Transcript Russia/Geography

A Vast Land: Climate and Geography of Russia
Geography
• World’s largest country
• Almost twice size of U.S.
• “Eurasian” country: Russia lies on Asia but close ties
with Europe on the West.
• Russia touches many inland bodies of water such as
Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and Lake Baikal
• Capital is Moscow
Ural Mountains
Bodies of Water
• North: Arctic Ocean
• East: Pacific Ocean
• Caspian Sea & Black Sea form natural
borders between southwestern Russia &
Western Europe
– Caspian Sea: size of CA/largest inland saltwater
body in the world
The Volga River is the longest river in Europe &
a vital transportation route.
• Lake Baikal
Lake Baikal
world's oldest and
deepest lake at 30
million years old and
with an average depth
of 2,440 feet.
 the most
voluminous freshwater
lake in the world,
containing roughly
20% of the world's
surface fresh water
that is unfrozen.
Russia’s Climate
• Western Russia
– Humid continental climate: summers are warm
and rainy, winters are cold and snowy.
• Eastern Russia
– Sub arctic: short cool summers and long snowy
winters.
• Most ports are closed parts of the year due to
ice.
European Russia
• Ural Mountains separate Europe and Asia
• West of the Urals lies the North European
Plain
– Fertile, most of Russia’s population lives here.
North European Plain:
European Russia
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75% of Russia’s population lives here
Mild climate
Majority of Russia’s industry & agriculture
Good farmland (the steppe)
Caucasus Mountains form southern border
with Georgia & Azerbaijan
Siberia: Asian Russia
• Located east of Ural Mountains
• One of world’s coldest climate
Northern Siberia: Tundra & permafrost
cover 40% of Russia; taiga in the south
– Fishing, hunting seals & walruses, herding
reindeer
– Few people
Southern Siberia: Plains, plateaus &
mountains
– Home to Siberian Tiger (endangered), bear,
reindeer, lynx, wolf, elk, etc.
Trans-Siberian Railroad
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network
of railways connecting Moscow with
the Russian far east and the Sea of Japan. It is
the longest railway in the world.
Siberia
Kamchatka Peninsula
• Mountainous
• Over 120 volcanoes (20 active)
• Part of “Ring of Fire”
(zone of active volcanoes that forms the
western, northern, and eastern edges of
Pacific)
Kronotsky volcano, an 11,975-foot volcanic peak
History and Culture
• Main people to settle in what is
today Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
were the Slavs.
• AD 800s- city of Kiev was an
important center for trade between
Mediterranean and Baltic Sea
• Scandinavian traders were called
Rus, the name Russia comes from
this word
• 1240-Mongol invaders destroyed
Kiev
• 1547- Ivan the Terrible crowned himself Czar
of all Russia
• Czar comes from Latin word caesar and means emperor
• He brutally suppressed the noble class and lashed out at
his enemies
• 1682-1725- Peter the Great ruled and
gained some European territory
• Built St. Petersburg as capital
• Late 1700s- ruled by Catherine the Great
• Greatly expanded the Russian Empire
• 1800s- Russian Empire had spread past
its current borders, however, Russia lost
a war with Japan and took what is now
the current borders
The Bolsheviks
• Overthrew the Republic (in 1914
the czar was asked to abdicate) in
1917 in the Russian Revolution
• This caused Russia to pull out of WWI
• The czar and his family were killed
• Bolsheviks were led by Vladimir
Lenin and led with communism
• Russian Empire was renamed the
Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics, the USSR, or the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union
• One party, totalitarian state
• Lenin dies in 1924 and Joseph Stalin took
power
• Stalin was a brutal leader- killed millions who
opposed him and put others in labor camps
• Followed policy of autarky- country tries to
produce all the goods it needs
• Trade was limited
• Soviet leaders tried to stop religious worship
• Believed religion would take away loyalty from the state
Fall of Soviet
Union
• Political and economic changes in
the 1980s
• Soviet Union began to fall apart in
1990 and had collapsed by the end
of 1991.
• Each of the 15 Soviet republics
became independent
• Soviet Union becomes Russia!
• Communism was replaced with
capitalism