scourge of insects that plague the uplands. Also, this change of 

 feeding grounds enables the tundra to recover from the winter 

 pasturing. The mountain Lapps carry on a lively summer trade 

 in reindeer meat and skins for the Swedish markets. 



Commerce and transportation are mainly by ship. The sea 

 offers the easiest means of going from center to center since the 

 fiords penetrate deeply into the land. Also, the land routes are 

 forced to go over the rugged mountains or plateau areas with 

 the fiords acting as continual breaks in the road. The sea literally 

 unites this area, while the land divides it. 



GEOGRAPHY OF THE SOVIET ARCTIC 



The combined arctic and subarctic regions in the Soviet Union 

 occupy over half of the country. Of this area, the true Arctic, 

 treeless and cold, includes only the northernmost strip of the 

 continent and the islands off the coast. Most of central Siberia 

 and the northern half of European Russia lie in the subarctic zone. 

 In many ways it is artificial to attempt to separate the two zones. 

 The enforced development of the Arctic in the Soviet Union has 

 made this region an integral part of the whole northern section. 

 Although there are some definite geographic differences which 

 mark the Soviet Arctic as a distinct region, these are insufficiently 



Sl» 



J 



..^ ,bS aMURMANSK 



V •ARCHANGEL 



^- S. 



Figure 2-23. — Murmansk and Archangel. 



76 



