Russia and Iraq

Did you know Russia has gold and silver among its natural resources, and Iraq has oil, natural gas and salt? Russia and Iraq may sit upon the same continent but, when comparing the inventions, natural resources, and the economy of these two countries, many differences and a few similarities can be found.

In the area of natural resources Russia and Iraq are very different. The only similarity these two countries have in the area of natural resources in natural gas.

Iraq has many natural resources. One is oil. Oil has played a vital role in Iraq since the 1950's. Oil is the most used natural resource in Iraq. Most of Iraq’s oil is found in the south near Kuwait. And in the north by Kirkuk. Other natural resources are petroleum, natural gas, salt, and gypsum.

Russia’s natural resources are gold, silver, nickel, copper, natural gas and diamonds. Amber comes from the sap of  conifer trees. Amber is used for trading, jewelry, and people polish it and keep it. Diamonds are found in a town called Mirny. The town has 40,000 people who all are in the mining business.  Russia has a lot of fossil fuels.  They are coal, oil, peat and natural gas.  Fur trapping is still done. Fishing for Sturgeon is common.  Russia’s long rivers generate over 10% of the world’s hydroelectric power. 

The inventions of Russia and Iraq show even more difference between these two countries.  Russia’s inventions were scientific while Iraq’s inventions were used for everyday living and education.

The Russians invented the radio, the hot air balloon, and the rocket, Sputnik I.  Sputnik I was built by Sergi Korolev and Valentin Glushko in 1957. Sputnik I  was the first artificial satellite. It made one full orbit around the earth. The radio and antennae was built by Alexander Popov in 1895. He made a radio that could send a message. This invention greatly improved ship to shore communications. The hot air balloon was invented by Dmitry Mendeleyev in 1887. He used the hot air balloon to get closer to a solar eclipse so he could get pictures of the it.

The Sumerians ( ancient people of Iraq ) invented the wheel, writing, counting, the calender, the plow and the planter. These were invented some time between 3500 to 3000 B.C.. Oxen were used to pull the planter and the plow. They used a funnel for the seeds to go down into the soil. The first wheels were solid and were made out of clay. Writing on clay tablets was how they use to write, they used reeds to write the tablets. Writing on clay tablets was hard, because they couldn’t make curved lines. They solved the problem by using a system of straight lines called cuneiform writing. 

When comparing Russia’s and Iraq’s economy a similarity surfaces.  Both of these countries struggle with financial difficulties.

Before 1991, during the reign of the Soviet Union, the government owned all the farms, factories, and private business were illegal. In 1991 the Soviet union fell apart, and so did the Russian government . One of the worst things that happened was the shortage of so many goods. To stop this problem the Russian government removed all Soviet Union controls from the country. These changes brought goods back to the shops. But the prices went up. The government tried to get inflation and the budget under control. In 1998 the country had a major money crisis. The government started more a cautious economic policy.

The export of oil in Iraq has played a vital role since 1950's. However, Iraq has tried to overcome being dependent on the exportation of oil by adding to the industrial sector. During the 1970's, Iraq’s economy prospered.. But the war with Iran in the 1980's, the Persian Gulf war of 1991 and the Iraq war of 2003, greatly damaged the government. In addition the UN Trade Embargo imposed in August 1990 halted all oil exports from Iraq. As of July 2009, Iraq’s oil exports have reached 2.1 million barrels per day, the Finance Minister said this would put Iraq on track for the largest month since the 2003 U.S. led invasion.

Russia and Iraq have many differences when comparing natural resources and inventions. They do share the common natural resource of natural gas, but all other resources between the two countries are different. The inventions created by the Russians where scientific, while the inventions of Iraq were used in education and everyday uses. Therefore there are no similarities between these two countries when comparing their inventions. They have some similarities in their economies. The economies of these two countries are similar in that they are both struggling with financial issues. Both governments are working to become more stable financially, but those who live in these countries have had to deal with poverty and lack of substantial goods.  So, as shown in this report, although Russia and Iraq are on the same continent, these two countries are very different.

 

Works Cited

Gall Le, Michel, Iraq, The World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia,Version 8.0.1 Development World Book, Inc., 2008

Murrel, Kathleen, Russia, Singapore:

Foster, Leila, Iraq,  New York: Children Press, 1998.