Chapter Introduction
Section 1: A Changing
Russia
Section 2: Issues and
Challenges
Visual Summary
Regions Since the fall of the
Soviet Union, Russia has been
struggling to build a democracy
and a free market economy. It also
has sought to regain its influence
in world affairs. Such major
changes are difficult, however, and
the world will watch with great
interest as Russia works to
become a successful democratic
nation. Why is the success of
democracy in Russia important
to the rest of the world?
Section 1:
A Changing Russia
Geographers organize the Earth
into regions that share common
characteristics. New democratic
institutions and a free market
economy link the different parts of
Russia. These positive changes,
however, are threatened by the
government’s abuse of power, the
spread of corruption in business,
and a decline in population.
Section 2:
Issues and Challenges
Geography is used to interpret
the past, understand the present,
and plan for the future. The
change to democracy and a market
economy has been difficult for
Russia because of its long history
of all-powerful governments. The
country also faces challenges from
ethnic groups that want
independence.
Geographers organize the Earth into
regions that share common
characteristics.
Content Vocabulary
• privatization
• heavy industry
• middle class
• light industry
• underemployment
• pensioner
Academic Vocabulary
• comprise
• invest
• volume
The figures below are toys, art, and a
history lesson all in one! Matryoshka dolls,
which fit one inside the other, are popular
toys and have been hand painted in Russia
since the late 1800s. The traditional
version of the Matryoshka shows a
Russian woman wearing a babushka
(scarf) and an apron. Here, art becomes
history, as the colorful dolls represent
Soviet and Russian leaders (from left to
right) Mikhail Gorbachev, Boris Yeltsin, and
Vladimir Putin. To learn more about recent
changes in Russia, read
Section 1.
Do you believe that major changes
can have both negative and positive
impacts?
A. Yes
B. No
A. A
B. B
0%
A
0%
B
Oymyakon, a Siberian village near the Arctic Circle, has
seen the temperature drop to nearly 100 degrees below
zero (–73°C), yet people thrive there. Their diet is
mostly reindeer and horse meat, and fur is the primary
material for clothing. To keep the fuel lines from
freezing, they build fires under their cars!
Changing Politics and Society
The fall of communism led to
great changes in Russia’s
government, economy, and
society.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• Under communism, the Russian people
could neither choose nor challenge their
leaders, but today the country is more
democratic.
• In a 1993 election, Russian voters
approved a new constitution, elected
members of a legislature to represent
them, and elected Boris Yeltsin as Russia’s
first president.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• Russia’s official name is the Russian
Federation, reflecting the fact that Russia
comprises, or is made up of, many
different regions or territories.
• It is a federal republic, with power divided
between national and regional
governments.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• To create a market economy, the
government introduced privatization, or
the transfer of ownership of businesses
from the government to individuals.
• In a market economy, prices result from
competition between companies and from
what consumers need, want, and are
willing to pay.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• Russians today have freedoms forbidden
by the Communists.
• The people now have different political
parties; can criticize their leaders and
policies; and enjoy uncontrolled access to
news, books, and different cultures
and ideas.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• Russia’s new economy led to the spread of
consumerism, or the desire to buy goods.
• Many businesses made large profits, and
a Russian middle class emerged.
• The term, middle class, refers to a social
group that is neither very rich nor poor but
has enough money to buy some luxury
items.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• The new economic system also gave workers
freedom to quit their jobs and seek
employment elsewhere, open their own
businesses, or invest.
• Investing means putting money into
businesses run by others in hope of
making even more money.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• Some businesses failed and some stayed
open but fired workers to cut costs, causing
unemployment.
• Some skilled workers still face
underemployment, which means they are
forced to take jobs that require lesser skills
than they have.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• The unsettled economy is also difficult for
pensioners, or people who regularly receive
fixed payments from the government because
they are too old or too sick to work.
• When prices rise but the amount of the
payments does not increase, it becomes
difficult for pensioners to buy goods.
Changing Politics and Society (cont.)
• Russia’s population declined from 150 million
people in 1991 to 143 million in 2006, due to
low birthrates and rising death rates.
