This area has dairying, lumbering, mining, and agri-
culture, as well as many new industries in the Ural mountain
region and in the Kuznetsk Basin.
culture, as well as many new industries in the Ural mountain
region and in the Kuznetsk Basin.
Soviet Union - 1944 - Meet the Soviet Russians
Continuous cross-references
between developments in America and in the Soviet Union
should help students to acquire a better understanding of our
mutual problems and responsibilities. Such filtration can take
place frequently in courses in American history, problems of
democracy, economics, social problems, current events, litera-
ture, music, art, dramatics, public speaking, and debate.
A third method of developing a better understanding of the
Soviet Union is by making use of the opportunities for indirect
teaching. Attractive classroom and corridor exhibits of pictures
and other materials may be quite as effective as the spoken word.
Films may be used to promote discussion and study; outside
speakers may be invited to visit the school; student assembly
and special community programs may be developed with the
purpose of promoting better understanding of the U. S. S. R. Extra-
curricular clubs, such as discussion, current events, and inter-
national relations clubs, may profitably devote some time to
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 4 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
study and discussion of the place of the Soviet Union in the
world today. Three ways of inserting materials on the Soviet
Union into the curriculum have thus been suggested: the intro-
duction of special units in some courses, filtration of mater1al
into many courses, and the use of the other school facilities
for enriching experiences.
A realistic, thoughtful approach to the problem of teaching
about the Soviet Union is needed. The teacher is faced with a
lack of objectivity in much of the material at the high-school
level, both in texts and in other materials. Bessie Louise Pierce,
in her study of civic attitudes in American school textbooks,
found that textbooks present, on the whole, friendly sentiments
toward Russia before the opening of the first World War, but
that, in dealing with the period since 1917, the discussions are
apt to arouse the opposite sentiments. 1 Teachers even today
may become entangled in controversy when teaching about the
Soviet Union. In attempting to teach so as not to arouse preju-
dices, it is well to avoid value-judgments as to the superiority
or inferiority of the Soviet system, but comparisons which are
based upon purely factual materials may be made frequently,
and with profit. The purpose should be to present an objective
study of what the Soviet Union is, how it came to be what it
is, and how we can make use of these understandings in learn-
ing to work together in harmony. The obligation to undertake
the development of an understanding of the Soviet Union is
inescapable.
It may be argued that there is no space in the over-crowded
curriculum for such a study. The responsibility for the selec-
tion of materials rests upon the shoulders of the teachers and
administrators in the field of the social studies. We must re-
evaluate our points of emphasis, and drop out much of the
content material we have included in the past. This does not
imply a neglect of content material, but rather intensification at
the points of emphasis. Within the social studies field, there is
^ivic Attitudes in American School Textbooks. Chicago: The University
of Chicago Press, 1930, p. 79.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 5
much needless duplication of topics; in some cases there is repe-
tition of subject matter taught by other departments of the
school. A re-examination of the total curriculum of the school,
and a critical evaluation and reallocation of materials, will almost
certainly provide space for the inclusion of more study of Soviet
Russia, which has been so long neglected.
ACKNOWIJEDGMENTS
This study guide was prepared as a project of the Social
Studies Workshop of the Harvard Graduate School of Education,
under the direction of Dr. Howard E. Wilson. The planning
of the project and the preparation of the material in its initial
stages were supervised by Professor Dorothy Douglas. Dr.
Corliss Lamont directed the preparation of the main text of
the study guide. Thanks are due to Dr. Douglas, Dr. Lamont,
and Miss Catherine L. Grimshaw for the loan of books from
their personal libraries; to the Harvard College Library for
the loan of books; and to the National Council of American-
Soviet Friendship, and the Massachusetts Council of American-
Soviet Friendship, for the loan of books and other materials. -
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? ? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
I. Geography and Resources
A. Extent of Land Area
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is larger than the
combined areas of the United States, Canada, Alaska, and Cen-
tral America, nearly three times the area of continental United
States, and forty times the area of France. It possesses, in fact,
the largest continuous land mass of any single nation, covering
approximately one-sixth of the land surface of the world. Its
81/3 million square miles, extending from the North Pacific,
near Alaska, to the Baltic, and from the Arctic to Iran, com-
prise approximately half of Europe and one-third of Asia. The
U. S. S. R. is so vast in extent that New York is nearer to Moscow
than that capital city is to the important Soviet Pacific port of
Vladivostok.
