GEOGRAPHY 308: GEOGRAPHY OF RUSSIA AND EASTERN EUROPE
EXAM I STUDY GUIDE
SECTION I:
SECTION II:
SECTION III:
64 points: Map Locations (17 questions)
56 points: Locations, definitions, terms, issues, and concepts (13 questions)
80 points Essay (2 questions: 40 points each)
200 TOTAL POINTS
SECTION I: Map of Eastern Europe
 Know locations that we have discussed in class
 Current events locations
SECTION II: Locations, Definitions, Terms, Issues and Concepts
 Locations: similar to the map section, but no map
 Definitions and Terms: from the PowerPoints
 Concepts and issues from the videos, readings, and discussions
INTRODUCTION / PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Definitions:
Europe:
 North, South, East, West, and Central
 Why the term “Central Europe?”
 Europe vs. Eurasia vs. Central Asia
Russia vs. CIS vs. USSR
Regions:
 Kaliningrad: Exclave
 Russian “Cultural Hearth”
 Transcaucasia
o Russia:
 Chechnya
 Sochi
o Armenia
o Azerbaijan / Nakhchivan
o Georgia
 Central Asia
 Baltic States
 Balkan States / Former Yugoslavia
 Mediterranean (Southeastern Europe)
 “Frozen Conflict” Zones:
o Crimea
o Donbass (Eastern Ukraine)
o Transnistria
o Nagorno-Karabakh
o Abkhazia
o South Ossetia
o Kosovo?
Major Climatic Zones:
 Names and locations
 General characteristics of each
 Why is Russia so cold?
Russian population concentration—where / why?
Map Analyses of the Region: Trends
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Physical Geography
Climate
Corruption Index
Human Development Index (HDI)
PRE-SOVIET ERA
Proto-Slavs
Migration Period
Slavs
 Definition
 “Cultural Hearth:” Kievan Rus’
o Who founded it?
o Why established?
o Varangians and Trade:
 Seas of importance
 Role of rivers
 Slavs: East, West, South
 Slavic “Cultural Hearth”: cities of note
Vladimir I (of Kiev)
Why did the Russians become Eastern Orthodox?
Great Schism
Eastern Orthodox vs. Catholicism
Religious Regions of Europe, Central Asia
Role of St. Cyril, Thessaloniki
Connection between Religion and Language
Greek Alphabet vs. Cyrillic Alphabet
Script vs. Spoken Language
Genghis Khan / Mongol invasion
Tribute System
Muscovy
 Religious Center(s)
o Rome
o Constantinople (Istanbul)
o Moscow (the “Third Rome”)
 Kremlin
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Russian Homeland / Cultural Hearth
Ivan IV (“The Terrible”): First Tsar
Anastasia Romanovna
Boyars
Start of Romanov Dynasty (Imperial
Russia)
 Patrilineal Legacy: where from?
Competing Empires
 Poland-Lithuania Commonwealth
 Holy Roman Empire (“1st Reich”)
 Ottoman Empire / Vlad the Impaler
 “Turkestan”
Shatterbelt: What is it, where, and why?
Growth of Russia
 Feudalism
 “Russification”
Russian Expansion vs. U.S. Expansion
Russian Underdevelopment: Why?
 Physical / Political reasons
 Social / Cultural reasons
Peter the Great
 Sankt Peterburg:
o “Window to the West”
o Why established?
 Western influences
 Industrialization
Catherine the Great
 The Enlightenment / “Enlightened Despot”
 Trade with the West
 Dissolution of Poland
 “Pale of Settlement”
 Shtetls
 Pogroms
Decembrist Revolt
 Decembrists (Westernizers) vs.
Nationalists (Tsarists)
 Emancipation Reform of 1861
o Pros / Cons
VIDEOS:
 Russia: Land of the Tsars (just the
information from the video that you see on
this study guide)
ARTICLES:
 “War Is Exploding Anew in Ukraine:”
o What is happening in Ukraine?
o What position has Russia adopted?
o What is the “Donbass” region and why
is it significant?
 “How people in South Ossetia, Abkhazia
and Transnistria feel about annexation by
Russia:”
o Why do most of these frozen conflict
zones apparently prefer to be part of
Russia?
 “The Grossman Project:”
o What is the Pale of Settlement?
o Who lived there and why?
o What were the pogroms and why were
they enacted?
o Why might some people, even today,
choose not to recognize / accept their
Jewish ancestry?
