Transcript Human Geography of Russia and the Republics

Human Geography of Russia
and the Republics
Russia’s Origins and Growth
• The Russian state began in the region between the Baltic and Black seas. In the
9th century, Vikings built a settlement for the region’s river trade. They slowly
adopted local Slavic customs and the village grew.
• Mongolian invaders, destructive warriors called the Tatars, paused expansion in
the 13th century until the prince of Moscow, Ivan the Great, defeated the Tatars in
the 1500s. By the 17th c. Russia was an
empire reaching the
Pacific.
• As Russia’s leaders
added territory,
many different
ethnic groups were
added too.
Fast Expansion, Slow Progress
• Russia’s growth effected nearby lands and peoples, including the Baltic Republics,
that still lasts in regions today.
• Russia had rapid territorial growth but lagged behind Europe in science and
technology. Trying modernize, the czar (emperor) Peter the Great moved the
capital from Moscow to the Baltic Sea city called St. Petersburg, “the window to
the West”.
• Russia didn’t start industrializing until the end
of the 1800s, but
created harsh working
conditions, low wages
and angry people
toward the czars.
Soviet Russia
• During WWI, people’s anger built to the point of explosion and revolted which
ended the czar rule and formed a government led by the Communist Party. This
Russian Revolution resulted in Communist control of the region’s economy and
gave the Party’s leaders authority of all economic decisions.
• The party organized the different groups of people that were engulfed during the
empire’s expansion and called the nation the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialists
Republics – Soviet Union for short) and ruled from the Russian capital of Moscow.
Soviet Economy
• The Communists who overthrew the Russian czar were inspired by Karl Marx.
Marx argued people would own property together and share the wealth. Soviet
leaders adopted a command economy.
• The central government decided what products factories would manufacture,
what crops farmers would grow, and what prices people could sell goods for.
• The government created collective farms where thousands of people were
moved to the farms to work. Shortages in food caused millions to starve to death
and only the few who survived benefited from the change in economy.
• Born Vladimir Ulyanov, Lenin was
the founder of the Russian
Communist Party
• Leader of the 1917 Bolshevik
Revolution
• The architect, builder and first
head of the Soviet state.
• Trotsky was a leader of the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the struggle
for power following Lenin's death, however, Joseph Stalin emerged as
victor, while Trotsky was removed from all positions of power and later
exiled until his assassination by a Stalinist agent in 1940.
• Stalin created rapid industrialization,
agrarian reforms and series of purges
• Led to the death and
imprisonment of millions of Soviet
citizens.
• He successfully led the USSR through
World War II and oversaw the
communization of Eastern Europe
• This would lead to the Cold War.
Russian Revolution
• http://www.history.com/topics/russian-revolution/videos
• Soldiers blocking Narva Gate on Bloody Sunday
• Russian soldiers marching in Petrograd in February 1917
• Bolshevik forces marching on Red Square
• The Petrograd Soviet Assembly meeting in 1917
• Street demonstration in Petrograd, 18 June 1917.
• The banner in the foreground reads "Down With The 10 Capitalist Ministers/ All Power
To The Soviets Of Workers', Soldiers', And Peasants' Deputies/ And To The Socialist
Ministers/ We Demand That Nicholas II Be Transferred To The Peter-Paul Fortress."
• Revolutionaries protesting on February 1917
• Street demonstration on Nevsky Prospekt inPetrograd just after
troops of the Provisional Government opened fire in the July Days
• Soviets attacking the Czar's police in the early days of the March
Revolution
• Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolsheviks, speaking at a meeting
in Sverdlov Square in Moscow, with Leon Trotsky and Lev Kamenev
adjacent to the right of the podium
• American, British, and Japanese Troops parade through Vladivostok in
armed support to the White Army
• In Stalin's era, prisoners were
sometimes executed in public to
send a message of fear to the
people.
• This picture shows opponents
of the regime, hanged by the
secret police.
• “Milk was now becoming scarce and the bread tasted
dry as wood shavings. We could not buy kerosene for
our lanterns, nor candles or soap. Our school meals
usually consisted of two potatoes in their jackets and a
small piece of herring. We also had a mug of black
coffee without sugar, which I would give to another
child. One of my potatoes I slipped into my pocket to
take home to mama.”
• On a hot July day in 1918 Mary witnessed an extraordinary sight while walking
home from school: People were dancing in the street, there was singing and
shouting and laughter everywhere.
• There were large pictures of Lenin hanging from the building draped in red silk.
Men were throwing up their hats into the air and people were embracing.
• I knew something had happened, but what? I tugged on a tall man’s sleeve.
“Excuse me sir, what has happened, why is everyone so excited?”
