Chapter 9:  The Russian Domain

Introduction

►    This region includes Russia along with its neighbors Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia, all formerly part of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) which dissolved in 1991.

►    Russia is the largest country on the planet and spans 11 time zones.

►    This region is vast and resource rich although it also includes some of the harshest climates found on earth.

►    There are similarities between the rise of the U.S. and the rise of Russian culture.

►    Both countries grew from small beginnings to become imperial powers enriched by

§     The fur trade

§     Gold rushes

§     Transcontinental railroads

§     Industrialization in the 20^th century

►    The two countries were engaged politically (and potentially militarily) in a Cold War for most of the last half of the 20^th century.

►   This region has experienced extremely rapid political and economic change in recent years, moving uneasily from an authoritarian centrally planned economy (communism) and superpower status toward democracy and a capitalist economy.

►   Currently, the region’s economy is weak, its commitment to democracy uncertain; continuing nationalist movements in Russia threaten stability.

►   Although only ¾ the size of the former Soviet Union, Russia is still the largest state on earth.

►   Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, and Armenia must all work to develop their own global relationships.

Environmental Geography:  A Vast and Challenging Land (Fig. 9.2)

►  In this region, there are few domestic environmental regulations; as a result, the environment has suffered

§    The caviar-producing sturgeon around the Black Sea are in danger of extinction because of

► Inadequate legal protections

► A global economic setting that encourages its harvest

►  A Devastated Environment

§    This region has some of the world’s most severe environmental degradation caused by intense and rapid industrialization

§    Air and Water Pollution

► Air pollution (fig. 9.3)

§    Air pollution is linked to the clustering of industrial factories with minimal environmental controls

§    Reliance on locally abundant, low-quality coal increases pollution

§    Growing rates of private car ownership has increased city air pollution

►  Water pollution

§    Industrial pollution, raw sewage, oil spills, and seepage pollute urban water supplies

§     The Nuclear Threat:

►  The former Soviet Union had a large nuclear weapons and energy program

§     environmental safely issues were ignored

►  Nuclear weapons were used for

§    seismic experiments

§    oil exploration

§    dam building

►  Nuclear wastes were carelessly dumped

►  Above-ground nuclear testing left radioactive fallout in Sakha (northeast Siberia)

►  Nuclear waste was dumped in the water around Novaya Zemlya

►  Russia has many aging nuclear reactors and has had two major nuclear accidents, one in the 1950s that contaminated hundreds of square miles and a 1986 meltdown in Chernobyl that devastated Ukraine and Belarus

► A Diverse Physical Setting (Fig. 9.5)

§   This region occupies a major portion of the world’s largest landmass

§   This is the world’s largest example of a high-latitude continental climate (Fig. 9.6)

►Cold winters

►Marginal agriculture

§    The European West

► The different river systems, all now linked by canals, flow into four separate drainages:

§    The Dneiper and Don rivers flow into the Black Sea

§    Russian civilization was located along these rivers

§   The Ural Mountains and Siberia

►The Ural Mountains

§   separate European Russia from Siberia/Asian Russia

§   are low mountains with a cold, dry climate that makes farming difficult

§   have minerals

►Siberia

§   lies to the east and extends for thousands of miles

§   has a very cold climate

§    vegetation includes tundra characterized by

►  No trees

►  Mosses

►  Lichens

►  ground-hugging flowering plants

§    Taiga (fig. 9.11)

►  a coniferous forest zone south of the tundra

►   contains 20% of the world’s forest regions

►  Eastern Siberia has permafrost

§    a cold-climate condition of unstable, seasonally frozen ground that limits growth of vegetation

§    The Russian Far East

► Near the Pacific Ocean at about the same latitude as New England in North America

► The Amur River forms much of the border between Russia and China

► Earthquakes and volcanoes (fig. 9.10)

§     The Caucasus and Transcaucasia

►  The Caucasus

§    are found in the extreme southern portion of European Russia

§    Between the Black and Caspian Seas

§    form Russia’s southern boundary

►  Georgia and Armenia are in Transcaucasia which is dominated by low plateaus

►  Earthquakes

►  Climate: 

§    high rainfall and Mediterranean climate in the west (Georgia) (Fig. 9.10)

►   Fruits

►   Vegetables

►   Flowers

►   wine

§    eastern valleys are arid or semi-arid

Population and Settlement:  An Urban Domain

► There are more than 200 million people in this region (Table 9.1)

► Most live in cities

► Population Distribution (Fig. 9.13)

§   There are more people in the best agricultural regions: the European West

§    The European Core (Belarus, Moldova, much of Ukraine, western Russia)

► Moscow is the largest city

► St. Petersburg (used to be called Leningrad and Petrograd) (Fig. 9.15)

