Russia and the Former Soviet Republics
Russia and the Former Soviet Republics Unit Summary
Physical Geography
Russia is made up of huge plains and plateaus in between small mountain ranges like the Ural Mountains. Western Russian is a huge, flat land that is fertile. Rivers crisscross this plains area, allowing for irrigation and transportation. In Eastern Russia, the elevation of the land increases and there are many small mountain ranges. Central Asia can be divided into two areas: the Caucasus region (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) and the Central Asian region (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). The countries of the Caucasus are sandwiched in between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Most of the Central Asian countries are landlocked, which means they do not have access to the sea. The countries of the Caucasus have a high elevation because they are located in the Caucasus Mountains. The countries on the West side of Central Asia are flat and have a low elevation, while the countries on the East side are high and have a lot of mountains.
Natural Resources
Because Russia is so large (it is the largest country in the world), there are very few natural resources Russia does not have. Coal, timber, and farming are important industries. The country has recently done a very good job of locating and selling petroleum products. The Caucasus countries have important fishing and farming industries and abundant (a lot) of gold, copper, oil, and coal. The central Asia countries rely on livestock raising (growing animals to sell) and farming. Mineral resources in the Central Asian countries include copper, gold, and lead.
Climate
Russia is located far away from oceans on the west coast and is located in the high latitudes. Because of this, most of Russia is very cold. Most of Russia is subarctic, but there are also large sections of humid continental and tundra. The Caucasus republics have a highland climate and the Central Asian Republics are mostly dry steppe climates.
Population
Russia’s population is 142 million, or about half of the United States’ population. Because of Russia’s huge size and relatively small population, most parts of Russia are sparsely populated, although the western cities are very densely populated. The Caucasus region has about 8 million people, while the Central Asia region has about 80 million people. There are a large number of ethnicities in Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asian Republics. One of the reasons Russia is so multiethnic (has a lot of different ethnicities) is because it is so large. In ancient times, people passed through the Caucasus and Central Asian countries to get to China and India to trade. Over time, a lot of different groups of people decided to live in the area which is why there are a lot of ethnicities in that region.
History
Russia is a very old country. It was once ruled by the Mongol empire from the East. Russian monarchs had to pay money, or tribute to the Mongols in order to be left alone. Because they were ruled by an Asian empire, Russia did not have a lot to do with Western Europe for a very long time. In the 1500s, Russia became more powerful and the Mongols became weaker and then they sent the Mongols away. In the 1700s, one Russian emperor, or tsar, named Peter the Great decided that Europe had a lot of good ideas in technology and science and he tried to make Russia more like Western Europe.
Russian emperors has a lot of power for four hundred years but the regular people of the countries, called serfs (think: peasant) lived like slaves and suffered long past the time when Western European countries got rid of the idea of peasants. Russia did not make a lot of the changes, inspired by the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment that Western European countries did in the 1800s. Because of this, people in Russia started to hate the fact that their Emperor had absolute power. It did not help that many times the Emperors were very bad. Then World War 1 happened in 1914 and the soldiers did not have what they needed to protect themselves and the people at home suffered a lot. The people overthrew the Emperor in 1917 and a new government started. The new government was unique (nothing else like it): it was a communist government. The leaders changed the name of the country to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (or the Soviet Union or the USSR).
Other countries did not like the Soviet Union because the leaders of that country thought the rest of the world would not be any good until they became communist countries, too. In the 1930s, the Soviet named Joseph Stalin, decided that the Soviet Union needed to be industrialized like the United States and Western Europe. Although it took almost a 100 years for the US and Europe to industrialize, he wanted to do it in 5 years. He managed to industrialize, but a lot of people died while he was making changes. Then in World War 2, the Germans invaded in June 1941 and the Soviet Union had to fight for its survival. The USSR lost more people than any other country in the war: 30 million people in the Soviet Union died because of the war. This made the people of the Soviet Union never want to be invaded again.
After the war, the Soviet Union thought the United States was trying to take over the world and they did not like the fact that the US was the only country to have the atomic weapon. Both sides thought the other side meant to destroy the other and they started acting aggressively toward each other. This time, starting in 1945, is known as the Cold War (which was not actually a war). The Cold War ended in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Russia got a new government based on democratic ideas. Russia had a very hard time changing its economy from a communist, state run economy to a capitalist economy.
For a very long time, the Central Asian region was made up of nomadic groups (people who did not have a permanent place to live) whose job was livestock raising. The Caucasus region is the home of some of the oldest cities in the world. For both regions, the geographic nearness of the giant country of Russia has had a major impact on the history of the areas. In the 1900s, The Soviet Union tool over the area and made the people work on government run farms. This caused a lot of anger and suffering. The Caucasus and Central Asian countries became countries when the Soviet Union ended.
