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Chapter 17-18 Russia and Northern Eurasia. Natural Environments. Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus cover 12% of the world’s land area. Russia is the world’s largest country. The Siberian rivers (Ob, Yenisey , and Lena) flow northward toward the Arctic circle.
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Natural Environments • Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus cover 12% of the world’s land area. • Russia is the world’s largest country. • The Siberian rivers (Ob, Yenisey, and Lena) flow northward toward the Arctic circle. • humid continental, sub artic, and tundra climates • The south is the taiga, a forest of mainly evergreen trees that covers half of Russia. • Siberian winters have reached -90 degrees F.
History and Culture • 800’s AD – Scandinavian traders called Rus (this is where Russia got its name) • 1100’s AD – Russia became predominately Eastern or Orthodox Christian. • 1240 AD – Mongols invaded but life went on the same. • 1400’s AD – the czars (kings) took control from the Mongols. • Cossacks (ruthless group) played an important role in eastward expansion. • 1800’s AD – Started to industrialize but remained largely a country of peasant farmers
1917 – Bolsheviks overthrew the government (Russian Revolution). • Czar Nicolas II and his family were killed. • Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin • Wanted to remake Russia using the ideas of German philosopher Karl Marx (Marxism) • Russian empire was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR). • It became a communist state. • Kremlin – fortified complex in Moscow that became known as the government
Street demonstration just after troops of the Provisional Government have opened fire with machine guns. 1917
The Soviet Union was a totalitarian state. • After Lenin’s death, Joseph Stalin took over. • His brutal rule lasted until 1953. • The government ran large state farms, but millions of peasants died of starvation during the forced change.
Personal freedoms restricted in communism: • Worship (Government believed it lessen “state” loyalty) • Press (Government controlled what people read.) • Speech (Government controlled what was said.) • Assembly (Government controlled who got together.) • Sent to jail or labor camp if disagreed with government • Gulag – network of labor camps millions were sent to
Cold War – the arms race and competition that occurred between the United States and the Soviet Union after World War II. • Iron Curtain – boundary between East and West Europe after World War II
The Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. • Life changed quickly for the people there. People could vote, worship more freely, and receive outside news more readily.
The Region Today • Russia = 60 different Ethnic groups. • 85% are Slavic and speak Slavic languages. • 95% of Ukrainians and 98% of Belarusians are Slavic. • 25% of Russia lies in Europe, but 85% of the population lives there. • Moscow is the capital of Russia (9 million people) • Eastern Orthodox Christianity is the predominant religion.
St. Petersburg, Russia represents the country’s desire for Western ideas. • Heavy industry – Volga and Ural Mountains • Siberia has many natural resources, but accessing these resources is difficult. • Siberia has the world’s longest railway (5,800 miles).
Kiev = capital of the Ukraine (10% of the Ukraine population lives there.) • Minsk – capital of Belarus; The country has few mineral resources and generally poor soil. Much of the country is in need of repair since the fall of the USSR.
Problems in the Region • Pollution has become a huge problem from actions of USSR. • Tensions exist between those who want to return to communism and those who want democracy.
Chernobyl Disaster • In 1986, a disastrous nuclear accident happened at the power plant in Chernobyl, north of Kiev. It spread as far away as Sweden and France. • The city is still abandoned to this day, and people will not be able to return for many years to come.
Children born since 1986 are affected by a 200 percent increase in birth defects and a 250 percent increase in congenital birth deformities.
Central Asia • The central Asian countries are: • Kazakhstan • Turkmenistan • Uzbekistan • Tajikistan • Kyrgyzstan
All five countries are landlocked. • Has all known landforms (below sea level to mountains) • Arid and semiarid climates. • Water is a precious resource • Formerly part of the “Silk Road” (a trade route to China) • Sometimes called Turkistan. • Nomadic culture • Former Soviet Union
Central Asian Issues and Challenges • poor with few opportunities to improve their lives • Ethnic conflict threatens the region.
Central Asian Environmental Issues • Former soviet nuclear and biological testing contaminated many areas. • 1.5 million people exposed to radiation in 1949 which led to birth defects, cancer, and other health problems • Uranium mining has also contaminated areas.
Central Asia’s Future • Kazakhstan is home to one of the largest oil fields in the world (13 billion barrels), but it is dependent on Russia for transport.