The document provides an overview of the geography, history, and development of Europe and Russia. It describes the major physical features of Eurasia, including mountain ranges like the Ural Mountains and Alps, as well as rivers such as the Danube, Volga, and Rhine. It then discusses the origins and spread of influential political systems and religions, as well as the major events that shaped Europe, including the Renaissance, Reformation, industrialization, World Wars, and modern European Union.

1. GLOBAL STUDIES Unit #4 Europe and Russia

2. Eurasia – world largest landmass – made up of both Europe and Asia Ural Mountains – forms an imaginary boundary between Europe and Asia – Russia straddles the mountain range -- Europe – west of the mountains Asia – east of the mountains Siberia – stretches for thousands of miles in Eastern Russia – mostly uninhabited or sparsely inhabited – home of vast natural resources – intense cold in the winter

3. North European Plain – stretches from northern France across the Germanic and Polish lands and into Russia – rich, productive soil – great for farming – area of where the highest concentration of people live – cities such as London, Paris, Moscow, Warsaw, Berlin Alpine Mountains – stretch from Switzerland across to Austria, into the Balkans and across the Black Sea to Georgia – form a natural barrier between Central (Germanic) Europe and Mediterranean (Greco-Roman) Europe – The Alps , a mountain range in Italy and Switzerland from which the system takes its name, is but one range in the Alpine chain

4. Danube River Begins in the mountains of Germany and runs east to the Black Sea Second longest river in Europe Navigable year round Volga River Longest river in Europe Runs through Russia to the Caspian Sea Much of the river is frozen during winter months and is thus not navigable Rhine River Starts in the Alps and runs to the North Sea (flows north) Along with its tributaries, forms a major transportation network for Western Europe (very important for trade in pre-industrial European times)

5. Europe forms a peninsula Gulf Stream – brings warmer water from the southern hemisphere (runs up the east coast of North America and across the North Atlantic) – keeps coasts of Great Britain and Norway from freezing Marine influences dominate the continent and keep the climate warmer than it should be based on its latitude As one moves east towards Russia, there is less influence from the warm, moist air. Arctic regions are bitterly cold, due in large part to the “Siberian high” – a large cold, dry high pressure area that forms in central Siberia during the winter months

6. Fossil fuels, particularly oil and coal, are found across the continent Large oil fields can be found in the North Sea and in Siberian Russia, although much of it lays far from centers of population, and thus must be transported great distances via pipelines. Russia also has great reserves of coal and iron ore Great Britain also has a shallow, but important, vein of coal that runs the spine of the island. This vein was important for the early industrial revolution, which relied heavily upon steam engines powered by coal fires. Timber reserves are largely depleted due to hundreds (perhaps thousands) of years of development and civilization

7. Important for philosophical thought and the idea behind observation and logical processing in science, medicine and reasoning Democracy – form of government used in ancient Athens – every citizen votes on every law – impracticable in a large society Dictatorship – form of government used in ancient Sparta – citizens serve the state – no individualism – absolute equality Republic – form of government advocated by Plato in his book, The Republic – citizens vote for representatives, and those representatives vote on the laws for the citizens – sets the pattern for modern republics of today

9. Republic started in 509 BC – 1 st working republic (only for the upper class citizens at the time) Turned into an empire after Rome began to expand off the Italian peninsula Eventually grew to encompass the entire Mediterranean area, North Africa and most of Europe Governed by local autonomy – provinces had a dual system of government where local rulers shared power with Roman procurators

10. Based on the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, a Jew from Palestine (a small Roman province in the eastern reaches of the empire) Religion of Salvation – gave poor people hope for a better afterlife (especially popular among women and slaves) Spread by Paul of Tarsus to people throughout the empire – He established churches in many cities and then wrote letters back to the faithful. Some of these letters are in the Bible. Acts as a cancer to Rome – Christians commit treason by not praying to the emperor’s God – Christians are crucified by the thousands, but the movement continues to grow, eventually causing the empire to rot from within. When Rome collapses, Christianity will survive and will serve to unite Europeans behind the pope, who will become the most powerful man in Europe

11. Spices – grown in the orient brought back by European medieval knights fighting the Crusades in the Holy Land against Moslems Used to cover up the taste of rotten meat in an age before refrigeration By the time of Columbus – counted grain by grain – pepper was worth its weight in gold Arab traders signed exclusive trading contracts with different Northern Italian City-states

12. Means “rebirth” – it was the rebirth of learning and culture Started in the Northern Italian City States as a result of profits from the spice trade Artistic movement based on the rediscovery of Greco-roman ideas Literary movement in Northern Europe (England) – centered around Shakespeare Great Italian Artists of the Renaissance Leonardo da Vinci Donatello Raphael Michelangelo

13. Originally – only 1 Christian Church (Catholic) Gradually, over hundreds of years, the Church became corrupt and wielded immense power Martin Luther – German Monk – challenged the Church on indulgences – came up with the idea of Justification by faith alone – nailed the “95 Theses” to the Church door in Wittenburg, Germany in 1517 As a result of Luther’s writings, others began to challenge the church as well Eventually, the church fractured into two camps, protestant and Catholic (today there are thousands of Christian denominations)

14. The search for the spice routes led Europeans into exploration Portuguese sailed around Africa beginning in the 1450s and eventually rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1498 and sailed onto India and China Found the coastal west African kingdoms Became Europe’s slave traders Spanish Columbus sailed west to find the Orient (everyone knew the earth was round) Eventually colonized most of Central and South America French and English Settled North America

15. Copernicus Used mathematical principles to develop the heliocentric model of the universe (disproved the geocentric model) Challenged the Church on a scientific basis Opened the door for others to challenge Age of Enlightenment Used reason to challenge government David Hume – Challenges the existence of God Deism – a new enlightened religion

16. Rise of the machines and factories Steam power – runs the first factories Textiles – cloth products – first factories in the textile industry – starts in England Railroads – very important for transportation of goods New efficient weapons – better ways to kill people Socialism – comes to life with the growth of the new proletariat (working class) – tries to improve the lives of the people living in the slums Nationalism – competes with socialism for people’s passions – tells workers that nation matters, not class – uses propaganda to “convince” workers to do what they’re told to do.

17. European powers fighting over land and nationalism Old tactics and modern weapons lead to horrific numbers of dead Trench system on the western front (France and Belgium) drags the war on for 4 years Eventually the United States helped turn the tide in 1918

18. NAZI – German workers party of ex-soldiers that came to power in 1933 – dedicated to taking over the world – run by Adolph Hitler Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany’s losses in WWI – he tried to exterminate them in what became known as the Holocaust 1935 – Germany begins to take over parts of Europe (much of it had been taken away from Germany after WWI 1939 – Britain and France go to war against Germany (the USSR joined against Germany in 1940)

19. After 1945 the US rebuilt Western Europe while the USSR rebuilt Eastern Europe 1945 to 1990 – Europe was divided into two armed camps, each supplied with nuclear weapons Berlin – A divided city When the USSR collapsed, Germany reunited and the cold war ended

20. European Union – the EU United economically under the Euro (currency) Countries are intensely nationalistic, but they no longer want to fight wars over it – too many died in the 20 th century Mostly socialist Healthcare Airlines Public services Telephone and other services