GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT GEOGRAPHIC BRIEFS OF THE ECONOMIC REGIONS OF THE USSR

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP79-01009A000900090014-9
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 47
• Document Creation Date: December 12, 2016
• Document Release Date: June 5, 2002
• Sequence Number: 14
• Publication Date: September 1, 1955
• Content Type: IR

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GEOGRAPHIC INTELLIGENCE REPORT
GEOGRAPHIC BRIEFS
OF THE ECONOMIC REGIONS
OF THE USSR
CIA/RR-GR-70
September 1955
CEN17RAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
_0 1O: TS C
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This material contains information affecting
the National Defense of the United States
within the meaning of the espionage laws,
Title 18, USC, Sees. 793 and 794, the trans-
mission or revelation of which in any manner
to an unauthorized person is prohibited by law.
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GEOGRAPHIC BRIEFS OF THE ECONOMIC REGIONS
OF THE USSR
CIA/RR-GR-70
September 1955
Office of Research and Reports
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Page
Background of Economic Regionalization . . . . . . . . . . 1
I. Economic Region Ia, Northwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
II. Economic Region Ib, North . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
III. Economic Region IIa, Baltic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
IV. Economic Region IIb, Belorussia. . . . . . . . . . . . 11
V. Economic Region III, South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
VI. Economic Region IV, Southeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
VII. Economic Region V, Transcaucasus . . . . . . . . . . . 18
VIII. Economic Region VI, Volga . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
IX. Economic Region VII, Central . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
X. Economic Region VIII, Urals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
XI. Economic Region IX, West Siberia . . . . . . . . . . . 29
XII. Economic Region Xa, Kazakhstan . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
XIII. Economic Region Xb,Central Asia . . . . . . . . . . . 32
XIV. Economic Region XI, East Siberia . . . . . . . . . . . 34+
XV. Economic Region XII, Soviet Far East . . . . . . . . . 37
Population and Area of the Economic Regions of the USSR . . . 40
Maps
USSR: Terrain and Economic Regions (1371-.1) . . .
Following Page
. . 40
USSR: Administrative Divisions and Economic Regions (13702). 40
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GEOGRAPHIC BRIEFS OF THE ECONOMIC REGIONS
OF THE USSR
Background of Economic Regionalization
The basis for the present-day regional structure of the Soviet
economy was inherited from prerevolutionary Russia. The early pattern
was characterized by a concentration of economic development in the
area west of the Volga and the Caspian Sea. This concentration was
strongly influenced by population density, the distribution of more
advanced ethnic groups, ready availability of cultivable land, and
the alignment of historic trade routes. The nuclei for trade,
industry, and an expanding rail network were found here. When the
economic regions were first conceived, mining and heavy manufacturing
played a minor role in the total of productive activity.
In 1928 the USSR launched its first program of intensified
industrialization. The geographical aspects of the First Five Year
Plan (1928-32), which was based on 21 economic regions, emphasized
the cardinal importance of regional specialization and nationwide
economic interchange. The Plan was dominated by the attempt to
maximize the output of mining and allied heavy industries. By the
middle 1930's the economic and strategic inadequacies of the pattern
laid out by the First Five Year Plan and continued in the Second Five
Year Plan (1933-37) had become obvious. The Third Five Year Plan
(1938-42) reflected an altered theory of regional development. It
aimed at maximum regional self-sufficiency rather than interdependence
and at homogeneous development rather than specialization. To attain
this goal, new and larger economic regions were defined -- 15 regions
in all -- that would ultimately be capable of both agricultural and
industrial development. These regions have, with minor alterations,
survived to the present time.
The boundaries of the regions, especially those in the western
part of the USSR, follow essentially ethnic-territorial-administrative
lines, but the physical environments are highly. diverse. The fertile
plains of the Ukraine in Region III contrast sharply with the boggy
soils of Belorussia in Region IIb, the swamps of the West Siberian
Lowland in Region IX, and the dry steppes of Kazakhstan in Region Xa.
A substantial proportion of the total area of the country lies within
the temperate zone, but the regions in the west are subject to varying
degrees of marine influence, while those in the east have markedly
continental climates. More extreme are the contrasts between the
subtropical climate in parts of Region V and the arctic climate in
the northern parts of Regions IX, XI, and XII. Even within a single
region there is wide environmental diversity. This phenomenon is most
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striking in the regions east of the Urals, whose areas stretch from
the southern borders of the USSR to the Arctic Ocean.
Although in theory the Gosplan divides the USSR into regions
founded on basic economic principles, these economic regions are
neither homogeneous nor functional and many developmental efforts
have disregarded regional boundaries. Glavsevmorput', which for
many years had almost complete jurisdiction over the Northern Sea
Route and economic development in the North, administered a territory
north of latitude 62? extending from the Urals to the Pacific coast.
This area, which included parts of Economic Regions Ib, IX, XI, and
XII, actually formed a functional region. At present, the develop-
ment of the North is shared by other organizations as well as
Glavsevmorput', but the major effort in the construction of railroads,
lines of communication, and industrial centers still maintains an
east-west orientation.
The most recent large-scale effort at economic development is
embodied in the "New Lands Program." Under this program, 30 million
hectares of virgin and idle agricultural land will be brought into
cultivation. The bulk of this land, which will be sown to grain,
will form a continuous area reaching into five economic regions (VI,
VIII, IX, Xa, and XI).
As development continues, changes may be expected in both the
size and character of the regions, with corresponding alterations
in the boundaries of the administrative units comprising them.
Whether these changes will be sufficiently drastic to result in the
formation of functional or homogeneous economic regions is currently
debatable.
The following briefs give a concise description of the geographic-
resource base of each of the 15 economic regions making up the present-
day regional structure of the USSR.
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I. Economic Region Ia.
Economic Region Ia, Northwest, is the second most important
industrial region in the USSR. It covers a total area of 188,455
square miles and includes the Leningrad, Murmansk, Pskov, and
Novgorod Oblasts of the RSFSR and all of the Karelo-Finnish SSR.
Most of the activity of the region is focused on the city of
Leningrad, which ranks second to Moscow as the major industrial,
cultural, and scientific center of the country. Concentrated within
the city and its suburbs is the manufacture of precision instruments,
tractors, turbines, textile machinery, business machines, photo
equipment, telephones and radios, and factory and plant equipment
for other industrial areas. Leningrad plays the leading role in the
chemical industry of the region, primarily in the manufacture of
synthetic rubber from potato alcohol and the processing of phosphate
fertilizers from Kkiibiny apatites.
The port of Leningrad, located on the banks and islands of the
Neva River at its entrance to the Gulf of Finland, is the best
equipped port and has the largest shipbuilding yards in the USSR.
Within Leningrad is the naval base at Kronshtadt.
Leningrad ranks equally with Moscow as a railroad center and is
the terminus of several major inland water routes. The Kirov Rail-
road and the Baltic-White Sea Canal have created particularly strong
ties between Leningrad and Murmansk and the Kola Peninsula. During
the winter the ice-free port of Murmansk takes over the shipping of
the ice-bound port of Leningrad. Murmansk Oblast (Kola Peninsula)
provides the industries of Leningrad with mineral raw materials,
especially apatite, nepheline, and nickel. Leningrad in return
provides the base of all developments in the Murmansk Oblast and
continues to supply it with a variety of manufactured goods, equip-
ment, and skilled labor.
The increase in industrial power production has given rise to
some centers outside of Leningrad. Volkhov with its abundant water-
power is a center of aluminum production. Boksitogorsk, near Tikhvin,
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processes bauxite, which is mined in the vicinity. Large deposits of
lignite are located near Borovichi, where refractory materials, lumber
products, paper, and linen are produced.
In the far northern oblast of Murmansk, unusual mineral wealth
forms the basis of recent industrial activity. A number of minerals,
including apatite, nepheline, nickel, and copper, are found here in
quantity, as well as smaller amounts of such rare metals as titanium,
vanadium, zirconium, and molybdenum. Kirovsk, which is on a branch
line of the Kirov Railroad, is a relatively new town situated in a
recently developed apatite-mining area. Nikel' is also a new town
that has grown up in the vicinity of rich nickel deposits.
In addition to its port functions, the city of Murmansk serves
as a center for the lucrative fishing industry of Barents Sea along
the northern coast of the Kola Peninsula. Fish processing and ship-
building are two of the most important activities of the city. A
Soviet naval base is located at Severomorsk adjoining Murmansk on
the east.
In the Karelo-Finnish part of Region Ia, lumbering and allied
activities are the main industries. Although lumbering and saw-
milling centers are distributed throughout the Republic, the heaviest
concentration is found in the vicinity of the Kirov Railroad and the
Baltic-White Sea Canal. The chief sawmilling centers are Petrozavodsk;
Solomennoye, a northern suburb of Petrozavodsk; Nadvoitsy; Idel'; and
Letnerechenskiy; and the lumber ports of Belomorsk and Kem'. These
towns make furniture, prefabricated houses, and plywood. Paper is
milled at Segezha and Kondopoga.
Although industry in Region Is, is of much greater importance than
agriculture, a significant part of the industry is concentrated in
Leningrad itself, and much of the remaining territory retains a
predominantly rural character, with agriculture and forestry the main
activities. With the city of Leningrad as its major market, the
agriculture of the entire surrounding area is oriented toward
production for urban needs -- milk, meat, fruits, and vegetables.
This relationship between urban center and rural. hinterland is repeated
throughout the region on a much smaller scale.
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Most of the cultivated land is in rye, barley, oats, and fodder
grasses. Very little wheat is grown in any part of the region, and
most of the bread grains are imported. In the Novgorod and Pskov
Oblasts, with their clay soils, damp climate, and surplus of rural
labor (especially women), flax is one of the chief crops. Agri-
culture is of least importance in the northern and the forested
parts of Region Ia, but traces of dairying and truck farming reach
even beyond the Arctic Circleand reindeer breeding reaches sizable
proportions in parts of the Kola Peninsula. Agriculture is totally
eclipsed by forestry in many parts of the region, such as the area
east of Lake Ladoga, where there are many forests and few roads
and the best avenues of movement are the rivers.
