1. Human Geography of Russia and the Republics

2. Russia’s Origins and Growth The Russian state began in the region between the Baltic and Black seas. In the 9 th century, Vikings built a settlement for the region’s river trade. They slowly adopted local Slavic customs and the village grew. Mongolian invaders, destructive warriors called the Tatars, paused expansion in the 13 th century until the prince of Moscow, Ivan the Great, defeated the Tatars in the 1500s. By the 17 th c. Russia was an empire reaching the Pacific. As Russia’s leaders added territory, many different ethnic groups were added too.

3. Fast Expansion, Slow Progress Russia’s growth effected nearby lands and peoples, including the Baltic Republics, that still lasts in regions today. Russia had rapid territorial growth but lagged behind Europe in science and technology. Trying modernize, the czar (emperor) Peter the Great moved the capital from Moscow to the Baltic Sea city called St. Petersburg, “the window to the West”. Russia didn’t start industrializing until the end of the 1800s, but created harsh working conditions, low wages and angry people toward the czars.

4. Soviet Russia During WWI, people’s anger built to the point of explosion and revolted which ended the czar rule and formed a government led by the Communist Party. This Russian Revolution resulted in Communist control of the region’s economy and gave the Party’s leaders authority of all economic decisions. The party organized the different groups of people that were engulfed during the empire’s expansion and called the nation the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialists Republics – Soviet Union for short) and ruled from the Russian capital of Moscow.

5. Soviet Economy The Communists who overthrew the Russian czar were inspired by Karl Marx. Marx argued people would own property together and share the wealth. Soviet leaders adopted a command economy. The central government decided what products factories would manufacture, what crops farmers would grow, and what prices people could sell goods for. The government created collective farms where thousands of people were moved to the farms to work. Shortages in food caused millions to starve to death and only the few who survived benefited from the change in economy.

6. Born Vladimir Ulyanov, Lenin was the founder of the Russian Communist Party Leader of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution The architect, builder and first head of the Soviet state.

7. Trotsky was a leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the struggle for power following Lenin's death, however, Joseph Stalin emerged as victor, while Trotsky was removed from all positions of power and later exiled until his assassination by a Stalinist agent in 1940.

8. Stalin created rapid industrialization, agrarian reforms and series of purges Led to the death and imprisonment of millions of Soviet citizens. He successfully led the USSR through World War II and oversaw the communization of Eastern Europe This would lead to the Cold War.

9. Russian Revolution http://www.history.com/topics/russian-revolution/videos

10. Soldiers blocking Narva Gate on Bloody Sunday

11. Russian soldiers marching in Petrograd in February 1917

12. Bolshevik forces marching on Red Square

13. The Petrograd Soviet Assembly meeting in 1917

15. Street demonstration in Petrograd, 18 June 1917. The banner in the foreground reads "Down With The 10 Capitalist Ministers/ All Power To The Soviets Of Workers', Soldiers', And Peasants' Deputies/ And To The Socialist Ministers/ We Demand That Nicholas II Be Transferred To The Peter-Paul Fortress."

16. Revolutionaries protesting on February 1917

17. Street demonstration on Nevsky Prospekt inPetrograd just after troops of the Provisional Government opened fire in the July DaysNevsky ProspektPetrograd

18. Soviets attacking the Czar's police in the early days of the March Revolution

19. Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, speaking at a meeting in Sverdlov Square in Moscow, with Leon Trotsky and Lev Kamenev adjacent to the right of the podium Vladimir LeninBolsheviksSverdlov SquareMoscowLeon TrotskyLev Kamenev

20. American, British, and Japanese Troops parade through Vladivostok in armed support to the White Army

22. In Stalin's era, prisoners were sometimes executed in public to send a message of fear to the people. This picture shows opponents of the regime, hanged by the secret police.

25. “Milk was now becoming scarce and the bread tasted dry as wood shavings. We could not buy kerosene for our lanterns, nor candles or soap. Our school meals usually consisted of two potatoes in their jackets and a small piece of herring. We also had a mug of black coffee without sugar, which I would give to another child. One of my potatoes I slipped into my pocket to take home to mama.”

26. On a hot July day in 1918 Mary witnessed an extraordinary sight while walking home from school: People were dancing in the street, there was singing and shouting and laughter everywhere. There were large pictures of Lenin hanging from the building draped in red silk. Men were throwing up their hats into the air and people were embracing. I knew something had happened, but what? I tugged on a tall man’s sleeve. “Excuse me sir, what has happened, why is everyone so excited?” I asked. “Why, have you not heard Tsar Nicholas and the Tsarina and the children have been executed. Even that devil Rasputin too!”. I stared at him in horror. How could the death of the royal family cause such joy. Were they responsible for all those thousands of young soldiers being slaughtered on the battlefields. For all the orphaned children, for so much suffering. If so I began to understand the rejoicing of the people.

