RUSSIA , MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES

1
RUSSIA , MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES

• IMMENSE TERRITORIAL STATE
• NORTHERNMOST LARGE AND POPULOUS COUNTRY IN THE
  WORLD
• A FORMER WORLD COLONIAL POWER
• A COMPARITIVELY SMALL (lt145 MILLION) AND
  CONCENTRATED POPULATION
• CONCENTRATED DEVELOPMENT
• MULTICULTURAL STATE
• MINIMAL PORTS

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RUSSIAS DIMENSIONS

• SPANS 11 TIME ZONES
• GULF OF FINLAND TO ALASKA (WEST TO EAST), AND
  WELL ABOVE THE ARCTIC CIRCLE TO SALT LAKE CITY
  (NORTH TO SOUTH)
• TWICE THE SIZE OF THE US OR CHINA
• SIBERIA SLEEPING LAND

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SIZE, LOCATION AND SPACE RELATIONSHIPS

• LATITUDINAL EXTENT
• NORTHERNMOST POINT RUDOLF ISLAND IN FRANZ JOSEPH
  LAND (82O)
• SOUTHERNMOST POINT GROZNY IN WEST AND
  VLADIVOSTOK IN EAST (44O)
• LONGITUDINAL EXTENT
• MORE THAN TWICE ITS MAXIMUM NORTH-SOUTH EXTENT
  AND EXTENDS THROUGH 11 TIME ZONES
• RUSSIA MAKES UP 76.6 OF THE TOTAL TERRITORY OF
  THE FORMER USSR (17,075,400 KM--ALMOST TWICE THE
  SIZE OF THE US).

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80o
Arctic Circle
Alaska
60o
40o
Hawaii
LOCATIONAL IMPACT ON RUSSIAS CLIMATE
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CONTINENTALITY

• CLIMATIC CONDITIONS BASED ON A LARGE LAND MASS
  (as opposed to maritime climates)
• A LARGE LAND MASS IN THE HEART OF A CONTINENT
  TEND TO ABSORB MORE HEAT IN THE SUMMER AND RETAIN
  MORE COLD CONDITIONS IN WINTER

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CLIMATOLOGY

• CLIMATE
• AVERAGE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR A GIVEN AREA OVER
  AN EXTENDED PERIOD OF TIME
• WEATHER
• REFERS TO THE ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS AT A
  SPECIFIC PLACE AND TIME
• CLIMATOLOGY
• A BRANCH OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
• CONCERNED WITH
• SPATIAL ARRANGEMENT OF CLIMATE OVER THE SURFACE
  OF THE EARH
• PROCESSES WHICH CONTRIBUTE TO THE DISTRIBUTION

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RUSSIAN CLIMATE
Refer to Map on p. 15

• AFFECTED BY 3 NATURAL CONDITIONS
• -- LATITUDINAL POSITION
• -- CONTINENTAL POSITION
• -- LOCATION OF MAJOR MOUNTAINS

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VEGETATION

• Tundra treeless plains along Arctic shores with
  moss, lichen, and some grasses
• Taiga South of Tundra, mostly coniferous
  forests
• Permafrost Ground and subsoil are permanently
  frozen

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CLIMATE AS A RESTRICTIVE ELEMENT

• AGRICULTURE
• SHORT GROWING SEASONS
• DROUGHT PRONE
• EROSION (ACCELERATED VIA SNOW MELT)
• SETTLEMENT PATTERNS TRANSPORTATION
• INDUSTRY
• HIGH ENERGY CONSUMPTION
• SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES
• EXTRACTIVE
• PERMAFROST
• SPRING AND FALL MUD
• SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND FACILITIES -

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Russias Physiographic Regions (8 total regions)
Refer to Map on p. 103
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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS

• 1. RUSSIAN PLAIN
• EASTWARD CONTINUATION OF NORTH EUROPEAN LOWLAND
• CORE AREA (MOSCOW BASIN)
• INCLUDES URBAN CENTERS

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS(continued)
2. THE URAL MOUNTAINS

• NORTH-SOUTH LENGTH COVERS 2500 KMS
• HIGHEST POINTS ARE IN THE NORTHERN URALS-2000
  METERS IN PLACES
• CENTRAL URALS ARE THE LOWEST SECTION AND INCLUDE
  SEVERAL KEY CROSSING PLACES
• SOUTHERN URALS ARE WIDER AND CONSIST OF A NUMBER
  OF PARALLEL NORTH-SOUTH RIDGES AND INTERVENING
  VALLEYS
• URAL FORESTS AND MINERALS HAVE BEEN THE BASIS
  FOR INDUSTRIALIZATION AND BOAST AT LEAST TWENTY
  DIFFERENT COMMERCIALLY USABLE MINERALS.

