CH 3 Russia & Neighboring Countries

• Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS): A political and economic organization created in 1991 by 11 republics of the Soviet Union
• Continentality: Especially cold winters and hot summers resulting from locations on landmasses that are far from the moderating effects of large water bodies such as oceans
• Steppe Grasslands: Temperate grasslands typical of the transition between forest and arid areas of temperate continental interior climatic environments
• Black Earth soils (Chernozems): Highly fertile soil type in which organic matter accumulates near the surface, commonly beneath temperate grassland communities
• Brown earth soils: Fertile soil type in which plant matter replenishes nutrients in the upper layers, commonly forming beneath temperate deciduous forest
• Northern coniferous forest: A forest composed of coniferous trees (firs, pines, cedars) common in the northern parts of temperate continental interior climatic environments
• Podzol soil: Soils of low fertility in which plant nutrients are removed by water passing through. Commonly develop beneath temperate coniferous forest and on sandy soils
• Tundra: Ecosystem type occurring in cold polar environments an consisting of mosses, grasses, and low shrubs
• Permafrost: Permanently frozen ground extending several hundred meters below the surface in Siberia and Northern Canada. In summer, water in the surface active layer, 50-100 cm deep, melts
• Russification: Policies directed at making non-Russians into Russians by encouraging or forcing non-Russians to adopt Russian cultural characteristics such as the Russian language
• Glasnost: The soviet union policy of the late 1980s designed to create greater openness and exchange of information
• Perestroika: The soviet Union policy of the late 1980s designed to reconstruct the political and economic structure of the country so that it could compete in the capitalist world economic system
• Five-Year Plan: A comprehensive economic planning scope in the former Soviet Union. These plans were followed from 1928-1991
• Command Economy: The soviet practice whereby the government ran the economy, owned all industries, and set quotas, favoring heavy industry over the production of consumer goods
• Central Planning: The Soviet Union practice in which the government decided how many goods and services were needed by society, and gave instructions for their production almost without cost considerations
• Virgin Lands Campaign: A soviet agricultural campaign begun in the 1950s. It promoted farming in lands where it had never taken place before, primarily in lands that were very marginal because the soil was poor or not enough water or heat was present to grow crops
• Xenophobia: Fear of foreigners
• Heartland: The area of a country that contains a large percentage of the country's population, economic activity, and political influence
• Hinterland: The areas of a country that lie outside the heartland. The hinterland usually has a relatively small percentage of a country's population, economic activity, and political influence compared to the heartland, though it may be well endowed with natural resources
• What led to a spike in world wheat prices in 2010?

  A heat wave that resulted in the Russian government's decision to ban wheat exports
• Which of the following is a major economic product of Central Asia countries?

  Oil, Natural Gas and Cotton
• Assuming tea and citrus fruits require a temperate climate, these products are most likely to be grown in which country?

  Georgia
• What statements are true? Russian 1990 female and male

  indicates a low population growth rate

  over one million females over 80

  challenge to care for retirees after 2010

  Indicates rapidly aging pop

  Major contraction in the WW2 years

  More baby boys than girls

  from about 45 there are many more females than males
• How many cities are there in this region with more than 5 million inhabitants?

  1
• The physical environment of Russia?

  Steppe grasslands

  Tundra

  Taiga

  Podzol soils

  Boreal Climates

  Black earth soils

  Ural Mountains

  Continentality
• Chernozem soils are associated with which of the following vegetation zones?

  Steppe
• This region supplies most of the oil, natural gas, coal, and diamonds used in Russia?


  Siberia