test 2 Flashcards
Western Russian Plain: location and what does it provide?
Located West of the Ural mountains; provides agricultural land
Northerly latitudes of Russia provide….
short growing seasons
Interior Russia has what type of climate?
Type D, hot summers and cold winters
What does the Arctic Ocean from the North do for Russia?
sends cold air each winter
Mountain ranges to the south of Russia do what?
Block warm air and rain during the summer
Southern Russia climate
deserts and steppes
Northern Russia climate
tundra
What is the Russian Federation?
the name for Russia after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union
What time period does the Russian Federation span over?
1991-Present
What is the Soviet Union
1922-1992; Union of Soviet Socialist Republics; created after the civil war following the end of the Russian Empire
What time period does the Soviet Union span over?
1911-1992
How was the Soviet Union ruled?
by establishing ethnic-based Soviet Socialist Republics for the 14 major ethnic groups
What is the Russian Empire?
1721-1917; it was created from the Tsardom of Russia and ended with the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II
What time period does the Russian Empire span over?
1721-1917
How was the Russian Empire ruled?
by spreading the Russian language, Russian orthodox religion, and Russian culture to conquered territories
What is Russification?
spreading the Russian language, Russian orthodox religion, and Russian culture to conquered territories
What did the creation of Soviet Socialist Republics do?
strengthened some ethnicities and weakened other
What happened to Ethnic Russians during the expansion of the USSR?
Ethnic Russians were sent to different Republics to work in industries, administer the government, dilute ethnic groups’ strengths, and as prison sentences
What happened to the ethnic Russians after the collapse of the USSR?
There were large populations in each of the newly independent former Republics
What happened during the expansion of the Russian Federation?
Provinces and territories had governors and legislature locally elected; Putin changed this and had governors be appointed by the central government
What are the regional environmental problems in Russia?
large scale air and water pollution from industrial activity, large oil spills in forest and tundra areas, resource extraction has caused long-term environmental damage in multiple regions
What are the regional environmental problems in Russia?
large scale air and water pollution from industrial activity, large oil spills in forest and tundra areas, resource extraction has caused long-term environmental damage in multiple regions
Where is nuclear waste dumped in Russia?
Into the Barents Sea off of the north coast
Where is nuclear waste dumped in Russia?
Into the Barents Sea off of the north coast
When did the Russian Civil war begin?
in 1917 after the abdication of Emperor Nicholas II
Who were the bolsheviks?
a political group led by Vladimir Lenin that won the civil war and took control of the USSR
Who took over the USSR after Lenin?
Joseph Stalin
How was Russia ruled during Stalin’s rule?
collectivism of agriculture, industrialization, end of personal land ownership, weakening of religion
What did the Bolsheviks do to their opposition during their rule?
purged them; over 30 million were killed (more than all Nazi concentration camps in WWII)
What was the Marxist thought on capitalism?
capitalism is an economic system where the proletariat is oppressed by the bourgeoisie
In Marxist thought, what do the proletariat do in this system?
They revolt, take property from the bourgeoisie, and give the property to the government to manage
What is capitalism?
an economy based on the free market
Who are the proletariat?
the working class of society
Who are the bourgeoisie?
The wealthy middle class of a capitalist society
What is communism?
a system with no economic classes where economic resources are shared equally by all members of society
What is socialism?
an economic and political system where the government owns the means of economic production, distribution, and exchange
What is a command economy?
economic decisions are made by a central authority and not according to market demands
What role does the government play in a command economy?
they decided what is produced, where it is produced, the quantity, the number of workers who produce it, where the raw materials come from, and how the product is distributed
What is collectivized agriculture?
seizure of privately owned farms, merging them with other farms, and turning them over to government control
What was the Cold War?
a competition for military strength, scientific prowess, economic growth, and control of resources between the US and the Soviet Union and their respective allies
When did Mikhail Gorbachev come into power?
1985
When did Mikhail Gorbachev come into power?
1985
What was the state of the USSR when Gorbachev came into power?
The USSR economy was in near collapse
What was the state of the USSR when Gorbachev came into power?
The USSR economy was in near collapse
What is perestroika?
restructuring of the economy with market-like reforms
What is glasnost?
openness and transparency of all government activities
When did the Soviet Socialist Republics declare independence from the USSR?
1991
Who was the first president of the Russian Federation?
Brosi Yeltsin
Who was the first president of the Russian Federation?
Brosi Yeltsin
What happened after the Soviet Socialist Republic left the USSR?
shift to market economy, privatization, devaluation of the ruble, housing crisis, unemployment, political elite replaced by business elite
Why did Yeltsin resign?
political corruption and high economic costs
Who replaced Yeltsin in 1999?
Vladimir Putin
What is Russia like in the 21st century?
continued export of natural resources, low birth rate, growing wealth gap, loss of political freedom
What is Russian manufacturing like in the 21st century?
Their manufacturing capacity is not modernizing as quickly as Europe, Asia, and North America
What is the Russian religion currently?
Russian Orthodox Christianity (15-20%), Islam (15%)
What happened to religion during the USSR rule?
It was weakened
What is the Russian language currently?
Russian (Slavic language group); uses Cyrillic alphabet
What is the core region of Russia?
Moscow, Volga, and the Ural Mountains
What is Moscow?
the capital city of Russia; one of the most expensive cities in the world
What do Moscow and surrounding cities focus on?
manufacturing
What is Russia’s biggest port?
St.Petersburg, on the Baltic Sea
Where does the Volga River flow?
it flows to the Caspian Sea and connects to the Black Sea by canal
What is the longest river in Europe?
Volga River
What do the Ural Mountains have?
an abundance of mineral resources
What makes up the Eastern Frontier of Russia?
East of the Ural Mountains in south-central Russia
What does the Eastern Frontier of Russia have?
planned cities, industrial plants, raw materials processing centers, several long rivers, Trans-Siberian railway
What is the Kuznetsk Basin?
it is an area of industrial cities including Novosibirsk
What does the Kuznetsk Basin provide?
mining, timber, and metals
What does the Kuznetsk Basin provide?
mining, timber, and metals
What is Lake Baikal?
a lake with more fresh water than all of the Great Lakes combined
What does the Lake Baikal region provide?
agriculture, timber, and mining
Where is Siberia?
East of the Ural Mountains, north of the Eastern Frontier, east to Kamchatka Peninsula
How large is Siberia?
Larger than the US
How many people live in Siberia?
15 million
What type of climate does Siberia have?
Polar tundra (Type E) to the north of a taiga (Type D) climate with coniferous forests
What does the Kamchatka Peninsulas contain?
20 active volcanoes and more than 100 inactive volcanoes
What regions are in the Far East?
Kamchatka Peninsula, Vladivostok port, Sakhalin Island, Kuril Islands
What does the Far East border?
North Korea, China, and the Pacific Ocean
Where is southern Russia?
south of the Core Region, east of the Black Sea, west of the Caspian Sea, extends into the Caucasus Mountains
How many ethnic groups reside in Southern Russia?
at least 50, and many different languages
What does the Chechen Republic want?
They wanted independence from the USSR in 1991, but Russia has used military force to prevent Chechen separation
What countries make up the Transcaucasia region?
Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
Where is transcaucasia located?
In the Caucasus Mountains along the border between Europe and Asia
What happened to Georgia in 2008?
They were invaded by Russia, this led to slow economic reform
Who was the first country to adopt Christianity as a state religion?
Armenia
Armenia has its own _________ and ___________
alphabet; language
What happened to Armenia during WWI?
genocide by the Ottoman Empire in the west
What is Armenian land a part of today?
Turkey