The population of Region Ia is about 8.1 million, with a
characteristically high urban concentration and a very low rural
density. The major portion of the population lives in the south --
in Leningrad and in Novgorod and Pskov Oblasts. Within this area the
average density of the rural population is 50 persons per square
mile, but it reaches about 75 in the southwest and 25 in the north-
east. The rural population lives in small villages of 15 to 10
or less households. Urban dwellers constitute over 60 percent of
the population of the southern area, and about 50 percent of the
population in Region Ia live in the city of Leningrad. In the
Karelo-Finnish part of the region the average rural population
density is 9 persons per square mile but reaches 25 in the southern
sections, where agriculture is more prevalent. Villages number from
5 to 10 households. Nearly a third of the population of this part
of the region is urban, about 50 percent living in Petrozavodsk,
the capital of the Karelo-Finnish SSR. Urban concentration reaches
its maximum on the Kola Peninsula, where 80 percent of the population
is urban. Rural density reaches a minimum of less than 5 persons
per square mile.
Almost 80 percent of the population of Region Ia is Great Russian;
the remainder is made up of Karelians, Finns, Estonians, Lapps, and
a few very small groups of Finnish origin that inhabit the southern
lakes area.
The terrain of Region Ia is mostly gently undulating or flat,
but in the Kola Peninsula and Karelia of the extreme northwest, much
of the land is furrowed and hilly. Granite and gneiss bedrock pro-
trude above the ground in many places, and fields are frequently
strewn, with boulders. The highest elevations in the region are
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found on the Kola Peninsula, where the plateau-like Khibiny Mountains
rise more than 4,000 feet above the surrounding plains. A mass of
lakes and rivers covers a major part of the land. Lakes Ladoga, Onega,
Vygozero, Il'men', and Chudskoye, together with the many rivers
(Volkhov, Svir', Msta) of the region, form the densest lake-river
net in the USSR. The region lies almost completely in the zone of
taiga vegetation, and forests cover many parts of the area. Swampy
open forests of spruce, with admixtures of pine and birch, are found
on the Kola Peninsula, whereas the Karelo-Finnish area has extensive
forests of pure pine. In the southern parts of the region, large
areas have been cleared for agriculture, but many predominantly
evergreen stands remain.
The climate-of Region Is, is continental, with long, severe
winters and short, cool summers. Because of the moderating influence
of the white Sea in the north and the Baltic Sea in the south, the
climate is less severe than that at similar latitudes farther east.
Of great significance to shipping is the influence of the Gulf
Stream, which prevents the Barents Sea along the coast of the Kola
Peninsula from freezing in winter. The southern half of the penin-
sula is actually cooler in winter than the northern half. Periods
of below-zero temperatures are common throughout the region during
the winter. Spells of above-freezing temperatures, however, may
continue for several days, even in midwinter. The July average is
60'F, and the highest temperatures seldom exceed 70?F, even on the
hottest days of summer. Precipitation averages 15 to 20 inches a
year and is generally heavier in the south than in the north.
Although the maximum is in summer, a considerable amount of the
total precipitation falls as snow in winter. Both spring and fall
are short transitional seasons.
II. Economic Region Ib.
Economic Region Ib,North, covering 442,548 square miles, is for
the most part a frontier area whose economy is geared to the exploi-
tation of natural resources. The abundant resources include forests,
coal, petroleum, furs, and fish. Agriculture, chiefly dairying, and
some manufacturing are also of importance. Stretching from the
Central Industrial Region to beyond the Arctic Circle and extending
west-east from the Karelo-Finnish SSR to the Urals, the region also
includes the island groups of Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land.
This vast area includes only three administrative units: Vologda
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Oblast, noted for its dairy industry; Arkhangel'sk Oblast, best
known for the flourishing sawmill industry and Arctic port activities
of its administrative center; and the Komi ASSR, notorious for the
forced. labor camps that provide labor for its coal mines and oil-
fields.
Forests cover three-fifths of the region, extending to the
Arctic Circle, and contain the best lumber trees in the European
USSR. Logs are floated down the Onega, Northern Dvina, and Mezen'
to the mills at ports along the rivers. From there the lumber is
exported abroad and to the central and southern regions of the USSR.
Industry in Region Ib is based on the forest resources. Arkhangel'sk
is the largest sawmilling center in the country and the hub of the
lumbering industry and allied activities. Paper and pulp, plywood,
prefabricated houses, and distilled products including tar, resin,
and methyl alcohol are produced in the city. Arkhangelsk is a supply
port for the Northern Sea Route and has shipyards, repair docks, and
cordage mills. Nearby Molotovsk has in the last 20 years developed
into an important sawmilling center. Kotlas, at the confluence of
the Northern Dvina and Vychegda Rivers, also has sawmills and wood
distilleries.
Other manufacturing in Region Ib, though of minor importance,
includes the production of linen and of dairy and meat products. An
aluminum industry is being developed at Cherepovets in Vologda
Oblast; large bauxite deposits were discovered during World War II,
and a processing plant has been under construction since 1949.
Coal deposits are concentrated at Vorkuta in the eastern Pechora
Basin. The mines produce excellent coking and heating coal. The
Leningrad industrial complex has been the principal consumer of
Vorkuta coal since the completion of the North Pechora Railroad in
1942. The Pechora Basin also contains petroleum deposits near Ukhta.
The oil is refined locally, and the products are sent to Leningrad.
Furs and fish are obtained in the Arctic sector of the region.
Seals, the major source of fur, are hunted along the mainland shore
and the coast of Novaya Zemlya. Reindeer are herded in the Nenetskiy
National Okrug, Novaya Zemlya, and Kolguyev and Vaygach Islands. The
chief types of fish -- cod, herring, haddock, and flounder -- are
caught in the White Sea and offshore waters east to Kolguyev Island.
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Agriculture in the region is severely restricted by unfavorable
climatic and soil conditions. Only in recent years, as a result of
modern farming practices, has it expanded to the north. Flax is the
most important crop and grows especially well in the southwest. In
scattered areas, rye, barley, oats, and spring wheat are grown, and
in recent years grain production has been pushed into the far north.
Livestock graze in the rich meadows of the river flood valleys and
provide dairy products and meat.
The transportation net is sparse and consists of the rivers and
a few strategic railroad lines. The principal rail lines connect
Arkhangelsk and Vorkuta with Moscow and Leningrad to the south and
southwest. Rivers are extensively used for transportation and, in
combination with the Mariinsk and Northern Dvina Canals, form a
good network of waterways. By these routes, Arkhangel'sk is con-
nected with Leningrad and Moscow.
The population of Region Ib is the sparsest in all European USSR,
averaging only 8 persons per square mile. The lowest density is in
the Pechora Basin, but at Vorkuta there is an island of high density.
Novaya Zemlya is devoid of population except at isolated points on
the western shore. Great Russians are found only in cities and other
highly developed areas, and national minorities in the region are
organized into political units -- the Komi into an autonomous republic
and the Nentsy into a national okrug.
Region Ib consists of the broad Dvina-Pechora Lowland and the
northern Ural Mountains. The lowland is a nearly featureless,
glaciated plain that slopes northward from the Uval Range to the
Arctic Sea. The lowland is divided near its center by the low,
glacially eroded Timan Range. The Northern Dvina River and its
tributaries drain the western part of the lowland, and the lowland
east of the Timan Range is drained by the Pechora River system.
The vegetation of the Dvina-Pechora Lowland consists of co-
niferous forests that extend north to the vicinity of the Arctic
Circle; farther north is the tundra which continues northward to
the Sea. Spruce and pine, the principal trees, grow in boggy
soils covered with lichens. Many peat bogs are scattered through-
out the forest. Beyond the Arctic Circle a bushy lichen tundra
is underlaid by permafrost.
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The northern Urals, which form the eastern border of Region Ib,
comprise the highest and most rugged and inaccessible segment within
the 1,200-mile length of the Urals. Snow remains in sheltered spots
all summer, and small glaciers have recently been found in several
valleys.
The climate of Region Ib is rigorous, especially in the north-
eastern part. January temperatures average a few degrees below 0?F.
The winters are long, the Pechora Basin having an average of 200 days
per year with temperatures below freezing. In the southern part of
the region the winters are equally severe, but the short, warm
summers provide some relief from the cold. Precipitation varies from
12 inches along the coast to 20 inches inland. The Northern Urals
stand out as an island of heavier precipitation and average 30 inches
per year. During December and January the area north of the Arctic
Circle experiences continuous darkness, except for a faint twilight
condition at noon. This is also the season for brilliant aurora
borealis displays. During June and July, these northern regions
have continuous daylight.
III. Economic Region IIa.
Economic Region IIa, Baltic, is significant chiefly because it
provides the USSR with year-round access to the open sea by way of
the Baltic ports. The area has long served Moscow and central
Russia as a commercial outlet. In area it is the smallest economic
region of the USSR, comprising 73,591 square miles. The region
includes the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian SSR's, which were
formerly independent states, and the Kaliningrad Oblast of the RSFSR,
which was formerly the northern part of East Prussia. Since its
incorporation into the USSR, the economy of the region has never been
stabilized, largely as a result of war devastation, forced collectivi-
zation, and population migration. The goals of the Soviet Five Year
Plans for the region were designed to make it as nearly self-sufficient
as possible and, in particular, to expand those industries that are
important to the USSR as a whole.
The mineral resources of the region are not rich. The oil shale
of Estonia, however, is a source of fuel oil, gasoline, and other
products, which are extracted from the shale at a large industrial
complex centered at Kokhtla-Yarve. The products are of special
importance because they are easily accessible to Leningrad and the
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Baltic ports. Plans have been made to construct pipelines to Leningrad
and Tallin. Peat cutting and phosphate mining are the only other
extractive industries. Both are chiefly of regional importance.
Except for shale-oil extraction, industrial activities are con-
centrated chiefly in the ports. Food processing, textile weaving,
and paper manufacturing are common to the four units comprising the
region, as are also fishing, lumbering, and the production of various
construction materials. Efforts are being made to expand the machine-
manufacturing and shipbuilding industries of the Baltic region, and
especially the steel industry of Latvia. Latvia was relatively well
developed industrially prior to Soviet occupation and is still the
most industrialized part of the region. A fundamental prerequisite to
industrial expansion is an increase in power production. Much of the
power now produced is thermal electric, but hydroelectric developments,
including the huge Narva dam, are under construction.