B. Physical Features
The greater part of the U. S. S. R. is a plain, extending from
Eastern Poland south to Iran and Afghanistan, north to the
Arctic, and east of the Urals across Soviet Asia into western
Siberia. The general level is from three to six hundred feet
above sea level and rarely rises above 1,000 feet. The compara-
tively few high features are in the west along the foothills of
the Carpathians, in the south in the Caucasus region, the heights
of the Urals and of the Volga, and in the far eastern and south-
eastern border area. The low, wooded Urals, which have been
compared to the American Appalachians, form a separation,
though by no means a formidable one, between Soviet Europe
and Soviet Asia, stretching for 1,500 miles and rising to up-
wards of 5,000 feet. The physical formation of a large part of
the boundary of the country has had a bearing upon its history,
because, due to the lack of natural protection, it has been open
to frequent invasion, a fact which has required a strong central
government for purposes of protection.
Marshlands, largely in the forests, and including many exten-
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 8 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
sive peat bogs, occupy one-fifth of the total area of the Soviet
Union. Forest land extends across northern Soviet Asia for
approximately 4,000 miles, furnishing lumber, one of the im-
portant resources of the country. On the north, this great forest
thins out into the Arctic tundra, which is ice-bound for five
months of the year, and on the south, the forest merges into
the steppes, which extend to the fertile black lands of the
Ukraine in the west, and east of the Caspian Sea into semi-
desert.
The U. S. S. R. is rich in inland waterways. Its half a million
rivers, large and small, have played an important part in the trans-
portation and communication systems of the nation. Many of the
rivers have unusual length, breadth, and depth, among the most
important being the Volga, the Don, the Dniester, and the
Dnieper in Soviet Europe, and the Ob, the Yenisei, and the Lena
in Soviet Asia. Geographic obstacles to Russia's development
and trade which have affected her history have been her lack
of ice-free seaports, and the position and flow of her rivers into
inland seas or into the icebound Arctic. The Volga empties into
the Caspian Sea, the Don into the Sea of Azov, the Dniester
and the Dnieper into the Black Sea; the Ob, Yenisei, and Lena
flow northward into the icy Arctic. Murmansk, on the north-
west tip of the Kola Peninsula is, due to a warm current, ice
free the year around; this is true also of Petropavlovsk in the far
east on the Kamchatka Peninsula; Vladivostok on the Sea of
Japan is kept open by means of icebreakers. All other ports
are on inland seas or are icebound for part of the year.
C. Variations of Climate
Although the United States has great variations in climate,
they are not so extreme as those to be found in the Soviet Union.
The coldest locality in the world is in northeastern Siberia,
where the temperature falls to 960 below zero; there are sub-
tropical regions in the Crimea, where olive trees grow in abun-
dance, and desert lands of extreme heat in the Trans-Caucasus
and central Asiatic section. Eighty per cent of the area of the
U. S. S. R. is in the temperate zone, 16% in the Arctic zone, and
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS g
4% in the subtropical zone; however, because of its continental
position, away from the tempering influence of oceans, the
winters are colder and the summers hotter than those of western
Europe in the same latitudes. The Black and Caspian Seas are
in the latitude of the Great Lakes; the climate of the U. S. S. R.
is more comparable to the climate of Canada than of the United
States. The winter temperatures for nearly all the country are
well below freezing, the snowfalls heavy, and many of the north-
ern rivers, lakes, swamps and seacoasts are frozen for months at a
time.
The rainfall over the continental plain is slight and irregular;
heavy rains are unknown except in the region of the Black Sea.
The climate, except in the south, is such as to restrict agricul-
ture to hardy and quickly maturing crops. However, much is
being done by way of experimentation to extend northward
grain and other crop growing, and by irrigation to develop cot-
ton cultivation in the desert-like areas of central Soviet Asia
and the Transcaucasus.
D. Natural Resources
Like the United States, the U. S. S. R. is potentially almost a
self-sufficient nation, due to the wealth of her natural resources,
most of which, as yet, have only begun to be known and de-
veloped. Scientific prospecting parties conducting researches as
part of the nation's plan for self-development are still discovering
sources of all kinds of raw materials for the country's future
use. Her arable land is estimated at more than a billion acres,
an eighth of which is under cultivation. One-fourth of the
world's forests, three-fifths of the phosphorites, three-fourths of
the peat, and four-fifths of the potassium salts are in the U. S. S. R.
It is estimated that her coal reserves are ample for centuries
to come and her oil production is second only to that of the
United States. Reserves of water power, gold, copper, iron ore,
manganese, chrome, nickel, lead, and apatites are abundant.
