http://www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Russia/russia.htm

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The Commonwealth of Independent States
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 Armenia (1991)  Azerbaijan (1993)  Belarus (1991)  Kazakhstan (1991)  Kyrgyzstan (1991)  Moldova (1994)  Russia (1991)  Tajikistan (1991)  Ukraine (1991)  Uzbekistan (1991) Associate member  Turkmenistan (associate member since 2005)  Georgia (1993 outside the Council of Defense Ministers)
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Meaning of the colorsSky-blue peaceful sky, and spiritual sphere. White purity, prosperity and yellow (gold) for the light, warmth, life and eternal dignity. http//www.allstates-flag.com/fotw/flags/int-cis.html
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How the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) affects us.
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The U.S. has military bases is located in southern Uzbekistan not far from Tajikistan and in Kyrgyzstan. The United States began leasing both Soviet-era bases during the run-up to the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. They are used primarily to station soldiers, refueling jets, and cargo planes. Each airfield houses roughly 1,000 U.S. troops and civilian contractors.
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How the CIS affects you Russia has vast oil reserves. How much did you or your parents pay for gasoline the last time you bought it?
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Physical Geography
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Location
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Comparison of the United States of America and the Commonwealth of Independent States
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What does the next picture tell us?
Start by analyzing it as a geographer would.
North and South (latitude) East and West (longitude)
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Is it the same time in Paris and Moscow? Are the time zones drawn on lines of latitude or lines of longitude? Whats the difference?
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Climate
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The central fact of the Russian climate, which has a deep effect on the national psyche, is its long, dark, very cold winters, whose severity is explained by the fact that so much of the country is so far north and so far from the open sea. The same geographical factors also create light, hot summer days.
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http//www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Russia
/russia.htm
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D - Continental Climates can be found in the interior regions of large land masses. Total precipitation is not very high and seasonal temperatures vary widely. f - Moist with adequate precipitation in all months and no dry season. w - There is a dry season in the winter of the respective hemisphere (low-sun season).
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Continental Climate Effect of distance on moderating influence that water has on climate. This is called Continentality. The effect of distance on climate. Such regions usually experience hot summers and colder winters. Oceans keeps climates milder in winter and cooler in summer. This is because deep bodies of water heat and cool more slowly than a large mass of land. Continental climates are often found to be relatively dry.
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SCIENCE!!!
Remember seas can moderate land temperatures because water heats and cools more slowly than land
Why is this? heat from the sun (radiation) goes through water but not soil or rock water is slower to heat than soil or rock (specific heat greater than rock) water is fluid and mixes water cools when it evaporates.
Introduction to Physical Geography, 101
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Path of the sun at 400 N. latitude
What does low-sun   mean? The suns path in the sky above the horizon. When the sun is high in the sky (noon), the angle between the horizon and the sun is 900. Insolation (incoming solar radiation) is greatest when the sun is overhead and its rays are vertical. The farther north you go the more the sun travels across the sky at an angle.
CEq is the celectial equator a great circie on the imaginary celestial sphere in the same place as the earths equator. NCP is the North Celestial Pole and correspond directly to its geographic counterparts.
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Physical features
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Taiga
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What type of plants and animals live in this area?
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Taiga
Taiga is the Russian word for forest. The winters in the taiga are very cold with only snowfall. The summers are warm, rainy, and humid. Coldness and food shortages make things very difficult, mostly in the winter.
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A lot of coniferous trees grow in the taiga. The taiga is also known as the boreal forest. Coniferous trees are also known as evergreens. Evergreens don't loose their leaves in the winter like deciduous trees. Evergreens in the taiga tend to be thin and grow close together. This gives them protection from the cold and wind.
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Longitude and Latitude are not the only things that affect climate.
Mountains and deserts encircle Russia (8) Caucasus in S.W. (Caucasus Mountains) (7) Central Asian in Center (Altai Mountains) (6) Eastern Highlands facing Pacific Mountains, e.g., the Stanovoy Range. How could this affect the climate?
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Answer Warm subtropical air has little opportunity to penetrate Russia, while cold Artic air sweeps southward without impediment. Blip, H.J. Muller, P., Concepts and Regions in Geography (2005). (p. 80). (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J. John Wiley Sons, Inc.
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Russian Plain 2. Ural Mountains 3. West Siberian Plain 4. Central Siberian Plain 5. Yakutsk Basin 6. Eastern Highlands 7. Central Asian Ranges 8. Caucasus Mountains

