Term | Definition |
Domestication. | The process of training and breeding animals for use by humans. |
Communism. | A system of government in which the government controls the means of production, determining what goods will be made, how much workers will be paid, and how much items will cost. |
Eurasia. | The name some geographers suggest should be used for the landmass of Europe and Asia. |
Inland sea. | A sea that is almost completely surrounded by land. |
Tundra. | A dry, treeless plain where temperatures are always cool or cold and only specialized plants can grow. |
Taiga. | Thinly scattered, coniferous forests found in Europe and Asia. |
Steppe. | A temperate grassland found in Europe and Asia. |
Multiethnic. | Composed of many ethnic groups. |
Ethnic group. | People who share things such as culture, language, and religion. |
Acid rain. | Rain whose high concentration of chemicals, usually from industrial pollution, pollutes water, kills plant and animal life, and eats away at the surface of stone and rock; a form of chemical weathering. |
Infant mortality. | The number of children per 1,000 live births who die within the first year. |
Maternal mortality. | The number of women who died due to pregnancy and childbirth complications per 100,000 live births. |
Life expectancy. | The number of years an individual is expected to live as determined by statistics. |
National identity. | A people's sense of what makes them a nation. |
Ghetto. | A section of a city in which a particular minority group is forced to live. |
Holocaust. | The execution of 6 million Jews in Nazi concentration camps during World War II. |
Velvet revolution. | A revolution without bloodshed, which took place in Czechoslovakia during the late 1980s. |
Collective farm. | A government-owned farm managed by workers who share the profits from their produce. |
Privatization. | The process of selling government-owned industries and businesses to private owners. |
Balkanize. | To break up into small, mutually hostile political units |
Etrepreneur. | A go-getter individual who starts and builds a business. |
Multiplier effect. | The effect an investment has in multiplying related jobs throughout the economy. |
Annex. | To formally incorporate into a country or state the territory of another. |
Diversity. | To increase the variety. |
Chernozem. | A rich topsoil found in the Russian steppes and other mid-latitude grasslands. |
Permafrost. | A layer of soil just below the earth's surface that stays permanently frozen. |
Czar. | An emperor in Russia. |
Abdicate. | To surrender one's office, throne, or authority. |
Soviet. | In the former Soviet Union, any one of the various governing councils. |
Command economy. | An economic system that is controlled by a single central government. |
Glasnost. | A policy of openness introduced in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s. |
Perestroika. | In the former Soviet Union, a policy of economic reconstruction. |
Ruble. | The currency of Russia. |
Black market. | The system of selling goods and services outside of official channels. |