RUSSIA
First Lecture – Geography of Russia
Mr. Howard – 5th Block Russian History
Facts…






With a land area of 6.5 million sq. miles,
Russia is the largest country in the world
Population estimates – 148 million people
Russia is one of the most sparsely populated
countries in the world
The population is predominantly urban
Russia is so large, that the climate varies
greatly throughout the country
Russia has 11 time zones
Cont..



At it’s largest (1970-1991) Russia
encompassed 8,600,870 square miles –
the equivalent to 3 times the U.S.
It is larger than all of North America
and South America
26,700 miles of coastline – 4x that of
the US
Location



Russia is bounded by the Arctic and Pacific Oceans
Ural mountains divide Eurasian continent – and
Russia - to Europe and Asia (78% live west of Urals)
Boundaries with 13 countries
Weather

Central Russia has a continental climate


Summers are hot and short, while the winters are
cold and long.
A Russian winter is famous for its frigid
temperatures.
Much of Russia is covered by snow six months of
year.
It has to be lived through to be really appreciated. 
Winter starts in October and continues through
March (November-January are the darkest months)


-
Interesting fact: Russia’s most southern port, Novorossiysk is on
the same latitude as Minneapolis.
(very) Brief History Summary





862 – founding of Kievan Rus by Viking Rurik,
the birth of what became the Russian state
Mid-13th century – Mongol Horde invasion
1480 – Moscow liberated from Tatar (Mongol)
yoke
1613 – Rurik dynasty ended, Romanov
dynasty begins (ends 1917)
1812 – Napoleon failed in his attempt to
conquer Russia (after occupying Moscow)
History Summary, cont’d.







October 1917 – Bolsheviks seized control (led
by Lenin)
1922 – USSR established
1941-1945 – WWII (Great Patriotic War),
Russia loses 1/6 of its population (~ 30 mln)
Stalin’s purges – an additional 20 to 40 mln
1985 – Gorbachev introduced political and
economical reforms
1991 – USSR is formally dissolved, Yeltsin
became the new president; CIS is formed
2000 – Putin is elected president of Russia
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC
QUALITIES







IMMENSE TERRITORIAL STATE
NORTHERNMOST LARGE AND POPULOUS
COUNTRY IN THE WORLD
A FORMER WORLD COLONIAL POWER
A COMPARITIVELY SMALL (<150 MILLION) AND
CONCENTRATED POPULATION
CONCENTRATED DEVELOPMENT
MULTICULTURAL STATE
MINIMAL PORTS
SIZE, LOCATION AND SPACE
RELATIONSHIPS

LATITUDINAL EXTENT
 Northernmost point: Rudolf Island in Franz
Joseph Land (82o)
 Southernmost point: Grozny in west and
Vladivostok in east (44o)



Monmouth is 44.7727oN
LONGITUDINAL EXTENT
 More than twice its maximum north-south
extent and extends through 11 time zones
Russia makes up 76.6% of the total territory of the
former USSR
REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN REALM
RUSSIA’S
REGIONS
RUSSIAN
CORE
SIBERIA
EASTERN FRONTIER
URALS
FAR EAST
Wild weather







Lack of mountains gives zero protection from
cold.
WINTERS
Yakutsk – 94 degrees below zero
Moscow – 35 degrees below zero
SUMMERS
Yakutsk – 102 degrees
Moscow – 99 degrees
Rivers




200,000 miles of rivers
You can get from St. Petersburg to
Vladivostok with nothing more than a
canoe
Volga, Dvina, Dnieper & Ural
Ob, Yenisey, Irtysh, Amur
Ethnicities



Slavic – ‘Great Russians’ and original
inhabitants
Baltic, Scandinavian, Finno-Urgic,
Turkic, Mongols, Iranian
Russia is the most ethnically diverse
country on the planet
EARLY 16TH CENTURY
(IVAN THE TERRIBLE- 1547-1584)
END OF THE 17TH CENTURY
(PETER THE GREAT- 1682-1725)
EARLY 20TH CENTURY
FORWARD CAPITAL
Capital city positioned in actually or
potentially contested territory, usually
near an international border, confirms
the state’s determination to maintain its
presence in the region
RUSSIAN CLIMATE

Affected by 3 natural
conditions:
-- Latitudinal Position
-- Continental Position
-- Location of major mountains
CLIMATE
VEGETATION
Vegetation ... terms

Tundra

Treeless plain along the Arctic


Taiga


Moss, lichen, grass
Coniferous forests south of the Tundra, extending
over Siberia (“sleeping land”)
Steppe


Like our Prairie
semi-arid grasslands with short grasses that are
found in dry areas that have hot summers and
cold winters
CLIMATE AS A
RESTRICTIVE ELEMENT



AGRICULTURE
 Short growing seasons
 Drought prone
 Erosion (accelerated via snow melt)
SETTLEMENT PATTERNS & TRANSPORTATION
INDUSTRY
 High energy consumption
 Specialized equipment and facilities
 Extractive



permafrost
spring and fall mud
special equipment and facilities - $$$
RUSSIA’S PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS
PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS

RUSSIAN PLAIN



URAL MOUNTAINS



EASTWARD CONTINUATION OF NORTH
EUROPEAN LOWLAND
CORE AREA (MOSCOW BASIN)
2,000 MILES LONG (NORTH-SOUTH)
YIELD A VARIETY OF MINERALS
WEST SIBERIAN PLAIN


WORLD’S LARGEST UNBROKEN
LOWLANDS
PERMAFROST
PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS
(continued)

CENTRAL SIBERIAN PLATEAU


YAKUTSK BASIN


RANGES, RIDGES, PRECIPITOUS VALLEYS,
VOLCANIC MOUNTAINS, LAKE BAYKAL
CENTRAL ASIAN RANGES


MOUNTAINOUS, HIGH RELIEF
EASTERN HIGHLANDS


SPARSELY POPULATED, TEMPERATURE
EXTREMES, PERMAFROST
RISE ABOVE THE SNOW LINE, GLACIATED
CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS

EXTENSIONS OF THE ALPINES
RUSSIAN
PLAIN
THE URAL MOUNTAINS
•The north-south length covers 2500 kms.
•The highest points are in the Northern
Urals-2000 meters in places.
•The Central Urals are the lowest section
and include several key crossing places.
•The Southern Urals are wider and consist
of a number of parallel north-south ridges
and intervening valleys.
•Ural forests and minerals have been the
basis for industrialization and boast at least
twenty different commercially usable
minerals.
WEST SIBERIAN PLAIN
•The world’s largest
unbroken lowland
•Includes the Ob and
Irtysh River Basin
•Permafrost
•Major Cities:
•Omsk
•Novosibirsk
CENTRAL SIBERIAN
PLATEAU
•Sparsely settled
•Inaccessible
•Restrictive climate
•Permafrost
•Natural resources
EASTERN HIGHLANDS
CENTRAL ASIAN
RANGES
CAUCASUS
MOUNTAINS
RUSSIAN ETHNICITY
RELIGIOUS GROUPS
10%
7%
5%
18%
55%
5%
Orthodox
Muslim
Protestant
Roman Catholic
Jewish
Other
FUEL RESOURCES
TRANSPORTATION LINKS
TRANSPORTATION

Rail


Trans-Siberian Railroad (Baltic to Pacific)
Baikal-Amur Line



Inland Waterways


BAM railway line links central Siberian Russia with the Pacific.
The BAM parallels the Trans-Siberian Railway but passes north
rather than south of Lake Baikal. It is 1,928 miles (3,102 km)
long, with 1,987 bridges. Its eastern terminus is Sovetskaya
Gavan on the Tatar Strait.
Under-used, problematic flow and orientation
Marine Links


Baltic, Black, and Caspian
Far East and Northern Sea
MANUFACTURING REGIONS
• CENTRAL INDUSTRIAL AREA
• VOLGA REGION
• URAL MOUNTAINS
Russian
RUSSIAN
CORE
Core
URALS
RUSSIA’S ECONOMIC/MANUFACTURING ZONES
(RUSSIAN CORE)
ST PETERSBURG
MOSCOW
• KUZNETSK BASIN (KUZBAS)
• LAKE BAYKAL AREA
EASTERN FRONTIER
RUSSIA’S ECONOMIC/MANUFACTURING ZONES
(EASTERN FRONTIER)
•VAST
•CHALLENGING
•UNTAPPED
SIBERIA
SIBERIA


LARGER THAN THE CONTINENTAL US,
BUT...LESS THAN 15 MILLION PEOPLE
CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT





VAST DISTANCES
COLD TEMPERATURES
ARCTIC WINDS
POOR SOILS
RESOURCE POTENTIAL




PRECIOUS MINERALS
METALLIC ORES
OIL AND NATURAL GAS
TIMBER
•
•
•
•
POOR ACCESSIBILITY
ASIAN FRONTIER?
FISHING – PRIMARY INDUSTRY
FUTURE WITH JAPAN?
FAR EAST
RUSSIAN FAR EAST
TRANSPORTATION
LINKS
RUSSIA’S ECONOMIC/MANUFACTURING ZONES
(FAR EAST)
OIL AND GAS REGIONS
TRANSCAUCASIA
Georgia
Azerbaijan
Armenia
CONTESTED
AREAS
RUSSIA’S EXTERNAL CHALLENGES




NATURAL RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION
 Many natural resources now in former Soviet
republics
IRREDENTISM
 Concern for Russians outside its borders
NATIONAL PRIDE
 Determination to remain the champion of Slavic
interests
 Desire to remain a power in international
community
CENTRIFUGAL FORCES
 Separatist aims in the Caucasian periphery
RUSSIA’S PROSPECTS

ECONOMIC




INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES
TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE
MANUFACTURING CAPACITY
POLITICAL

INTERNAL & EXTERNAL CHALLENGES