Life Expectancies: Russia and Europe
What is a positive change that has
occurred in post-communist Russia?
A. Underemployment
B. Inflation
C. New constitution
D. Decline in life
expectancy
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Russia’s Economic Regions
Russia’s four economic
regions differ in the resources
and products they supply.
Russia’s Economic Regions
(cont.)
• Moscow is the political, economic, and
transportation center of Russia.
• A large amount of manufacturing also
takes place in or near Moscow.
• Under Soviet rule, most of Russia’s
factories focused on heavy industry, or
the production of goods such as
machinery, mining equipment, and steel.
Russia’s Economic Regions
(cont.)
• After communism’s fall, more factories
shifted to light industry, or the production
of consumer goods, such as clothing and
household products.
• High technology and electronics industries
have also developed in Moscow.
• St. Petersburg is a major port and cultural
center, attracting thousand of tourists to its
palaces and churches.
Russia’s Economic Regions
(cont.)
• St. Petersburg is also an important trading
and industrial center.
• A high volume of goods passes through its
port, while its factories make machinery,
ships, and automobiles.
• Kaliningrad is a small, isolated area of
Russia between Poland and Lithuania, but
it is still a major Russian port on the
Baltic Sea.
Russia’s Economic Regions
(cont.)
• The Urals region is a major center of
manufacturing and the farming of wheat
and sugar beets.
• The area of the Ural Mountains is a major
source for copper, gold, lead, nickel,
bauxite, and energy resources.
• Siberia’s climate is cold, and its land is
rugged and frozen. Its resources include
iron ore, uranium, gold, coal, and timber.
What natural resources does Siberia
supply despite its bitterly cold
climate?
A. Gold
B. Timber
C. Coal
D. All of the above
0%
A
A.
B.
C.
0%
D.
B
A
B
C
0%
D
C
0%
D
Geography is used to interpret the
past, understand the present, and
plan for the future.
Content Vocabulary
• decree
• deposit insurance
• oligarch
• separatist
movement
Academic Vocabulary
• prior
• unify
• conduct
What do you think is the most popular possession in
Russia? A car? A computer? No, it is most likely a
cell phone. The popularity of cell phones has
skyrocketed in Russia. Russia has a growing middle
class with money to spend. Young business-savvy
Russians are starting companies that provide trendy
and modern products––like cell phones––to this
middle class. As the number of cell phone
businesses has increased, so has cell phone use. It
is estimated that in 1996, only 10,000 people in
Moscow owned cell phones, which cost about
$2,000 each! Now 80 million Russians, or about 60
percent of the population, own cell phones, which
cost about $100 each. The economy is just one part
of Russia that is changing. Read on
to learn more about modern
Russia’s challenges.
Do you think newspapers and
television news networks should be
allowed to openly disagree with what
their government is doing?
A. Yes
A. A
B. B
0%
B
0%
A
B. No
Russian wages are low by Western standards, but their
income taxes, housing, and utilities are also low, so
plenty of money is left for spending. Sales of cars,
furniture, appliances, electronics, and coffee are
skyrocketing, and the Mega 1 mall in Moscow had 52
million shoppers in 2005—the most of any retail
establishment in the world.
Political and Economic Challenges
Russians face many
challenges as they try to build
a democracy and a market
economy.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Prior to 1991, Russians had little
experience with democratic government,
but now many political parties compete in
free elections.
• The Russian people are also now making
their own economic decisions.
• The Russian president has the power to
issue decrees—rulings that have the force
of law and do not need the approval of the
legislature.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Since becoming president in 1999,
Vladimir Putin has strengthened
presidential powers.
• Newspapers remain free, but television
news is again subject to government
control.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Russia is a federal republic with power
shared among national, regional, and local
governments, but President Putin named
district governors who would obey
his wishes.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Politicians at all levels also disregard
democratic ways, and the courts often
favor rich and powerful citizens.
