The Russian Domain Notes

• The Russian Domain notes

History

• The Mongols in the 13th century, Napoleon in 1812, and Germany in 1941 represent 3 major invasions
• 27 million Soviet civilians and soldiers lost their lives in WW2
• Russia grew from small beginnings, similar to Britain, and became an imperial power
• Tsars were authoritarian royal leaders who dominated government prior to the 1917 Russian Revolution
• Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, Alexander I, and Nicholas II were some of the most famous rulers
• There was an attempt to Russify the empire by teaching people Russian and encouraging people to convert to Russian orthodoxy

Kremlin

• The fortified complex in the center of Moscow was founded by the Russian ruling dynasty, the Rurikids
• It is best known as the Kremlin’s (Russian citadels) and includes 5 palaces, 4 cathedrals, and the enclosing Kremlin Wall with Kremlin towers
• The Rurikids ruled Kievan Rus', and ultimately the Tsardom of Russia, until 1598; they had numerous noble families claiming male-line descent from Rurik

The Russian Revolution

• The Bolsheviks, a Russian Marxist political group, led the Russian Revolution
• Vladimir Lenin led the Bolsheviks to create a socialist state, which drastically affected Eurasian economics and politics

Socialism

• Socialism is a form of government where most forms of property, including at least the major means of production and natural resources, are owned or controlled by the state

The Russian Revolution

• Joseph Stalin, who ruled from 1922-1953, was an extreme authoritarian leader who centralized state power
• Stalin's collectivization of agriculture led to a famine which killed between 6 and 8 million people between 1932-1933

Former Soviet Satellite "Republics"

• Estonia: Baltic Republic
• Latvia: Baltic Republic
• Lithuania: Russia
• Belarus: Ukraine
• Transnistria: Disputed Territories
• Moldova: Ukraine
• Crimea: Disputed Territories
• Georgia: Caucasus
• Armenia: Caucasus
• Azerbaijan: Caucasus
• Nagorno-Karabakh: Disputed Territories
• Abkhazia: Disputed Territories
• South Ossetia: Disputed Territories
• Turkmenistan: Central Asia
• Uzbekistan: Central Asia
• Tajikistan: Central Asia
• Kyrgyzstan: Central Asia

End of the Soviet System

• Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev instituted glasnost, or openness in the 1980s
• Glasnost is a policy or practice of more open consultative government and wider dissemination of information, initiated from 1985
• Perestroika is to moving away from a planned centralized economy towards one with free markets and more private business
• Perestroika is the policy or practice of restricting or reforming the economic and political system
• During this period a failing war against Afghanistan occurred

Geopolitics

• During the 20th century, the Soviet Union's (USSR) military and political power spanned the world and was close in strength to the U.S. as a superpower
• Vladimir Putin centralized power after 2000 as president, leading to economic stability, but also a crackdown on freedoms
• Denuclearization with the U.S. was important in the latter decades of the Cold War
• Kazakhstan, Ukraine, and Belarus, former Soviet states, lost their nuclear weapons in the 1990s
• Russia has recently and in the past seen influence of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as a threat

Economy

• Russia's large quantity of oil and natural gas have given them a strong global economy, but an unpredictable one because these prices fluctuate often
• After the fall of the Soviet Union or post - 1991, Russia has had to rebuild and create a new economy, one that would be more free market oriented
• Most of the economic growth has come from cities and rural areas continue to struggle with poverty
• A lot of poverty is in central and Northern Siberia, similar to poor rural indigenous people in the U.S., Canada, and Australia
• Economic growth occurred in the early 2000s because of rising oil and gas prices
• Corruption and bribery are also issues
• Globalization has helped the economy, as has foreign investment in Russia, but it also hurts older less competitive firms
• Russia is considered an emerging market economy like Brazil and India
• Russia is 11th in the world GDP, and 61st in GDP/Capita
• Agriculture contributes about 5.6% to GDP, followed by industry and service, which contribute 26.6% and 67.8% respectively

Physical Geography

• Endless Siberian/cold climate spaces
• Russia has a lot of natural resources including iron ore, manganese, and chromium
• The Volga is the longest river
• Environment damaged from exploitation and overdevelopment
• Nuclear fallout from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant meltdown
• The Ural mountains are a historical culture boundary separating eastern and western Russia, also European and Asian sides of Russia

Moscow

• Built from 1555-1561

Culture and Heritage

• The origin of Russia lies in the Slavic people, a northern branch of the Indo-European language family
• Slavic languages include Russian, Ukrainian, and Belarusian
• Non-Slavic languages include Romanian and Armenian
• Slavic neighbors include Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenians, and Croatians
• Religion is primarily Eastern Orthodox Christianity
• There is a history of popular composers (Igor Stravinsky), novelists (Fyodor Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy), and playwrights (Anton Checkhov)
• A Russian saying, “Only fools smile without any reason.”

Russian War Memorial

• In an open village of Dubosekovo (60 miles from Moscow) one can find a monumental complex devoted to the so-called 28 Panfilov heroes. Six 32 feet-high sculptures glorify the deeds of troops from the 316th Rifle Division who served under the command of Major General Ivan Panfilov
• On the 16th November 1941, during the German offensive on Moscow, 28 soldiers from this unit took out 18 enemy tanks in 4 hours of intense fighting
• A famous phrase “Russia is a vast land, yet there is nowhere to retreat - Moscow is behind us!” was spoken by one of the Panfilov soldiers

Ukraine

• Since 2022, Ukraine has been fighting a full-scale war against Russia, following Russia's invasion and the conflict has major global political and economic consequences
• Ukraine is one of the world's largest producers of wheat, corn, and sunflower oil, earning the nickname “the breadbasket of Europe."
• Ukraine has a distinct national identity, with a rich history dating back to Kyivan Rus, considered a cultural and political predecessor of modern Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia

Belarus

• Alexander Lukahenko has ruled Belarus since 1994, making it one of the most authoritarian states in Europe
• Belarus is a close ally of Russia, allowing Russian military operations within its borders, especially during the 2022 invasion of Ukraine
• Belarus has harsh crackdowns on political opposition, protests, and independent media, leading to international sanctions

Moldova

• A breakaway region called Transnistria, backed by Russia, has declared independence from Moldova, creating ongoing tensions
• Moldova is seeking European Union (EU) membership and has been granted EU candidate status
• Moldova is one of Europe's poorest countries, facing economic struggles due to its reliance on agriculture and energy dependence on Russia

Georgia

• Russia occupies about 20% of Georgia's internationally recognized territory (Abkhazia and South Ossetia) after conflicts in the 1990s and the 2008 Russia-Georgia war
• Georgia is pursuing closer ties with the European Union and NATO, though full membership remains uncertain due to Russian opposition
• Georgia has a unique geographic position, featuring the Caucasus Mountains and the Black Sea, which shape its climate and economy

Armenia

• Armenia has long standing tensions with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh, a region with a historically Armenian population that Azerbaijan regained control of in 2023
• Armenia was the first country to officially adopt Christianity as a state religion in 301 AD
• The Armenian Apolistic Church remains central as its identity
• Armenia has a large global diaspora in the U.S., France, and Russia, which plays a major role in its economy and politics through remittances and lobbying efforts