28. Warm-up 2/25(Warm-up and Chernobyl Discussion) “Experience is one thing you can’t get for nothing.”- Oscar Wilde 1. What does this quote mean to you? Do you agree or disagree? 2. Who is the person on the podium? (Give specific name if possible) 3. What group does this person belong to?

29. Warm-up This picture shows opponents of the regime, hanged by the secret police. In Stalin's era, prisoners were sometimes executed in public 4. Why do you think people were hung in a public setting rather than in a specific, private setting?

30. Warm-up 5. What is the setting of this photograph? 6. Where do you think they worked? 7. What do you think are the feelings or emotions these women have?

31. Warm-up 8. Describe the actions of these people. 9. What do you think about the people in the photo’s background? 10. Explain why you think this.

32. Chernobyl, Ukraine (April 26, 1986) Built in the late 1970s about 65 miles north of Kiev in the Ukraine, the Chernobyl plant was one of the largest and oldest nuclear power plants in the world. The explosion and meltdown that occurred there in April 1986 claimed thousands of lives and remains the worst nuclear disaster in history. Chernobyl Built in the late 1970s about 65 miles north of Kiev in the Ukraine, the Chernobyl plant was one of the largest and oldest nuclear power plants in the world. The explosion and meltdown that occurred there in April 1986 claimed thousands of lives and remains the worst nuclear disaster in history. Home is the entire cosmos of the rural babushka, and connection to the land is palpable. They told me: "If you leave you die," "Those who left are worse off now. They are all dying of sadness," "Motherland is Motherland. I will never leave."

33. Chernobyl Links http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/chernobyl-disaster-nuclear- plant-soviet-1986-9843882 http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/chernobyl-disaster-nuclear- plant-soviet-1986-9843882 http://www.history.com/news/slideshow-remembering-chernobyl http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video?id=4371794 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2314041/Chernobyl- nuclear-disaster-Eerie-photographs-Helene-Veilleux.html http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2314041/Chernobyl- nuclear-disaster-Eerie-photographs-Helene-Veilleux.html

34. What Would You Do? If you lived in Chernobyl at the time of the nuclear explosion would you stay or would you leave? Why would you stay or leave? What would you do if you had a family? If you had no choice but to leave, and had to leave EVERYTHING behind but maybe your phone and/or wallet, where would go? Why would you go there? Would you ever return to live there once radiation levels are cleared? If you won a free trip to Chernobyl, would you go to visit? Why or why not?

36. Fall of the Soviet Union By WWII, Joseph Stalin led the USSR but tensions rose between the U.S. and Soviets. After WWII, Stalin installed pro-Soviet governments in Eastern European countries. http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin/videos/stalins-purgeshttp://www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin/videos/stalins-purges U.S. feared that Stalin would spread communism across the globe, leading to the Cold War between the two superpowers. This conflict never had open warfare, lasting from the 1940’s to the early 1990’s. Communism and the Soviet Union ended, dividing the region into 15 independent republics.

37. The Region’s Culture About 80% of the people within the region are Russians. The other 20% is made up of about 70 different ethnic groups. Many Russians follow Orthodox Christianity but other common religions include Buddhism and Islam. Religion and art are tied closely together throughout the region. A major change in art occurred during Soviet Rule. Artists could only produce the style of socialist realism. This promoted Soviet ideals and portrayed citizens working together for a socialist society.

38. Political Cartoons

39. Russian Tradition Native traditions have survived after the Soviet Union such as Russian foods made from grain. This includes rye bread, kasha, or Russia’s national drink, vodka. After Soviet Union rule, people can now enjoy more social and cultural opportunities like movies, clothing trends, and music. A custom in the countryside and city is visiting a banya. A banya is a bathhouse and cleaning ritual that combines a dry sauna, steam bath, and ice-water plunge.

40. Transcaucasia’s Culture & Religion This region has historically been a migration route between Europe and Asia. It has also been mainly used for trade due to the Black and Caspian Seas. Transcaucasia has been called “Jabal Al-Alsun”, which means “Mountain of Language” because of the large number of cultures living there. Today, there are more than 50 different groups. Most of the people follow either the Christian or Islamic faith. Armenia is the first in the world to adopt Christianity.