2. Countries… Armenia Azerbaijan Georgia Kazakhstan Kyrgyzstan Russia
Tajikistan
Turkmenistan
Ukraine
Uzbekistan
stan – means “place” or “land” in Turkish

3. Geography… Russia stretches 6,000 miles from east to west
Largest country
Eurasia – name given to Europe and Asia when they are considered one landmass or continent
Many of these countries are landlocked

4. Plains… Northern European Plain West Siberian Plain
¾ of the people live there
Rich topsoil called chernozem (Russia for “black earth”) is good for farming
3 large cities
Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev
West Siberian Plain
Most of the land consists of swamps, marshes and frozen land unsuitable for farming
Thinly populated
Central Asian (Turan) Plains
Most is desert or dune covered
Deserts
Kara-Kum – black sand desert
Kyzyl-kum – red sand desert
Plains…

5. Mountains… Urals Carpathian Caucasus Tian Shan Altay Shan
Divide the regions of Europe & Russia
Carpathian
Caucasus
Highest point – Mt. Elbrus (18,510 ft)
Tian Shan
Altay Shan
Shan – means mountain in Chinese

6. Seas & Lakes… Sea of Okhotsk Bering Sea Black Sea Caspian Sea Aral Sea
World’s largest lake
Aral Sea
Has shrunk 60% since 1960
Soviets wanted to prosper from cotton industry
Built network of irrigation canals & have overused water supply
Lake Baikal
Deepest lake in the world
Holds 1/5 of earth’s total freshwater supply
Lake Balkhash

7. Rivers… Rivers that flow across the plains of Central Asia:
Volga
Major river used for trade
Don
Dnieper
Major Siberian rivers that are frozen most of the year & flow northward into Arctic Ocean:
Lena Ob
Yenisey

8. Natural Resources… Rich in natural resources Energy sources: Minerals:
Oil, natural gas, coal
Minerals:
Gold, lead, manganese, iron, copper, zinc

9. Ethnic Diversity
Many different ethnic groups – group of people who share a common ancestry, language, customs, or religion
Boundaries were based on nationalities – large, distinct ethnic groups within a country
When the Soviet Union broke apart, independent countries were formed

10. Population Distribution
276 million people in this region
Russia is the 9th most populated country in the world
Distribution
Only 25% of Russia lies in Europe but 80% of people live in this region
Environment determines where people live
East of Ural Mountains
Low population density
Climate is harsh and mountainous
West of Ural Mountains
Dense population
Large cities
Rich, fertile farmland
More than 2/3 of the population lives in urban areas
Decreasing population
Many of these countries are losing population
Death rate > birth rate
Poor health habits (smoking, alcohol abuse)
Collapse of Soviet Union plunged many into poverty

11. History… Slavs Main group to settle what is now Russia & Ukraine
A.D. 800 – city of Kiev became center of trade between Mediterranean & Baltic Seas
1240 – Mongol invaders from Central Asia destroyed Kiev

12. Mongols… In the 1200s, the Mongol warriors invaded Central Asia
Led by Genghis Khan
Conquered a huge area & destroyed Kiev
Began 200 year rule of Central Asia

13. Czars… Expanded Russian territory even further north
Czar – Title of Russian emperor
1547 – Ivan crowned himself the 1st czar
Made Moscow the religious and political center of Russia
Russia was far behind Europe in achievements and modernization
1682 – 1725 – Czar Peter the Great ruled
Peter attempted to modernize Russia by modeling the rest of Europe
Dressed like a European
Gained territory
Increased trade
Made a new capital city called St. Petersburg
Catherine the Great
Expanded Russian territory even further north

14. Discontent… By the late 1800s Russia began to industrialize
Russia’s people were tired of the rule of the Czars
Largely a country of poor peasant farmers called serfs
Serf – laborers owned by lords and bound to the land
Lords controlled the land and the wealth
1860s – serfs were freed from the land but poverty did not end
By 1917 – poor harvests, economic depression, & losses during WWI forced the end of czars
Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicate, or resign

15. Russian Revolution…
1917 – small group called the Bolsheviks overthrew the government in event known as Russian Revolution
People began to favor socialism – philosophy that called for ownership of all land and factories by peasants and workers
The Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir Lenin
Lenin wanted to remake Russia using the ideas of Karl Marx

16. Karl Marx… German philosopher
Hammer & sickle of the communist party
German philosopher
Believed that the working class were the victims of capitalism
Lenin thought the solution was communism
Felt a classless society would emerge

17. Russian Revolution… Bolsheviks – also called “Reds” favored communism
Communism – social and political movement developed by Karl Marx and Lenin that favored revolution to establish a classless society in which workers would control industrial production
Anti-Bolsheviks – also called “Whites”
Civil War broke out between the two groups
The Reds won the war
Russian Empire was renamed Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

18. Soviet Era… Soviet Union became totalitarian state Lenin’s Government:
Used “Peace, Land, and Bread” as his slogan
Withdrew Russia from WWI
Moved the capital back to Moscow
Took control of industry
Promised workers an 8 hour workday

