1- Russia and the Western Republics

I) A History of Expansion
A) Birth of an Empire
a) the Russian state started between the Baltic and Black Seas
b) Vikings began a settlement near today’s capital of Ukraine, Kiev
c) Mongol invaders called Tatars took over the region in the 1200s and ruled until the
1500s
d) Ivan the Great, a powerful prince out of the city of Moscow, was able to push the
Mongols out in the 1500s
(i) he and his descendents then conquered east, reaching the Pacific Ocean by the
1700s
B) Russia Lags Behind Western Europe
a) while Russia took new territories, its science and technology lagged behind Europe
b) Peter the Great
(i) in the late 1600s and early 1700s, Peter the Great was czar of Russia
(ii) he pushed to improve technologies to make Russia competitive with powerful
European kingdoms
1 when he was a teenager, he lived in the Netherlands for a few years learning
their secrets of shipbuilding to take home with him
(iii) he also moved the capital from Moscow to a new city on the Baltic Sea, now
called St. Petersburg
1 this was closer to Europe, which meant they could increase trade
c) after Peter the Great, Russia was better off but still lagging behind
(i) the Industrial Revolution swept through the West in the early 1800s, but Russia
didn’t begin the process until the 1890’s
1 when it did, harsh working conditions, low wages, and other problems led the
people to be angry with their rulers
C) The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union
a) during WWI, when Russia was committing resources to a war the people didn’t want,
they finally revolted
(i) many had been starving and watched resources that could have helped them go to
a war they were not interested in
b) 1917 the Russian Revolution occurred
(i) the Russian Communist Party, led by Vladimir Lenin, took control
1 they quickly took control of all levels of government and the economy
c) by 1922, the Communists reorganized regions by their ethnicities and reformed
themselves into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), aka Soviet Union
(i) moved the capital back to Moscow
d) by 1939 and WWII, Joseph Stalin was the head of the USSR
(i) he began fighting Hitler in 1941, but even though he fought on the side of the
Allies, tensions between very different ideas (capitalist vs. communist) increased
(ii) after the war, Stalin took control of regions east of Berlin and put pro-communist
puppets in charge
1 the US and Western Europe saw this as a new form of Russian expansion, and
began to work to undermine Soviet authority
 2 this eventually devolved into spy vs. spy, agency vs. agency, but was called
the Cold War because it never developed into open warfare
 the rivalry continued until the 1980s, when Mikhail Gorbachev started
giving some civil liberties to the people within the Soviet Union
 the people began to demand more, and strains with them, the economy,
and various other factors led to the end of the Soviet Union in 1991
e) after the Soviet Union, the region split by ethnicity into 15 independent republics
(i) the Russian Federation is by far the most powerful
II) Building a Command Economy
A) An Economic Dream
a) Karl Marx, a German philosopher, argued that those who work at the lowest levels,
who make up the largest part of the population, should be in charge of the economy
and governments
(i) he predicted that the poor who prop up the few wealthy in a capitalist society
would overthrow capitalism eventually
1 then people would share all property and wealth and be equal
2 he was almost correct
B) A Harsh Reality
a) in an attempt to create a perfect socialist society, the Soviets created a command
economy
(i) means the government controls all important economic decisions
1 they took all farms, mines, factories, banks, and transportation over
2 government planners then determined how each would be used
b) this was when industrialization was hitting hardest, and the planners decided to focus
all attention on being advanced enough to compete with Europe
(i) this naturally led to only a few truly benefitting from the changes, and the people
ended up in a worse position than before
1 when people tried to make changes, they were treated brutally by the police
under Stalin’s rule
 he’s believed to have been responsible for anywhere between 14 and 20
million people being put to death
III) A Rich Culture
A) Ethnicity and Religion
a) after centuries of expansion, Russia includes dozens of ethnicities and religions
(i) Russians make up about 80% of the population
(ii) the most popular religion is Eastern (Greek) Orthodox Christianity
b) Art
(i) art and architecture follow patterns of Orthodox Christianity
1 known for onion shaped domes and angular features on people
(ii) writers
1 Pushkin, Chekov, Dostoyevsky are the best known
 best known story is probably Little Red Riding Hood
(iii) composers
1 Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky most well known
(iv) art suffered under Soviet rule and focused on socialist society being good
pg. 367 (1, 3)

