Module 2
Europe and Russia
a. Introducing the Realm
From the Roman Empire to the European Union (EU), Europe’s historical pattern
of development is a model study in regional geography. From historic empires to diverse
nation-states to a multicountry union, the continent struggles to confront the cultural
forces that unite and divide it. The powerful impact European colonialism has had on the
world since the Industrial Revolution is still felt today. The rural-to-urban shift prompted
by the Industrial Revolution first impacted Europe and continues to impact developing
countries. Understanding the geographic region of Europe is essential to understanding
our world. This short summary of the basic concepts will provide a valuable lesson in
globalization, which affects every human being on the planet. The concepts and
principles that apply to Europe can also apply to other countries and regions.
Europe is a northern continent. All the British Isles, for example, fall above the
fiftieth parallel. If we compare Europe’s position on a globe with that of the contiguous
United States, we see that much of Europe lies north of the United States. Paris, France,
is at about the same latitude as Fargo, North Dakota, or Ulaanbaator, Mongolia. Athens,
Greece, is at about the same latitude as St. Louis, Missouri, or Tokyo, Japan. Europe’s
northern position affects its growing seasons and cultural traditions, and it should be
taken into consideration as an important influence in the evolution of the European
character. Europe is also surrounded by bodies of water: the Atlantic Ocean borders
Europe on the west, the Arctic Ocean borders Europe to the north, and many seas
surround the various peninsulas and coastal regions.
The oceans exert significant influence on the world’s climates. The oceans collect
and store vast amounts of solar energy, particularly around the equator, and transport that
heat with their currents. Ocean currents can move water for thousands of miles from one
temperature zone to another. Because oceans can absorb so much heat, maritime climates
are often milder than continental ones, with smaller temperature variations from day to
night as well as from winter to summer. This influences not only temperature but also
precipitation patterns over wide regions of Europe and the rest of the world. Water
moderates coast environments in a number of ways. Water heats and cools more slowly
than land. This heat inertia allows coastal communities to have climates that tend to be
more moderate than one might imagine for places so far north. Interior Europe does not
benefit from coastal waters and can have winters as cold as those found within the upper
midwestern United States.
The Gulf Stream is perhaps the most important current for Western Europe’s
climate and is responsible for producing a temperate climate for a northern latitude
location. Most of Western Europe has a moderate type C climate. The Gulf Stream
originates in the Gulf of Mexico, where the waters are warmed. This powerful current
follows the Eastern Seaboard of the United States before crossing the Atlantic Ocean for
Europe. The Gulf Stream’s most dramatic effect can be found in the western coastal
islands of Scotland, which has a mild enough climate to support some forms of tropical
flora, even though it is a degree of latitude as far north as Hudson Bay, Canada.
The coast of Norway provides another example. While most of Norway’s coastal
area lies within the Arctic region, it remains free of ice and snow throughout the winter.
People living farther inland and closer to Eastern Europe and Russia encounter the colder
type D climates. Colder air sweeps down from the Arctic north or from eastern Siberia
and provides colder winters in this eastern region. The Mediterranean Sea moderates the
temperature to the south, providing a type C climate around its shores. Type C climates
meet up with type E climates at or near the Arctic Circle in Norway and in Iceland.
Europe has four main landforms, many islands and peninsulas, and various
climate types. The four main landforms include the Alpine region, Central Uplands,
Northern Lowlands, and Western Highlands. Each represents a different physical part of
Europe. The wide-ranging physical environment has provided Europe with an abundance
of biodiversity. Biodiversity refers to diversity of the number of species in an ecosystem
and the quantity of members in each species. The physical environment also provides
natural resources and raw materials for human activities. Europe’s moderate climates and
favorable relative location are supported by its access to the many rivers and seas. These
advantageous developmental factors supported the development of the Industrial
Revolution in Europe, which gave rise to highly technical and urban societies. Europe has
emerged as one of the core economic centers of the global economy. Associated with the
urbanization of Europe are high human population densities that have placed a strain on
the natural environment. As a result, there has been significant deforestation and the loss
of natural habitat, which has in turn decreased the realm’s level of biodiversity.
Rivers are abundant in Europe and have provided adequate transportation for
travel and trade throughout its history. Most of Europe is accessible by water transport
either via the many rivers or along the extensive coastlines of the peninsulas and islands.
Two main rivers divide Europe: the Danube and the Rhine. Both have their origins in the
region of southern Germany on or near the border with Switzerland. The Rhine River
flows north and empties into the North Sea in Rotterdam, Holland, one of the world’s
busiest ports. The Danube flows east through various major European cities, such as
Vienna, Budapest, and Belgrade before emptying into the Black Sea.
The High Alps, which range from eastern France to Slovenia, are central to the
Alpine region. Included in the Alpine mountain range are the Pyrenees, located on the
border between France and Spain; the Apennines, running the length of Italy; the
Carpathians, looping around Romania from Slovakia; and finally, the shorter Dinaric
Alps in former Yugoslavia. Mountains usually provide minerals and ores that were
placed there when the earth’s internal processes created the mountains. Mountains also
isolate people by acting as a dividing range that can separate people into cultural groups.
The Alpine region encircles the Mediterranean coastlines, which have more temperate
type C climates that are particularly warm with hot, dry summers and cool, wet winters.
This climate type allows for the cultivation of food products such as olives, citrus fruit,
figs, apricots, and grapes. Evergreen scrub oaks and other drought-resistant shrubs are
common in the Mediterranean region.
The region bordering the main Alps to the north, which includes a large portion of
southern Germany extending eastward, is known as the Central Uplands. These foothills
to the Alps are excellent sources of raw materials such as forest products and coal, which
are valuable resources for industrial activities. The Central Uplands are also good
locations for dairy farming and cattle raising. This middle portion of the continent has a
mixed deciduous-coniferous forest, and the vegetation includes oak, elm, and maple trees
intermingled with pine and fir trees. There are four distinct seasons in this region with
moderate amounts of precipitation year-round.
Similar to the breadbasket of the midwestern United States, Europe’s Northern
Lowlands possess excellent farmland. Major agricultural operations here provide for a
large European population. The land is flat to rolling with relatively good soils. The
Northern Lowlands are a great plain that extends across northern Europe from southern
France, north through Germany, and then all the way to the Ural Mountains of Russia.
