Picture Page on Russia

Outline

  1. Physical and Natural Environment
  2. Human Environment
  3. Human-induced Changes to the Physical Environment

Physical and Natural Environment

Siberian Taiga

http://pisum.bionet.nsc.ru/kosterin/landscap/altai/larchtaiga.jpg

Siberia is the area east of Ural Mountains spreading almost to the Pacific Ocean, covering almost 14 million square kilometers.  There are 53 thousand rivers here and more than one million lakes!  The most part of this area is covered by Taiga, which is pictured above.  Siberia’s taiga is the largest forest in the world. It covers about 5 million square kilometers, representing approximately 25 % of the world’s wood reserves. The living conditions here are harsh and very cold in winter.  As shown on the picture the most part of taiga is unpopulated.    Taiga plays an important role in global warming, that’s why people all over the world are concerned with the deforestation process that is taking place. 

Caucasus Mountains:  Elbrus

Mt. Elbrus, Caucasus Range

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Newsroom/NewImages/images.php3?img_id=10817

Elbrus is a crater of an extinct volcano on a north side ridge of the Caucasus Mountains. It has a double-headed snow covered peak and its longest glacier is 8.2 km.  Mountain Elbrus has two peaks:  Western is 5,621m and Eastern is 5,642 meters high, which makes it the highest mountain in Russia and in Europe.  Its east summit was first climbed by the Kabardinian Killar Khashirov in 1829 who was at the time employed as a guide by a Russian army scientific expedition. A Balkarian guide, Akhia Sottaiev, who was working for a group of foreign climbers, only ascended the west, and slightly higher summit, in 1874.

Lake Baikal

 

http://travel.in-russia.com/sysdoc/296/baikal_b.jpg

Lake Baikal is the most important lake in Russia.  It is the world’s deepest lake, also called "Siberia’s Blue Eye". It holds almost one-fifth of all the world’s lake water, and 20% of earth’s fresh water.  Baikal harbors more endemic species of plants and animals than any other lake in the world.  Besides being exceptionally clear and rich with aquatic life, Baikal's water is cold. Overall, the average temperature of the water is +4 C, but varies depending on location and season.  The deepest spot is 1,741 meters. Lake Baikal is considered the oldest lake in the world, more than 70 million years old. 

Human Environment

Traditional Costumes

http://www.comch.ru/~viart/day/vrn/vrb1330.jpg

On this picture people are dressed in traditional Russian costumes, which are not worn everyday and by everybody.  Most of the time Russians are using those during celebrations, performances, and etc.  The white, red, black, and sometimes blue colors are presented on all of the outfits as a main indication of Slavic nation.  The important part of the outfit is the geometric ornament as the one on the belts, aprons, and sleeves.  Also a red or white hat, cap, or a headscarf must be worn.  The guy is playing the accordion and the girl has the tambourine.  Birch trees on the background are also representative of Russia. 

Russian Schools

 http://www.vaumc.org/mission/IOH/Images/RussiaChildren3.jpg

Schools in Russia are different from schools in the U.S.  One of the major differences is that throughout 10 years of school a student stays in the same group of approximately 25 to 35 people.  While in elementary school they also stay in the same room with the same teacher for 4 years.  During the class (especially in the elementary and in the middle school) a student is supposed to lay their hands on the table (like in the picture) and raise a hand when wants to speak.  On the first day of school a student is supposed to wear a uniform or at least dress up (usually white top and black bottom) for the ceremony that takes place each year.  All classrooms have at least three wall-size windows – natural light is a necessity.  Some of the school buildings are very old, over than 2 hundred years.

Russian Market Area

http://photomann.com/russia/river/riv3x.jpg                      http://photomann.com/russia/river/riv49x.jpg

One can find images like that in the market area in Russia.  Image on the left can also be found throughout the whole city, on the corners of the streets, in the special areas for the kiosks, by the grocery stores, etc.  The ages of the “salesperson” vary, starting in teens and going all the way up to 90s.  On the picture on the left the woman most likely hasn’t had this job for a very long time, and as a rule, salespeople like that are not kept for a very long time.  Most of the fruit-sellers are private organizations, who import majority of its fruits, and couple times a day, at the market, you can see the truck coming and unloading more of the fruits that are being sold the most.  The picture on the right is more likely to be the picture of the representative of the public store.  Sending couple salespeople from the store to the market, let’s say at least on the weekend, is a usual practice in Russia. 

Human-induced Changes to the Physical Environment

The Trans-Siberian train crossing the Selenga River and approaching Lake Baikal 

http://www.transsib.ru/Photo/Vsib/5399c.jpg

The Trans-Siberian Railway runs across European Russia, through Siberia, to the Far East.  In spite of its length (more than 9000 km) there are not so many cities at the Trans-Siberian Railway:  87 cities or 1 city per 107 kilometers of railway. Nevertheless almost the whole of economical life of Russian Asian part from Kuzbass and eastward of it functions along Trans-Siberian Railway in the belt about 100 km in both sides from it. Somewhere it widens but in some places it narrows almost to 10 to 20 km along the railway. It has been built in many stages and then electrificated. 

Saint Petersburg’s Bridges

http://www.xs4all.nl/~elwinw/free/russia/images/russia030.jpg

The Palace Bridge unites Winter Palace on the one side of the Neva River and the University Naberezhnaya and Vasilyevsky Island spit on the other.  Construction on the new Palace Bridge began in 1912. There were about 27 different proposals and the project was awarded to A. Pshenitskiy.  Palace Bridge was officially opened to traffic in 1916 though its decorations were far from complete.  The new bridge is 250 meters long and 28 meters wide.  It is composed of five separate spans with two of the middle spans opening up at relatively wide angles to allow ships to pass underneath.  Bridges open from May to late October according to a special schedule. Residents of the city have to make sure they are on the right side of the city after 2 a.m., or they will have to wait until 4:300 to 5:00 a.m. for the bridges to be lowered.

Vasilievsky Island

http://www.xs4all.nl/~elwinw/free/russia/images/russia021.jpg

Vasilievsky Island is a part of the Saint Petersburg, one of the most beautiful cities in the world.  Vasilievsky Island is connected to the continental part of Saint Petersburg by a number of drawbridges.  The architecture of Saint Petersburg is unique due to it’s being the capital of Russia at a time (1712).  As one can see on the picture closer to the center of the city the buildings are older, most of them being built in the 18th century.  On the outskirts the new houses are still being built.  They are multistoried buildings with at least 8 floors, built out of brick or blocks of concrete.  Usually the cost of living in downtown area costs almost twice as much as on its suburbs, where there are a lot of plants and factories are situated.

Submitted by Lidiya Tsedrik on November 14, 2003.