The Soviet Union:

agricultural Amu Darya Amur Arctic Baku Baltic Baltic region basin become Black Sea black-earth capital Caspian Caucasus Central Siberia centre chemical chief cities climate coal compared cotton crops desert Dnieper Donbas east eastern economic Empire Europe European Russia farming favourable frontier growth half important increase industrial iron irrigation Karaganda Kazakh Kiev Kuban Kuybyshev Kuzbas Lake Baykal largest Lena Leningrad less lowlands major margins metals Middle Asia million mixed forest Moscow region mountains natural nineteenth century nomads North America northern notably Novgorod Novosibirsk output period pipeline population port production raw materials recent relatively Republic river rural Russian Russian Empire Second World settlement Siberia significance soil southern Soviet Union spite St Petersburg steel steppe tayga textiles timber Trans-Siberian railway transport Ukraine Urals urban valley Virgin Lands Vladivostok Volga Volga-Baykal Volga-Ural Volgograd western wheat winter wooded steppe Yenisey zone