This area is typified by prairies and areas of tall grasses and is mostly used as farmland.
The lowlands area also contains bogs, heaths, and lakes. The eastern part of this great
plain around Ukraine is characterized by a steppe biome. It is a flat and relatively dry
region with short grasses and is generally an agricultural region. This eastern area has
great swings in temperature, both from day to night and from summer to winter. Winter
temperatures in the eastern steppe can drop to below −40°F, with summer temperatures
reaching as high as 105°F. This is similar to the steppes of eastern Montana or western
North Dakota in the United States.
On the western edges of the European continent arise short, rugged mountains
called highlands that extend throughout Norway, parts of Britain, and portions of the
Iberian Peninsula of Portugal and Spain. These Western Highlands hold sparser
populations and are less attractive to large farming operations. Agriculture is usually
limited to grazing livestock or farming in the valleys and meadows. The Scottish
Highlands are noted for their wool products and Highland cattle. In England, the central
chain of highlands called the Pennines proved valuable during the Industrial Revolution
because they enabled hydropower and, later, coal mining. Coal mining was prominent in
the highland regions of Wales. In the far northern regions of Scandinavia, tundra
environments prevail. In this coldest and driest biome, permafrost dominates the
landscape, and the land becomes soggy for brief periods during the few weeks of
summer. The flora consists primarily of lichens, mosses, low shrubs, and wildflowers.
The physical landforms of Europe provide a diversity of geographic opportunities
that have catapulted Europe through the Industrial Revolution and into the Information
Age. With an abundance of natural resources, European countries have gained wealth
from the land and leveraged their geographic location to develop a powerhouse of
economic activity for the global marketplace. Europe has placed a strong focus on
manufacturing activity to take advantage of its natural resources. The highly urbanized
society has struggled to find a balance between modernization and environmental
concerns. Industrial activities have contributed to the degradation of the environment and
the demise of a number of species.
Different regions of Europe are blessed with fresh water supplies, good soils, and
various minerals. Chief among the mineral deposits in Europe is iron ore, which can be
found in Sweden, France, and Ukraine. Other minerals exist in smaller quantities,
including copper, lead, bauxite, manganese, nickel, gold, silver, potash, clay, gypsum,
dolomite, and salt. Extraction activities have supported the continent’s industrialization.
The ready access to vast areas of the Atlantic Ocean and a number of major seas, lakes,
and rivers has elevated fish to an important natural resource in Europe. The seas around
Europe provide about 10 percent of the world’s fish catches. Mirroring the situation
around the world, European fishing activity increased as population increased. Europeans
are becoming increasingly aware of the effects of overfishing. Stocks of Atlantic cod and
Atlantic mackerel are considered to be at risk because of the twin threats of overfishing
and changes in the environment that are affecting natural mortality and slowing
spawning. Stocks of eastern North Atlantic bluefin tuna are also attracting attention for
the same reason. Other species of fish in the North Atlantic and the Baltic Sea are
considered overexploited. Changes to the fishery are a major concern for strictly
ecological reasons and also because fish comprise such a significant portion of the
European economy.
The countries of Europe, with the formation of the EU, began to work toward
shared research and policies with respect to the fishery. The Common Fisheries Policy
was drafted and includes strict and extensive rules and guidelines for fishing, particularly
of cod. The rules are so strict and thus so controversial that Norway and Iceland decided
to opt out of the EU rather than agree to abide by these rules. The effect of these rules is
incompletely known, but the cod stocks in the North Sea do not seem to be rebounding as
quickly or substantially as expected.
Forests covers more than 40 percent of the continent’s land area, with the majority
on the Russian side. Forests exist primarily in the less populous Nordic and Baltic
countries and in Central Europe. About half the forest land in Europe is privately owned.
Interestingly, there are several different forms of private ownership, including large
family holdings, holdings by forest industries, and small to very small holdings by
thousands of individuals. Most of the forested land is managed, and about 85 percent of
the forests produce exploitable resources. The percentage of forested land in Europe is
rebounding because of an extensive tree-planting initiative since 2000. Pollution has
caused great harm to the forests of Poland, the Czech Republic, and eastern Germany,
and acid rain and air pollution have seriously harmed forests such as the Black Forest of
southern Germany, which has also experienced heavy logging activity.
Soil resources are of critical importance. Soil is necessary for growing food,
supporting livestock, supporting other natural resources such as the forests, and supplying
groundwater. Soil resources are only just beginning to receive attention in Europe.
Problems to be addressed include loss of topsoil from development and building
activities, older-style agricultural practices, mining, contamination from industries and
other sources, and acidification as a result of acid rain.
Coal, now substantially depleted, is abundant in several areas of Great Britain,
including some offshore areas, as well as in the industrial centers of Germany and in
Ukraine. Other coal deposits are found in Belgium, France, Spain, the Czech Republic,
Poland, Slovakia, and Russia. The burning of coal has produced high levels of air
pollution. Acid rain has been a major concern in the northern countries, where wind
currents carry pollutants north into Scandinavia from the industrial regions of Central
Europe. In Scandinavia, acid rain has diminished fish populations in many of the lakes.
Forest health is also being challenged, which is diminishing the economic conditions of
regions that depend on forests for their economic survival.
Petroleum and natural gas deposits exist underneath the North Sea and were first
tapped in the 1970s. Five European countries have rights to these resources, including
Norway, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Germany, with Norway
holding the bulk of the rights. The governments of these five nations agree that, although
tapped only decades ago, half the North Sea oil reserves have been consumed.
Before the extraction of petroleum products from the North Sea, Russia and the
former Soviet Union’s other republics supplied petroleum to Europe. These areas still
have a number of active extraction operations. Hydroelectric power has been important in
Europe as well. With both coal and oil resources largely depleted and the desire to avoid
the environmental damage caused by dams, the European Energy Commission is
devoting substantial energy and resources to encourage the use of renewable resources
such as wind and solar energy. In March 2007, European leaders agreed that a binding
target of 20 percent of all energy must be from alternative sources by 2020. Also, 10
percent of the transportation fuels used by EU members must be sustainable biofuels.
b. Historical Development Patterns
Europe didn’t become a center for world economics with high standards of living
by accident. Historical events in global development have favored this realm because of
its physical geography and cultural factors. In southern Europe, the Greeks provided
ideas, philosophy, and organization. Greek thinkers promoted the concept of democracy.
