Part VI Chapter 24Word文档下载推荐.docx

Part VI Chapter 24Word文档下载推荐.docx

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thethemeofthestruggleforthemasteringofthenaturalresourcesofanuntamedcountry,expandedintoacontinentbytheever-shiftingmovementoftheRussianpeopleandtheirconquestofandinterminglingwithotherpeoples.

B.H.Sumner,AShortHistoryofRussia

AtthesametimethatwesternEuropeanswereexpandingoverseastoallcornersoftheglobe,theRussianswereexpandingoverlandacrosstheentirelengthofEurasia.ThemasteringofthecontinentalexpansesofSiberiaisanepicstorycomparabletothatofwestwardexpansionacrosstheUnitedStatestothePacific.Infact,theever-advancingfrontierhasleftasindelibleastampontheRussiancharacterandRussianinstitutionsasithasontheAmerican.TheRussianswerenottheonlyEuropeanpeopleswhowereaffectedbyafrontier.Duringthemedievalperiod,largepartsofcentralandeasternEuropewerelightlypopulated（seeChapter21,SectionI）.Forcenturies,variousEuropeanpeoples,andparticularlytheGermans,pressedalineofsettlementeastwardalongtheBalticcoastanddowntheDanubevalley.ButbytheendoftheMiddleAges,internalcolonizationnolongerwasadominantmovement.Overseascolonizationtookitsplace,andthepeoplesofwesternEuropeconcentratedtheirenergiesonopeningandexploringnewfrontiersinnewworlds.TheRussianpeople,bycontrast,continuedtoexpandoverlandintothevastEurasianplainstretchingoutfromtheirdoorstep.Thiswasastupendousundertaking,whichcontinuedforseveralcenturiesuntilthelastoftheMoslemkhanatesincentralAsiawassubduedin1895.Itisnotsurprising,then,thatthefrontierhasbeenamajorfactorthroughoutthecourseofRussianhistory,asithasbeenthroughoutAmericanhistory.InthischapterweshallexaminethenatureandthecourseofRussianexpansionintoSiberiaandtheUkraine.

I.GEOGRAPHYOFRUSSIANEXPANSION

TounderstandtheremarkableRussianexpansionacrosstheplainsofEurasiawemustfirstunderstandthegeographyofthoseplains.Aglanceatthemapshowstheirstaggeringproportions（seemapofRussianExpansioninEuropeandAsia,p.369）.RussiaencompassesasixthofthelandsurfaceoftheglobeandislargerthantheUnitedStates,Canada,andCentralAmericacombined.AnotherprominentcharacteristicoftheRussianlandmassisitsremarkabletopographicaluniformity.Itisinverylargepartaflatplainsarea.TheUralMountainsdorunacrosstheplainsinanorth-southdirection,andtheyarecommonlythoughtofasdividingthecountryintotwoseparateparts—EuropeanRussiaandAsiaticRussia.ButthefactisthattheUralsareasingle,narrow,worn-downchainofmountainswithanaveragealtitudeofonly2,000feet.Furthermore,theydonotextendfurthersouththanthefifty-firstparallel,leavingawidegapofflatdesertcountrystretchingdowntotheCaspianSea.ThistopographicuniformityhelpstoexplainwhytheRussianswereabletospreadsorapidlyfromtheBaltictothePacific.

TheEurasianplainsthatmakeupmostofpresent-dayRussiaaresurroundedbyanaturalsouthernboundarystretchingfromtheBlackSeatothePacificOcean.Thisboundaryconsistsofanuninterruptedchainofmountains,deserts,andinlandseas;

beginninginthewestandmovingeastward,theyaretheCaucasusMountains;

theCaspianSea;

theUstUrtDesert;

theAralSea;

theKizil-KumDesert;

theHinduKush,Pamir,andTienShanranges;

theGobiDesert;

andtheGreatKhinganMountains,whichextendeasttothePacificOcean.TheringofmountainssurroundingtheEurasianplainskeepsoutthemoisture-ladenwindsfromthePacificandthewarmmonsoonsfromtheIndianOceanandexplainsboththedesertclimateofcentralAsiaandthecold,dryclimateofSiberia.ThewholeexpanseofSiberia,fromtheBaltictothePacific,hasessentiallythesamecontinentaltypeofclimate,withshort,hotsummersandlong,coldwinters.Theuniformityofclimate,likethatoftopography,facilitatedRussia'

seastwardexpansion,forthefrontierspeoplefeltequallyathomethroughoutthe5,000-mileexpanseofplains.ThecentralAsiandeserts,ontheotherhand,seemedstrangeandforbidding.Moreover,theywereheldbymilitarilypowerfulMoslemkhanatesincontrasttotheweaktribesinSiberia.Asaresult,theRussiansdidnotmasterthecentralAsiandesertsuntil250yearsaftertheyhadreachedthePacificfurthernorth.