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS(continued)
3. WEST SIBERIAN PLAIN

• THE WORLDS LARGEST UNBROKEN LOWLAND
• INCLUDES THE OB AND IRTYSH RIVER BASIN
• PERMAFROST
• MAJOR CITIES
• OMSK
• NOVOSIBIRSK

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS(continued)
4. CENTRAL SIBERIAN PLATEAU

• SPARSELY SETTLED
• INACCESSIBLE
• RESTRICTIVE CLIMATE
• PERMAFROST
• NATURAL RESOURCES

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS(continued)

• 5. YAKUTSK BASIN
• MOUNTAINOUS, HIGH RELIEF
• HARDLY POPULATED, LIFE HERE IS TOUGH

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS(continued)

• 6. EASTERN HIGHLANDS
• RANGES, RIDGES, PRECIPITOUS VALLEYS, VOLCANIC
  MOUNTAINS, LAKE BAYKAL
• INCLUDES THE KAMCHATKA PENINSULA

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS(continued)

• 7. CENTRAL ASIAN RANGES
• RISE ABOVE THE SNOW LINE, GLACIATED

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PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS(continued)

• 8. CAUCASUS MOUNTAINS
• EXTENSIONS OF THE ALPINES
• ALSO A CULTURAL DIVIDE, people historically north
  of the Caucasus Mountains are known as Caucasians

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Understanding present-day Russian culture
requires understanding of a brief history of
Russias political regimes.
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The Mongol Invasion (14th C)

• Mongols had more military success in the open
  plains of Ukraine and Siberia
• The Slavs fleed into the forests and gathered
  there in what is the present-day Moscow
• Moscow became the unchallenged center of the
  Slavic Russes.

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EARLY 16TH CENTURY(IVAN THE TERRIBLE- 1547-1584)
The Grand Duchy of Muscovy under the rule of
Ivan, was a military power. So began an era of
expansion as they defeat the Tartars and ending
Islamic threat. The Grand Duchy was an imperial
state and rulers call themselves csars.
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MID 17TH CENTURYCossack expansion
The Cossacks were expert horsemen from Ukraine
and began eastward expansion to reach to the
Pacific Coast
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END OF THE 17TH CENTURY(PETER THE GREAT-
1682-1725)
Peter consolidated all territorial gains and
turned Russia into a modern country. Began
shipbuilding and increased sea power Built St.
Petersburg as a forward capital.
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FORWARD CAPITAL
Capital city positioned in actually or
potentially contested territory, usually near an
international border, confirms the states
determination to maintain its presence in the
region
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Czarina, Catherine the Great(1760 1796)

• Extended Russias empire into the coast of Black
  Sea (for sea outlet) at the expense of Ottoman
  Turks
• Extended to the Caucus region
• Crossed Bering Strait into Alaska and moved
  southward to California
• 1867, U.S. purchased Alaska for 7.6m because of
  conflicts in fur hunting/trade

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COLONIALISM IMPERIALISM

• Catherine the Great expanded the Russian Empire
  through colonialism into the greatest empire with
  the largest territory.
• The Russian state became an imperial power that
  annexed land and governed over various
  nationalities and culture.