Although Soviet planning calls for increasing industrialization,
the region was about 70 percent agricultural before World War II,
and agriculture remains of paramount importance. Dairy farming and
the production of grains -- especially rye, oats, and barley -- are
the most important types of agriculture, but potatoes, hogs, and
poultry are also raised. Flax is the chief industrial crop. Butter,
eggs, and bacon are major export items, and the processing of agri-?
cultural products is relatively important. Agriculture has not been
particularly prosperous in the Baltic area since sovietization, because
of drastic livestock losses, scarcity of farm labor, and the slowness
and reluctance of the people to adopt collective farming. Forests
still cover about one-third of the region and constitute a significant
natural resource. The combination of terrain, soils, and climate,
however, favors agriculture.
The population of Region IIa is estimated at 7.2 million. The
major national groups are the Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian, each
predominating in its respective republic. In Latvia the Latgales are
an important minority group. Great Russians are most numerous in the
cities. In Kaliningrad Oblast, Great Russians form the majority, the
original German population having been drastically reduced. The chief
cities in the region are Riga (with a population of over half a million)
followed by the ports of Tallin and Kaliningrad and the inland cities
of Vil'nyus and Kaunas. The four latter range in size from 180,000
to 250,000 in population.
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Region IIa is generally well served by transport facilities. A
dense rail net connects the ports and the interior, and major lines
continue on to central European USSR. Both the roads and the road
net are generally better than in the USSR as a whole.
The region lies within the East European plain and has typically
glaciated terrain, with extensive swamp areas and many lakes.
Although relief in general is low, the landscape is varied and a few
elevations exceed 1,000 feet. Low hills are common, and the upland
areas of Latvia and Lithuania have been so deeply dissected. that they
give the impression of miniature mountain regions.
The coastline of Region IIa is of two general types. The north
coast of Estonia, along the Gulf of Finland, is rugged and lined with
cliffs and includes a number of good natural harbors. By contrast,
the Baltic Coast in the west is characterized by low beaches backed
by dunes and fringed in places by lagoons and sandbars. Harbors
here are located at river mouths or are artifically maintained.
The climate of Region IIa is milder than that of most of the
USSR, being transitional between the maritime climate of Western Europe
and the continental climate of European USSR. Winters are moderate and
summers are relatively cool, and the annual range of temperature is low.
Precipitation averages 20 to 25 inches annually, and there is a high
incidence of cloudiness.
IV. Economic Region IIb.
Economic Region II, Belorussia, situated along the western border
of the USSR, is of greatest importance as the main transit corridor
between Central European Russia and Western Europe. It is one of the
least industrialized of the western economic regions of the USSR.
Although the region is primarily agricultural, farming is backward and
crop yields are low. In area, Region IIb and the Belorussian SSR are
coextensive, covering about 80,154 square miles, or a little less than
the state of Kansas. On the west the region is bordered by Poland, on
the north by the Soviet Republics of Latvia and Lithuania, and on the
south by the Ukrainian SSR.
Because of its role as a transit corridor between the east and
the west, the region has a more highly developed transportation system
than its internal economy would justify. Transportation relies chiefly
on the railroads, and traffic is heaviest along the east-west lines.
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Of these the Moscow-Minsk-Brest-Warsaw railroad is by far the most
important. This double-track line, which is the shortest route
between Moscow and Berlin, carries heavy traffic in both directions.
The north-south railroads serve chiefly as connecting links between
the east-west lines. Brest, with a number of railroad reloading
stations, is the main interchange point between the broad-gage
Soviet railroads and the standard-gage lines of Poland,
The road network of the region, by contrast, is sparse and of
poor qua:Lity. Its primary function is to feed the railroads.
Except for a few main gravel- or clinker-surfaced highways, dirt
roads of seasonal trafficability predominate. The best and most
heavily traveled road leads east-northeast from Minsk to Smolensk
and thence to Moscow.
The most important inland waterway artery is the Dnepr River
system. Together with the Dnepr-Bug Canal, it provides a con-
nection between the Black and Baltic Seas. The Bug and Pripyat'
Rivers are also important links in Baltic-to-Black Sea navigation.
The Oginskiy and Serguchskiy Canals provide additional waterway
connections. The former connects the Neman and Dnepr Rivers, and
the latter links the Berezina with the Dvina River system.
Farming in Region IIb is for the most part organized on a
collective basis, with relatively large fields of cultivated crops
and consolidated pastures and meadowlands. The cool, damp climate,
combined with sandy and clayey soils, favors the production of
winter rye, potatoes, oats, summer barley, and fodder crops such
as clover. Flax growing is widely distributed throughout all the
farming areas, and buckwheat is grown as a local food staple. Hog
raising and dairy farming are also widespread. Near urban centers,
orchard and garden crops, as well as poultry raising, are of local
importance.
The relatively unimportant industries of the region are based
on its agriculture, forests, and very limited mineral resources.
Among the main industries are flax processing, linen weaving,
tanning, production of hog bristles, food processing, plywood and
match manufacture, and the production of peat briquettes.
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Region IIb has a population of 9.3 million, with an average density
of 116 per square mile. Belorussians form the largest ethnic group.
Although Belorussians are seldom dominant in cities or towns, they
make up 90 percent of the rural population. Poles, who were a strong
minority in the area until 1945, were largely repatriated in the
course of the population exchange following the establishment of the
present Soviet-Polish boundary, but a few Poles still remain. Great
Russians are comparatively few in number. They are concentrated
mainly in the cities and towns, where they hold most of the adminis-
trative posts. The region has a very small Ukrainian population
along the southern margin, and a few isolated colonies of Tatars and
Karaims. Small numbers of Lithuanians also live along the northern
fringe of'Belorussia. Before World War II, Jews formed a substantial
urban minority, but they were largely exterminated as the result of
mass executions.
A number of large cities are distributed throughout Region IIb and
include Minsk, Pinsk, Brest, Polotsk, Vitebsk, Mogilev, and Gomel'.
The rural population is densest near the cities and sparsest in remote
areas such as the Pripyat' Marshes. Villages are the characteristic
type of rural settlement. Individual farms are rare and are limited
chiefly to the formerly Polish section of the northern plain. The
eastern part of the Republic, which has been under continuous Soviet
rule longest, is the most highly collectivized. Villages are fairly
uniformly distributed and characteristically average about 300
inhabitants. Most commonly, village houses are built in a row along
one or both sides of a dirt road, in some cases for a distance of a
mile or more. The houses are generally built of rough-hewn logs and
have thatched roofs.
Belorussia forms part of the East European Plain and is separated
by the Lithuanian-Belorussian Upland into a small northern and a
larger southern lowland. The northern plain around Polotsk is nearly
flat and is-dotted with lakes, marshes, and forests. The southern
plain, occupying the combined basins of the Pripyat' and Dnepr Rivers,
measures about 350 miles from east to west and 150 miles from notth
to south. The surface is practically level, with an almost imper-
ceptible slope to the east and southeast. Drainage is poor and
sluggish, and nearly half of the total surface is covered with swamp
forest. With their dense undergrowth, these swamps and forests con-
stitute a considerable barrier, even to movement on foot.
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The Lithuanian-Belorussian Upland forms the watershed between
rivers draining to the Baltic and Black Seas. This ridge is essen-?
tially gently rolling land interrupted occasionally by sandy trans-
verse passes. Local differences in relief average 150 to 200 feet
and rarely exceed 300 feet. A maximum elevation of 1,150 feet is
found northwest of Minsk.
The climate of Region IIb is relatively moderate and humid,
representing a transition between the maritime climate of north-
western Europe and the strongly continental climate of the central
European USSR. Summers are fairly warm, with a July mean temperature
of 65?F. Winters are long and severe, with January temperatures
averaging about 18? to 230F. Precipitation is distributed evenly
throughout the year and averages 20 to 24 inches annually. The pre-
vailing winds are from the south and west.
V. Economic Region III.
Economic Region III, South (Ukraine and Moldavia), is one of the
most important regions in the USSR both agriculturally and industrially.
Its 246,000 square miles include the Ukrainian SSR and the Moldavian
SSR, and its vast plains extend about 750 miles from the wooded slopes
of the Carpathians in the west to the Don River in the east; to the
South are the Black and Azov Seas. This is the famous "black earth
region," whose rich farmlands have long been "the breadbasket of
Russia." Twenty-five million acres are devoted to wheat. Among the
other important crops are rye, barley, oats, and sugar beets, and large
numbers of livestock are produced. The heavy industries of Region III
are among the most important in the USSR. Coal in the Donets Basin
and iron ore from Krivoy Rog have made possible the development of a
large ferrous metallurgical industry. About half of the pig iron and
a third of the steel of the USSR are produced?here. The output of
machinery accounts for about one-fifth of the nation's total, that of
chemicals for about one-third. Since the completion of the Dnepr
River Dam, a large aluminum plant has been established at Zaporozh'ye.
Region III is the most densely populated area of the USSR. Its
47 million inhabitants represent over one-fifth of the total popu-
lation. In the Ukrainian SSR, composition of the population is
relatively homogeneous, with Ukrainians constituting about 80 per-
cent of the total. Important minorities are Great Russians in the
Donets Basin, the Crimea, and the north; Belorussians in the north-
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northwest; and Poles in the west. In the Moldavian SSR, Moldavians
constitute 65 percent of the total; others include Ukrainians, Great
Russians, and Bulgarians.
Rural villages, generally collective-farm centers, are the most
characteristic features of the rural settlement pattern. They
stretch along the river valleys or along dry ravines, where dams
have created artificial ponds that provide the water supply. The
white-washed sun-dried brick houses are usually evenly spaced along
wide dirt roads. Behind the houses are small garden patches.
About one-third of the population lives in large urban centers.
Twenty cities have over 100,000 inhabitants, and more than forty
have over 50,000. Those with over a half-million persons each are
Kharkov, Kiev, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, and Stalino. The large centers
lie mainly in the Donets Basin, along the Dnepr River and the Black
and Azov Seas, and in the western Ukraine.
