Russia

by Torchinsky, Oleg; Black, Angela

• ISBN13: 9780761418498
• ISBN10: 0761418490
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-07-31
• Publisher: Benchmark Books

Summary

"Explores the geography, history, government, economy, people, and culture of Russia"--Provided by publisher.

Table of Contents

Introduction	5	(2)
Geography	7	(12)
Plains and mountains
Rivers and lakes
Climate and seasons
Fauna
Flora
Cities: Moscow and St. Petersburg
Other regions
History	19	(22)
The Slavs
Kievan Rus and the Mongol invasion
The rise of Moscow and Ivan the Terrible
Peter the Great and the 17th century
Catherine II
The Patriotic War of 1812
The 19th century
World War I
The revolutions of 1917
Formation of the USSR
World War II
Period of reconstruction
Party collapse
Conflict in Chechnya
Government	41	(6)
Current government structure
Law enforcement
Major political parties
Foreign relations
Economy	47	(8)
Post-Soviet economy
Economic reform begins
The 21st century
Environment	55	(8)
Mining
Oil drilling
Air pollution
Water pollution
Endangered wildlife
Environmental protection
Russians	63	(8)
The empire as an ethnic mosaic
The Soviet citizen
Ethnic diversity
Lifestyle	71	(10)
City life
Country life
Education
Birth, marriage, and death
Religion	81	(6)
Christianity
Judaism
Islam
Buddhism
Language	87	(8)
History of the Russian language
The Cyrillic alphabet
Non-Slavic languages
Names
Arts	95	(14)
Early Russian architecture and art
17th- and 18th-century developments
Painting
19th-century literature
Music and ballet
The Soviet period
Leisure	109	(6)
Pastimes
Physical activity and sports
Festivals	115	(6)
Political and patriotic holidays
Traditional holidays
Food	121	(11)
Russian cuisine
The Russian meal
Drinks
Cuisine of the Tatars and Volga peoples
Cuisine of the Caucasus
Cuisine of the north
Map of Russia	132	(3)
About the Economy	135	(2)
About the Culture	137	(1)
Time Line	138	(2)
Glossary	140	(1)
Further Information	141	(1)
Bibliography	142	(1)
Index	142