Geography of Russia

Russia is a huge landmass and covers a vast amount of the earth's surface area. Being so large, Russia contains a huge variety of different geographical features. There are several mountains, rivers, bodies of water, climate zones, and population centers in Russia. Most of the development in Russia is located in its core area, east of the Ural Mountains. There are several countries around Russia that used to be parts of a larger union called The Union of Soviet Socialists Republics, however, in 1991, the USSR broke apart into several other independent states. The new states that were formed are: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.

The realm that is Russia is further divided into eight regions including the Far East, Siberia, Northwest, Urals, Greater Volga, Central Russia, Black Earth, and North Caucasus.

There are several mountain ranges in the Russian realm. Perhaps the most prominent and important mountain range is the Ural mountain range. The Urals basically divide Russia into two parts: the area east of the Urals, known as European Russia, and the area west of the Urals. European Russia is highly developed, while the area west of Russia is little more than a wasteland, with little population. Besides the Urals, there are several other mountain ranges within the realm. For example, the Caucasus Mountains, which divide Russia from Georgia. There are several mountain ranges that define the southern border of Russia, including Yablonovyk Khrebet, Sayan Khrebet, and Stanovoy Krhebet. Mountain ranges on the eastern border of Russia include Dzhugdzhur Khrebet, Khrebet Gydan, and Khrebet Gydan. All of the mountain ranges that define the eastern and southern borders, as well as the Ural Mountains create an area in west Russia in which there is little vegetation and harsh weather.

Russia also has an abundance of rivers that mark the landscape of this gigantic realm. The Volga River is the largest of the Russian Rivers, and most likely its most important. There are several population centers along the Volga as the Volga is their "lifeline" (Blij 141). The Volga is perhaps much more important than the other rivers in the eastern half of Russia, such as the Lena, The Kolyma, and the Irtvsh, because of the bitterness of the climate west of the Urals, once again, makes the population very sparse in that half of the realm. The Don is an important river in the southernmost part of Russia.

Russia is touched in many places by several large bodies