Eurasia

Russia

Russia is a country divided. A country where people views  and beliefs are based on where they live. People are not merged under even the most basic morals. Although it not ideal, many large countries are divided in beliefs, but there is no definite line between these different people. The difference for Russia is that there is a physical line that divides one country, into two continents. The question is, does Russia fall to the West, or to the East of the line?

Background Knowledge

Look at any map that gives any border between Europe and Asia. You should notice that Russia is 70-80 percent in Asia, an overwhelming amount. The even more interesting number is that 78% of Russians, live in that 30% of European Russia. European Russia holds 10.5 people per square mile which is by no means a large number, New Jersey holds over 1,100 people per square mile, but Asian Russia houses less than one person per square mile, which is why its population is so minuscule. This is the basis of the debate, because Russia geographically is mainly in Asia, but the majority of people believe it should be considered a European country.

Religion

The most common religion in Russia is Orthodox, as 21% of Russians believe in some sort of Orthodox Church. Orthodox is  a religion most commonly seen in Europe, whereas the percentage of people believing in Muslim is only 10%. This difference in religion is because of the location of the population in Russia, because Orthodox Churches are much more common than Muslim Churches in Eastern Europe. The reason the percentages of people that believe in any religion is so low is because many Russians claim no religion, because for so long worship was discouraged by the Communist government. For the first time since 1917 religion was officially supported by the government  in 1990 when Mikhail Gorbachev  became president of the Soviet Communist Party. Religion not being supported was due to the October Revolution, an event that almost brought Russian culture .

 

October Revolution

Religion had not been supported since the October Revolution, or the start of the Russian Civil War, when communists gained control of the Russian Republic again. In short, the Russian Revolution was the peasant over throw of the government. The displeasure of the civilians in Russia was caused by the country’s involvement in World War I, when Russia was no match for the more advanced Germany. Casualties of Russians were higher than other country, and economy in Russia had plummeted because of the money being put into the war. The October Revolution is an important piece of Russian history because it marks the Communist overtake of government. The October Revolution almost was the tipping point in Russian culture where it became almost completely Asian.

Russia has become more of a compromise of Communist and Democratic government since October 1917. Russia’s government consists of a president, who is head of state, a prime minister who is in charge of the government, and a Duma which consists of 450 people. The Duma could most accurately be related to the United States Congress, where multiple parties are represented. Russia has began to switch to a more democratic government because they need more money for their economy and democratic countries have much more efficient governments. Communists countries rank very low in what is called economy per capita; amount of money the average person makes.  China is the second biggest economy in the world, but is around 90^th in size of economy per capita. What does all of this mean for Russia? It means Russia is developing into a European country, a mirror image in relation to government, religion, and in culture to try and become the world power the Soviet Union once was.

Conclusion

Divided. A country divided is a country that cannot work together to make decisions, a country divided fights for power within itself, creating the ultimate power struggle. Russia realized they had few true allies because they had a country that had both Asian and European values in their culture. This is why it matters. It seems pointless for a country to change its culture  to become part of a certain group, but a small difference is often a big deal. That is something that is true in any aspect of government, and life for that matter, and this is what can resurrect a country.