Russia and the Republics

1. Russia and the Republics

3. A Land of Extremes • Northern Landforms • Northern European Plain • Chernozem – black earth • West Siberian Plain • Ural Mountains separate later and former • Central Siberian Plain – high plateaus (east of Yenisey River) • Russian Far East (east of Lena River) - Kamchatka Pen. • Southern Landforms • Caucasus Mtns – Transcaucasia: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia • Tian Shan Mtns – Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan • Tural Plain – Kara Kum and KyzylKum Deserts

5. A Land of Extremes • Rivers drainages: Caspian, Black, Aral Seas + the Pacific and Artic Oceans • Lakes: Some of the world’s longest lakes (Caspian and Aral Seas) • Lake Baikal = deepest lake in the world • Abundant Resources – coal, iron ore, oil and natural gas, forests and river for hydroelectric power • Difficulty with access – SIBERIA • Climate: ranges from humid continental to subartic • Continentality - distance inland from moderating influence of the sea • Vegetation: Tundra, Forest (taiga), Steppe and Desert

7. History of Russia • Early Kievan state of Rus (Eastern Slavs) 7th century • Between Black and Baltic Seas • Dnieper River settlement of Kiev • Mixed Slavs with Viking explorers who settled and adopted local customs • Dominated local scene from 9th century to 11th century • Golden Age of Kiev - Vladimir the Great (980-1015) &Yaroslavthe Wise (1019-1054) Orthodox Christianity from Byzantium – legal code ‘Russkaya Pravda’

8. History of Russia • 11th and 12th Centuries see migrations north b/c of Turkic tribes • 13th century brings Mongol Tatar (Golden Horde) invasions ending KievanRus (1237-1240AD) • Control region until 15thcentury • Grand Duchy of Moscow asserts influence • Ivan the Great, Prince of Moscow throws off Tatar dominance • Unites both Central and Northern Rus and assumes legacy of ERE (Byzantines)

9. History of Russia • Under Ivan the Great, Russia expanded east • Empire extends to Pacific by end of 17th century

10. History of Russia • Czar Peter the Great (1682-1725) • Moves capital to St. Petersburg • Direct access to Western Europe • Builds a strong navy • Gains new lands and makes some necessary reforms to align with West • Serfs emancipated in 1861 • Leads to rapid industrialization • Eventually leads to harsh working conditions, low wages and other hardships = unhappy Russians

11. History of Russia • Russian Revolution (October Revolution), 1917 • Began during WWI • Ends rule of czars (Nicholas and his family were murdered) • Bolsheviks led by V.I.Lenin take power and control economic decisions and government • Capitalism bad . . . Communism good (Karl Marx) • U.S.S.R. created in 1922 by Communist Party • Moscow becomes official capital • Joseph Stalin ascends to power in 1924

12. History of Russia • Command Economy • Gov’t owns the land, factories, mines, banks and transpo • Collective Farms • Gov’t determines what to grow who to sell to and how much it is worth • What was the cost of this kind economy?? • Cost to the population under Stalin’s harsh rule??

13. History of Russia • World War II, 1939-1945 • “The Enemy of my enemy is my friend” – U.S. stance concerning the Soviet Union and Stalin • As the war dragged on, relations worsened • Post-war Europe split into Eastern and Western

14. History of Russia • Cold War, 1947-1991 • Characterized by: • Mutual distrust and espionage between 2 Superpowers • Nuclear arms proliferation and assured destruction • Split between Western ‘democratic/capitalist’ and Eastern ‘communist’ sides around world • Never turned hot (save for Korea 1951-1953, Vietnam 1965-1975 and Cuba 1962) • Détente (1985-1989) • Mikhail Gorbachev enforces reforms called perestroika • Also introduces glasnost within country opening up freedoms • U.S.S.R. collapsed in 1991, creating a new Russian Federation and its independent republics