Russia

1
Russia
2
Intro to Russia

• Huge land area- covers 11 time zones
• Russia and the Eurasian Republics make up about
  1/6 of all of the land on earth (Here is how it
  relates to the US)

3
How did Russia come about?

• Ivan the Great helped Russia kick out foreign
  rulers in the 1500s
• Ivan became the 1st in a long line of czars
  (rulers) Nicholas II was the last

4
The birth of the USSR

• Czar Nicholas II was forced to resign in 1917,
  starting a civil war
• The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, won out
  established a communist-based government made up
  of 15 countries (USSR)
• Some aspects of the govt religion was
  discouraged, government run economy (command)

5
The rise of the USSR

• When Lenin died, Stalin took over
• He led the USSR into WWII
• He also started collective farms (forcing
  peasants to farm for the govt), shipped
  thousands to Siberia for a variety of reasons,
  and was responsible for the deaths of 15 million
  people

6
The life of the USSR

• After Stalin died, Khrushchev took power
• He led the USs biggest opponent in the Cold War
  (Cuban Missile Crisis, Berlin Wall)
• The USSR also put the 1st astronaut in space
  under Khrushchevs, watch

7
The life cont.

• Brezhnev- Leader from 1964-82 (during Vietnam
  Afghan conflicts)
• Look at his eyebrows, or eyebrow (haha!!)

8
The decline of the USSR

• Gorbachev was the last communist leader (took
  over in 82)
• He introduced three new policies
• Perestroika- restructuring
• Glasnost- openness
• Demokratizatsiya- move towards democracy

9
Effects of Perestroika

• People can farm when they want to
• McDonalds in Moscow

• Teens can buy jeans on the open market

10
Effects of Glasnost

• People could watch what they wanted on TV (ex.
  Music videos)
• New Christian churches opening

• Exiles return

11
Effects of Demokratizatsiya

• People can demonstrate in the streets with no
  consequences
• A person running for office doesnt have to be
  communist

• Boris Yeltsin was elected by the people

12
Life in the USSR

• Free speech and press were not tolerated
• Travel to Eastern Europe was encouraged, but not
  to Western Europe

• The Circus was popular (and still is)
• The major means of travel was (and is) trains

13
Inadequate housing- small, cramped government run
apartments
14
Pollution- the Soviet government neglected the
environment

• Moscow- A mix of pollutants from
  industrialization have caused birth defects in
  children

• Kazakhstan radiation from nuclear testing has
  cause birth defects like these in children

15
More pollution

• Magnitigorsk- Fishermen wont eat what they catch
  out of a lake polluted by waste water from
  factories

• Kerosene collecting from underground leaks has
  become a commercial business for Russians

16
The death of the USSR (the birth of the CIS)

• The USSR fell after a coup was staged and
  Gorbachev resigned in 1992
• Boris Yeltsin became the 1st president of the CIS
• Vladimir Putin succeeded him (ex-KGB agent)

17
Life in the new Russia

• The CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) was
  formed to an interdependent community of former
  Soviet states
• There have been some problems
• Russia has moved to a democratic government and a
  market economy (supply and demand determines what
  is sold), but the process has been tough
• The crime rate has risen since the fall of
  communism (biggest offenders Neo Nazis and the
  Russian Mafia)

18
Some regional facts

• In the subartic taiga, the snow season lasts 8
  months

• Russia has an abundance of natural resources
• The Crimean Peninsula is good for growing fruits
  and veggies due to its Mediterranean climate

19
Religion in Russia

• Icons are religious paintings found in the homes
  of people who practice the religion

• The main religion is Eastern Orthodox
• Czar Ivan the Terrible had St. Basils cathedral
  built

20
Other Russian Facts

• The US entered World War 1 as Russia withdrew
• May 1st was labor day in the USSR
• Most people live west of the Ural Mountains
• The Amur River separates Russia from China
• In Russia (esp. Siberia), the lakes freeze
  preventing boat travel, and the bridges freeze,
  preventing automobile travel, so trucks travel on
  frozen rivers