A Geographic Profile of RUSSIA ANDTHE NEAR ABROAD

Chapter 5

Introduction to the Region

Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Cold War versus U.S.-led Western bloc Split in 1991 into 15 independent nations

Russian Federation 14 other countries comprising “The Near Abroad”

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Economic Association Russia and 11 of the former Soviet states Estonia, Latvia & Lithuania joined the EU in 2004

Fluidity in Delineating Region Trends Toward Political Fragmentation and Decentralization

5.1 Area and Population

Largest World Region Area of 8.5 Million Square Miles Region Spans 11 Time Zones

Regional Population of 282 Million (2011) Russia 142.8 Million Ukraine 45.7 Million Uzbekistan 28.5 Million

Vast Region but Sparsely Populated Average Population Density of 32 per square mile

Rates of Population Change 1.8% growth among Islamic Central Asian countries 0.4% loss in Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus

Russia and the Near Abroad

Population Distribution of Russia and the Near Abroad

Population Cartogram of Russia and the Near Abroad

5.2 Physical Geography & Human Adaptations

Factors affecting this immense region: Cold Temperatures Infertile Soils Marshy Terrain Aridity Ruggedness

5.2.1 Roles of Climates and Vegetation

Extreme Continental Climate Severe winter cold but warm/hot summers Lowest official temperature ever recorded in Northern Hemisphere

at Siberian settlement of Verkhoyansk (-90 degrees F) Short Growing Seasons (average 150-day frost-free season) Aridity and Drought (less than 20 inches avg annual precipitation)

Permafrost Frozen ground that makes construction difficult Buildings and Pipelines must be elevated and insulated

Land Use / Agriculture Russian taiga is the largest continuous area of forest on earth Wheat, Sugar Beets, Sunflowers, Livestock in the black-earth belt

of the steppes Cotton in Irrigated Areas of Central Asia

Comparison of Latitude and Area with North America

80% of thisregion’s area isfarther north

than anypoint in the

conterminousUnited States

Climates of Russia and the Near Abroad

Biomes of Russia and the Near Abroad

High Arctic Building Erected on Pilings

Land Use in Russia and the Near Abroad

The Taiga: Earth’s Largest Continuous Forest Biome

Grazier on the Southern Russian Steppe

5.2.2 Role of Rivers

Rivers formed natural passageways Used for Trade, Conquest, and Colonization Helped Russians advance from the Urals to the Pacific

in less than a century Rivers drain into numerous oceans and seas

Volga-Don Canal Major link in the inland waterway system Connected the White Sea & Baltic Sea in the north

with the Black Sea & Caspian Sea in the south Series of 13 Locks

Physical Geography of Russia and the Near Abroad

Lock in the Volga-Don Canal

5.2.3 Role of Topography

Plains typify the region west of the Yenisey River Ural Mountains

Low, narrow range separating Europe from Asia Average elevation of less than 2,000 feet

West Siberian Plain One of the flattest areas on earth Waterlogged country underlain by permafrost Tremendous flooding

Central Siberian Uplands Between Yenisey and Lena Rivers (1,000 to 1,500 ft)

Mountainous Southern Rim of Region Caucasus, Pamir, Tien Shan, and Altai Mountains

5.3.1 A Babel of Languages

Complex cultural and linguistic mosaic 30 Major Ethnic Groups More than 100 Languages Spoken

Main Language Families Indo-European

Slavic Russian, Belarusian & Ukrainian Romance Moldovan (Romanian) Armenian

Altaic (Turkic) Kazakh, Kyrghyz, Turkmenian, Uzbek Caucasian (Kartvelian) Uralic (Finno-Ugric) Proto-Asiatic (Chukotko-Kamchatkan)

Ethnolinguistic Distributions

5.3.2 Vikings, Byzantines, and Tatars

Vikings Slavic tribes came under the influence of Viking

adventurers known as Rus or Varangians Rise of Kiev in 9th Century

Byzantines Kievan Russia had close contact with Constantinople Accepted Christian faith from Byzantines Orthodox Christianity became a fixture of Russian life Moscow becomes the “Third Rome”

Tatars In 1237, Batu Khan brought all Russian principalities

except Novgorod under Tatar rule Decline of Tatar power in the 15th century

Religions of Russia and the Near Abroad

Today, Russia has 4 official religions:Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Judaism

Russian Orthodox Church in Vyborg

5.3.3 The Empire of the Russians

The Russian Empire Lasted from the 15th Century until the 20th Century Immense land empire built around core of Moscow

Expansion under the Tsars Ivan the Great (reigned 1462-1505) Northward thrust; Annexed Novgorod

Ivan the Terrible (1533-1584) Eastward conquest giving Russia control over the Volga

Peter the Great (1682-1725) Defeated the Swedes to gain a foothold on the Baltic Sea St. Petersburg established as Russia’s “Window on the West”

