Lydia Mihelic Pulsipher • Alex Pulsipher
• World
Regional Geography
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FIFTH EDITION
CHAPTER 5
Russia and the Post-Soviet States
© 2011 W. H. Freeman and Company
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Any reactions to the film “Conquest” that Brad showed
on my behalf?
Did anyone go to the talk on the “Global Water, Local
Water” last night? Don’t forget there will be International
Development Week events throughout this week.
“The UN Millennium Task Force found that African women
spend 40 billion hours a year getting water. Well imagine
what the poverty impact would be if those women could
put those 40 billion hours to productive use – raising their
families, getting more schooling, keeping their girls in
school”. Dr. Margaret Catley-Carlson in an interview with
IDRC, 2005
One such event is the showing of two films: “Food
Security: It’s In Your Hands” and “Voices of the River”
tonight from 6 to 9 in Building 200, Room 203.
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Career Day: The Geography Department is hosting
a Career Day! All students are welcome to attend. It
will take place tomorrow from 1 to 2 in this room.
Anyone who is working on a major paper who
would also like practice in presenting is welcome to
present at the pre-WDCAG session on Friday, Feb.
22 from 11:30 to 2:30. Just notify Jeff Lewis of your
interest.
I won’t have time to go through all the slides each
week, so please read them on your own. I will do a
little more with Europe, then move on to Russia
and the post-Soviet states
Still waiting to hear from Groups 4, 5, & 7
regarding presentation dates. The summaries are
for the whole group and should fit together well.
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Does anyone ancestors originate in Russia, Ukraine,
or other parts of the former Soviet Union?
With the possible exception of China, this region’s
people suffered more than any other in the 20th
century
Massive deaths of soldiers and losses of civilians from
famine during World War I
More famine and deaths from conflict in the subsequent
revolution and civil war
Famine deaths during the forced collectivization, with up to
5-6 million famine deaths in the Ukraine alone
Soldier and civilian deaths on a massive scale (20 million)
during World War II
Millions executed or interned in the gulag under Stalin
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Union of Soviet Social Republics (USSR) or Soviet Union
- Was the largest political unit on Earth, stretching
from Central Europe to the Pacific Ocean
- It covered one-sixth of the earth’s land surface
- Broke apart in 1991 into a loose alliance of Russia
and 11 post-Soviet states
- Russia is still influential in the world today because
of its size, population, military, and huge oil and gas
reserves
- The area commonly holds elections but the fairness
of these elections is uncertain and several (including
Russia itself) verge on being dictatorships
- Crime and corruption ravage the democracies of the
region
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There is no entirely satisfactory name for the
former Soviet Union; it is called “Russia and
the Post-Soviet States” in this chapter
Russia itself is called the Russian Federation
because it includes more than 30 internal
republics
These internal republics constitute about
one-tenth of its territory and one-sixth of its
population, but do not share power equally
with the Russian government
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Physical features vary over vast territory they
encompass
The region resembles North America in size,
topography, climate, and vegetation
Russia is the largest country in the world,
nearly twice the size of the second largest
country, Canada
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A,B- Alluvial plain of the Volga River
- Flows into Caspian Sea
- Transportation route that connects many parts
of the North European Plain to the Baltic and
White Seas in the north and to the Black and
Caspian Seas in the south
C- Ural Mountains
- Traditionally considered indistinct border of
Asia and Europe, the part of Russia west of the
Urals is often called European Russia
- Low-lying mountain range similar in elevation
to the Appalachian Mountains
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D- West Siberian Plain
- Largest wetlands plain in the world, about the
size of the Eastern United States
- Long bitter winters create a permanently
frozen layer of soil (permafrost) that lies just
beneath the surface
- Because of the permafrost, water does not
drain well, creating swamps and wetlands
E- Central Siberian Plateau
F- Pacific Mountain Zone
G- Semiarid grasslands or steppes, barren
uplands and high mountains
- Caucasus, Elburz, Hindu Kush, Pamir, Tien
Shan, and Altai
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Northern part of Eurasian landmass has the
harshest climate on Earth
Winters are generally long and cold with only
brief hours of daylight
Summers are short and cool to hot with long
days
Precipitation is moderate, primarily coming
from the west
East of the Caucasus Mountains climate is
semiarid to arid, the summers are scorching
and short, the winters are intense
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Farthest north vegetation is tundra grassland;
economic activities include reindeer grazing, and
extracting oil, gas, and other minerals
South of the tundra lies the taiga, which is a vast
cold-adapted coniferous forest; here forestry is the
dominant economic activity (and often unrestrained
by ecological concerns)
Short growing season limits crop agriculture except
in West Siberian Plain, where grain is grown
The southern areas support grasslands and are
used for herding, have been used for commercial
agriculture, but most land is not useful for farming
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Joseph Stalin said “We cannot expect charity
from Nature. We must tear it from her”
During Soviet years huge dams, factories, and
other industrial facilities were built without
regard for the environment or public health
Now Russia and the Post-Soviet States have
some of the worst environmental problems in
the world
By 2000, more than 35 million people in the
region were living in areas where the soil was
poisoned or the air was dangerous to breathe
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Hard to link health issues to urban pollution
because most are nonpoint sources (e.g.
