• Tundra: a dry, treeless plain where temperatures are always cool or cold and only specialized plants
can grow.
• Taiga: thinly scattered, coniferous forests found in Europe and Asia.
• Steppe: a temperate grassland found in Europe and Asia.
• Chernozem: rich topsoil found in Russian steppes and other mid-latitude grasslands.
• Permafrost: a layer of soil just below the earth’s surface that stays permanently frozen.
• Czar: an emperor of Russia.
• Abdicate: to surrender one’s office, throne, or authority.
• Glasnost: a policy of openness introduced in the Soviet Union in the late 1980s.
• Soviet: in the former Soviet Union, any one of the various governing councils.
• Perestroika: in the former Soviet Union, a policy of economic restructuring.
• Ruble: the currency of Russia.
• Black market: the system of selling goods and services outside of official channels.