AP World History: Russia NY State Standards 2, 3 Common Core Standards RS 6, 9, WS 1

I Geography of Russia A) Most of Russia is steppe (grassland) between the Carpathian Mountains in Eastern Europe and the Ural Mountains in Asia. A Russian woman making cheese the “old fashioned way” in the Carpathian Mountains.

Carpathian Mountains, Ukraine

Ural Mountains, Asia Lots and lots of steppe!

Geography of Russia Continued… B) Russia’s most important river is the Volga. It flows through Moscow, and southward into the Caspian Sea.

Geography of Russia Continued… C) Staple Russian crops include wheat, barley, rye and beets D) As the steppes are excellent for cattle, Russians consume a lot of dairy products such as cheese, yogurt, and sour cream. E) The Baltic Sea is home to sturgeon, which produces delicious caviar! Caviar on top of blini (Russian pancakes) Borscht, a soup made from beets

Geography of Russia Continued… F) Siberia is in northeastern Russia. Temperatures can dip to -50 degrees Celsius!

Lake Baikal, Siberia

How do Russians deal with the cold? A Russian tradition is to go to the banya (Russian sauna). A beating with oak leaves improves your circulation. After sweating in the banya, you are supposed to take a plunge into an ice cold river or roll in the snow. *While Russians do drink a lot of vodka, alcohol LOWERS your body temperature.

Geography of Russia Continued… G) Because the Baltic Sea freezes over in winter, Russian rulers have always sought a warm water port for ships that could be used year round.

II Early Russian Civilization A)During the time of the Roman Empire, Slavs settled by the Baltic and Black Seas. B) 800s CE the Norsemen came as well. SLAV WARRIOR The Norsemen were farmers and seafarers from Scandinavia (northern Europe). The Vikings were Norsemen who went on raids. Slavic people share a common culture. Descendents of the Slavs live in many eastern European countries such as Croatia and Serbia. As many were forced into slavery in the Middle Ages, the Slavs are the origin for the word “slave”.

Early Russian Civilization Continued… C) Kiev, at the heart of Viking trade became the center of 1 st Russian state D) Kiev was located between Constantinople and the Baltic Sea. *This allowed for contact with the Byzantine Empire

III The Byzantines Brought All This?? A)In the 9 th century CE the Byzantines brought Eastern Orthodox Christianity, domes and the Greek alphabet (cyrillic) to Russia. - Russians began to construct onion style domes The Cyrillic Alphabet

IV Russia Under the Mongols A) Batu, grandson of Genghis Khan, led the Mongol army from Asia into Russia. The Mongols controlled Russia from s. The Mongols were a fierce nomadic tribe from north of China. Under Genghis Khan, they created one of the largest empires in history. One of the “friendlier” nicknames for them was the Golden Horde.

Russia Under the Mongols Continued… B) Mongol rule cut off contact between Russia and Western Europe by destroying infrastructure (roads and buildings). This is a photo of a Russian peasant in the 19 th century. The Mongols had caused so much destruction that life in Russia in the 1800s was not much different from life in the 1300s.

Summary: How similar was Russia to the Byzantine Empire? How was Russia a unique civilization?

Key Vocabulary Steppe Carpathian Mountains Ural Mountains Volga River Moscow Caspian Sea Baltic Sea Siberia Banya Norsemen Vikings Slavs Kiev Byzantine Empire Eastern Orthodox Christianity Cyrillic Alphabet Onion Domes Mongols Batu Genghis Khan Golden Horde Infrastructure Warm Water Port