Like the United States, the U. S. S. R. has had to import tin,
rubber, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil. Rubber substitutes, both
synthetically manufactured and made from the kok-sagyz plant,
are being developed. No vital resource is totally lacking.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? io MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
E. Suggested Geographic Divisions of the U. S. S. R.
For convenience in studying the geography and resources of
this vast land, it might be helpful to divide the country into six
general areas, which, of course, might again be subdivided for
more specialized study:
1. Soviet Europe, as far south as the Caucasus: the territory
from the European borders of the U. S. S. R. west to the Ural
mountains, northward to the Arctic Circle, and southward to the
North Caucasus. Within this territorial division are the Volga
River area, and the industrial, railway, and population centers
of first importance in the country; it includes such important
cities as Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Kharkov, Gorki, Odessa,
Rostov-on-Don, and Stalingrad; the Ukraine contains the rich-
est soil and some of the most productive mines in the entire
Soviet Union.
2. The Caucasus and Transcaucasus: the area south of the
Maikop and Grozny oil fields, between the Black and Caspian
Seas, and bordered on the south by Turkey and Iran. This area
is the principal region of subtropical crops in the U. S. S. R. Tea,
citrus fruits, cotton, grapes, and tobacco are abundant. Import-
ant minerals are manganese, coal, and copper; the area supplies
75% of the oil produced in the Soviet Union. Population cen-
ters include Baku, oil production city on the Caspian Sea, from
which oil is piped to Batumi, oil port on the Black Sea, and
Tbilisi, where one of the Soviet Union's large hydraulic electric
plants is located.
3. Soviet Central Asia: the area stretching from the Caspian
Sea to the Pamirs, and including the Turkmen, Uzbek, Tadzhik,
Kazakh and Kirgiz Republics. On account of its dry and semi-
desert climate, it has presented a challenge to the Soviet nation
in making the land useful; this challenge is being met, and,
through irrigation, it has become an important cotton growing
area. Other products are wheat, sugar beets and kok-sagyz, the
rubber plant. Representing the plan of the government to de-
centralize industry and encourage its expansion eastward, Tash-
kent is a center of manufacture of the large tractors and com-
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS n
bines which have been so vital in the mechanization of agri-
culture.
4. Soviet Siberia: the area north of the Kazakh Republic, east
of the Urals, northward to the Arctic Circle and eastward to
Lake Baikal and to the border of the Yakut Autonomous Re-
public.
This area has dairying, lumbering, mining, and agri-
culture, as well as many new industries in the Ural mountain
region and in the Kuznetsk Basin. Omsk, on the Irtish River,
and Novosibirsk, on the southern Ob, are important industrial
centers.
5. The Far East: the area, traditionally part of Siberia, from
Lake Baikal to the Pacific, and bounded on the south by
Manchukuo and Outer Mongolia. The fur industry, mining,
cattle breeding, lumbering, and fishing are important in the
Republic of Yakutia; Yakutsk, on the River Lena, is a transpor-
tation and industrial center of this Republic. The far eastern
area includes the strategic Kamchatka Peninsula, as well as
the vital port of Vladivostok. On the northeast, the territory is
only fifty-six miles from Alaska, across the Bering Strait. Recog-
nizing the difficulty of defense of this distant section from the
west, the Soviet government has undertaken to increase its self-
sufficiency in manufacturing as well as in agriculture, and a grow-
ing industrial center north of Vladivostok is considered one of
the most important in the country.
6. The Soviet Arctic: all land north of the Arctic Circle; it
is suggested that the northerly port of Archangel, though slight-
ly south of the Arctic Circle, be included in a consideration of
this area. Far from disregarding this territory as useless or un-
inhabitable, the Soviets know it to be a vital section of their land.
In 1935, after much exploration and the establishment of
numerous weather and radio outposts, a summer sea route, navi-
gable from July to October, was opened across the Arctic Ocean
from Vladivostok to Archangel and Murmansk. The new route
will be important in the transportation of lumber, fish, min-
erals, and furs, which constitute the wealth of this Arctic area.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 2 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
References on Geography:
Cressey, George B. , Asia's Land and Peoples, Chapter XV-XXI.
Goodall, Soviet Russia in Maps.
Mikhailov, Nicholas, Land of the Soviets.
Stembridge, Jasper H. , An Atlas of the USS. R.
Williams, Albert Rhys, The Soviets, pp. 3-4; pp. 115-134.
Some Suggested Activities on Geography:
1. "So extensive is the Soviet Union that many of its citizens live farther
away from Moscow than do the people of New York. "
Using a globe, find the distance between Moscow and:
1. New York 6. Tashkent
2. Vladivostok 7. Helsinki
3. London 8. Petropavlovsk
4. Novosibirsk 9. Berlin
5. Warsaw 10. Alma-Ata
On a world map, place these cities, connecting each to Moscow with a
line on which the mileage of each distance is given.
