Geog 101: Exam 2

political structure of Soviet Union

-1922 to 1991 -15 autonomous republics -stalin set up russification

cold war

-45 years -US vs Soviet Union -Iron curtain (separates US and soviet union influence in Europe) -NATO vs Warsaw pact -Korean war, Vietnam war -Cuban Missile crisis -Euro missile crisis

current geopolitics in Eurasia

-Chechnya: relatively stable -Ukraine: crimean invasion in 2014 -Kuril Islands (russia vs japan, gas and oil reserves)

communist economic system

-Marx believed economics = struggles between classes -capitalism = oppressive economic system. working class is suppressed by business class -Russia = 1st fully communist country -no private property or goods

trans-siberian railroad

-St. Petersberg to Vladivostok -controlled by Russians

Holomodor

-Ukrainian famine -1932 to 1933 -during russian civil war -claimed lives of 3.9 million people (70% = children, 13% of total population) -deaths of Ukrainians filled in with Russians (russification) -Stalin -wanted to replace small Ukrainian farms with state run farms -punished Ukrainians who went against Stalin/Soviet Union -took all grain seeds from Ukraine -led to starvation -bad in Kiev and Kharkiv

Operation Barbosa

-WWII -German invasion of Soviet Union (1941) -leads to battle of Stalingrad -ends with Germans surrendering which turned tide of WWII -many who surrendered died from Russian winter -Leningrad and Moscow also held out through sieges -caused relocation of lots of people

ethnic tensions in Tibet

-anti-chinese protests strongly repressed -current dalai lama will not be replaced (chinese government won't allow it) -world issue because of how Tibet is viewed by world

Tibet

-autonomous region of China -very mountanous -disputed political arrangement (china sees it as part of it, world sees it as independent) -controls all of the head waters into China and SW asia -reason China won't let Tibet go -China building dams to control water

population density in central asia

-based on where the water is -sparsely populated -many areas too arid and too elevated to support life -many are scattered groups of nomads/pastoralists -thickest settlement = lowlands (good soil and water supplies)

why is Ukraine important?

-bread basket of Europe -largest wheat producer of world -has fertile black soil

Mongolia

-buffer state (russia and china) -pastoralists -golden eagle hunters (UNESCO world heritage event, eagles help them hunt/survive) -Yurts (primary style of home in central asia, cultural geography) -reindeer herders (northern mongolia, nomadic hunters)

Tibetan Buddhism

-came from India -head = Dalai Lama -Tibet was theocracy (religious leader headed country) -ended after China took control -chinese persecution and occupation -will not be able to choose new Dalai lama after death of current one (because of china)

Joseph Stalin

-came into power in 1924 -soviet dictator -murdered his way into power -reign of tower = 30 million civilians died -gulag system

Soviet Union

-civil war in Russia after WWI, collapse of russian empire -Lenin returned in 1917 and led the Bulshevick revolution and turned russia into a communist state -Stalin took control in 1924, soviet dictator -lasted from 1922 to 1991

Afghanistan

-conquered by many people -buffer state between Britain and Russia -remote region -very diverse -indo-european influences -central highlands and Hindu Kush -divided human geography due to various ethnic and traditional groups -one of the most impoverished places on earth -top opium producer of world

Kyrgyzstan

-controls headwaters of major rivers in region -40 rays of sun on flag = 40 tribes of nation -edge of himilayas

Tajikistan

-controls headwaters of major rivers in region -high mountains -most of the country is above 10,000 feet -civil war (1992-1997): killed lots of people -outside countries trying to gain advantage to exploit natural resources

Russia

-core of country in west around Moscow -Northern European plain in West -majority of population is in the west -core not protected by landscape (no mtns, rivers or oceans), protected by winter and people -land power (only 1 warm water port) -major resources = oil and natural gas

Aral Sea Disaster

-daming rivers = salinization of sea -also caused by soviet union trying to grow cotton (crop that uses a lot of water) in a desert -economic and cultural damage -efforts to save it -water important to Kazakstan and Uzbekistan -Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are daming the rivers (control water in other countries)

mongolian language

-distinct script (replaced by cyrillic) -migration of han chinese

why does alcoholism sky rocket after the fall of the soviet union?

-economic health decline -high rates of unemployment -decline in funding for social services -increased crime rates -sense of despair -huge cause of death for men before 55 years old (1/4) -violence is a component

geopolitical concerns between Russia and Eurasia

-energy shortages and supplies -islamist terrorism -desire of migrant russians to attain own rights and territory

agricultural region of Eurasia?

-european west -habitable -west of Ural mtns (past the mtns you can't farm) -European plain (Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus)

geopolitical concerns outside of Eurasia

-fate of Soviet Union nuclear material -alliances between Eurasian countries and Russia or Turkey -narcotics -terrorism -threat of invasion if you go against Russia

St. Petersburg

-founded by Peter the Great -"window to the west" -artificial city (built on top of marshes/ on water like New Orleans) -was Russian capital -built because Peter the Great wanted to westernize/europeanize Russia

3 distinct environments of Eurasia?

