New
New
Year 9

Russia's energy

I can evaluate the challenges and opportunities of Russia’s reliance on fossil fuels and identify sources of renewable energy.

New
New
Year 9

Russia's energy

I can evaluate the challenges and opportunities of Russia’s reliance on fossil fuels and identify sources of renewable energy.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Russia is an energy superpower. It is in the world’s top five producers for all three fossil fuels.
  2. Russia produces more fossil fuels than it needs so it exports them to other countries.
  3. The exports of fossil fuels bring opportunities and challenges for Russia.
  4. Renewable energy use in Russia is limited in comparison to much of the world.
  5. Russia possesses significant renewable energy potential, including wind, geothermal, hydro and solar.

Keywords

  • Fossil fuels - natural energy sources of coal, oil, and natural gas that formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals over millions of years

  • Renewable energy - natural resources that can be used to produce energy and are constantly replenished, such as sunlight, wind, water and geothermal heat

  • Long term - describes impacts that are not immediate but develop or become clear in the future

Common misconception

Pupils can have a tendency to think about the immediate impacts and not consider those over longer stretches of time.

Geographers need to think about diffferent dimensions of time i.e. short term and long term and use this as a framework to support understanding and evaluation.


To help you plan your year 9 geography lesson on: Russia's energy, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...

Select countries across the economic spectrum according to their fossil fuel/renenwable energy use. Ask pupils to predict which countries use more renewables. They may think wealthier countries use more renewables and this should be challenged. Good exmaples include Iceland, Costa Rica, DRC, China.
Teacher tip

Equipment

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2025), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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Prior knowledge starter quiz

Download quiz pdf

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to their definitions.

Correct Answer:permafrost,soil that remains frozen for two or more years

soil that remains frozen for two or more years

Correct Answer:tundra,treeless land with cold temperatures and low plants

treeless land with cold temperatures and low plants

Correct Answer:climate,the long-term weather patterns of a region

the long-term weather patterns of a region

Q2.
Which of these is a challenge of Russia’s vast size?

too much flat land
Correct answer: transport and communication across large distances
too many rivers
not enough time zones

Q3.
What is one physical feature that limits farming in parts of Russia?

volcanoes
mountains
Correct answer: permafrost
sandy deserts

Q4.
Which river flows through western Russia and is the longest in Europe?

Thames
Nile
Correct answer: Volga
Amazon

Q5.
Which of these cities is in the coldest region of Russia?

Correct answer: Yakutsk
Paris
St Petersburg
Tokyo

Q6.
A student says, “All of Russia is cold.” What would be a better response?

That’s true – even summers are freezing everywhere.
Correct answer: Russia has varied climates – some parts are warm in summer.
Siberia is hot all year round.
Russia has only two seasons.

Assessment exit quiz

Download quiz pdf

4 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to their definitions.

Correct Answer:fossil fuels,natural sources like coal, oil, and gas from ancient life

natural sources like coal, oil, and gas from ancient life

Correct Answer:renewable energy,sources like sun and wind that are constantly replenished

sources like sun and wind that are constantly replenished

Correct Answer:long term,impacts that develop or become clear in the future

impacts that develop or become clear in the future

Q2.
Russia is in the world’s top five producers of all three ...

rare earth metals.
Correct answer: fossil fuels.
renewable resources.
nuclear isotopes.

Q3.
Russia has significant energy potential, including wind, solar, and hydro.

Correct Answer: renewable

Q4.
Why is it important for geographers to consider both short and long-term impacts?

to remember statistics
to make maps
Correct answer: to balance understanding and evaluation
to focus on population growth