1. Russia

2. Map: Physical

3. Physical Geography Major features Fun Facts
Ural (Right) and Cacausus Mountains
Russian Steppe (Flat grassland)
Lake Baikal (Deepest Lake)
Volga, Don, Moskva, and Neva Rivers
Song of the Volga Boatmen with video of the Volga River
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Siberian Taiga (Coniferous Forest) (Bottom)
Fun Facts
Roughly 2x the size of the US
Shares a border with 15 countries in 2 continents

4. Climate Deep Cold in winter Warm/hot in Summer (70’s to 100’s F)
Temps vary depending on region
Climate zones include: Continental, Tundra, Sub-Arctic, and Arctic
Sochi in Summer
St. Petersburg in Winter
‘Ded Moroz’ (Grandpa Frost), the Russian Santa Claus

5. “Pod-moskovniye Vechera”
The “White Nights”
Russian Lullaby
Natural Phenomena where the sun doesn’t completely set
Why? Because Moscow and St. Petersburg are so far north
Pic of St. Petersburg at midnight during the ‘White Nights’ lasting from late may to early june

6. Human Geography Population: 142 million Ethnicities:
Russians: 77.7%
Tatars: 3.7%
Ukrainian: 1.4%
Other: 17.2% (split between 200 other ethnic groups)
Population Density: Concentrated mostly West of the Urals in the cities. Pockets of density found around stops along the Trans-Siberian Railroad
Major Cities by Population:
Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Ekaterinburg, Nizhniy Novgorod, Samara, Volgagrad
Government:
“Semi-presidential Federation” (Really an Autocracy under Putin, but don’t tell anyone)
Current Leaders: President Vladimir Putin and Premier Dmitrii Medveydev

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8. Culture of Russia East Meets West
‘Chai’ tea, black bread, beet soup (Borsh’), pickles, and ALL of the sour cream and dill
Russian Samovar (Tea cooker)

9. Russian Culture Russian Nesting Dolls (got the idea from Japan)
Faberge Eggs (got the idea from France)
Black Lacquer Boxes (Homegrown)

10. Religion in Russia Predominently Russian Orthodox Christian
Roughly half of the population
Official Religions: Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Buddhism

11. Russia Today Russian annexation of Crimea Russia vs ‘The West’
Russia orchestrated and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine, helping the Ukrainian Civil War become more violent
Has been supporting Eastern Ukrainian Rebels (The Donbass) who want to become independent from Ukraine, and join the Russian Federation
Russia vs ‘The West’
Russia under Putin sees itself as fighting to preserve its own culture, history, and heritage against the influence of ‘The West’ (Europe and the US).
Believes in traditional ‘Russian’ values such as ‘traditional families’ and ‘traditional culture’ that often times clash with Western values
Russia has used this as an excuse to oppress minorities in their country
Church and State are intrinsically linked, not separated.