World Regional Geography (Chapter 5) Exam II

What fraction of Earth's land surface did the USSR cover?

1/6

Because of its harsh climates and rugged landforms, only approximately _____ percent of Russia's vast expanse is suitable for agriculture.

20%

What is a nonpoint source of pollution and what are some examples of this within Russia?

Untreated automobile exhaust, raw sewage, and agricultural chemicals that drain from fields into water supplies.

What range of mountains separates European Russia from Siberia?

Ural Mountains

The current president of Russia is

Vladimir Putin

The rate of _____ measures the number of people who are working too few hours to make a decent living or who are highly trained yet working at menial jobs

underemployment

The Soviet Union broke up in what year?

1991

In Russia, female laborers earn wages that are approximately _____ percent less than male laborers.

33%

More than _____ percent of all deaths among the working-age population are alcohol related in Russia.

50%

Called the _____ by geographers, this populous and heavily industrialized area is currently held by rebels in eastern Ukraine

Donetsk Basin

Which Russian city is listed as one of the ten most polluted cities in the world?

Dzerzhinsk

Most of the farms in Georgia are owned by:

Farmers

- How has the decline of employment in Russia affected women differently than men?

Female workforce being better educated than the male labor force

What sort of environmental problems is Russia currently facing?

Fossil Fuels

With the fall of the Soviet Union and the closing of many Communist-era industries, the region has now become economically dependent on:

Fossil fuels

- What natural resources does Russia have in abundance?

Gas reserves, major oil, coal deposits, and large forests.

What is the name of Russia's state-owned energy company, the largest in the world?

Gazprom

Joseph Stalin was a native _____, which is why he gave that state control over the ethnic republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

Georgian

The _____ is an international organization of large, affluent countries that meets regularly to discuss world economic issues.

Group of Eight (E8)

This is the term for the prison labor camps where prisoners mined for minerals and built and worked in newly constructed industrial cities.

Gulags

For Stalin, the key to achieving rapid economic growth was:

Industrialization

Many people in Russia may be much better off financially than official statistics indicate because they earn income in what type of work?

Informal ventures or the work in the informal economy

Civil wars in Central Asia have been fought between the government and fundamentalists of what religion?

Islam

The Slavic ruler who defeated the Mongols and began the modern Russian empire was:

Ivan IV

What leader of the Soviet Union exalted heavy industry and the collectivization of agriculture?

Joseph Stalin

The Bolsheviks in early-twentieth-century Russia were inspired by the writings of what German philosopher and revolutionary?

Karl Marx; Communism

What would be a good basic description of Russia's "shock therapy" strategy?

The Russian government instituting a range of policies to try to revitalize the sluggish economy.

The Russian Empire initially arose from the north-central region of European Russia after the arrival of what ethnic group from eastern Europe?

The Slavs

What river has long served as European Russia's primary transport route?

The Volga River

The temporary decrease in Russian agricultural production in the 1990s was the result of:

The collapse of subsidies and internal trade agreements

Russia's population density is HIGHEST in what area/region?

The western part of Russia

Bolshevik ideals were inspired by communist principles developed by German revolutionary philosopher _____, and the first leader of Russia's Communist Party was _____.

Karl Marx; Vladimir Lenin

The Ural Mountains start at the Arctic Ocean and end in _____.

Kazakhstan

The Soviet KGB is now known as the:

Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti

In general, into which category of income and human well-being do most of the countries of Russia and the post-Soviet states fall?

Middle class

The leader largely responsible for perestroika, or the restructuring of the economy, is

Mikhail Gorbachev

Wandering people who live on the meat and milk provided by their herds of sheep, horses, and grazing animals are known as _____.

Nomadic pastoralist

What term refers to sources of urban pollution that are diffuse and difficult to identify?

Nonpoint

Most of the region's rivers run from what direction to what other direction?

North to South

What resources make up the primary exports of Russia's economy?

Oil and gas

What is the name for the people who have gotten wealthy through their acquisition of discounted government assets, such as factories and resources?

Oligarchs

With what religion do the most people in Russia have an ancestral connection?

Orthodox Christianity

In its heyday, the USSR stretched from Central Europe to _____.

Pacific Ocean

Permanently frozen soil is known as _____.

Permafrost

The burning off of natural gas that rises to Earth's surface when oil wells are drilled is known as _____.

