Russia and the Republics

1. Russia and the Republics Physical and Human Geography

2. Russia Basic Information • World’s largest country • Covers 11 different time zones • Lies on both Europe and Asia • 75% of Russia’s population lives in European Russia

3. Republics Basic information • 14 nations that used to be a part of the Soviet Union • Post- Soviet nations separated in 1991 after fall of communism • Led to a loss of ¼ of Russia’s land

4. Physical Geography- land • Northern areas made up mostly of plains • Ural Mountains separates the two continents • Caucasus Mountains in the South • Siberia in the north • Covered in ice • Cold and dry

5. Physical Geography- Water • Surrounded by seas • Aral, Baltic, Bering, Black, Sea of Japan • Aral is slowly depleting • World’s largest freshwater lake • Lake Baikal • Rivers used for trade and transportation • Volga is the most important

6. Physical geography- climate • Russia tends to be colder than other nations on same lines of latitude • European part warmer than Asian • Due to few ocean currents to warm air • Little precipitation • Permafrost • Permanently frozen soil • When it thaws, soil becomes like quicksand

7. Talk about it Think about how physical features can impact the history and culture of a nation/region. • List three for each question below along with a short reason of how/why. • What physical features positively impact a nation/region? • What physical features negatively impact a nation/region?

8. Geography Influences History in Russia • History greatly impacted by physical make-up of land, resources available, and climate • Easily accessible from West • Cold climate provides protection • Vast amount of land makes entire region hard to take over

9. Map Monday • What is this map showing? • What is the purpose of what this map is demonstrating? • How many divisions are there in Russia (in green on the smaller map)?