• Many Russian people do not understand
how their new government works and do
not know how to change it.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Positive results of Russia’s shift to a free
market economy include new companies,
higher personal incomes, and higher
prices for Russia’s oil and natural gas
exports.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Economic success has also brought rising
crime and business corruption.
• Oligarchs, or members of a small ruling
class that holds great power, control
various parts of the economy.
• In Russia, oligarchs are often corrupt
business leaders.
Russia’s Per Capita Income
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• The benefits of economic changes have
not reached all of Russia’s people equally.
• A few Russians have grown wealthy, but
many have become even poorer.
• Many Russians do not trust the country’s
banks.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Officials hope that the government-created
deposit insurance system—which will
repay people who deposit their money in a
bank if the bank should go out of
business—will make people feel safer and
more willing to use the banking system.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• Russians also have experienced regional
rivalries in recent years, making it difficult
to unify the country.
• When the Soviet Union fell, several ethnic
groups in Russia saw a chance for
independence and launched separatist
movements, or campaigns to break away
from the national government and form
independent countries.
Political and Economic Challenges (cont.)
• One of the most violent separatist
movements began in Chechnya, a Muslim
region near the Caucasus Mountains in
southern Russia.
• The separatists continue to conduct, or
carry out, terrorist attacks against the
Russian government.
Russia’s shift to a free market
economy has caused all of the
following EXCEPT
A. Corruption
B. Increase to personal
incomes
C. A strong banking system
D. Separatist movements
A. A
B. B
0% C.0%C 0%
D. D
A
B
C
0%
D
Russia and the World
Although Russia remains a
world power, other nations
have questioned some of its
actions.
Russia and the World (cont.)
• As a major world power, Russia plays an
important role in world affairs and, in
recent years, has worked to strengthen
ties with other countries.
• In 2002, Russia agreed to support the
United States and other NATO (North
Atlantic Treaty Organization) countries in
fighting global terrorist activities.
Russia has tried to fortify ties with
other countries.
A. True
B. False
A. A
B. B
0%
B
A
0%
Communism to Democracy
• After communism’s fall,
Russia became more
democratic.
• Russia is a federal
republic, with power
divided among
national, regional, and
local governments.
• Russia has been moving
from a command economy
to a market economy.
Changes in Society
• Russians now can vote
freely and have increased
contact with the cultures
of other countries.
• The switch to a market
economy has benefited
some Russians while
bringing hardships to
others.
• Low birthrates and rising
death rates have led to a
decline in Russia’s population.
Economic Regions
• Moscow, with its many
industries, is the economic
center of Russia.
• Ports in the St. Petersburg
and Baltic region carry on
trade between Russia and
other countries.
• The Volga and Urals region
is a center of manufacturing,
mining, and farming.
• Siberia’s resources are difficult to tap because of
the area’s remoteness and harsh climate.
Challenges
• The increasing power of Russia’s president has
placed limits on democracy.
• Crime and business corruption have grown
in Russia.
• Some ethnic groups want to separate from Russia
and form their own countries.
Russia and the World
• Russian leaders have
worked to strengthen
Russia’s ties with the West.
• Russia has uneasy relations
with some of the countries
that were once part of the
Soviet Union.
privatization
transfer of ownership of businesses
from the government to individuals
middle class
part of society that is neither very rich
nor poor but has enough money to
buy cars, new clothing, electronics,
and luxury items
underemployment
situation that arises when a worker
must take a job that requires lesser
skills than he or she was trained for
pensioner
person who receives regular
payments from the government
because he or she is too old or sick to
work
heavy industry
manufacture of goods such as
machinery, mining equipment, and
steel
light industry
manufacture of consumer goods such
as clothing, shoes, furniture, and
household products
comprise
to be made up of
invest
to lay out money so as to return a
profit
volume
amount
decree
order issued by a leader that has the
force of law
oligarch
member of a small ruling group that
holds great power
deposit insurance
government plan that promises to
repay people who deposit their
money in a bank if the bank should go
out of business
separatist movement
campaign by members of an ethnic
group to break away from the national
government and form an independent
state
prior
earlier in time or order
unify
to unite or bring together
conduct
carry out
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