Petroleum

The original homeland of the Slavs was centered in modern-day:

Poland, Ukraine, and Belarus

Moscow is a _____ city, one that is vastly larger than all other cities in the country

Primate

What is the name for the process whereby industries owned by the government are sold to private companies or individuals?

Privatization

What factor is a major element of cultural revival throughout the former Soviet Union?

Religion

The world's LARGEST country is:

Russia

The official name of Russia today is the _____.

Russian Federation

The _____ is a highly organized criminal network dominated by former KBG and military personnel.

Russian Organized Crime

Which two plates meet close to the eastern border of Russia?

The Eurasian Plate and the Pacific Plate.

What countries are considered to be the post-Soviet states?

Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

The official name of the Soviet Union was the _____.

Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

The Ukrainian president who backed away from commitments to the EU was:

Viktor Yanukovych

What man was the leader of the Bolshevik revolutionaries when they came to power in Russia in 1917?

Vladimir Lenin

What was the name of the faction of Communist revolutionaries who came to power in the Russian Revolution in 1917?

Bolsheviks

The world's worst nuclear disaster took place in:

Chernobyl

Which factor has NOT contributed to the decreasing birth rates in Russia and the post-Soviet states during the Soviet era and afterward? A) family matriarchs aging rapidly and requiring their daughters and daughters-in-law to care for them rather than have children B) retirement pensions C) severe housing shortages D) increased opportunities for women to become educated and work outside the home

A

Which statement is NOT true of Russia's greenhouse gas emissions? A) Russia's lack of forest cover causes an increase in CO2, as there are few trees to absorb CO2. B) Greenhouse gas emissions have seen an overall decline since the Soviet era. C) Companies burn off the natural gas that comes to the surface when oil wells are drilled. D) Russia's greenhouse gas emissions are not as high as those of the United States.

A

Which statement is NOT true of Russia's oil and gas industry? A) Dependence on a single industry has caused Russia great difficulty during times when the price of fossil fuel drops. B) Russia is the largest exporter in the world of both natural gas and oil. C) Russia's economic relationship with Europe is largely based on the oil and gas trade. D) Russia has been known to use its gas exports to influence the politics and economies of countries in Central Europe.

A

In Central Asia, east of the Caucasus Mountains, the climate is BEST described as:

Arid Climates (Hot in the summer and intense in the winter)

Soviet policy formally: A) encouraged women to be homemakers. B) encouraged all women to work outside the home for wages. C) encouraged women to work in the informal economy. D) stated that husbands and wives could not work in the same industry or at the same state-run company.

B

Which statement describes an effect of the large size of the informal economy in Russia? A) The substantial money in the informal economy leads to large tax collections for the government. B) The substantial money in the informal economy is not taxed. C) Vodka consumption has increased. D) Vodka consumption has decreased

B

Which statement describes the state of media and the press in Russia today? A) The media and press express outspoken support of the Russian government. B) Critical analysis of the government is rare and punishable. C) The media is dominated by a few privately owned companies that are openly critical of the Russian government. D) There is no media or press as most citizens do not own private televisions or radios.

B

Which statement is NOT true of Russia's conflict with Ukraine? A) Western Ukraine has closer ties with Europe, while eastern Ukraine has closer ties to Russia. B) U.S. and European NGOs supported a wave of protests in Ukraine's capital. C) Crimea voted to secede from Russia. D) Russian military forces supported pro-Russian militias who took control of Crimea

B

At the northern end of the Volga River is the _____; at the southern end of the Volga River is the _____.

Baltic Sea; Caspian Sea

Which statement is NOT true of Kazakhstan and nuclear materials? A) It was the site for Soviet military nuclear test explosions. B) It has disarmed its inherited nuclear warheads, and worked with U.S. authorities to safeguard nuclear materials. C) It is exporting radioactive wastes to commercial repositories in Japan. D) It is the biggest source of uranium for the world.

C

Which statement is the BEST description of the population of the Russian region today? A) It has high birth rates and an aging population. B) Its level of human well-being generally exceeds that of the United States. C) It has a rapidly aging population and a low birth rate. D) As an undeveloped region, the Russian region is facing a burgeoning birth rate and fairly low death rate

C

Which statement is the BEST summary of Soviet ideology's approach to the environment? A) Nature is a powerful force and should be respected. B) Forests should be harvested, but water should not be polluted. C) Nature is the servant of industrial and agricultural progress. D) Humanity should live in harmony with the land.

