Russia and the Eurasian Republics

1. Russia and the Eurasian Republics Unit 3 Chapters 8 and 9

2. Russia’s Size • World’s largest country – nearly twice the size of the United States • Shares borders with 14 other countries • Stretches across 11 time zones from east to west • Known as a Eurasian country – stretches across two continents, Europe and Asia • The Ural Mountains serve as the dividing line between Europe and Asia

4. Climate – European Russia • Northern European Plain • Runs west of the Urals • Has Russia’s mildest climate • 75% of the population lives here • Contains much of Russia’s agriculture and industry • Holds the capital, Moscow, and the other important cities, St. Petersburg and Volgograd

5. Climate – European Russia • The Steppe • South of North European Plain • Along the Don and Volga Rivers • Treeless grassy plain through Ukraine • good farmland • Caucasus Mountains • Thickly forested • Much higher than the Urals

6. Climate – East of the Urals • Siberia • One of the coldest climates in the world • Tundra – vast, rolling, treeless plain, where only the top few layers of soil thaw in summer • The permanently frozen lower layers of soil are called permafrost, and cover 40% of Russia • Very few people live here; those who do make their living fishing, hunting seals and walruses, or herding reindeer. • Helicopters generally used for travel.

7. Climate – East of the Urals • The Taiga • South of the tundra • World’s largest forest • Evergreens stretch for 4,000 miles in a belt 1,000 to 2,000 miles wide • Sparsely populated – forest fires burn for weeks with no one noticing • Residents support themselves by lumbering or hunting.

8. Climate – East of the Urals • Southern Siberia • Plains, plateaus and mountain ranges • Home to a wide variety of wildlife, including the endangered Siberian tiger • Kamchatka Peninsula • Far eastern edge of Russia; very mountainous • Part of the Ring of Fire – earthquakes and volcanoes

9. Inland Water Areas • Black Sea • to the Southwest • Allows Russian ships to reach Mediterranean Sea

10. Inland Water Areas • Caspian Sea • About the size of California • Largest inland body of water in the world • Salt water • Russia shares its border with four other countries: Azerbaijan, Iran, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan

11. Inland Water Areas • Lake Baikal • High in the Central Siberian Plateau • World’s deepest freshwater lake • Holds almost 20% of the world’s fresh water • World’s oldest lake – 30 million years old • Polluted by a large nearby paper mill

12. Inland Water Areas • Rivers • Volga – Longest in Europe • Canals connect it to other rivers in European Russia • Vital transportation route • Asian rivers • Begin in Southern Siberia and flow north into the Arctic Ocean; among the longest in the world • Lena • Yenisey • Ob

13. Russia’s History

14. Kievan Rus • Early Slavic State – A.D. 800s • Centered around Kiev, capital of modern Ukraine • Accepted Eastern Orthodox Christianity by A.D. 1000’s • Traded with Mediterranean world and western Europe • Descended from Vikings

15. Mongol Invasion • In the 1200s, the Mongols conquered Kiev, sweeping in from Central Asia • Ruled for 200 years

16. Muscovy • New Slavic state centered on Moscow • In 1480, Ivan III, a prince of Muscovy drove out the Mongols, making Muscovy independent.

17. Ivan III • Also known as “Ivan the Great” • 1440 – 1505 • Ruled 1462 - 1505

18. Muscovy slowly developed into the country we know today as Russia • Gradually expanded its territories • Rulers became known as czars - name comes from Caesar. Also called emperors • The czars had total control over the government – it became an autocracy • Autocracy – where one individual has total, unlimited legislative and executive power

19. Ivan IV • Also known as “Ivan the Terrible” • 1530 – 1584 • Ruled 1533 - 1584

20. Peter the Great • 1672 – 1725 • Ruled 1682 – 1725 • Pushed the Empire’s borders southwards • Credited with modernizing Russia • Built a new capital – St. Petersburg

21. St. Petersburg Kazan Cathedral

22. St. Petersburg Winter Palace

23. Catherine the Great • 1729 – 1796 • Empress Consort 1761 – 1762 • Empress and Autocrat 1762 - 1796

24. Russian Society • The czars and their nobles lived rich, comfortable lives. • Vast majority of the population, however, lived as serfs – farm laborers who could be bought and sold along with the land. • Few could read or write. • While the nobles became more Westernized, the serfs kept Russian traditions.

