1. Russia: an Introduction
Geographic Feature
Demographic Features
Back in the USSR

2. Russian Federation Measurements
Capital: Moscow
Population: roughly million
Annual Population Growth: -.6
Urban Population: 73%
Ethnic Composition (to name a few):
Russian: 81.5%
Tatar: 3.8%
Ukrainian: 3.0%
Major Languages: Russian
Religious Affiliation:
Russian Orthodox: 16.3%
Muslim: 10.0%
Labor Structure:
Agriculture: 4.9%
Industry: 33.9%
Services: 61.2%
Life Expectancy: 65.7%
Adult Illiteracy: 0%
Access to Information (per 1,000 people):
Telephone Lines: 243
Mobile Phones: 38
Radios: 418
Televisions: 538
Personal Computers: 49.7

3. Why Study Russia? The Soviet Union was established in 1917
World’s first communist state
Became a beacon for Communists everywhere
Provoked strong reactions from its critics
Rapid growth of the USSR deepened the tensions between Russia and the US
Cold War enveloped the globe for upwards to 50 years
Observers feared Cold War would lead to a final, violent conflict between the two systems
Soviet demise did not end in violence, but with a collapse
New generation of Soviet leaders in the 1980s tried to inject change in the old Communist system
Reforms failed and Revolutionary changes took root
The Soviet Union dissolved (devolution) into 15 independent countries
Known today as the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
Success of revolutionary changes and whether Russia is a true democracy is still in question
It’s uneven, at best
Democratic institutions remain weak
Public cynicism pervades society
Civil freedoms have declined
Russians have grown poorer over past 15 years
Power is concentrated in the hands of the elite
Optimists counter that the country is moving forward despite having no real history of democracy or capitalism
The system does conduct open elections
Growing number of businesses and a growing middle class point to economic progress
Reconstruction is not complete, country remains in transition but path it takes will help shape its global role

4. Annual income per capita in Russia (USD)

5. Russia’s Geography Russia is 4x the size of the US
Covers 11 time zones
Most of population is concentrated in the western region
East (Siberia) is relatively flat and sparsely populated
As Americans moved west in 19th century, Russians moved east
Harsh climate and soil didn’t lend to individualism
State could function more effectively where it developed infrastructure
Russia is not isolated; shares a border with at least 14 other countries
Centuries of invasions from Asia and Europe w/out physical isolation
Rich in wood, oil, natural gas, gold, nickel, diamonds
Many are concentrated in Siberia and hard to extract
Environmental concerns from extraction of resources, but exploitation will continue

6. Russian Diversity & Tensions
Former USSR countries have Russian minorities
Heightened nationalism; still seek relations w/ Russia
Near Abroad
Many Soviet Republics experienced ethnic fighting
Tatars, Chechens, Kazakhs were not willing partners in Soviet expansion
Most regions retained own language and culture, but political control came from Moscow
Ethnic frustrations were loud and abundant by late 1980s
Tensions have grown worse in Azerbaijan since devolution
Nagorno-Karabakh is Armenian enclave in Azerbaijan
Baltic states passed legislation making it difficult for Russians living in those countries to gain citizenship

8. Key Questions for this Topic
How and why did the Soviet Union collapse?
How did its legacy affect the way Russia has evolved?
Will Putin’s policies strengthen and stabilize the Russian state or weaken it?
Is the Russian state a viable, legitimate democracy?
Why is Russia having a hard time establishing effective institutions?