World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus
Preview
Section 1: Natural Environments
Section 2: History and Culture
Section 3: The Region Today
Chapter Wrap-Up
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Read to Discover
• What landforms and rivers are found in Russia,
Ukraine, and Belarus?
• What factors influence the region’s climates and
vegetation?
• What natural resources does the region have?
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Rivers
Landforms
Ural Mountains
Caucasus Mountains
Pripet Marshes
Carpathian Mountains
Crimean Peninsula
Siberian Plains
Kamchatka Peninsula
Climates/Vegetation
Russia
Ukraine
Belarus
Humid continental
Subarctic
Tundra in the north
Taiga forest in the south
Deciduous-coniferous forest
in the far south
Steppe south
Dnieper River
Don River
Yenisey River
Angara River
Lena River
Ob River
Volga River
Natural Resources
Wood from forests
Gold and diamonds
Coal, hydroelectricity, oil, and
gas, geothermal
Copper, iron ore,
manganese, nickel,
and platinum
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Landforms
• Ural Mountains—Divide Eurasia
• Caucasus Mountains—Between Black and Caspian
Seas
• Northern European Plain—Covers most of
European area
• Pripet Marshes—Largest swamp in Europe
• Carpathian Mountains—Cross the Ukraine’s
western borders
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Landforms (continued)
• Crimean Peninsula—Southeastern Ukraine
• Volga River Basin—Dominates the heart of Russia
• West Siberian Plain—East of the Urals, with huge
swamp
• Central Siberian Plateau—West of Kamchatka
• Siberian Mountains—Include volcanoes of
Kamchatka Peninsula
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Rivers
• Dnieper, Don, and Volga—Key south-flowing
rivers; shipping, hydroelectric power, water for
cities
• Ob, Yenisey, and Lena—Major Siberian rivers;
flow into Arctic Ocean
• Angara—Flows through southern Siberia from
Lake Baikal
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Climate and Vegetation
Russia’s climate and vegetation are influenced by latitude,
winds and ocean currents, and the size of the land mass.
• Location in northern latitudes produces cold, harsh weather.
• During coldest months, rivers and canals freeze. A polluted
icy fog often hangs over cities.
• When permafrost melts, buildings tilt, highways buckle, and
railroad tracks slip sideways.
• Siberian interior is too large to receive mild ocean winds,
making it very dry and cold.
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Climate and Vegetation (continued)
• Moist winds from the Atlantic Ocean produce milder climate in
European portion.
• Coastal areas of Russian Far East receive rain-bearing winds from
Pacific Ocean.
• Climate affects vegetation, north to south
• Tundra—Low shrubs, mosses, wildflowers
• Taiga—Forest, mainly evergreen
• Mixed forest—Mixed deciduous-coniferous forest
• Steppe grasslands—Major grain-producing area
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 1: Natural Environments
Natural Resources
• Lumber and paper pulp from the taiga forests
• Gold and diamonds in eastern Siberia
• Key oil and gas reserves in Caspian Sea area, Volga
River basin, Ob River basin
• Geothermal power in Far East
• Mines in Russia and Ukraine—Coal, copper, gold, iron
ore, manganese, nickel, platinum
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
Read to Discover
• What are some major events in the growth of the
Russian Empire?
• How did the Soviet Union develop, and what was
life like for its citizens?
• What are some features of the region’s culture?
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
Question
What are some of the major events in the
growth of the Russian Empire?
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
1100s
Eastern, or Orthodox,
Christianity is the main
religion of Kiev.
800
1100
800s
Kiev becomes
an important
trade center
for the
Mediterranean
and Baltic Sea
areas.
1547
Ivan the Terrible crowns
himself czar of all
Russia—north of Kiev to
the Arctic Ocean and
east to the Urals.
1400
Late 1400s
Prince Ivan III,
of Moscow,
wins control
over parts of
Russia from the
Mongols.
1500
1600
1637
Explorers
reach the
Pacific coast
at the Sea of
Okhotsk.
