WEEK 21 CONTENT

I.

Physical Geography of Russia

A. Landforms:
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Ural Mountains are the mountain range in Russia

where Europe and Asia meet
Europe is West and Asia is East
Russia is the worlds largest country
The capital of Russia is Moscow
East side of Russia has a rising plain that forms the Ural
Mountains
West side of Russia contains the Northern European Plain
South of the Northern European Plain are the Carpathians
mountain range
Moscow is the fertile plain in between the Ural Mountains
and Europe where most Russians live. It is also the
nations capital.
Siberia is the vast area between the Ural Mountains to
the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east
Ring of Fire is part of the Russian Far East or Eastern
Siberia, the area circling the Pacific; it is known for its
volcanoes and earthquakes

B. Major Bodies of Water:

o Volga River is the longest river in Europe and it winds
southward to the Caspian Sea, forming the core of
Russias river network
o Ob, Yenisey and Lena Rivers flow northward toward the
Arctic Ocean
o The rivers are frozen for much of the year making
shipping and trade difficult and causing for Russias
ports to close for part of the year.
o Lake Baikal, in south-central Siberia, is the worlds
deepest lake and deep enough to hold all five of the
American Great Lakes
C. Climate
o Known for having long snowy winters and short
summers
o Northern coast is tundra and much of the ground is
frozen, called permafrost
o Most of the regions moisture comes from the Atlantic
Ocean
o South of the tundra is the vast forest of evergreen trees
called taiga

D. Natural Resources
o Northern European Plain and steppe provide rich
fertile soil for farming
o Taiga provides wood for building and paper products
o Metals like copper and gold are also found here
o Main
energy
resources
of
Russia
are
coal,
hydroelectric power, natural gas and oil.
o Oil comes from large oil fields and from under the
Caspian Sea
II.

Brief Overview of Important Historical Facts about Russia

Russians are descended from people who moved
across the steppe from Asia called Slavs, who settled
in Eastern Europe
o Vikings called Rus invaded the Slavs and the Vikings
shaped the first Russian state among the slavs
o Kiev was the central city of Rus and is now capital of
Ukraine
o Missionaries from the Orthodox Christian Church of
Europe introduced Cyrillic, the Greek alphabet still
used today in Russia
o In the 1200s, Mongol invaders called Tartars invaded
and conquered Kiev. They allowed Russian princes to
rule local states
o The strongest Russian state formed at the time called
Muscovy whose main city was Moscow
o Ivan III seized control from Mongols and was the first
Czar or emperor of Russia
o During WWI, Bolsheviks or radical communistic group,
overthrew the czars. They were led by Vladmir Lenin
and later by Josef Stalin in WWII
o Gulags, or labor camps, were used by the communistic
Soviet Union for people who spoke out against the
government
o Today the government of Russia is a federal republic
Cultural Regions of Russia
Russia has more than 140 million people with 80% Slavs
Moscow Region-Moscow is the capital of Russia and houses
the Kremlin or central of Russias government
St. Petersburg Region-westernized region of Russia and
serves as a major port and trade center
Volga and Urals Regions-The Volga is a major shipping route
and Urals are used for mining containing factories or
smelters
o

III.
A.
B.
C.
D.

E. Siberia Region-east of the Urals & has Trans Siberian

Railroad
F. Russian Far East Region-contains heavy forests and seaports