1. Russia Vocabulary

2. Russia Vocabulary
 Siberia– area of land located between the Ural
Mountains and the Pacific Ocean
 Taiga—Vast forest of evergreen trees
 Steppe– vast, grassy plains in southern Russia
 Cyrillic Alphabet—Russian alphabet used today; it is
a form of the Greek alphabet

3. Russia Vocabulary
 Mongols (Tartars)—a group of people who invaded
Russia in the 13th century. (They conquered the city
of Kiev) The Mongols allowed Russian princes to rule
over local states. Muscovy became the strongest
state. In this region Moscow was the main city.
 Czar—means emperor. It is Russian for ―Caesar.‖

4. Russia Vocabulary
 Bolsheviks—group of radical Russian Communists
which took control of Russia’s government in the
Russian Revolution. They formed a new country
called the USSR. Their first leader was Vladimir
Lenin.
 Russian Revolution—a revolt led by the Bolsheviks
under Lenin in November 1917 that led to a period of
civil war which ended in victory for the Bolsheviks in
1922

5. Russia Revolution
 Gulags—harsh Soviet labor camps often located in
Siberia. Under Stalin’s rule, many people were sent
there because they spoke out against the
government.
 Red Square-- is a city square in Moscow. The square
separates the Kremlin from the historic merchant
quarter.

6. Russia Vocabulary
 St. Basil’s Cathedral-- famous Russian landmark was
built during the reign of Ivan IV. It was built in
honor of Russian military victories.

7. St. Basil’s Cathedral

8. Russia Vocabulary
 Faberge Eggs– famous form of Russian art. First
created by Peter Carl Faberge, these priceless eggs
were unique and held a small surprise inside

9. Faberge Eggs:

10. Russia Vocabulary
 Dachas— Russian country houses
 Trans-Siberian Railroad—rail line that runs from
Moscow to Vladivostok on the east coast. It is the
longest single rail line in the world.

11. Russian Vocabulary
 Kremlin-- The Kremlin, is a historic fortified
complex in Moscow, overlooking Saint Basil's
Cathedral and the Red Square. It is home to four
palaces, four cathedrals and the enclosing Kremlin
Wall. The complex serves as the official residence of
the President of Russia.

12. Kremlin

13. Russia Vocabulary
 Vladivostok--Russia's largest port city on the Pacific
Ocean
 Sturgeon--large primitive fishes valued for their flesh
and roe
 Caviar- Sturgeon eggs which have been preserved in
salt

14. Sturgeon and Caviar

15. Russia Vocabulary
 Ivan IV—Czar of Russia in the 1500s known as Ivan
the Terrible. He used secret police to control his
people. He blinded the artists of St. Basil’s Cathedral
so that they could never again produce something so
beautiful
 Peter the Great—(Peter I) Czar who modernize and
expanded Russia. He moved the capital of Russia to
St. Petersburg.

16. Russian Vocabulary
 Catherine the Great—(Catherine II) ruler who
modernize and expanded Russia

17. Geography of Russia
 All land east of the Ural Mountains is considered to
be part of Siberia.
 The northern part of Siberia has winters that are
long, dark, and fiercely cold. During the short
summers, only the top few inches of the soil thaws
out.

18.  The best farmland in Russia is located in the steppe
which is in the Southern part of Russia.

19. Early Russia
 In the 800s, Slavs built a civilization in a city called
Kiev.
 In the 1200s (13th century), the Mongols invaded
Russia and ruined the wealth and the power that
Slavs had in Kiev.

21. Early Russia
 Meanwhile, Moscow, a town to the north became the
center of a new Slavic territory called Muscovy
 In 1480, Ivan III, a prince of Muscovy, drove out the
Mongols
 Muscovy developed into the country we know today
as Russia.

22. Czars
 Russian rulers expanded their power, built up their
armies, and seized land and other resources  They
called themselves czars, or emperors
 Ivan IV was known as ―Ivan the Terrible‖ because he
used the secret police to tighten his iron grip on the
people and control their lives.
 St. Basil’s Cathedral was built during Ivan IV’s reign

24. Catherine the Great and Peter the Great
 Peter I, or Peter the Great, moved the capital of
Russia to St. Petersburg (named after himself)
 He had it designed like European cities with elegant palaces, public
squares, and canals.
 Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, focused on
improving education for the people of Russia.
 Both Peter the Great and Catherine the Great sought
to modernize and expand Russia.

25.  The French emperor, Napoleon, tried to invade
Russia in 1812, but his army couldn’t survive in the
harsh winters of Russia.

26. Railroads
 Because of Russia’s gigantic size and harsh climates
make transportation difficult within the country
 Unlike the U.S., railroads are still an important
means of getting around
 The Trans-Siberian Railroad runs from Moscow to
Vladivostok and is the longest single rail line in the
world.

27. Russian Revolution
 Unprepared for WWI, Russia suffered greatly.
 As food shortages caused starvation, discontent grew
among the Russian people.
 There was widespread poverty, but a few people had
all the wealth. As a result, there was a Russian
Revolution.
 In 1917, Czar Nicholas II was overthrown, and the
Bolsheviks, a Russian communist group, took power.

28.  The Bolsheviks formed a new country, the USSR or
Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
after the Russian Revolution
 Vladimir Lenin set up a communist government in
Russia
 He moved the capital to Moscow, which is the current capital
of Russia.

29. Communist Russia
 After Lenin, Joseph Stalin became the Soviet Union’s
leader.
 Stalin set up five year plans to industrialize the
country, and the government took complete control
of the country
 Those who opposed Stalin’s actions were killed or sent to
gulags (work camps) in Siberia

30. Cold War
 When WWII ended, Stalin wanted to protect the
Soviet Union from any more invasions.
 He strengthened the military and built powerful
nuclear weapons. The Soviet Union became a
superpower as a result.
 The U.S. and Soviet Union competed for world (and
outerspace) dominance in the Cold War.