Russianexpansionwasaffectedbyriversystemsaswellasbytopographyandclimate.Becauseoftheflatterrain,Russianriversaregenerallylong,wide,andunencumberedbyrapidsConsequentlytheyareinvaluableasroutesforcommerce,colonization,andconquest.WestoftheUralsthereareanumberofoutstandingrivers:

theWesternDvinaflowingintotheBaltic;

theDniester,theDnieper,andtheDonflowingsouthtotheBlackSea;

andtheVolgaflowingfirsteastandthensouthtotheCaspian.EastoftheUralstheSiberianplainsarewateredbyfourvastriversystems:

theObinthewest,theYeniseiinthecenter,theLenainthenortheast,andtheAmurinthesoutheast.SincethewholeofSiberiatiltsdownwardfromthemassiveTibetanranges,thefirstthreeoftheseriversflownorthwardintotheArctic,whereasthefourthmakesitswayeastwardtothePacific.Theserivers,togetherwiththeirnumeroustributaries,provideanaturalnetworkofhighwaysacrosstheplains.ThustheRussianfurtraderswereabletomaketheirwayeastwardwithfewportagestothePacificOcean,justasFrenchandEnglishfurtradersintheNewWorldmadetheirwaywestwardalongsimilarriverwaystothesameocean.

AfinalgeographicfactorinthepaceandcourseofRussianexpansionisthecombinationofsoilandvegetationprevailinginvariouspartsofthecountry.Fourmajorsoil-vegetationzonesrunineast-westlayersacrossRussia.（SeemapofSoilandVegetationZonesofEurasia,p.371.）Inthefarnorth,alongtheArcticcoast,isthebarrentundra,frozentheyearroundexceptforasix-toeight-weekgrowingperiodinthesummer.Tothesouthofthetundraisthetaiga,orforestbelt.Thelargestofthefourzones,itis600to1,300mileswideand4,600mileslong.Itincludesafifthofthetotalforestareaoftheworld.TheRussiansfeltathomeintheforests,andtheywereabletocrossthewholeofEurasiawithouteverlosingthefamiliarprotectivecovering.

Ontheirsouthernedgestheforeststhinout,andthetreesgrowsmalleruntiltheygivewaycompletelytotheopen,treelesssteppe.Herethereisfertileblackearthformedbymillenniaofdecayedgrass.TodayitisthebreadbasketofRussia,butforcenturiesitwasasourceomiseryandwoe.ThesteppewasthehomeofthemaraudinghorsenomadsofcentralEurasia.Whenthesenomadsweresufficientlystrong,theystruckoutalongthelineofleastresistance—sometimeswestwardintocentralEuropeoreastwardintoChina.MorefrequentlytheyattackedthevulnerableRussiansineasternEurope.AmajorthemeofRussianhistoryisthiscontinuedconflictbetweentheSlavicpeasantsoftheforestzoneandtheAsiaticnomadsofthesteppe.Atfirstthenomadsprevailed,andtheresultwastwocenturiesofMongolruleoverRussia.ButintheendtheSlavicwoodspeoplebecamestronger,andtheywereablenotonlytowintheirindependencebutalsotoexpandovertheEurasianplains.

Thefourthzone,thedesert,isthesmallestinarea,startinginChinabutextendingwestwardonlytotheCaspianSea.Wehaveseenthatforvariousreasons—inaccessibility,severeclimate,andthemilitarypowerofthenativepeoples—thedesertzonewasnotengulfedbytheRussiantidalwaveuntilthelatenineteenthcentury.

II.EARLYRUSSIANEXPANSION

About1,500yearsago,theRussiansbegantheiradvanceeastwardfromtheirplaceoforiginintheupperreachesoftheDniester,Dnieper,Neman,andDvinarivers.Fromtheretheyfannedoutinagreatarc.ThebroadplainsbeckonedthemontotheArcticshoresinthenorth,totheBlackSeainthesouth,andtotheUralsandbeyondintheeast.Theirsubsistencetypeofagriculturecouldnotsupportadensepopulation,sotheylivedinscatteredhomesteadsandsmallhamletsratherthanincompactvillagesortowns.Thefewtownsthatdidappeargrewupastradecentersalongmainriverroutes.ThiswasthecasewithKievontheDnieperRiver,whichcarriedthenorth-southtraffic,andwithNovgorodonLakeIlmen,whichcommandedtheeast-westcommerce.Thislong-distancetradeprovidedthebasisforthefirstRussianstate,whichdevelopedintheninthcenturyC.E.ThecenterwasKiev,butthestateremainedaloosefederationofprincipalitiesstrungoutalongtheriverroutes.Kievitselfwasextremelyvulnerabletoinvasionbecauseitwaslocatedatthepointwheretheforestzonegavewaytothesteppe.Consequently,itwasforcedtowageacontinualstruggleforexistenceagainstthenomadpeoples.Russiancolonistswereunabletosettlemorethan150milessouthandeastofKiev,forthethreatofinvasionbythenomadshungovertheirheadsliketheswordofDamocles.

Thesworddescendedin1237whentheMongolssweptovertheRussianlandsastheydidovermostofEurasia.TheMongolscontinuedtheirdevastatinginroadsintocentralEurope,tothegatesofItalyandFrance.Thentheywithdrewvoluntarily,retainingonlytheRussianlandsinEurope.Theirsprawlingempiredidnotsurvivelongasanentity.Itbrokeupintoregionalfragments.Onefragment,theso-calledGoldenHorde,includedtheRussianterritories.ThecapitaloftheGoldenHorde,andofRussiaalsoforthenexttwocenturies,wasSarai,nearpresent-dayVolgograd.Theage-oldstrugglebetweentheforestandthesteppehadbeensettleddecisively