1. Russia Today Chapter 16 Section 3

2. Becoming a Free Market Economy After the collapse of Communism, Russia moved toward a free market economy Free Market Economy: People, rather than government, decide what goods and services to produce, how to produce, & who will buy them

3. I. Russia’s Economic Regions Moscow –Political & cultural center Port Cities: –Kaliningrad-only port in the Baltic Sea that stays ice-free year-round –St. Petersburg Siberia –Hard to tap into resources because of harsh climate Volga River –Volga carries almost ½ of Russia’s river traffic –Russia’s most productive farmland

4. II. Environmental Issues Russians must balance making profit with protecting the environment –Nuclear Power Plants are in decay; leads to nuclear waste –Air Pollution from factories led to lower life expectancy –Water Pollution from poor sewer system, chemical weapons plants (from Cold War) & other sources

5. III. Politics Russia is a democracy –Democracy: people elect their leaders Russia is a federal republic –Federal Republic: power divided between national & state government with president Democracy is dramatically different from Communism: –Leaders must follow same laws as regular people –Leaders must accept criticism from people

6. IV. Ethnic Challenges Majority Group: Russians, descendants of Slavs, are largest group Minority Group: 100 ethnic groups *Majority group controls more wealth & power.

7. Republics of the Caucasus

8. Chechnya, has experienced fighting over the years because the Chechen people want to form their own country.

9. V. Daily Life 70% of population is Russian Orthodox –Other religions: Muslims, Roman Catholic, etc. The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church is the Patriarch.

11. VI. Russian Literature & Music Stories passed down orally: skazki War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy describes Russia’s defeat of Napoleon Bonaparte & France Peter Tchaikovsky composed The Nutcracker ballet & 1812 Overture which also describes Russia’s defeat of France

12. The Hermitage Museum, built by Catherine the Great, holds art work from around the world.

13. Caucasus and Central Asian Republics Chapter 19 Section 3

14. I. Geography Located south of Russia Republics of Central Asia –East of Caspian Sea –Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan Republics of the Caucasus –Located between Caspian Sea and Black Sea –Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia

15. Republics of the Caucasus

16. II. Republics of the Caucasus Armenia –First country to make Christianity official religion (ca. 300 AD) –Capital, Yerevan, is one of world’s oldest (founded in 782 BC) –Armenia was controlled by many different nations, including the Ottoman Empire, who limited their freedoms & mistreated their people. During WWI, millions were deported by the OE, where historians estimate 600,000-1 million died of starvation. *This was the first genocide of the 20 th century, though the Turks deny that it ever happened.

18. Azerbaijan –Split by Armenia –Majority are Muslims, which has caused conflicts with Armenian Christians –Authoritarian government is corrupt

19. Georgia –Known for resorts located along the Black Sea –Has had conflicts with Russia after gaining independence because Russia has recognized claims of independence (as of 2008) of two regions below

20. Resorts in Georgia along coast of Black Sea

21. Central Asian Republics

22. III. Central Asian Republics Central Asian Republics have become of interest to the rest of the world because of their vast natural resources Known for limiting citizens’ basic freedoms & violations of human rights are common All five countries are Muslim Kazakhstan –Largest of the former Soviet republics –Large amounts of natural resources & most stable of all republics Uzbekistan –Most live in fertile valleys & oases –World’s largest cotton producer (child labor used to harvest in many places) Turkmenistan –World’s largest reserves of natural gas Kyrgyzstan Tajikistan