Central Asia, The Caucasus & Siberian
Russia – Life Today
Why it Maters: To live in these regions, people
must adjust to a harsh and mountainous
landscape.
Questions you should be able to
answer when we’re done:
• Who are the peoples of Siberia, Central Asia,
and the Caucasus and where do they live?
• How are the cultures of Central Asia and the
Caucasus alike and different?
• What challenges lie ahead for the regions?
Vocab:
• Oasis
• Homogenous
• yurt
From your text:
Trading in Bukhara.
Settlement Patters
• Siberia and Central Asia
– A few large cities,
sparsely settled remote
areas
• Caucasus
– More urban region,
more dense population
in urban areas
Siberian Russia
• Most people live in cities near the transSiberian railroad
• Novosibirsk (1.5 million) is Siberia’s largest
city.
• Some small cities and towns along the major
rivers – Ob’, Yenisey and Lena
• Some cities on Siberia’s eastern coast – like
Vladivostok
Resettlement Programs
• Programs of the Czars and Soviets have made
Siberia’s population mostly Russian
• There are still populations of Mongol and
Turkic groups.
Central Asia
Kazakhstan
• Kazakhstan – only central Asian country with a
largely urban population. (60 %)
• 2/3 ethnic Kazakhs
• ¼ Russian
Turkmenistan
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•
•
•
Turkmenistan – 50/50 urban and rural
¾ ethnic Turkomans
10% Russians
Most Turkoman’s live in villages, Most
Russians live in cities – like the capital
Ashkabad.
Uzbekistan
• Most people live in the eastern ½ of the
country.
• 2/3 Rural
• Oases are covered with Orchards, Fields and
irrigation canals.
• Most rural people are Uzbeks, Most city
dwellers are Russian and Kazakh
Kyrgyzstan
• The people are Kirghiz – once nomads who
were settled onto collectives during the Soviet
Era.
• Less than 40 percent urban.
• Most city dwellers are Russian and Uzbeks.
Tajikistan
• Mostly rural
• Mountainous terrain
• Irrigation has created densely populated
oases.
• 80% ethnic Tajiks
• The rest Uzbeks
Tajikistan
• Contains the Fedchenko
Glacier – it is more than 40
miles long and one of the
largest Alpine glaciers in the
world.
• Language is related to FARSI
– the languge of Iran.
The Caucasus
• Armenia – almost ALL ethnic
Armenian
• Azerbaijan – mostly ethnic Azeri.
• Georgia – large group of ethnic
Georgians, but significant
minority groups – mostly
Armenian and Azeri
• The Caucasus also has 50 smaller
ethnic groups.
The Caucasus
• About 50/50 Urban / Rural
• Armenia is more Urban.
• Rural population is NOT evenly distributed.
People and Cultures
• Russian Influence
– Strong in Central Asia
– Only strong is parts of the Caucasus
• Siberia
– Russian language, Christianity (Russian
Orthodox)
• Buddhist and Muslim minorities.
• Central Asia
– Russian Language in addition to the ethnic
majority language. Mix of Muslim and Christians
depending on the country.
• Caucasus
– Armenians and Georgians – Christian
– Azerbaijanis - Muslim
Ethnic Unrest
• Armenians vs. Turks and Azeris
– Armenians were massacred in the 1890’s and
during WWI
• Armenian Christians vs Islamic Axeris in the
Caucasus and Iran
• Modern conflict: Armenians vs. Azeris over a
region with an Armenian majority that is part
of Azerbaijan.
Georgia’s unrest
• Armenian minority has sought greater self
rule.
• 1992 Abkhaz and Ossentians have revolted for
independence.
Tajikistan
• Civil war after Soviet Rule ended.
Daily Life - Stans
• Urban
– European Dress
• Rural
– Traditional Dress
– Yurts
– Equestrian sports important to the culture of the
nomadic people
Yurt
Relationships and Challenges
• Since the Soviet era, most Caucasus and
Central Asian Countries have struggled to
establish stable, democratic governments
and free-enterprise economies. Even though
most countries adopted new constitutions
with democratic governments, it was hard to
get them in place
• Russians have been leaving Central Asia
gradually since the end of Soviet Rule.
