Blog Homework 16

Chapter 16, Section 1

 

1. How have agriculture, industry, transportation, and communications in Russia changed since the breakup of the Soviet Union?

Answer:

Agriculture and industry have lost many workers, but new laws make it easier for Russians to buy and sell land.  The lack of funding has caused air travel to lose its place as the number one mode of transportation, replaced with major highways, railroads, and waterways.  Communitaction through cell phones and computers have increased rapidly, reaching out to other countries.

2. What is Russia’s relationship to the global community?

Answer:

Russia trades natural resources such as oil and petroleum to most of the world.  It has also taken many loans from other countries that are helping Russia form new jobs in banking, farming, manufacturing, and transportation.

Creative Writing: Write a paragraph that describes how Russia has made the transition to a market economy.

Answer:

First, Mikhail Gorbachev loosened government controls on business, encouraged small bussinesses to open, encouraged foreign investment.  His successor introduced privatization, which lead to many Russians to own and decide for their own companies.Vladimir Putin helped to bring the country out of debt, balance the country's budget, and cut inflation, which has lead to more small, privately owned businesses and an increase in the Russian middle class.

Chapter 16, Section 2

 

1. How does Russia manage its natural resources?

Answer:

Russians have been trying to save and manage their natural resources by protecting their forests and trying to close down mines that damage the earth and surrounding wildlife

2. What are the environmental challenges in Russia’s future?

Answer:

A major environmental challenge for Russia is the decreasing amount of fish in the oceans.  Huge trawl nets are catching tons of fish, but keeping only a few hundred while the rest are left dead and wasted.  Another major challenge is the pipe line running through Russia, which, if it leaks, can severely damage the wildlife and pollute Russia's lakes.

Creative Writing: Write a paragraph that describes how pollution has affected the lives of Russia’s people.

Answer:

nuclear meltdowns such as Chernobyl have released radiation that kills people, causes disease, and destroys homes.  Even decades later, people aroung the nuclear site are still plagued by disease.  Factories have dumped pollution into many lakes, including Lake Baikal, upsetting many Russians.  Car emissions, pesticides, fertilizers, and burning coal pollute the air, reducing the Russian forests and damaging peoples' lungs.

Chapter 15 Homework

Chapter 15, Section 1

 

1. How has the role of religion changed in post-Soviet Russia?

Answer:

During the time when the Soviet Union controlled Russia, the Soviet Union put stright restrictions against religion and promoted atheism.  Since the fall of the Soviet Union, the restrictions lessened and people began to rediscover their old religions.  In 1997, western lawmakers decided that only Russian Orthodoxy, Islam, Buddhism,  and Judaism were the religions of Russia, although other religions such as Hinduism, Protestant Christianity, and Roman Catholicism are tolerated and accepted.

2. What are Russia’s major ethnic groups?

Answer:

Russia's major ethnic groups are the Slav, the Caucasian Peoples, and the Turkic Peoples.

Creative Writing: Pretend you are a Russian teenager attending high school. Write a short essay designed to persuade your parents—who attended high school during the Soviet era—that post-Soviet education is of higher quality.

Dear Mother and Father,

I understand that you think education during the Soviet era is superior to the post-Soviet education.  Because the cirriculum was based around math, science, and engineering, which are all very practical, the schools ignored subjects such as language, history, and literature.  The schools now promote all of the subjects equally, and i believe that this helps the students more.  The languages that they teach will be useful to the students later in life.  it will allow us to communicate with people of other nationalities, perhaps even lead to us becoming business workers or translators.  The teaching of history is also extremely helpful.  Studying history allows us students to observe and learn from the mistakes in the past, and helps us think of solutions to future problems such as wars or attacks.  the more we know about the past, the more capable we are of making decisions, and the more safe Russia is.  Teaching of literature is also an excellent addition to the schools.  Literature helps us students to learn to express ourselves through words, and teaches us how to communicate in our words both written and spoken.  This will help us win debates if we grow to become lawyers or government officials.  The stories and novels that we read will also help us think and understand and respect other cultures and nations beside our own.  Anyways, I hope that this letter has helped you understand my reasons of why post-Soviet education is superior and of higher quality in its own way.  Perhaps now we can stop arguing about it, right?
Love,
Your daughter.

Chapter 15, Section 2

 

1. Who were the ancestors of the ethnic Russians?

Answer:

The ancestors of ethnic Russians are the Slavs, Scandinaian warriors called the Varangians.

2. What were the causes of the Soviet Union’s collapse?

Answer:

The causes for the collapse were the weak economy caused by the luxurious living of the wealthy opposed to the meager wages of the workers, Mikhail Gorbachev's new, more liberal, policies, and the satelite countries overthrowing their leaders          

Creative Writing: Write a brief essay that describes the United States’ role in the breakup of the Soviet Union. Be sure to include information about what happened, when it happened, why it happened, how it happened, and who was involved. Outside research may be necessary.

Answer:

The U.S. started building up on their defenses (mainly nuclear defenses) in 1989.  The Soviet Union noticed this and increased their production of weapons, neglecting other businesses which produced much needed, basic materials.  This caused the Soviet economy to start to decline.  In 1986, the U.S. also supported the 'holy warriors' in Afghanistan who were fighting the Russians.  This made the Soviet Union spend more and more money on their war in Afghanistan, further pushing the economy into debt.  The U.S. also put an embargo on grains and other exports going to Russia and started to pay less for oil there.  All of these factors made the Soviet economy crash.  New leaders, democratic leaders, overthrew the Soviet Union in 1991and Russia and other Soviet countries now branched out on their own to become their own countries.