1800s
Russians spread
into the Caucasus
and Central Asia.
1800
1905
Russia retreats
to its presentday boundaries
with China and
North Korea
after losing a
war to Japan.
1900
1917
The czar resigns
and the
Bolsheviks
overthrow the
government in
the Russian
Revolution.
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
Growth of the Russian Empire
• Slavs settled region, and by 800s Kiev was an important trade
center.
• Mongols conquered Russia in the 1200s.
• Russian kingdom of Muscovy emerged.
• Czar Ivan IV conquered lands and built empire.
• Russian trappers and pioneers settled eastern territory.
• Peter the Great added Baltic lands, Belarus, and Ukraine by
1725.
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
Growth of the Russian Empire (continued)
• Catherine the Great expanded south, adding non-Russian
peoples.
• Later expansion included Caucasus and Central Asia, Alaska,
Amur River region.
• In the 1800s, industrialization began, and the serfs were freed.
• The czar abdicated in 1917, clearing the way for the Bolsheviks
to overthrow the government in the Russian Revolution.
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
The Soviet Union
• Bolsheviks established communism based on the ideas of
Karl Marx.
• The workers were to elect soviets to govern locally.
• Communists restructured Russian Empire as the Soviet
Union, with 15 republics.
• Soviet leaders set up one-party state; Stalin ruled brutally.
• Command economy produced few quality goods.
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
The Soviet Union (continued)
• State-run farms were unproductive; millions of peasants
died.
• Personal freedoms were strictly limited; people were sent
to labor camps.
• Soviet leaders tried to stop religious worship.
• Some success achieved in education, health care, and
employment.
• Soviet Union collapsed at the end of 1991.
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 2: History and Culture
Cultural Features
• Countries share a strong sense of Slavic culture.
• Many non-Slavic peoples live in the Caucasus; language and culture
vary.
• Societies are highly urbanized.
• All three countries are losing population.
• Main religion is Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
• Food reveals influence of cold climates.
• Rural residents live in wood homes in the north, sod homes on the
steppe.
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 3: The Region Today
Read to Discover
• How have the economies of areas within
the region developed?
• What challenges does the region face?
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 3: The Region Today
Question
What factors contribute to the economic
development of the region?
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 3: The Region Today
St. Petersburg Region
Westernized, good
transportation, trade with
European cities,
chemicals, machinery,
ships, textiles, draws
tourists and high-tech
industries
Volga and Urals
Heavy industry, abundant
hydroelectricity, refineries
and petrochemicals, car and
truck factories, mineral
resources and smelters
Economic Development
Moscow Region
Economic center,
transportation hub,
higher education,
finance, access to raw
materials, millions of
Russian workers
Ukraine and Kiev
Centrally located; rich
agricultural, energy, industrial,
and human resources; fruits,
vegetables, animal products;
heavy industry; metalworking
Siberia
Trans-Siberian Railroad;
furs, gold, lumber, mining,
and oil; small labor force
with high wages
The Russian Far East
Factories, forest and
mineral resources, naval
bases, commercial
fishing, oil
Belarus and Minsk
Few resources, educated labor
force, wood product industries,
peat, outdated plants
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Section 3: The Region Today
Challenges
• Political and Economic
• Resolving tensions over reform and among ethnic groups
• Finding solutions to unemployment and crime; gap between
rich and poor
• Modernizing the economy and improving production
• Geographical
• Curbing migration, which is emptying regions
• Repairing and stemming environmental damage
World Geography Today
Chapter 17
Chapter Wrap-Up Understanding the Main Ideas
1.
What are the main physical characteristics of the two
huge areas west and east of the Ural Mountains?
2.
What are some resources that Russia has in large
quantities?
3.
Across what physical region did early migrants come
to Russia and its neighbors? How did those
newcomers shape the region’s culture?
4.
Where do most of the region’s people live?
5.
What environmental problems remain from the Soviet
era?