2. A friend has written to you saying, "I think Russia's wealth is exag-
gerated; after all, most of it is Siberian waste land, isn't it? " On the
other hand, Stalin has said that the Soviet Union "has ample resources
for building an abundant, well-rounded economy. " Try to find the
facts about this matter, and write a reply to your friend.
See Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets, pp. 20-25.
Williams, The Soviets, pp. 115-134.
Hindus, Russia and Japan, Chapters VIII, IX, and X.
Pares, Russia and the Peace, Chapter XX, '"The Russian Middle
West. "
3. The distance from Leningrad to Vladivostok via the Suez or Panama
Canal is approximately 14,500 miles; along the northern sea route,
the distance between these two points is only 9,950 miles. Explorers,
since the fifteenth century, have searched for the "Northeast Passage"
around Asia. In 1935, this sea route, through the Bering Strait, past
Alaska, and west through the Arctic Ocean, was opened by the Soviets
for commercial traffic. Prepare to tell the class the story of the "North-
east Passage" and to describe the advantages of sailing from Leningrad
to Vladivostok via the Suez, via the Panama, and via the northern
route. Be prepared to use a wall map in describing the three possible
routes.
See Cressey, Asia's Land and Peoples, p. 363.
"Neighbors Across the Arctic," in Survey Graphic, February, 1944.
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets, pp. 176-179.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 13
(a) Using any type of graph which seems suitable, show the following
statistics of the U. S. A. and the U. S. S. R. :
Acres of land devoted to wheat growing in 1937:
U. S. A. 64,422,000 U. S. S. R. 102,258,000
Bushels of wheat produced in 1937:
U. S. A. 875,676,000 U. S. S. R. 1,633,333,333
(Figures for U. S. A. from World Almanac; for U. S. S. R. , from Mikhailov,
Land of the Soviets. )
(b) Why may a comparison of a country's recent production figures with
those of former years be more significant than a comparison with an-
other country? Show in any graphic form the following increase of
cotton acreage in the U. S. S. R. :
Acres devoted to cotton, 1913: 1,729,000
Acres devoted to cotton, 1937: 5,187,000
Many people think of the Soviet Union as being only a cold country.
Take an imaginary trip in July and August through subtropical parts
of the U. S. S. R. Write a story of your imaginary trip, telling what you
saw in the way of vegetation and agricultural crops, the dress of the
people, and any other effects of the climate.
See Cressey, Asia's Land and Peoples, climate maps; also pp. 275-278.
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets, for descriptions of special sec-
tions of the country.
The following is suggested as a possible class project: one class member
might draw a large blackboard map of the U. S. S. R. Groups might
then assume responsibiilty to insert:
industrial centers (pictures, as
of oil derricks, factory build-
ings, might be sketched)
important inland cities
important seaports
islands
Two board maps might well be used, either to create a friendly rivalry,
thus having more individual members participating in the map work,
or two maps might be used to depict different information. A symbol
map is shown on inside covers of Williams, The Soviets.
On a map of the U. S. S. R. , superimpose a map of the U. S. A. , being sure
that they have been made on a comparable scale. To the left, place
significant statistics of the U. S. S. R. , to the right, those of the U. S. A. ,
concerning:
a. land area d. oil production, 1938
b. population e. wheat production, 1938
c. coal production, 1938 f. cotton production, 1938
a.
rivers
e.
b.
mountains
c.
seas
d.
agricultural areas (pic-
tures, as of wheat, might
be used)
f.
g-
h.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 14 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
Information concerning the Soviet Union may be found in:
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets.
Goodall, Soviet Russia in Maps
Stembridge, An Atlas of the U. S. S. R.
8. At one point in the Bering Strait, the Diomede Islands, one of which
is United States territory, and one, a part of the U. S. S. R. , are only about
three miles apart. "The Little Diomede belongs to the U. S. A. , Big
Diomede to the U. S. S. R. ; the islanders are Eskimos . . . who . . . speak
the same language, attend each other's movies and dances, intermarry.
. . . Today and tomorrow meet in the narrow boundary between the
islands. . . . Winter ice . . . links the two islands like a paved road. . . .
An American islander may leave Little Diomede on Wednesday, reach
Big Diomede an hour or two later on Thursday . . . eat some muktuk
and seal oil, laugh and 'chase around' (a favorite expression) and return
home to Wednesday again .
between developments in America and in the Soviet Union
should help students to acquire a better understanding of our
mutual problems and responsibilities. Such filtration can take
place frequently in courses in American history, problems of
democracy, economics, social problems, current events, litera-
ture, music, art, dramatics, public speaking, and debate.
