The Russian Domain
Culture Worlds - Geography 312
The Russian Domain
Defining the Region
Note that this is not the former USSR – it’s only part of that country.
And Russia is still the biggest country on earth!
Included are: o Russia o Belarus (“White Russia”) o Ukraine (not “the Ukraine”) o Georgia o Armenia o Moldova
The Physical Environment
European West
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An extension of the North European
Plain
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Dominated by four major drainage basins: o Dnieper & Don (Black Sea) o West Dvina (Baltic Sea)
Maps adapted from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Location_Russia.svg
; http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect6/Sect6_14.html
o North Dvina (White Sea) o Volga (Caspian Sea)
Ural Mountains & Siberia
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The Urals o Extend about 1,500 miles, from Kazakhstan to the Arctic Ocean. o Not particularly high – highest elevation about 6,200 feet. o Ancient, highly eroded and rich in mineral wealth – gold, platinum, coal, iron, nickel, silver, topaz and beryl are found here. o The Urals are the traditional boundary between Europe and Asia.
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Siberia o Huge region, stretching from the Urals to the Pacific and Arctic
Oceans. o Major sub-regions
West Siberian Plain
Central Siberian Upland
Northeast Highlands
Kamchatka Peninsula o Three major rivers: Ob, Yenisey, Lena. o Amazingly flat, amazingly rich in mineral wealth, including oil, gold, natural gas, timber, diamonds, etc. o Climate limits agriculture and the ability to exploit resources.
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Russian Far East o Between Siberia and the Pacific Ocean. o Dominated by two major river valleys:
The Amur
The Ussuri o Virtually all of the population is found in the south, near the
Chinese border.
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Caucasus & Transcaucasia o A relatively small region, located between the Black and Caspian
Seas. o Another traditional boundary between Europe and Asia. o Steep and mountainous (highest elevation over 18,500 feet), with sheltered valleys. o Although not currently tectonically active, prone to earthquakes. o Volcanic activity in the southern “Lesser Caucasus.”
Climate
Small areas of mild subtropical climate in
Georgia.
Midlatitude steppe from Ukraine to China.
Most of European Russia is the cool summer Continental Climate zone.
Siberian climates range from Continental to Subarctic.
Tundra along the Arctic Ocean.
Map adapted from: http://rst.gsfc.nasa.gov/Sect14/Sect14_1d.html
Agricultural Regions
Much of the region isn’t suitable for agriculture.
However, there are areas of excellent farmland.
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From Belarus to the Volga, diversified agriculture.
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From Ukraine to Central Asia, large-scale grain farming.
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In Georgia and the Caucasus, fruit and vegetable farming.
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Diversified farming in the Far East.
Population & Settlement
Of the roughly 200 million people in the region, about 80% are found in the European Core .
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Moscow
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St. Petersburg
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Lower Volga
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Ural Mountains
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Belarus & Ukraine Map source: http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0303/peopleearth94_usda_big.gif
In the Siberian Hinterland population is concentrated along the Trans-
Siberian or Baikal-Amur Mainline Railroads.
Migration
Roughly 1,000 years ago a Scandinavian people migrated into the area of the European Core.
Mixing with the Slavic people that already occupied the area, they came to be called “Rus.”
Starting in the 16th century Russian traders and settlers began migrating into Siberia. By the 1750s the Russian Tsars controlled territory all the way to the Pacific.
Migration increased enormously in the late 19th and early 20th century, with the completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway (1891-1916).
During the Soviet era millions of people were forcibly relocated – either to labor camps (the Gulag ) or through Russification . In some areas today the process of Russification is being reversed – ethnic Russians are moving back to the Core.
The Russian City
The core of most large Russian cities is old, pre-dates the Soviet era, and has good transportation and services.
Most cities have a pattern of circular zones expanding outward.
Mikrorayons , huge Soviet-era housing blocks, are found some distance from the city center.
Negative Growth
Even more than in parts of Europe, this region is losing population.
Combine very low birth rates with high mortality – and this region could lose a substantial percent of its population.
So far the only solution – cash grants for babies!
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Language
INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILIES
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Slavic
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Russian
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Ukrainian
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Belorussian
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Armenian
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Romanian
NON-INDO-EUROPEAN FAMILIES
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Finno-Ugric
Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b5/Languengl.gif
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Altaic
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Caucasian
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Eskimo-Aleut
The Cultural Fabric: Religion
Eastern Orthodox Christianity is dominant throughout the region (despite the 20 th
century
Communist legacy).
Islam is found in many areas
(especially in the southern regions)
Judaism has decreased considerably, but is by no means extinct.
The Cultural Fabric: Geopolitics
Historically, the Russian Empire expanded over a period of about 500 years, from Moscow to the Pacific Ocean.
During the Soviet era in the 20 th
century though technically the USSR was made up of 15 “equal constituent republics,” in fact power during much of the 20th century was centralized in Russia.
In 1991 when the Soviet Union collapsed, all of the “republics” became independent.
Briefly a “Commonwealth of Independent States” promised to loosely reunite the region, but the CIS has so far been ineffective.
Today, Russia, Belarus and Ukraine have close economic and political ties (with some friction).
Denuclearization – the Russian removal of nuclear weapons from the other Republics has largely been accomplished (with some help from the
United States).
The Transcaucasian region has been a source of ethnic instability.
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Within Russia a number of internal republics are seeking greater autonomy – or even independence.
Economics
Before the Russian Revolution, Russia was slowly making its way from a semi-feudal society to something like a European economy.
The Revolution transformed the economy through a system of centralized economic planning – the State controlled production, set priorities, and determined what would (and wouldn’t) be done.
Much of the modern infrastructure of the region was created during this period.
With the collapse of the USSR, a period of transition began, with a mixture of state-run and private enterprises. The process has been chaotic and costly, but some areas of the economy do seem to be functioning well today – especially those relating to natural resources.
Thousands of new privatized businesses now exist in the service sector.
Problems:
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Income inequality. As few as 100 people may control 25% of the economy.
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Crime. The Russian Mafia controls an enormous percentage of the economy.
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Social problems: Unemployment, housing costs, loss of health care.
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Environmental Problems o During the Soviet era (because of
Marxist theory), the environment was essentially unprotected. o Air, water and radioactive pollution are now a serious problem in many areas, and may be contributing to population decline. o Example: the decline of the Aral Sea.
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=17241
Globalization
The Russian domain’s economy, after being largely isolated during the
20th century, is rapidly being integrated into the world’s economy – especially when it comes to oil.
In 2006 Russia exported about 7 million barrels a day, mostly through pipelines to Europe and China.
Russia also has the largest reserves of natural gas in the world, and is the world’s largest exporter of natural gas (mostly to Europe).
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