The Romans carried the concept of empire to new levels. From about 150 BC to 475 AD,
the Romans brought many ideas together and controlled a large portion of Europe and
North Africa. The Roman Empire introduced a common infrastructure to Europe. The
Romans connected their world by building roads, bridges, aqueducts, and port facilities.
They understood how to rule an empire. By taking advantage of the best opportunities of
each region they controlled, they encouraged the best and most-skilled artisans to focus
on what they did best. This created the specialization of goods and a market economy. No
longer did everyone have to make everything for themselves. They could sell in the
market what they produced and purchase products made by others, which would be of
higher quality than what they could make at home. Regions that specialized in certain
goods because of local resources or specialty skills could transport those goods to
markets long distances away. The Roman Empire connected southern Europe and North
Africa.
The Vikings of Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, and Denmark; 900–1200 CE) are
often mistakenly referred to as rogue bands of armed warriors who pillaged and
plundered northern Europe. Though they were fierce warriors in battle, they were actually
farmers, skilled craftsmen, and active traders who demonstrated a high level of
organizational skills. They developed trade routes throughout the north. Using their
seafaring knowledge and skills, the Vikings used Europe’s waterways for transportation.
They were the early developers of the northern world from Russia to Iceland and even to
North America. They developed colonies in Iceland, Greenland, and what is present-day
Canada. Their longships were renowned for versatility and provided an advantage on the
sea. The Vikings made advances deep into Europe—all the way to Constantinople.
History indicates that the Byzantine Empire employed Scandinavian Vikings as
mercenaries.
In a general sense, the regions to the west of Scandinavia—such as Iceland,
Scotland, Ireland, and Greenland—were targeted by the Norwegian Vikings. Southern
regions such as England and France were more often destinations of the Danish Vikings.
Russia and areas of Eastern Europe were standard trading grounds for the Swedish
Vikings, though the different Viking groups could occasionally be found in the same
destinations. The present-day Scandinavian countries were established after the main
Viking period. The Vikings connected northern Europe with trade during the Dark Ages.
It wasn’t until after the Dark Ages of Europe ended that a rebirth of ideas,
technology, and progress took hold. The Renaissance of the late fifteenth century
prompted activity in Europe that changed the world. In 1492, Columbus and his three
ships crossed the Atlantic to land on the shores of the Americas. This event symbolized
the beginning of the era of European colonialism, which only diminished after World
War II. Colonialism’s effects remain in the colonies or protectorates that European
countries still possess. Colonialism was fueled by the economic concept of mercantilism
that included the drive of governments to control trade, promoting the acquisition of
wealth by the quick gain of gold or silver from their colonies.
Colonialism included the development of colonies outside the home country,
usually for the expansion of imperial power and the exploitation of material gain. The
building of larger ships and an understanding of sea travel allowed an exchange of new
goods and ideas between continents. North and South America were opened up to the
European explorers for colonial expansion. European colonialism brought newfound
wealth from the colonies back to Europe. All the regions of the world outside Europe
were targeted for colonialism. Africa was divided up, “Latin” America was created, and
Asia became a target for resources and trade. The few powerful countries along the
Atlantic coast of Europe began the drive to dominate their world. If you live in the
Western Hemisphere, consider the language you speak and the borders of your country:
both were most likely products of European colonialism. Most of the current political
geographic boundaries were drawn up or shaped through colonial conflict or agreement.
The post-Renaissance era introduced a number of agricultural changes that
impacted European food production. Before this time, most agricultural methods were
primitive and labor intensive, but new technologies were introduced that greatly
enhanced agricultural production. Plows, seeders, and harvesting technologies were
introduced, and land reform and land ownership transitioned to adapt to the changing
times. These innovations supported the expanding port cities that created urban markets
for agricultural surpluses. Colonial ships returned from the colonies with new crops such
as the potato that revolutionized crop production. This era’s progress in agricultural
advancements is often referred to as the agrarian revolution. The agrarian revolution led
to the industrial developments such as the steam tractor and steel implements that further
advanced agricultural production worldwide.
Great Britain, being an island country, developed the world’s largest navy and
took control of the seas. Their colonial reach extended from what is now Canada to
Australia. The Industrial Revolution, initiated in northern England in the late 1700s,
introduced an industrial period that changed how humans produced products. The shift to
coal for energy, the use of the steam engine for power, the smelting of iron, and the
concept of mass production changed how goods were produced.
The development of the steam-powered engine provided a mobile power source.
Waterwheels powered by steep-flowing rivers or streams were an early source of power.
With coal for fuel and steam for power, the engines of industry were mobile and moved
full speed ahead. Power looms converted textiles such as cotton and wool into cloth.
Powered by a steam engine, a power loom could operate twenty-four hours a day and
could be located anywhere. Industrialization with cheap labor and adequate raw materials
brought enormous wealth to the industrial leaders and their home countries.
With the mass production of goods and advancements in technology, there was a
major shift in human labor. Fewer people were needed on the farms, and more workers
were needed in factories. There was a large rural-to-urban shift in the human population.
Europe experienced the development of the major cities of its realm during this period. In
Britain in 1800, for example, only 9 percent of the population lived in urban areas. By
1900, some 62 percent were urban dwellers. As of 2010, it is more than 90 percent.
Europe, as a whole, is about 75 percent urban. As a comparison, the US population is
about 80 percent urban. China was about 55 percent urban in 2017, with increasing rural-
to-urban shift occurring.
The rural-to-urban shift that began with the Industrial Revolution in Europe
continues today in developing countries. The Industrial Revolution, which started in
northern England’s Pennine mountain chain, rippled through Europe and across the
Atlantic to the United States. The majority of countries in Europe are currently in stage 5
of the index of economic development. The five stages of the index of economic
development illustrate a pattern of development and population dynamics for a country or
region. The model outlines how rural societies with an agrarian economy in stage 1 can
make the transition to stage 5: the stage that indicates an urban society with a consumer
economy. As a general trend, when a country’s levels of industrial activity and urban
growth rise, the outcome is usually a higher standard of living and smaller family sizes.