§    was the capital of the Russian Empire 1712-1917

§    A Renaissance style city built on a swamp

§    Grand avenues

§    Palaces

§    Canals

§    Siberian Hinterlands:

► Relatively sparse settlement

§    Industrial cities around the Trans-Siberian Railroad (Fig. 9.17)

§    Thinner settlements along the Baikal-Amur Mainline Railroad (BAM), north of Trans-Siberian

§    North of the BAM, few settlements exist

► Regional Migration Patterns

§   Eastward movement (1860-1914)

►accelerated by Trans-Siberian Railroad

►Settlers were attracted by farming opportunities and greater political freedom away from the Tsars (czars)

►Continued under Soviet regime

§    Political Motives 

► moves dictated by Russian leaders:

► Millions were forcibly relocated to political prisons in Siberia (Gulag Archipelago:  a vast collection of political prisons in which inmates often disappeared or spent many years removed from home and family)

► Recently, people have moved away from the political instability in the Chechnya region to nearby regions

► Russification: 

§    Soviet policy of resettling Russians into non-Russian portions of U.S.S.R. to increase Russian dominance

§    Russians became a significant minority in former Soviet republics and often received special treatment

§    Russians often lived in administrative centers or industrial complexes

§    New International Movements:

► Russification has often been reversed after the break-up of U.S.S.R. (Fig. 9.18)

► several of the newly independent non-Russian countries have imposed rigid citizenship and language requirements to encourage Russians to leave

► Chinese are entering Russia’s Far East attracted by job opportunities

► Many well-educated Russians have left for better jobs (brain drain)

► Many Jewish Russians have moved to Israel or the U.S.

► Many Russians have moved to the U.S.

§   The Urban Attraction

►Soviets carefully planned cities, selecting cities for specialized purposes with pre-determined population levels

►Internal passports kept people from moving freely; people worked in the cities where the government sent them

►Since the break-up of the U.S.S.R., Russian citizens have greater freedom of movement and have moved to the largest cities

►   Inside the Russian City (Fig. 9.19):

§     Russian cities were carefully planned, including a center with

►  Superior transit connections

►  The best department stores and shops

►  Public spaces

►  Monumental architecture

§     Farther out, are

►  Large apartment buildings (fig. 9.20)

►  Grocery stores

►  Basic services

►   The Demographic Crisis

§     The population is declining (Fig. 9.21)

§     Middle-aged men are dying faster than anybody else

§     Causes: 

►  fraying social fabric

►  Uncertain economy

►  Lack of optimism about the future

►  Declining health of women of child-bearing age

►  stress-related conditions (alcoholism and heart disease)

►  toxic environments

Cultural Coherence and Diversity:  The Legacy of Slavic Dominance

►   Slavic, Russian-speaking people expanded from central European Russia

►   The Heritage of the Russian Empire

§     Russian expansion paralleled European colonization

§     Interaction with Byzantine Empire of Greece led to adoption of Eastern Orthodox Christianity (a form of Christianity linked to Eastern Europe and Constantinople) and the Cyrillic alphabet

§     Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenians, and Croatians (all Slavs) adopted Catholicism

§     This religious division split the Slavic-speaking world into two groups

§     They soon split into even smaller principalities

§     Mongols/Tatars (Turkish-speaking) invaded and conquered them

§     Slavic leaders in Moscow overthrew the Tatars in the 14^th century and established a new, unified Russian state (Fig. 9.22)

§    Russians allied with Cossacks (semi-nomadic, Slavic-speaking Christians), who conquered the Steppes (Fig. 9.23)

§    Russia expanded into Siberia in the 17^th century

► Quest for an unfrozen access to the ocean

► Furs (cold climates produce high-quality furs)

►  Geographies of Language

§    Slavic languages dominate (Fig. 9.24)

§    The Belorussians and Ukrainians

► Belarus is more or less a nation-state with scattered Polish and Russian minorities

► Ukraine includes Russians in eastern Ukraine and Crimea (fig. 9.25)

► Crimea also has Turkish-speaking Tatars

► Some Ukrainians live in southern Russia and southwestern Siberia

§    In Moldova

► Romanian (A Romance language) is the dominant language

► There are quite a few ethnic Romanians and Ukrainians

§    Patterns Within Russia:

► Ethnic Russians dominate

► There are pockets of indigenous peoples, some of whom are seeking autonomy

► Non-Russians include

§    Finno-Ugric

§    Altaic (Fig. 9.26)

§    Many others

§    Transcaucasian Languages:

► The “Mountain of Languages”

► One of the world’s most complicated language patterns:

§    3 language families in an area smaller than Ohio with several dozen individual languages

§    The Caucasian language family

►  Includes Chechnyan and Georgian

►  is unrelated to any other on earth

§    Armenian is Indo-European

►  Geographies of Religion

§    Eastern Orthodox Christianity was the traditional religion of most of this region (Fig. 9.27)

§    The U.S.S.R.

