1. Russia and the Republics
Physical and Human Geography

2. Russia Basic Information
World’s largest country
Covers 11 different time zones
Lies on both Europe and Asia
75% of Russia’s population lives in European Russia

3. Republics Basic information
14 nations that used to be a part of the Soviet Union
Post- Soviet nations separated in 1991 after fall of communism
Led to a loss of ¼ of Russia’s land

4. Physical Geography- land
Northern areas made up mostly of plains
Ural Mountains separates the two continents
Caucasus Mountains in the South
Siberia in the north
Covered in ice
Cold and dry

5. Physical Geography- Water
Surrounded by seas
Aral, Baltic, Bering, Black, Sea of Japan
Aral is slowly depleting
World’s largest freshwater lake
Lake Baikal
Rivers used for trade and transportation
Volga is the most important

6. Physical geography- climate
Russia tends to be colder than other nations on same lines of latitude
European part warmer than Asian
Due to few ocean currents to warm air
Little precipitation
Permafrost
Permanently frozen soil
When it thaws, soil becomes like quicksand

7. Learning Task
Use the atlas to complete your map
Map Quiz on Tuesday, January 12

8. Talk about it Tuesday
Think about how physical features can impact the history and culture of a nation/region.
List three for each question below along with a short reason of how/why.
What physical features positively impact a nation/region?
What physical features negatively impact a nation/region?

9. Geography Influences History in Russia
History greatly impacted by physical make-up of land, resources available, and climate
Easily accessible from West
Cold climate provides protection
Vast amount of land makes entire region hard to take over

10. Learning Task
Read the article from The Atlantic: Russia and the Curse of Geography
As you read, mark the text.
Circle words you don’t know…define them in the margin.
Summarize each bolded section in the margin.
Underline relevant information.
Answer the questions scattered throughout the text.
You will get some of class tomorrow to work on this as well!

11. Map Monday What is this map showing?
What is the purpose of what this map is demonstrating?
How many divisions are there in Russia (in green on the smaller map)?