1. Russia and Neighboring Countries
Chapter Four
Russia and Neighboring Countries

2. Countries Redefine Their Relationships
Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
The Slavic Countries
Russia (The Russian Federation), Ukraine, Belarus, plus Moldova
The Southern Caucasus
Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan
Central Asia
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan

3. Crossroads, Imperialism, and Cultural Diversity
Eastern Slavs
Rus
Muscovy
The Russian Empire
The Soviet Union
Five-Year Plans
Command economy
Central planning
World War II

4. Natural Environment Midlatitude Continental Interior Climates
Continentality
Southern Mountain Wall
The Caucasus Mountains
Pamir Mountains
Tien Shan Mountains
(Ural Mountains)

5. Natural Environment (cont’d)
Plateaus, Plains, and Major River Valleys
Central Siberian Plateau
North European Plain
Siberian Plains
Don and Volga Rivers flow into the
Black Sea
Amu Darya and Syr Darya Rivers flow into the Caspian Sea
Ob, Yeniesy, and Lena flow into the
Arctic Ocean

6. Natural Environment (cont’d)
Desert, Grassland, Forest, and Tundra
Steppe grasslands
Black earth soils (chernozems)
Brown earth soils
Podzol soils
Northern coniferous forest
Tundra
Permafrost

7. Natural Environment (cont’d)
Natural Resources
Mineral resources
Metallic minerals (iron, gold, etc.)
Diamonds
Fuels
Coal, oil, natural gas, and uranium
Timber

8. Natural Environment (cont’d)
Environmental Problems
Oil pipeline breaks and leakages
Norilsk Metallurgical Combine
Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion
Shrinking of the Aral Sea
Sumgait industrial area
The Black Sea

9. Global Changes and Local Responses
Communism at an Economic Standstill
The military
Natural resource use
Labor
Central planning
Perestroika and Glasnost
Global City Regions
Moscow

10. Point-Counterpoint Russia: Still a World Power?
Russia lost possession of 14 republics (now independent countries) and sizable populations and resources.
COUNTERPOINT
Russia’s heartland remains together, and Russia is still the largest country in the world, with a sizable population and considerable resources.

11. Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)
Russia’s international power is undermined by the presence of 25 million Russians who now find themselves as ethnic minorities in other countries. Russia must be careful not to offend these other countries and thereby endanger the Russians who live in them. Russia may have to make economic concessions to these countries to protect Russian minorities in them.
Russians living as ethnic minorities in other countries increase Russia’s political influence in those countries because they can vote and hold political office. Russia can also pressure those countries on behalf of Russians living in them. The Russian minorities also strengthen Russia’s trading links with these countries.

12. Point-Counterpoint (cont’d) POINT COUNTERPOINT
The Russian government has been ineffective in controlling independence movements in its own republics. Its has been condemned for human rights violations in Chechnya. Its military is underpaid, unprepared, and demoralized. Russia was unable to control the conflict in the former Yugoslavia and the expansion of NATO.
Russia gained sympathy from the United States for its “war on terrorism” in Chechnya. Russian soldiers are very patriotic, as in the past, and Russia is a nuclear power. With peacekeeping troops in the former Yugoslavia, Russia influences events in that area of the world. Russia also now has a voice in NATO’s affairs.

13. Point-Counterpoint (cont’d)
With rampant corruption, Russia’s economy is weak and has floundered since the end of Communism in Russia is unable to capitalize on selling its vast resources on the world market. Its control of Caspian Sea oil is questionable. Russia has little influence in global economic organizations.
Russia’s economy is steadily improving, and the government is fighting corruption. Russia has signed agreements to supply oil to other countries and is able to control the flow of oil from the Caspian Sea. Russia has joined the Group of Seven (G7), making the organization the Group of Eight (G8).

14. Subregions The Slavic Countries The Southern Caucasus Central Asia
The Russian Federation, Ukraine, Belarus, including neighboring Moldova
The Southern Caucasus
Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
Central Asia
Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan

15. Population Distribution and Patterns
Subregions (cont’d)
Population Distribution and Patterns
Highest concentrations in western Russia, along the Trans-Siberian Railway, the valleys of the Caucasus Mountains, and the irrigated valleys of Central Asia.
Low numbers in the mountains, permafrost areas of the north, and deserts of Central Asia.

16. The Slavic Countries
In transition from Communism to more capitalistic economies and democratic governments.
Russia
The world’s largest country
Has close ties with the other Slavic countries
Is a nuclear power

17. The Slavic Countries (cont’d)
The Russian Federation
Ukraine
Belarus
Moldova

18. The Slavic Countries (cont’d)
People
Population decline in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and Belarus and population growth in Moldova
Urban Population
Urban Landscapes
Visual symbolism
Secret Cities
Culture
Mostly Eastern Slavic and Eastern Orthodox Christian

19. The Slavic Countries (cont’d)
Human Rights
Gulag (Glavnoe upravlenie ispravitel
no-trudovykh lagerei—"Main Directorate for Corrective Labor Camps")
Women’s Roles

20. The Slavic Countries (cont’d)
Economic Development
Agriculture
Virgin Lands Campaign

21. The Slavic Countries (cont’d)
The Russian Federation
Political Divisions (Krays, oblasts, okrugs)
Autonomous political units
North European and Middle Volga—Urals
North Caucasus
Siberia and the Far East
Territories of the Far North

22. The Slavic Countries (cont’d)
Heartland and Hinterland in Russia
Foreign Investment
Trade
Science, Sports, and Society

23. The Southern Caucasus Countries Mountainous Caspian Sea oil
New countries, ancient peoples
Countries
Georgia
Armenia
Azerbaijan

24. The Southern Caucasus (cont’d)
People
Most Armenians and Azerbaijanis do not live in their own countries.
Slow growth rates in Georgia and Armenia and modest growth in Azerbaijan.
Urbanization
Culture
Very diverse
Georgians & Armenians are Christian, Azerbaijanis are Muslim

25. The Southern Caucasus (cont’d)
Ethnic Peace and Conflict
Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia
Armenian diaspora
Armenia/Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh

26. The Southern Caucasus (cont’d)
Economic Development
Agriculture
Industry
Oil
Tourism

27. Central Asia Countries Kazakhstan Turkmenistan Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan
Landlocked and arid
Great Silk Road
Muslim
A land called Turkestan
Countries
Kazakhstan
Turkmenistan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Uzbekistan

28. Central Asia (cont’d) People
Growing population with modestly high TFRs
Urbanization
Lowest rates in the CIS
Culture
Many of their ancestors were nomadic
Turkic, Mongolian, and Persian roots
Subject to Russification policies
Muslim

29. Central Asia (cont’d) Ethnic Conflict
Soviet manipulations of boundaries, identities, and movements of peoples
Russian settlement
Central Asians as minorities in one another’s countries

30. Central Asia (cont’d) Economic Development Cotton production
Oil and natural gas
Transportation linkages
Water