Russia (and the Soviet Union)

Climate and Population

Because only a small part of Russia lies south of 50 degrees north latitude, and the majority of the country lies above the line of 60 degrees north, much of Russia experiences six months of snow cover every year. Mountain chains along its southern and eastern borders block the effect of moderating temperatures from the Indian and Pacific oceans. The lack of such topographical features on its northern frontiers, however, leaves Russia exposed to the effects of cold winds from the North Atlantic and Arctic oceans.

Isotherms, or lines of constant temperature, move west to east across the Eurasian landmass, in contrast with north to south in North America. Thus, while in North America temperatures tend to contrast from north to south, north Asia experiences far greater temperature contrasts, ranging warmer to colder from west to east. A massive winter highpressure system creates winds blowing from the south and southwest across all of the Russian landmass except for its Pacific zone. During the summer months, a low-pressure system produces winds blowing from the north and northwest. Thus, cities located at approximately the same latitude have increasingly cold average temperatures as one moves west to east: Average January temperatures are −8 degrees C for St. Petersburg, −27 degrees C in the West Siberian Plain, and −43 degrees C for Yakutsk, located in eastern Siberia.

Despite its size, much of Russia is not conducive to agriculture; it is either too cold or dry. This is due to Russia's continental climate and the fact that much of its landmass is more than 250 miles from an ocean or sea. While parts of northwestern Russia near the Baltic Sea receive an average annual rainfall of 23.6 inches, the amount of precipitation decreases to the southeast further from the sea. Moscow, therefore, receives only 20.6 inches annually. Parts of Russia also experience desert conditions: Along sections of its border with Kazakhstan, 0.787 inches, and parts of coastal Arctic Siberia, as little as 0.590 inches annually. This explains why a country as large as Russia has only 7.17 percent arable land.

It is estimated (1996) that Russia has a population of 150,000 million, with 82 percent ethnic Russians and more than 100 other ethnic groups. Much of Russia's population (75 percent) lives in only one-fourth of its territory lying to the west of the Ural Mountains (European Russia). Much of Russia's natural resources (coal, natural gas, oil, timber, diamonds, gold, and furs) are found in regions of low population density, such as the subArctic and Arctic zones and the area located to the east of the Urals, Siberia. A major theme of the last century of Russia's history, therefore, has been that European Russia's energy consumption outpaces that which can be produced by its thinly populated far northern and eastern territories.

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