1. Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
World Geography Today
4/17/2017
Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
Preview
Section 1: Natural Environments
Section 2: History and Culture
Section 3: The Region Today
Chapter Wrap-Up
Chapter 17

2. Section 1: Natural Environments
Read to Discover
What landforms and rivers are found in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus?
What factors influence the region’s climates and vegetation?
What natural resources does the region have?

3. Section 1: Natural Environments
World Geography Today
4/17/2017
Section 1: Natural Environments
Rivers
Dnieper River
Don River
Yenisey River
Angara River
Lena River
Ob River
Volga River
Landforms
Ural Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
Pripet Marshes
Carpathian Mountains
Crimean Peninsula
Siberian Plains
Kamchatka Peninsula
Russia Ukraine Belarus
Climates/Vegetation
Humid continental
Subarctic
Tundra in the north
Taiga forest in the south
Deciduous-coniferous forest in the far south
Steppe south
Natural Resources
Wood from forests
Gold and diamonds
Coal, hydroelectricity, oil, and gas, geothermal
Copper, iron ore, manganese, nickel, and platinum
Chapter 17

4. Section 1: Natural Environments
Landforms
Ural Mountains—Divide Eurasia
Caucasus Mountains—Between Black and Caspian Seas
Northern European Plain—Covers most of European area
Pripet Marshes—Largest swamp in Europe
Carpathian Mountains—Cross the Ukraine’s western borders

5. Section 1: Natural Environments
Landforms (continued)
Crimean Peninsula—Southeastern Ukraine
Volga River Basin—Dominates the heart of Russia
West Siberian Plain—East of the Urals, with huge swamp
Central Siberian Plateau—West of Kamchatka
Siberian Mountains—Include volcanoes of Kamchatka Peninsula

6. Section 1: Natural Environments
Rivers
Dnieper, Don, and Volga—Key south-flowing rivers; shipping, hydroelectric power, water for cities
Ob, Yenisey, and Lena—Major Siberian rivers; flow into Arctic Ocean
Angara—Flows through southern Siberia from Lake Baikal

7. Section 1: Natural Environments
Climate and Vegetation
Russia’s climate and vegetation are influenced by latitude, winds and ocean currents, and the size of the land mass.
Location in northern latitudes produces cold, harsh weather.
During coldest months, rivers and canals freeze. A polluted icy fog often hangs over cities.
When permafrost melts, buildings tilt, highways buckle, and railroad tracks slip sideways.
Siberian interior is too large to receive mild ocean winds, making it very dry and cold.

8. Section 1: Natural Environments
Climate and Vegetation (continued)
Moist winds from the Atlantic Ocean produce milder climate in European portion.
Coastal areas of Russian Far East receive rain-bearing winds from Pacific Ocean.
Climate affects vegetation, north to south
Tundra—Low shrubs, mosses, wildflowers
Taiga—Forest, mainly evergreen
Mixed forest—Mixed deciduous-coniferous forest
Steppe grasslands—Major grain-producing area

9. Section 1: Natural Environments
Natural Resources
Lumber and paper pulp from the taiga forests
Gold and diamonds in eastern Siberia
Key oil and gas reserves in Caspian Sea area, Volga River basin, Ob River basin
Geothermal power in Far East
Mines in Russia and Ukraine—Coal, copper, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, platinum

10. Section 2: History and Culture
Read to Discover
What are some major events in the growth of the Russian Empire?
How did the Soviet Union develop, and what was life like for its citizens?
What are some features of the region’s culture?

11. Section 2: History and Culture
Question
What are some of the major events in the growth of the Russian Empire?

12. Section 2: History and Culture
1547 Ivan the Terrible crowns himself czar of all Russia—north of Kiev to the Arctic Ocean and east to the Urals.
1100s Eastern, or Orthodox, Christianity is the main religion of Kiev.
1800s Russians spread into the Caucasus and Central Asia.
800
1100
1400
1500
1600
1800
1900
800s Kiev becomes an important trade center for the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea areas.
Late 1400s Prince Ivan III, of Moscow, wins control over parts of Russia from the Mongols.
1637 Explorers reach the Pacific coast at the Sea of Okhotsk.
1905 Russia retreats to its present-day boundaries with China and North Korea after losing a war to Japan.
1917 The czar resigns and the Bolsheviks overthrow the government in the Russian Revolution.

