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Russia and the Middle East

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Russia is the world's largest country, stretching from Europe to the Pacific. The Middle East sits where Europe, Africa and Asia meet, and holds much of the world's oil.

Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world by area, spanning 11 time zones.
The Ural Mountains divide European Russia from Asian Russia (Siberia). Most people live in the west, including the capital Moscow and St Petersburg.
The Volga is Europe's longest river. Lake Baikal in Siberia is the world's deepest lake.
The Trans-Siberian Railway links Moscow to Vladivostok on the Pacific.

Russia's environments

From north to south Russia has bands of environment:
Tundra: cold and treeless, with permafrost (ground frozen all year).
Taiga: huge coniferous forests, the largest forest region on Earth.
Steppe: dry grassland in the south, good for growing wheat.
Russia is a major exporter of oil and natural gas.

The Middle East

Countries include Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen, Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates.
Much of it is hot desert, such as the Rub' al Khali (Empty Quarter) in Arabia. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq watered some of the world's first cities.
The region holds around half of the world's proven oil reserves. Water is scarce, so many Gulf states use desalination (removing salt from seawater).
Major cities include Riyadh, Tehran, Baghdad and Dubai, home to the Burj Khalifa (828 m), the world's tallest building.
Worked example

Why do most people in Russia live in the west of the country?

  1. Northern and eastern Russia (Siberia) have extremely cold winters, tundra and permafrost.
  2. The west has a milder climate, fertile land and older cities like Moscow and St Petersburg.
  3. Most industry, jobs and transport links are in the west, closer to Europe.

Answer: Siberia is very cold with permafrost; the west has a milder climate, farmland, cities and jobs.

Key idea

Russia: largest country, 11 time zones, Ural Mountains, Moscow, Volga, Lake Baikal (deepest lake), tundra, taiga, steppe; oil and gas. Middle East: mostly hot desert (Rub' al Khali), Tigris and Euphrates, around half the world's proven oil reserves, desalination; cities include Riyadh, Tehran, Baghdad and Dubai.

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