Week 8
Russian Domain and Central Asia
Oct. 20th
-Go over Midterm.
-Political Geography
-The Russian Domain and Central Asia will be the largest region we will cover in this class. It
stretches from Eastern Europe in the west all the way to the Pacific Ocean in the east.
-The farthest eastern portion of Russia is Cape Dezhnev, which is technically part of the
Chukotka Autonomous Okrug. This point is technically in the Western Hemisphere and
is only 53 miles from Alaska. In the past, before the Cold War, the natives in both
Alaska and this part of Siberia routinely crossed back and forth across the strait in
kayaks.
-Most of both of these regions, as your book divides them, were once under the control of the
Soviet Union. Only Afghanistan and Mongolia were never directly controlled, however the
USSR unsuccessfully attempted to take over Afghanistan in the 80’s and indirectly controlled
Mongolia until the early 90’s.
-Your book considers the Eastern European nations of Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova to be part
of the Russian domain because of their politically alignment/dependence on Russia.
-Russia has shares many cultural ties with the Slavic populations in Belarus and Ukraine, most
notably they mostly share the Eastern Orthadox faith, except for many in western Ukraine that
are Catholic.
-Belarus is run by a powerful repressive government that is very resistant to outside
influence and investment even from Russia.
-There are a lot of tensions between the Ukraine and Russia especially since Ukraine has
tried to join the EU and NATO. Nevertheless, Russia has many investments in Ukraine
and has been heavily involved in Russian politics. This is possible because much of
eastern Ukraine is pro-Russian and speaks Russian rather than Ukrainian
-For example in 2004 reformist and Viktor Yushchenko came to power after a
controversial election where he was allegedly poisoned by Russian secret service
agents. He was in favor of jointing the EU and NATO, but the economic
problems of the past few years allowed his pro-Russian opponent to defeat him.
-Moldova is a small nation that has more cultural ties to Romania but has close political and
economic ties to Russia. This is one of the poorest nations in the European region and was
actually recently rated as the most unhappy nation in the world. Some in Moldova advocate
joining Romania while others in the region of Transdnister are more aligned with Russia.
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Russian Domain and Central Asia
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-In the Transcaucasus Region the countries of Georgia and Armenia are considered part of the
Russian domain because of their Christian heritage; most of the rest of the region is Muslim.
-Armenia is allied closely with Russia mostly because the country is surrounded by its bitter
enemies; Turkey and Azerbaijan. Although they are allied with Russia they are also trying to
build ties to with the US and the EU.
-Georgia has had a very contentious relationship with Russia since its independence which are
exacerbated by its growing ties with the US and the EU. In 2008 there was actually open
conflict between Georgia and Russia when Georgia tried to exert control over two break away
regions of Southern Ossetia and Abkhazia that have declared their independence. After an
invasion of Southern Ossetia by Georgian forces the Russians stepped in an virtually annihilated
the Georgian Forces. Today the status of Southern Ossetia is still up in the air as it is only
recognized as an independent nation by Russia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and the tiny Micronesian
nation of Nauru. Georgia does not recognize the independence of this region and sees it as
Russian occupied Georgian territory.
-Most of central Asia is composed of the primarily Muslim former Soviet republics (the stans).
However your book also includes the nations of Afghanistan and Mongolia and the regions of
Tibet, Xinjiang and Inner Mongolia, which are part of China.
-This region contains some of the most isolated and least populated, and least developed nations
in the world. Many of these nations are only just feeling the affects of globalization.
-Although the nation of Azerbaijan is in the Transcaucasus Region because of its religion it is
more culturally aligned with the Muslim nations of central Asia.
-There have been some boarder conflicts between Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Kyrgyzstan.
-Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Turkmenistan have large oil and natural gas reserves and have thus
received a lot of interest from both Russia and the west. The relatively new Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline now gives these three countries a chance to sell their resources to Europe (via the
Turkish port of Ceyhan) rather than going through Russia first. Russia is not at all happy about
this and blames the west for taking their business away.
