Russia Vocab

2. the basic monetary unit of Russia and some other former republics of the Soviet Union
3. a measure of the difference between continental and marine climates characterized by the increased range of temperatures that occurs over land compared with water
6. (in the former Soviet Union) the policy or practice of restructuring or reforming the economic and political system
9. an artificial body placed in orbit around the earth or moon or another planet in order to collect information or for communication
10. a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring chiefly in polar regions
11. a fertile black soil rich in humus, with a lighter lime-rich layer beneath
12. a vast, flat, treeless Arctic region of Europe, Asia, and North America in which the subsoil is permanently frozen

1. an illegal traffic or trade in officially controlled or scarce commodities
4. the sometimes swampy coniferous forest of high northern latitudes, especially that between the tundra and steppes of Siberia and North America
5. a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian culture and the Russian language
7. a large area of flat unforested grassland in southeastern Europe or Siberia
8. (in the former Soviet Union) the policy or practice of more open consultative government and wider dissemination of information
11. an emperor of Russia before 1917