Resumo GEOGRAPHY - A1P4

RUSSIA

Being the main Soviet Union heir, it has great nuclear arsenal and military powers.
Taking advantage of these tittles, in the past years it has been directly and indirectly involved in several conflicts.
In the Syrian War, Russia was important helping Syria's dictator government to remain in power, even with public apprenticeship.
In 2014 Russia also annexed the Ukrainian territory in the Crimean Peninsula after military attacks that took advantage of its political instability, gaining important ports, military bases, gas and oil pipelines.

In 2022 Russia declared war on Ukraine and started occupying part of its territory.
They justified the use of military power as a way to protect pro-Russian separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk, both provinces.
The invasion was also a way to stop Ukraine from joining NATO in a military alliance with the USA.
Experts also think this and other invasions are part of Putin's plan to reincorporate the former Soviet Union territory.
But countries like Germany and the USA have imposed sanctions (such as suspension of imports of Russia's oil and natural gas) to underrate the country's economy making it abandon the Ukrainian invasion.
These sanctions were the way found by Western powers to avoid direct conflicts and possibly usage of nuclear weapons.
Still, Russia hasn't stopped the conflict with Ukraine.

It has a high population density and faces both low birth rate, as well as high life expectancy, leading to a shrinking and aging population.
Overall, it pressures government to provide special services for the elderly, and also worsens its problem with labor shortage.

Its industrialization process began in 1868 with the Meiji revolution, where there were massive investments made in the education, infrastructure and basic industries sectors, as well as the growth of **zaibatsus** (powerful family-run business conglomerates).
The Shogunate was the feudal regime in Japan until the Meiji age. It was similar to feudalism: the shogun was a landowner and military leader with subordinates, that obeyed the emperor.
The Zaibatsus' power was huge during the Empire of Japan, which let them control big parts of the Japanese economy, until the end of **WWII**.
After being defeated by the Allies, Japan had its territory and economy devastated. It only began to grow again in the 1950s with the USA, which was hoping to contain the expansion of Soviet socialism in the Pacific region. Japan also had:
- Cheap labor due to rural exodus
- Investments in education, aimed at workforce qualification
- Scientific and technological development

Japanese productivity grew a lot throughout the $2^{nd}$ half of the 20th century, raised productivity and reduced costs with:
- Investments in scientific research
- Automation and usage of robotics inside factories
However, its mineral and energy resources reserves aren't enough to meet the country's needs, therefore they depend heavily on imports.
It also became a major global exporter of high-tech industrialized products, once Japanese companies began opening branches all over the world to increase consumers' markets.

Because of its territorial size and landscape, agriculture is limited to small rural properties. Except for rice, they don't grow much and are forced to import in large scales to support its consumer needs.
As for livestock, they majorly grow small poultry and herds.

**South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and Hong Kong** were all countries that faced rapid economic growth, driven by industrial development, known as the "**Asian Tigers**".
The "**New Asian Tigers**" went through the same thing, but in more recent years: **Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines**.
Among the reasons for this growth, are:
- Low cost labor
- Long working hours
- Public and private capital investments on:
  - Infrastructure
  - Workforce training
  - Reduction of customs duties
  - Export incentives
- Investments from **Japan and the USA**, preventing Soviet socialism expansion.
Important industries to these countries include: **electronics, technology, automobile and food** sectors.
Currently, they represent together **16% of all manufactured goods exported globally**.

The region is mainly **desert and semi-arid**, with more humid areas along the coasts, in oases and in valleys of rivers such as **Tigris, Euphrates and Jordan**, often called the **Fertile Crescent** where the first civilizations were born.
The population is unevenly distributed, concentrated in more humid areas.
The main form of human occupation in deserts is nomadic herding of sheep and goats. Agriculture develops in more humid areas with irrigation techniques.
Since the term "Middle East" comes from Eurocentric points of view, countries that make part of this area may vary.

The Middle East holds 48% of the world's proven oil reserves, mainly around the Persian Gulf.
After being extracted, the oil goes through pipelines to coastal ports, where they'll be exported by huge oil tankers.

It is an organization with aim to maintain control over oil exploration, made of 13 countries.
They have together interfered in the product's price, increasing geopolitical interest over the Middle East.

This oil production has led to the large enrichment of a small elite, which explains why big portions of the population of the Middle East still live in poor conditions.
Many cities have become **metropolises** in this region due to the wealth generated by oil, invested in other industries. Cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the United Arab Emirates.