The presence of large reserves of coal, iron, manganese, copper, zinc,
lead, nickel, oil and natural gas did contribute a lot in establishing heavy industries as
well as light industries.
Chemical engineering and metallurgical engineering products have also added to the
industrial growth. Above all the urge to become the super most power of the world has also
driven the Soviets to work hard in every industrial activity to achieve that end. At
present the industrial base of U.S.S.R. is very strong and that is why it has achieved
tremendous success in heavy industries, shipbuilding, aircraft building and making
satellites for space explorations. The industrialization has taken place in different part
of the country. The U.S.S.R. has the following main industrial regions now:
1. The northwestern European Russia (including Moscow Leningrad and Gorki)
Moscow-Gorky region is the core region of U.S.S.R. It has all the facilities for rapid
industrial growth. Moscow-Gorky region has the maximum population of' the country and it
embraces such industrially big cities as Gorky, Yaroslavl, Ivanovo and Tula. Gorky is
famous for automobile industry. It is called as Soviet Detroit. Yaroslavl is the
tyre-producing centre. Ivanovo is famous as Soviet Manchester for its fine textile
industries and Tula is the mining and metallurgical centre. Leningrad has also an old
industrial base and its importance though reduced, it is still on industrial centre, which
cannot be ignored. It has major ship building plants. The other industries here are related
to food processing metals, chemicals and textiles. Volga region is also an important
industrial centre. It had lost its importance, but during II World War it got back its
industrial glory as this region proved to be the greatest source of petroleum. Volgograd is
the important industrial centre.
2. The Ukraine (including Kiev, Krivoy Rog and Dreprosttoi)
Ukraine is an ideal industrial centre because at the distance of 200 miles coal, iron ore
and manganese 'deposits are located which are essentials for modern steel industry. Rostov,
Donetsk, Kharkov, Krivoy Rog, Dnepopetrovsk, Makiryevka etc. are the industrial centres.
Iron and steel Industry has flourished like anything. The Urals area is equal in industrial
production with Ukraine area. The Karaganda industrial region is positioned in the
northeastern part of the Khazakh U.S.S.R. It possesses a variety of industries including
iron and steel, chemical and related, industries. Karaganda is the main manufacturing
centre. The Kutznetsk Basin is also becoming a very important industrial centre, though it
is far away from other industrial centre of U.S.S.R. Novosibirsk is the main industrial
centre in the vast eastern region of U.S.S.R. Novokutznetsk is also a centre of heavy
engineering products such as rolling stock used for rail roads
3. The Urals (including Sverdlovsk and Magnitogorsk
4. the Kuznetzk Basin (including Novosibrisk and Stalinsk)
The regions are interdependent upon one another, chiefly because iron-ore and coal are
separated from each other. There are four main regions of iron and steel industry:
1. The Central and Southern Urals.
2. The Kuznetsk Basin.
3. The Southern Ukraine and
4. The Tula-Moscow region.
Besides this now large centres of machine-building capable of manufacturing all types of
machines, leather, mechanical apparatus, instruments, etc., are being set up in the east.
Over 100 machine-building plants are proposed to be built here during the sixth plan
period.
Production: Steel, pig iron, Timber, Cement, Coal, Crude Petroleum, Electricity, Mineral
fertilizers, Steam and gas turbines, Machine tools, Tractor, Electric locomotives and
Lorries and Buses are the main items of production.
Consumer Goods : These are cotton fabrics, woolen fabrics, silk fabrics, shoes, radios
and television sets, sewing machines, bicycles, sugar, meat, butter and other milk
products, paper and canned food.
The Pacific region of U.S.S.R. has five thousand miles of coastline. Vladivostok is an
important port of this region and last station of Trans Siberian Railways. Here fishing and
lumbering industries flourish.
U.S.S.R. is marching forward unhindered on the path of progress and in this nuclear age,
the fate of humanity much depends on the attitude of U.S.S.R. and U.S.A. both.
Population
The population of U.S.S.R. accounted to 275.8 millions in 1984. It is the third largest
country in the world. Its population is very unevenly distributed. Rural population density
of 100 persons per square kilometer is in the western Ukraine whereas the large tracts of
tundra and deserts are essentially unpopulated.
The areas of the highest densities are in the southwest Ukraine, in the lowlands of the
Trans Caucasus, in the vicinity of industrial regions and large cities in European Russia.
In Asiatic part, the concentrations are in the foothills and valleys of central Asian
mountains, along principal rivers and in irrigated areas. Tsarist Russia had only 18
percent of the population living in cities. By 1984, urban population increased to 66
percent.
Industrialization, commercialization and modernization of agriculture are responsible
for the population change in the country. The effect of Trans-Siberian railway and planning
of the development of Asiatic Russia led to the emergence of three "million cities" in
Siberia. The are Novosibrisk, Tashkent and Omsk. In USSR, 105 ethnic groups are recognized.
The eastern Slays belong to Indo-European family. Out of 74 percent of the national
population; the Russians alone comprise 53 percent of the total population. The ethnic
groups in Central Asia, the Caucasus and Moldavia have a higher rate of population growth
than the Slays and other European types.
Political structure: U.S.S.R is the largest country of the world. Within it live the
people of various ethnic, cultural and linguistic groups. People of the Soviet Union are at
present under one political unit and the present communist regime has tried to bring them
under one roof of culture and nationality. It is an effort to bring unity amidst the
diversities. A kind of Russification is taking place in a systematic way. Though there is
provision in the constitution that all 15 states joining Union of Soviet Socialist Republic
have a right to secede if they so desire, but it has not been possible in these 73 years of
communist rule, nor it will be allowed to be done.
There are fifteen states in Soviet Socialist Republics. The biggest of them is Russian
Republic. Others are Estonia, Latavia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Ukrania, Moldavia, Georgia,
Armenia, Azerbaidzhan, Turkmen, Tadzhik, Uzbek, Kerghiz, and Kazakh.
The Soviets have been successful in bringing Russification in whole of the country. They
are trying to get all nationalities present into one homogeneous national cultural world
that is primarily European Russian cultural world but still the different nationalities are
endeavoring to maintain their national cultures values of life and attitudes of the human
life and the universe.
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