CHAPTER 3
RUSSIA
Geographic Qualities of Russia
Russia is the largest territorial state in the world. Its
area is nearly twice as large as the next ranking country (Canada).
Russia is the northernmost large and populous country in the world.
Much of it is very cold and/or very dry. Extensive mountain
ranges separate Russia from tropical air and the country is
exposed to frequent invasions of arctic air.
Russia was one of the world’s major colonial powers. Under
the czars, the Russians forged the world’s largest contiguous empire.
This empire was taken over and expanded by the Soviet Rulers who succeeded
the czars.
Russia’s population of 150 million is relatively small for such
a large country. The majority of population is concentrated
in the western one third of the country.
Development is concentrated west of the Urals along with the most
productive agricultural lands.
Russia is a multicultural state with a complex domestic political
geography. Twenty-one internal republics originally based on
ethnic clusters continue to function as politico-geographic entities.
Russia has few good ports. Land encirclement has figured in
countries geopolitical objectives.
Regions once part of the communist Soviet empire are realigning
themselves with western Europe and the Islamic South of Asia.
Soviet communism has left the country in economic disarray.
Russia is a source of raw materials, but not a manufacturer of export
products.
Economic Regions of Russia
Russian Core
The core area has a large percentage of the population, the
largest cities, and the largest transportation networks and the most
intensively cultivated lands. It has the strongest imprints of
the country's culture and history – often most developed and oldest
within a country. Moscow maintains its decisive centrality – as
a result of geography and communist planners. Centrally located
within Russia’s Central Industrial region, an area of intense coal and
oil production. Roads and rail roads radiate out in all directions.
Canals link Moscow to important Volga waterway
St. Petersburg
St. Petersburg was once capital of Russia until communists came
to power. They renamed it Leningrad but later renamed it St. Petersburg
again. It was once a focus of cultural life, most European of
Russian cities. At one time it reflected Russia’s desire to integrate
its economy with Europe during 18th and 19th centuries. Communists
moved capital back to Moscow reflecting their desire for internal self-sufficiency
(forward capital). St. Petersburg is far away from Russian supplies
of food and fuel. It contributes roughly 10 percent of country’s
manufacturing capacity.
Povolzhye
Povolzyhe is the secondary manufacturing region along the Volga
River. It has developed due to its protected location far from
invaders. It is the greatest source of postwar petroleum and natural
gas – only exceeded by Siberian oil and natural gas fields. In
Volga the Don Canal directly connects Volga to the Black Sea.
Moscow Canal extends the northern navigability of river into Central
Industrial Region. Additional Canals link it to the Baltic Sea.
Povalzyhe is home to the Fiat auto manufacturing plant.
The Ural Mountain ranges are located to the east. It has large
concentration of metallic reserves and supports development northeast
into Siberian oil and gas fields.
Eastern Frontier
Kuzbas – this is a region of coal, iron ore and bauxite deposits
900 miles east of Urals. The Eastern Frontier has received excessive
state subsidies in order to push modernization, in order to ensure that
regions can become self sustaining requiring fewer investments.
The Trans-Siberian railroad connects industrial regions in the east.
Siberia
Siberia contains sizable quantities of oil and natural gas,
hydroelectric power (in mountainous regions), lumber and mineral reserves.
Human habitation would be difficult even under the best of political
regimes and the vast extent of permafrost makes retrieval of this
region's natural resources difficult.
Far East
This is a sensitive borderland between China and Russia.
China claims much of land south of the Amur River. Russia offered
financial incentives for western residents to move east. The
Far East is a sensitive region geopolitically, relations are strained
between
Russia and China and Russia and Japan. They are improving but
not to the extent of major financial investing or trade. Russians
have a large merchant marine that ply Pacific waters for fish.
Transcaucasion Region
This is a battleground between Russians, Turks,
Christians, Armenians, Muslims and Persians consisting of the independent
republics of Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia (part of what Russia
considers its near abroad). This region is caught between external
powers (Turkey, Iran and Russia) all vying for influence and dominance
in this
region and countries in the Transcaucasion region often play the above
powers against each other – this is another shatterbelt.
Centrifugal forces trouble this region. Georgia was incorporated
into the expanding Soviet Union and has been renowned for warm climate,
tea, wines, and citrus fruit. By declared independence in 1991,
Ossetia and Abkhazk also declared independence and fought against Georgians
with Russian help. Now it is essentially a puppet of Russia with
lost sovereignty.
Christian Armenia has had difficulty in maintaining a secure
homeland in this Muslim region. Ottoman Turks conducted a campaign
of genocide against Armenians during WWI. When the Soviet Union
collapsed, security gave way to warfare to Azerbaijanis who are trying
to expand their dominion here and incorporate an Armenian enclave.
The costly war with Armenia has also left the region in poor shape,
as the predominately Shiite country tries to unify. Russian interference
with oil deals with western countries continues to be a problem.
