Russia and Central Asia Economics WS
1. Is Russia a developed or a developing country?
2. Why isn’t there a great deal of developed infrastructure in Siberia?
3. When did the Cold War occur?
4. What type of government did the Soviet Union use?
5. Why have most communist countries been poor?
6. Other than Russia, list three countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.
7. Where is the Fertile Triangle?
8. Why aren’t Russia’s transportation links near many of its natural resources?
9. How long did the Soviet Union exist before it dissolved into 15 independent
countries?
10. What type of soil is common in the Fertile Triangle?
11. How is a communist economy different from a capitalist (free market) economy?
12. Why is the Aral Sea shrinking?
13. What types of energy resources can be found in Siberia?
14. Other than arable land, what else is found in the Fertile Triangle that makes industry possible?
15. What form of infrastructure connects Moscow with the Pacific coast of Russia?
16. Why aren’t many of Russia’s rivers usable for shipping and transportation?
17. What is chernozem?
18. Why are most of the former countries of the Soviet Union still poor?
19. What type of power is generated by the falling water of Russia’s rivers?
20. List three reasons why Russia’s resources are poorly developed.
21. Not counting Russia, are the former republics of the Soviet Union developed or developing countries?
22. Why is Russia’s location poor for shipping, even though it borders thousands of miles of ocean water?
23. What natural resource that is piped from its source to industrial areas, causes fierce competition from foreign countries?
24. Many people say that the Soviet Union did more damage to its land than any other country in the history of the world. List three examples that would support this argument.
25. Which sea is the source of many oil pipelines in Russia and the former Soviet republics?
26. What type of farming is popular in the Fertile Triangle?
27. Where can you find significant cotton production in Central Asia?
28. How many former Soviet republics are still communist?