13. Section 2: History and Culture
Growth of the Russian Empire
Slavs settled region, and by 800s Kiev was an important trade center.
Mongols conquered Russia in the 1200s.
Russian kingdom of Muscovy emerged.
Czar Ivan IV conquered lands and built empire.
Russian trappers and pioneers settled eastern territory.
Peter the Great added Baltic lands, Belarus, and Ukraine by 1725.

14. Section 2: History and Culture
Growth of the Russian Empire (continued)
Catherine the Great expanded south, adding non-Russian peoples.
Later expansion included Caucasus and Central Asia, Alaska, Amur River region.
In the 1800s, industrialization began, and the serfs were freed.
The czar abdicated in 1917, clearing the way for the Bolsheviks to overthrow the government in the Russian Revolution.

15. Section 2: History and Culture
The Soviet Union
Bolsheviks established communism based on the ideas of Karl Marx.
The workers were to elect soviets to govern locally.
Communists restructured Russian Empire as the Soviet Union, with 15 republics.
Soviet leaders set up one-party state; Stalin ruled brutally.
Command economy produced few quality goods.

16. Section 2: History and Culture
The Soviet Union (continued)
State-run farms were unproductive; millions of peasants died.
Personal freedoms were strictly limited; people were sent to labor camps.
Soviet leaders tried to stop religious worship.
Some success achieved in education, health care, and employment.
Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991.

17. Section 2: History and Culture
Cultural Features
Countries share a strong sense of Slavic culture.
Many non-Slavic peoples live in the Caucasus; language and culture vary.
Societies are highly urbanized.
All three countries are losing population.
Main religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Food reveals influence of cold climates.
Rural residents live in wood homes in the north, sod homes on the steppe.

18. Section 3: The Region Today
Read to Discover
How have the economies of areas within the region developed?
What challenges does the region face?

19. Section 3: The Region Today
Question
What factors contribute to the economic development of the region?

20. Section 3: The Region Today
St. Petersburg Region
Westernized, good transportation, trade with European cities, chemicals, machinery, ships, textiles, draws tourists and high-tech industries
Volga and Urals
Heavy industry, abundant hydroelectricity, refineries and petrochemicals, car and truck factories, mineral resources and smelters
Siberia
Trans-Siberian Railroad; furs, gold, lumber, mining, and oil; small labor force with high wages
The Russian Far East
Factories, forest and mineral resources, naval bases, commercial fishing, oil
Economic Development
Moscow Region
Economic center, transportation hub, higher education, finance, access to raw materials, millions of Russian workers
Belarus and Minsk
Few resources, educated labor force, wood product industries, peat, outdated plants
Ukraine and Kiev
Centrally located; rich agricultural, energy, industrial, and human resources; fruits, vegetables, animal products; heavy industry; metalworking

21. Section 3: The Region Today
Challenges
Political and Economic
Resolving tensions over reform and among ethnic groups
Finding solutions to unemployment and crime; gap between rich and poor
Modernizing the economy and improving production
Geographical
Curbing migration, which is emptying regions
Repairing and stemming environmental damage

22. Chapter Wrap-Up Understanding the Main Ideas
World Geography Today
4/17/2017
Chapter Wrap-Up Understanding the Main Ideas
What are the main physical characteristics of the two huge areas west and east of the Ural Mountains?
What are some resources that Russia has in large quantities?
Across what physical region did early migrants come to Russia and its neighbors? How did those newcomers shape the region’s culture?
Where do most of the region’s people live?
What environmental problems remain from the Soviet era?
Chapter 17