Chapter 15 Section 1

Chapter 15 Section 1Population Patterns of Russia

Russia’s Ethnic Diversity Russia contains more than 100 ethnic

groups!› Def: a people who share common ancestry,

language, customs, religion, and culture› 80% of Russians are ethnic Russians

Other 20% are a mixture of many diverse ethnicities

Russians conquered these other peoples Ethnic Regions

› Within Russia, 32 major ethnic groups have their own territories

Russia’s Ethnic Diversity Russians

› Russians are Slavs A larger group that includes:

Russians, Poles, Serbs and other Eastern Europeans

Most practice Russian Orthodoxy (Christian)

Speak Russian Use the Cyrillic Alphabet

Russia’s Ethnic Diversity Turkic Peoples

› Russia’s 2nd largest group› Live in the Caucasus region and Siberia› A major sub-group are the Tartars

Live in Tartarstan Have been controlled by Russia since 1500s! Recently Russia has granted the Tartars

limited sovereignty (self-rule)

Russia’s Ethnic Diversity Caucasian Peoples

› Russia’s 3rd largest group› Live in the Caucasus region› Mainly Muslims

Some groups, including Chechens, have fought for independence from Russia

Population Density and Distribution Russia is the world’s 6th most populous

country› Name 1-5?› China, India, USA, Indonesia, and Brazil› About 145,000,000 people› Most Russians live in Europe (75%)

Major cities: Moscow & St. Petersburg› Siberia is sparsely populated

Terrible climate Tundra, Subarctic, & Mountains

Population Density and Distribution Population Trends

› Russian’s moving back to European Russia from outlying areas

› Population is decreasing in Russia Infant Mortality Rate has increased to 19/1000 Life Expectancy has dropped as well

Females: 72 Males: 59!

Why? Poor health care Alcoholism Bad economy Post-communist depression