Name ______________________
Period _____
RUSSIA AND THE FORMER SOVIET REPUBLICS G.L.A.M. SHEET
Maps and Landforms: Using the maps you created in class and maps from Unit 5’s Unit Atlases,
answer the following questions:
Patterns of Physical Geography
1. What is the name of the peninsula that sticks out into the Black Sea?
a. What city is on that peninsula?
b. Who owns it?
2. What mountain range runs through the Ukraine?
3. Which country ‘owns’ the northern shore of the Black Sea?
4. The Aral Sea straddles the country borders of which two countries?
a. What two rivers flow into the Aral Sea?
5. What giant lake is at the end of the Lena River?
a. How deep is it in feet?
i. How does that relate to a mile?
b. Where is it in world rank?
6. Is the Black Sea ‘landlocked’? (does a river connect it to the ocean?)
7. Is the Caspian Sea ‘landlocked’?
8. Is the Aral Sea ‘landlocked’?
9. What body of water (that you labeled on your map) feeds the Caspian Sea?
10. What Russian island chain is immediately northeast of Japan?
11. What large island is north of Japan?
12. During the winter, would Murmansk be frozen or thawed out?
13. What is the land like (topography) in the Caucasus region?
14. What is the land like in the Russian Far East?
15. Which direction do the Ural Mountains run?
a. These mountains are the dividing line between which two continents?
16. Compared to the land around it, what is the elevation of the West Siberian Plain?
17. What body of water separates the Caucasus region and the –stan countries?
18. What is the highest point in Russia?
a. How high is it?
19. Which compass direction do the rivers in Russia flow? From

20. What two seas border Russia on its southwest corner?
21. Is Russia bigger or smaller than the continental U.S.?
1
Spring ‘11
22. Is Russia and all the Republics bigger or smaller in population to the US?
23. What does Russia call the eastern 2/3rds of the country?
24. What body of water carries water from the Amu Darya into western Turkmenistan?
25. Which country’s border with Russia forms a line along the Caucasus Mountains?
26. Name the 6 former Soviet republics that are on the western side of Russia:
Patterns of Human Geography
27. How many countries made up the former Soviet Union?
a. What does S.S.R. stand for?
28. Aside from Russia, which is the largest former Soviet republic?
29. What two countries does Turkmenistan border on its southern side?
30. Does Russia touch Poland at all?
31. How many countries physically border Russia? (don’t count the tiny part)
32. What three countries (in this Unit) border the Black Sea?
33. Who owns the piece of land between Poland and Lithuania?
a. Why is that weird?
34. What city is Chernobyl near?
35. Name the 3 Caucasus Region countries:
a. Which one is split into two pieces?
b. Who is it split by?
36. Where are most of Russia’s cities located in the country?
37. Looking at the location of their capital, who do you think is Turkmenistan’s biggest ally?
38. What is the elevation of Baku? (pgs. 336 & 337))
39. Where is the Baikonur Cosmodrome?
a. What is it? (think cosmonaut…)
b. Why would its location possibly be a problem for Russia’s current space program?
Regional Patterns
40. What are the 2 dominant climates of the eastern parts of Russia?
a. What kind of weather and temperatures does this mean?
41. Describe the climates of the southern parts of the region.
42. What climate exists along Russia’s border with Eastern Europe, in to the Ural Mountains?
43. Where is the desert?
2
Spring ‘11
44. Why would river navigation be so difficult for Russia in the winter?
45. What is the dominant religion (named, actual religion) in this region?
a. In which republics do you think this religion is mostly located?
46. What kind of relationship is there between the countries and ethnicities?
47. Where are the populations deep inside Siberia?
48. Why does Vladivostok survive all the way over there?
49. What are the two most densely populated Russian cities?
50. Do the Caucasus countries have a lot of people?
51. Are there a lot of people in the Central Asian (-stan) countries?
Regional Data File
52. How does Russia compare to the US in population?
53. How does Russia compare to the US in land area?
54. Besides Russia, what is the largest country in population?
55. Besides Russia, what is the largest country in land area?
56. Which five countries have the highest infant mortality rate?
a. What is the pattern?
57. Do these countries place a high priority on education?
58. Do these countries place a high priority on health care?
Pg. 351
Some Other Stuff
59. What kind of vegetation covers Siberia?
60. Is there more grassland or desert?
61. What man-made object physically connects Moscow to Vladivostok?
Pg. 355
a. How long is that route?
b. How many time zones does it pass through?
i. So, if it’s noon in Moscow, what time is it in Vladivostok?
62. What other country’s city is linked to this line?
3
Spring ‘11