Environmental Tour: The Russian Domain and the Balkans

Overview

The Russian Domain is enormous, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Black Sea, and the Balkans extend that territory to the Mediterranean Sea. It is thus a region that is truly Eurasian, and as a result it consists of very different climates in different parts of the regionbut overall Russia has a harsh climate. Russia itself spans 11 time zones, making it the largest state, geographically speaking, in the world. The Balkans are mainly covered in mountains from the Balkan Mountains on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria to the Dinaric Alps in Bosnia to the Korab-Sar Mountains of Kosovo, Albania and North Macedonia. On the Mediterranean coast, the Balkans have a humid and subtropical climate; northward, the climate is colder. The humid climate persists inland in Bosnia. This climate contrasts sharply with the frigid climate of much of Russia, particularly in the Siberian peninsula in the East.

Plate Tectonics

Russia is on the Eurasian Plate, which is the third largest plate behind the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate. Numerous plate tectonic models have been proposed for Russia and the Balkans, but there is no agreement among scholars with regard to plate tectonic theory: In the 1980s, Russian mobilists started concentrating their efforts on as yet unsolved problems of plate tectonics. One of these was the question of 'plate tectonics manifestations' in the Precambrian, especially in the Early Precambrian. As is well known, opinions on this issue are still divided (Khain & Ryabukhin, 2002, p. 190). Therefore, general consensus is that Russia and the Balkans sit upon the Eurasian Plate, but whether this is one plate or several pates in motion remains debated.

Topography

The topography of the region consists of Eastern and Western Siberian Plains. Then there is the North Siberian lowland, and the Kolyma lowland. There is also the Central Siberian Plateau and the Lena Plateau. The Ural Mountains divide Asia from Europe and run through the middle of Russia. Mountains in the south and through the Balkans further delineate the boundaries of this region. The topography is thus a wide range of features, from flat lands to mountains, with plateaus, deep lakes, long rivers, valleys, meadows, low lands, and forests. Russia has a little bit of everything except for wide deserts like the Saharan.

River Systems

The Volga River is the main river in Western Russia and serves as the important waterway for the country. However, there are many river systems throughout the domain, with rivers in the Siberian plains connecting to seas and converging even with the Volga. In the Balkans, the Danube River links the Balkan states. These rivers are important for the regions as they connect to important seas; the Volga flows to the Caspian Sea; the Danube flows to the Black Sea. Both have important geostrategic significance. The Siberian rivers flow into the Arctic.

Climate

The climate of the Balkans is milder near the sea than the climate of Russia. Russia can get very cold in the winter, no matter where one is. It can also get very hot for example in St. Petersberg and Moscow in the summer months. The weather fluctuates a great deal due to the jet stream. However, in the northern parts, the climate tends to be cold and frozen. The Balkan area is much different especially the coastal regions, which enjoy a Mediterranean climate, while further north, the climate is colder. Moldova for instance has a mild and sunny climate (Russian Domain, n.d.). Russia is further north still and is extremely cold in the Siberian peninsula.

Biomes

In Russia, various biomes are found, from tundra to taiga to deciduous forest to steppe and desert. It is a very diverse region because it is so big. The Balkans are less diverse with mainly forested and mountainous parts. Greece has a rocky terrain. The Caucasus in Russias south have good soil and the farmlands there are good. The region is very rich in natural resources, which is why Russia is a leading exporter of timber, oil, gas, and other commodities.

Tour

Five stops that convey the diversity of physical landscapes in the Russian Domain and the Balkans include: Lake Baikal, in southern Russia; the Russian taiga forest in northern Russia; Sikhote-Alin, in southeastern Russia; the Siberian peninsula in northeastern Russia; and Greece in the Balkans. Each of these stops reveals part of Russias uniqueness or the Balkans attractiveness. One could explore many different regions in the Russian Domain and find that no two are really alike, but these five stops help to show what especially makes Russia such an interesting place.

Map of Russia: Note Lake Baikal north of Mongolia

First off is Lake Baikal, which is the oldest and cleanest lake in the world and is incredibly deep. It is also home to two-thirds of animal life found nowhere else on the planet (OneWorld365, n.d.). So it is a very unique place for those reasons alonebut it is also unique because it is so separated from human society: it is like a place where one can retreat without being bothered by...…children in Russia (Apropedia, 2020).

But it is not just pollution from factories; there is so little oversight and regulation and so much land that people can engage in illegal activities without being caught fairly easily. That is why illegal logging is a problem in Russia as well: According to the Center for Russian Environmental Policy, 16 million hectares of forest are destroyed each year to issues such as logging, fires and pollution. Roughly 1 billion dollars is lost each year to illegal logging. It is also estimated that 40% of harvested trees never get used do to ineffective clear-cutting strategies (Apropedia, 2020). This deforestation leads to pollution as well: Since a staggering 19% of the worlds forest reserves are located in Russia, the deforestation in this country alone accounts for anywhere between 300 to 600 million tons of the 1.5 billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) that are sequestered each year as a result of global deforestation (Smith, 2015). Thus, one can see that the deforestation problem and illegal use of forests is tied to pollution.

Water pollution is a big problem, however, where there are factories: Russia does not have the funding required to put ater treatment plants in all parts of the country, a serious problem for its citizens in more remote areas. In addition to this, factories pump dangerous chemicals into nearby waters to this day, as the same lack of funding prevents necessary monitoring of local plants (Baltic21, n.d.). Politically, this has not been an issue for Russias leaders, as Russia itself came out of a state of collapse that occurred in the 1990s when the Soviet Union fell. In the 21st century, Russia has been rebuilding to some extent, but it is still very much a dictatorship to a large extent, politically speaking. The people there do not have access to much in the way of the power structure of politics.

One possible solution is for Russia to adopt more stringent regulations, which would help to show the rest of the world that it does take pollution seriously. The West is trying to wean itself off fossil fuels out of concern for pollution, and when Russia shows its negligence on this matter it sends a signal to the West that the country is not serious about addressing the problem. Russia is also at odds with the West over Ukraine and the ongoing war thereso Russia could essentially build a bridge to the West by focusing more on stopping pollution, cutting down on illegal logging, and force factories to…