CH 11 RUSSIA THE ERUSIAN REPUBLICS SECTION 1

CH. 11 RUSSIA & THE ERUSIAN REPUBLICS SECTION 1: GEOGRAPHY

PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY • Russia & the Eurasian republics take up about one-sixth of the land surface of the entire Earth. • Russia is the largest country in the world in total land mass. • The Eurasian republics lie south of Russia. • Ural Mountains separate the Northern European Plain from the West Siberian Plain. • Russia has oceans on its northern & eastern boarders & mountainous areas along much of its southern boarder. • Deserts & mountains of Central Asia keep republics isolated. • The North Atlantic Drift warms the waters around Murmansk & keeps them ice free.

EXTREME CLIMATES • Half the land in Russia is so cold that it has permafrost, or permanently frozen ground. • Yet some parts can reach 100 degrees in the summer. • Artic winds from the Artic Ocean blow along the northern boundary of Russia. • Tundra, or flat land found in arctic & subarctic regions, exists in Siberia– central & eastern Russia. • South of tundra is the taiga, or forest area. • Farming is concentrated in the fertile soils of the western plains and steppes, along the Black Sea & Caspian Sea.

NATURAL RESOURCES • Russia & Eurasian republics have plentiful resources of oil and natural gas. • Russia is also a leading coal producer. • Russia produces large amounts of peat, which is very old decayed plant material. • Some rivers provide hydroelectric power, electricity generated by water. • 20% of the world’s reserves of iron ore is located in the region. • Much of the region’s resources are in remote locations.

CENTRAL ASIAN LANDSCAPES • Central Asia includes landforms such as deserts, mountains, forests, and steppes. • Certain places do reach 0 degrees in the winter. • Large parts of Central Asia are arid, meaning very little rainfall. • Due to farming, the Ariel Sea in Kazakhstan & Uzbekistan has began to dry & shrink. • In 2005, Kazakhstan built a dam to save the North Ariel Sea.

SECTION 2: HISTORY

EARLY HISTORY • Settlement of Russia by different groups dates back to around 1200 B. C. • The Slavs built towns near rivers in Ukraine & wester Russia in 800 s. • A Varangian prince captured Kiev and established a state that became known as Kievan Rus. • Early 1200 s, Genghis Khan established the Mongol Empire in Central Asia and later into Russia. • Russian Princes had to declare their loyalty & pay taxes to the khan. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=EMF 7 mgycg 9 M

The Rise of Moscow • The Silk Road carried goods and new ideas from Asia to Russia & Central Asia. • Around 1330, the Mongols allowed Prince Ivan I of Moscow to collect tribute. As Moscow grew stronger, Mongol grew weaker. • In 1380, Grand Prince Dmitry defeated the Mongols in battle. • 1480, Ivan III or Ivan the Great refused to pay taxes- this action ended Mongol rule in Russia. • Ivan IV expanded Russia and made it into an empire. Becoming Russia’s first czar.

EUROPEAN OR ASIAN? • Geographically, Russia extends across both Europe & Asia or Eurasia. • Many Russian people live in the western side of the Ural Mountains --- in Europe. • In the late 900 s, Christianity became the main religion, however adopting the Eastern Orthodox. • Perter the Great modernized Russia and became the first czar to travel to Western Europe. • Catherine the Great introduced European ideas such as education & art. • Catherine also tried to create a more secular country, where the church was less powerful.

INVADERS-NAPOLEON • Napoleon & France invaded Russia in the summer of 1812. • The Russians used a scorched earth policy, where troops retreated in front of the advancing army & destroyed crops & other resources that might supply the enemy. • By mid-October, Napoleon began to retreat b/c of the harsh winter. • The cold & snow began to slow down the French army. Russia attacked as they fled. • Of the 42, 000 troops that invaded, only 10, 000 survived. https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=d. Ee_Bxe. F 0 w. E

INVADERS- HITLER • Hitler invaded Soviet Union (Russia) in June 1941. • The Soviets used the same scorched earth policy and the invasion was slowed down. • Hitler was unable to take Moscow in 1941 & Stalingrad in 1943. • 300, 000 Nazi troops that fought in Stalingrad, only 5, 000 came home. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=tkf. GHFWGrag

SERFDOM TO INDUSTRIALIZATION • For centuries, most Russian workers were peasants who worked for wealthy landlords. • Ivan IV, or known as Ivan the Terrible, changed this system in 1500 s. • He passes laws that tied the peasants to the land as serfs. • Serfs had their own houses & small plot of land to farm, but they had to pay the landlord rent. • In 1861, Czar Alexander II freed to serfs to work in industry & modernize Russia.

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION IN RUSSIA • The Industrial Revolution did not begin in Russia until the 1890 s. • By 1913, Russia had become the fifth largest industrial nation in the world. • Most industrial workers & peasants were very poor. • Revolutionary activist & politician V. I. Lenin led a political group called the Bolsheviks. • They wanted to take over industry & the government. • February 1917 the Bolsheviks began the Russian Revolution & overthrew the czar.

THE SOVIET UNION • The Bolsheviks believed that a Communist form of government & socialist economic system was the answer to the nation’s problems. • Communism is a single political party controls the government & economy. • Socialism is a system in which the government controls economic resources. • The Bolsheviks wanted to end private ownership of land resources & establish a classless society. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=ZZ 55 Zv. Be 07 U

THE SOVIET UNION • In 1922, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Azerbaijan, & Georgia formed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U. S. S. R. ) • From 1927 to 1953, Josef Stalin was in control & isolated the country from the West. • The Soviets were a industrial & world leader, second only to the U. S. • The government owned most businesses & agriculture. • Collective farms: workers produced a certain amount of food– determined by the government-- & received a share of the surplus crops.

THE SOVIET UNION • The Soviets had trouble feeding all its people. • Standard of living was much lower than in Western countries. • Mikhail Gorbachev tried to reform & improve the economy. • However, a movement toward adopting democratic forms of government was spreading across Eastern Europe. • In 1991, the Soviet Union collapsed. • https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Misd. SQA 9 Cm. I