-The article I had you read for today focuses on a railroad that will follow the path of this
line and connect Central Asia to Europe via Turkey.
-Both the railroad and the pipeline intentionally went around Armenia. This is largely
because of the tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan; the two countries were at war,
are now in a state of ceasefire, and Armenia occupies the Azerbaijani region of NagornoKarabakh in which mostly ethnic Armenians live.
-So how does this railroad and pipeline help the people in the Transcaucasus Region? Is
everyone helped the same?
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Russian Domain and Central Asia
Oct. 20th
-Afghanistan has been in a nearly constant state of war since 1978.
-Mongolia was dominated by Soviet Russia until the early 1990’s; it is the most sparsely
populated nation in the world. As much of the 30% of the nation today live a nomadic herders
who reside in traditional yurts. Under Russian domination herding was discouraged but after the
Break up of the Soviet Union many left cities and towns to return to their traditional nomadic
lifestyle on the vast Mongolian steppes.
-The regions of Xinjiang and Tibet are technically autonomous regions in China but the
indigenous inhabitants of these regions are struggling for true independence and against massive
influxes of Han Chinese immigrant settlers in their territory.
-Xinjiang is the westernmost territory in China. It is a very recourse rich and of strategic
importance because of its boarder with India so China will probably never grant this region
complete autonomy.
-Much of Xinjiang is populated by the Uygur ethnic group, who are mostly Muslims.
Some Uygurs have formed independence groups that are seen by both the Chinese and
the US as terrorist groups. Some Uygurs were held in Guantanamo Bay as terrorists even
though the US State Department even admits that Uygur groups are not jihadist.
-Recent Uygur protests have been violently repressed by the Chinese government.
Although during the protests some Uygurs did attack groups of Han immigrants and Han
owned businesses.
-China is also planning on tearing down much of the ancient Uygur city of Kashgar.
They say they are doing this to replace old buildings with new earthquake proof
buildings, but they are tearing down many historical mosques and other buildings
important to the Uygur population.
-Tibet is much better known in the west than Xinjiang mostly because of the work of the 14th
Dalai Lama throughout the world. Tibet went through several periods of independence and
Chinese rule throughout history, although Tibetans claim they have always been independent.
When independent Tibet was run as a Buddhist theocracy based at Lhasa. Both Tibet and
Mongolia differ from much of Central Asia in the fact that they are mostly Tibetan Buddhists.
-In 1912 Tibet was free of Chinese imperial rule but no country in the world recognized Tibet as
an independent nation. Nevertheless it remained independent until after World War II when in
1950 Mao’s army invaded the region claiming that it has always been part of China and that
China had always been a multi-ethnic nation.
-Mao’s communist government was ant-religion and this did not mix well with the theocratic
Tibetan society. From 1951 through 1959 Tibetan society was left largely intact even Buddhism,
although they did start secular schools ending the monastic monopoly on education.
-Eventually Tibetans started to resist Chinese rule and the CIA even helped with this effort.
Eventually in 1959 the Dalai Lama had to flee Tibet to India. With the help of the CIA many
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dissidents went back to fight the Chinese but they were never able to gain the support of the
peasants to start a general uprising.
-Between 1959 and 1961 over 6,000 Buddhist monasteries were destroyed by the Chinese.
-Today the Chinese call Tibet the Tibetan Autonomous Region, but still rule it with an iron fist.
In 2008 widespread anti-Chinese protests sprung up throughout Tibet, the timing was planned
occur just before the Olympics. However, even with the world watching the Chinese brutally put
down the protests and arrested hundreds of monks.
-In 2006 the Dalai Lama declared, “Tibet wants autonomy not independence.” However, the
Chinese do not believe this and view him as a dangerous rebel in exile.
-Physical Geography
-Because Russia and Central Asia are such a large regions they obviously have a very diverse
physical geography.
-Since it is so far north much of Russia is tundra and taiga, northern pine forest. The Siberian
taiga is the largest continuous forest in the world.