A third method of developing a better understanding of the
Soviet Union is by making use of the opportunities for indirect
teaching. Attractive classroom and corridor exhibits of pictures
and other materials may be quite as effective as the spoken word.
Films may be used to promote discussion and study; outside
speakers may be invited to visit the school; student assembly
and special community programs may be developed with the
purpose of promoting better understanding of the U. S. S. R. Extra-
curricular clubs, such as discussion, current events, and inter-
national relations clubs, may profitably devote some time to
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? 4 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
study and discussion of the place of the Soviet Union in the
world today. Three ways of inserting materials on the Soviet
Union into the curriculum have thus been suggested: the intro-
duction of special units in some courses, filtration of mater1al
into many courses, and the use of the other school facilities
for enriching experiences.
A realistic, thoughtful approach to the problem of teaching
about the Soviet Union is needed. The teacher is faced with a
lack of objectivity in much of the material at the high-school
level, both in texts and in other materials. Bessie Louise Pierce,
in her study of civic attitudes in American school textbooks,
found that textbooks present, on the whole, friendly sentiments
toward Russia before the opening of the first World War, but
that, in dealing with the period since 1917, the discussions are
apt to arouse the opposite sentiments. 1 Teachers even today
may become entangled in controversy when teaching about the
Soviet Union. In attempting to teach so as not to arouse preju-
dices, it is well to avoid value-judgments as to the superiority
or inferiority of the Soviet system, but comparisons which are
based upon purely factual materials may be made frequently,
and with profit. The purpose should be to present an objective
study of what the Soviet Union is, how it came to be what it
is, and how we can make use of these understandings in learn-
ing to work together in harmony. The obligation to undertake
the development of an understanding of the Soviet Union is
inescapable.
It may be argued that there is no space in the over-crowded
curriculum for such a study. The responsibility for the selec-
tion of materials rests upon the shoulders of the teachers and
administrators in the field of the social studies. We must re-
evaluate our points of emphasis, and drop out much of the
content material we have included in the past. This does not
imply a neglect of content material, but rather intensification at
the points of emphasis. Within the social studies field, there is
^ivic Attitudes in American School Textbooks. Chicago: The University
of Chicago Press, 1930, p. 79.
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 5
much needless duplication of topics; in some cases there is repe-
tition of subject matter taught by other departments of the
school. A re-examination of the total curriculum of the school,
and a critical evaluation and reallocation of materials, will almost
certainly provide space for the inclusion of more study of Soviet
Russia, which has been so long neglected.
ACKNOWIJEDGMENTS
This study guide was prepared as a project of the Social
Studies Workshop of the Harvard Graduate School of Education,
under the direction of Dr. Howard E. Wilson. The planning
of the project and the preparation of the material in its initial
stages were supervised by Professor Dorothy Douglas. Dr.
Corliss Lamont directed the preparation of the main text of
the study guide. Thanks are due to Dr. Douglas, Dr. Lamont,
and Miss Catherine L. Grimshaw for the loan of books from
their personal libraries; to the Harvard College Library for
the loan of books; and to the National Council of American-
Soviet Friendship, and the Massachusetts Council of American-
Soviet Friendship, for the loan of books and other materials. -
? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? ? ? Generated for (University of Chicago) on 2014-06-10 17:24 GMT / http://hdl. handle. net/2027/wu. 89096252051 Public Domain, Google-digitized / http://www. hathitrust. org/access_use#pd-google
? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
I. Geography and Resources
A. Extent of Land Area
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics is larger than the
combined areas of the United States, Canada, Alaska, and Cen-
tral America, nearly three times the area of continental United
States, and forty times the area of France. It possesses, in fact,
the largest continuous land mass of any single nation, covering
approximately one-sixth of the land surface of the world. Its
81/3 million square miles, extending from the North Pacific,
near Alaska, to the Baltic, and from the Arctic to Iran, com-
prise approximately half of Europe and one-third of Asia. The
U. S. S. R. is so vast in extent that New York is nearer to Moscow
than that capital city is to the important Soviet Pacific port of
Vladivostok.
