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Geography• World’s largest country, lies on Europe and Asia• Gigantic size and harsh climates make
transportation difficult• European Russia is warmer than Asian Russia• 75% of population live in European Russia• Russia touches many inland bodies of water such as
Black Sea, Caspian Sea, and Lake Baikal• Caucasus Mountains = south of European Russia
Ural Mountains
Lake Baikal
Vocabulary• Urban =
• Rural =
• Suburbs =
• Tundra =
• Taiga =
• Steppes =
Moscow
Inside the Kremlin
Trans-Siberian Railroad
Siberia
Volga River
Mole Rats
Culture• Over 145 million people and over 150
different ethnic groups• Religions =Christian, Islamic, Buddhist, or
Jewish• St. Petersburg has many beautiful museums
and is home to the Marinsky Theatre = one of Russia’s top ballet companies
Russian Slavs
Vocabulary
• Majority Culture =
• Minority Cultures =
Culture• Russians enjoy all kinds of literature,
including folktales called skazki• Russian Orthodox Church = incredibly popular
and thriving even though communism tried to eliminate it
• Russian Orthodoxy was responsible for a Slavic alphabet called Cyrillic
• ¾ of Russian people live in cities, mostly in large apartment blocks
• Russian workers are celebrated on May Day
Vladimir I ChoseEastern Orthodoxy
Economy• Russia has large deposits of coal, oil, and gas• Southwestern area can produce high yields of grains• Fishing industry is one of the largest in the world• Forests of Siberia provide plenty of timber• However, Russia’s economy is not strong due to
years of communist control of farms and factories which denied people the experience of creating jobs, starting businesses, and making money
Economy• Siberia has the largest supply of minerals• Volga River carries almost ½ of Russia’s
river traffic and provides water for irrigation and hydroelectric power
History• During Ad 800, Slavs built a civilization
around the city of Kiev = Kievan Rus• Mongols swept in during the 1200’s and
greatly reduced Kiev’s wealth and power• Russian rulers slowly expanded their power
and land size = called czars, had complete and total control over the government
History
• At the bottom of society were great masses of people called serfs = farm laborers who were attached to the land
• Serfs lived hard lives and few could read and write
• In late 1800’s, began to industrialize to rely more on manufacturing and less on farming
Czar Alexander II
Czar Nicholas II
Soviet Era• In 1917, political leaders, soldiers, and factory
workers forced Czar Nicholas II to give up the throne
• Vladimir Lenin led a second revolution and seized control, set up a communist government, which had strict control of the government and society
• In 1922 Russian Communist leaders formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics = U.S.S.R
• Joseph Stalin took power after Lenin died, government took tighter control of country and many people suffered
Vladimir Lenin
Joseph Stalin
Communist Sniper
Soviet Era• After WWII, Stalin set up communist governments
in many neighboring Eastern European countries• From late 1940’s to late 1980’s US and USSR
waged a Cold War, in which both nations competed for world influence without actually fighting each other
• Soviet Union included Russians and people from many other ethnic groups
• In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev took power and relaxed Soviet control
Cold War Movies
Rocky IV 13 Days
Mikhail Gorbachev
Soviet Union Dissolved• In late 1991, each of the 15 republics
made up of Soviet Union declared independence and the Soviet Union dissolved
Berlin Wall
Change from Communism• Changed from communism to free enterprise
immediately• Under communism everyone had jobs, workers
today can lose their jobs when business is poor• Without government controls, prices have risen
making it harder to buy necessities such as food, clothing
• Major Environmental issues due to the old Soviet government making factories and nuclear plants that polluted the environment
• Diseases have resulted from air pollution
Challenges of Change• Russia is a democracy today• Russian president has more power than US,
can implement plans that are not passed by legislature
• Facing challenges of learning how to be a democracy
• Ethnic groups want to form their own country
• Chechens of Chechnya want their own nation, have used terrorism to get attention, Russia has had to use force to keep them in the country
Finally, We are Finished
