From the Russian Empire to the Soviet Union Essay

From 1856 onwards the aim of turning Russia from a once agrarian, illiterate and backwards country and into a political superpower was set. A multitude of developments began with Nicholas II being a catalyst of change for the Russian people. Writers of Marxist Russia such as Joan Hasler1 however believe that the Tsars abdication merely prevented revolution happening for a few years. The significance of his abdication caused demands for a new and improved governmental structure to be in place in order to get Russia back on its feet after the devastating defeat in world war one. New political developments took place after the abdication of the Tsar including a new improved Duma who quickly realised they had little trust and loyalty to the tsar and decided to take it upon themselves to improves Russia on their own. Nearing the end of the Romanov dynasty there were 3 new political groups aiming to rule Russia, the duma, the Bolsheviks and the soviets which alone gives us significant evidence that the Tsars reign and abdication created a significant turning point in the political development 1856-1964.

They had to rely on the nobles in the areas to act in the interest of

Russia struggled to provide food for its populations. Citizens took control into their own hands, Ludovic Naudeau wrote in October 1917, “One morning recently I was awakened by the cries of my neighbor in the next room. His boots had been stolen. The same day the manager of a newspaper office told me that he had been robbed six of pairs of pantaloons, … “Four hundred thefts every night!” he cried; that is the average for the last two weeks,”(One Aspect of Bolshevist Liberty). Russia could not even uphold itself because the economy was not successful compared to other countries. This led people to desire a change in the government; therefore this led to the Russian Revolution. People went to different maters to get what they wanted such as stealing since they were not getting the aid that they needed and they needed financial support. This caused them to protest against their government because many people from the lower class could not take care of their families. This cause led to a greater impact compared to Tsarist weak authority.

During the 1900’s the Russian Government made it extremely hard for the Bolsheviks to progress which made them revolt against the government making this a prime matter for the start of the Revolution. The Czarist government was ostracized by the common people of Russia so Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown by the Provisional Government, whom later on were overthrown by Lenin and shortly after the Bolsheviks took control over Russia. Russia was hard to develop because of the major leaders who had control; Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky. Almost overnight an entire society was destroyed and replaced with one of the most radical social experiments ever seen. Poverty, crime, privileged and class-divisions were to be eliminated, a new era of socialism

The Russian revolution was going on in 1917, during the final phase of World War 1. Russia had bean in the war , and transformed into the union of soviet socialist republicans(USSR). During the war tzarism was overruled and taken over by a democracy. The russian Revolution generally took out powerful leader and spread power throuhgout the country and the government. Russia was probably changed the most but also for the better during WW1.

The Romanov Dynasty held the Russian Empire as one of the most powerful European states for over three centuries. In 1917, during Nicholas II’s opposed reign, a revolution began that transformed the empire into the first ever communist nation, replacing the infamous autocratic rule and introducing the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic. The First World War acted as a catalyst for change and exacerbated any existing grievances to the point at which they overpowered all loyalty to the Tsar and destroyed the monarchy. The war brought many of Russia’s underlying social, political, economic, and military problems into sharp focus which were destructive forces leading to the downfall of the Russian dynasty. On a military scale Russia was no match

Barbara Evans Clements, a retired professor of History from the University of Akron, and author of Bolshevik Feminist: The Life of Aleksandra Kollontai (1979), Daughters of Revolution: A History of Women in the USSR (1994), and Bolshevik Women (1997), wrote the article “Working-Class and Peasant Women in the Russian Revolution, 1917-1923” in 1982 to address a topic she believed other scholars of Russian’s history were overlooking. Clements argues that through further investigation into the experiences of peasant and working-class women of the time, scholars can better address the “paradox, in which lavish promises” presented by the emergent Bolshevik party, and the “enormous deprivation and frightening social disintegration” affected Russian history, and her people (215). From 1917-1923, the chaotic period of Russian history was fraught with turmoil due to the revolution and the civil war taking place, creating a great deal of difficulty for scholars, like Clements, who were attempting to synthesize the narrative of Russian history. As an address for further study in this area of history, Clements extends her argument to promote the value of women’s experiences in order to urge on the new revelations such study might generate as further scholarly discourse continues to progress.

The Cold War was a period in world history marked with increased tensions primarily between the United States and the Soviet Union. Both countries desired to expand their ideologies across the globe, the U.S. urging capitalism and democratic elections and the Soviets promoting communism.