B. Physical Features
The greater part of the U. S. S. R. is a plain, extending from
Eastern Poland south to Iran and Afghanistan, north to the
Arctic, and east of the Urals across Soviet Asia into western
Siberia. The general level is from three to six hundred feet
above sea level and rarely rises above 1,000 feet. The compara-
tively few high features are in the west along the foothills of
the Carpathians, in the south in the Caucasus region, the heights
of the Urals and of the Volga, and in the far eastern and south-
eastern border area. The low, wooded Urals, which have been
compared to the American Appalachians, form a separation,
though by no means a formidable one, between Soviet Europe
and Soviet Asia, stretching for 1,500 miles and rising to up-
wards of 5,000 feet. The physical formation of a large part of
the boundary of the country has had a bearing upon its history,
because, due to the lack of natural protection, it has been open
to frequent invasion, a fact which has required a strong central
government for purposes of protection.
Marshlands, largely in the forests, and including many exten-
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? 8 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
sive peat bogs, occupy one-fifth of the total area of the Soviet
Union. Forest land extends across northern Soviet Asia for
approximately 4,000 miles, furnishing lumber, one of the im-
portant resources of the country. On the north, this great forest
thins out into the Arctic tundra, which is ice-bound for five
months of the year, and on the south, the forest merges into
the steppes, which extend to the fertile black lands of the
Ukraine in the west, and east of the Caspian Sea into semi-
desert.
The U. S. S. R. is rich in inland waterways. Its half a million
rivers, large and small, have played an important part in the trans-
portation and communication systems of the nation. Many of the
rivers have unusual length, breadth, and depth, among the most
important being the Volga, the Don, the Dniester, and the
Dnieper in Soviet Europe, and the Ob, the Yenisei, and the Lena
in Soviet Asia. Geographic obstacles to Russia's development
and trade which have affected her history have been her lack
of ice-free seaports, and the position and flow of her rivers into
inland seas or into the icebound Arctic. The Volga empties into
the Caspian Sea, the Don into the Sea of Azov, the Dniester
and the Dnieper into the Black Sea; the Ob, Yenisei, and Lena
flow northward into the icy Arctic. Murmansk, on the north-
west tip of the Kola Peninsula is, due to a warm current, ice
free the year around; this is true also of Petropavlovsk in the far
east on the Kamchatka Peninsula; Vladivostok on the Sea of
Japan is kept open by means of icebreakers. All other ports
are on inland seas or are icebound for part of the year.
C. Variations of Climate
Although the United States has great variations in climate,
they are not so extreme as those to be found in the Soviet Union.
The coldest locality in the world is in northeastern Siberia,
where the temperature falls to 960 below zero; there are sub-
tropical regions in the Crimea, where olive trees grow in abun-
dance, and desert lands of extreme heat in the Trans-Caucasus
and central Asiatic section. Eighty per cent of the area of the
U. S. S. R. is in the temperate zone, 16% in the Arctic zone, and
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS g
4% in the subtropical zone; however, because of its continental
position, away from the tempering influence of oceans, the
winters are colder and the summers hotter than those of western
Europe in the same latitudes. The Black and Caspian Seas are
in the latitude of the Great Lakes; the climate of the U. S. S. R.
is more comparable to the climate of Canada than of the United
States. The winter temperatures for nearly all the country are
well below freezing, the snowfalls heavy, and many of the north-
ern rivers, lakes, swamps and seacoasts are frozen for months at a
time.
The rainfall over the continental plain is slight and irregular;
heavy rains are unknown except in the region of the Black Sea.
The climate, except in the south, is such as to restrict agricul-
ture to hardy and quickly maturing crops. However, much is
being done by way of experimentation to extend northward
grain and other crop growing, and by irrigation to develop cot-
ton cultivation in the desert-like areas of central Soviet Asia
and the Transcaucasus.
D. Natural Resources
Like the United States, the U. S. S. R. is potentially almost a
self-sufficient nation, due to the wealth of her natural resources,
most of which, as yet, have only begun to be known and de-
veloped. Scientific prospecting parties conducting researches as
part of the nation's plan for self-development are still discovering
sources of all kinds of raw materials for the country's future
use. Her arable land is estimated at more than a billion acres,
an eighth of which is under cultivation. One-fourth of the
world's forests, three-fifths of the phosphorites, three-fourths of
the peat, and four-fifths of the potassium salts are in the U. S. S. R.
It is estimated that her coal reserves are ample for centuries
to come and her oil production is second only to that of the
United States. Reserves of water power, gold, copper, iron ore,
manganese, chrome, nickel, lead, and apatites are abundant.
Like the United States, the U. S. S. R. has had to import tin,
rubber, coffee, cocoa, and palm oil. Rubber substitutes, both
synthetically manufactured and made from the kok-sagyz plant,
are being developed. No vital resource is totally lacking.