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Ural Mountains Some geographers consider this the dividing line between Europe and Asia. Caucasus Mountains Separates Black and Caspian Seas and the border between Russia and the Transcausasian Republics. Lake Baikal The worlds deepest lake. It holds 20 of the worlds fresh water.
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Core Heart, center, or focus.
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The headwaters of the Siberian Rivers like the Ob River are Mountains (Altai). Water flows downhill because of gravity. Which direction does the Ob River flow?
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Whats the difference between the Don and the Volga Rivers? World Geography, p. 347.
Caspian Sea
Black Sea
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Natural Resources
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2003 Imports Exports
Total Trade in Goods (USD) 76.1 135.9
Agricultural raw materials 1 3
Food products 19 2
Hydrocarbons 2 53
Manufactured Products 66 21
Ores and metals 2 7
Other 10 14
Russian Imports and Exports
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Agriculture
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http//www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Russia/russia.htm
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Northern European plain fertile soils chernozem (black earth) location of agricultural regions Russia is in a risky zone for farming, because the average soil fertility level is low http//www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Russia/russia.htm The most agriculturally valuable major soil grouping - Chernozems - occupies about 6 percent of the land area http//www.fao.org/ag/AGP/AGPC/doc/Counprof/Russia/russia.htm
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Human Geography
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The CIS is a land of many religions. What is an Orthodox religion?
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Central Asia
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Photographs of Central Asia from http//www.herwigphoto.com/centralasia.htm
Train traveling across the Kazakh steppe
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Traditional Kyrgyz felt hat called a Kalpak in a sea of police hats in Bishkek
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Pamir highway across the roof of the world
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Ashabat in Turkmenistan
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Revolving bar and restaurant atop Tashkents TV tower in Uzbekistan
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Aral Sea Once the 4th largest lake in the world Ecological, environmental, and health problems Improper irrigation caused excessive water usage

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In the early 1960's, the Soviet central government decided to make the Soviet Union self-sufficient in cotton and increase rice production. Water was taken from the two rivers that feed the Aral Sea. Aral Sea experienced a severe drop in water level, shoreline receded, and its salt content increased. The marine environment became hostile to the sea life in it, killing the plants and animals. As the marine life died, the fishing industry suffered. http//orexca.com/aral_sea.shtml
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Why would the salt level increase if water is removed?
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The water that would have replenished the Aral Sea was diverted for agricultural purposes Water in the lake evaporated and was not replaced by water from streams and rivers Evaporation removes only pure water This leaves the salt in water behind This increases the salinity of the water http//www.geology.sdsu.edu/classes/geol551/c2waterbudgets/mbstudentversion.pdf
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Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
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In Moscow, the capital of Russia in the Russian Core.
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St. Basil's Cathedral built by Ivan the Terrible on the edge of Red Square between 1555 and 1561 to commemorate military campaign against the Tartar Mongols in 1552. Legend says Tsar ordered the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again.
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Transcaucasia
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The External Southern Periphery Transcaucasia made up of three countries Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
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Chechnya oil pipelines and refineries Islamic majority entire population exiled in central Asia during Stalin's rule returned later did not sign the Russian Federation Treaty wanted independence Russian troops intervened fought Russian army to a stalemate terrorist attacks http//www.harpercollege.edu/mhealy/geg101i/regions/russiabb.htm
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Ukraine
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Ukraine is undergoing profound political and economic change as it moves from its Soviet past toward a market economy, multi-party democracy, and integration into Euro-Atlantic and other international institutions. http//travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1053.html second largest country in Europe. mostly a broad, flat plain - slightly smaller than Texas. In the fertile soil of the central and southern regions, agriculture is a top industry. Other industry is based on the country's rich mineral resources, including coal and iron ore. http//www.ocean.udel.edu/blacksea/geography/index.html
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