C

To what region did Stalin and other Russian/Soviet rulers traditionally send their political opponents?

Central Asia

Which ethnic group was targeted by Stalin as traitors to Russia—a persecution that lasted into the twenty-first century?

Chechen

The term used to describe the fifty-year-long geopolitical rivalry between the Soviet Union and its allies against the United States and its allies is:

Cold War

At Stalin's behest, a major transformation resulted in what type of farm unit dominating the Soviet agricultural landscape?

Collective farms

What term refers to democracy movements led by educated youth rallying under various symbolic colors?

Color Revolutions

The relatively peaceful transitions to somewhat greater political freedoms that have taken place in some of the post-Soviet states, such as Georgia and Ukraine, are known as the:

Color revolutions

How do the elderly and working-class Russians view Putin and similar political leaders?

Corrupted and poor public service

This group was persecuted and forcibly removed from their homeland during the Stalin-era Soviet Union and is thus wary of Crimea's return to Russian control.

Crimean Tartars

The alphabet used in most of the countries of the Russian region is: A) Roman. B) Armenian. C) Sanskrit. D) Cyrillic.

D

Which characteristic is NOT true of life in the cities of Russia today? A) old, massive apartment blocks B) shared kitchens and bathrooms C) inadequate sewage and waste management D) the rise of new, modern apartment complexes

D

Which factor has NOT been instrumental in allowing Russia to remain predominant in its region (and the world)? A) oil and gas reserves B) military C) size and population D) strong currency

D

Which factor is NOT a challenge being faced by the former states of the USSR? A) crime B) economic instability C) political corruption D) embargoes

D

Which statement is NOT true of authoritarianism in Russia and the post-Soviet states? A) Journalists and others who document corruption or speak out against the government have been killed and jailed. B) After Putin steps down from power, authoritarianism will likely lose its sway in Russia. C) The emergence of authoritarian rulers throughout Russian history has created a political culture in which strong and sometimes brutal leaders thrive. D) Elections often involve systematically intimidating voters and arresting the political opposition.

D

Which statement is NOT true of the women in the Russia and post-Soviet states region today? A) In general, women are better educated than men. B) Unemployment for women is slightly lower than for men. C) Women earn approximately 33 percent less than men. D) Women are increasingly holding senior supervisory positions.

D

What factors makes agriculture precarious in the region?

Short growing season and boggy soils or requiring expensive inputs of labor, water, and fertilizer.

The ancient system of trading routes between the Pacific coast of China and the Mediterranean was known as the _____.

Silk Road

The autocracy currently operating behind the scenes in Russia and controlling major decisions is the:

Siloviki

This is the term used for a period in spring when melting snow and ice turn many roads and construction sites into impassable mud pits.

Snowmelt

GDP per capita in Russia tends to overstate the general well-being of the Russian population because:

Soviet emphasis on broad education, basic social services

The Moscow landmark that commemorates the defeat of the Mongols in the twelfth century is:

St. Basil's Catherdral

What term is used to represent Russia's semiarid grasslands?

Steppes

What is the name of the coniferous-forest land cover found in Siberia?

Taiga

Which two internal republics demanded outright independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991?

Tatarstan and Chechnya

Beyond lost income, why is job loss in Russia particularly devastating for the individual?

They lose the subsidized housing, health care, and other social services that were often provided with the job.

Because the region is landlocked, the only way to get oil and gas to the world market is via:

Through pipelines

For what purpose were the waters of the Syr Darya and Amu Darya rivers, both of which supply the Aral Sea, diverted?

To irrigate millions of acres of cotton in naturally.

The only rail line to run the full east-west length of Russia is the _____.

Trans-Siberian Railway

The first non-Russian area to be annexed into the Russian empire, in the early seventeenth century, was?

Western Siberia

In the Soviet Union, what institution provided MOST of one's basic social services?

Work place

After a period of Russification, the reverse process, called _____, is happening especially in Central Asia

de-Russification

The earliest towns in the Russian region arose in:

dry lands of greater Central Asia and forests of Caucasia, Ukraine, and Russia.

Rapid industrialization under Stalin was made possible by a _____ economy in which the government controls all land and means of production

socialist