Russia and the Former Soviet Union

Population:
Former USSR=284 Million
Russia=148 million
Growth rate = .9%
Doubling time = 78 years
Rural/urban ratio = 36/64

USSR Ethnic groups: Russian 52%
Ukrainian 16%
Uzbek 5%
Byelorussian 4%
Other (~120 groups) 13%

Three Ethnic Families in USSR:
1.Slav 75% (Russian, Ukrainian, Byelorussian)
2.Turk (Uzbek, Kazakh, Turkman)
3.Finn (Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian)

Ethnic Makeup of Russia: Russian 82%
Tartar 4%
Ukrainian 3%
Other 11%

Former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics:
Russia Estonia Latvia
Lithuania Byelorus¬sia Ukraine
Moldavia Armenia Azerbaidzhan
Georgia Turkman Uzbek
Kirzig Kazakh Tadzig

Commonwealth of Independent States (1994 - present):
Russia Belarus¬ Ukraine
Moldova Armenia Azerbaijan
Georgia Turkmenistan Uzbekistan
Kyrgyzstan Kazakhstan Tajikistan

Key terms: Russian Core (Slavic Core, Russian Plane) Russification
Moisture/Temperature Imbalance Friction of Distance
Intensive vs. Extensive Agriculture Virgin Lands
Perestroika/Glasnost Lieberman Reforms
Fertile/Iron/Slavic/Russian/Population Triangle
Soils: permafrost (tundra), aridisols, glacial (regolith), chernozem.

Physical Characteristics of USSR:

2 1/2 times the size of the US, 8.65 million Sq. Mi.
1/6 World Land Mass, 1/2 Eurasian Continent
6000 Miles from Coast to Coast, crosses 11 Time Zones
80 - 85% of USSR is above 55 degrees North Latitude

Physical Regions: Russian Plane Ural Mountains
Arctic Lowlands Caucasus Mountains
Caspian Aral Basin (Kaza) Central Asiatic
West Siberia Central Siberia
Yakutsk Basin Eastern Highlands

Climate:
Temperature: Harsh/Cold, January: < 0 throughout (-50 Central Siberia)
July < 90 throughout, 2/3 < 70
Precipitation: Dry Max = 30 inches in the Northwest
< 30 inches all other areas

Agriculture: Three Segments: State Operated
Collective
Private 2% (40% of food production)

Major Industrial Areas:
1. Moscow/Gorki /Leningrad: Light Industry (Fabrication, Consumer Goods, Textiles)
2. Ukraine: Heavy Industry (Steel, all necessary materials in close proximity)
Donetsk Basin (Coal)
Krivoy Rog (Iron Ore)
Kirch Peninsula (Iron Ore)
Baku (Petroleum)
3. Ural Mountains: Heavy Industry (many types of metal ore, not much energy)
Magnitogorsk (Iron Ore)
Ob' River (Petroleum)
4. Karaganda: Heavy Industry (Coal - Later Some Iron Ore)
5. Kuznetsk Basin: Heavy Industry (Coal - Later Some Ore)

Other places I might mention:

St. Petersburg (Leningrad) Odessa Moscow Kirov/Vyetka
Nizhniy Novgorad (Gorki) Murmansk Irkutsk Odessa
Norilsk Novosibirsk Magnitogorsk Baltic Sea
Black Sea Caspian Sea Aral Sea Lake Baykal
Ural Mountains Volga River Ob’ River Lena River
Kolyma River

Russian Agriculture
The Tyranny of Geography
Factors Effecting Agriculture
• Length of Growing Season
• Physical Geography
• Temperature
• Precipitation
• Soils

Three Types of Agriculture
• Collective Farms
– 85% of Land
– Grew out of the Communes
• 1917 – 1921 Transform Population from Feudal Agricultural to Industrial … Communes
• 1924 … Collectives
– 70/30 Program (1986)
• State Experimental Farms
– 13% of Land
– Virgin Lands Programs
• Back Yard Gardens
– 2% of Land
– 40% of the Food
• 67% Potatoes
• 39% Vegetables
• 35% Meat
• 37% Milk
• 56% Eggs
• 25% Livestock

Success or Failure?

• Fed 280 Million People
– Despite Physical Limitations

Problems:
• Lack of Incentive
• Poor Planning
• Tyranny of Geography