automobile exhaust, raw sewage, and agricultural
chemicals that drain into water supplies)
Dzerzhinsk is listed in the Guinness Book of
World Records as the most chemically polluted
city in the world
Ukraine has some of the worst pollution on earth
but there is a lack of public involvement, so the
government does nothing about it and offending
companies pay bribes and fines to continue to
pollute
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World’s worst nuclear disaster occurred in
Ukraine in 1986, when the Chernobyl nuclear
power plant exploded
The Arctic Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk in the
northwestern Pacific are also polluted with
nuclear waste dumped at sea
Kazakhstan has 237.2 metric tons of
radioactive waste waiting for disposal
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Russia itself has the world’s largest natural
gas reserves, major oil deposits, and forests
35% of the world’s nickel supply, 10% of its
copper, and 40% of its platinum come from
the Norilsk area
The increase in resource demand has also
created an increase in environmental
degradation (e.g., oil spills and soil and water
pollution)
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River Systems
- The Dnieper River is the principal river of
Ukraine, used as a transport conduit to the
Black Sea and on to the Mediterranean and as
a energy resource (hydroelectric dams)
- The Volga River is the chief waterway of
European Russia used for transport; it is also
a site for many hydroelectric power plants
- The Ob, Yenisy, and Lena Rivers are all
located east of the Urals, and flow from south
to north into the Arctic Sea
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Rivers, Irrigation, and the Loss of the Aral Sea
- Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers have long
been used for irrigation of commercial cotton
agriculture
- Diverting the water of these two rivers for
agricultural use was the cause of the loss of the
Aral Sea, once the forth largest lake in the world
- The loss of the Aral Sea has been described as
the largest manmade ecological disaster on earth
- The loss of the Aral Sea has also impacted
climate change as well as human health
- Efforts to increase water flows to the sea have
been effective; in 2006 the water level in the sea
had risen 10ft
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The core of the region is European Russia, the
most densely populated area and the
homeland of ethnic Russians
People spread out and conquered territories
which were under Russian control as part of
the Soviet Union (1917-1991)
The breakup of the Soviet Union was the first
reverse of this Russian expansion in centuries
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Nomadic Pastoralists-the politically and militarily
dominant people of the region for thousands of
years; first domesticated the horse from wild herds
Slavs- group of farmers including the Rus, that
emerged from what is now Poland, Ukraine, and
Belarus and moved east founding many settlements,
including Kiev and Moscow
Mongols- loose confederation of people centered in
East and Central Asia that ruled over the Slavs;
eventually the Slavs rose up and conquered the
Mongols led by Ivan IV (Ivan “The Terrible”) marking
the beginning of the Russian Empire in 1552
Czars- Powerful leaders during the Russian Empire
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The Bolshevik Era
- The Bolsheviks gained control of Russia during the
post-revolution civil war, overthrowing the capitalist
and feudal society and creating a ‘Communist’
society, inspired by the works of Karl Marx
- Vladimir Lenin was the Bolshevik leader
responsible for creating the Communist Party and
created a powerful government in Moscow
The Stalin Era
- 1922-27: Joseph Stalin took over from Lenin; he
sought rapid industrialization made possible because
of a centrally planned or socialist economy, known as
the command economy
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World War II
- 23 million Russians died, more than any other
European combatant
- A failed attempt to conquer Russia exhausted
Hitler’s war machine
- Russia was ceded control of much of Central
Europe, which Stalin intended to make a buffer of
allied Communist states
Cold War
- Once the rest of the world recognized Russia’s
intention of ruling Central Europe or creating the
“Iron Curtain,” the United States and its allies
organized to stop Russian expansion, resulting in a
50-year-long geopolitical rivalry
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Economic and Political
- Oligarchs are individuals who are so
wealthy that they wield enormous political
control
- The power from oligarchs was used to
create the Moscow School of Management,
Skolkovo in 2009
Characteristics of the Command Economy
- 5-year plans with quotas
- Economy did rapidly grow until the 1960s
- Lack of competition and rewards resulted in a lack of
efficiency and poor-quality products
- However, science and technology achieved feats such as
launching the first satellite in 1957, and launching the first
manned spacecraft in 1967
• Soviet Strategic Regional and Transport Planning