The highly developed economy of the region has required a rela-
tively well-developed transportation network. Most of the traffic
load is carried by the railroads. The region has the densest rail
network of the USSR, the chief centers being at Lvov, Kiev, and
Kharkov. Three main lines originate in the industrialized Donets
Basin and connect it with the Moscow industrial region. The road
network, which is less adequate, is densest in the west. In
general, the net consists of roads radiating from-important urban
centers. Only a few major roads pass through the Ukraine, the
most ;important being the Moscow-Khar'kov-Simferopol' and the
Moscow-Kiev-Odessa highways. Most of the roads are unimproved, muddy
in spring and fall, and dusty in summer. Along the seacoast and on
the Dnepr River, water transport has attained considerable importance.
The dominant relief features of Region III are plains or low,
rolling plateaus, broken by an irregular pattern of stream and river
valleys. Interrupting the expansive plain are a few slightly higher
elevations, such as the Donets Ridge in the southeast-and the Volyn-
Podolian Plateau in the west. Seacoasts are generally low, but at
a short distance back from the beach there are likely to be steep,
loamy cliffs of various heights. Only in the Carpathian area and the
Crimea is there any mountainous terrain. The Carpathians are steep
and forested, with slopes cut by deep transverse valleys. The
partially forested Crimean Mountains skirt the southern shore of the
peninsula and drop off abruptly to the sea.
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The climate of Region III is characterized by cold winters and
hot summers. The major exception is the southern coast of the
Crimea, where summers are hot and dry and winters mild and rainy.
The period of winter freezing varies in length from 2 months in the
south to 3 or 3. months in the north. The snow cover is usually
light. Winter is followed by the notorious spring thaw, accompanied
by deep mud that brings vehicular movement almost to a standstill
along the dirt roads for 3 or 4 weeks. During the hot summers cloud-
bursts are common. A second period of mud conditions occurs in the
fall before the onset of winter, but it is 'shorter and somewhat less
tevere than in the spring.
VI. Economic Region TV.
Economic Region IV, Southeast (Lower Don and North Caucasus),
ranks as one of the leading petroleum producers of the USSR, as well
as an important agricultural area. Bounded by the Sea of Azov and
the Black Sea on the west and by the Caspian Sea on the east, the
region stretches northward from the Caucasus Mountains across the
lower Don River. The total area is about 138,000 square miles.*
The landscape ranges from fertile grain fields in the Kuban and
lower Don Basins to dry pastures in the Caspian, plains. Along the
southern fringe of the region are oilfields and forested mountains.
The petroleum fields and polymetallic-ore deposits of the
foothills and northern slopes of the Great Caucasus Range, the rich
agricultural steppe lands to the north, and the large coal mines
centered at Shakhty in the eastern part of the Donets Basin support
a variety of local industries and provide commodities for export.
Rostov on the Don River,with an estimated population of 500,000,
is the largest industrial and transportation center of the region.
Taganrog, farther west on the Sea of Azov, ranks high as a coal-
and grain-shipping port. The major petroleum districts are located
in the vicinity of Groznyy, Makhachkala, and Maykop. From these
fields a series of pipelines carries the petroleum to the principal
refineries at Groznyy, Makhachkala, Krasnodar, and Tuapse.
Makhachkala on the Caspian and Tuapse on the Black Sea are also
important ports. Krasnodar, Armavir, Stavropol', and Rostov are
the most important centers for the processing of local agricultural
raw materials. Novorossiysk, the largest cement-milling center of
See Table 7, p. 30, above.
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the USSR, is also a well-equipped Black Sea port. A number of health
resorts -- notably Sochi and Matsesta on the Black Sea coast and
Mineral'nyye Vody, Pyatigorsk, and Kislovodsk in the foothills of
the Caucasus -- are also located within the region.
The population of Region IV numbers approximately 9.9 million,
giving it an average density of 72 persons per square mile. Nine
cities have estimated populations exceeding 100,000. Most of the
population consists of Great Russians and Ukrainians, who are
concentrated in industrial centers, along the Kuban River, and in
the northern steppes. Nomadic Turkic tribes occupy much of the
Caspian Sea littoral and parts of the dry southeastern plains. In
the south are indigenous mountain peoples -- Adyge, Karbardinians,
Ossetians, and Avars -- who are organized into autonomous units that
vary in importance and size.
Two major railroad lines and three military highways form the
core of the transport net. The Rostov-Baku line runs along the
northern foothills of the Caucasus Range and serves the principal
centers of Armavir, Groznyy, and Makhachkala. The second line
runs southwestward from Stalingrad through Krasnodar to the Black
Sea port of Novorossiysk. The lines intersect at the rail junction
of Tikhoretsk. Many single-track lines branch off these two trunk
lines and lead to mining and farming areas and to ports of the
region. One important branch crosses the western mountains from
Armavir to Tuapse and then follows the Black Sea coast southeast-
ward to the Georgian SSR. The three highways, the major routes
across the Great Caucasus range, are the Sukhumi Military Road
(Cherkessk-Sukhumi), the Ossetian Military Road (Alagir-Kutaisi),
and the Georgian Military Road (Dzaudzhikau-Tbilisi). A network
of dirt roads serves the rural areas of the region.
The Lower Don Basin consists mainly of low rolling plains, which
favor the development of large-scale mechanized farming. The southern
part of the region is dominated by the foothills and northern slopes
of the Great Caucasus Range, which rises to elevations over 10,000
feet. In the north the basin of the Don River and the Manych-Kumo
Depression are the major relief features. Most of this pre-Caucasus
plains area is covered with steppe vegetation, which becomes sparser
from west to east. The Kuban and Terek are two main rivers of the
Great Caucasus Range. The mountain slopes are forest covered.
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The climate of Region IV is primarily continental, but it is
alternately subject to the influence of mild, moist air masses from
the west and dry air masses from Siberia and Central Asia, which
are hot in summer and cold in winter. Although the mountains have
pronounced vertical climatic zonation, there is also a marked
decrease in annual precipitation from west to east, as well as an
increase in severity of both winters and summers. Throughout the
region,winters are short and relatively snow free, but easterly
winds may be accompanied by prolonged periods of intense cold, and
west winds may bring milder, humid weather and cloudy skies. Average
monthly temperatures in winter range from 20?F to -4O?F. Summers are
hot everywhere except in the high mountains. The average summer
temperatures range from 65?F to 75?F. Most of the precipitation
occurs during the summer. The areas of heaviest rainfall are the
western and central foothills, the Black Sea coast, and the exposed
slopes of the higher mountains. Semidesert conditions prevail along
the Caspian coast.
VII. Economic Region V.
Economic Region V, Transcaucasus, commonly called Transcaucasia,
is the most important oil-producing region in the USSR. Its 74,093
square miles occupy a peripheral position along the southern boundary
of the USSR, with the greater part of the region lying between the
main range of the Caucasus Mountains and the Turkish and Iranian
borders. To the west is the Black Sea, and to the east the Caspian.
From the point of view of terrain and economy, it is the most complex
economic region of the USSR.
The economic importance of Transcaucasia is based primarily upon
deposits of petroleum and other minerals. The vast quantities of
petroleum extracted from the Azerbaydzhan (notably Baku) and eastern
Georgian oilfields are shipped to all parts of the USSR by rail, or
by water through the ports of Baku and Batumi. Petroleum refineries
are located at both ports as well as in Tbilisi. The manganese
deposits in the Chiatura area of Georgia are the second largest in
the world. Other significant minerals being exploited include
copper in Armenia, iron in Azerbaydzhan, and coal in Georgia. The
hydroelectric potential, which is roughly equal to that of the
entire area of European USSR, is being tapped to provide power for
the rapidly increasing needs of manufacturing. Heavy industry is
represented in the recently constructed steel mills in Rustavi and
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the ferromanganese works in Zestafoni. The manufacture of machinery,
textiles, and chemicals and the processing of the local agricultural
products are also important.
The agricultural pattern within the region is extremely diverse.
In the humid lowland along the Black Sea coast and in the narrow
Lenkoran' Lowland in the extreme southeast, emphasis is on the pro-
duction of subtropical crops such as citrus fruits and tea. In the
irrigated lowland of the Kura and Araks Valleys, cotton, fruits,
vegetables, and rice are the dominant crops. On the lower slopes
of the mountains, wheat, fruit, silk, and tobacco are produced in
significant quantities, and the vineyards form the basis for a wine-
making and distilling industry. Nomadic herdsmen graze their live-
stock on the dry eastern lowlands in winter and on the mountain
meadows in summer.
The 8.4 million inhabitants of Region V are distributed very
unevenly. The highest population density (over 250 persons per
square mile) is found in the Rioni Valley near Kutaisi, and high
densiti.es prevail in the rest of the Black Sea coastal lowland, in
the portions of the Caspian Sea littoral near Baku and Lenkoran',
and in the upper Araks Valley neax Yerevan. Densities then diminish
progressively from the irrigated lowlands to the dry steppes and the
lower mountain slopes. The higher mountain slopes are virtually de-
void of permanent settlement.
About 30 to 35 percent of the population is classified as urban.
Baku, with a population of approximately 800,000, is the largest city
in Transcaucasia and the fifth largest in the USSR. Tbilisi is the
only other city with a population of over 500,000. Yerevan, the
capital of Armenia, has a population of approximately a quarter
million. Four other cities -- Batumi, Leninakan, Kutaisi, and
Kirovabad -- range from 70,000 to 110,000 in population.
The Transcaucasus region contains an extremely complex patchwork
of nationalities. The dominant position of the largest groups, the
Georgians, the Armenians, and the Azerbaydzhans, has been recognized
by the establishment of three Union Republics. Other sizable groups
include the Abkhazes, Adzhars, and Southern Ossetians, who have been
organized into lower administrative units. Many smaller groups such
as the Kurds, the Talysh, the Svans, and the Pshavs have received
no official political-territorial recognition. In the cities the
19
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USSR: Terrain and Economic Regions
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00 QO i00 14?
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From: Wenschow-Reliefkarte, 1:20,000,000
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FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
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number of Great Russians, most of whom are officials and technicians,
has been increasing in recent years.
Almost three-fifths of the region is over 2,000 feet in elevation,
and one-fifth is above 6,000 feet, but there are also extensive lowlands
and plains. Bordering the region on the north are the southern slopes
of the Great Caucasus, a rugged range whose sheer cliffs and steep
slopes form an immense natural barrier to movement. Crest elevations
generally range between 5,000 and 10,000 feet, but in the 150-mile
middle stretch the ridge summits are practically all above 10,000
feet and some peaks tower to heights of 15,000 and 18,000 feet.