Additionally, rural-to-urban shift takes place, driven by the pull of opportunities and
advantages in the industrializing and urbanizing areas. Countries in stage 5 of the index
have small families with a fertility rate below the replacement level. Their incomes, based
on a consumer economy, are generally at high levels.
As Europe industrialized and progressed through the stages of the index of
economic development, certain core regions reached the postindustrial stages earlier than
others. Western Europe established a core industrial region with an extended periphery.
The postindustrial activity in this core area became well established in four main centers
or regions for innovation: (1) Stuttgart in southern Germany, (2) Lyon in southeastern
France, (3) Milan in northern Italy, and (4) Barcelona in northeastern Spain. These four
early industrial centers have been referred to by some as the Four Motors of Europe
because they promote business and industry for the European community. Since their
designation, other cities and centers of innovation and high-tech industries have also risen
to prominence. The European core region extends as far as Stockholm in the north to
Barcelona in the south.
European urban development centered on port cities that had industrial activity.
Ships could import raw materials, the factories could manufacture the goods, and the
ships could export the products. A central business district (CBD) developed around
these activities. Since walking was the main transportation mode, all business activities
had to be located in the same vicinity. Banks, retail shops, food markets, and residential
dwellings had to be close to the factories and port facilities. Modern cities emerged from
this industrialization process, and Europe is one of the more urban realms on the planet.
Many European countries have one main primary city that is more than twice as
large as their second city. The term primate city indicates a city that is more than twice as
large as their second city and exceptionally expressive of national feeling and heritage.
One may instinctively think that the primate city is the same as the capital city of a
country; this, however, is not always the case. For example, Washington, DC, is the U.S.
capital, but New York City is the country’s primate city. Primate cities represent a
country’s persona and often are symbolic of the country’s heritage and character. Though
common, not all countries of the world have a primate city. Financial and business
centers in cities such as London, Rome, or Paris support the industrial activity that led to
their development as primate cities. Most primate cities are ports or are located on a
major river.
Consider the trend that the Industrial Revolution brought to Europe. Do you
remember the population growth principle? This principle states that as countries
industrialize and urbanize, family size naturally goes down and incomes traditionally go
up. Integrate this with the rural-to-urban shift that occurs when countries progress
through the five stages of the index of economic development. By understanding these
basic trends, one can determine the average family size in Europe and why it is declining.
Because Europe is an urbanized realm, one can understand why family size in
Europe is small. As a matter of fact, various countries in Europe have negative population
growth rates. The average family size in all of Europe at 1.5 children. The replacement
rate to maintain an even populationgrowth pattern would be a fertility rate of about 2.1
children. Small families do not provide enough young people to cover the available entry-
level service jobs. Europe, the United States, and Japan are all in stage 5 of the index of
economic development and are facing low or negative population growth and a deficit in
their cheap labor supply. As a core economic global power, Europe has experienced an
increase in immigration. With a lower fertility rate and an increase in postindustrial
activity, Europe is a magnet for people from poorer peripheral countries and even
peripheral regions within Europe who are looking for opportunities and advantages.
The agrarian revolution and the Industrial Revolution were powerful movements
that altered human activity in many ways. New innovations in food production and the
manufacturing of products transformed Europe, which in turn impacted the rest of the
world. Even before the agrarian revolution was under way, other transitions in European
political currents were undermining the established empire mentality fueled by warfare
and territorial disputes. The political revolution that transformed Europe was a result of
diverse actions that focused on ending continual warfare for the control of territory and
introducing peaceful agreements that recognized sovereignty of territory ruled by
representative government structures. Various treaties and revolutions continued to shift
the power from dictators and monarchs to the general populace. The Treaty of Westphalia
in 1648 and those that followed helped establish a sense of peace and stability for Central
Europe, which had been dominated by the Holy Roman Empire and competing powers.
The Holy Roman Empire, which was centered on the German states of Central Europe
from 962–1806, should not be confused with the Roman Empire, which was based in
Rome and ended centuries earlier. The French Revolution (1789–95) was an example of
the political transformation taking place across Europe to establish democratic processes
for governance.
The political revolution laid the groundwork for a sense of nationalism that
transformed Europe into nation-states. The term nation refers to a homogeneous group of
people with a common heritage, language, religion, or political ambition. The term state
refers to the government; for example, the United States has a State Department with a
secretary of state. When nations and states come together, there is a true nation-state,
wherein most citizens share a common heritage and a united government.
European countries have progressed to the point where the concept of forming or
remaining a nation-state is a driving force in many political sectors. To state it plainly,
most Europeans, and to an extent every human, want to be a member of a nation-state,
where everyone is alike and shares the same culture, heritage, and government. The result
of the drive for nation-states in Europe is an Italy for Italians, a united Germany for
Germans, and a France for the French, for example. The truth is that this ideal goal is
difficult to come by. Though the political borders of many European countries resemble
nation-states, there is too much diversity within the nations to consider the ideal of
creating a nation-state a true reality
Various ethnic populations in Europe desire their own nation-states within their
countries of residence. They want to devolve or separate from the larger state. The term
devolution refers to the process whereby regions or people within a state demand
independence and autonomy at the central government’s expense. There are now a
number of cases where devolution is occurring in Europe. For example, Scotland and
Wales seek to devolve from the United Kingdom. The Basque region between Spain and
France would like to have its own nation-state. Former Yugoslavia broke up into seven
smaller nation-states. Various other minority groups in Europe seek similar arrangements.
Thus both cohesive cultural forces and divisive cultural forces are active in the European
community.
Cultural forces continually apply pressure on a country. Some of these cultural
forces pull the nation together (centripetal forces) and others pull it apart (centrifugal
forces). Primary sources of these cultural forces include religion, language, ethnicity,
politics, and economic conditions. When there is division, conflict, or confrontation, the
centrifugal forces are at play. When unification, agreement, or nationalism are being
exercised, centripetal forces are evident. The sources that tie a country together can also
be the sources that divide a country. Ethnic unity can be a positive force, while ethnic
division and conflict can be a divisive force. If centrifugal forces become strong, the
result may be outright civil war, as was seen in the United States in the 1860s. Unity can
also be evident through national struggles, such as the nationalism displayed immediately
after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States. After the attacks, an outpouring of
goodwill and agreement strengthened the bonds within the United States.