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GROWTH OF THE RUSSIAN EMPIRE
Refer to Map on p. 106
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EARLY 20TH CENTURY
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POLITICAL FRAMEWORK

• SOVIET LEGACY
• REVOLUTION (1905-1917)
• BOLSHEVIKS VERSUS MENSHEVIKS
• V.I. LENIN (Vladimir Ilyich ULYANOV)
• CAPITAL PETROGRAD TO MOSCOW (1918)
• FEDERATION/FEDERAL STRUCTURE
• USSR (UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS) -1924
• SSRS, ASSRS, AUTONOMOUS REGIONS
• RUSSIFICATION

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Russification Moving minority population
eastwards and replacing them with Russian
population. Federation the idea of recognition
of smaller political subdivisions and sharing
power between central government with local
government (some local autonomy). But in reality,
Russias central government is still in control.
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FORMER SOVIET UNION
Refer to Map on p. 111
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COMMAND ECONOMY

• AN ECONOMY IN WHICH THE MEANS OF PRODUCTION ARE
  OWNED AND CONTROLLED BY THE STATE AND IN WHICH
  CENTRAL PLANNING OF THE STRUCTURE AND THE OUTPUT
  PREVAILS
• FEATURES OF THE SOVIET ECONOMY
• PRODUCTION OF PARTICULAR MANUFACTURED GOODS
  ASSIGNED TO PARTICULAR PLACES
• ECONOMIC INTERDEPENDENCE OF THE REPUBLICS

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Command Economy, continued

• Central planners assigned commanded production
  of certain manufactures to certain places.
  Command economy often violated economic geography
  rules.
• This practice made USSR manufacturing very
  expensive a monopoly.
• Planners never thought that they would fail and
  that a market-driven economy will take over

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ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK

• CENTRALLY PLANNED (EARLY 1920S)
• MAJOR OBJECTIVES
• SPEED INDUSTRIALIZATION
• COLLECTIVIZE AGRICULTURE
• KEY MECHANISM
• GOSPLAN (a national planning commission), idea is
  to confiscate small farms to make them
  collectively into large farms for efficiency.

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• Collectivization of agriculture did NOT increase
  farm productivity.
• The idea of engaging collectivization was to
  free enough farm workers to build up an
  industrialization labor force.

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20th C. SOVIET LEADERS

• CZARISM (before 1917)
• Vladimir LENIN
• Joseph STALIN
• Nikita KRUSCHEV
• Leonid BRESHNEV
• Mikhail GORBACHEV

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SOVIET LEADERS

• Vladimir LENIN
• (1918 - 1927)
• INTRODUCED MARXIST PHILOSOPHY
• REPLACED PRIVATE WITH PUBLIC OWNERSHIP
• DEVELOPED NATIONAL ECONOMIC PLANS
• ESTABLISHED SOVIET POLITICAL STRUCTURE BASED ON
  ETHNIC IDENTITIES

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SOVIET LEADERS

• Joseph STALIN
• (1927 - 1953)
• ALL ASSETS NATIONALIZED
• CREATION OF HUGE CENTRALIZED STATE MACHINE OVER
  ALL ASPECTS OF SOVIET LIFE
• PURGES OF DISSIDENTS (30-60 MILLION)
• COLLECTIVIZED FARMING (SOVKHOZ)
• CONCENTRATION ON HEAVY INDUSTRY AT EXPENSE OF
  AGRICULTURE

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SOVIET LEADERS

• Nikita KRUSCHEV
• (1953 - 1964)
• GREATER EMPHASIS ON AGRICULTURE
• VIRGIN LANDS PROGRAM - PASTURES INTO IRRIGATED
  WHEAT FIELDS
• ULTIMATELY LED TO ARAL SEA ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER

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SOVIET LEADERS

• Leonid BRESHNEV (1964 - 1982)
• IN POWER (as Secretary General of the Russian
  Communist Party) AT THE HEIGHT OF THE COLD WAR
• MILITARY/INDUSTRIAL ECONOMY
• ECONOMIC STAGNATION (AGRICULTURE)

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SOVIET LEADERS

• Mikhail GORBACHEV
• (1985 - 1991)
• INITIATED ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL REFORM
• PERESTROIKA
• RESTRUCTURING
• INTENDED TO PRODUCE MAJOR CHANGES TO BOTH THE
  ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SYSTEM
• ECONOMIC AIM TO CATCH UP WITH WESTERN ECONOMIES
• POLITICAL AIM REFORM OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY
• GLASNOST
• POLICY OF ENCOURAGING GREATER OPENNESS IN BOTH
  INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL AFFAIRS

