Chapter 9
The Russian Domain
 (Fig. 9.1)
Learning Objectives
•	Understand the challenges of cold, northern climate that affects this region
•	Learn about the cold war between the U.S. and U.S.S.R./Russia (1945-1990)
•	Know the difference between a political system and an economic system
•	Students should become familiar with the physical, demographic, cultural, political, and economic characteristics of the Russian Domain
•	Understand these concepts and models:
Introduction
•	Setting the boundaries
•	Maps of Russian region redrawn in 1990, after disintegration of USSR
•	Now includes Russia, Ukraine, Belarus as the core; also Georgia, Armenia, Moldova (which had been part of the USSR)
•	Russia is the largest country (in land area) on Earth; it spans 11 time zones
–	Rich in resources, but has among the world’s harshest climates
•	The Russian Domain has had extremely rapid political and economic change since 1990
–	From centrally planned economy to capitalism
–	From authoritarian dictatorship to democracy
–	The region’s economy is currently weak, commitment to democracy uncertain, nationalist movements threaten stability
–	Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia must all work on global relationships
Environmental Geography: A Vast and Challenging Land
•	A Devastated Environment
–	Air and Water Pollution
•	Air pollution 
–	clustered factories
–	few environmental
    controls
–	low quality coal
•	Water pollution 
–	industrial waste
–	raw sewage
–	oil spills
–	pulp and paper 
   factories polluted
   Lake Baikal
   (1950s-60s)
Environmental Geography: A Vast and Challenging Land
•	A Devastated Environment, cont.
–	The Nuclear Threat
•	Former U.S.S.R. nuclear weapons, energy production caused pollution
–	Fallout from above-ground testing; nuclear waste dumped
–	Nuclear bombs for seismic experiments, oil exploration, dam building
–	Russia has many old nuclear reactors; major nuclear accidents: 1986 meltdown in Chernobyl (Belarus); another in 1956
•	Construction of new nuclear plants
•	Possibility of warehousing of international nuclear wastes
Environmental Geography: Vast and Challenging Land, cont.
•	A Diverse Physical Setting
Environmental Geography: A Vast and Challenging Land (cont.)
•	The European West 
–	European Russia, Ukraine and Belarus on eastern European Plain
•	The Ural Mountains and Siberia
–	Ural Mountains separate European Russia from Siberia: low mountains with cold, dry climates
•	Siberia thousands of miles, cold climate, little precipitation
–	Lake Baikal (world’s largest freshwater lake – 400  mi. long, nearly a mile deep, with unique species)
–	Tundra, taiga, and permafrost
•	The Russian Far East
–	About same latitude as New England (in N. America), with conifers, taiga, Asian hardwoods 
•	The Caucasus and Transcaucasia
–	Mountains form Russia’s southern boundary, between the Black and Caspian seas
–	Good soils, but arid

Agricultural Regions (Fig. 9.8)
Population and Settlement: An Urban Domain
•	More than 200 million residents, most in cities
•	Population Distribution
Population
Population and Settlement: An Urban Domain (cont.)
•	Regional Migration Patterns
–	Eastward Movement (1860-1914)
•	Trans-Siberian Railroad 
    encouraged eastward move
–	Political Motives
•	Infill in Siberia
•	Political dissidents
    sent to Siberia 
    (Gulag Archipelago)
•	Russification: Soviet policy 
    moved Russians into 
    non-Russian portions of U.S.S.R to increase Russian dominance in those areas; Russians are a significant minority in former Soviet republics
Population and Settlement: An Urban Domain (cont.)
•	Regional Migration Patterns (cont.)
–	New International Movements
•	Russification often reversed in post-Soviet era
–	Citizenship, language requirements encourage Russians to go
•	Movement to other regions
–	“Brain drain” to other countries 
–	Jewish Russians move to Israel or U.S.
–	Mail-order Ukrainian brides to the U.S.
–	The Urban Attraction
•	Marxist philosophy of Soviet planners encouraged migration to cities
•	Soviets planned cities, limited population levels and regulated migration
•	In post-Soviet era, Russian citizens have greater freedom of movement; many older industrial areas are now losing population
Population and Settlement: An Urban Domain (cont.)
•	Inside the Russian City
•	Russian cities carefully planned in form and function, with circular land-use zones
–	Core has superior transportation, best stores and housing
»	Core predates Soviets era
»	Sotzgorods: work-linked housing (including dorms)
»	 Chermoyuski:  apartment blocks from 1950s/60s
»	Mikrorayons:  Self-contained housing projects of 1970s/80s
»	Dachas: country houses available only to the elite
Population and Settlement: An Urban Domain (cont.)
•	The Demographic Crisis
–	General population decline caused by low birth rates and rising death (mortality) rates, especially among 
	middle-aged males
–	Causes:
•	fraying social fabric
•	economic uncertainty
•	declining health among 
    women of child-bearing age
•	stress-related diseases
•	rising murder and suicide
•	toxic environments
–	Russia’s population could fall 
     by 45 million by 2050
•	New program to encourage
	higher birthrates
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: The Legacy of Slavic Dominance
•	The Heritage of the Russian Empire
–	Growth of the Russian Empire
•	Slavic “Rus” in power from 900CE around Kiev 
•	Eastern Orthodox Christianity came in 1000CE
•	By 1400s, new and expanding Russian state after Tatar and Mongol rule
•	Expansion eastward in 16th & 17th centuries; westward expansion slow
•	Final expansion of Russian Empire in 19th Century in Central Asia
•	By 1900, Russians were found from St. Petersburg (on the Baltic) to Vladivostok (on the Sea of Japan)