-Most agriculture takes place in European Russia west of the Ural Mountains. However Russia
is positioned so far north (Moscow is at the same latitude as Ketchikan, Alaska) that it has short
growing seasons. The best agricultural lands are in the southwestern part of the region. Southern
Ukraine is knows as an especially fertile wheat-growing region.
-In far eastern Russia along the Amur River has a more mild climate and also is an important
agricultural region.
-South in Transcaucasia there is also warmer weather and especially in Georgia there is great
agricultural potential. Georgia has long provided Russia with fruits and vegetables (kind of like
the California of Russia during the Soviet era).
-The Ural Mountains divide European Russia from Asian Russia. This is a low mountain range
but is full of many important mineral resources.
-Siberia is a vast cold region that is particularly rich in resources, Russia is just now really
developing the technology to extract these resources and get them out of this cold region. As a
result Russia is becoming a important global producer of petroleum and natural gas.
-Lake Baikal in southern Siberia is the world’s oldest, deepest, and largest fresh water lake. It
contains 20% of the world’s fresh surface water. The area around this lake is an important
diverse ecological region, as 80% of its species are found nowhere else in the world.
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Russian Domain and Central Asia
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-In far eastern Siberia the Kamachatka Peninsula juts out into the Pacific Ocean. The peninsula
is comprised of a spectacular volcanic landscape that is much less polluted than most of the rest
of Russia. It has become especially popular place for rich eco-tourists; there aren’t many roads
so they have to come in by helicopter. This peninsula is especially important habitat for salmon,
and bears that eat salmon. In North America many former salmon rivers have been dammed
causing problems for salmon runs, but in the Kamachatka this hasn’t happened yet. However,
salmon poachers after their eggs to sell as caviar have become a problem in recent years.
-Much of the Russian Domain has faced terrible pollution due to the Soviet era policies
encouraging development at all costs. Lake Baikal, for example, has been heavily polluted by
wood pulp plants.
-One might think that global warming would be good for such a northern region but it can
actually cause problems. It would extend the growing season in some places like Belarus and
keep some Russian ports open longer. However, much of northern Russia is tundra with frozen
permafrost. If this permafrost were to melt it would release vast amounts of carbon into the
atmosphere actually increasing the rate of global warming.
-The Central Asian landscape is very harsh and thus not very heavily populated. In the north are
the vast grassy plains known as the steppes that once were roamed by powerful militaristic
nomadic societies such as the Tartars, the Huns, and the Mongols.
-Some of the driest most desolate deserts in the world are also located in this region. The
Taklamakan and Gobi deserts are so harsh they are virtually uninhabited. Both of these deserts
are also expanding (desertification) due to global warming and poor agricultural practices.
-The southern part of the region is broken up by many very high and rugged mountain ranges
such as the Hindu Kush, the Pamir Mountains, and the Karakoram Range. To the south of these
is the high altitude Tibetan Plateau. This is sometimes called the roof of the world as most of it
is above 12,000 feet. Not much other than the nomadic herding of high altitude adapted yaks can
be done on much of this plateau and some of it is even to high for this activity.
-The Caspian Sea is the largest lake in the world, however it is salt water. This vast lake has
faced a lot of environmental problems including fluctuation in sea levels. It is also are region
that is rich in oil and natural gas and pollution form this industry had taken its toll on this lake.
-Global warming is an especially important issue in Central Asia. This dry region receives
almost all of its water from glacial fed rivers. With the warming of the climate the glaciers are
shrinking and if they do disappear the water source for much of the region will be gone and
many people will be forced to move.
-Most of the water in the region is controlled by the very mountainous nations of Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan. These nations have plans to dam many of their rivers to provide electricity and
control their water resources. Other Central Asian countries are not happy about this because
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they rely on those Kyrgyz and Tajik rivers for their water. In 2009 there was a meeting of the
Central Asian countries to work out this water issue but no agreements were made.
-One of the most interesting features of this region of the world is how ethnically diverse it is.