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COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION(CONDITIONS IN 1990
1991)

• A SHARP DECLINE IN AGRICULTURAL INDUSTRIAL
  PRODUCTION
• ECONOMIC OUTPUT DOWN BY 4 IN 1990 10-15 IN
  FIRST HALF OF 1991
• INTENSIFICATION OF ETHNO-CULTURAL NATIONALISM
  SEPARATISM
• UNITY OF THE SOVIET UNION (MACRO) UNITY OF
  REPUBLICS (MICRO) THREATENED
• PLURALIZATION OF SOVIET POLITICS STEADY EROSION
  OF COMMUNIST PARTY MONOPOLY OR POWER

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COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION(CONDITIONS IN 1990
1991)

• Abandoned the Unitary state system (centralized
  govt administration with authoritarian rule)
• THE EMERGENCE OF A COMMONWEALTH OF SLAVIC
  COUNTRIES TO REPLACE THE SOVIET UNION
• COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES

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COLLAPSE OF THE SOVIET UNION(CONDITIONS IN 1990
1991)

• THE RESIGNATION OF PRESIDENT GORBACHEV
• So ends the United Soviet Socialist Republic
  (USSR) or Soviet Union
• Boris Yeltsin became first president of The
  Russian Federation, formed in 1992

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• Todays president is Vladimir Putin. He first
  succeeded Boris Yeltsin on December 31, 1999 and
  was elected president on March 26, 2000 and won
  re-election in 2004.

RUSSIA TODAY
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CURRENT ORGANIZATION

• RUSSIAN FEDERATION (1992)
• 89 POLITICAL UNITS
• 21 REPUBLICS
• 11 AUTONOMOUS REGIONS (OKRUGS)
• 49 PROVINCES (OBLASTS)
• 6 TERRITORIES (KRAYS)
• 2 AUTONOMOUS FEDERAL CITIES (Moscow St.
  Petersburg)

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RUSSIAS ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
Refer to Map on p. 111
RUSSIAN ETHNICITY
Refer to Map on p. 110
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RUSSIAS PROSPECTS

• ECONOMIC
• INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES (partially lost due to
  independence of many former states)
• TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE (not well
  developed, and now further complicated by
  boundary closures from former states)
• MANUFACTURING CAPACITY
• (reduced)

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RUSSIAS PROSPECTS

• POLITICAL
• INTERNAL FRICTION (still faces problems with
  diversity of ethnic groups and religious
  differences, e.g. Chechnya)
• EXTERNAL CHALLENGES
• Relations with EU NATO
• Ownership of oil and gas reserves around Caspian
  Sea
• Russian conflicts with Kazakhstan former
  domains
• Chechnyas resistance to be included in Russian
  Federation
• Uncertain Russian power and influence in world
  affairs

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CHECHNYA

• IN SUPPORT OF RUSSIAN CONTROL
• INFIGHTING AFTER INDEPENDENCE WAS GRANTED IN 1991
• CHECHENS INSTALLED A SEPARATIST LEADER
• ATTACKS ON RUSSIANS
• CHECHEN TERRORISM
• WHY CHECHNYA DESERVES INDEPENDENCE
• FOUGHT AGAINST THE RUSSIAN IMPERIALISTS TWO
  CENTURIES AGO
• SOVIETS REARRANGED THE BORDERS TO INCLUDE
  NON-CHECHEN HOMELAND
• MASSIVE PERSECUTION DURING STALINS REIGN
• 1991 DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

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Some governing geographic concepts Distance Decay
Increasing distances between places tend to
reduce interaction between them. This applies to
the Russian capitals ability to oversee outlying
areas
52
Some governing geographic concepts Population
Decline
Russias Population is declining at 1 million per
year. Social disarray military, universities,
rising incidences of diseases, industries are
failing, legal systems weak, banking unregulated,
organized crime, corruption.
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Some governing geographic concepts Heatland
Theory, Core Area
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MACKINDERS Heartland theory - 1904
How geographic facts influence policies
Consisted of the Moscow region, the Volga valley,
the Urals, Central Asia, and western and central
Siberia.
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HEARTLAND THEORY
Heartland
Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland who
rules the Heartland commands the World
Island who rules the World Island commands the
World.
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SPYKMANS RIMLAND
Who controls the Rimland rules Eurasia who rules
Eurasia controls the destinies of the world.
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RUSSIAS EXTERNAL CHALLENGES