Between the ridges are deep, isolated valleys and gorges.
The Lesser Caucasus consists of a series of ranges that extend in
a broad arc south of the Great Caucasus. These two roughly parallel
mountain systems are connected near Chiatura by the transverse Surami
Range. The Lesser Caucasus Mountains, although somewhat lower and
less extensive than the Great Caucasus, are also rugged barriers
with steep descents on their eastern, western, and northern flanks.
To the south they merge gradually with the elevated Armenian Plateau.
Plateau elevations average about 5,000 feet, but northwest of. YLrevan
is the immense volcanic cone Gora Alagez, which kises to 13,435 feet.
Two strips of lowland are wedged between the Great and the Lesser
Caucasus. To the west is the triangular-shaped Rioni Lowland, which
covers an area of about 2,100 square miles. Marshes border the coast
and the lower course of the Rioni River; farther inland the undulating
terrain is higher and drier. The eastern lowland, including the basin
of the Kura and lower Araks Rivers, broadens steadily from the narrow
plateau;-like plains of Gori and Tbilisi in the west to the extensive
plain almost 90 miles wide along the Caspian coast.
Region V has a dense network of rivers, most of which originate
as swift-flowing mountain streams that flow through deep canyons to
the lowlands. Although the rivers seldom freeze over, they are not
navigable, because of the torrential character of the upper courses
and the shallowness of the lower stretches.
The vegetation pattern in Transcaucasia is extremely complex.
The Black Sea coast has a dense cover of alder and willow tangled
with sarsaparilla, which forms nearly inaccessible jungles in some
areas. By contrast, the eastern part of the region is dominated by
semidesert vegetation of fescue, feathergrass, and timothy, with
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sagebrush, saltwort, and thorny bushes. On most of the Armenian
Plateau the original cover of rich grass, with oak and scrub juniper
at higher elevation, has been supplanted by cultivated crops. Above
the grassy meadow of the foothills of the Great and Lesser Caucasus
Mountains, vegetation is zoned altitudinally from broad-leaf forests
through coniferous forests and alpine meadows to a zone of permanent
snow and glaciers devoid of vegetation.
Sheltered from cold northern winds by the main range of the Caucasus,
Transcaucasia enjoys a considerably warmer climate than the adjacent
regions of the USSR. The Black Sea coast of the region has a humid
subtropical climate. Winters are mild, with January temperature
averaging from 43?F to 45?F. Summers are hot and humid, with heavy
rainfall ranging up to about 100 inches a year in the Batumi area.
East of the Surami Range the climate is generally more continental.
On the lowland, winters are rather warm, but temperatures are lower
than in the west, and frosts occur occasionally. Summers are generally
very hot and dry, precipitation being less than 8 inches a year
immediately south of Baku. In the humid subtropical Lenkoran' Lowland,
precipitation increases again to an annual average of 65 inches. On
the higher elevations of the Armenian Plateau in the south, winters
are considerably colder, with January temperatures averaging from
140F to 20oF .
VIII. Economic Region VI.
Economic Region VI, Volga, borders the middle and lower courses of
the Volga River, the all-important waterway of the USSR. The 186,679
square miles* of the region include the Tatar ASSR and Ulyanovsk and
Kuybyshev Oblasts along the middle course of the river, and Saratov,
Stalingrad, and Astrakhan Oblasts along the lower course.
The Volga unifies the region and is the focus of all of its
important economic activities. The river, with its far-reaching
tributaries and connecting canals, forms the core of a network of
through waterways extending from the Baltic and Arctic Seas on the
north to the Caspian and Black Seas on the south. Important east-
west railroads cross the Volga at the large cities along its course
and link the economic regions of the west with the Urals and Siberia.
The cities are favorably located tb receive raw materials both by
rail and by water and have become important industrial centers. Pig
* See Table 7, p. 30, above.
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iron is brought in from the Ukraine and the Donets Basin, steel from
the Urals, coal from Kuznets Basin, and timber from the north. Supple-
menting these imports are the local resources of the Volga Region
agricultural products, fish, petroleum and oil shale, salt, and rock
suitable for building stone and the manufacture of cement.
The local and imported raw materials are the basis for the
industries of the region. Transport equipment, chemicals, and con-
struction materials are manufactured at Kazan' and Kuybyshev and
iron and steel products, including agricultural machinery, at
Stalingrad and Saratov. The development of the oilfields of the
"Second Baku" in the Tatar ASSR and in Kuybyshev Oblast has recently
become a major factor in the regional economy. Kuybyshev, Syzran',
and Vol'sk are the oil-refining centers. V ol'sk is important for the
manufacture of cement, and Krasnoarmeysk and Astrakhan'are important
for timber and wood products as well as for shipbuilding. Astrakhan'
is also famous as a fish-processing center.
The fertile soils of a large part of the Volga Region favor the
development of agriculture, but frequent droughts and dry, hot
southerly winds often cause crop failures. Chief among the crops
are rye, oats, and wheat, and among the industrial crops are sun-
flowers, hemp, tobacco, and mustard. Vegetables, tree fruits,
grapes, and cotton are also produced in the Volga Valley.
The current level of output of the Volga Region, however, is
relatively low compared to its potential productive capacity. The
economic future of the region lies in the development of its vast
water resources to provide power for the expansion of industry and
water for irrigating the semiarid plains. At present, two large
dams and hydroelectric stations are under construction along the
Volga near the cities of Kuybyshev and Stalingrad. The generating
capacity of these stations will be among the highest in the world.,
2.1 million kilowatts (kw) at Kuybyshev and 1.7 million kw at
Stalingrad. Although most of the power from both stations is to be
sent by high-tension lines to the Moscow Industrial Region, the
amount allocated for local use is expected to increase greatly the
productive capacity of the region. In addition the water stored
upstream from the Stalingrad Dam will serve to irrigate extensive
areas of dry agricultural land east of the river.
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With a total population of approximately 11.1 million people, the
Volga Region is a densely populated part of the USSR. The average
density is about,60 per square mile, with the greatest concentration
in the northern part of the region (about 100) and the lowest in the
southern part (about 40). The largest cities are Stalingrad and
Kuybyshev, each with a population exceeding 600,000, followed by
Kazan' and Saratov, with over 400,000 each, and Astrakhan', with about
300,000.
Great Russians comprise the largest population group within the
region and Ukrainians rank second. Together they constitute about
85 percent of the total population. Great Russians, however, are
a minority in the Tatar ASSR, where more than 50 percent of the
people are Tatars. There are also small numbers of Mari, Mordvinian,
Udmurt, and Chuvash peoples in the north and of Kazakh and Turkmen
peoples in the south.
The terrain of Region VI is variea. From Kazan' south to
Stalingrad the east and west banks of the Volga differ radically in
relief. The east bank is low and level along the entire course. In
sharp contrast is the high, abrupt west bank along the Volga Uplands
to the west. The highest part of the Volga Uplands is the Zhiguli
Mountains, located within the Samara bend of the Volga opposite the
city of Kuybyshev. These mountains, with elevations over 1,200 feet
in some places, are the most striking relief feature of the region.
Downstream from Stalingrad the Volga swings to the southeast, and
the banks of the river are fairly uniform in appearance. Together
they form a lowland, dotted with saline lakes, that slopes gently
toward the Caspian Sea.
Other than the Volga, there are few large rivers in the region.
The lower course of the Kama River, the largest affluent of the
Volga, crosses the eastern part of the Tatar ASSR. West of
Stalingrad and the Volga Uplands, a bend of the Don River cuts
across a comparatively small part of the region. The Don flows
into the Sea of Azov. The waters of the Don and the Volga are
interconnected by the recently constructed Volga-Don Canal, which
extends from Kalach on the Don to Stalingrad on the Volga. Via this
canal, Region VI now has access by water to the Azov and Black Seas.
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The vegetation of the Volga Region shows marked contrasts from
north to south. In the north are dense coniferous forests of fir
and spruce; the south has a cover of sparse grasses and desert herbs.
Large areas in the Volga Uplands west of the Volga have a deciduous
forest (mainly oak) cover, whereas the plains east of the river have
a cover of steppe grasses and herbs.
The climate of the region is continental, with some desertlike
areas in the south. Winters are long and cold, and summers short
and hot. In the northern part of the region,periods of below-zero
temperatures are common during the winter, and the cold air fre.-
quently moves southward toward the Caspian Sea. Precipitation is
generally light throughout the region but is heavier in the north
and west than in the south and east. In some years the summer heat
and dryness of the south spread far to the north, causing droughts
and crop failures. Spring and fall are short transitional seasons,
with summer and winter characteristics intermingled in varying
degrees.
IX. Economic Region VII.
Economic Region VII (Central) in the center of European USSR is
in many ways the heart of the country. It is the historical and
political center of the Great Russian people. Important railroad
lines and waterways radiate in all directions from the hub at Moscow.
With an output of industrial goods about one-third greater than that
of the Ukraine, the region also holds the leading position in the
economy of the USSR. This position is due not to the presence of
raw materials or power, both of which are imported, but to the
central location and the availability of skilled labor.
Although textile processing was the first large-scale industry
to develop in the region, the production of machinery and chemicals
now ranks first. The processing of leather, food, and timber and
the production of building materials are also of importance. Agri-
culture plays a considerable role in the economy of the region.
The north produces flax for the textile mills; the central part of
the region supplies the large urban population with dairy products,
vegetables, and meat; and the south specializes in the production
of grains. All three areas produce potatoes for the chemical
industry.
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With a total of 1+8.6 million people, this region is one of the
most densely populated parts of the USSR. For most of the region
the average rural population density ranges from 65 to 150 persons
per square mile. The higher densities are found in the more fertile
agricultural areas to the south. The many cities within the region
support a large urban population, about a third of the total.
Ethnically, the population within Region VII is relatively uni-
form. Great Russians are the dominant group, amounting to nearly
100 percent of the population in the central oblasts. Only along
the periphery of the region are other ethnic groups found in any
considerable numbers. Small numbers of Belorussians and Ukrainians
live along the western and southern boundaries. In the east, some-
what larger groups of Mari, Chuvash, and Mordvinians are found in
their respective autonomous republics. Tatars, another minority
group, are scattered along the eastern boundary.