- Russification: the process of forcing non-Russian ethnic
groups to conform by swamping groups with a large
number of Russian migrants
- Russia’s large size, harsh climate, and south-to-north
flowing rivers makes transportation difficult to plan
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Energy-based Economic Volatility in the Region
- Russia is world’s largest exporter of natural
gas
- Gazprom is the tenth largest oil and gas entity
in the world
- Many foreign nations are interested or
building pipelines into Central Asia
Relations with the European Union and the Global
Economy
- About 80% of Russia’s foreign investment
comes from the European Union
- Group of Eight (G8): organization of the
wealthiest and most highly industrialized nations
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Changing Agricultural Production
- Only 10% of Russia’s vast empire is suitable for
agriculture
- During the 1990s, yields dropped 20 to 30%,
forcing farms to become privatized or broken apart,
leading to better management and efficiency
Family Food Gardens in Urban Space
- Urban gardens have long been an important source
of nourishment
- Highly productive, accounting for 20 to 30% of
agriculture produced on 1% of agricultural land area
- Urban expansion is starting to encroach on land
available for urban gardens
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Privatization and the lifting of price controls
- By 2000 70% of Russia’s economy was in
private hands
- The result was a lifting of price controls and
reliance on forces of supply and demand to set
pricing
Unemployment and the loss of social services
- Unemployment rates in 2010 were 1.9% in
Belarus and 9.2% in Russia, but 27% in parts of
Caucasia and Central Asia, and as high as 60% in
Turkmenistan
- High rate of underemployment in all countries
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Small businesses face challenges of inflation
and Institutionalized Corruption
- Inflation has increased the rate of credit
from 8% to 25%
The growing Informal Economy
- Many people make a living selling goods
out of their homes, much like the black
market days of old
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1985 Mikhail Gorbachev started the
democratization of the USSR
Vladimir Putin took over as president in
1999, incorporated former military or
security personnel as advisors (siloviki)
Dmitri Medvedev, Putin's heir apparent,
became president unopposed
Putin engineered his appointment to the
office of prime minister (which has no term
limits); many see this as Putin’s effort to
hold onto power indefinitely
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The Color Revolutions
- Rose Revolution in Georgia
- Orange Revolution in Ukraine
- Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan
Cultural Diversity
- Conflicts in Chechnya and Georgia over Russian
rule
Media and Political Reform
- Russian journalists were greatly responsible for the
end of the Soviet Union, starting the origins of a free
press (later destroyed by Putin)
- Television, Internet, and mobile phone use are
increasing
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Russian Mafia: highly organized criminal
network dominated by former KGB and
military personnel who control the thugs on
the streets
Russian smugglers were caught trying to sell
nuclear materials on the black market; all
countries are now cooperating with the
International Atomic Energy Agency in
controlling nuclear material
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Population Patterns
- Low birth rate and aging population, just more
extreme than similar nations
Population Distribution and Urbanization
- 249 million people
- Sparsely populated 22 people per square mile
Shrinking Population
- Since the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russia’s
population has shrunk by 5% to just 142 million
people and will drop to 116 million people by 2050
- Between 1990 -2008 male life expectancy fell from
63.9 to 60 years and women’s life expectancy from
74.4 to 73 years
- 7 million deaths per year are alcohol-related
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Female Labor Force
- By late 1990s 70% of unemployed were
women, but due to death, divorce, and illness
women became sole supporters of families and
had to find jobs
- Now on average female workers are better
educated than men, but still get paid less than
men (36% less)
- One positive feature of communism is that
more women moved into professional positions
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The Trade in Women
- Women are sold as mail-order brides on
the Internet or work in the sex industry
The Political Status of Women
- Women have not shown up in Russian
politics because of long-standing biases
towards women in power
- However, in Belarus, Moldova, and
Kyrgyzstan (more authoritarian governments),
women have held more legislative positions
Who says no one
in Russia has a
sense of humour?
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Orthodox Christianity, Judaism, Islam, and
Muslim are the major religions
-Evangelical Christian sects from the United
States are also becoming popular