SECTION III: Essay (80 Points)
1. As Russia expanded westward, consuming the former Polish-Lithuania Commonwealth and
dissolving the country of Poland, they incorporated large Jewish populations in Central and
Eastern Europe. How did the presence of Jews in Central and Eastern Europe relate to the
establishment of the “Pale of Settlement?” What was the Pale, what was its purpose, and what
role did shtetls play in the management of the Pale? Why was there so much anti-Semitism in
Russia and how does relate to the notion of “Russification?” Related what were the pogroms and
who initiated them against whom? Finally, what was ironic about the creation and settlement of
the Pale in this area?
2. Explain how and why the overwhelming majority of Eastern Europeans are followers of the
Eastern Orthodox religion and what the connection is between Eastern Orthodox and the
language used throughout most of the region. How did this connection come to be? And why is it
that a number of countries in Central and Eastern Europe aren’t Eastern Orthodox? In other
words, who / what were the major political, religious, cultural, and linguistic influences in these
areas?
3. Russia has greatly expanded its territories ever since Ivan the Terrible pronounced himself tsar.
Identify four (4) similarities to U.S. expansion. On the other hand, we know that most of the
Russian population both then and now does not have the economic advantages of residents of
the United States. Explain the role that Russification played in the creation of this economic
disparity between Russia and the U.S. In other words, how did Russification contribute to keeping
Russians relatively poor? Then, discuss perhaps the greatest single difference between Russian
and U.S. expansion in terms of land ownership and how this has impacted the relative wealth of
Russia and the United States in the past and still today.
4. Moscow was, and still is to some extent, often called the “Third Rome.” Offer three (3) reasons or
characteristics of Moscow / Muscovy as to how this nickname applies or how it may have applied
at one time to describe Moscow / Muscovy. Then, explain why Moscow / Muscovy would want to
be identified as the “Third” Rome? Finally, provide three (3) examples of how Moscow / Muscovy
reinforced this notion of being the “Third Rome.”
5. As we know, the Caucasus region is a “shatterbelt” of multiple geographic, historical, cultural, and
political influences. Of course, these influences have helped unite and divide peoples of the
region for centuries. First, provide two (2) influences that have helped unite the rather diverse
ethnicities of the region and then provide two (2) influences that have helped divide these ethnic
groups. Then, related to the frozen conflict zones in the region, how does the reality this region is
a shatterbelt play into the likelihood of frozen conflict zones existing in the region? Finally, if you
were living in one of these frozen conflict zones in the Caucasus, would you prefer to stay as part
of the larger country, become independent, or join with Russia—and why? Support your opinion.
6. The unrest in Ukraine has regularly been in the news for the last year. What was the spark behind
this unrest that took place approximately one year ago and what is the current status of Crimea
and Donbass in Eastern Ukraine? Then, describe the demographics of Ukraine and offer three
(3) examples of Russification that help explain cultural AND political divisions within Ukraine
today—and why Russia is claiming they have a right to Crimea and the Donbass region. In your
explanation be sure to identify the geographic separations (e.g. who is in Western Ukraine and
who is in Eastern Ukraine?). Finally, given the demographics of Ukraine and Eastern Europe,
where else might Russia use similar arguments to claim more territory? Support your opinion if
you believe they will—or will not—invade elsewhere.
7. Discuss the geographic history of the formation of Russia and many of the countries of Central
and Eastern Europe. For example, how did the formation of Kievan Rus occur—and give two (2)
logical geographic reasons that help explain why the settlement of Kievan Rus occurred where it
did. Related, how was it economically supported? Also, who were the “Slavs” and how were they
created? Finally, looking at the cultural history of Ukraine, give three (3) cultural historical
explanations as to why many Ukrainians want to ally with Russia today. In other words, what are
three elements of Ukraine’s and Russia’s histories that draw them together?
8. We spent a fair amount of time discussing various “labels” within our region of interest: e.g.
Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Eurasia, etc. First, explain why a region within Europe would
want to change this label—such as preferring Central Europe over Eastern Europe? Then, in your
opinion, discuss where you think “Central Europe” begins and ends by providing three (3)
explanations / example that support your position. Finally, explain how the political situation and
current unrest in Ukraine fits in with your arguments regarding where you place “Central Europe”
and why.