Growth of the Russian Empire (Fig. 9.22)
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: The Legacy of Slavic Dominance (cont.)
•	Geographies of Language
–	Slavic languages dominate in the Russian Domain
•	About 80% of 
   Russia’s people 
   are ethnic Russians
•	Other language 
    groups
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: The Legacy of Slavic Dominance (cont.)
•	Geographies of Religion
–	Soviets prohibited religion, 
    religious revival underway now
–	Eastern Orthodox Christianity 
    most common
•	Other forms of Western Christianity
–	Non-Christian religions
•	20-25 million Sunni Muslims live 
    in the North Caucasus
•	Over 1 million Jews, mostly in 
    larger western cities
Cultural Coherence and Diversity: The Legacy of Slavic Dominance (cont.)
•	Russian Culture in Global Context
–	Strong traditions, influenced by Western Europe
–	Soviet Days
•	Soviets promoted social realism: a style devoted to the realistic depiction of workers harnessing the forces of nature or struggling against capitalism
–	Turn to the West
•	Young Russians adopted consumer culture in 1980s
•	In post-Soviet era, globalism and consumerism came to Russia from the West and elsewhere (India, Hong Kong, Latin America)
–	The Music Scene
•	American and European popular music gaining fans
•	Home-grown music industry is evolving
Crimean Peninsula (Fig. 9.25)
Geopolitical Framework: The Remnants of a Global Superpower
•	Geopolitical Structure of the Former Soviet Union
–	Russian Empire collapsed abruptly in 1917
•	Briefly, a broad-based coalition of business people, workers, and peasants replaced tsars
•	Soon, Bolsheviks  (faction of Russian Communists representing the interests of the industrial workers), led by Lenin, centralized power and introduced communism (economic system)
–	The Soviet Republics and Autonomous Areas
•	Soviet leaders designed a geopolitical solution to maintain the country’s territorial boundaries, and theoretically acknowledged the rights of non-Russian citizens by creating Union Republics
–	Autonomous areas:  minor political sub-units designed to recognize special status of minority groups within existing republics
Soviet Geopolitical System (Fig. 9.29)
Geopolitical Framework: The Remnants of a Global Superpower (cont.)
•	Geopolitical Structure (cont.)
–	Centralization and Expansion of the Soviet State
•	Communism did not eliminate ethnic differences 
•	In 1930, Soviet leader Stalin centralized power in Moscow, limiting national autonomy 
•	Land added
–	Sakhalin, Kuril Islands from Japan; Baltic republics
–	Occupation of Poland, Romania, Czechoslovakia
–	Exclave (outside Russia’s contiguous land) added from Germany
–	End of the Soviet System
•	Union republics encouraged ethnic identification
•	Glasnost: greater openness; Perestroika: economic restructuring
•	1991:  all 15 Union Republics gained independence
Geopolitical Framework: The Remnants of a Global Superpower (cont.)
•	Current Geopolitical Setting (1992-present)
–	Russia and the Former Soviet Republics
•	Formed Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) – a looser political union that included all but three of the former republics; has no power, and is mostly a forum for discussion
•	Denuclearization - the return and partial dismantling of nuclear weapons from outlying republics to Russian control completed in  1990s; tactical nuclear weapons moved to Kaliningrad exclave
•	Military, political and ethnic tensions remain in parts of the region 
–	Geopolitics within the Russian Federation
•	Devolution:  more localized political control in Russia
•	Russian leaders fear other areas will secede

