CH. 11 RUSSIA & THE ERUSIAN REPUBLICS SECTION 1: GEOGRAPHY

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY Russia & the Eurasian republics take up about one-sixth of the land surface of the entire Earth. Russia is the largest country in the world in total land mass. The Eurasian republics lie south of Russia. Ural Mountains separate the Northern European Plain from the West Siberian Plain. Russia has oceans on its northern & eastern boarders & mountainous areas along much of its southern boarder. Deserts & mountains of Central Asia keep republics isolated. The North Atlantic Drift warms the waters around Murmansk & keeps them ice free.

EXTREME CLIMATES Half the land in Russia is so cold that it has permafrost, or permanently frozen ground. Yet some parts can reach 100 degrees in the summer. Artic winds from the Artic Ocean blow along the northern boundary of Russia. Tundra, or flat land found in arctic & subarctic regions, exists in Siberia– central & eastern Russia. South of tundra is the taiga, or forest area. Farming is concentrated in the fertile soils of the western plains and steppes, along the Black Sea & Caspian Sea.

NATURAL RESOURCES Russia & Eurasian republics have plentiful resources of oil and natural gas. Russia is also a leading coal producer. Russia produces large amounts of peat, which is very old decayed plant material. Some rivers provide hydroelectric power, electricity generated by water. 20% of the world’s reserves of iron ore is located in the region. Much of the region’s resources are in remote locations.

CENTRAL ASIAN LANDSCAPES Central Asia includes landforms such as deserts, mountains, forests, and steppes. Certain places do reach 0 degrees in the winter. Large parts of Central Asia are arid, meaning very little rainfall. Due to farming, the Ariel Sea in Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan has began to dry & shrink. In 2005, Kazakhstan built a dam to save the North Ariel Sea.

SECTION 2: HISTORY

EARLY HISTORY Settlement of Russia by different groups dates back to around 1200 B.C. The Slavs built towns near rivers in Ukraine & wester Russia in 800s. A Varangian prince captured Kiev and established a state that became known as Kievan Rus. Early 1200s, Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire in Central Asia and later into Russia. Russian Princes had to declare their loyalty & pay taxes to the khan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMF7mgycg9M

The Rise of Moscow The Silk Road carried goods and new ideas from Asia to Russia & Central Asia. Around 1330, the Mongols allowed Prince Ivan I of Moscow to collect tribute. As Moscow grew stronger, Mongol grew weaker. In 1380, Grand Prince Dmitry defeated the Mongols in battle. 1480, Ivan III or Ivan the Great refused to pay taxes- this action ended Mongol rule in Russia. Ivan IV expanded Russia and made it into an empire. Becoming Russia’s first czar.

EUROPEAN OR ASIAN? Geographically, Russia extends across both Europe & Asia or Eurasia. Many Russian people live in the western side of the Ural Mountains --- in Europe. In the late 900s, Christianity became the main religion, however adopting the Eastern Orthodox. Perter the Great modernized Russia and became the first czar to travel to Western Europe. Catherine the Great introduced European ideas such as education & art. Catherine also tried to create a more secular country, where the church was less powerful.

INVADERS-NAPOLEON Napoleon & France invaded Russia in the summer of 1812. The Russians used a scorched earth policy, where troops retreated in front of the advancing army & destroyed crops & other resources that might supply the enemy. By mid-October, Napoleon began to retreat b/c of the harsh winter. The cold & snow began to slow down the French army. Russia attacked as they fled. Of the 42,000 troops that invaded, only 10,000 survived. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEe_BxeF0wE

INVADERS- HITLER Hitler invaded Soviet Union (Russia) in June 1941. The Soviets used the same scorched earth policy and the invasion was slowed down. Hitler was unable to take Moscow in 1941 & Stalingrad in 1943. 300,000 Nazi troops that fought in Stalingrad, only 5,000 came home. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkfGHFWGrag

SERFDOM TO INDUSTRIALIZATION For centuries, most Russian workers were peasants who worked for wealthy landlords. Ivan IV, or known as Ivan the Terrible, changed this system in 1500s. He passes laws that tied the peasants to the land as serfs. Serfs had their own houses & small plot of land to farm, but they had to pay the landlord rent. In 1861, Czar Alexander II freed to serfs to work in industry & modernize Russia.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA The Industrial Revolution did not begin in Russia until the 1890s. By 1913, Russia had become the fifth largest industrial nation in the world. Most industrial workers & peasants were very poor. Revolutionary activist & politician V.I. Lenin led a political group called the Bolsheviks. They wanted to take over industry & the government. February 1917 the Bolsheviks began the Russian Revolution & overthrew the czar.

THE SOVIET UNION The Bolsheviks believed that a Communist form of government & socialist economic system was the answer to the nation’s problems. Communism is a single political party controls the government & economy. Socialism is a system in which the government controls economic resources. The Bolsheviks wanted to end private ownership of land resources & establish a classless society. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZ55ZvBe07U

THE SOVIET UNION In 1922, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, & Georgia formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) From 1927 to 1953, Josef Stalin was in control & isolated the country from the West. The Soviets were a industrial & world leader, second only to the U.S. The government owned most businesses & agriculture. Collective farms: workers produced a certain amount of food– determined by the government-- & received a share of the surplus crops.

THE SOVIET UNION The Soviets had trouble feeding all its people. Standard of living was much lower than in Western countries. Mikhail Gorbachev tried to reform & improve the economy. However, a movement toward adopting democratic forms of government was spreading across Eastern Europe. In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MisdSQA9CmI