Russia and Central Asia

1
Russia and Central Asia

• Economic Geography

2
Natural Resources

• Russia and Central Asia have many different types
  of natural resources, both renewable and
  nonrenewable.

3
Renewable Resources

• Russia has timber in Siberia. Most of Siberia is
  covered in Taiga.
• Russia has a lot of arable land, but most of it
  is in Western Russia.
• Russia has fish in the Black Sea, Caspian Sea,
  and Pacific Ocean.

4
(No Transcript)
5
Agriculture

• Cotton is grown in Central Asia around the Aral
  Sea. The Aral Sea has been shrinking because of
  over irrigation of the rivers that flow into it.

6
Nonrenewable Resources

• Russia has fossil fuels such as oil, coal, and
  natural gas. There is oil on the bottom of the
  Caspian Sea. The natural gas in Russia is in
  Siberia on the Arctic coast.
• Russia consumes less oil than it extracts so it
  is able to export crude oil on the world market.

7
Nonrenewable Resources

• Russia has many minerals such as aluminum,
  copper, lead, iron, zinc, gold, and silver.

8
Energy Resources

• Russia has abundant sources of natural gas, coal,
  and oil. Russia also produces energy with
  nuclear power and hydroelectric power.

9
Chernobyl

• In 1986, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant
  located in the Ukraine exploded. The explosion
  released massive amounts of radiation and the
  entire city of over 300,000 people had to be
  evacuated.

10
Oil Pipelines

• The Russian economy has been expanding because of
  increased investment in the oil industry. After
  the fall of communism many foreign companies
  invested in the Russian oil industry.

11
(No Transcript)
12
(No Transcript)
13
(No Transcript)
14
Capital Resources

• Western Russia has a well developed
  infrastructure to include a system of railroads,
  roads, and canals.
• Siberia has a poor infrastructure. The
  Trans-Siberian railroad runs through Siberia but
  there are not many roads or railroads.

15
Trans-Siberian Railroad

• Novosibirsk became an important city after the
  Trans-Siberian Railroad was completed. (Remember
  site and situation!)
• Site The physical location of a city
• Situation The geographic, political, or
  economic factors around a city that make it
  important

16
Economic System

• From 1917 to 1990 Russia was communist and it had
  a command economy. In a command economy the
  government controls all means of production.
  People cannot own land or businesses.

17
Economic System

• Before 1917, Russia was ruled by a Tsar. He was
  an emperor and had absolute power.
• After 1917, Russia was ruled by the Soviets. The
  Soviet Union refers to Russia, the countries of
  Central Asia, and some countries in Eastern
  Europe.

18
Warsaw Pact Countries
19
Warsaw Pact

• The Warsaw Pact was a group of countries led by
  the Soviet Union that were communist. In order
  to combat the Warsaw Pact the United States
  created NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization).

20
Economic Challenges

• The transition from a command to free market
  economy has been difficult but recently the
  economy of Russia has shown steady growth and
  standards of living are increasing.

21
Economic Challenges

• There is widespread pollution in Russia. A few
  examples are
• Oil spills from poorly maintained pipelines.
• Radioactive waste from nuclear power plants and
  nuclear submarines.
• Air pollution from factories with poor air
  quality standards.

22
Economic Challenges

• The resources in Siberia are difficult to develop
  due to climate, limited transportation links, and
  vastness of the country.