• I asked. “Why, have you not heard Tsar Nicholas and the Tsarina and the
children have been executed. Even that devil Rasputin too!”.
• I stared at him in horror. How could the death of the royal family cause such
joy.
• Were they responsible for all those thousands of young soldiers being
slaughtered on the battlefields.
• For all the orphaned children, for so much suffering. If so I began to understand
the rejoicing of the people.
Warm-up
2/25(Warm-up and Chernobyl Discussion)
“Experience is one
thing you can’t get
for nothing.”- Oscar
Wilde
1. What does this
quote mean to you?
Do you agree or
disagree?
2. Who is the person
on the podium? (Give
specific name if
possible)
3. What group does
this person belong to?
Warm-up
• This picture shows opponents of
the regime, hanged by the
secret police.
• In Stalin's era, prisoners were
sometimes executed in public
4. Why do you think people
were hung in a public
setting rather than in a
specific, private setting?
Warm-up
5. What is the setting
of this photograph?
6. Where do you
think they worked?
7. What do you think
are the feelings or
emotions these
women have?
Warm-up
8. Describe the
actions of these
people.
9. What do you
think about the
people in the
photo’s
background?
10. Explain why
you think this.
Chernobyl, Ukraine (April 26, 1986)
• Built in the late 1970s about 65 miles north of Kiev in the Ukraine, the
Chernobyl plant was one of the largest and oldest nuclear power plants in the
world. The explosion and meltdown that occurred there in April 1986 claimed
thousands of lives and remains the worst nuclear disaster in history.
• Chernobyl Built in the late 1970s about 65 miles north of Kiev in the Ukraine,
the Chernobyl plant was one of the largest and oldest nuclear power plants in
the world. The explosion and meltdown that occurred there in April 1986
claimed thousands of lives and remains the worst nuclear disaster in history.
• Home is the entire cosmos of the rural babushka, and connection to the land is
palpable. They told me: "If you leave you die," "Those who left are worse off
now. They are all dying of sadness," "Motherland is Motherland. I will never
leave."
Chernobyl Links
• http://abcnews.go.com/Archives/video/chernobyl-disaster-nuclearplant-soviet-1986-9843882
• http://www.history.com/news/slideshow-remembering-chernobyl
• http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video?id=4371794
• http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2314041/Chernobylnuclear-disaster-Eerie-photographs-Helene-Veilleux.html
What Would You Do?
• If you lived in Chernobyl at the time of the nuclear explosion would you stay
or would you leave?
• Why would you stay or leave?
• What would you do if you had a family?
• If you had no choice but to leave, and had to leave EVERYTHING behind but
maybe your phone and/or wallet, where would go?
• Why would you go there?
• Would you ever return to live there once radiation levels are cleared?
• If you won a free trip to Chernobyl, would you go to visit? Why or why not?
Fall of the Soviet Union
• By WWII, Joseph Stalin led the USSR but tensions rose between the U.S. and
Soviets. After WWII, Stalin installed pro-Soviet governments in Eastern European
countries. http://www.history.com/topics/joseph-stalin/videos/stalins-purges
• U.S. feared that Stalin would spread communism across the globe, leading to the
Cold War between the two superpowers. This conflict never had open warfare,
lasting from the 1940’s to the early 1990’s.
• Communism and the Soviet Union ended, dividing the region into 15
independent republics.
The Region’s Culture
• About 80% of the people within the region are Russians. The other 20% is made
up of about 70 different ethnic groups. Many
Russians follow Orthodox Christianity but other
common religions include Buddhism and Islam.
• Religion and art are tied closely together
throughout the region.
• A major change in art occurred during Soviet
Rule. Artists could only produce the style of
socialist realism. This promoted Soviet ideals
and portrayed citizens working together for a
socialist society.
Political Cartoons
Russian Tradition
• Native traditions have survived after the Soviet Union such as Russian foods
made from grain. This includes rye bread, kasha, or Russia’s national drink, vodka.
• After Soviet Union rule, people can now enjoy more social and cultural
opportunities like movies, clothing trends, and music.
• A custom in the countryside and city is visiting a banya. A banya is a bathhouse
and cleaning ritual that combines a dry sauna, steam bath, and ice-water plunge.
Transcaucasia’s Culture & Religion
• This region has historically been a migration route between Europe and Asia. It
has also been mainly used for trade due to the Black and Caspian Seas.
• Transcaucasia has been called “Jabal Al-Alsun”, which means “Mountain of
Language” because of the large number of cultures living there. Today, there are
more than 50 different groups.
• Most of the people follow either the Christian or Islamic
faith. Armenia is the first in the world to adopt Christianity.