Aral Sea was once the world’s 4 th largest lake, today it is less than half its original size due to river water being diverted into desert cotton fields.

8. The world’s worst nuclear disaster (prior to the Japanese earthquake in 2012) occurred in Chernobyl (Ukraine) in April 1986. The covering of a nuclear reactor exploded killing 31 people immediately. It took 2 days for the Soviet Union to admit that it occurred only after Western European sensors detected radioactive material in the air. The site continued to produce electricity until 2000.

9. 1. Russia- comes from Rus, a Scandanavian tribe led by Chief Rourik 2. Armenia- from an Aryan term harmini means “mountains of Minya” 3. Azerbaijan- Persian origin, azer- “fire” & baijan- “keeper” 4. Estonia- from a tribe of people called Est and Latinized to Estonian 5. Georgia- Greek origin, georgos- “farmer” 6. Kazakhstan- Turkic origin, stan- “district”, “district of the Kazakhs” Kazakhs- “riders” 7. Kyrgyzstan- Persian origin, Kirghiz ethnic group, means “desert rangers” 8. Turkmenistan- from Turki tribes, “district of the Turki” 9. Latvia- the people are called Lett, tribal distortion of Leituva 10. Lithuania- same as Lativa, tribal distortion of Leituva 11. Tajikistan- Turkic origin, “district of the Tadzhiks” 12. Uzbekistan- Turkic origin, ‘district of the Uzbeks”, Uzbek comes from Uzbeg Khan a descendant of Genghis Khan 13. Ukraine- Slavic origin, means “frontier” and “boundary” 14. Moldova- tribal name, origin is ancient and obscure 15. Belarus- Russian words byel- white & Rus- Russian. White Russia b/c of the strong use of white in the national costume.