Because of its vast size, diversity of climate, geological and geographic forms, peoples, economies, and cultures, the Soviet Union is a complex problem for geographic description. One of the most visible difficulties in accurate geographic description is the amount of nationalities present in the Soviet Union. At last count, there were over ninety recognized by the Soviet government, each with its own language, cultural definitions, systemization of industry and agriculture, and variance in available data.1
In line with the tremendous complexity in describing such a vast region, this paper will be divided into five major sections: an overview of the basic geographical features and a description of some of the issues surrounding historical geography in the Soviet Union; will then turn to a description of six of the major regions in the U.S.S.R., among which the paper will discuss the Central Economic, Volga Economic, Belorussian, Baltic, and Caucasus regions. Although these by no means constitute the entire geographical description of the country, the limits of this paper are such that it would be impossible to adequately describe the
1 Leslie Symons, et.al., The Soviet Union A Systematic Geography, (Totawa: Barnes & Noble Books, 1983), vii.
fifteen republics and over nineteen identifiable regions. In order to focus on the most important issues for each region, the paper will limit itself to population, economic and cultural diversity, geological patterns, and major products and activities.
In basic terms, Russia became the Soviet Union through two revolutions: one in February 1917, the other in October 1917. Replacing a corrupt and inefficient monarchy, the Socialist Revolution, under the initial leadership of V.I. Lenin, established the first Socialist State. After a bloody Civil War between the supporters of the previous regime (the Whites) and the new revolutionary government (the Reds), the country became dom...