RUSSIA AND KAZAKHSTAN

RUSSIA

KAZAKHSTAN

LocationAreaBoundariesTerrainLand Forms and Bodies of WaterClimate

Geography

RUSSIA: North Asia bordering the Arctic Ocean, extending from Europe (the portion west of the Urals) to the North Pacific OceanKAZAKHSTAN: Central Asia, northwest of China; a small portion west of the Ural (Zhayyq) River in eastern-most Europe

Location

RUSSIA: total: 17,098,242 sq km; largest country in the world in terms of area

KAZAKHSTAN: total: 2,724,900 sq km

Area

Russian Federation has land boundaries of 19,900 kilometers and borders with 14 countires in Europe and Asia.Kazahkstan is landlocked. Russia leases approximately 6,000 sq.km of territory enclosing the Baykonur Cosmodrome; in January 2004, Kazakhstan and Russia extended the lease to 2050.

Boundaries

RUSSIA•Broad Plain with low hills west of Urals•Immense stretch of grasslands, vast coniferous forest and tundra in Siberia•Uplands and Mountains along southern border regions

Terrain

Siberia (Russia)

land to the east of the Ural Mountains

immense stretch of grassland, thick evergreen forest and tundra, crossed by giant rivers

Terrain

KAZAHKSTAN•Vast flat steppe extending from the Volga in the West to the Altai Mountains in the east and from the plains of western Siberia in the north to oases and deserts of Central Asia in the south

Terrain

KAZAHKSTANMuch is covered by huge rolling grasslands, or steppe.In the south are arid sandy deserts

Terrain

KHAN TENGRI

Kazahkstan’s highest peek whose summit reaches 22,949 ft.

Land Forms

MOUNT ELBRUS

the highest point of the Caucasus, Russia and Europe

Land Forms

WEST SIBERIAN PLAIN

vast, flat expanse; covered with a network of marshes and streams; The world’s biggest are of flat ground

Gradually rises to the Central Siberian Plateau, and then again to highlands in the southeast

Taiga stretch across most of this land; The far north of Siberia extends into the Arctic Circle

Land Forms

URAL MOUNTAINSmountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan.[

considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia

Land Forms

Birch trees, dwarf bushes, moss and lichen huddle close to the ground in the frozen tundra wastes of northern Russia.

They lie between the permanent ice and snow of the Arctic, and the thick taiga forests which cover an area greater than the Amazon rainforest.

Tundra and Taiga

THE CASPIAN SEACovers 371,000 sq km; the world’s largest expanse of inland water.Fed by the Volga and Ural rivers, which flow in from the plains of the north.

Bodies of Water

LAKE BAIKALDeepest and oldest lake in the worldLargest freshwater lake – more than 1.6 km deep and covers 32,500sq kmFed by 336 rivers and contains around 20% of all the fresh water in the world

Bodies of Water

RUSSIA and KAZAKHSTAN

Temperatures fluctuate wildly, both daily and seasonally due to their distance from seas and oceans

Temperatures in eastern Siberia have been known to reach -68 degrees Celsius

Climate

RUSSIA and KAZAKHSTAN

Have strongly continental climates

Temperatures fluctuate wildly, both daily and seasonally due to their distance from seas and oceans

Temperatures in eastern Siberia have been known to reach -68 degrees Celsius

Climate

IndustryExtraction and Mining

(gold, diamond, coal, oil, gas)Farming and Land Use

RESOURCES and LIVELIHOOD

The discovery of gold in the 19th century opened Siberia up to economic and industrial development.

Gold and diamonds are mind in the east.

Gold and Diamond

Vast reserves of oil, coal and gas are found especially in the west, which is now the main centre for extraction.

Oil, Coal and Gas

RUSSIA:•CEREAL CROPS wheat and oats•RAISING CATTLE on the small pockets of pasture

Farming and Land Use

RUSSIA:•Herding reindeer, hunting, forestry

Farming and Land Use

KAZAKHSTANBig hers of cattle, goats and sheep are raised for wool and meat.Wheat is cultivated in the fertile north.

Farming and Land Use

PopulationReligionsEthnic GroupsLanguages

DEMOGRAPHICS

Population (Russia)

Siberia has some of the world’s largest areas of uninhabited land due to the cold climate and harsh living conditions.

Industrial cities in the west hold the most people.

Population (Russia)

138,082,178 (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 9

(CIA World Factbook)

Population (Kazakhstan)

Despite its huge size, Kazakhstan has only 16 million people; just over half live in urban areas.

Population (Kazakhstan)

17,522,010 (July 2012 est.) country comparison to the world: 60

(CIA World Factbook)

Religions (Russia)

Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.)

note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule

(CIA World Factbook)

Religions (Kazakhstan)

Muslim 47%, Russian Orthodox 44%, Protestant 2%, other 7%

(CIA World Factbook)

Ethnic Groups (Russia)

Russian 79.8%, Tatar 3.8%, Ukrainian 2%, Bashkir 1.2%, Chuvash 1.1%, other or unspecified 12.1% (2002 census)

(CIA World Factbook)

Ethnic Groups (Kazakhstan)

Kazakh (Qazaq) 63.1%, Russian 23.7%, Uzbek 2.8%, Ukrainian 2.1%, Uighur 1.4%, Tatar 1.3%, German 1.1%, other 4.5% (2009 census)

(CIA World Factbook)

Languages

KAZAKHSTANKazakh (Qazaq, state language) 64.4%,Russian (official, used in everyday business, designated the "language of interethnic communication") 95% (2001 est.)(CIA WORLD FACTBOOK)

RUSSIARussian (official), spoken by 142.6million peopleTatar, 5.3 millionUkrainian, 1.8 million

RUSSIARussian (official), spoken by 142.6million peopleTatar, 5.3 millionUkrainian, 1.8 million

Languages

ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

Environmental degradation on a massive scale.

River, air and land pollution in Russia is among the worst in the world.

Environmental Issues