– At first “Brain Drain”, but now the new graduates
are filling the gap.
Soviet Legacy
Pollution and Environmental disregard
– also leading to health issues.
Territorial Issues
• Border issues with most countries since the
Soviet Union did not create borders that paid
attention to ethnic boundaries
• Territory disputes over land that has
resources – ex: seabed of the Caspian Sea
• Russia vs Japan regarding the Kuril Islands
south of Siberia’s Kamchatka
Some Charts to help……
Where do people live?
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•
•
•
•
•
•
Siberia
Kazakhstan
Turkmenistan
Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan
Tajikistan
Caucasus
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Near the Rail
60% Urban 40% Rural
505 urban 50% Rural
66% Rural
60% Rural
Mostly Rural
Up to 70% Urban
Ethnicity
•
•
•
•
Turkmenistan
Kazakhstan
Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan
• Tajikistan
•
•
•
•
75% Turkoman 10% Russian
66% Kazakh 25% Russian
Uzbeks, Russians, Kazakhs
66 % Kirghiz, the rest Uzbek &
Russian
• 80% Tajik, the rest Uzbek
Religion
• Siberia
•
•
•
•
•
Kazakhstan
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia
The Rest of
Central
Asia
• Russian Orthodox Christian (Buddhist
& Muslim minorities.)
• 50% Christian 50% Muslim
• Mostly Christian
• Mostly Muslim
• Mostly Christian (sig. Muslim Minority)
• 75 – 95% Muslim (Christian minority)
Question 1
True or False:
Turkmenistan is the only Central Asian country
that is mostly urban.
Question 2
True or False:
Two-thirds of Kyrgyzstan's people are ethnic
Russians
Question 3
True or False:
Russian is widely spoken throughout Central
Asia
Question 4
True or False:
The countries of the Caucasus made a smooth
transition to democracy.
Question 5
True or False:
Russia and Japan both claim ownership of parts
of the Kuril Islands
Question 6
How do settlement patterns in the Caucasus differ
from those in Siberia and most of Central Asia?
A) The Caucasus is a more urban region than
Siberia or Central Asia.
B) Unlike in Siberia and Central Asia, most people
in the Caucasus live on farms.
C) The rural areas of Siberia and Central Asia are
more densely populated than those of the
Caucasus.
D) Unlike Siberia and Central Asia, the Caucasus has
no large cities.
Question 7
Most cities and towns in Siberia are located
along or near which feature?
A)
B)
C)
D)
Siberia’s eastern coast
The Yenisey River
The route of the Trans-Siberian Railroad
The Ob’ and Lena rivers.
Question 8
Where is Azerbaijan’s most densely populated
area?
A) In the extreme southeast between the
Caspian Sea and the Iranian border.
B) On the Ararat plain, near the Turkish border
C) Around its capital city, Baku
D) In the area along the Black Sea Coast.
Question 9
Which of the following has been a source of unrest
in Georgia?
A) Christians in Georgia have demanded the right
to practice their religion freely.
B) Ethnic minority groups in Georgia have south
independence and self rule.
C) Income inequality be3tween rural Muslims and
Urban Christians has led to rioting
D) Georgian Communists backed by Russian troops,
have fought Islamic groups.
Question 10
Which of the following activities is important in
most Central Asian cultures?
A) raising and racing horses
B) Breakdancing
C) Growing flowers
D) Sculpting statues from ice
Question 11
Why is there such a mix of ethnicities in Siberian
Russia?
Question 12
How did Islam come to the countries of the
Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan?
Question 13
What is a yurt?
Question 14
Why were the Caucasus and Central Asia slow to
establish democratic governments when the
Soviet Union collapsed?
Vocab:
• Oasis
• Homogenous
• yurt
So…….
• Who are the peoples of Siberia, Central Asia,
and the Caucasus and where do they live?
• How are the cultures of Central Asia and the
Caucasus alike and different?
• What challenges lie ahead for the regions?
The End
…”Borat from Kazakhstan”