The region is a part of the East European Lowland and has no
distinct natural boundaries. Except for the wide belts of low hills
along the western and southeastern fringes, a great lowland stretches
uninterruptedly across. the entire northern part of the region and
extends southward between the two hilly belts. This flat lowland
includes large stretches of forest and swamp in the north and con-
siderable areas of open countryside in the south.
In the western belt of hills, elevations average 700 to 1,000
feet, but local differences in relief only occasionally exceed 200
feet. The southern two-thirds of the hill belt, called the Central
Russian Upland, is a broad plateau dissected by deep river valleys
and ravines. The plateau forms the divide between the Dnepr to the
west and the Oka and Don systems to the east. Directly north of the
Central Russian Upland is the Moscow-Smolensk Ridge, the eastern
half of which is a narrow forested spur running north of Moscow. The
northern part of the highland belt is known as the Valday Hills. In
this area the dome-shaped hills frequently rise to elevations of
over 1,000 feet. Scattered among the forested hills are many small
lakes and patches of Marsh.
The southeastern belt of hill land, the Pre-Volga Hills, extends
along the western side of the middle Volga. The hills are flat-
topped with elevations increasing gradually to over 1,000 feet along
the eastern border. Numerous steep-sided valleys 60 to 400 feet
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deep have cut sharply into the flat upland. Valley bottoms are
generally narrow and winding.
A network of great rivers radiates from the hilly land along the
western margin of the region to all parts of European USSR. The
upper courses of the rivers are so close to each other that the con-
struction of connecting canals has been comparatively easy. A
considerable proportion of the area's bulk traffic, consisting
chiefly of oil and timber, is carried by these water routes. The
full utilization of the waterways, however, is hampered by low water
and silting during the dry summer and by ice during the 5 months of
winter. For a month after the spring thaws the rivers flood large
sections of their valleys.
Throughout the region there are stretches of forest interrupted
by many clearings, but the amount of land in forest decreases
rapidly to the south. North of the Volga, spruce and fir predominate,
with pine in the dry, sandy areas. South of the Volga the forest is
a mixture of coniferous and broadleaf (oak, beech, and maple) trees.
Near the southern boundary, oaks predominate. Clearings in the north
consist chiefly of patches of cultivated land, meadows, and swamps.
In the south the open areas are more extensive, forming an almost
continuous expanse of fields and pastures, most of which is in state
and collective farms.
The climate of the region is characterized by long, cold winters,
short, moderately warm summers, and extremely brief transitional
seasons. The mean January temperature for Moscow is 14?F, but cold
spells frequently bring the temperatures down to -20?F. The July
average is 64?F, but temperatures often reach the 80's. Precipi-
tation averages about 20 to 25 inches a year. It is fairly well.
distributed, with a slight maximum in summer. A considerable amount
of the precipitation is in the form of snow. By late winter the
snow cover reaches a depth of about 12 inches in the south and over
20 inches in the north.
X. Economic Region VIII.
Economic Region VIII, the Urals industrial complex, leads the USSR
in the production of nonferrous metals and steel and ranks second only
to the Donets Basin of Region III as a producer of iron. The region
extends in a north-south direction astride the central and southern
Urals. Its 294,000 square miles include the Bashkir and Udmurt
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Autonomous SSR's that flank the western slopes of the Urals and the
oblasts of Sverdlovsk in the northeast, Molotov in the northwest,
Chelyabinsk in the east, and Chakalov in the south.
The industrial complex of the Urals centers around the mining and
processing of its rich deposits of metallic ores. Iron ore is the
principal mineral resource and iron and steel manufacture the major
industry, contributing more than one third of the nation's total. The
largest plants are located near the ore deposits at Magnitogorsk,
Nizhniy-Tagil, and Chelyabinsk. The Urals region leads all other
economic: regions in the USSR in the production of nonferrous metals.
Side by side with iron ore are important alloys such as nickel and
tungsten, as well as all of the nation's magnesium resources. Copper
in combination with lead, zinc, silver, and gold is mined along both
the western and eastern slopes of the mountains, and the extraction
of bauxite ores is important in the northeast. The production of non-
ferrous metals provides the basis for metalworking industries centered
in the areas of Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk, Kamensk-Ural'skiy,
Krasnotur'insk, Solikamsk, and Berezniki. In addition, the Urals
region has a large chemical industry based on the extensive potash
deposits at Solikamsk and an expanding petroleum industry centered
around Ishimbay and Sterlitamak.
Large deposits of mineral fuels provide power for the region, but
it is lacking in coking coal. Power generated at the newly con-
structed hydroelectric station on the Kama River near Molotov is now
being made available to industries of the Urals.
In the south and east, agriculture is of major importance, chiefly
grain and livestock production. Some industrial crops such as flax,
hemp, and sunflowers are grown in the west and southwest.
Railroads provide the principal means of transportation in the
region. Of greatest importance are the lines that cross the Urals
from west to east, linking European USSR with Siberia. The few
navigable rivers of Region VIII are much less important as routes of
transportation. The main waterway is the Kama River system, which
connects the region with the Volga area and the central part of
European USSR.
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The population density in Region VIII as a whole is low, espe-
cially in the mountainous areas. In the lowlands on either side of
the mountains and in the vicinity of urban centers, population
density is generally greater, in some places as high as 100 persons
per square mile. The agricultural southern part of the region has a
higher density than the forested area in the north. The city of
Sverdlovsk (Sverdlovsk Oblast), with a population of more than 600,000,
is the largest city and the economic hub of the region. Among the
other leading cities are Molotov (Molotov Oblast), Ufa (Bashkir ASSR),
and Chelyabinsk (Chelyabinsk Oblast).
Great Russians constitute about three-fourths of the population.
The remainder is largely made up of indigenous national groups of the
Urals, of which the Bashkirs are the most numerous, but sizable groups
of Tatars, Udmurts, and Komi-Permyaks live within the region.
The dominant terrain features of Region VIII are the central and
southern Urals. Although their average elevation is only 1,500 feet,
a few heights exceed 5,000 feet. To the west the mountains gradually
descend to a hilly plain deeply dissected by wide river valleys and
ravines; to the east they give way to a level plain studded-with deep
fresh-water and shallow saline lakes. In the Urals region, rivers
and streams are numerous and water resources are abundant. Of the
rivers the largest is the Kama, which parallels the western slopes of
the mountains.
The vegetation of the Urals region is varied. Higher elevations
are generally wooded. In the north, much of the lower land also has
a cover of coniferous forest of spruce, fir, and pine. To the south,
conifers are mixed with birch, aspen, oak, and other broadleaf species.
Stands of oak are also common. In the most southerly part of the
region are open steppe lands.
The climate of Region VIII is characterized by long cold winters
and short moderate summers. Prolonged periods with temperatures be-
low zero occur during the winter, and snowstorms are light but
frequent. Relatively high temperatures may be experienced in summer,
and heavy thunderstorms of short duration bring most of the pre-
cipitation.
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XI. Economic Region IX.
Economic Region IX, West Siberia, extending eastward from the Urals,
includes great diversity of economic development, ranging from the
highly industrialized Kuznetsk Basin and the fertile black-earth belt
in the south to primitive tundras of the north. Most of the region is
a vast plain that slopes almost imperceptibly northward toward the Kara
Sea, but in the southeast are the rugged Altay Mountains. Within the
last two decades the south has become one of the major industrial
centers of the USSR, as a result of the exploitation of the rich min-
eral resources of the Kuznetsk Basin and the transportation provided by
the Trans-Siberian and Turkestan-Siberian Railroads and their branch
lines. The area, however, still ranks high in the production of wheat
and animals.
The Kuznetsk Basin, occupying an area of 10,000 square miles, is
enclosed between outliers of the Altay Mountains. Coal reserves of
the basin are estimated at 450 billion tons and, for the world as a
whole, rank second only to the Appalachian coalfields of the US. The
area also has rich.deposits of iron and manganese ore. The indus-
trial center of the basin is Stalinsk,,which has rolling mills, ferro-
alloy plants, and aluminum plants and also manufactures locomotives
and rolling stock. Kemerovo has become an important center for the
manufacture of chemicals and fertilizers as byproducts of the coke
ovens.
Other industrial centers in Region IX are concentrated along the
Trans-Siberian Railroad in the southern part of the area. Novosibirsk,
the "Chicago of Siberia," is at the junction of the Ob' River, the
Trans-Siberian and Turkestan-Siberian Railroads, and a branch line to
the Kuznetsk Basin. The city produces cold-rolled steel, river vessels,
machinery, and other metal goods. The surrounding agricultural lands
raise wheat for its flour mills and animals for its many slaughterhouses.
Timber from the extensive taiga to the north is brought to Novosibirsk
via the Ob' River for processing.
Omsk, at the junction of the Irtysh River and Trans-Siberian Rail-
road, is the second largest city in Western Siberia and an important
industrial center. The agricultural products of the fertile black-soil
region south of the railroad provide raw materials for its flour mills,
slaughterhouses, and tanneries. The city is also a center for the manu-
facture of agricultural. machinery, locomotives, and river vessels and
for the assembly of automobiles.
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Tomsk, to the north, is one of the principal educational centers
of Siberia. Although some of its industrial importance was lost when
it was bypassed by the Trans-Siberian Railroad, the city continues to
manufacture electric motors, light bulbs, and matches.
The industries of the taiga and tundra to the north are of minor
importance. They include lumbering, fishing, hunting, trapping, and
reindeer herding. The fir, cedar, and larch trees of the taiga pro-
vide lumber of good quality. Logs from the northern part of the
taiga are sent to Salekhard for processing and export; those from
the southern part are sent to cities along the Trans-Siberian Rail-
road. Products of these cities include lumber, cellulose, paper, and
matches. The taiga is also the home of many fur-bearing animals,
which are extensively hunted and trapped. The lower course of the Ob'
and other rivers flowing north across the taiga and tundra supply
fish, which are canned in many settlements along the rivers. In the
tundra the nomadic tribes engage in trapping and reindeer herding.
Furs are sent out of the region, but the skins and other products
from the reindeer are used locally by the natives.
Population density in Region IX averages 12 persons per square
mile, but large areas in the north are practically uninhabited and
most of the population lives in the agricultural lands of the black-
earth belt and in the industrial complex of the Kuznetsk Basin.
Ninety-two percent of the people are Great Russians. The remainder
consists of native tribes -- the Khanty, Mansi, Komi, and Nentsy in
the north, and the Tatars, Oyrots, and Kazakhs in the south.