25. The Napoleonic Wars • 1812 – Napoleon invades Russia, as part of his bid to conquer all of Europe • Russian strategy – scorched earth tactics • Eventually, Napoleon forced to retreat by a combination of starvation and bitter Russian winter Napoleon’s Retreat

26. Changes in the 19th Century • Russia expands south into the Caucasus Mountains and east towards the Pacific • Russia begins to industrialize – economy relies less on farming and more on manufacturing • Czar Alexander II frees the serfs – but this does little to lift them out of poverty Trans-SiberianRailroad – links Moscow in the west with Vladivostok on the Pacific Coast

27. Alexander II • “Czar-Liberator” • 1818 – 1881 • Ruled 1855 - 1881

28. World War I • 1914 – 1918 • Russia and Germany fought many bloody battles in eastern Europe • Russia generally lost, being really unprepared for war • Food shortages due to the war caused starvation • People blamed the czar

29. Czar Nicholas II • Last czar of Russia • 1868 – 1918 • Ruled 1894 – 1917 • Abdicated in 1917 • Executed with his family in 1918

30. The Russian Revolution • March 1917 – political leaders, soldiers and factory workers force Nicholas to give up the throne, and form a semi-democratic government – the Russian Provisional Government • November 1917 – the Bolsheviks (a Communist party under Lenin) overthrow the Provisional Government and after several years of civil war form the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

31. Vladimir Ilyich Lenin 1870 - 1924

32. Growth of the Soviet Union • USSR formed in 1922 after five years of civil war – includes Russia and 14 other republics • Lenin dies 1924 • Josef Stalin assumes power • Government takes complete control of economy • Ended private ownership of farms and businesses • Set up five-year plans to industrialize the country • Command economy • Opponents either killed or sent to remote prison camps in Siberia

33. Josef Stalin 1878 - 1953

34. World War II • Initially, Germany and Russia signed a Non-Aggression Pact • 1941 – Hitler breaks the pact and invades Russia, bringing Russia into the war on the side of Britain and the United States • 20 million Russian soldiers and civilians died in the Great Patriotic Fatherland War • Once again, winter helps defeat an invading army (compare with Napoleon)

35. The Cold War • After WWII, to protect the USSR from further invasions, Stalin set up Communist governments in neighboring Eastern European countries • Poland • East Germany • Czechoslovakia • Hungary • Romania • Bulgaria

36. The Cold War • These countries were cut off from the rest of the world – hidden behind the “Iron Curtain”, symbolized by the Berlin Wall • USSR became one of the world’s two superpowers – the other was the USA • These two nations began competing for world influence in almost every area • Called a “Cold War” because it never actually broke out into open warfare

37. The Berlin Wall

38. Collapse of the Soviet Union • During the Cold War, the Russian economy faced many problems • With no competition, factories produced inefficient and low-quality goods • Government cared more about making military equipment than consumer goods • Few goods to buy • Food was scarce, and people had to wait in long lines to buy necessary items • Economy falls further and further behind US between 1940 and the 1980s

39. Collapse of the Soviet Union • 1985 – Mikhail Gorbachev becomes leader of the Soviet Union • Introduced perestroika, “restructuring”, allowing farmers and manufacturers to make their own decisions • Began a shift to a free enterprise system • Also glasnost, “openness” – allowing people to speak openly about the government • Late 1980s – massive protests erupt • 1991 – Soviet Union falls

40. Mikhail Gorbachev 1931 -

41. Transition to a Free Market Economy • Under the Soviet Union, Russia had a command economy – factory managers are told what to make, and how to make it • After the Soviet Union collapsed, all of the new governments switched to a free market economy (also called “free enterprise” or “capitalism”). • The people decide what goods and services to produce, how to produce them, and who will buy them.

42. Command vs. Free Market Command Economy Free Market Economy People decide for themselves what goods are produced, what careers they have, etc. BUT!!! People can be unemployed, and lose their jobs if the economy goes bad • Government decides what goods and services are produced, and how. People have little control over their economic lives. • BUT!!!!! • Everyone is guaranteed a job.

43. Command vs. Free Market Command Economy Free Market Economy People decide what to make → more goods available. BUT!!! Since prices are no longer fixed, prices have risen and it’s much harder to buy even necessities like food and clothing • Government decides what goods are produced → shortage of consumer goods. • BUT!! • Government also set prices low, so that everyone could afford what was available.

44. Result of New Free Market Economy • Many Russian people remain poor • They lack the money to buy consumer goods • They survive by standing in long lines to receive food given away by government agencies.

45. Russia’s Economic Regions • The Moscow Region • The Port Cities • Siberia • The Volga and the Urals

46. Moscow • Political and cultural center • Largest city • Economic center • Transportation hub • Manufacturing centers • High-tech and electronics industries • Farming

47. In the past, Russian manufacturing focused on heavy industry; now, there has been a shift to focus more on light industry. Heavy Industry (Past) Light Industry (Present) Clothing Shoes Furniture Household Products • Machinery • Mining equipment • Steel

48. The Port Cities • Kaliningrad • Only port on the Baltic Sea that is ice-free year-round. • St. Petersburg • Former Capital; vital cultural center • Built on 100 islands connected by bridges • Also a manufacturing city Saint Petersburg (Neva River in Background)

49. The Port Cities • Murmansk • In the far north • Vladivostock • Russia’s largest port on the Pacific Ocean • Base for Russia’s large fishing fleet Vladivostock

50. Siberia • Largest supply of minerals in Russia • Iron Ore - Uranium • Gold - Diamonds • Coal - Oil and Natural Gas • 2/3 of Siberia is covered in forests to support a lumber industry.