Lesson video

Hello, my name's Ms. Gilyeat, and I'm going to be your geography teacher for today.

In today's lesson, we are going to be learning about Russia's global power and influence.

So our lesson outcome for today is that you can explain the reasons for Russia's power and influence in the world and evaluate its status as a global superpower.

So we've got three keywords for today's lesson.

The first one is global superpower, which is a country that can project its power and influence all over the world.

Military are the people trained and organised by a country to defend it and potentially fighting wars, along with the weapons, vehicles, and equipment they use.

And energy reserves are natural sources for energy, like oil, gas, or coal, that a country has stored underground and can use in the future.

So we've got two learning cycles for today's lesson.

First of all, we're gonna think about why is Russia often considered as a superpower.

And then we're going to think about what are the limitations to Russia's power.

Okay, so we've got two headlines on the slide here, and I want you to have a think, what do these headlines tell us about Russia? So the first one says, "Russia signs a major arms deal with Angola to boost military cooperation." And the second one says, "Russia builds Egypt's first nuclear power plant to boost energy supply." So what does that tell us about what Russia does? Okay, we've got an answer from Izzy here.

"So they show that Russia has links with other governments," and that's spot on, Izzy.

And an answer from Jun, "This might give Russia a lot of influence around the world." That's a really good answer there from Izzy and Jun.

And it shows that Russia is connected with other countries around the world by helping them out, and that can give Russia power.

A country that can project its power and influence all over the world is called a global superpower, okay? So what things do you think make a country a global superpower? What do you reckon? Okay, so a large economy, so a lot of money, strong military, a large population, large land area, large energy reserves, and cultural influence, all of these factors come together and can make a country a global superpower, meaning that it has influence all over the world.

Okay, let's check what we've just learned.

What factor that helps make a country a global superpower is missing? Pause the video and see if you can spot it.

That is cultural influence.

Well done if you got that right.

Now, the USA is undoubtedly a global superpower.

It has the world's biggest economy.

It spends more than any other country on its military.

It has the third-largest population, over 340 million people.

It has significant oil and gas reserves, and its film, music, and business influence global culture.

So if we're thinking about how Russia compares to this, do you think that Russia is a global superpower? Have a quick chat with the person you are sat next to.

Now, Russia is the largest country in the world and shares a border with 14 of countries.

Sharing a border gives Russia influence because its trade and military actions can affect nearby countries.

Russia's large land area also gives it plentiful natural resources.

And we're gonna talk in a minute about the gas and energy reserves that are located in Russia.

Now, before we move on to the next slide, I want you to pause the video and have a quick look at what other countries border Russia.

Okay, let's check what you've just learned then.

So which of these countries share a border with Russia? And there's more than one.

Okay, so, hopefully, you got China and Finland.

Well done if you got those correct.

So Russia has some of the largest reserves of recoverable gas and oil in the world.

So if we have a look at the slide, the map on the left, we've got natural gas reserves.

So the countries that have been shaded in the darker colour represents more of that available, that we can extract.

So we can see there the top three countries include the USA, Iran, and Russia.

We can also see that Russia has a lot of crude oil reserves, okay? So if we look at that map on the right, we can see that Canada, Venezuela, Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Russia also have a lot of crude oil.

So I want you to think, how does this give Russia power and influence if they have got quite a lot of the world's extractable gas and oil? So Russia's energy reserves give it power over the countries it exports to and money to spend on things such as the military.

Russia has a very large and powerful military.

It is the third biggest spender on defence in the world, okay? So we can see that the United States spends the most, at $997 billion, on the military each year.

China has the second biggest one, but Russia is the third.

So it's spending 149 billion US dollars each year on its military.

So I want you to think, why does having a large military give Russia power and influence? So we've got an answer from Andeep here.

He says, "It means that threats from Russia cannot be ignored.

It also means that Russia is relatively well protected." Well done, Andeep.

Now, Russia possesses nuclear weapons, which are powerful bombs that can cause huge destructions.

Recognised nuclear states include the USA, China, the UK, France, India, Pakistan, and North Korea.

These weapons give countries military strength and influence, but they do also create risks.

Now, we've got quite a common worry from Alex here.

Now, Alex has put, "The amount of money countries spend on defence and their military makes me feel unsafe." Alex's thoughts are shared by many people.