Geopolitical Framework: The Remnants of a Global Superpower (cont.)
•	Current Geopolitical Setting (cont.)
–	Regional Tensions
•	Chechnyan Republic seeking 
    independence
–	Russians sent military
–	Chechnya has metals and oil
–	The Shifting Global Setting
•	Boundary issues between Russia and China
•	Dispute with Japan over Kuril Islands
•	Expansion of NATO concerns Russian leaders
•	Russia recently joined the “Group of Seven” (G-7)
–	Other members: U.S., Canada, Japan, Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy
Geopolitical Issues in the Russian Domain 
(Fig. 9.31)
Economic and Social Development: 
An Era of Ongoing Adjustment
•	After economic decline of 40% in the 1990s, Russia’s economy stabilized in 2000 and 2004; higher oil and gas prices help Russia
•	The Legacy of the Soviet Economy
–	Communists came to power in 1917, and instituted centralized economic planning:  a situation in which the state controls production targets and industrial output
–	Soviets nationalized agriculture, but it was inefficient
–	Soviets expanded industrialization and transportation
•	Industrialization more successful than collectivized agriculture
•	Trans-Siberian Railroad, canal system
–	Improvements in housing and education after WWII
•	Literacy near 100%
–	But economic and social problems increased in 1970s-’80s
Economic and Social Development: An Era of Ongoing Adjustment
•	The Legacy of the Soviet Economy (cont.)
•	Soviet industry more successful than its agriculture
–	Soviets added major industrial zones, many near energy sources and metals
–	Moscow had fewer raw materials, but had some of Russia’s best infrastructure, large pool of skilled labor, and demand for industrial products
•	Soviets developed a good transportation and communication infrastructure
•	Soviets had a massive housing campaign in the 1960s
•	Soviets made literacy virtually universal, and health care readily available; eliminated the worst of the poverty 

Major Natural Resources and Industrial Zones 
(Fig. 9.34)
Economic and Social Development: An Era of Ongoing Adjustment (cont.)
•	The Post-Soviet Economy
•	The region has replaced its communist system with a mix of state-run operations and private enterprise
–	Redefining Regional Economic Ties
•	Independent republics negotiate for needed resources with Russia and each other rather than accept centralized control
•	Russia continues to dominate the region’s economy
–	Privatization and Economic Uncertainty
•	Russia removed price controls in 1992; sold state-owned business to private investors in 1993
–	Higher prices, lack of legal safeguards created problems
•	Agriculture still struggles, in part due to harsh climate, landforms
•	Many people see little economic gain from changes
Economic and Social Development: An Era of Ongoing Adjustment (cont.)
•	The Post-Soviet Economy (cont.)
–	The Russian Mafia
•	Russia Interior Ministry estimates that the Russian mafia controls 40% of the private economy and 60% of the state-run enterprises; 80% of banks in Russia may be under mafia influence
–	Protection money, corruption result
•	Russian mafia has gone global
–	Money laundering (Russia, U.K., U.S.); gambling (Sri Lanka); drugs (Colombia); legitimate Israeli high tech companies
–	Social Problems
•	High unemployment, rising housing costs; lower welfare spending
•	Divorce and domestic violence increasing; prostitution increasing
•	Health care spending dropping
–	Vaccine shortages allow disease to return
–	Chronic and stress-related illnesses on the rise
Economic and Social Development: An Era of Ongoing Adjustment (cont.)
•	Growing Economic Globalization 
–	Starting in 1970s, Soviets exported fossil fuels, imported food; ties now stronger
–	A New Day for the Consumer
•	Western consumer goods available (e.g., McDonald’s, Calvin Klein; even some luxury items)
–	Attracting Foreign Investment
•	Region struggles to attract foreign investment 
•	Most investment from U.S., western Europe (esp. Germany, U.K.)
–	Fossil fuels, food, telecommunications, consumer goods
–	Foreign investment growing by more than 14% annually

Economic and Social Development: An Era of Ongoing Adjustment (cont.)
•	Growing Economic Globalization (cont.)
–	Globalization and Russia’s Petroleum Economy
•	Russia has 35% of the world’s natural gas reserves
–	Mostly in Siberia
–	World’s largest gas exporter
•	Primary destination for Russian petroleum products is western Europe
–	Former U.S.S.R. republics depend on Russia’s energy
–	Foreign investment in new pipelines, other technology
–	Local impacts of globalization
•	Vary from place to place
–	Investment in Moscow, Siberia (oil)
–	Pro-business Nizhny Novgorod and Samara attract investment
–	Local economic declines in older, uncompetitive industrial areas
Russia’s
Expanding
Pipelines 
(Fig. 9.38)

Conclusions
•	Russian Domain has seen great change, from empire, through revolution and break-up
•	Ethnic and cultural differences continue to shape this region
•	Russian Domain is rich in natural resources, but has limited agricultural potential and lingering economic difficulties
•	Massive readjustments growing from the political and economic upheavals of the 1990s continue to affect the area
•	Environmental devastation in the region and its effects continue to cause social and health problems
•	More uncertainty lies ahead for the people of the Russian Domain.