SOVIET UNION: THE LAND AND THE PEOPLE

[Music] for the people of Slavs similar to other Slavic peoples in but there are also many Asiatic peoples the people Soviet Union speak many different languages and dialects let's see where most of the people live the densest population is here in the western part of the country why is this so perhaps we can find the answer by looking more closely at these four major zones or belts these show the main differences in climate and soil the northernmost belt is the tundra and is covered most of the year with ice and snow as in Alaska and other far Northern lands the tundra in Russia is the home of nomadic peoples some of the tundra Nomads are hunters and Trappers others are reindeer herders this herd in Siberia is at the edge of the forest Zone just south of the frozen tundra is a vast Forest belt along the northern edge of this zone are great coniferous or Evergreen forests here as in the tundra some hunters and man Sable and mink are among the animals trapped for their valuable furs in other parts of the Evergreen forests lumbering is the main activity even women work at the heavy tasks of logging Big Trees like this one will be cut up into Lumber smaller trees will be ground up into pulpwood sometimes Timber is loaded on sledges to transport it across the snow to Lumber and Pulp Mills often logs are fastened together to form huge rafts in Spring when the ice has melted the rafts are guided down the Swift rivers to Lumber centers much Timber is sold to other countries in some parts of the forest belt Timber is being cleared to make way for settlements the Soviet government has sent people to these Northern lands to build new homes new settlements such as this one are usually State Farms created by the Soviet government in undeveloped lands State Farms are supervised by the government this State Farm produces potatoes a Hardy crop that grows well in Northern lands although some Hardy crops are being introduced in the Northern Forest belt this is where most of the food in the Soviet Union is grown in the Black Earth area a region of black soils the densest population is here much of this region is in the Ukraine a part of the Soviet Southwest the rich black Earth is the kind we might find in our middle west but this land like all the land in the Soviet Union is owned by the government small farms were taken from their owners by the government and merged into huge Collective Farms the collective Farms are about 1,000 Acres each women work side by side with men in the fields much work is still done by hand because of lack of Machinery but more and more Machinery is being manufactured and used heavy equipment such as this combine is rented from the government on the collective Farms people are assigned work in groups called brigades this brigade is harvesting wheat one of the most important grain crops in the Soviet Union on the huge Collective Farms there is work to be done even in Winter on some Farms dairy cattle are kept beef cattle are not raised in large numbers because there is not enough grain to fatten them milk and dairy products from this Farm go to people in nearby cities the government wants to increase the production of hogs and other livestock so that there will be more meat available to increase production better animals are being bred and people are being taught how to care for them south of the Black Earth region is a small Peninsula called the Crimea protected from cold North winds by mountains and warmed By the Waters of the Black Sea this peninsula has a Mediterranean type climate and so we find crops that are usually grown in a Mediterranean climate crops such as grapes Vineyards stretch across the warm Crimean landscape and we find people harvesting grapes much as we might see them at work in Southern California along the Black Sea the lower slopes of hills are used for growing tea tea the national drink in the Soviet Union is an important crop we've now seen agriculture in the rich black Earth region and in the subtropical lands along the Black Sea east of the Caspian Sea lies a vast region of dry steps and desert s the steps are treeless plains but usually there is enough moisture for grass traditionally the vast steps have been used for grazing Shepherds still wear colorful sheep skin hats as they have for centuries today all herds are collectivized that is under government control in some places in the steps large rivers from the mountains of Central Asia flow into the dry lands the rivers provide water for irrigating some of the steps and deserts the irrigated lands can be very productive an important crop on such lands is cotton this is a field in USC a part of Soviet Central Asia these Oriental looking people remind us that much of the Soviet Union is in Asia from Soviet Central Asia comes most of the country's cotton in recent years the production of cotton has been greatly increased the government is is trying to grow enough cotton for its own textile mills some cotton is brought by camel Caravan from the fields to nearby cities such as samrand or to other trading centers across the desert even in the desert are signs that the Soviet Union is growing the government is trying to make use of its vast undeveloped regions this surveyor is helping to lay out the route of a new railroad it will have to cross vast empty lands to reach distant cities many more railroads are needed to reach undeveloped lands railroads are also needed to carry raw materials to factories usually located near sources of power the most important source