Europe has historically been considered a Christian realm. The three main
branches of Christianity in Europe are Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern
Orthodox. Rome has been the geographical base for the Roman Catholic Church since the
Roman Empire. Operating on the Romance language, Latin, the Catholic Church has
provided southern Europe with a common religion for over 1,500 years. The Roman
Catholic Church split when Constantinople, now called Istanbul, gained preeminence.
The Eastern Orthodox Church launched itself as the primary organization in the Slavic
lands of Eastern Europe and Russia. The reformation of the fourteenth century, led by
people such as Martin Luther, brought about the Protestant Reformation and a break with
the Roman Catholic Church. Protestant churches have dominated northern Europe to this
day.
c. The European Union and Supranationalism
The world economy has a competitive marketplace. Each independent country has
to compete economically to earn national income, but not all countries are equal in
natural or human resources. The smaller countries of Europe may have difficulty
competing with the world’s core economic powers such as China, Japan, or the United
States. Some of the countries of Europe are small in terms of physical area. In fact, the
state of Texas is larger in square miles than any individual European country, and
Kentucky is larger in size than more than half the European countries. The total physical
area of all the European countries together equals only 60 percent of the total physical
area of the United States. However, in regard to Europe, physical size may not be an
indicator of economic ability. A number of European countries possess a high level of
economic output and are major forces in the global economy.
The economic forces of globalization have motivated the nation-states of Europe
to work together rather than compete with each other. Western Europe as a region is
highly industrialized and has a high standard of living. Unified, the countries could be a
major economic power in the world. Separately and independently, they may not be able
to compete at the same level as other globally recognized trading blocs. To become
unified after a century of centrifugal forces dividing them has not been easy. Consider the
cultural forces that have been active in Europe. Centripetal forces unifying the realm
include a common Christian religion, Indo-European language groups, and a Caucasian
ethnic background. These forces have not resulted in a unified Europe. The closest
resemblance to a unified Europe was the Roman Empire, which was held together by
military force and did not include all of Europe.
During the twentieth century, there were three major divisions of Europe, all
products of centrifugal forces. First, World War I, which was supposed to be the war to
end all wars, divided Europe and the industrialized world. Second, World War II pitted
the Axis powers (led by Germany and Italy with Adolph Hitler leading the German
contingency) against the Allied powers (led by Great Britain and France with the United
States entering later). Third, after World War II, the confrontation between communism
and capitalism developed into the Cold War. The Iron Curtain, built of concrete, barbed
wire, and land mines, separated Communist Eastern Europe, which was dominated by the
government of the Soviet Union, from the capitalist democracies of Western Europe,
which were allied with the United States. When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, a
new era arrived in Europe, and the power of unification emerged.
After World War II ended in Europe, the three small countries of Belgium,
Netherlands, and Luxembourg realized that together they would be much stronger and
recover more quickly from the war than if they remained separate. Belgium had banking
and business; the Netherlands had industry, farming, and the world-class port of
Rotterdam on the Rhine River; and Luxembourg had agricultural resources. To help
recover from World War II, in 1944 the three countries signed an economic pact called
the Benelux Agreement (after the first syllables of each country’s name), which provided
a successful example of unification and cooperation.
Implemented from 1948 to 1952, U.S. Secretary of State George Marshall’s
Marshall Plan helped rebuild war-torn Europe with American aid and business
connections. U.S. businesses and corporations benefited from the increased international
trade with Europe. But to deter the European nations from going to war again, there
needed to be an economic trade policy that encouraged a strong business climate. In
1957, the more prominent countries of France, West Germany, the Netherlands,
Luxembourg, Italy, and Belgium got together and signed the Treaty of Rome, which
created the Common Market. This agreement provided the structure necessary to unify
Europe under a European Union (EU) in 1992. Despite many problems, since World War
II, steady efforts have been made toward European unification. The EU was the structure
for a common economic system with an agreed-upon governing body, and it was
designed as an economic trading bloc that could compete with the United States and
Japan. A mechanism was finally in place for a supportive, unified Europe, but it would be
up to the independent countries that joined this union to make it work.
Supranationalism is defined as the voluntary association of three or more
independent states willing to yield some measure of sovereignty for mutual benefit. The
Benelux Agreement of 1944 was a model for European supranationalism. Nations are
often hesitant to give up any sense of independence or autonomy, especially with the
strong drive toward nation-state status. It is different for the United States; though the
United States is not classified as a nation-state because of its ethnic diversity, English is
the only major language and the dollar is the national currency. One can drive for 2,000
miles across the United States and still experience a similar cultural urban landscape,
complete with the same English-language road signs, identical franchised restaurants,
common chain big-box stores, and similar advertising icons. This is not the case in
Europe, where each country might have its own language, currency, traffic laws, and
legal system. Supranationalism and unification can be a painful process. With common
standards and a common currency comes the reality that a common cultural landscape
might develop. Supranationalism could erode the uniqueness of each state as Europe
becomes more of a “United States of Europe.”
According to the 1993 Copenhagen European Council, “a country has to meet
certain requirements to join the EU. These requirements include a stable democracy
which respects human rights and the rule of law; a functioning market economy capable
of competition within the EU; and the acceptance of the obligations of membership,
including EU law. Evaluation of a country’s fulfillment of the criteria is the responsibility
of the European Council.”[1] In 2022, the EU had twenty-seven member states
representing almost 500 million people. The UK exited the EU as a result of the 2016
Brexit vote. Western European countries of Switzerland, Norway, and Iceland have opted
not to join the EU. A number of additional states including Albania, North Macedonia,
Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, and Turkey are considering or applying for
membership. The number of EU member states may continue to change. In 2022, there
were twenty-three official EU business languages. In 2022, each EU state had its own
military for national defense. A majority of EU members also hold membership in the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which is a political alliance between
Western European countries, Canada, and the United States. The war in Ukraine that
started in 2022 may result in increasing NATO membership by European countries
desiring to increase their national security.
The EU is one of many global supranational entities. Such economic and political
associations have increased across the globe. Every continent has its own array of
national agreements between countries that are designed to provide greater opportunities
and advantages for its members. Competition for labor and resources drives the need for
smaller countries to join to compete economically in the global marketplace. The EU is
the driver of one of the three main core economic areas of the world: North America,
Western Europe, and Eastern Asia.