-grain belt (Ukraine) -diverse region (volga river) -Tundra (Siberia)

central asia

-home of silk road -nomadic peoples -domesticated horses in this region -Russification took place (especially in Kazakstan) -Sunnis muslims -between Europe and far east -moslty desert

religion in central asia

-islam = central asia and stans -buddhism = Mongolia and Tibet -eastern orthodox = russian area of Kazakhstan (russification of language and religion) -Afghanistan = melting pot of religion

russian identity evolution

-kievan rus (moder day Ukraine) -Vikings in the middle ages (blond hair and blue eyes) -Byzantine influnces in architecture and religion -Tartars influenced from caucus/central asia

russian empire

-land empire -siberia: valuable for furs, minerals gold, had early migrations -collapse of soviet union = loss of lots of territory

Amur Leopard Park

-land of the leopard national park -protects amur leopard from extinction -located in Siberia

what type of power is Russia and why?

-land power -land locked -expanded east to gain more land -only 1 warm water port -expanded to conquer geography that protected the borders like mtns, rivers and oceans

Lake Baikal

-largest and deepest lake in world -UNESCO world heritage site -located in Siberia -Soviet Union wrecked it's waters through pollution -now under regulations to improve water quality

Tsar Nicholas II

-last Tsar of Russia -him and his family were killed by the Bulshevicks -his death = end of russian empire and beginning of communist russia

Smarkand

-located in Uzbekistan -crossroads of culture -on silk road -UNESCO world heritage site

environmental issues in Central Asia

-low population density -relatively clean environment -urban industrial pollution -desertification -salinization -Aral sea disaster

russification

-migration of russians out of russia -started by soviet union -most have returned to russia now -ethnic control -Ukraine is 90% russian in some areas -religious differences linked with ethnic and language differences (reason this region is unstable)

geopolitics of central asia

-minor role in global politics (rising now due to oil and gas) -long under control of Russia and China -buffer states of Afghanistan and Mongolia -former soviet union states have close ties to Russia

where did the kingdom of Rus begin?

-modern day Ukraine

Kazakhstan

-mongol and turkic heritage -han chinese migration -mines metals and uranium for nuclear power -largely russified -russian influences

Volga River

-most important river in Russia -built 4 canals to get it to the ocean -Volga-Don canal connects the Don and Volga rivers -flows south

Uzbekistan

-most populous -persian influence -main rivers diverted for irrigation (depletion of aral sea) -houses Smarkand (UNESCO world heritage site)

languages of central asia

-mostly turkic and mongolian speakers -stans = altaic languages -indo-european languages in south west -diversity is caused by silk road

Caucus region

-mountanous -diverse cultures and ethnicities -isolated areas due to mountains -between Black and Caspian Sea -extreme south of Eurasia -russians vs ottomans (russian and Turkish influences) -Ethnic russians = north of greater caucus range -south of lesser caucus range = georgians, azerbaijans, and armenians -strongly maintained cultures

land use in Russia?

-not farming (very little) -mostly forestry

Chernobyl

-nuclear fallout -Ukraine -1986 -unreported for 48 hours -no rescue attempts made and people had no way to leave -made dead zones (no agriculture for decades/centuries)

environmental damage in Eurasia

-nuclear fallout from soviet union -forest damage -coastal damage -contaminated rivers -Soviet Union mostly to blame -poor air quality from industry and traffic

Armenia genocide

-prior to WWI Armenia was between Russia and Turkey -WWI: Ottoman muslims killed about 1 million or more christian armenians -Turkey has never accepted responsibility for its role in the genocide and denies it ever took place -animosity between Turkey and Armenia (closed border, no diplomats) -west refuses to allow Turkey into UN and NATO because of this

Ukraine importance to Russia

-raw materials (coal and iron, especially in east) -bread basket of world -large ethnic russian population

why is the population of Russia concentrated in the west?

-resources are concentrated in the west -climate is calmer in the west -agriculture is possible -government policies under soviet union to migrate people to Siberia were abandoned after the fall of the soviet union

Vladimir Lenin

-returned to Russia in 1917 -led Bulshevick revolution -turned Russia into a communist state

trends in central asia

-soviet union controlled to independent states -rise in authortarian governments and corruption -increase cultural influence of islam -global economics focus on extractive activities -increased military activity over control of resources -decline in agriculture as economic base -continued concern for environmental problems -human rights violations in western china (Mongolia and Tibet)

CIA and Bin Laden Link

-soviet union invaded Afghanistan -US supports Mujahdeen (Bin Laden was leader) to oppose Soviet Union -CIA backed the support -Bin Laden then flipped on US in 1990s -led to 9/11

Gulag sytem

-under Stalin -located mostly in Siberia -similar to concentration camps -notorious prisons for enemies of the state -active until Stalin's death (may still be used today)

how many time zones are there in Russia?

10

what is the population of Eurasia?

240 million people

what do the 40 rays of the sun on the flag of Kyrgzstan?

40 tribes within the country

what are most Muslims in central asia?

Sunnis

why is central asia also referred to as Turkestan?

Turkish influence in region

what is the most diverse area in Eurasia?

caucuses

geopolitical concerns within Russia

non-russians pose threat to russian federation

why is the 2nd most popular religion in Eurasia having no religion?

soviet union discouraged religion

what biome makes up most of Russia?

taiga (in the west), soil is NOT fertile

where in Eurasia is the concentration of devastated environment?

west eurasia (west russia and Ukraine)