Geological History and Active Tectonics of European Russia

Main features of European Russia’s topography represent tectonic domains of different origins and histories. Most of European Russia belongs to the East European Craton (EEC) that had emerged in the Precambrian and existed as a stable platform since then. The ancient orogenic belts of the Timan-Pechora basin and the Scythian plate were greatly eroded and became the elements of the East European Plain. After that, broad areas of submergence or uplift shaped the modern topography of the East European Plain. A diverse topography is confined to the orogens that surround it. For the Urals, a late Paleozoic orogeny has provided a lattice that is accommodating modern deformations after a long quiescence. The Caucasus is in its main episode of orogeny accompanied by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.