Europe has experienced strong centripetal and centrifugal forces throughout its
history. From the Roman Empire to the European Union, the historical pattern of
development in Europe is a model study in regional geography. From empire to nation-
state and now to a union, the continent struggles to confront these cultural forces that
unite and divide. The EU is an example of what supranationalism can produce. To
compete in a global economy, the nation-states of Europe must cooperate and coordinate
their industrial activities to support their high standard of living. The EU member states
are a part of the elite “have” nations of the world. They face many questions about their
future, and they will be watched closely by the rest of the world.
d. Regions of Western Europe
Europe has been traditionally divided into regions based on location according to
the four points of the compass: Eastern Europe, southern Europe, Western Europe, and
northern Europe. The British Isles are often considered a separate region but can be
included as a part of Western Europe. These regions are purely geographical regions that
may share similar physical geography or cultural traits based on physical geographical
demands. For historical political purposes, Europe is divided into the two regions of
Western Europe and Eastern Europe. In this case, the region of Western Europe includes
the regions of northern Europe, southern Europe, Central Europe, and the British Isles.
Eastern Europe is everything east of Germany, Austria, and Italy. These regional labels
are used more for identification than for regional analysis. They serve as traditional labels
of geographic location.
The traditional regions of Europe are not as relevant today as they have been
historically with the creation of the European Union (EU). Economic and political
relationships are more integrated than they were in past eras when nation-states and
empires were more significant. Economic conditions have often superseded cultural
factors and have intensified the need for increased integration. Cultural forces have
traditionally supported nationalistic movements that work to preserve the culture,
heritage, and traditions of a people. Regional cultural differences remain the social fabric
of local communities that support the retention of their identity. Modern transportation
and communication technology has brought this cornucopia of European identities into
one single sphere of global recognition.
Europe has many different cultural identities within its continent. Northern
Europe has traditionally included Iceland, Finland, and the three Scandinavian countries
of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark. These countries are often referred to as the Nordic
countries. All these countries were influenced by Viking heritage and expansion. Their
capital cities are also major ports, and the largest cities of each country are their primate
cities. The languages of the three Scandinavian countries are from the Germanic language
group and are mutually intelligible. Finnish is not an Indo-European language but is
instead from the Uralic language family. Most of Iceland’s inhabitants are descendents of
Scandinavian Vikings. Protestant Christianity has prevailed in northern Europe since
about 1000 CE. The Lutheran Church has traditionally been the state church until recent
years. These countries were kingdoms, and their royal families remain highly regarded
members of society. The colder northern climate has helped shape the cultural activities
and the winter sports that are part of the region’s heritage. Peripheral isolation from the
rest of Europe because of their northern location and dividing bodies of water have
allowed the northern culture to be preserved for centuries and shape the societies that
now exist in northern Europe.
Human rights, education, and social concerns are high priorities of the
governments of northern Europe, and the quality of these elements rank highly by global
comparisons. Standards of living are among the highest in Europe. Isolation in northern
Europe does create an element of economic cost, and transportation technology has been
leveraged to address this. A modern bridge has been constructed across the Baltic Sea
from Denmark to Sweden to increase the flow of people, goods, and materials between
the Scandinavian Peninsula and mainland Europe. Iceland is the most remote of the
Nordic countries. Its small population—less than a half million people—is connected to
Europe by sea and air transportation and communication technologies. Almost all
elementary school children in the Nordic countries are taught English as a second
language. Fish, meat, and potatoes are traditional dietary staples; fish in particular has
been an important food source. The cuisine of the region is not noted for being spicy.
Northern Europe has worked diligently to integrate itself with the global community and
yet maintain its cultural identity.
As a standard practice, the northern European countries have exploited the
opportunities and advantages of their natural resources to expand their economies.
Sweden, northern Europe’s largest country, has used its natural iron ore supply to
develop its manufacturing sector. Sweden has held a manufacturing base producing
vehicles as well as other high-tech products. Finland has vast timber resources and is one
of Europe’s major sources of processed lumber. Norway has been benefiting from the
enormous oil and natural gas reserves under the North Sea. Denmark has a consumer
economy with a high standard of living. The country has supported a positive
environment and implemented strong measures to protect its natural areas. The country
has sizeable oil resources in the North Sea but also receives a substantial percentage of its
electricity from wind turbines.
Vikings were masters of the seas and colonized Greenland, which is located next
to Canada and is considered to be the world’s largest island. Danish colonization in the
eighteenth century included Greenland and the Faeroe Islands, which are located between
Scotland and Iceland. Both are now under the government of Denmark but retain a high
level of self-rule and autonomy, which has aided them in holding on to their cultural
identities. Greenland has also opted not to become a part of the EU even though Denmark
is a member. Greenland only had a population of just over 56,000 in 2017, and 80 percent
of its surface is covered with ice. Fish is Greenland’s main export, but minerals,
diamonds, and gold are also present in viable amounts.
The Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia are often included in the
northern European designation because of their northern location. Estonia has the
strongest similarities in religion, traditions, and culture, and geographic literature often
has included it as a part of northern Europe. The Baltic states have been associated with
Eastern Europe through the Soviet era but, like their neighbors to the north, are becoming
more economically integrated with Western Europe. Northern Europe is a peripheral
region. Southern Sweden has an advanced industrial base and resembles a core area.
Sweden’s northern portion and the main parts of the other Nordic countries act as sources
of raw materials for Europe’s urban core industrial region. In the core-peripheral spatial
relationship, northern Europe most resembles a semiperipheral region that has attributes
of both the urban core and the rural periphery.
e. Introducing the Realm
The massive expanse of Russia exhibits a variety of physical environments, such
as tundras, steppes, mountains, and birch forests. Type D (continental) climates dominate
most of the country and characterize large landmasses such as Eurasia and North
America. Land in the center of a large continent, far from the moderating effects of
oceans, tends to heat up rapidly in the summer and cool down rapidly in the winter. These
areas are known for hot summers and cold, harsh winters. Northern Russia borders the
Arctic Ocean, and frigid air masses from the Arctic swoop south across Russia each
winter. Moreover, Russia’s northerly latitude means that it experiences a short growing
season and has never been an agricultural superpower; the country usually has to import
grain to feed its people. Mountain ranges to the south block summer rains and warm air
masses that would otherwise come from South and Central Asia, thus creating deserts and
steppes in southern Russia.