Catherine the Great (1762-1796) Secured a frontage on the Black Sea

5.3.3 The Empire of the Russians (contd.)

Eastward Expansion of Russian Empire Cossack expeditions reached the Pacific in 1639 Continued down west coast of North America to Fort Ross in

California (1812-1841) Russia sold Alaska to the U.S. in 1867 for 2 cents per acre

and withdrew from North America During the 19th and early 20th Centuries, Russian tsars

annexed the Amur region, the Caucasus, and Turkestan

Soviet Policy of Russificiation Effort to implant Russian culture in non-Russian regions

and to make non-Russians more like Russians Policy was generally a failure because of strong

nationalist sentiments throughout the Soviet Union

5.3.4 Russia & Soviet Union: Revolution & War

Russian Triumphs over Powerful Invaders King Charles XII of Sweden – 1709 Napoleon I of France – 1812 Adolf Hitler – WWII

Keys to Success Environmental rigors that invaders faced Overwhelming distances Defenders’ love of their homeland Willing to lose great numbers of soldiers in combat “Scorched Earth” strategy to protect the motherland

5.3.4 Russia & Soviet Union: Revolution & War

Russian Revolution of 1917 Protest against sacrifice of Russian forces during WWI Overthrew Nicholas II, last of the Romanov tsars

Bolshevik Revolution Led by Vladimir Ilyich Lenin (1870-1924) Bolshevik faction of Communist Party seized control Establishment of the Soviet Union in 1922

World War II USSR allied with France and Britain vs. Germany Relocation of Soviet industries eastward 20 million Soviet lives lost, considerable damage

5.4.1 The Communist Economic System

Marxism Soviet economic system was an application of the economic

and social ideas of German philosopher Karl Marx Command Economy

Series of five-year economic plans under Stalin Gosplan (Committee for State Planning) in Moscow

Soviet Enterprises in Agriculture & Industry Virgin and Idle Lands (increase the production of grain) Hero Projects (construction of dams, railways, plants, etc)

Soviet Agricultural Expansion (1954-1957)

5.4.2 Economic Roots of the 2nd Russian Revolution

Reform Policies of Gorbachev Glasnost (openness) Perestroika (restructuring)

Second Russian Revolution Demands for new freedoms and greater autonomy Rise of Boris Yeltsin, champion of reformers’ cause Gorbachev resigned on December 25, 1991 Soviet Union was voted out of existence the next day

and replaced by 15 independent countries

5.4.3 Russia’s Road to Misdevelopment

Russia classified as a “Misdeveloped Country” Boris Yeltsin’s “Economic Shock Therapy”

Rapid transition from command economy to capitalism Widening gap between rich and poor Russia’s GDP plummeted, shrinking by half in the 1990s Agricultural and industrial production fell dramatically Largest fall in production for any industrialized country in

peacetime Underground Economy: Russia’s new economic geography

Russia became a kleptocracy, with rampant corruption Organized crime became pervasive Widespread bartering resulted from declining value of the ruble

Poverty in Post-Soviet Russia

Western-Style OverconsumptionMoscow’s 2009 Millionaire Fair

5.4.4 Putinomics

Vladimir Putin Former KGB officer of the Soviet Union Became very popular Russian President and Prime Minister

“Putinomics” Export Russia’s natural resources to flood Russia with wealth

Profits will be rolled into manufacturing and high-tech industries so that Russia enjoys a more stable, diversified economy

Energy represents about 2/3 of the value of Russia’s exports 6% of the world’s proven oil reserves 27% of the world’s proven natural gas reserves 2nd largest coal reserves

Problems Will not be possible to sustain production of natural resources Russia has faced one of the greatest brain drains

5.5 Geopolitical Issues

“The Greatest Geopolitical Catastrophe of the Century” Vladimir Putin, in a 2005 speech, discussing the collapse of

the Soviet Union

3 Concentric Spheres of Geopolitical Concern Within the Russian Federation (Unity of Russia itself) Russia’s relationships with its Near Abroad Russia’s relationships with the Rest of the World

5.5.1 Geopolitics Within Russia

Complex Political Categories 48 Oblasts (Regions) 7 Krais (Territories) 21 Republics (Varying Levels of Autonomy) 4 Okrugs (Ethnic Subdivisions of Oblasts / Krais) 2 Federal Cities 1 Autonomous Oblast

Chechnya and Tatarstan pushing for independence Geopolitical significance has to do with resources

Oil and Gas Tatarstan and Bashkhortostan Coal Deposits Komi Republic Diamonds Sakha

Political Units of the Russian Federation

5.5.2 Geopolitics in the Near Abroad

Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) Energy Shortages and Supplies

Russia using fossil fuels as a political weapon

Irredentism 25 million ethnic Russians living in the 14 former Soviet states Desires of Russians living outside of Russia to achieve their own

rights and territories

Territorial Issues Control of the Crimean Peninsula and Kerch Strait GUAM (Georgia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, and Moldova)

Orientation toward Europe and away from Russia

Russia’s military presence in more than half the former Soviet countries Peacekeepers or Conquerors?