► prohibited open practice of religion

► converted most houses of worship to other uses

§    The demise of the U.S.S.R. brought religion back into the open

§    Most Russians, Belorussians, Ukrainians are followers of Eastern Orthodox Christianity

§     Armenian Christianity differs from both Eastern Orthodox and Catholic traditions

§     Georgian Christianity is similar to Orthodox

§     Evangelical Protestantism has been growing

§     Other religions:

►  20-25 million Sunni Muslims are

§    in the North Caucasus

§    The Volga Tatars

§    Central Asian people near the Kazakh border

►  More than 1 million Jews live in Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, especially in the larger cities of the European West

►  Buddhism in

§    Kalmykia (NE Caucasus)

§    Buryatia (around Lake Baikal)

Geopolitical Framework:  The Remnants of a Global Superpower

►   Many of today’s problems in this region stem from the Soviet legacy

►   Geopolitical Structure of the Former Soviet Union

§     The Soviet Union arose after Russian Empire collapsed abruptly in 1917

§     Authoritarian and aristocratic tsars were replaced by a broad-based coalition of business people, workers, and peasants who were replaced a few months later by the Bolsheviks (a faction of Russian Communists representing the interests of the industrial workers) led by Lenin (Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov) who centralized power and introduced communism

§     Lenin was the main architect of the Soviet Union

►  The old empire contained many non-Russian nationalities

►  Russians traditionally dominated these peoples

►  Lenin wanted to end such domination while retaining as much imperial territory as possible

§    The Soviet Republics and Autonomous Areas

► The Soviet leaders designed a geopolitical solution to maintain the country’s territorial boundaries and theoretically acknowledged the rights of non-Russian citizens

► Each major nationality outside the traditional boundaries of Russia and situated on one of the nation’s external borders received its own “union republic” (Fig.9.29)

► This created 15 republics, each one administratively autonomous with the theoretical right to secede

► The U.S.S.R. remained a centralized state

► The U.S.S.R. created autonomous areas that gave special recognition to smaller ethnic groups within the Union Republics

§   Centralization and Expansion of the Soviet State

►The policies associated with autonomous regions did not cause ethnic differences to disappear, so in 1930, Soviet leader Stalin centralized power in Moscow in order to assert Russian authority

►National autonomy disappeared

►Stalin introduced state-controlled farms and industries and used force against citizens to make them comply – especially anti-Soviet ethnic groups

►  Stalin enlarged the U.S.S.R., adding the Sakhalin and Kuril Islands from Japan, regained Baltic republics (which were independent from 1917-1940), and occupied parts of Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia

►  He also added Kaliningrad, a small portion of Germany, which is still a Russian exclave (a portion of a country’s territory outside of its contiguous land area) (fig. 9.30)

► After World War II:

§    The U.S.S.R. gained authority (but not sovereignty) over much of Eastern Europe

§    Established an “Iron Curtain” between their east European allies and the more democratic nations of western Europe

► The Cold War (1948-1991):

§    The Soviet Union and the U.S. became political and military rivals

§    The Soviet Union became a global superpower

§     End of the Soviet System:

►  In the 1980s, Mikhail Gorbachev instituted glasnost (greater political openness)

►  Union republics (especially the Baltic republics of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia) began to demand independence

►  Other forces led to the demise of the U.S.S.R.:

§    Worsening economic conditions

§    A failed war in Afghanistan in the 1980s

§    Protests in Eastern Europe

►  Gorbachev introduced perestroika (planned economic restructuring) to make production more efficient and more responsive to the needs of Soviet citizens

►  By the end of 1991, all of the country’s 15 union republics became independent countries

►    Current Geopolitical Setting (fig. 9.31)

§     Russia and the Former Soviet Republics

►  Transcaucasia remains unstable

§    Small regions want autonomy

§    Oil and gas pipelines are being built (bypassing Russia)

§    Armenia vs. Azerbaijan

§     Geopolitics within the Russian Federation

►  21 regions within Russia are republics with their own constitutions that often contradict national laws

►  Some republics, like Tatarstan in the Volga valley (Fig. 9.32), have special agreements with Moscow to develop their own “foreign economic policy.”