Most of Russia’s population live in the European part of the country on the
Eastern European Plain, also known as the Western Russian Plain, or the Russian Plain,
the most agriculturally productive land in Russia. The eastern edge of the plain is marked
by the Ural Mountains, a low-lying mountain chain (about 6,000 feet) that crosses Russia
from the Arctic Ocean to Kazakhstan. The mountains contain deposits of coal, iron ore,
and precious and semiprecious stones and are considered the boundary between Europe
and Asia. To the south of the Russian Plain is another mountain range, the Caucasus
Mountains, which bridges the gap between the Caspian and Black Seas. East of the Urals
are the West Siberian Plain, the Central Siberian Plateau, the Yakutsk Basin, the Eastern
Highlands, and the Central Asian Ranges. Russia has rich natural resources, such as
petroleum, natural gas, and forest products.
The territory that makes up the Russian Federation was gradually conquered by
the Russian Empire as the country expanded from its political core around Moscow/St.
Petersburg during the sixteenth through the nineteenth centuries. By the end of the
eighteenth century, Czarina Catherine the Great had expanded Russia to include the area
that is now Ukraine (the north side of the Black Sea), the northern Caucasus Mountains,
and Alaska (which Russia later sold to the United States). During the next century, the
Russian Empire expanded eastward into Central Asia (what is now Kazakhstan,
Uzbekistan, and the other Central Asian republics), southward into the rest of the
Caucasus region, and westward into Poland and Finland. In the twentieth century, when
the Russian Empire disintegrated and was replaced by the Soviet Union (the Union of
Soviet Socialist Republics or USSR), the central government continued to expand and
strengthen its control of the vast area from Eastern Europe to the Pacific Ocean.
Both the Russian Empire and the Soviet Union were imperial powers. In other
words, these governments ruled a large variety of ethnic groups in distant places: people
who spoke many languages, people who worshiped different gods in different ways,
people who had various skin and hair colors, and people who did not consider themselves
to be Russian. Although the British and some other European powers had an arguably
more difficult task of ruling empires that were widely scattered around the world, Russia
had the largest empire in terms of territory. Ruling this diverse, immense empire was an
incredible challenge.
The Soviets took a different tack when it came to taming the diversity of the
empire. Instead of emphasizing unity under the Russian czar, the Russian language, and
the Russian Orthodox religion, the Soviets decided to organize—and thus try to control—
the diversity of ethnic groups found in the Soviet Union. They chose some of the major
groups (Uzbek, Kazakh, and so forth) and established Soviet Socialist Republics that
corresponded to these major groups. Thus they created the Uzbek Soviet Socialist
Republic (Uzbek SSR), the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (Kazakh SSR), the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (Ukrainian SSR), and a different republic for each of
fourteen ethnic groups, plus the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. About
eighty-five other ethnic groups were not given their own republics, although some of
them were allocated regions within the Russian Republic. In theory, each of the Soviet
Socialist Republics was an independent state choosing to ally with the Soviet Union. In
practice, of course, these republics were part of a totalitarian, centrally ruled state with far
fewer autonomous rights than states in the United States.
At the same time that the Soviets were organizing minority ethnic groups into
republics, they were also sending ethnic Russians to live in non-Russian parts of the
Soviet Union. Some were sent by force—such as Russians who were sent to prison
camps in Siberia and stayed in the area after they were eventually freed. Other Russians
were sent around the empire to work in factories, power plants, and other industries, or
they were sent to help administer the government. By sending Russians to the far reaches
of the Soviet Union, the Russian government hoped to consolidate its control over the
various republics and to dilute the strength of the minority ethnicities. This policy also
had unintended consequences: when the Soviet Union collapsed after 1991 and the
various republics became independent countries, they each had to deal with sizable
Russian minorities. For example, at the time of its independence, nearly as many ethnic
Russians lived in Kazakhstan (38 percent) as ethnic Kazakhs (40 percent). In the years
since, many Russians moved to Russia from the former Soviet republics. In 2017,
Kazakhstan’s population was only about 20 percent ethnic Russian.
Each region of the Russian republic has its own environmental issues. The core
region surrounding Moscow, with all its industrial activity and large urban expanses,
introduces sewage and chemicals to the country’s waterways, contributing to serious
water pollution. The same water pollution is found east of the Ural Mountains—and in
the waterways in that region—because of the industrial cities found there. Moscow and
the ring of industrial cities surrounding it have seen a dramatic increase in automobile use
since 1991, contributing to air pollution. Russia is blessed with abundant natural
resources, but significant environmental damage has been the price of exploiting and
extracting those resources. Massive oil spills have occurred in the taiga and tundra areas,
where the lack of safety management has increased environmental damage during oil
exploration and development. The taiga is the large expanse of evergreen or boreal
forests in the north just south of the tundra in North America, Europe, and Asia. The taiga
is most common in type D climates and is one of the largest biomes on Earth. The taiga is
the largest biome in Russia. Mining and smelting processes in Siberian cities have added
to the region’s air and water pollution. These ecosystems are rather fragile and will take
years to recover from such damage.
Water pollution from the rivers extends into the Black Sea, the Caspian Sea, and
other bodies of water. Lake Baikal, described as the largest freshwater lake in the world,
was at one time pristine, but pollutants have entered its waters from nearby industrial
activity. Increased pollution in the Black and Caspian Seas, as well as overfishing, the
lack of fishing regulations, and the lack of law enforcement, has resulted in the
devastation of fish populations such as the caviar-producing sturgeon. The Arctic waters
of the Barents Sea off the northern coast of Russia have been a dumping ground for
nuclear waste products and expended nuclear reactors from naval vessels. The
consequences of this nuclear pollution are not widely known or studied. Many additional
aging nuclear reactors from the Soviet era dot the landscape, and they will need to be
decommissioned at some point, adding to the nuclear waste issues. Various regions in
Siberia were used for nuclear testing and are also contaminated with nuclear radiation.
f. The USSR and the Russian Federation
The Russian Empire was built by the czars over the course of a few hundred
years. However, the economic and political systems of the Russian Empire were not
sustainable in the modern era. The vast majority of the population were poor, and most
were landless farmers—and in a place with short growing seasons, farming was not an
easy path to riches. Political decisions were made by a very small elite group. At the
dawn of the twentieth century, one hundred years after the Industrial Revolution swept
through Great Britain and Western Europe, Russia remained an agricultural country and
had not yet begun large-scale industrialization. Outside of the aristocracy, few supported
the status quo in Russia, and there was widespread desire for a new political system and
government.
