Russia Regional

Pankaj kumar Singh

Ladoga Lake

Onega Lake

Baikal Lake

Ladoga Lake

Onega Lake

Baikal Lakec

Trans Siberian Railway

St. Petersburg Region

Vladivostok

Leningrand Region

Moscow Region

Middle Volga Region

Ural Region

Kuznetsk Region

Leningrand Region

Ural Region

Kuznetsk Region

Moscow Region

Middle Volga Region

Rivers and Lakes of Russia

Drainage

The longest of Russia's waterways, most of which are predominantly snow-fed and only utilised in spring and summer.

• Three Great Siberian Rivers of Russia: Ob, Yenisei, and Lena. Fed by the great water reservoirs of the country's southern mountains, and flow parallel to one another from south to north toward the frozen Arctic Ocean.

• Arctic Ocean also receives water from northeastern Siberia (Indigirka and Kolyma Rivers), and from north European Russia (Northern Dvina and Pechora Rivers.

• Don flows to the Black Sea.

• Lastly, a huge area of European Russia is interior drainage. since it drains— especially by means of the Volga, its principal river, which is also the longest in Europe—into the Caspian Sea, the largest lake on earth, now subdivided among Russia, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Iran, and Azerbaijan.

Lakes of Russia

Baikal in southern Siberia—a classic tectonic lake with its elongated shape and great depth

Lakes Ladoga and Onega, in European Russia themselves the largest in Europe.

Lakes of Russia

• Baikal in southern Siberia — a classic tectonic lake ( formed due to Plate movement) with its elongated shape and great depth

• Lakes Ladoga and Onega, in European Russia themselves the largest in Europe.

Steppe

Mixed Forest

Taiga

Tundra

Vegetation Belts

Regional differences in climate result in a natural distribution of vegetation, which are cut across by a series of major west-to-east belts marked by distinctive kinds. Different vegetation belts from north to south are

1. Tundra Vegetation : from the Norwegian frontier (Europe to the Pacific).

2. Taiga: South of Tundra, lies the world's largest forest, the Soviet taiga or coniferous forest.

3. Mixed deciduous: Still farther south, parallel belts of mixed forest.

4. Steppe: To the south of mixed deciduous, lies the temperate grassland steppe which stretch across the western Soviet Union and deep into Siberia.

Together the mixed forest and steppe comprise a 'Fertile Triangle’

Wheat

Barley, Rye & Potato, Sugarbeet

Potato, Sugarbeet

Barley, Rye

Agricultural crops

Wheat - spring wheat in the Don basin, the middle Volga, and above all in the formerly virgin lands of Siberia.

Barley - Suitable for the more northerly and mountainous area. Found in northern European Russia up to 65°N latitude and in Siberia in certain proportion used as making beer, it is used as an animal feed, also growing rye, because both can tolerate acid soil.

Potato, Sugar beets - Occupies an important position among Russian root crops . Traditionally used for food but also for the production of alcohol. It is at home in the cold, wet terrain between 50° and 60° N latitude.

Sunflowers in the northern Caucasus and Soyabeans in the Far East

Fruits and vegetables are grown in small privately owned fields.

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Coniferous Forest ( Taiga )

Forests

About half of Russia's territory is occupied by immense forests, representing roughly one fifth of the world's forest cover. The great majority consists of conifers, which occupy almost all of Siberia from the southern borders to 70° latitude.

Animal RearingCattle are found almost everywhere, at least wherever useable farmland

is located, as the lower Volga ( sheep and goats) or wherever labour is scarce cattle are rearing (many parts of Siberia).

Other animals worth mentioning are the yaks of the Altai, polar-region dogs (such as the Siberian), furbearing animals, and especially reindeer, extremely important to human survival in the tundra and northern taiga, where they provide meat, clothing, and transport.

Fishing

• Despite the problems presented by long periods of freezing in coastal waters, fishing in Russia is of considerable and one of the world's most important producers of ocean fish.

• World leader in the production of freshwater fish (extracted from the Volga, Don, Ob, Yennesey, Lena and a number of natural and artificial lakes), and also one of the world's most important producers of ocean fish,

• Dried, salted, smoked, frozen, or canned, fish is a fundamental element of the Russian diet, and is the basis for a small but lucrative export trade.

Iron Ore

Magnitogorsk ( Largest in the world – 1/6th )

Kola Peninsula

Kuznetsk

Iron ore

Iron ore

“Magnitogorsk" in the Central Russian Upland contain one sixth of all world reserves of iron, and at a very high concentration (55-70%) & Kuzbass

Other regions with iron ore deposits are Kola Peninsula .