Physical and Political Obstacles to Caspian Oil Exports

The Caucasus

5.5.3 The Far Abroad

International Relations Peaceful succession to the Cold War The Warsaw Pact has dissolved. Russia became a member of the Group of Eight (G-8) in 1997

Energy Issues Concerns about Russia being a reliable trading partner for oil and

natural gas Weapons Proliferation Issues

Russia’s assistance to nuclear and would-be nuclear weapons powers Reduction of nuclear arsenals Threat of “Loose Nukes”

With whom will oil-rich Central Asia align? Russia, Turkey, or Iran? Turkey’s dream of Pan-Turkism

Combating narcotics and terrorism

5.6.1 Regional Issues and Landscapes

Peoples and Resources of the Core Land The Slavs are the dominant ethnic group Resources are distributed unevenly in this region The Fertile Triangle AKA “Agricultural Triangle”

and “Slavic Core” Functional hub of the region Contains 75% of region’s

people and an even largershare of its cities

5.6.2 The Ukraine

Ukrainians Second largest ethnic group in the Slavic Core Closely related to Russians in language and culture

Ukraine means “at the border” or “borderland” A buffer between Russia and neighboring lands Industrial and agricultural assets were vital to USSR Fertile black earth soils have made Ukraine a great

“breadbasket” of wheat, barley, livestock and other products Generous endowments of coal and iron ore

5.6.3 Chernobyl

Site of a 1986 nuclear power station explosion North of Kiev, Ukraine

Rendered parts of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia incapable of safe agricultural production There is still an 18-mile

exclusion zone today Aftermath

100,000 to 200,000 peoplestill severely affected

4,000 deaths expected toultimately be attributed tothis disaster

Ukraine decommissioningall of its Chernobyl-typenuclear plants

5.6.4 Farming in the Fertile Triangle

Most of the Fertile Triangle is within Russia Russia still faces difficulties in transforming state-run

into free-market farming Russia has been slow to privatize farming Russia remains a net food importer

Global-scale production of wheat, barley, oats, rye, potatoes, sugar beets, flax, sunflower seeds, cotton, milk, butter, and mutton

5.6.5 Russia’s Far East & Northern Lands

The Far East Russia’s mountainous Pacific edge Mostly thinly populated wilderness Economy driven by ports, fisheries, and forest industries Most people live along two transportation arteries The Trans-Siberian Railroad The lower Amur River

Island of Sakhalin Geopolitics involving Russia and Japan over its control Important for its off-shore petroleum and natural gas Contains about 1 percent of global oil reserves

5.6.5 Russia’s Far East & Northern Lands

The Wild North Subregion lying north and east of the Fertile Triangle,

and west of the Pacific coast Taiga (coniferous forest) Tundra

Northern Sea Route Waterway developed by the Soviets to provide a connection

with the Pacific via the Arctic Ocean Ports of Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Navigation of full route was only possible for about 4 months

per year with the help of icebreakers, but global warming is now allowing navigability a greater proportion of the year

Possibility of constructing a rail link between Siberia and North America (Alaska)

Russian Icebreaker brings Tourists to the North Pole

5.6.5 Russia’s Far East & Northern Lands

Lake Baikal Deepest body of freshwater in the world More than 1 mile deep in places Contains one-fifth of the world’s unfrozen freshwater Oldest lake in the world at 30 million years of age Contains 1,800 endemic plant and animal species

5.6.6 The Caucasus: Cauldron of Conflict

Caucasian isthmus has been an important north-south passageway for thousands of years Dozens of ethnic groups have migrated into this region Mostly small ethnic populations confined to mountain areas Different nationalities have maintained their ethnic

characteristics and cultural traditions (e.g., language, religion, etc.)

History of animosity between Armenians and Azeri Turks Armenian genocide resulted in deaths of around 1.5 million

Armenians between 1915 and 1918 Twice as many Armenians live outside Armenia than live in it Armenian-Azeri dispute over Nagorno-Karabakh enclave Turkey and Armenia established diplomatic relations in 2009,

which helps Turkey’s application to the EU

5.6.7 Central Asia

Central Asia almost entirely a region of interior drainage With exception of the Irtysh, all other streams drain into

enclosed lakes and seas, or gradually lose water and disappear

Historically, peoples in this region were pastoral nomads Over time they drifted away from nomadism, with the Soviet

government forcibly collectivizing the remaining nomads into permanent villages

Most people today live in heavily irrigated valleys Irrigation is essential for farming Causing water shortages in some areas Shrinking of the Aral Sea