RUSSIA [Ow depression which runs from the Black Sea to the Baltic, by the valleys of the Dnieper and the Pripet and the plains of the Vistula, separates two entirely different geographical regions ; and in the contrasts between them in regard to position and configuration, structure and geology, climate and vegetation, must be sought at least part of the explanation of the differences in the economic development of Russia and Western Europe respectively.
The Archman plateau of Scandinavia is continued in Finland, but disappears in Russia under a covering of sedimentary rocks which lie horizontally, since they have not been submitted, as in Western Europe, to the forces which cause mountain folding. These sedimentary rocks have been gradually worn down by denudation, and nowhere exceed a height of 1,150 feet. There are, nevertheless, certain broad distinctions in the topography and characteristics of the vast area covered by European Russia. Finland, and the country lying to the west of a line drawn from the Prussian frontier of Poland to Archangel, by Lake Ilmen and east of Lake Onega , present the appearance of a recently glaciated country, the land being covered with lakes of glacial origin, and the river systems being badly defined. Between this region and a wavy line which runs from Kiev to Kasan the land has also been glaciated, but at a more remote period so that the river systems have become more clearly articulated, and the lakes have disappeared. To the south of this glaciated territory lies the Black Earth country, a region enriched partly by the loess deposited by the melting ice-sheet, partly by the organic matter derived from centuries of rich vegetation. The Black Earth passes gradually in the south and south-east into the true steppe, where the salinity of the soil, due to the comparatively recent disappearance of the sea, and the aridity of the climate, render the cultivation of the land impossible.
In the east, Archaean rocks again appear in the Urals, while the Crimea may be regarded as a continuation of the Caucasus.
Climatic conditions, too, differentiate Russia from Western Europe. On the great lowlands, far distant from the modifying influence of the sea and unprotected by mountains, the heat of summer and the cold of winter are alike extreme. During the latter season the isotherms run from north-west to south-east, and in January range from zero to freezing point on the Fahrenheit scale; while in the former they run from south-west to north-east, and in July range from 46° F. to 80° F. The rainfall, which occurs chiefly in summer, is heaviest in the west and centre, where it is from 20 to 24 inches. Outwards from this region, it decreases in all directions, and in the far north and in the south-east it is less than 10 inches.
The various vegetation zones of Russia are also of considerable significance in its economic development. Along the Arctic, and as far south as the 66th or 65th parallel, stretches the tundra. South of this, and coinciding in a general way with the remainder of the glaciated area, lies the now partly cleared forest region, characterised by the pine, the fir, and the birch in the north, and in the south by deciduous trees of the Central European Forest, such as the maple, the linden, and the oak. Further to the south, the Black Soil and fertile steppe region is generally unsuited to the growth of trees, but particularly favourable to that of cereals and grass, while in the extreme south-east the vegetation is of the scantiest description.