Annotated Learning Objectives
Chapter Two
Having learned the regional geography of Russia, you should be able to:
1. Understand the overall climatic pattern of this realm.
Pages 112-113
· Climate is introduced in the section “The Physical Environment,” which begins on page 112.
· Refer back to Figure I.8 (pages 14-15) in the Introduction to see the climatic regions of Russia.
2. Grasp the essential ingredients of Russia's complex historical evolution, including the contributions of major groups that effected lasting change.
Pages 114-118
· The “Evolution of the Russian State” section, beginning on page 114, chronicles the basic history of this realm. Discussion of influential groups and individuals are included as subsections.
· An important aspect of Russian evolution was the expansion of territorial control through colonialism. “The Colonial Legacy” section (pages 117-118) gives a brief overview of this phase of Russian evolution.
· Figure 2.3 (page 115) is a map showing the chronological growth of the Russian empire from 1462 to 1945.
3. Understand the significance of the Soviet period and its legacy for Russia's current circumstances.
Pages 118-125
· The Soviet period had a profound impact on contemporary Russia. Read the “Soviet Legacy” section, beginning on page 118, for an introduction to this period. This section includes subsections on the political framework and the economic framework of the Soviet Union.
· The textbox “The Soviet Federation and its Legacy” (pages 120-121) discusses the concept of a federation and how this was applied in the Soviet Union.
· Figure 2.5 (page 121) is a map of territory controlled by the Soviets as their empire.
· Figure 2.6 (pages 124-125) is a map of the Russian realm showing major cities, railroads, and roads.
4. Understand Russia's cultural-geographic mosaic and its relationship to the churning matrix of internal republics.
Pages 126-132
· The political geography of Russia, and its attendant cultural mosaic, is introduced in the “Russia's Changing Political Geography” section that begins on page 126.
· Figure 2.7 (pages 128-129) provides a map of Russia's internal divisions.
· Also read the section on “Changing Social Geographies” that begins on page 131.
5. Appreciate the ongoing spatial reorganization of Russia's economy necessitated by the detachment of its 14 neighboring former Soviet Socialist Republics, especially Ukraine and Kazakhstan.
Pages 100-101, 122-123, 126-131, 326-329
· The subsection (pages 122-123) “The Soviet Economic Framework” discusses the economic role, prior to the breakup of the Soviet Union, of some of the republics that were lost in the breakup of the USSR. It also briefly mentions some of the major effects of those losses.
· The effect of the loss of various republics is briefly discussed in the last paragraph on page 123.
· The section on “Russia's Changing Political Geography” (pages 126-131) is also relevant to this learning objective.
· Refer back to Chapter 1 for a discussion about the Ukraine, on pages 100-101 in the subsection “Countries Facing the Black Sea.”
· Discussion on Kazakhstan is included in Chapter 6, North Africa/Southwest Asia on pages 326-329.
6. Understand Russia's international political boundary problems, particularly in the eastern reaches of the country.
Pages 132-133, 143-144
· Boundary problems with China are discussed in the subsection “Russia's Role in the World,” which begins on page 132.
· Figure 2.9 maps the areas that are subject to boundary conflict in the east.
· The Eastern Frontier subregion of the Russian realm is introduced in the section that begins on page 143.
7. Map and describe the leading functions of the realm's four major regions.
Pages 133-147
· Figure 2.10 (page 134) displays the four regions within the Russian realm.
· Each region, and the various subregions, are discussed beginning on page 133.
· Figure 2.11 (page 135) is a map showing the location of Russia's manufacturing regions.
8. Appreciate the ongoing ethnic and territorial conflict in the shatter belt of Transcaucasia.
Pages 130-142
· The Chechnyan conflict is mentioned in the last paragraph on page 130.
· Figure 2.13 is a map of Transcaucasia. Note that this map uses the core versus periphery concept.
· The subsection “The Internal Southern Periphery” (pages 138-139) gives an overview of the problems Russia faces internally, particularly in Chechnya.
· The subsection “The External Southern Periphery” (pages 140-142) discusses the ongoing conflict within the region known as Transcaucasia.
9. Locate the major physical, cultural, and economic-spatial features of the realm on an outline map.
Pages 106-142
· You must integrate information from throughout the chapter to fulfill this objective.
· You may find the map at the beginning of the chapter helpful (Figure 2.1, pages 106-107).