Chapter 17 and 18 Former USSR

Map

Countries • Russia- Moscow • Ukraine- Kiev • Belarus – Minsk • Kazakhstan- Astana • Uzbekistan- Tashkent • Kyrgyzstan- Bishkek • Tajikistan- Dushanbe • Turkmenistan- Ashgabat

Landforms• Ural Mountains • Caucasus Mountains • Siberia • Kamchatka Peninsula • Tian Shan

Map

Water • Volga River • Ob River • Lena River • Artic Ocean • Bearing Sea • Sea of Okhotsk • Lake Baikal • Caspian Sea • Aral Sea • Barents Sea

Others • Trans - Siberian railroad

USSR History

• 15 countries make up the former U.S.S.R.• 1917 Bolshevik party overthrew govt. in Russia.• 1917-1924 Lenin leader followed ideas of Karl

Marx- Communism idea.• Lenin-Control all farms & factories-One Social

Class• After Civil War Called- Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics (USSR)

USSR History

• USSR- One party- totalitarian state• Communist party made all decisions from

Moscow• Joseph Stalin- Followed Lenin- even crueler-

killed anyone he thought opposed him

Daily Life Under Communism

• Daily Life:– Poor to U.S. standards-– Good education– Limited Food- lines to get food– Sacrifice necessary to build Communist ideal– Freedom of Speech & Religion denied

USSR Cold War History

• Cold War: -After WW II – ended 1991• USSR vs. U.S.A.- battle of super powers- Political

War:1. nuclear build up- nuclear war always a possibility2. space race with US 3. imperialism- taking land- building empire4. chance to show off power, and new weapons

and technology (space race)

The Fall of USSR

• 1985 Mikhail Gorbochev- Last Soviet leader• Needed change- Horrible economy• Opened up govt. to the people- Glasnost.• -Major economic changes- Perestroika.• People tired of sacrifice without economy for the

people• 1991 Soviet Union broke apart.• Boris Yelstin- new leader 1991- democratic election-

increased religious freedom

Former Soviet States Now

• Crime & Unemployment still increasing.• Major environmental issues.– U.S.S.R. dumped nuclear waste in Arctic Ocean-

STILL dump into rivers &lakes• Vladimir Putin- President- New Year’s 2000.

Russia

• Capital: Moscow• GDP $ 7,700 • Lit Rate: 98%• Officially called “Russian

Federalism” -• 150 mill. 6.5 mill. Sq.

miles• 1/9 of all land. Twice as

big as Canada (#2 in size)

• Vladimir Putin- President (2000)

Russian History

• Name from Scandinavian Vikings called Rus• 1547 Ivan IV or “Ivan The Terrible” first czar

Czar = Caesar = Emperor• Amassed large empire• Very angry- killed his son with his own hands• Peter the Great - 1801-1825 Expanded Russia

made more European • Late 1800’s empire in decline

Russia

• Ural Mtns. Divide Asia & Europe

• Ob River- longest river in Asia

• Mtns on south border- Mongolia

• Lake Baykal- Deepest lake in world- 5,315ft.

• Many Rivers= transportation & hydroelectricity

Climate: • Humid- Continental & Sub

Arctic- Tundra also• Winters long & cold & dry -

Isolated during winter hard to travel

Russia Resources:• More forest, energy, &

minerals than any other country

• Soviet Union wasted them• Major oil producer- Ob River

region• Large deposits of coal• Major producer of Diamonds• Potential to be major

supplier of- iron ore, copper, manganese, gold, platinum

Agriculture:• Climate & Political

problems limit potential

• Short growing season, surprisingly dry

• Soviet government controlled farms- hard to switch back

• Mixed farming- grains livestock

Russia

Moscow Region- • 9 mill. People- heart of

Russia• Beautiful city & largest city-

Kremlin- Govt. Headquarters- Red Square

St. Petersburg-( Leningrad):

• Trying to modernize- cool city- 2nd largest in Russia

• “Venice of the North”- use canals in city

• Produce textiles, ships, chemicals

Russia

Volga Region-(Stalingrad): • -famous for heavy industry & giant

factories, cars, chemicals, food

Urals Region- rich mineral deposits- Many factories- copper & iron ore

Kaliningrad (Russia)-Exclave-cut off from Russia- Between Lithuania & Poland• Important sea port- Wants own

independence – Has market economy.

Siberia- mostly uninhabited & little industry- Coal deposits, lumber and mining• -Trans- Siberian Railroad-

Moscow to Vladivostok • -Baykal- Amur Mainline

(BAM) 5 mtns. 17 riversFar East- heavy forests- fishing, petroleum, minerals- not well developed• Vladivostok- chief seaport

Ukraine

• Capital-Kiev • Literacy 100% • GDP $4500 • Slightly smaller than

Texas• Made USSR- world’s

largest producer of wheat, oats, barley, sugar beets

• Crimea- small peninsula- part of Ukraine, close ties to Russia

• Chernobyl- nuclear power plant exploded in 1986

• many still feeling affect of radiation (cancer)

Belarus

• Capital-Minsk• Literacy-98.0%• GDP-$8200• slightly smaller than

Kansas - Many swamps and marches

• Religion- Eastern Orthodox 80%

• Railroad runs from Moscow to Warsaw through here- route used by Hitler and Napoleon to invade Russia

• People are nicknamed “White Russians” Beylo means white

Kazakhstan

• Capital: Astana • Used as farmland by the

USSR • Currently one of the

wealthier Central Asian nations because of it’s vast natural resources

• Republic with a very powerful president

• Gained Independence for USSR in 1991

• Made up of 17 provinces

• Ethnicity is a mix of Turkish and Mongol heritage

Uzbekistan

• Capital: Tashkent• Over farmed during the

USSR rule• They drained the Aral

Sea for irrigation- almost completely depleted of water

• Grow cotton and Wheat

• Growing economy because of international businesses

Kyrgyzstan

• Capital: Bishkek• Government is republic • Gained independence

from USSR in 1991 • Political issues have

become a problem in recent years- flawed elections

• Mountainous- Tien Shan Range

• Mostly Islamic

Tajikistan• Capital- Dushanbe• Republic government • Major civil war in the 1990’s

after gaining its independence for USSR

• Poorest of the former USSR Central Asia Countries

• Many work in Russia

Turkmenistan• Ashgabat• Authoritarian Democracy

• Long history as part of the Silk Road

• Huge Natural Gas Reserves • Mostly Islamic State