Religion
Russia has a large number of people who follow the Russian Orthodox Church, which is a Christian church. When the country was the Soviet Union, the government wanted everyone to be atheist (which means a person who does not believe God exists). The government would harass people who wanted to follow a religion.
In Caucasus, Georgia and Armenia are mostly Eastern Orthodox (Christian) and Azerbaijan is Muslim. All of the countries in Central Asia are mostly Muslim or Islamic countries.
Economy
Russia has a strong economy with a lot of diversification (a lot of different types of businesses and jobs). It was hard to change the economy after the Soviet Union fell but now most of the problems have been dealt with. The Caucasus region’s main economic activity is commercial farming. The Central Asian countries depend on livestock raising.
Environment.
The Soviet Union was not very responsible when it came to protecting the environment. The leaders of the Soviet Union (who, remember, controlled the Caucasus and Central Asian regions) would do just about anything to make money, even if they might destroy the environment in the process. Russia has a lot of air pollution coming from it factories. A lot of toxic chemicals are dumped in rivers. Chemicals in the ground have poisoned the soil. Radioactive (material that makes people sick because it gives off energy) wastes and nuclear accidents have made sickness a big problem.
Russia and the Caucasus and Central Asian Republics Unit Summary Questions
Please answer the following questions using what you know about the world and the handout.
1. Write a sentences for these words and make sure the sentences show you know what the word means:
a. Livestock raising
b. Abundant
c. Sparsely populated
d. Multiethnic
e. Tribute
f. Serfs
g. Unique
h. Nomads
i. Atheist
j. Diversification
2. What countries are in the Caucasus region?
3. What countries are in the Central Asian region?
4. Make a table showing which countries are flat, which ones are mountainous, and which ones are both. Don’t forget to title your table.
5. Why does Russia have so many natural resources?
6. Most of Russia has what climate?
7. What is a steppe climate (you might have to look for any stuff you still have on climate)?
8. Why are Russia, the Caucasus, and the Central Asian republics so multiethnic?
9. Make a timeline of Russian History.
10. What impact did Russia have on the Caucasus and Central Asian Republics?
11. What are the two major religions in the area?
12. What type of economy did the Soviet Union have?
13. What type of economy does Russia have?
14. List the types of pollution found in Russia.
Physical Geography
Russia is made up of huge plains and plateaus in between small mountain ranges like the Ural Mountains. Western Russian is a huge, flat land that is fertile. Rivers crisscross this plains area, allowing for irrigation and transportation. In Eastern Russia, the elevation of the land increases and there are many small mountain ranges. Central Asia can be divided into two areas: the Caucasus region (Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan) and the Central Asian region (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkmenistan). The countries of the Caucasus are sandwiched in between the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea. Most of the Central Asian countries are landlocked, which means they do not have access to the sea. The countries of the Caucasus have a high elevation because they are located in the Caucasus Mountains. The countries on the West side of Central Asia are flat and have a low elevation, while the countries on the East side are high and have a lot of mountains.
Natural Resources
Because Russia is so large (it is the largest country in the world), there are very few natural resources Russia does not have. Coal, timber, and farming are important industries. The country has recently done a very good job of locating and selling petroleum products. The Caucasus countries have important fishing and farming industries and abundant (a lot) of gold, copper, oil, and coal. The central Asia countries rely on livestock raising (growing animals to sell) and farming. Mineral resources in the Central Asian countries include copper, gold, and lead.
Climate
Russia is located far away from oceans on the west coast and is located in the high latitudes. Because of this, most of Russia is very cold. Most of Russia is subarctic, but there are also large sections of humid continental and tundra. The Caucasus republics have a highland climate and the Central Asian Republics are mostly dry steppe climates.
Population
Russia’s population is 142 million, or about half of the United States’ population. Because of Russia’s huge size and relatively small population, most parts of Russia are sparsely populated, although the western cities are very densely populated. The Caucasus region has about 8 million people, while the Central Asia region has about 80 million people. There are a large number of ethnicities in Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asian Republics. One of the reasons Russia is so multiethnic (has a lot of different ethnicities) is because it is so large. In ancient times, people passed through the Caucasus and Central Asian countries to get to China and India to trade. Over time, a lot of different groups of people decided to live in the area which is why there are a lot of ethnicities in that region.
History
Russia is a very old country. It was once ruled by the Mongol empire from the East. Russian monarchs had to pay money, or tribute to the Mongols in order to be left alone. Because they were ruled by an Asian empire, Russia did not have a lot to do with Western Europe for a very long time. In the 1500s, Russia became more powerful and the Mongols became weaker and then they sent the Mongols away. In the 1700s, one Russian emperor, or tsar, named Peter the Great decided that Europe had a lot of good ideas in technology and science and he tried to make Russia more like Western Europe.
