ensive vulnerability, provide little possibility for sustenance (Melvin 156). There are no significant mountain chains to shield Russia west of the Urals. This has allowed countless invasions to devastate Russia through the centuries. The Mongols, Poles, Swedes, French, Germans, and other nations have all invaded and pillaged Russia (McDaniel 162). The lack of mountain barriers leads to another problem; unhindered cold arctic winds. They blow across Russia, bringing freezing air and much snow. As a result, forty percent of Russian territory is permanently frozen subsoil, and only one third of Russia is moderately temperate. The great plains of Russia, which are responsible for producing much of its food, are on the same latitude as Canada. This leads to great difficulty in producing sufficient quantities of food (Gustafson 137). The duel problems caused by geography, the vulnerability to attack and the paucity of resources, have caused a marked effect on the Russian mind. The Russian people are more favorable to a strong, even authoritarian government, because they see it as necessary in order to mobilize their scarce resources to provide for the common defense (McDaniel 125). This effect has been present throughout Russian history. The Russian peasants tolerated serfdom until 1864, with only one major revolt. This was much later than in Western Europe. Even when the tsar rescinded many of the liberties granted to them in 1905, it took more than ten years and millions of Russian soldier deaths to lead to revolution (McDaniel 124). The Russians were hesitant to depose their ruler because they saw the stability he offered as more important than their individual rights. This tendency is not conducive to democracy. Freedom and equality for all, the basic prerequisites of democracy, are not the Russian people's number one priority. Living in such a harsh land they see the necessities of food and safety as more important than philosophical id...