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? io MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
E. Suggested Geographic Divisions of the U. S. S. R.
For convenience in studying the geography and resources of
this vast land, it might be helpful to divide the country into six
general areas, which, of course, might again be subdivided for
more specialized study:
1. Soviet Europe, as far south as the Caucasus: the territory
from the European borders of the U. S. S. R. west to the Ural
mountains, northward to the Arctic Circle, and southward to the
North Caucasus. Within this territorial division are the Volga
River area, and the industrial, railway, and population centers
of first importance in the country; it includes such important
cities as Moscow, Leningrad, Kiev, Kharkov, Gorki, Odessa,
Rostov-on-Don, and Stalingrad; the Ukraine contains the rich-
est soil and some of the most productive mines in the entire
Soviet Union.
2. The Caucasus and Transcaucasus: the area south of the
Maikop and Grozny oil fields, between the Black and Caspian
Seas, and bordered on the south by Turkey and Iran. This area
is the principal region of subtropical crops in the U. S. S. R. Tea,
citrus fruits, cotton, grapes, and tobacco are abundant. Import-
ant minerals are manganese, coal, and copper; the area supplies
75% of the oil produced in the Soviet Union. Population cen-
ters include Baku, oil production city on the Caspian Sea, from
which oil is piped to Batumi, oil port on the Black Sea, and
Tbilisi, where one of the Soviet Union's large hydraulic electric
plants is located.
3. Soviet Central Asia: the area stretching from the Caspian
Sea to the Pamirs, and including the Turkmen, Uzbek, Tadzhik,
Kazakh and Kirgiz Republics. On account of its dry and semi-
desert climate, it has presented a challenge to the Soviet nation
in making the land useful; this challenge is being met, and,
through irrigation, it has become an important cotton growing
area. Other products are wheat, sugar beets and kok-sagyz, the
rubber plant. Representing the plan of the government to de-
centralize industry and encourage its expansion eastward, Tash-
kent is a center of manufacture of the large tractors and com-
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS n
bines which have been so vital in the mechanization of agri-
culture.
4. Soviet Siberia: the area north of the Kazakh Republic, east
of the Urals, northward to the Arctic Circle and eastward to
Lake Baikal and to the border of the Yakut Autonomous Re-
public.
This area has dairying, lumbering, mining, and agri-
culture, as well as many new industries in the Ural mountain
region and in the Kuznetsk Basin. Omsk, on the Irtish River,
and Novosibirsk, on the southern Ob, are important industrial
centers.
5. The Far East: the area, traditionally part of Siberia, from
Lake Baikal to the Pacific, and bounded on the south by
Manchukuo and Outer Mongolia. The fur industry, mining,
cattle breeding, lumbering, and fishing are important in the
Republic of Yakutia; Yakutsk, on the River Lena, is a transpor-
tation and industrial center of this Republic. The far eastern
area includes the strategic Kamchatka Peninsula, as well as
the vital port of Vladivostok. On the northeast, the territory is
only fifty-six miles from Alaska, across the Bering Strait. Recog-
nizing the difficulty of defense of this distant section from the
west, the Soviet government has undertaken to increase its self-
sufficiency in manufacturing as well as in agriculture, and a grow-
ing industrial center north of Vladivostok is considered one of
the most important in the country.
6. The Soviet Arctic: all land north of the Arctic Circle; it
is suggested that the northerly port of Archangel, though slight-
ly south of the Arctic Circle, be included in a consideration of
this area. Far from disregarding this territory as useless or un-
inhabitable, the Soviets know it to be a vital section of their land.
In 1935, after much exploration and the establishment of
numerous weather and radio outposts, a summer sea route, navi-
gable from July to October, was opened across the Arctic Ocean
from Vladivostok to Archangel and Murmansk. The new route
will be important in the transportation of lumber, fish, min-
erals, and furs, which constitute the wealth of this Arctic area.
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? 2 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
References on Geography:
Cressey, George B. , Asia's Land and Peoples, Chapter XV-XXI.
Goodall, Soviet Russia in Maps.
Mikhailov, Nicholas, Land of the Soviets.
Stembridge, Jasper H. , An Atlas of the USS. R.
Williams, Albert Rhys, The Soviets, pp. 3-4; pp. 115-134.
Some Suggested Activities on Geography:
1. "So extensive is the Soviet Union that many of its citizens live farther
away from Moscow than do the people of New York. "
Using a globe, find the distance between Moscow and:
1. New York 6. Tashkent
2. Vladivostok 7. Helsinki
3. London 8. Petropavlovsk
4. Novosibirsk 9. Berlin
5. Warsaw 10. Alma-Ata
On a world map, place these cities, connecting each to Moscow with a
line on which the mileage of each distance is given.