The Cold War was a state of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States soon after WWII had ended. The war was deemed “cold’ because there was no direct fight between the two key countries. When World War II ended, there were only two super powers left and both had intentions of spreading their incompatible ideological system across the globe. Soviet’s Communism and the United States’ Capitalism were the different views that sparked the Cold War. Problems started when the USSR started its expansionism in Eastern Europe which went against the rules brought about in the Yalta Conference. The Yalta Conference was the meeting of the heads of governments of United States, United Kingdom and the Soviet Union (Brinkley p. 655). The conference was designed to prepare a post-war peace plan. The United States saw the Soviet’s expansion as a threat so they planned to contain the growth of communism. Under President Truman, the United States aided countries in Europe to stop the spread of communism. This aid cost the United States approximately 400 million dollars which went to the Greek and Turkish governments. The Cold War had a massive impact on numerous countries around the world with proxy wars occurring in places like Korea and Vietnam. While the war was pulling other countries into conflict, the United States was being influenced as well. Fear and a shift in opinion of homosexuals were present in the time of the Cold War and even continued when the Cold War came to an

Ever since the beginning, Russia was ruled by a central authority. This authority was known as the Tsar. Russia was a very large country and that made it difficult for everyone to thrive. Leaders did not care for most of the country, only for high ranking government officials. The position of Tsar was usually given to the first son of the current leader, it varied because some Tsar did not have children. Unfair and strict rule of the Tsar was strongly hated by many of the citizens of Russia. People of Russia were not equal with each other and a majority of them were very poor and could not afford food. Economy was struggling due to the lack of true leadership, and citizens were treated harshly and change was bound to happen. Lenin and Stalin

Russia had been an autocratic government for 300 years under the Romanov Dynasty before the revolution of 1917. When problems started in the early 1900’s most people were serfs that had been freed about 20 years before. In 1914 during World War One, Czar Nicholas II decided to stay in war with Germany despite what the rest of his country thought. Nicholas posed a distraction from the countries problems. His plan was to keep his soldiers minds off of the horrible living conditions of Russia by staying in war with Germany and starting a war with Japan in hope that he would lead his country to a victory; both wars were lost, giving Russian citizens more to be upset about. Russia’s Army was extremely weak, made mainly of peasants, and the cost

How does one escape an entire system of thought and routine? Throughout the daily lives of the people of Latvia during the 1922-1990 people were used to and adjusted to the communist way of thinking. Being a moving part of the larger whole that was Union of Soviet Socialist Republics also known as the USSR was all the people and government of Latvia knew. During this 68-year period we saw that mindset collapse, as did the Soviet Union. Although not every country of the former Soviet Union choose the same pathway as Latvia, we will focus on the development of how the Latvian people and their country developed after leaving the Soviet Union and having to adopt a new found ideology known as Democracy and Capitalism. Before we delve into the scheme of things to see how and why Latvia developed into the country that it is today economically and politically. We must first understand what came before and what the word development means. According to Webster’s Dictionary Development is defined as the act or process of growing or causing something to grow or become larger or more advanced. We get a slightly different and more developed meaning of the word (no pun intended) from the reading of “Development and Social Change: A Global Perspective” by Philip McMichael stating that Development, today, is increasingly about how we survive the future rather than how we improve on the past. We will further tie this wonderful definition to how Latvia developed after the Soviet

A new change could only result by the passage of time and simply letting the old guard die off before new ideas were reintroduced to Russia. “Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. However, he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign.”

Russia had been an imperial autocracy since the reign of Peter the Great in the 1700s, Before the revolution of 1917. Russia had become a great world power after Napoleon’s army got defeated in the 1800s. The want for social and political change in Russia began to grow, during the 1800s. In the early 1900s, Russia had split into two factions, the Bolsheviks, and the Mensheviks. In 1917 Russia found itself in the middle of World War I. In 1917, Czar Nicholas II resigned his position as leader of Russia, ending the nation’s imperial rule. For more than half a year after czar left, an unsuccessful provisional government ran the vast empire.

The Russia of today is not that of the past; Russia throughout history has encountered countless changes in regards to the type of governmental powers they have possessed. Previously, Russia was known as the Russian Empire, being categorized as an unlimited government in which leaders have all the power. “Alexander the Terrible” is considered the original Czar—emperor of Russia; the ruling of Czars ended during the Russian Revolution which followed with the interaction in World War I. Thus, leading to the exoneration of Nicholas II in 1917. Following the involvement of World War I, what was known as the Russian Empire evolved into the Bolshevik party which finally became the Soviet Union. Vladimir Lenin was the leader of this transition