Russian emperors has a lot of power for four hundred years but the regular people of the countries, called serfs (think: peasant) lived like slaves and suffered long past the time when Western European countries got rid of the idea of peasants. Russia did not make a lot of the changes, inspired by the ideas of the Age of Enlightenment that Western European countries did in the 1800s. Because of this, people in Russia started to hate the fact that their Emperor had absolute power. It did not help that many times the Emperors were very bad. Then World War 1 happened in 1914 and the soldiers did not have what they needed to protect themselves and the people at home suffered a lot. The people overthrew the Emperor in 1917 and a new government started. The new government was unique (nothing else like it): it was a communist government. The leaders changed the name of the country to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (or the Soviet Union or the USSR).
Other countries did not like the Soviet Union because the leaders of that country thought the rest of the world would not be any good until they became communist countries, too. In the 1930s, the Soviet named Joseph Stalin, decided that the Soviet Union needed to be industrialized like the United States and Western Europe. Although it took almost a 100 years for the US and Europe to industrialize, he wanted to do it in 5 years. He managed to industrialize, but a lot of people died while he was making changes. Then in World War 2, the Germans invaded in June 1941 and the Soviet Union had to fight for its survival. The USSR lost more people than any other country in the war: 30 million people in the Soviet Union died because of the war. This made the people of the Soviet Union never want to be invaded again.
After the war, the Soviet Union thought the United States was trying to take over the world and they did not like the fact that the US was the only country to have the atomic weapon. Both sides thought the other side meant to destroy the other and they started acting aggressively toward each other. This time, starting in 1945, is known as the Cold War (which was not actually a war). The Cold War ended in the late 1980s and early 1990s when Russia got a new government based on democratic ideas. Russia had a very hard time changing its economy from a communist, state run economy to a capitalist economy.
For a very long time, the Central Asian region was made up of nomadic groups (people who did not have a permanent place to live) whose job was livestock raising. The Caucasus region is the home of some of the oldest cities in the world. For both regions, the geographic nearness of the giant country of Russia has had a major impact on the history of the areas. In the 1900s, The Soviet Union tool over the area and made the people work on government run farms. This caused a lot of anger and suffering. The Caucasus and Central Asian countries became countries when the Soviet Union ended.
Religion
Russia has a large number of people who follow the Russian Orthodox Church, which is a Christian church. When the country was the Soviet Union, the government wanted everyone to be atheist (which means a person who does not believe God exists). The government would harass people who wanted to follow a religion.
In Caucasus, Georgia and Armenia are mostly Eastern Orthodox (Christian) and Azerbaijan is Muslim. All of the countries in Central Asia are mostly Muslim or Islamic countries.
Economy
Russia has a strong economy with a lot of diversification (a lot of different types of businesses and jobs). It was hard to change the economy after the Soviet Union fell but now most of the problems have been dealt with. The Caucasus region’s main economic activity is commercial farming. The Central Asian countries depend on livestock raising.
Environment.
The Soviet Union was not very responsible when it came to protecting the environment. The leaders of the Soviet Union (who, remember, controlled the Caucasus and Central Asian regions) would do just about anything to make money, even if they might destroy the environment in the process. Russia has a lot of air pollution coming from it factories. A lot of toxic chemicals are dumped in rivers. Chemicals in the ground have poisoned the soil. Radioactive (material that makes people sick because it gives off energy) wastes and nuclear accidents have made sickness a big problem.
Russia and the Caucasus and Central Asian Republics Unit Summary Questions
Please answer the following questions using what you know about the world and the handout.
1. Write a sentences for these words and make sure the sentences show you know what the word means:
a. Livestock raising
b. Abundant
c. Sparsely populated
d. Multiethnic
e. Tribute
f. Serfs
g. Unique
h. Nomads
i. Atheist
j. Diversification
2. What countries are in the Caucasus region?
3. What countries are in the Central Asian region?
4. Make a table showing which countries are flat, which ones are mountainous, and which ones are both. Don’t forget to title your table.
5. Why does Russia have so many natural resources?
6. Most of Russia has what climate?
7. What is a steppe climate (you might have to look for any stuff you still have on climate)?
8. Why are Russia, the Caucasus, and the Central Asian republics so multiethnic?
9. Make a timeline of Russian History.
10. What impact did Russia have on the Caucasus and Central Asian Republics?
11. What are the two major religions in the area?
12. What type of economy did the Soviet Union have?
13. What type of economy does Russia have?
14. List the types of pollution found in Russia.