Module 3: Russia

Russia Area

17.1 million km2

Russia’s portion of Earth’s land

11%

Russia’s time zones

11

Coastline

37,000 km

Highest Peak in Russia

Mount Elbrus (5,642 m)

Deepest Lake in Russia

Lake Baikal

1462 – Grand Duchy of Moscow

Small state centered on Moscow

Starting point of Russian territorial expansion

1914 – Czarist Russian Empire

Expanded across Eastern Europe, Siberia, and Central Asia

Became one of the world's largest territorial empires

1922–1991 – Soviet Union (USSR)

Russia became the core of a union of 15 Soviet republics

Included Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, Central Asia

1991 – Collapse of the Soviet Union

14 other Soviet republics became independent

Russia remained the largest successor state

Where is Russia located

Russia boarders 14 countries and spans two continents

-Europe: norway, finland, estonia, latvia, lithuania, poland, belarus, ukraine

-Caucaus: georgia, azerbijan

-central and east asia: kazakhstan, mongolia, china, north korea

Russia Geograpic Dimensions

West → East: St. Petersburg → Vladivostok ≈9,000 km

North → South: Arctic Ocean ↓ Caucasus Mountains ≈4,000 km

why russia’s geography matters

Severe winters, Vast distances, Short growing season, Difficult transportation, Uneven population, Extensive forests

The Russia Plain

❑ Characteristics

• Extension of the North European Plain

• Broad, gently rolling lowlands

• Elevation generally below 300 m

• Fertile soils in the south

❑ Geographic Importance

• 75% of Russia’s population

• Major agricultural region

• Contains Moscow and St. Petersburg

• Dense transportation network

Ural Mountains

❑ Characteristics

• North–south mountain chain (~2,500 km)

• Average elevation about 900–1,200 m

• Ancient, heavily eroded mountains

❑ Geographic Importance

• Traditional boundary between Europe and Asia

• Rich in mineral resources

• Were never a barrier for transport or invasion

• Once dense forest now gone

West Siberian Plain

❑ Characteristics

• Largest plain in the World

• Extremely flat

• Poor drainage

• Extensive wetlands and peat bogs

• Major rivers (Ob and Irtysh) flow north

❑ Challenges

• Flooding

• Permafrost in the north

• Difficult road construction

Central Siberian Plateau

❑ Characteristics

• Elevated plateau (500-1700 m)

• Deeply dissected by rivers

• Ancient crystalline rocks

• Dominated by boreal forest (Taiga)

❑ Challenges

• Sparse population

• Limited transportation

• Harsh continental climate

Yakutsk Basin

• Continuous permafrost

• Lena River drainage basin

• One of the coldest inhabited regions on Earth

Eastern Highlands

• Rugged mountain ranges

• Kamchatka Peninsula

• Pacific Ring of Fire

• Active volcanoes and earthquakes

Central Asian Ranges

• Altai and Sayan ranges

• High relief

• Glacial valleys

Caucasus Mountains

• Highest mountain range in Europe

• Mount Elbrus (5,642 m)

• Climatic barrier between the Black Sea and inland Eurasia

Three Controls of Climate

Latitude: solar energy

• Most of Russia lies between 50°N and 70°N

• Sun angle is low

• Winters are long

• Growing season is short

Continentality: Far from Ocean

• Far from warm ocean

• Dry air

• Large annual temperature range

Elevation: Mountain Cooling

• Colder climate with increasing altitude

• More snowfall

• Strong local climate differences

Permafrost

Ground that remains frozen for at least two consecutive years

-continuous (>90% of ground is frozen)

-discontinuous (50-90%)

Permafrost facts

• Covers approximately 65% of Russia's land area

• Thickest in northeastern Siberia

• Can extend hundreds of meters below the surface

Tundra

Bare ground and rock with lichen, mosses and low grass

Taiga

“snow forest” of coniferous trees. Commercial potential, but slow to grow

Main Agricultural Regions

❑ Agriculture is concentrated in southern European Russia:

• Longer growing season

• Fertile chernozem (black earth) soils

• Moderate precipitation

• Flat terrain

Main Crops

Wheat, Barley, Sunflowers, Potatoes, Sugar beets

Rivers

-Russia possesses one of the world's largest freshwater systems.

-Approximately 20% of the world's freshwater runoff originates from rivers flowing across Russia.

-many rivers flow north instead of south

Lake Baikal

➢ Oldest lake on Earth (~25 million years)

➢ Deepest lake (1,642 m)

➢ Holds about 20% of the world's unfrozen surface freshwater

➢ More than 3,500 plant and animal species

• Approximately two- thirds are found nowhere else

Natural Resources

❑ Major oil deposits & World’s largest natural gas reserves

• North Caucasus to Sakhalin Island

• Arctic shore of Siberia to Caspian Basin

❑ Coal

• East and west of Ural Mountains and southern Siberia

Population Distribution and Density

❑ Population ≈145 million

❑ Nearly 75% live west of the Ural Mountains

Population Pyramids

❑ Women live 10+ years longer than men

❑ Male life expectancy has increased after a steep decline but is shortest of any developed country

❑ Alcohol abuse, accidents, suicides among men

Ethnolinguistic Areas

❑ More than 190 ethnic groups, each with distinct languages, cultures, and traditions.

❑ Russian is the largest ethnic group, 80% of the population.

❑ Orthodox Christianity

Languages

-more than 100 languages

-Russian is the most widely spoken language

Major Cities

Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Vladivostok

Moscow

-largest city

-national transportation hub

St. Petersburg

-baltic port

-historic capital

Novosibirsk

-Largest city in Siberia

-located along the Trans-Siberian Railway

Vladivostok

-pacific gateway

-far east

Transportation Challenges

enormous distances, mountains, wetlands, permafrost, long winters

major transportation systems

railroads, rivers, highways, air travel

11 Time Zones

Approximate travel: Moscow → Vladivostok ≈9 hours by air ≈7 days by train

Arctic Prospects

Lengthy northern coastline on the Arctic Ocean

-mostly frozen throughout the year

Global Warming possibilities for the future

• Melting of Arctic Ocean’s ice cover, opening of Arctic ports and even passage through the Bering Strait.

• Shrinking the area of permafrost.

• Improvement of agriculture on the Russian Plain.

• New oil and gas reserves.

impacts of permafrost thaw

unstable buildings, damaged roads, pipeline deformation, thermokarst lakes, changing drainage systems

challenges to manage its massive territory

❑Distance is a significant factor in the relationships between the capital and outlying areas

❑Moscow lies in far west

❑Russia’s Pacific coast is literally a half a world away