Bauxite

Lake Ladoga

Ural

Copper

Kola Peninsula

Ural

1. Copper- The Urals and the Kola peninsula contain good reserves

2. Lead and Zinc - The Siberian mountains,

3. Bauxite - The Urals and in the Ladoga region.

Coal Field

3

2

1

4

Pechora BasinMoscow

Donbas Kuzbas

4

Coal

• Donbas! Basin - Lies to the north of Black Sea and Sea of Azov, yields both anthracite and high grade bituminous coal.

• Kuzbas Bassin - East of Ural on the upper Ob in Western Siberia.

• The Moscow—Tula coalfields, low-grade lignite coal is extracted.

• Other minor coalfields—Scattered deposits of bituminous and lignite in the Ural region, Pechora in northern European Russia.

Petrol

Petroleum and Natural Gas

• Deposits between the Volga and the Urals, known as the “Second Baku”.

• Perm, Kuybyshev, Orenburg (Southern Urals), Tyumen, Tomsk and the Sakhaline island (eastern Siberia) are other important regions of oil deposits.

• Natural gas comes from the Ukraine.

80%

20%

Hydroelectric Power

• Hydroelectric power is generated in substantial

• 80 per cent of the potential H.E.P. lies in the Asiatic Russia part.

• Volga and the Don have improved the navigability of the rivers to their outlets at the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea respectively. There are two huge dams on the River Volga at Volgograd and Kuvbyshev.

• Other large power stations include those of Irkutsk, Bratsk, the largest single H.E.P. plant in the world, and Krasnoyarsk in Siberia.

Industrial Regions

Industrial Regions

There are six areas of prime industrial significance:

(i)The Moscow Region, (ii) Leningrad region

(iii) The middle Volga Region (iv) The Urals region

(v) Kuznetsk region.

Leningrand Region

The Leningrad region

Leningrad (originally known as St. Petersburg) is the second largest Soviet city and the country's principal port.

LocationThe location of Leningrad is a strategic one, at the

entrance of the Baltic Sea and it is the European terminus of Trans-Siberian Railway (8960 km long).

Moscow Region

The Moscow Region,

Surrounding Moscow - Moscow-Tula-Gorky Region.

Factors of Moscow Region

(i) Central location - western plains and it is the major focus centre.

(ii)Transportation - It lies at the centre of the Soviet rail and air networks, which connect it to all parts of the country. Also well connected by rivers, Volga and Ob draining it; and with the Baltic, White. Azov, Black and Caspian Seas by canal transportation.

(iv)Power - Power from Volga power stations

(v)Oil and Gas - gas and oil pipelines from the Ukraine, north Caucasus, the Volga-Urals fields, central Asia, and western Siberia supply the Moscow region with important sources of energy.

(v) Densely populated region - provide large skilled labour pool, as well as a large market.

Middle Volga Region

The Middle-Volga RegionMajor industrial cities of the region

Found scattered along the Volga River from Kazan southward, for example, Kuybyshev, Volgograd and Saratov.

Factors for industrial development

Extensive energy resources - major petroleum-producing area like Volga-Urals fields, but also has important gas fields and surplus HEP generated chain of dams along the River Volga and its large tributary. The largest units are found near Volgograd and Kuybyshev.

Transportation - The Volga River system forms the major water route of the country, carrying more than 60 per cent of the total freight transported by river. Water, rail and pipeline network has not only stimulated development of mid Volga's energy resources but also allowed the expansion of industrial activities in the surrounding areas.

Ural Region

The Urals

After Moscow Region the Urals rank 2nd in terms of overall industrial production. This region extends from Magnitogorsk, through Perm to Nizhni Tagil. The industrial development of this region is comparatively recent, only after World War II.

Mineral Resources

Though the region is devoid of good quality coking coal for metallurgical purposes, it is rich in other mineral deposits like copper in the central Urals ; iron ore at Magnitogorsk and Nizhni-Tagil.

Kuznetsk Region

The Kuznetsk Region

East of the Urals is the Kuznetsk industrial region.

Factors for its industrial development

(i) enormous deposits of coal, much of it suitable for coking;

(ii)Power - oil deposits nearby at Tyumen, Surgui .

(iii) hydroelectric power availability;

(iv) location on the Trans-Siberian Railroad and the Ob River;

(v) availability of minerals iron ore at Kuznetskiy