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John LaBonte

Cultural Geography

Mrs. Bullock

31 May 2017

Virtual Tour Abroad Project (Russia)

Russia is the largest country in the world. The second-largest country, Canada, is only

half as big as Russia! It is located in North-Eastern Europe and shares borders with 15 other

countries. Its highest point in Mr. Elbrus (18,510 ft) and its lowest point is the Caspian Sea coast

(92 ft. below sea level). The most common terrain in Russia is flat plains that get covered with

snow for over six months of the year. Russia is divided into two sections by the Ural Mountains:

the European side and the Asian side.

Russia has a very rich history that dates back to the 3rd Century AD. Between the 3rd and

8th Century AD, the East Slavs formed the medieval state of Kievan Rus, founded and ruled by

an elite Varangian warrior. In the year 988 AD, the Grand Prince Vladimir I became a Christian,

and he made Christianity the state religion. The form of Christianity he introduced eventually

became known as Russian Orthodox Christianity. Starting in the year 1273, the Mongol leader,

Batu, gathered between 150,000 and 200,000 troops and rampaged Russia. After about 3 years,

Russia became part of the Mongol empire. However, the Mongols did not wipe away Russian

culture as they were only interested in maintaining control and collecting taxes. The city of

Moscow eventually gained its strength back and overthrew the Mongols in 1480.

This marked a new era in the history of Russia: the reign of the czars. For the next

hundreds of years, czars reigned in complete control over Russia. The last czar to reign over

Russian, Nicholas II, lost control of Russian in 1917 to Lenin, who formed the Russian
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Communist Party. Joseph Stalin succeeded Lenins rule after his death in 1924. Both Stalin and

Lenin were cruel, harsh leaders and were in it for personal gain. They strove to eliminate any

opposition to their rules and laws. After WWI, the Cold War, and WWII, in 2000 Russia elected

Vladimir Putin as their elected president and he continues to govern to this day.

The government system of Russia is pretty confusing when looking at it for the first time.

It is a republic government with the head of state being the president and the head of the

government being the prime minister. Its highest court is the Constitutional Court (which is akin

to our Supreme Court). Their legislative branch is known as the Federal Assembly, which has

two houses. The first house is the 450 person State Duma. The Duma is in charge of making the

laws for the country. The second house is called the Federation Council and it has 178 members.

While the Duma makes the laws, they must then be approved by the Federation Council and the

president. The Federation Council also must approve government appointments and actions

taken by the president such as martial law, use of armed forces, etc.

In the old government system of the Soviet Union, healthcare was free. Even now, the

modern Russian government is dedicated to providing healthcare for its people, but with the

limited budget for this area, a growth of private-sector healthcare companies is rising. While the

quantity of doctors, nurses, facilities, etc., Russia is fine, the quality could be better. Citizens

living in rural areas will have a tougher time receiving quality care than those living in urban

areas.

However, one thing that has not changed with the governments is the climate. Russia is

known for its long, extremely cold winters, and short mild-warm summers. The coldest region is

northeastern Siberia (about -50 F. avg). Russia has a moderate rainfall (about the same as the

United States), but for half of the year snow covers more than half of the entire country.
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Education has always been big in Russia. Thanks to the USSR for strictly enforcing

education policies and standards, almost all Russians can read/write. Much like the United

States, public education is free to its citizens with the option of attending private schools. All

children attend school for at least 11 years (from ages 6 until 17). Their education is divided into

two parts: the elementary education and either secondary education or vocational school). In

total, Russia has about 550 colleges (of which Moscow State is the biggest) and 2.5 million

students.

After school, many teens and young adults go off to work in one of Russias many

industries. The leading industry in Russian is machine building. Machinery is the heart and soul

of the other industries, so it would make sense for this one to be the biggest. The factories are

heavily centralized in the Moscow, Urals, Volga, and Western Siberia region. There are over 70

different branches in machine building, some of which include: robotics, computer chips, aircraft

parts, ship parts, agricultural machines, etc.

