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Chapter 5 Lecture

World Regional Geography

A Developmental Approach

11th Edition

Northern Eurasia

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Chapter Learning Outcomes

• Outline how the opportunities and constraints of Northern Eurasia’s resources and environment affect development.

• Describe how the history of Russia and the Soviet Union has shaped the context of development today.

• Explain how the “transition” from Communism diverged from expectations and led to the current situation.

• Account for the significance of “the power vertical” and “crony capitalism” in Northern Eurasian development.

• Characterize Russia’s relationships with its neighbors and the rest of the world.• Understand Ukraine’s predicament, located between Europe and Russia and

divided internally between east and west.• Identify the significance of oil and gas, both for the “haves” and the “have-nots.”• Explore the reasons why development is a spatially uneven process in which

some areas excel, while others flounder.

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The Map

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The Countries of Northern Eurasia

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The Countries of Northern Eurasia

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Countries of Northern Eurasia

• Russia• Belarus• Ukraine• Georgia• Armenia• Azerbaijan

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Landforms

• West– Immense Eurasian landmass– No obstacles to movement of air masses or intrusion of cold air from

Arctic or Siberia– Ural Mountains

• Up to a maximum of 6,250 feet in remote north• Rarely exceeds 5,000 feet in settled areas.

– As a result, fairly uniform climatic conditions• South

– Caucasus Mountains– Between Black and Caspian Seas and Transcaucasian lands to the

South– Highly diverse

• East– Rugged, eroded plateaus– River valleys– Most of the area east of the Yenisey River is isolated and inhospitable.

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Natural Regions of Northern Eurasia

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Natural Regions

• Exceptionally large bands of essentially uniform vegetation and natural regions

• Tundra• Taiga• Mixed forest• Deciduous broadleaf forest• Forest steppe• Steppe• Semidesert• Desert

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Tundra, Permafrost, Taiga

• Tundra– Region stretches across Russia’s Arctic shore.– In places, extends southward to hundreds of miles in

Siberia– No trees grow in the tundra because of the short growing

season, infertile soil, and shallow active layer insufficient for tree roots.

• Permafrost—Permanently frozen Earth• Taiga

– Russian word for boreal forest– Northern forest dominated by conifers, which Russia has

more than any other country.– Covers much of Northern Russia west of Urals– Most of Siberia

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Steppe and Chernozem

• Steppe– Areas below Baltic states– Bordering Central Asia (dominates much of

Kazakhstan)– South of mixed forest region– Low levels of variability of precipitation makes

agriculture difficult.• Chernozem—“black earth”

– Soil rich with organic matter– Appears as dark as compost

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Climate

• Formidable mountain systems – Rise to the South in Central Asia and in the East– Blocks Pacific’s influence from all but a small area of the

Russian Far East

• High-latitude location– Little isolation in winter– Long days in summer

• Great size of landmass– Stretches 6,200 miles (10,000 km) west to east– 1200 miles (2000 km) north to south

• Region marked by long, relatively dry, and very cold winters and short, but surprisingly warm, summers.

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Agricultural Zones

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Environmental Challenges

• General pollution• Disasters such as Chernobyl and

Chelyabinsk• Oil pipelines and production• Natural gas production

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Chernobyl

• Major nuclear disaster• A 30-km radius of Chernobyl, Ukraine was

abandoned.• U.S.S.R. took 20 days to formally

acknowledge the disaster.

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Natural Resources of Northern Eurasia

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Major Language Groups of Northern Eurasia

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Industrial Regions and Selected Cities

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Russian Empire

• Big in landmass, but backward in trade, technology, and modern culture• Tsar—“Caesar”• Tsar Peter

– Introduced new ideas and technology from the West– Retained fundamental principle of service to the state– Modernized the army– Created the navy– Canals and St. Petersburg

• Catherine “the Great”– Nurtured arts and education– Did not allow ideas and technology from West to affect governance– Acquired land through conquest

• Defeated in Crimean War in 1853• Rural population more than doubled in 50 years.• Industrial work and living conditions were harsh.• 1860s—Embarked on Trans-Siberian Railway• 1905 revolution

– Tsar allowed a Duma as a representative body.– But overcame through further repression and violence

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Russia Through the Ages

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The U.S.S.R.