• NATURAL RESOURCE DISTRIBUTION
• MANY NATURAL RESOURCES NOW IN FORMER SOVIET
  REPUBLICS
• IRREDENTISM
• CONCERN FOR RUSSIANS OUTSIDE ITS BORDERS
• NATIONAL PRIDE
• DETERMINATION TO REMAIN THE CHAMPION OF SLAVIC
  INTERESTS
• DESIRE TO REMAIN A POWER IN INTERNATIONAL
  COMMUNITY
• CENTRIFUGAL FORCES
• SEPARATIST AIMS IN THE CAUCASIAN PERIPHERY

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REGIONS OF THE RUSSIAN REALM
Refer to Map on p. 123
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REGION 1
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Sub-region 1. Central Industrial Core

• Dominated by Moscow and St. Petersburg
• Extensive land transport network
• Automobile industry
• Textile, mining, metallurgy, machinery
• Access to Baltic Sea from St. Petersburg
• Economic hub

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OIL AND GAS REGIONS
Refer to Map on p. 126
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Sub-region 2. The Volga Region

• Volga and Don Rivers empty into Black Sea,
  important water transport, also links to Central
  Industrial Region
• Transport foodstuff raw materials
• Pop. 25 million
• Automobile production

63
Sub-region 3. The Ural Region

• Rich in metellic mineral resources
• Well connected to the Core Industrial Region and
  Volga Regions
• This is frontier area waiting to be explored and
  developed

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Subregions 4 5
TRANSCAUCASIA INCLUDES BOTH 4. INTERIOR AND 5.
EXTERIOR PERIPHERY REGIONS
65

• Now independent
• Landlocked, Pop 3.8 m
• Christian faith, but surrounded by Muslim with
  exclave of Christian Armenians in Muslim
  Azerbaijan (see Fig. 2-13)
• This conflict still remain unresolved.

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• Pop 4.4 m. has Black Sea outlet to the world
• Georgian Orthodox Church, 10 Muslims
• Scenic beauty, warm climate favors agriculture,
  wine, citrus fruit, tobacco, timber manganese
  deposits
• Politically unstable, centrifugal forces at
  work remains a dysfunctional state

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• Pop 8.3 m. another 10 m Azeris living in
  Azerbaijan Province in neighboring Iran
• Has exclave in Armenia
• Shiite Muslims
• Huge reserve of oil and natural gas, centered in
  Baku, but with old pipes going through Russia
• US, French, British Japanese oil companies
  will help develop, but prefers routing thro
  Turkey

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REGION 2 EASTERN FRONTIER
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EASTERNFRONTIER

• The Kuzbas Region Heavy manufacturing gave rise
  to urban centers, quality iron deposits, metal
  works, aluminum products
• The Lake Baykal Region (Baykaliya) settlements
  along railroad, dams for hydroelectricity,
  mining, lumbering, farming

70
REGION 3 SIBERIA

• VAST
• CHALLENGING
• UNTAPPED

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SIBERIA

• LARGER THAN THE CONTINENTAL US, BUT...LESS THAN
  15 MILLION PEOPLE
• CHALLENGING ENVIRONMENT
• VAST DISTANCES
• COLD TEMPERATURES
• ARCTIC WINDS
• POOR SOILS
• RESOURCE POTENTIAL
• PRECIOUS MINERALS
• METALLIC ORES
• OIL AND NATURAL GAS
• TIMBER

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REGION 4 FAR EAST
FAR EAST
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FAR EAST

• Far detached from Moscow
• Major city Vladivostok, a former military base
• Defunct shipbuilding industry
• Oil from Sakhalin Island
• Steel, chemicals, furniture shipped west for
  food from east
• Frontier with Japan and China

RUSSIAS MANUFACTURING REGIONS (FAR EAST)