The temperatures of Region IX vary considerably from north to
south because of its great latitudinal extent, but in general the
region is characterized by severe winters, cold springs, short
summers, that are hot in the south and cool in the north, and short
autumns. The greatest variation is in precipitation, which ranges
from 12 inches along the Arctic coast to over 60 inches in the Altay
Mountains. The steppe zone receives from 15 to 20 inches a year.
Average January temperatures range from -10OF in the Arctic to
OoFC in the Kuznetsk Basin. July averages from 40OF in the north to
66 F in the south.
XII. Economic Region Xa.
Economic Region Xa, Kazakhstan, which is coterminous with the
Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic of Soviet Central Asia, is an area
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of rapidly expanding mineral exploitation. Its area is slightly over
a million square miles, or about one-third that of the US. From the
lower V'olga,Kazakhstan extends eastward for more than 1,800 miles to
the Altay Range, and from the Trans-Siberian Railroad southward for
over 1,000 miles to the Tyan'-Shan Range.
The region is one of the richest ore-bearing areas of the USSR.
It ranks first in reserves of copper, lead, zinc, silver, chromium,
nickel, and molybdenum ores, and high in its reserves of salt,
antimony, tin, and bauxite. The Republic is an important source of
two major fuels -- high-quality petroleum from the Ural-Emba oil-
fields and coal from the Karaganda Basin. Karaganda is the third
largest coal producer in the USSR and is the main source of coal for
the many metallurgical industries of Kazakhstan.
The agricultural economy of Region Xa has become increasingly
important. Wheat and other grains are extensively grown in the
north. In the south the development of irrigation permits the pro-
duction of a variety of crops -- tree fruits, grapes, rice, cotton,
and sugar beets. The region is also noted for its livestock, par-
ticularly its sheep, from which wool of excellent quality is obtained.
The population of the Kazakh SSR is currently estimated at 7.2 mil-
lion. The distribution, however, is very uneven, the density being
greatest where water is available for irrigation and where important
ores are mined. Kazakhs comprise about half of the total population
and are primarily farmers and herdsmen. The Great Russians and
Ukrainians, who together constitute about one-third of the total,
live chiefly in the cities and are engaged in industrial or com-
mercial activities. About 400,000 Uzbeks are found along the southern
boundary, where they are engaged primarily in irrigation agriculture.
Urban growth in Region Xa has proceeded at a remarkable rate during
the last three decades. Whereas there was only one city with a popula-
tion of over 50,000 in 1926, there were 13 in 1948. Cities that are
centers of mineral industries include Karaganda (estimated population
220,000), Gur'yev, Leninogorsk, Ust'-Kamenogorsk, and Aktyubinsk.
Cities important for the processing of agricultural products include
Alma-Ata (the capital of the Republic, with an estimated population
of 300,000), Semipalatinsk, Petropavlovsk, Akmolinsk, Dzhambul, and
Ural'sk.
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Transportation is not well developed. The rail net, although
sparse, provides the principal means of transportation. Rail lines
were built primarily to move mineral and agricultural raw materials
to other parts of the USSR and secondarily to provide intraregional
lines of communication. Three major routes cut across the region.
from north to south; shorter sections run east-west. The road system
is antiquated and inadequate for the needs of the expanding economy.
It consists primarily of a framework of improved dirt roads, supple-
mented by many unimproved dirt roads and trails. The roads are mainly
of local importance; there are no heavily traveled interregional
routes.
Region Xa is largely an arid land of low plains, sandy deserts,
hills, plateaus, and mountains. Low plains fringe the Caspian Sea,
extend eastward from the Aral Sea, and border the Irtysh River.
Sandy deserts include the vast Kyzyl-Kum, south of the Syr-Darya.
River, and the Muyun-Kum and Sary-Ishik-Otrau, both located near Lake
Balkhash. Much of the eastern half of the region, as well as smaller
areas in the west, is hill land. Plateaus are found north and west
of the Aral Sea, and high mountains along the eastern and southeastern
borders.
Low bushes, mainly wormwood (sagebrush), are the dominant type of
vegetation over most of the region. In the north are some grass:Lands,
and some of the higher mountain slopes are forested.
Throughout much of the region, rivers and streams terminate in
landlocked seas, lakes, or local depressions. The Caspian, Aral,
and Balkhash Seas are three of the largest landlocked bodies of
water in the world. Only in the north, where the Irtysh and Ishim
flow northward to the Ob', is there any exterior drainage. The major
rivers of the region are the Syr-Darya, Ural, Irtysh, Ishim, Ili,
and Chu.
Most of Kazakhstan is a desert region with hot summers and
cold winters. The only exceptions are the high mountains along the
southern and southeastern borders, where rainfall is heavier and.
temperatures are cooler at all seasons.
XIII. Economic Region Xb.
Economic Region Xb, Central Asia, is a desert and mountain area
whose chief contributions to Soviet economy are the products of its
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fertile irrigated agricultural lands. It includes four republics of
southern Soviet Central Asia -- the Turkmen, Uzbek, Kirgiz, and
Tadzhik?SSR's. From the Caspian Sea the region extends eastward
about 1,450 miles to Sinkiang. The total area is about 475,000 square
..or about three times that of the state of California.
miles
Irrigation farming plays the leading role in the economy of the
region. The main crop is cotton, which is grown chiefly in the Fergana
and Vakhsh Valleys and around the oases of Tashkent, Samarkand, and
Bukhara. The region provides most of the cotton grown in the USSR.
Other irrigated crops are rice., alfalfa, wheat, corn, and melons.
Orchards producing peaches, apples, and pears are widespread, as are
vineyards. Grain crops are grown on nonirrigated lower mountain
slopes. Also important is the raising of livestock, including sheep,
cattle, goats, and camels.
Heavy industries are concentrated in the vicinity of Tashkent, a
center of metallurgy, textile, machine-construction, and food pro-
cessing. Processing plants, such as ginning mills, oil presses, and
canneries, are located in many parts of the region, especially in the
larger cities. The region has considerable reserves of mineral re-
sources, but their exploitation has been'slow. Current exploitation
includes petroleum, coal, salt, sulfur, and nonferrous metals.
The population of Region Xb is somewhat over 11.4 million of whom
approximately half are Uzbeks. Tadzhiks number about 1.2 million
and Kirgizi and Turkmenians about a million each. Other important
groups include Great Russians, Ukrainians, and Kara-Kalpaks. Many
of the native peoples live in villages of clustered homes, with
communal fields nearby. The Great Russians and Ukrainians have
settled. chiefly in the cities, where they are engaged in industrial
and commercial activities. The larger cities are Tashkent (popula-
tion 600,000; largest city in Central Asia), Samarkand (150,000),
Frunze (140,000) Ashkhabad (120,000), Stalinabad (110,000),
Andizhan (90,0005, Kokand (75,000), and Namangan (75,000).
The transportation network of the region is poorly developed
according to Western standards. The railroads, which are the
primary means of passenger and cargo transport, have been developed
primarily to move agricultural and mineral raw materials to other
parts of the USSR and secondarily as intraregional lines of
communication. The main line runs east from the Caspian Sea along
the Kopet-Dag foothills, across the Kara-Kum Desert, and along the
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foothills of the Tyan'-Shan, connecting all the larger cities of the
region. The main railroad to European Russia leads northwest from
Tashkent. Roads are few and disconnected. There are only a few
stretches of paved roads, and most of these are in the Samarkand-
Stalinabad area. The majority of the roads are dirt-surfaced, poorly
maintained, and muddy after rains.
On the basis of terrain the region can be divided into two parts.
The western half is largely desert plain, and the eastern half is
mostly mountainous. The desert plain in the west extends from the
Caspian Sea to the western foothills of the Tyan'-Shan. Much of the
area is occupied by the Kara-Kum and Kyzyl-Kum. Deserts, which are
separated by the Amu-Darya River. Along the southern border are
irrigated oases at the foot of the Kopet-Dag Mountains. In the
eastern half are the forested Tyan'-Shan and Pamir Mountain systems,
with some of the highest and most heavily glaciated ranges in the
world. Both systems rise to over 21+,000 feet above sea level. Be-
tween the.various ranges are wide mountain valleys, constituting rich
agricultural and pasture lands. Particularly notable are the Fergana
and Vakhsh Valleys.
All the waters of the region drain into inland basins. The two
most important river systems are the Amu-Darya and Syr-Dar'ya,
which flow into the Aral Sea. The waters of both rivers are used
extensively for irrigation. In eastern Kirgiz is the large
mountain lake, Issyk-Kul', which is about a mile above sea level..
The climate of the desert plain is characterized by long and
hot summers, cold winters, wide daily temperature ranges, scant pre-
cipitation, and continuously dry air. In the higher mountains to
the east, the temperatures are generally lower and winters are severe;
precipitation varies from 7 to 30 inches, depending upon the
character of the relief and exposure of slope.
XIV. Economic Region XI.
Economic Region XI, East Siberia, is a remote region of taiga
and tundra that extends from the Yenisey River to the Far Eastern
Economic Region. On the north is the Arctic Ocean, and on the south
are the mountains of the Mongolian People's Republic. Although
approximately the size of the US, the region has a total population
smaller than that of New York City. The only industrial development
of note is in the south, in areas accessible to the Trans-Siberian
Railroad.
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The contributions of Region XI to the national economy are
lumber, gold, and furs. Most of its coal and the products of its
manufacturing industries are for local consumption. The coniferous
forests of the taiga of East Siberia supply most of the lumber
for exporting -- primarily larch, with some pine from the southern
half of the region. Most of the logs are floated down the Yenisey
and Lena Rivers to Igarka and Tiksi to be milled and exported, but
logs from the southern part of the region are processed at many
cities along the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Lumber, paper, cellulose,
furniture, and matches are the principal products. Gold is mined
in many places in the southern and central parts of Eastern Siberia.
The region supplies nearly one-third of the total Soviet gold produc-
tion. Furs are procured chiefly in the taiga of the Evenki National
Okrug and the Yakutsk ASSR. The principal types are sable, ermine,
marten, mink, and squirrel.
Coal is the chief mineral mined for local use in Region XI.
