NIE ACTIVITY
Geography Connections
This yearlong series is presented in collaboration with the Connecticut Geographic Alliance. For more information about NIE visit www.courantnie.com or call 241-3847.
The
Riddle of Russia
By Jason T. Archer, Assistant Director of Education, New England Air Museum
Everything about Russia is huge; its chaotic
past, its rich culture and, of course, its size.
Russia has long been a mystery to outsiders.
Sir Winston Churchill in 1939 described
Russia as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery
inside an enigma.”
Since the beginning of the 7th century,
Russia has continually been transforming and
re-shaping itself. In the last century it
has found and lost at least three distinct
ideologies. The collapse of communism in
the early 1990s led the way for the
Russian Federation and a new
form of capitalism.
Given their long-lasting
winters, Russian meals
consist of high energy
foods. Traditional dishes
include borshct (a beet
soup), pirozki (pastries filled
with potatoes, meat, cabbage or cheese)
and blini (pancakes rolled with jam, cheese,
onions and even chocolate syrup).
Most families live in small apartments
or flats. They are proud of their country
and history. Russians are highly educated
and very well trained in music, art and
the sciences. They are taught to learn for
the joy of learning; not just for a career.
Unfortunately, the cost of living is on the rise
while wages remain low. With a population
of over 140 million, there are hip crowds
of young people, old women (babushkas)
wearing big fur hats and coats in the snow
and working professionals.
The most densely populated area is west
of the Ural Mountains where Moscow, the
country’s capital, is located. East of the
Urals is very underdeveloped and very rural.
Russia is the largest country on Earth.
TAKE 5
Location: Russia shares boundaries with
the Arctic Ocean on the north, northern
Pacific Ocean on the west, China, Mongolia,
Kazakhstan, the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan,
Georgia on the south, and the Black Sea,
Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Estonia, Finland
on the west.
Place: Russia covers eleven time zones,
with a total land area of 17.1 million
square miles. All kinds of terrain, from
tundras, taigas, and steppes to huge
seas, mountains and plains can be found.
Summers are warm to hot while winters
get very cold in much of the country.
Human-Environment Interactions:
Russia has vast mineral riches of coal,
iron and natural gas. Chief exports are
petroleum products, natural gas, wood,
and metals. For all its natural beauty,
Russian industry has had a catastrophic
effect on the land. The Chernobyl disaster
of 1985 and the Chelyabinsk-65 nuclear
site has caused long-term radiation
damage in those areas.
Movement: Russian’s travel by road, rail,
water and by air. Russia has the world’s
second-largest railway network.
Regions: Russia is broken into 83 federal
subjects each with equal rights and
representation in the Federation Council.
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DID YOU KNOW?
Boris Yeltsin was elected the President of Russia in June 1991,
in the first direct presidential election in Russian history.
The first human to travel into space was the Russia pilot and astronaut Yuri Gagarin.
In 1957 the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite, starting the Space Age.
• Russia’s lakes contain approximately one-quarter of the world’s fresh water.
• The Russian village of Oimyakon had the coldest recorded temperature for any permanently
inhabited place on Earth of minus 93 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Moscow, Russia’s capital, boasts the most billionaires and most expensive cups of coffee.
Notes...
• Russia has the deepest lake in the world
• Has limited access to the sea
• The official beginnings date back to 862 with that of the Eastern Slavs, the ancient ancestors of Russians. Step
by step they became the dominant power. The Rus’ or Russians were one of the Slavic tribes and is the origin of
the country’s name. The Slavs, Finn tribes, Tatars all worked their way through the land mixing different cultures
and traditions defining today’s unique character.
References...
http://www.waytorussia.net/
http://www.studyrussian.com/MGU/russian-education-system.html
http://geography.about.com/od/russiamaps/a/moscowrussia.htm
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/activities/03/russianlights.html
http://www.everyculture.com/No-Sa/Russia.html
http://www.pearsoned.ca/school/ontariopearson7and8/histgeo/media/Geo7_Unit1.pdf
Insight Guides Russia Belarus & Ukraine
MAP IT OUT
With the collapse of the Soviet Union over 20 years ago, Russia lost a significant population
and resource base. On a blank map of Eurasia fill in these former republics of the USSR:
Ukraine • Kazakhstan • Belarus • Azerbaijan • Uzbekistan • Lithuania • Turkmenistan
Latvia • Estonia • Georgia • Armenia • Tajikistan • Kyrgyzstan • Moldova
These countries from top to bottom are listed by Gross Domestic Product at
Purchasing Power Parity according to the CIA Fact book 2010- www.cia.gov.
Use this information and other maps and resources to answer the following questions
1. Which countries border Russia today?
2. Which countries would have helped Russia with its access to seas or oceans?
3. Select 3 countries and research a type of resource---natural, agricultural,
or industrial that would have benefited the Soviet Union?
4. Choose a former Soviet Republic and tell us what Olympic sport they might excel in and why?
Community Connections:
Below are headlines from recent news events from Russia.
• One American and Two Russians Safely Blast Off For Space Station.
• Drillers Reach Long Buried Antarctic Lake Vostok
• Thousands of Protesters Rally in Bolotnaya Following Parliamentary Elections
• Fire Burns Docked Russian Nuclear Submarine Along Barents Sea.
1. Where in Russia did these news events occur? Locate them on a map.
2. Why are each of these events newsworthy?
3. How did the terrain and climate affect these events?
4. Scan today’s news and look for additional stories involving Russia.
NEXT PAGE - March 15th
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