Another major industry in Russia is the chemical and petrochemical industry. This

industry consists of providing the nation with chemical raw materials mining, table salts, sulfur,

etc., and the production of synthetic rubber, plastics, etc. Fuel and energy is an extremely

important industry in any country, and Russian certainly does not lack one. The goal of this

industry is to provide electricity and fuel to all sectors of economy throughout Russia. This

industry is second only to the FEC in the United States.

Finally and arguably the most important industry in Russia is the agricultural industry.

The goal of this industry is simple: to provide all sectors of Russia with sustainable food

products. It does this through farms, processing plants, storing grain, seeds, etc., in silos, and

much more. The major agricultural crops of Russia include barley, cattle, fruits, oats, hogs,
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potatoes, rye, sheep, sugar beets sunflowers, vegetables, and wheat. Even though there are more

types of grains and crops grown, the ratio of crops to livestock is about 40% to 60% respectively.

Now what do Russians do with all of those crops and livestock? They make some of the

finest meals known to man, of course! While the traditional Russian diet is hearty, more and

more Russians are switching to fast food for convenience and economic reasons. When eating

traditional Russian food, every meal starts with a course of soup, the most popular being schi

(cabbage soup made with carrots, onions, potatoes, and beef). A popular food for special

occasions is caviar served on white bread with butter. Like most Europeans, Russians drink lots

of tea, but many urban Russians are switching to coffee. Russians also enjoy alcoholic

beverages, and their vodka in known around the world.

The biggest religion in Russia is Christianity, specifically the Russian Orthodox Church,

followed by Muslims, Roman Catholics, Protestants, Buddhists, Hindus, and Jews. Although

there is Christianity in Russia, it has its own flavor of it. For example, the Russians celebrate

Christmas on January 7th instead of December 25th. Because of the fall of the USSR, any religion

can be practiced in Russia today.

The people of Russia are very interesting! They have many different passions, and are

good at what they do. As far as Russian traditions go, most Russians celebrate Easter, Christmas,

Ivan Kupala, Maslenitsa, and weddings. Ivan Kupala is a festival that celebrates the end of June

and thus the climax of summer. In Russia this is celebrated on June 23rd. Today, it is a day to

celebrate, play pranks on ones friends, and have a good time. Perhaps the most fun Russian

holiday is pancake week (a.k.a. Maslenitsa). Although this day used to be a sad day, the Russians

turned it into a time for celebration by eating pancakes for a week!

Some things people do in America are considered very rude in Russia! For example, a

young man should never give a girl yellow flowers, as yellow flowers inside the house are

considered very bad luck. Also one should be careful to give ones date an odd number of

flowers, as an even number is for funerals. Also considered very rude is not removing ones coat

and shoes before entering someones house. When eating food, one should always make sure that

ones hands are visible to the other guests.

Russia is widely known for its good food as well as its artistic talent. Russian ballet has

become world-famous beginning in the mid-1800s. Until recently however, Russian painters

have only painted for religious regions, but after the early 1900s, things changed. Until the mid-

1700s, Russian music consisted only of church music sung in the choir and of folk music.

Classical school of music founded in mid-1800s by Mikhail Glinka. Famous Russian composers

include Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff.

Overall, Russia is a great country. It contains a caring government, is well-established in

vital industries, is known for its various foods and for its artists, and has a solid education

system. What makes Russian unique is its sheer size, customs, the percentage of people that can

read/write, etc.
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Works Cited

"Traditional Russian customs during the Pancake Week." Russian Maslenitsa, Traditions of

Russia. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June 2017.

"Agriculture, Industry of Russia." Russia Agro-industrial Complex. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 June

2017.

The World Book encyclopedia. Chicago, IL: World Book, 2009. Print.

Bollinger, Dennis E. Cultural geography. Greenville, SC: BJU Press, 2015. Print.

Meredith, Susan, Clare Hickman, Kirsteen Rogers, and Carrie A. Seay. The Usborne

encyclopedia of world religions: internet-linked. Tulsa, OK: EDC Pub., 2005. Print.