However, no one could agree on what a new government would look like. In the
aftermath of the World War I, a civil war erupted in Russia. During these chaotic times,
the last czar, Nicholas II, was forced from office, and he and his family were executed.
The most powerful group battling for control of Russia was a Communist group called
the Bolsheviks, which literally meant the “larger group.” Other groups, including the
“smaller group,” the Mensheviks, lost the civil war. The Bolshevik leader was Vladimir
Lenin, and in 1917 he and his supporters embarked on a quest to turn Russia into a
Communist state.
The capital city was moved back to Moscow from St. Petersburg, where it had
been since the time of Czar Peter the Great in the eighteenth century. St. Petersburg’s
name was changed to Petrograd and then Leningrad in honor of Vladimir Lenin, as the
non-religious Soviets did not want any references to Christian saints. The entire territory
of the Russian Empire was turned into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).
The Russian people traded a monarchy for a Marxist totalitarian state (see the explanation
of Marxism.
The Soviet Union lasted from 1922 to 1991. Josef Stalin, the Soviet dictator who
took over after Lenin (Lenin was incapacitated in 1922 and died in 1924). Stalin was a
ruthless leader who murdered his way to power and killed or exiled anyone who got in
his way. During the Stalin era, economic plans were initiated that helped move Russia
from a poor, agrarian state to a large, industrial superpower. The push was for rapid
industrialization, the eradication of family farms in lieu of large communal farms, the end
of personal ownership of land or businesses, and the dramatic weakening of organized
religion. All these changes came at a great price. During Stalin’s reign of terror, an
estimated thirty million people lost their lives. The forced collectivization of agriculture
brought about a devastating famine in 1932–1933, in which between six and eight million
people starved to death or were killed outright, many of them in Ukraine. Stalin led
periodic purges of his perceived political enemies. The largest of these is known as the
Great Purge. At that time (1936–38), about one million so-called enemies of the state
were executed. More people lost their lives under Stalin than in all the concentration
camps of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime. The full extent of Stalin’s purges of his people may
never be fully known. Stalin’s rule ended in 1953, when he reportedly died of natural
causes. However, some historians believe he was poisoned by his close associates.
The Soviet Union espoused the philosophies of Karl Marx, a nineteenth-century
German theorist. Marx wrote that all political and economic life can be understood as a
struggle between the various classes in society. People who adhere to Marx’s philosophy
are called Marxists, and the Soviet version of Marxism is called Marxism-Leninism. In
Marxist thought, capitalism is an oppressive economic system in which the working class
(the proletariat) is oppressed by the bourgeoisie (the wealthy middle class). Marxists
believe that the proletariat should revolt, rise up against the bourgeoisie, take the property
away from the rich, and give it to the government to control it for the benefit of the
common people. Ultimately, a pure Communist system would result, with no social or
economic classes, no private property, no rich people, and no poor people. In real life,
governments that adopt these ideals practice socialism and are said to be socialist.
As a socialist state, the Soviet Union did not include open markets. The Soviet
Union was a command economy, in which economic decisions were made by the state
and not left to the market to decide. During the Soviet era, for example, industrial
production was planned by the central government. The government would decide what
would be produced, where it would be produced, the quantity produced, the number of
workers who would produce it, where the raw materials would come from, and how the
final product would be distributed. By mobilizing the entire country to work toward
common goals, the USSR was able to achieve the rapid industrialization that it so desired.
However, the Soviets underestimated the power and efficiency of free-enterprise
capitalism, and their socialist system was undermined by waste, fraud, and corruption.
Another main economic feature of the Soviet Union was collectivized agriculture.
The Soviet leaders did not want individual, capitalist farmers to become rich and threaten
their economic system. Nor did they want thousands of small, inefficient farms when the
country was perpetually unable to feed itself. Instead, they decided to streamline
agricultural production into large farm factories. All the farmland in each area was
consolidated into a government-owned collective operation. Some collective farms were
run by the state, while others were run by private cooperatives. During the transition
period to collective farming, individual farmers were forced to give up their land,
animals, farm equipment, and farm buildings and donate them to the collective farm in
their area. The state also demanded a high percentage of the crops produced. At times, the
government collected the entire harvest, not even allowing seed crops to be held for the
following season. This brought about widespread famine in 1932–1933. Collectivized
agriculture remained the norm in the Soviet Union until the country’s dissolution in 1991
and even afterward in some areas.
From the end of World War II in 1945 until the collapse of the USSR in 1991, the
Soviet Union and the United States competed in the global community for the control of
labor, resources, and world power. Each side attracted allies, and most countries were on
the side of either the United States or the Soviet Union; very few remained neutral. This
era, known as the Cold War, did not involve direct military armed conflict between the
United States and the Soviet Union, but it transformed the world into a political
chessboard, with each side wanting to block the other side from gaining ground.
Whenever the Soviets would enter into an alliance with a certain country, the United
States was right there to try to counter the move. Wars, armed conflicts, sabotage, spying,
and covert activities were the methods of the Cold War. Both sides stockpiled as much
deadly weaponry as possible, including nuclear warheads and missiles. They also
competed in the race to put people in outer space.
Various Soviet dictators came to power and died in office before the end of the
Cold War. The last Soviet leader was Mikhail Gorbachev, who assumed power in 1985.
The US president at the time was Ronald Reagan. During the 1980s the United States was
outspending the Soviets militarily, and its economy was growing at a much faster rate
than that of the USSR. At the same time, the Soviets were engaged in a costly war
occupying Afghanistan, and their economy was faltering and in danger of collapse.
Gorbachev realized that reforms had to be implemented to modernize the Soviet system:
political life needed to be more open so that people would feel ownership of the country,
and the economy needed to be restructured. Gorbachev implemented perestroika
(restructuring of the economy with market-like reforms) and glasnost (openness and
transparency of all government activities). The restructuring exposed fundamental
problems in the economy, and by 1990 the Soviet economy was in worse shape than ever
before.