However, we shouldn't think that powerful countries will always try to invade others.

Invading is very hard, and keeping control afterwards is even harder, even for countries with strong militaries.

Most countries avoid war because it causes many deaths, destroys buildings and infrastructure, is often unpopular, and costs a lot of money.

Let's check what we've just learned.

Countries spend money on their military, as otherwise, they will definitely be invaded.

That is false.

And can you tell me why? This is too simplistic.

They may spend money on their military to reduce the threat of being invaded, but there is no certainty that they will be otherwise.

Some countries like Switzerland and Costa Rica choose not to have an army.

Okay, so we're onto our first task for this lesson.

What I'd like you to do is sort the headlines into the correct category of power or influence.

So it could be either economic, military, population, landmass, energy, or cultural.

So read the headlines, and what category would that go under? So your second task is, I'd like you to read the news headlines and use them to suggest reasons why Russia may have some power and influence in the UK.

So the three headlines are UK gas prices surge as Russia cut supplies to Europe, calls to crack down on Russian oligarchs' wealth in London.

A Russian oligarch refers to a wealthy and powerful businessperson in Russia.

And the final headline is the UK boosts defence budget amid rising tensions with Russia.

So what that means is that they are spending more on their defence of their military.

So pause the video and have a go at task two.

Okay, let's have a look at the answers.

So Russia boosts its military presence in the Central African Republic with troops and training, its military.

Russian mining giant invests in Zimbabwe's minerals, that's economic.

Russian opens power of Siberian gas pipeline to China, that is energy.

And Russia launches cultural exchange programmes in Africa and Asia, that is cultural.

Well done if you got those correct.

And here's an example answer for question two.

These headlines show that Russia has power and influence in the UK for a few reasons.

Russia controls a lot of Europe's gas, so when it cuts supplies, UK gas prices go up.

This gives Russia power over energy that the UK needs.

Also, rich Russians, or oligarchs, have wealth in London, which could give Russia some influence in the UK economy.

Finally, rising tensions with Russia made the UK spend more on defence, showing that Russia's action affect the UK's security decisions.

Overall, Russia's control over energy, wealthy Russians in the UK, and military tensions give it some power and influence in the UK.

Now, I'm not expecting you to put exactly what I've put, but hopefully, you've got something along those lines.

It might be worth pausing the video and seeing if you can add any extra detail to your answer.

Okay, so we're moving on to our second learning cycle, looking at what are the limitations to Russia's power.

Now, although Russia has significant influence, some people question its superpower status.

Many point to problems it has with the economy, population, land area, and culture.

Are you surprised with any of these leading to issues for Russia? So Sam has a good point, is that, "I can't see why land area is a problem." So Russia is the largest country in the world.

So we're gonna talk about why it is a problem for Russia.

Now, Russia has a population of over 140 million.

Whilst this is a large population, it is significantly smaller than countries like China and India.

The Russian population is relatively static compared to India.

So if we have a look at this line graph here, we can see that between 1960 and 2010, the population has not increased by much at all.

Whereas if we compare that to China and India, both of those populations now are above 1.

4 billion people.

So, here, we've got a population pyramid for Russia.

So we can see there that it's got a relatively narrow base, which means that there are fewer younger people within the country, and it's a wider in the older age groups, Russia's birth rate is very low, and therefore it's becoming an ageing population, okay? That's not always good for a country because it means that you've got more people that are dependent, okay? So older people might not be going to work, and therefore if they're not going to work, they're not earning money, and they're not paying as many taxes.

So let's check what we've just learned.

Russia's population is around 140 million.

Well done if you remembered that.

So why do you think having a large population matters? A large population can help grow a country's economy because there are more people that go to work, produce goods, and spend money.

It also means the military has a bigger pool of people of suitable age to recruit from.

Now, the Russian economy is significantly smaller and growing more slowly than other powerful countries.

So, here, we've got GDP in US dollars in trillions, okay? And we've got the countries of Russia, China, and the US between 1960 and 2020.

So we can see there that the US and China's economy is growing quite substantially in comparison with Russia.

This reduces the Russian government's money and means Russian business is less likely to have influence around the world.

Okay, let's check what we've just learned.