19. Soviet Era… Following Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin took power
Stalin’s brutal regime lasted until 1953
Adopted policy of autarky – system in which a country tries to produce all the goods that it needs
Trade with capitalist countries was limited
Without competition, efficiency dropped off
Government took control of industries and farm production
Personal freedoms were limited
Millions were sent to labor camps called gulags
Churches were closed or destroyed
The Soviet Union became involved in WWII
Expanded their territory to Eastern Europe and spread communism

20. Cold War… Soviet Union vs. Non-Communist countries
Constant competition with the U.S.
There was always the threat of war and using nuclear weapons until the late 1980s
Mikhail Gorbachev tried to reform the Soviet Union through his concepts of:
Perestroika – restructuring the Soviet government and economy
Glasnost – policy of openness
But these reforms proved not to be enough

21. New Republics…
1990 – Soviet Union began to fall apart and collapsed in 1991
Each of the former 15 republics became independent
In 1991, Soviet Republics held its 1st democratic election for President
Boris Yeltsin became president
Many of the republics declared independence
No longer known as the Soviet Republic
The republics became independent countries

22. Culture… For over 70 years, the Soviets were in power The Soviets:
Forced people to give up religion
Made Russian the official language
Communism limited personal freedoms
Now everything is different:
Language
85% of Russians are Slavs and speak Slavic languages
Russian is the most commonly spoken language
During Soviet rule, Russian was the official language
Russian is still spoken and read in most of the Republics but each Republic has its own official language
Almost 2/3 of Central Asians speak a language of the Turkic language family
Education
High literacy rate
Soviet system limited personal freedoms but stressed education

23. Culture Closed down or destroyed churches
Since the 1990s more religious freedom was allowed
Christianity
Eastern Orthodox Christianity
Most commonly practiced religion
split from Catholic Church in 1054
Islam
2nd most practiced religion in the region
Traders and conquerors brought Islam to Central Asia
Judaism
Often suffered prejudice and discrimination
Culture

24. Economy under Soviet Rule…
For many years, Russia and the Eurasian Republics were under the control of the Soviets
Had a command economy – an economy in which the central authority makes economic decisions
The Soviet government controlled the distribution of goods and price of goods
Focused on heavy industry – manufacturing based on metals
Not focused on light industry – consumer goods
Used the black market – illegal market where goods were sold at a much higher price than those set by the government
Gorbechev wanted to move the government towards a free market economy
Heavy Industry vs. Light Industry

25. Challenges with New Economies…
When Russia and the Republics became independent, they faced challenges:
Unemployment & crime increased
Gap between rich and poor is growing
Safety net old Soviet government provided was gone
Public healthcare declined
Factories & transportation needed to be modernized
Immigrants From the Former Soviet Republics

26. Agriculture & Industry under Soviet Rule…
The government controlled all industry & agriculture
People worked where the government told them
Accepted wages the government was willing to pay
Paid by the piece, not hours worked
Agriculture and industry were not efficient
Workers were not motivated and had no incentive to work hard
Under Perestroika, efforts were made to change this by:
Letting factory managers make some decisions
Start their own farms

27. Agriculture & Industry after Soviet Rule…
After independence, the Republics tried to reform their economies
Agriculture & herding remain important
Mining & industry offers future wealth for region
However, many skilled Russian workers are leaving the region
Corruption, poor transportation, and lack of investment hurts development
Countries are landlocked and trade routes are not easily accessible
Agriculture & Industry after Soviet Rule…

28. Environment…
The Soviets pushed to industrialize their country & become an economic power
Soviet government paid little attention to environmental issues
Huge areas are ruined by pollution
Today the government has little money to repair damage
Worst disaster occurred at Chernobyl
Nuclear Energy
Soviets wanted to use nuclear energy as a fuel source
Built nuclear power stations
Soviets didn’t tell citizens they were testing nuclear bombs
1.5 million people were exposed to radiation

29. Chernobyl… Chernobyl – small town in Northern Ukraine
In 1986, there was an explosion at the nuclear power station
Released deadly radiation into the atmosphere
Soviets tried to cover up the story
2 days later, Swedish scientists noticed the increase in radiation in their air
Aftermath:
Radiation from explosions contaminated millions of acres of forests & farmland
Thousands suffered from cancer and blood disease due to radiation
Chernobyl was abandoned and destroyed

30. Water Problems…
The Soviets emphasized heavy industry and farming so much that they often shrank or polluted water supplies
Testing of biological weapons contaminated the Aral Sea
Shrinking of Caspian Sea and Aral Sea
Soviets demanded high quotas on agriculture
Farmers forced to use the Caspian & Aral Seas for irrigation
In 15 years, the Caspian Sea dropped 8 feet
Pollution of Lake Baikal
Polluted due to a paper and pulp mill
Rivers with fertilizers and chemicals flow into the lake

31. Pollution… The Soviets gave little thought to the environment
Dumped toxic wastes into rivers
Factories burned coal that polluted the air