Russian Political Geography

Political Geography of Russia, the Soviet Union, and Communism

1. Russian Expansion

From 1500s to 1900, Russia expanded from a small kingdom around Moscow to a continental Empire, including many diverse people's of Asia and even Alaska

2. Russian Revolution

a. Russia collapsed during World War I

b. The Communist Party staged a revolution in 1917

c. There was a bitter civil war, in which anti-Communist forces received help from England, US and others. Communist military forces were victorious (led by General Leon Trotsky)

d. A Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was established with about 15 republics (like states).

e. Russia was the largest, most populous of these republics/states.

3. Expansion of Communism at the End of World War II in Europe

a. Soviet forces attacked German troops from the East.

Allied forces landed on Normandy and attacked German troops from the West. They met in Germany and divided it.

b. Essentially, all areas occupied by Soviet Troops became communist states:
Poland, Eastern Germany, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria

c. Areas occupied by allied forces became independent democratic states:
France, Italy, Western Germany, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark

d. Exceptions: Yugoslavia and Albania had autonomous communist movements that controlled countries after the war. Rumania became pretty independent too.
Austria was divided and became unified by neutral.

The result was that Eastern Europe had communist states that followed the Soviet model

4. Expansion of Communism in East Asia

a. Korea divided at 38 N. (Soviet forces accepted Japanese surrender in North, U.S. forces accepted Japanese surrender in South.)

b. Chinese Nationalist government weakened by Japanese invasion, occupation. Communists won revolution in 1949

c. Communist revolutionaries forced French out of Northern Vietnam in 1954, and kept fighting (U.S.) until victory in 1975.

5. In 1990-91, the Communist world collapsed

a. Eastern European states became free of Soviet influence, gave up communist model, generally (re)joined Western Europe (note NATO expansion to Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic.

b. USSR split up (see map in text book):
    i. Russia
    ii. Baltic States: Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia
    iii. Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova
    iv. Central Asian: Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kirgizia, Tajikistan
    v. Caucasus area: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia

c. Results:
    i. 15 different countries, some western democratic (esp. Baltic countries), some dictatorships
    ii. complex ethnic mixes and tensions, many states have Russian minorities, and Russia has many ethnic minorities
    iii. new economic patterns required.
    iv. Some of these states have vast petroleum resources (Kazakhstan) or sit on paths for oil pipe lines. Is this the next middle east? Persian Gulf?

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