Chapter Outline

Use this outline to increase your understanding of the important characteristics of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1. Countries in Transition -- The fall of communism is one of the great events of history leading to many changes including efforts and struggles to find new economic and political roles within the world system.

1. Breakup of the Soviet Bloc -- Resistance to control by Moscow and new Soviet policies caused political, economic, and military ties to dissolve creating many new countries and governments.
2. Origins of the Commonwealth of Independent States -- Although having limited powers, the CIS is an organization of twelve countries which were all part of the former Soviet Union. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are not members.
3. Internal Problems -- Problems include still having to rely on Russia, ethnic differences, and competing as market capitalistic economies in the world economy.
4. Political Breakup, New Alliances -- The Soviet Union was governed with much centralized control, but now the various countries have their own national governments.
5. Communism to Capitalism -- Many changes are needed to change from state capitalism to market-based capitalism.
6. Economic Transitions -- Before 1991 internal links involving trade, energy resources, infrastructure, etc. were dominant, but now difficult to achieve external connections and privatization are important.
7. Emigres and Minorities -- With communism gone, many people are returning to their homelands, but their reception by those who stayed varies. Ethnic tensions have been released in many areas.

2. Cultural and Political History

1. Historic Ethnic Groups -- Repeated invasions, migrations, etc. characterize the history of many of these areas.
2. Christians, Mongols, and Turks -- Christianity diffused from Constantinople. Later, Mongol influences supported Christianity initially, but eventually favored Islam. The Turks were Muslims who affected southern parts of this region.
3. Russian Empire -- From the Russian core around Moscow a large land empire was established.
4. Revolution -- The Bolshevik Revolution created the Soviet Union as a communist state by 1922.

3. Natural Environment -- Large size and cold climates are important.

1. Midlatitude Continental Interior Climates -- Northern locations and long distances from oceans affect the climates.
2. Southern Mountain Wall -- Numerous mountain ranges are found along the southern boundary.
3. Plateaus, Plains, and Major River Valleys -- Much of the region has vast plains, many low plateaus, and long rivers like the Lena, Ob, and Volga.
4. Desert, Grassland, Forest, and Tundra -- Vegetation and soils vary with location and climate.
5. Natural Resources -- Plentiful supplies of many natural resources led to industrialization and remain a significant advantage.
6. Environmental Problems -- Heavy pollution, oil pipeline ruptures, the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and the drying up of the Aral Sea illustrate the low priority that environmental protection had under communism.

4. Russian Federation -- Russia is the world's largest country. Highly centralized power in Imperial Russia and in the Soviet Union limited contact with the rest of the world. Many Russians today want to regain their "empire," but without communism.

1. Regions of the World's Largest Country -- The Federation contains 89 different political units. There is much confusion among these various republics, territories, oblasts, and autonomous districts related to the amount of local control versus central control from Moscow and the many different local issues that exist.
2. People -- The death rate is higher than the birth rate causing the population to decline. Approximately 30 million people including Finns, Yakuts, Buddhist Kalmyks, and many others are not Russian.
3. Economic Development -- Centralization, "extensive" economics, resource self-sufficiency, and focusing on industry were the principal features of economic development which now have to change. Siberia is a vast frontier-like region with many resources. Oil and natural gas production and exports to Europe continue to be very important.

5. Living in Russia -- Irkutsk is a major Siberian City near Lake Baikal on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Western lifestyles are copied by the young people, but Western goods are expensive. Winters are long and cold. College life in Irkutsk differs from American college life. Unemployment is a problem. Deep, strong personal relationships are common among Russian people.
6. Southwestern CIS -- These new countries are trying to develop viable economic and political systems.

1. Countries -- Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova have large plains. Ukraine has important Black Sea ports. Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia have mountainous terrain and substantial internal conflicts.
2. People -- Ethnic tensions are possibly higher in this region than in the Balkans.
3. Economic Development -- Russian influence remains strong. All of these countries have major economic development problems as they try to move away from ties with Russia to the wider world economy. Ukraine with fertile lands, natural resources, and industrial centers has the most potential.

7. Central Asia -- This region is arid, landlocked, and Muslim.

1. Countries -- Distance, mountains, and diverse peoples hamper efforts to unify these countries.
2. People -- Unlike all the other regions in this chapter, these countries expect continued population growth. Russian people are significant minority populations in most of these countries.
3. Economic Development -- Traditional agriculture remains important. Relations with Russia are a concern as are transportation connections to the rest of the world. Energy and mineral resources may eventually provide the basis for development in some areas. The Aral Sea disaster is a problem for Kazakstan and Uzbekistan.

8. Landscapes -- Urban development during the Communist period in the Soviet Union included growth of industrial centers, standardization in construction, central control, secret military cities, and visual symbolism. Rural areas were neglected, and as a consequence, suffered from large amounts of out-migration. Cities outside of Russia contain a mix of old and new.
9. World Issue: Soviet Legacy -- Changing from a Soviet style economic system is difficult. For example, many people consider private enterprise to be bad. Non-Russian areas try to resist Russian influence and build ties to Europe and parts of Asia. Russia will try to regain its dominance.
10. Future Prospects -- It is difficult to predict what will happen to these countries as they undergo numerous cultural, political, and economic transitions. The results in the late 1990s are mixed. Ethnic differences are a major problem.