• Created as a result of 1917 revolution• Bolsheviks, led by Lenin• Initially led to chaos• Leadership to be exercised by a hierarchy of “Soviets,”

but was dominated by the Communist Party.• 1920s—New Economic Plan (NEP)• Stalin

– Emphasized heavy industrial production– Control from the center by Great Russians (white Russians)– Fomented discontent amongst non-Russian ethnicities– Led U.S.S.R. through World War II

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Cold War U.S.S.R.

• East/West global divide• Soviet “client states”

– Eastern Europe– Cuba– Parts of Africa

• Major production of “arms race”—Essentially made the U.S.S.R. go broke.

• 1980s—Veneer begins to break.– Gorbachev brings new attitude.– Glasnost– Perestroika– A desire to preserve, not destroy, the U.S.S.R.

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Gorbachev Reforms

• Attempts at “reform” within the Communist system spurred by Gorbachev.– Glasnost (openness)– Demokratia (democracy)– Perestroika (restructuring)

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Disintegration of the U.S.S.R.

• Attempt to retain some measure of union through the creation of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)

• Loose confederation• U.S.S.R. breaks up into over two dozen

countries broken down along ethnic lines.• Some countries form unions with Russia

afterward.• Some areas resist (Chechnya).

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Breakup into Separate Countries

• The Russian Federation• Ukraine• Armenia• Azerbaijan• Belarus• Georgia• Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan,

and Kyrgyzstan• Baltic states—Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania• Moldova

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Russia Today

• Created in 1991• Wide swath of territory, ethnicities, cultures, and

languages• Strong support from International Monetary Fund (IMF)

– Slow recovery in mid-1990s– Crash in 1998– Ruble devalued

• Yeltsin is the first president.• Vladimir Putin is successor.

– Not party affiliated; a party formulated around him.– There is some suggestion that he is moving Russia back

toward autocratic rule.– Appointment of governors to maintain local control

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North Caucasus / Problems

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Ukraine

• Almost as big as Texas and larger than any country in Europe

• Mostly consists of rolling steppe land with extremely fertile chernozem soil.

• Continental climate similar to the upper Midwest of United States.

• A century ago, called the “breadbasket of Europe”• Better suited to grow wheat than Russia due to

sufficiently mild climate to permit fall planting.• Industry was world-renowned before breakup of

U.S.S.R.• Coal, iron ore, and manganese—All essential for steel

production

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Russia Influence in Ukraine

• Russians are the largest minority.• Russian language is the most common

language.

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Belarus

• Two-thirds as large as neighboring Poland• About the size of Kansas• Soviets systematically developed Belarus for

industry.• Country remained dependent—especially for

industry.• Lukashenko election in 1994

– Hostile to West– Deals with countries deemed rogue states by

United States• 1999—Russia and Belarus agreed in principle to a

union of the two, but Russia has neither repudiated the agreement nor moved to implement it.

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Armenia

• Nearly as large as Maryland• Population of 3 million• On a plateau with a dry, continental climate• Armenian ancestral homeland lies in

Turkey, so there is a strong connection there.

• Much of Armenia relies on investments from abroad.

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Azerbaijan

• Close in size to Armenia• Population is predominantly Turkic Muslim.• Karabakh War has taken a great toll.• Current economic growth is because of

petroleum.• Even as far back as 1900, it accounted for

half of the world’s oil production.

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Georgia

• Approximately the same size as Belarus and Armenia

• 2003 “Rose Revolution” ousted former Russian ally.

• Economy growing at acceptable rate• Ossetia has been a problem region, where

a separatist movement is occurring. Mass violence is occurring.

• Many bitter feelings across country

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Summary of Chapter

• The formidable physical conditions found in Northern Eurasia and the remoteness of most locations inevitably add to the costs of development.

• Northern Eurasian countries have yet to complete the dual transition that has been expected of them—to become democracies with market economies.

• Georgia and Armenia still have a long, hard climb to attain prosperity, and both must avoid future violent conflicts if they hope to succeed.

• Russia’s course will be crucial for the whole region.