1. 5.1 | Culture and Environment
Russia
5.1 | Culture and Environment

2. Russian Cultural Variety - O
Germans
The Eastern Roman Empire
The first “Russians” were a Slavic people
Russians are the largest group of Slavic people
Slavic people developed their own culture
Separate from Germans [west]
Separate from Greeks [south]
By the 11th century AD, the Slavs were converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity

3. Russia and the Environment - O
Early Slavic people were subject to the continuous movement of peoples
The Russian steppe “autobahn”
Originally, they were mostly agrarian like other peoples
Major Russian rivers were used as transport systems
Dnieper, Don, Volga

4. Russian Culture - Development
Because of the steppe, many Asian peoples migrated to Russia
Slavic people constantly dealt with invaders
The Mongols would conquer all of Russia in the 13th century AD
Russian Tatars [Turkic-speaking peoples in Russia]
By the 14th century AD, the Slavs began to fight back
Dmitry Donskoy of Moscow
By the 16th century AD, the Russians were the most powerful group
Ivan III the Great, Moscow, and “Third Rome”

5. Russia and the Environment - D
As the Russian people expanded, so too did their reach on environment
Colonization of the east
Siberia and Alaska
Expansion into Europe [west] – Peter the Great
Wanted to “Westernize” Russia: St. Petersburg
Expansion south – Catherine the Great
The Black Sea
The Industrial Revolution was slow on Russia
Remained primarily agrarian despite reforms
The West feared the “Eastern Giant”

6. Russian Culture - T Russian culture today is predominately Slavic
“Pan-Slavism” – seen as the “big brother” of the smaller Slavic nations
Issues with transformation from communism to capitalism
Some cultural longing for the Soviet Union
Most Russians live west of the Ural Mountains
Ethnic diversity dependent upon location

7. Russia and the Environment - T
The Soviet Union [USSR] 1922
Rapid industrialization – the “5-Year Plan”
Collectivization and centralization
Massive construction projects
Toil on the environment
Post-WW2 [1945]
Even greater industry expansion
Rampant, unchecked pollution
Stories of Eastern European coal plants
Toll on Eastern Bloc
Post-USSR [1991]
Pollution issues still a plague on Russia and Eastern Europe, though better