Russia claims oil as part of old Soviet deals and tries to manipulate
local politics to their advantage and keep Azerbaijan from solidifying
ties to Turkey and Iran.
Legacy of Soviet Union
Russia’s expansion had brought a large number of nationalities
under their control. Communists despite rhetoric supporting self-determining
never had any intentions of permitting the break up of the Soviet Empire
The decision was made to organize the country based on percentage
of ethnic minorities. The country would be divided into Soviet
Socialist Republic (SSR’s). Smaller minorities assigned Autonomous
Soviet Socialist Republics (ASSR’s). Other areas designated autonomous
regions or other nationality based units. The Russian Republic
was the Soviet Union’s dominant republic the centerpiece of a tightly
controlled federation. Russians ran the party in all SSR’s, taught
Russian language to all regions.
Objectives of Economic Planning
The objectives of economic planning were to speed industrialization
and collectivize agriculture. This was done by implementing the
National Planning Commission (Gosplan). The entire country would
be organized around Marxist-Leninist principles.
Communists believed agriculture would be more efficient if
private farms were collectivized. Sovkhoz, grain and meat factory
whose mechanization and minimum labor requirement would result in maximum
efficiency, dismal failure, any farmers who resisted were killed.
Kolkhoz, smaller version of the collective farm. Did not work
because incentives did not existed for farmers to work the land and
there was harsh treatment of farmers. Ecological disasters include
draining of Aral Sea and redirection of Siberian Rivers.
There was ignorance of weather and proper agricultural techniques, i.e.,
leaving land dormant.
Collectivization of agriculture with mechanization was to free
labor pool to work in factories. Energy development was given
priority. There was extensive development of transportation networks.
Industrialized capacity generated weapons for defeat of Germans during
WWII. By assigning production of manufactured goods to specific
places, ignoring the locational considerations of economic geography.
No other region was allowed to make that particular product, railcars
in Latvia, for example, even if cheaper to produce in other regions.
The absence of competition made managers complacent and workers less
productive than they could be. As a result of this economic philosophy,
the economic geography of the republics were tightly bound to the Russian
SSR and each other.
The economic and geopolitical future of this region is uncertain.
Russia is concerned about its "Near Abroad" the region of
newly independent Soviet Republics and their incorporation into pro-Western,
Islamic, South Asian and/or East Asian realms. These fears are
a result of age-old fears of land encirclement from hostile geopolitical
powers and its difficult geographic location. Russia has historically
justified interference in nearby countries affairs in the name of its
own national security and its desire to achieve a warm water port for
its navy and access to shipping lanes. Russia's economic and military
rivals have also been wary of its potential strength and this has led
to a geopolitical theory called the Heartland Theory.
The Heartland Theory was proposed by Halford MacKinder that
eventually predicted the rise of Russia as a superpower.
Western Russia and Eastern Europe enjoyed a combination of natural
protection and resource wealth that would propel it to power and world
domination.
The rise of the Soviet Union seemed to justify his theory particularly
due to the expansionist tendencies of the Soviet Union in Eastern
Europe
and the Eurasian landmass. Much of the United State's Cold War strategy
was based on the Heartland Theory. However the collapse
of the Soviet Union has lessened interest in this theory and has
given
credence to another geopolitical theory of the Rimland. Proposed
by Nicolas Spykman, this theory states that powers on the "rim"
of the Eurasian landmass would rise to economic and military supremacy.
Japan's rise to an economic superpower and China's modernization appear
to justify this.
Recent expansion of the European Union (Czech Republic) and
possible expansion of NATO to include former Soviet Republics, are
viewed by Russia as a threat to its security. Domestically, Russia
suffers from a worsening economy which has resulted in substantial
lowering
of many peoples standard of living and even a reduction in life expectancy.
Many Russians have expressed a return to the "good old days"
of communism and many communists have been elected to the Duma, Russia's
parliament.
Chapter 3 Review Questions
1. Compare and contrast the climate of Russia vs. that of Europe-why
is Russia at a disadvantage compared to Europe? Geographically speaking
why is "land encirclement" a problem for Russia?
2. Discuss the spatial impacts of communism on the economic geography
of the former Soviet Union and explain why collectivization of agriculture
was a dismal failure. Why was industrialization more successful? What
are some of the problems that plague Russia's industrial sector today?
3. How are the presence of so many internal republics (ie: Chechyna)
a problem for Russia? Is Russia a nation-state or a multicultural
state
(consult deBlij and Muller for answer)? Why is the presence of so many
ethnic Russians a problem in the newly independent Soviet Republics?
(ie: Turkestan,Baltic Republics, Ukraine etc.)
4. Discuss the unique problems that plague the Transcaucus shatterbelt.
5. Compare and contrast the Heartland vs. the Rimland Theory. Which
one seems valid in light of today's geopolitical events? What is Russia's
"Near Abroad"
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