2. A friend has written to you saying, "I think Russia's wealth is exag-
gerated; after all, most of it is Siberian waste land, isn't it? " On the
other hand, Stalin has said that the Soviet Union "has ample resources
for building an abundant, well-rounded economy. " Try to find the
facts about this matter, and write a reply to your friend.
See Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets, pp. 20-25.
Williams, The Soviets, pp. 115-134.
Hindus, Russia and Japan, Chapters VIII, IX, and X.
Pares, Russia and the Peace, Chapter XX, '"The Russian Middle
West. "
3. The distance from Leningrad to Vladivostok via the Suez or Panama
Canal is approximately 14,500 miles; along the northern sea route,
the distance between these two points is only 9,950 miles. Explorers,
since the fifteenth century, have searched for the "Northeast Passage"
around Asia. In 1935, this sea route, through the Bering Strait, past
Alaska, and west through the Arctic Ocean, was opened by the Soviets
for commercial traffic. Prepare to tell the class the story of the "North-
east Passage" and to describe the advantages of sailing from Leningrad
to Vladivostok via the Suez, via the Panama, and via the northern
route. Be prepared to use a wall map in describing the three possible
routes.
See Cressey, Asia's Land and Peoples, p. 363.
"Neighbors Across the Arctic," in Survey Graphic, February, 1944.
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets, pp. 176-179.
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? MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS 13
(a) Using any type of graph which seems suitable, show the following
statistics of the U. S. A. and the U. S. S. R. :
Acres of land devoted to wheat growing in 1937:
U. S. A. 64,422,000 U. S. S. R. 102,258,000
Bushels of wheat produced in 1937:
U. S. A. 875,676,000 U. S. S. R. 1,633,333,333
(Figures for U. S. A. from World Almanac; for U. S. S. R. , from Mikhailov,
Land of the Soviets. )
(b) Why may a comparison of a country's recent production figures with
those of former years be more significant than a comparison with an-
other country? Show in any graphic form the following increase of
cotton acreage in the U. S. S. R. :
Acres devoted to cotton, 1913: 1,729,000
Acres devoted to cotton, 1937: 5,187,000
Many people think of the Soviet Union as being only a cold country.
Take an imaginary trip in July and August through subtropical parts
of the U. S. S. R. Write a story of your imaginary trip, telling what you
saw in the way of vegetation and agricultural crops, the dress of the
people, and any other effects of the climate.
See Cressey, Asia's Land and Peoples, climate maps; also pp. 275-278.
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets, for descriptions of special sec-
tions of the country.
The following is suggested as a possible class project: one class member
might draw a large blackboard map of the U. S. S. R. Groups might
then assume responsibiilty to insert:
industrial centers (pictures, as
of oil derricks, factory build-
ings, might be sketched)
important inland cities
important seaports
islands
Two board maps might well be used, either to create a friendly rivalry,
thus having more individual members participating in the map work,
or two maps might be used to depict different information. A symbol
map is shown on inside covers of Williams, The Soviets.
On a map of the U. S. S. R. , superimpose a map of the U. S. A. , being sure
that they have been made on a comparable scale. To the left, place
significant statistics of the U. S. S. R. , to the right, those of the U. S. A. ,
concerning:
a. land area d. oil production, 1938
b. population e. wheat production, 1938
c. coal production, 1938 f. cotton production, 1938
a.
rivers
e.
b.
mountains
c.
seas
d.
agricultural areas (pic-
tures, as of wheat, might
be used)
f.
g-
h.
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? 14 MEET THE SOVIET RUSSIANS
Information concerning the Soviet Union may be found in:
Mikhailov, Land of the Soviets.
Goodall, Soviet Russia in Maps
Stembridge, An Atlas of the U. S. S. R.
8. At one point in the Bering Strait, the Diomede Islands, one of which
is United States territory, and one, a part of the U. S. S. R. , are only about
three miles apart. "The Little Diomede belongs to the U. S. A. , Big
Diomede to the U. S. S. R. ; the islanders are Eskimos . . . who . . . speak
the same language, attend each other's movies and dances, intermarry.
. . . Today and tomorrow meet in the narrow boundary between the
islands. . . . Winter ice . . . links the two islands like a paved road. . . .
An American islander may leave Little Diomede on Wednesday, reach
Big Diomede an hour or two later on Thursday . . . eat some muktuk
and seal oil, laugh and 'chase around' (a favorite expression) and return
home to Wednesday again .