Which of the following statements are true? So Russia's economy is smaller than China's and is growing more slight slowly.

Well done if you got that right.

Russia funds state-sponsored media in other countries, which helps spread some cultural values.

However, when compared to countries like the UK and the USA, its films, television, music, and companies do not have a significant influence on global cultural values.

Can you think of any music artists from the USA who are world-famous? And how does that compare with Russian music artists? So have a quick chat with your partner.

Which US artists are you aware of? And do you know any Russian ones? So we've got an answer from Jacob here, and he says, "I listen to lots of music from the USA, but I can't think of many Russian bands." And I can't either, Jacob.

Now, Russia's size and position in the world brings both benefits and disadvantages.

So I want you to think, can you think of any weaknesses resulting from its location and large land area? So why might that not always be a good thing? Have a quick chat with your partner.

Much of Russia's northern coastline is frozen for most of the year, which reduces the ports that they can use for trade or naval ships.

So think on the northern coastline to the Arctic Ocean, that part of the ocean is frozen during the winter, and that means that can't be used as a trade route.

There are borders with lots of countries, which can actually mean it's harder for Russia to defend itself.

And a large land area can make transport and infrastructure quite difficult, okay? If you are trying to make sure that everybody in the country has got access to transport networks, the electricity, wifi, et cetera, that's actually quite difficult if you've got such a large country.

Western Russia and bordering countries are part of the East European Plain.

This huge stretch of flat land makes some people in Russia believe they are vulnerable to attack from the west, okay? So if we have a look on the slide here, the area that has been shaded in there is the East European Plain.

So it expands from the Ural Mountains, and it goes out west.

But because that area of land is quite flat and there aren't many mountains within the plain, Russia thinks that they are vulnerable to attack from Western countries.

Okay, Laura has said a statement here.

What I'd like you to do is have a read and see if you can spot the mistakes that she has made.

So let's have a look, "The East European Plain is a flat area of land to the west," not east, "of the Ural Mountains." "Some people in Russia believe this makes them vulnerable on their western border," not their eastern border.

Well done if you spotted those.

Now, in 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, a country located on the Eastern European Plain.

This followed Russia's takeover of Crimea, a region of Ukraine, in 2014.

Okay, so on the slide here, I've just pointed out where Ukraine is in relation to Russia.

So we can see at the bottom, the south of Ukraine, the little bit of land sticking out is called Crimea.

Now, although Russia's military is much larger and better equipped than Ukraine's, fighting was still ongoing in 2025.

One reason for this is support Ukraine has received from other countries, including military equipment.

This shows that invading and controlling another country can be very difficult, even for a country with a powerful military.

Okay, let's check what we've learned.

True or false, Russia invaded Crimea, which is part of Ukraine in 2014? That is true.

So, here, we've got our final task for this lesson.

So I've got a statement on the slide here.

Russia is a global superpower with influence around the world.

First thing, you're gonna place a cross on the opinion line, representing your opinion, then you are going to state your opinion, whether you agree or disagree, or partly agree, with the statement.

And then I'd like you to justify your opinion.

So you can consider reasons that Russia could be a global superpower, such as its military, land area, and energy reserves, and then some of the arguments against that statement, such as the economy and population.

So pause the video and have a go at this task.

Okay, I've got a model answer for this question here, but you did not need to agree with what I've put.

So I mostly agree that Russia is a global superpower with influence around the world.

On one hand, Russia has a strong military, a large land area, and big energy reserves, like gas and oil, which many countries rely on.

These give Russia power and influence over other countries.

However, some people think Russia's power is limited, because its economy is smaller than countries like the USA and China, and it does not have a very large population.

Overall, I agree that Russia is a global superpower, because its military strength and control over energy give its significant influence, even if its economy is smaller.

So, here, we've got a summary for today's lesson, a country that can project its power and influence all over the world is called a global superpower.

A large economy, strong military, large population, large land area, large energy reserves, and cultural influence are all factors that can help give countries global power.

Russia is often considered a global superpower due to its strong military, large land area, and large energy reserves.

Some people think Russia's power is limited by the size of its economy, the size of its population, lack of cultural power and vulnerabilities due to its size and position.

Right, that's it for today's lesson.

Fantastic job.

And I'll see you next time.

Bye.