►  There is much more local political control than there was during Soviet times

►  Some fear that Russia could balkanize

§     Regional Tensions

►  After the Soviet Union fell apart, several of Russia’s internal autonomous areas threatened to secede

§    Chechnya (Fig. 9.33)

►  Wanted to be an independent state

►  Russia invaded in 1999

►  Half of the population has fled

►  Chechnya has oil and metals

►  Global drug trade flows through the area

Economic and Social Development:  An Era of Ongoing Adjustment

► After an alarming economic decline of 40% in the 1990s, Russia’s economy has stabilized in 2000 and 2001 (Table 9.2)

► This was the most abrupt economic collapse within the industrialized world since the Great Depression of the early 1930s

► Higher oil and gas prices have brought some economic improvement

►  The Legacy of the Soviet Economy

§    Under the Russian Empire, most people were peasants

§    The communists came to power in 1917 and instituted centralized economic planning  where the state controlled production targets and industrial output (communism)

§    The Soviet Union quickly developed a powerful economy including:

► New Urban centers

► Industrial developments

► A modern network of transportation and communication linkages

§     By the 1920s, most of the economy was controlled by the Soviet state which (under Stalin) stressed heavy industries like steel, machinery, chemicals, and electricity deferring consumer goods until later

►  Many factories were virtual slave-labor camps

►  Family farms were combined into large-scale collective farms (kolkhozes) and state farms (sovkhozes)

►  Resulting famines caused many to starve

►  Stalin, killed many kulaks (wealthier peasants), who were seen as leaders of the agrarian resistance

►  Later liberalization of rules regarding private plots of land did more to increase productivity than any collectivization policy

§   Soviet industry was more successful than its agriculture

§   During WWII, the Soviets’ new centers of heavy industry, in the Urals and Siberia’s Kuznetsk basin, remained untouched while the Allies bombed Hitler’s Ruhr (fig. 9.34)

§    The Soviets

► developed a good transportation and communication infrastructure

§    Canals connect rivers in European Russia (Fig. 9.35)

§    Two rail lines stretch across the continent

§    Gas pipelines connect the Arctic to Europe

► Industrialized and urbanized the country

§    During the 1970s and 80s:

► economic and social problems increased

► agriculture did not cover all of the U.S.S.R.’s needs

► manufacturing efficiency and quality lagged behind the west

► Shortages occurred; people waited in lines for basic goods

► The U.S.S.R. did not participate fully in the technological revolutions that transformed the U.S., Europe, and Japan

► There were growing disparities between elites and average people and few gains in personal and political freedom

►  The Post-Soviet Economy

§    Since the demise of the U.S.S.R., the region has dismantled much of its centralized, state-controlled economy, replacing it with a mix of state-run operations and private enterprise

§    it has been a difficult transition

§    Redefining Regional Economic Ties:

► Since the demise of the former U.S.S.R., the now independent republics must negotiate for needed resources with each other rather than accept centralized exchanges

► This increases the cost of doing business

► Russia continues to dominate the region’s economy

§   Privatization and Economic Uncertainty:

►Russia removed price controls in 1992

§   causing prices to rise

§   encouraging inflation

►Wages did not keep pace; the value of the Russian ruble dropped

►In 1993, the Russian government allowed citizens to buy into newly privatized farmlands and industries

► Lack of controls allowed corruption and mismanagement in the new system

► Russia’s service sector is rapidly privatizing

► The “informal economy” is still flourishing

► Some people (mostly in Moscow) have become very wealthy (fig. 9.36)

§    Social Problems

► Uncertain economy and politics (Fig. 9.37)

► Problems:

§    Increasing rates of violent crime

§    Organized crime

§    Rising unemployment

§    Higher housing costs

§    Declining social welfare expenditures

§    Increased domestic violence and rape

§    Rising divorce rates

§    Women suffer first economically

§    Reduced government spending on education

§    Reduced health-care spending resulting in vaccine shortages and other problems (cholera, typhus, bubonic plague)

§    Increase in stress- and environmental-related illnesses

§    Cardiovascular diseases

§    Alcoholism

§    Smoking

§    AIDS

§    Toxic environmental conditions

► Growing Economic Globalization

§   During much of the Soviet era, the region was relatively isolated from the world economic system

§   A New Day for the Consumer:

►New consumer imports now come to the region especially to larger cities

►Luxuries like BMWs are available but too expensive for most Russians

§    Attracting Foreign Investment

► The Russian Domain is finally attracting foreign investment

► Most investment is in

§    Oil

§    Gas

§    Food

§    Telecommunications

§    Consumer goods

► Many outsiders are wary of investing in the region because many Russian companies have been slow to adopt western accounting practices

§     Globalization and Russia’s Petroleum Economy:

►  Russia has 35% of the world’s natural gas reserves (mostly in Siberia) and is the world’s largest gas exporter

►  Russia is the largest non-OPEC oil exporter and the second largest oil exporter in the world (behind Saudi Arabia)

►  The primary destination for Russian petroleum products is western Europe

►  Pipeline politics is important (fig. 9.38)

The End