-Russia is technically a federation that has many semi-autonomous republics. Some of these,
like the Muslim Chechnya, want independence from Russia but others do not.
-Out in eastern Siberia many of these republics are inhabited by mostly Asian indigenous groups,
which actually have more in common with many Native American groups than the Russians.
-The Russians expanded eastward from the Moscow region and took over much of Siberia in the
1600’s and 1700’s. In the process they tried to Russianize many of the indigenous groups that
lived in Siberia.
-The Sakha Republic is the largest of the semi-autonomous republics in Russia. If it were an
independent country it would be the eighth largest one in the world, however it has less than 1
million residents.
-Most of the residents of Sakha, who call themselves the Yakuts, are a mix of Turkic and
Mongolic speakers who conquered the indigenous hunting and gathering tribes of this region in
the 1600’s. This region is so remote that it was a favorite place for Czars and Soviet leaders to
send people into exile.
-There are still many indigenous groups that live in Siberia:
-The Koryaks:
-They live in the lands just to the north of the Kamachatka Peninsula. They have their
own semi-autonomous region known as the Koryak Autonomous Okrug.
-They were a reindeer herding people who relied on this animal for most of their food
although salmon were also and important resource; they even used their milk.
-The Chukchi:
-They live mostly on the Chukchi Peninsula near the Bearing Strait.
-They are divided into two groups the Maritime Chukchi who lived mostly by hunting
marine mammals, similar to how Inuit in Alaska and Canada live. The Reindeer Chukchi
live by herding reindeer similar to the Koryaks. The Soviets forced all of them into
reindeer herding collectives during the soviet era.
-They were a very warlike people and resisted Russian rule for a long time.
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Russian Domain and Central Asia
Oct. 20th
-The Evenks: (Eventi)
-Originated in the regions north of Lake Baikal but moved into much of eastern the
Siberia taiga after the domestication of the reindeer. They relied of reindeer for
transportation and milk and hunted other animals for their meat.
-They developed a unique saddle and actually rode their reindeer.
-We will now watch a video on the Nenets of Western Siberia another group of reindeer herders.
-As you might imagine because it is a mountainous region Central Asia is very ethnically
diverse. Especially in Tajikistan there are many mountain dialects.
-Afghanistan is one of the most ethnically diverse nations. As you can see in this map no one
group dominates the nation. The southern less mountainous Pashtun speaking region is where
most of the supporters of the Taliban come from. As you can see it is where Quandahar, the
spiritual center of the Taliban, is located.
-The northern more mountainous region is more ethnically diverse and less fundamentalist. So it
is the southern Pashtun speakers that are famous for their strict Islamic laws.
-Afghanistan has been a conflicted region for centuries, but its modern troubles started in the late
1970’s when a Soviet backed government took control. When this government was going to
collapse the Soviets invaded and fought a long bloody war they lost. The opposition, lead in part
by bin Laden, was armed by the Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States.
-After soviet withdrawal there was a civil war fought by many different warlords; the Taliban
eventually won control of most of the nation with the help of Pakistan. They enacted strict
Islamic law and restricted the rights of women severely. When they came to power many were
happy that order would be restored but the happiness was short lived especially for women.
-US invaded after September 11th and quickly defeated most Taliban forces. However they have
regrouped, mostly in the Pashtun speaking areas of Pakistan, and are fighting back now. The US
installed government is very corrupt.
-Big problem now is that about 90% of the worlds opium is now being grown in Afghanistan.
The crop is easy to grow and the only source of money for many Afghanis.
-Overall the Russian Domain and Central Asia are going to be more and more affected by
globalization in the years to come. There is a race between the west and China to get control of
the vast recourses in the region. Gas and oil pipelines from Russian and Kazakhstan now go
west to Europe and east to China and Japan. China and the west are now currently competing to
get access to less developed regions as well. For example Afghanistan has huge amounts of
mineral wealth of all kinds but it will take billions of dollars in investment to get to it and get it
out of there since there is virtually no infrastructure in that nation at the moment.
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