of power is coal and the Soviet Union has many widely distributed coal deposits the main deposits are in the dunet Bas in Europe and in the KET area in Central Asia coal mining is always hard dirty work but coal is necessary to an industrial country but coal is not enough to build heavy industry iron is needed as well as coal places where coal and iron are found close together are most favorable for making steel such a place in the Soviet Union is the Ural Mountains one of the industrial centers here is magnitogorsk where much deal is made in the Ural Mountains miners dig iron ore and other metals used in heavy industry besides iron ore nickel manganese and chromium are mined here is a load of iron ore going by cable to the great steel mills of Magneto gor this is one of the great industrial centers in the eural built to produce Steel steel which has been called the when we remember that less than 50 years ago Russia was an agricultural country we can see what great Str the Soviet Union is making in an effort to equal the steel production of England Germany and other older steel making countries the government has ordered many factories to concentrate on manufacturing heavy Goods things as electricy and many kinds of factory equipment the goal is ever greater and greater production of machinery for heavy Industries workers have high quotas of production to fill there are incentive plans to increase production and production is rising not only in steel but in oil another necessity for industry the Soviet Union is one of the world's leading oil producers there could be little modern industry without petroleum products such as gasoline and lubricating oil and there could be little modern industry without electricity to help get it the Soviet people are building hydroelectric projects dams on many of the rivers provide much water power that's used to generate electricity with electric power more factories such as this textile mill can be built developing light Industries such as this would provide more consumer goods which have been scarce in the Soviet Union until recently there were few automobiles produced but now more are being made even so very few workers in the Soviet Union own cars we'll find many cars and trucks on the city streets but there are few good highways between cities railroads are still the chief means for CrossCountry movement of passengers and Freight but the country is so h includes that the trip from Leningrad on the west coast across the country to vladas on the Pacific takes about 9 days to shorten travel time the government is developing more air transportation waterways are still used extensively for transportation the vulga river is one of the most important navigable rivers in the country in addition to the vulga there are many other large rivers but most of them flow northward cold Arctic Ocean ports on these rivers are ice locked much of the Year an important port close to World Trade routs is Leningrad on the Baltic Sea even the port of Leningrad must be kept open by ice breakers so it can be used during the winter season a warm water port on the Mediterranean or on the Pacific has long been a goal of Russia from the time of the Zars to the present communist government this government was established during World War I since that time 16 republics have been established largest of these is R containing more than half of all the Soviet people within Russia is Moscow biggest city and capital of the Soviet Union Moscow was founded about 800 years ago in recent years very fast and has become a modern city of big buildings and wide boulevards Soviet citizens are very proud proud of their growing Capital with its Moscow Subway which has become world famous Soviet citizens learn of the achievements and the plans of their government mostly through government controlled newspapers here they may read for instance of the meetings of the council the council is called the Supreme Soviet the Representatives called deputies are nominated by the Communist party and elected unopposed the Communist party is the only political party allowed applauding the leaders is a common custom in the some of the goals set by the leaders of the Soviet people are very high education has been given great importance there is a well organized system of schools students who make good grades will later be sent to free universities to specialize in their chosen Fields the greatest stress is put on science and Engineering Soviet leaders know that a country with high technical skills can become a leader in the modern world look at the intense faces of these pupils and their teacher education here is a serious business fields of Education are open to Soviet girls and women many enter The Sciences including Atomic research work in atomic science is one of the chief projects of the Soviet Union the use of atomic energy May provide the unlimited power that someday may be used to carry on greater technical developments perhaps someday soon Atomic power may be used to run more factories to speed up the vast plans for industrialization through industrialization the Soviet Union hopes to continue the material gains it has made for its huge population organization discipline and years of toil by millions of people are creating many great changes in the Soviet Union there vast natural rapidly growing Industries and ever increasing population is important to all of us for the future will show whether or not the rapid development of the largest country on earth into one of the leading powers of the modern world