Russia and the Republics
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
Landforms and Resources
 Russia and the Republics take up a huge land area
 Russia is the largest country in the world
 3 times the land area of the US
 Spreads across the continents of Asia and Europe
West of the Ural Mountains = Europe
 East of the Ural Mountains = Asia
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Crosses 11 timezones
Nearly 1/6th of the earth’s land surface
Divided into the Northern European Plain, the West Siberian
Plain, the Central Siberian Plateau, and the Russia Far East
 Former Soviet Republics (15) – all part of the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) 1922 – 1991
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Armenia; Azerbaijan; Belarus; Estonia; Georgia; Kazakhstan;
Kyrgyzstan; Latvia; Lithuania; Moldova; Russia; Tajikistan;
Turkmenistan; Ukraine; Uzbekistan
Northern European Plain
 Stretches for 1000 miles from western border of
Russia to the Ural Mountains
 Because of the fertile soil in the region, this is a
major agricultural area
 75% of the region’s 290 million people live in this
plain
 3 of the area’s largest cities are in this region:
Moscow, Russia’s capital; St. Petersburg, and Kiev,
the capital of the Ukraine
Label Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Moldova (page 338)
West Siberian Plain
 The Ural Mountains separate the Northern
European and West Siberian plains
 Some geographers say the Ural Mountains separate
Europe and Asia
 Others consider Europe and Asia to be one continent
called Eurasia
Central Siberian Plateau and the Far East
 An area of high plateaus, mountains, and uplands
 The Russian Far East contains volcanic ranges,
peninsulas and islands
Lena River
Kamchatka
Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky a city in the Russian Kamchatka
Peninsula
Kamchatka Salmon
Kuril Island
Southern Landforms
 The Caucasus Mountains run between the Black and
Caspian Seas and form the border between Russia
and Transcaucasia
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Transcaucasia: a region that contains Armenia, Azerbaijan,
and Georgia
 Central Asia: the region that includes the republics of
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan,
and Uzbekistan
Transcaucasia and Central Asia
Label Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan (page 338)
Label countries of Central Asia (p 338)
Rivers and Lakes
 Major rivers in the region include the Lena, the
Yenisey, and the Volga
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The Volga is the longest river on the European continent and
carries about 60% of Russia’s river traffic
Lakes
 Major lakes in the region include the Aral and
Caspian Seas
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Both are saltwater lakes
The Caspian Sea is the largest inland sea in the world
The Aral Sea has lost 87% of its water volume since the 1960’s
Major irrigation projects have diverted water away from the rivers
that feed the Aral
 Pesticides and fertilizers in runoff were carried by rivers and
streams into the Aral Sea
 Killed all the native fish
 As water evaporated, windstorms blew chemicals onto nearby
populations causing an increase in disease
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Label Caspian and Aral Seas
Camels grazing near fishing ships abandoned after
the Aral Sea dried up
Lake Baikal
 Lake Baikal is the deepest lake in the world
 At its deepest, it is more than a mile deep
 It holds 20% of the world’s freshwater
 Thousands of species of plants and animals live in the lake
Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world
Regional Resources
 Russia and the Republics have a wealth of natural
resources but have struggled with how to manage
them
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Challenge: how to transport resources over vast distances,
rugged terrain, and harsh climates
 The area has huge reserves of coal, iron ore, and
other metals
 It is a leading producer of oil and natural gas
 Russia holds 1/5th of the world’s timber
 One of the world’s largest producers of hydroelectric
power
Resource Management
 Many of the region’s resources are located in Siberia
 The part of Russia that lies on the continent of Asia
 Businesses find it difficult to attract workers to this area
 Distance decay: long distances between places make
communication and transportation difficult
 Political and economic change in recent years has
made managing resources difficult
Climate and Vegetation
 The region is so vast that there is a wide range of climates
 Areas in a Siberian town of Oymyakon have reported temperatures
of -95 degrees
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In areas of Transcaucasia, the climate is pleasant and used to be a
vacation spot before ethnic conflict made travelling dangerous
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http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/10000-year-old-extinct-lion-cubsdiscovered-in-near-perfect-condition-in-siberian-permafrost/ar-BBmu4NI
 Transporting cargo on
frozen Lake Baikal