2- Transcaucasia

I) A Gateway of Migration
A) A Variety of Cultures
a) due to many trade routes crossing the region over the years, more than 50 different
groups of people live in the area
(i) they speak a variety of languages
B) Migration Brings Religion
a) most people are either Christian (Eastern Orthodox) or Muslim
(i) Georgia is the world’s oldest Christian state (a king made the state Christian in
301 CE, 13 years before the Romans)
(ii) Muslim invaders in the 7th century converted many, especially in Azerbaijan
C) Conflict
a) the USSR was able to force the peace between conflicting groups, but after its
collapse many wars broke out, including a civil war in Georgia and a war between
Armenia and Azerbaijan over contested territory
II) A History of Outside Control
A) Czarist and Soviet Rule
a) various invaders and kings ruled the region over the years, but in the 1700’s the czars
of Russia began to cross the Caucasus Mountains
b) by 1723, Peter the Great conquered Azerbaijan
c) 1801, Russia annexed Georgia
d) 1828, Russian armies took Armenia
e) by the 1870’s, Russia considered Transcaucasia as part of the Russian Empire
f) due to the Revolution of 1917, the republics gained independence until the Soviet Red
Army took back the territory in the 1920’s
(i) under Soviet rule, the region suffered famines and problems associated with
central rule that was far away from the people
(ii) they regained independence in 1991, but have struggled to rebuild since
III) Economic Potential
A) Agriculture and Industry
a) the climate is comfortable due to the mountains containing heat and moisture from
the Mediterranean, Black, and Caspian Seas
(i) the soil is rich and provides easy farming
b) industrial centers were built by the Soviets, and while good for the economy, it was
not very good for the environment
(i) tourism was once profitable, but few visit the region now
c) today, the oil industry is the most profitable
(i) many pipelines cross the region
B) Land of Flames
a) Azerbaijan translates to “Land of Flames” because huge deposits of oil and natural
gas would spontaneously combust and fires would simply appear on rocks and water
C) Dividing the Caspian Sea
a) since the fall of the Soviet Union, the region has argued over the use of the Caspian
 (i) some think it is a sea, which means they divide regions up and use the resources
they are provided
(ii) others say it is a lake, and all countries would share use of the lake
IV) Modern Life in Transcaucasia
A) An Educated People
a) the Soviet Union pushed education in the region
(i) very few were literate in 1917, but after the fall of the Soviet Union the literacy
rate was 99%

pg. 374 (1, 3)

3- Central Asia

I) A Historical Crossroads
A) The Silk Road
a) the name of a special trade route that brought silk from China
(i) the route also traded gold, silver, ivory, jade, wine, perfumes, etc
b) the road spread ideas, technology, and religion
c) the road was expensive, and eventually most stopped using it and began sailing
B) The Great Game
a) a struggle between the Russian Empire and British Empire for control of Central Asia
(i) both sides sent officers in disguise on journeys to create maps of the region to win
local leaders to their side
(ii) Russia won, and later the Soviet Union took control
II) An Uncertain Economic Future
A) Nuclear Testing
a) between 1949 and 1989, extensive nuclear testing was done outside a city in
Kazakhstan
(i) 470 devices were detonated, some cracking walls in towns 50 miles away
b) winds spread nuclear fallout, exposing more than 1 million people to radiation
(i) there was then a dramatic increase in leukemia, thyroid cancer, birth defects, and
mental illness
B) Petroleum and Prosperity
a) recently discovered oil fields give hope for the region to improve economically
b) a lack of organized government keeps these resources from being used to benefit the
people
III) Cultures Divided and Conquered
A) Soviets Form Nations
a) the Soviets redrew lines for regions dominated by particular ethnic groups
(i) the Kazakhs became Kazakhstan, the Uzbeks became Uzbekistan, etc
1 the Soviets deliberately left chunks of land that held one ethnic group in the
possession of other ethnic groups to ensure all areas had a minority of people
to keep the tensions high
 about 15% of Tajikistan is populated by Uzbeks, and two major cities in
Uzbekistan are populated by ethnic Tajiks
B) Language and Religion
 a) one of the few unifying forces in the region is religion- most people are Muslim
b) the languages of the region are from old Turkish (left from the Ottoman Empire), and
most also speak Russian
IV) The Survival of Tradition
A) Nomadic Heritage
a) herders roam the grasslands with their animals
(i) their numbers were reduced greatly by Soviets forcing them onto farms, but some
still remain
B) Yurts
a) light and portable tents used by the nomadic herders
b) their most prized possession
(i) hand-woven carpets are laid inside, and are probably the most recognizable
possession due to the beautifully complex designs and colors
C) Preserving Traditions
a) in order to keep the nomadic heritage alive, some families in Kyrgyzstan have started
taking tourists out with them so people can experience the lifestyle

pg. 379 (1, 3)