Although extensive deposits are found within the region, they are
little developed because of their isolation. The largest deposits
are in the Lena River valley and in the highland east of the Yenisey
River. Smaller deposits in the south are mined to supply fuel for
the industries in Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk, and Chita.
The largest cities in Region XI have developed where the Trans-
Siberian Railroad crosses the northward-flowing rivers. Krasnoyarsk,,
on the Yenisey, produces locomotives, gold-mining and agricultural
machinery, paper, cellulose, lumber, and flour. The industries of
Irkutsk produce machinery, plywood, meat products, and flour. Power
for these industries is obtained from coal mined at the neighboring
Cheremkovo Basin. The Angara River is being harnessed to provide
Irkutsk with hydroelectric power. Ulan-Ude, the capital of Buryat-
Mongol A.SSR, produces locomotives and railroad cars, meat products,
glass, and flour. Yakutsk, the only major city not on the Trans-
Siberian Railroad, processes most of the farm products grown in the
Yakutsk ASSR.
Agriculture is concentrated in the scattered steppe areas that
appear as islands in the southern taiga. Of these, the largest is
the Minusinsk Basin, where the fertile black soil produces spring
wheat, sugar beets, and flax. Elsewhere in East Siberia the
mountainous relief, severe climate, light rainfall, and frozen sub-
soil limit the expansion of agriculture; but small amounts of barley
and spring rye are grown as far north as the Arctic Circle.
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The principal routes of transportation for most of Region XI are
the rivers that flow northward and empty into the Arctic Ocean. The
Yenisey and Lena are the longest, but both are navigable only during
the summer. The rivers connect with the Northern Sea Route at the
Arctic ports of Dikson and Tiksi.
The Trans-Siberian Railroad serves the southern part of Region XI
and is responsible for the establishment and growth of cities at river
crossings. The Baykal-Amur-Magistral' (BAM) branches off the Trans-
Siberian to the northeast at Tayshet. At present, the line is
believed to extend only from Tayshet to the Bodaybo gold fields2 but
the planned eastern terminus is Komsomol'sk on the Amur River.
The population of Region XI is sparse, averaging only 3 persons
per square mile, but in much of northern Yakutsk ASSR the density
drops to 1 person for every 30 square miles. The heaviest concen-
tration of population, 10 per square mile, is along the Trans-
Siberian Railroad. Great Russians, who are the most numerous, live
in the areas of higher economic development. The remainder of the
population consists of native groups -- the Evenki in the north,
Tuvinians and Khakassi in the southwest, and the Buryat-Mongols in
the southeast.
East Siberia consists of a large plateau bordered by mountains
on the south and east. This Central Siberian Plateau is drained
by numerous rivers that flow through deep, steep-sided valleys.
All of them are tributaries of the broad, majestic Yenisey and
Lena Rivers, which border the plateau on the west and east. In
the south, mountains form broad arcs along the edge of the plateau
and rise to elevations of 11,000 feet. The Sayan Mountains have
rounded., dome-like summits devoid of vegetation. The region sur-
rounding Lake Baykal is composed of plateaus and mountain ridges of
various elevations, separated by wide, deep river valleys. On the
east the Central Siberian Plateau is bordered by the ,jagged, alpine
peaks of the Verkhoyansk Range. These mountains give way in the
extreme northeast to the lowland of the Indigirka and Kolyma Rivers.
Permafrost underlies all of East Siberia except for an area
between the upper Yenisey and Angara Rivers. The thickness of this
permanently frozen subsoil varies from 3 feet in the south to 2,000
feet at Nordvik.
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Taiga vegetation is predominant in East Siberia and extends
from the southern mountains to 70? latitude. Scattered throughout
the southern taiga are small islands of steppe vegetation, which
are extensions of the vast Mongolian steppes. The Minusinsk Basin
is the largest of the steppe areas. Beyond the northern limit of the
taiga, the vegetation consists of stunted, bushy tundra plants, which
continue northward to the Arctic littoral.
Because of its great latitudinal extent, East Siberia has an
extremely varied climate. The region in general has humid, cool
summers and long, cold winters. Precipitation ranges from 5 to 7
inches along the Arctic coast to over 40 inches in the Sayan Mountains.
In summer, rain falls in short, heavy thunderstorms. Little snow falls
in winter and skies are clear. The interior of Eastern Siberia has
extremely cold winters -- Verkhoyansk averages -58?F during January
and has recorded a low of -94?F. The maximum temperature recorded at
Verkhoyansk is 940F -- giving it a temperature range of nearly 200?.
Farther north, on approaching the Arctic coast, temperatures become
somewhat higher and average -30?F for January.
XV. Economic Region XIT.
Economic Region XII, the Soviet Far East, stretches from Korea to
Mys Dezhneva, only 50 miles from the North American continent. This
vast region covers approximately 1,207,000 square miles, an area
equal to one-half that of European USSR. It includes the Primorskiy
(Maritime) and Khabarovskiy Krays, and the Amur, Magadan, and
Sakhalin Oblasts.
The economic importance of the Far East lies in its range of
natural resources. Mining, fishing, lumbering, and fur trapping are
the basic activities of the region. The Magadan-Kolyma area in the
north is one of the most important gold-mining districts of the USSR.
Gold is also mined in the Zeya, Selemdzha, and Bureya River valleys
in the south. Coal is mined at Artem and Suchan in the vicinity of
Vladivostok, in the Bureya Basin, and on Sakhalin Island. Sakhalin
is also a producer of petroleum. The Bureya coking coal supplies the
metallurgical industry at Komsomol'sk-na-Amure. A variety of other
mineral resources are also mined to a lesser extent throughout the
region. The region ranks as the leading fish producer of the USSR.
Fishing grounds include the Sea of Okhotsk, the waters along the
Kamchatka Peninsula, the lower Amur River, and the Sea of Japan.
Along the coast are a number of fishing and canning centers. The
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dense forests of the region provide a rich source of lumber and a
variety of fur-bearing animals. Agriculture is limited chiefly to
the Amur and Ussuri River valleys. The principal cultivated areas
are the Zeya-Bureya Plain, the middle Amur Valley, and the Khanka-
Ussuri Lowland. Spring grain, rice, and soy beans are among the
crops grown in these areas.
The population of Region XII, numbering approximately 5.1 mil-
lion, is concentrated chiefly in the south along the Amur River
and its tributaries and along the Trans-Siberian Railroad. Great
Russians and Ukrainians, who make up the bulk of the farmers and
industrial workers, constitute approximately 80 percent of the total
population. The Paleoasiatic and Tungus-Manchurian tribes, the
original inhabitants of the region, now comprise about 10 percent of
the population. Chinese and Koreans, constituting less than 10 per-
cent, live mostly in the southern areas. Yakuts and Jews also form
sizable minorities.
The most important cities of the Far East are located along major
transportation arteries and serve chiefly as administrative, in-
dustrial, and transportation centers. The cities of Vladivostok and
Khabarovsk, each with over 300,000 population, are the largest urban
centers of the region. Vladivostok is the chief Soviet port on the
Pacific and the terminus of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. The port of
Vladivostok and the adjacent port of Nakhodka are kept open year-
round with the aid of ice-breakers. Industries of Vladivostok are
based primarily upon maritime commerce, fishing, shipbuilding, saw-
milling, and the manufacture of machinery. Khabarovsk, located on
the Amur River at its junction with the Trans-Siberian Railroad, is
the most important transportation center of the region. Major in-
dustries of Khabarovsk include oil refining, shipbuilding, aircraft
and auto assembly, the manufacture of machinery, and food processing.
Other industrial and transportation centers of the region include
Voroshilov, Komsomol'sk-na-Amure, Blagoveshchensk, Nikolayevsk-na-
Amure, Sovetskaya Gavan', and Oka and Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on Sakhalin
Island.
The Trans-Siberian Railroad, which links the Far East with other
regions of the USSR, and the Amur River are the chief transportation
routes of the region. A second railroad farther north, the Baykal-
Amur-Magistral' (BAM), is reportedly under construction. The road
network of the region is poorly developed except in the Amur River
basin. A few improved roads extend inland from major settlements
along the coast. During the ice-free navigation season, coast-
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wise shipping is of some importance. Air routes linking remote areas
of the region are becoming increasingly important.
A series of extensive rugged mountains lying roughly parallel to
the cpast forms the principal relief feature of the region. The
major mountain chains include the Sikhote-Alin', Stanovoy,
Dzhugdzhur, and Kolyma, and two parallel ranges on Kamchatka Penin-
sula. Many permanently snowcapped peaks protrude above the surrounding
mountain ranges. The Amur in the south, and the Kolyma, Anadyr', and
Kamchatka in the north are the major rivers of the region. Most of the
mountain slopes and intervening valleys are covered by a dense forest
growth. In. the south the Amur Valley and Maritime Kray have a cover
of mixed deciduous and coniferous forest; in the north, coniferous
trees prevail. Grasslands are found in the river valleys, at higher
altitudes along the mountain slopes, and on plateaus. Most of the
Kamchatka Peninsula is forested, but tundra covers the entire
Chukotsk-Anadyr' area to the north.
The climate of the region is largely monsoonal, except in the
north, where Arctic conditions prevail. The maritime effect of the
Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific Ocean, and the mountain ranges that
parallel the east coast have an ameliorating effect on the climate of
the region. Summers are usually hot and humid in the south but be-
come cooler and drier toward the north. Most of the precipitation
falls during the summer. Precipitation is heaviest on the Kurile Is-
lands, along the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, and in the
Amur Valley and Maritime Kray. Winters are severe, dry, and clear.
In winter, cold air masses from Siberia flow across Region XII, but
they are modified somewhat by the Sea of Okhotsk and the Pacific
Ocean.
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Population and Area
of the Economic Regions of the USSR
1954
Economic Region
Population
(Millions)
Area
(Thousand Square
Miles)
Population
(Density per
Square Mile)
Ia
8.1
188
43
Ib
3.6
443
8
IIa
7.2
74
97
IIb
9.3
80
116
III
46.8
246
190
IV
9.9
138
72
V
8.4
74
113
VI
11.1
187
59
viI
48.6
380
128
VIII
14.4
294
49
Ix
11.7
936
12
Xa
7.2
1,063
6
Xb
11.4
475
24
xi
7.2
2,781
3
XII
5.1
1,207
4
Total USSR
210.0
8,566
24.5
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