Russi An Extraordinary Outburst Of Social And Cultural Change

Throughout its long history, Russia has been trapped in a continuous cycle of authoritarian regimes; only interrupted briefly with periods of tumultuous democratic transitions that were plagued by poor bureaucracy and weak institutions. Therefore, time and time again, Russia has turned towards authoritarianism. In the late 1900’s to early 2000’s, Russia again saw the fall of democracy coincide with the rise of a competitive authoritarian regime. This rise of competitive authoritarianism in Russia in the late 1900’s to early 2000’s was largely the result of the resource curse which granted Putin’s Administration false economic performance legitimacy. This in turn reinvigorated past strongman ideals, while at the same time solidified negative

Russia, as a country, has had a long and proud history. However, for a small time starting in 1917, things started to take a turn for the worse. There was widespread famine, disease, and killing by the instituted government. There was also no Russia. Instead, there was the glorious United Soviet Socialist Republics, or the USSR. This new country did not come around peacefully, but instead under the 1917 Russian Revolution and the revolting communist Bolsheviks. The Russian people were not in a better condition after the Russian revolution due to Stalin’s leadership of his country; the reason being the GULAGs that Stalin was sending his people to, the communes that the peasants were sent to, and the disastrous effects of his five year plans.

For many decades, Russia was isolated from other part of the world politically and geographically. During the First World War, Russia’s industrialization was progressing fairly, as they implemented an education reform program to promote literacy among people. The program would have been successful if it was continued without obstacles. They also implemented a program named Stolypin in order to modernize the agriculture, which was bringing successful changes to the country; however, the Stolypin program was not completed because of problems such as War, the absent of a proper parliament institutions ,the corruption and excess of power among the secret police. Ethnicity in Russia groups was also among the problems as the Russian empire was becoming anarchical and it was getting difficult to maintain it due to pressure form the population who felt that their basic need were not being responded while the monarchy was having an extravagant lifestyle (Kennan,1). By 1917, most Russian were now convinced about the fact that Czar Nicholas II was not good enough to help revive the economy in Russia. Also, Corruption in the government was still untouched and the king had already dissolved the Duma because they did not agree to his will. The economy was still backward, without jobs, frustrated people were tired of the conditions that they lived

Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Putin are two of the most famous and influential figures of Russian history. Joseph Stalin’s iron fist ruled Russia from the mid-1920’s until his death in 1953. Under Stalin’s totalitarian government, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics played a pivotal role in several major conflicts, including World War II and the Cold War. Stalin’s main goal seemed to be expanding Russia and spreading the influence of communism. Contrastingly, Vladimir Putin has held power from 1999 to the present day. Under his government, Russia became increasingly corrupt with more aspects of a totalitarian government. Nevertheless, the Russian economy has grown at a steady rate of about seven per cent per year and poverty in Russia was halved. His overarching goal seems to be returning Russia to its former Soviet glory. Although definite differences exist between the two leaders, both leaders aim to expand Russia’s borders and power.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 set the country on a course that few other countries took in the 20th century. The shift from the direction of a democratic, parliamentary-style government to a one party communist rule was a drastic change that many did not and could not predict. Looking back on this key moment in Russian history, many historians ask the question ‘why did the political power in Russia shift to the Bolsheviks’? Since the revolution in 1905 Russia was becoming progressively more democratic, distributing power throughout the political sphere. This came to an abrupt halt when Vladimir Lenin was put into power by the Bolshevik takeover of the Provisional Government. Many authors have had different takes on this event. Two particularly interesting ones were Arthur Mendel and John D. Basil. Their pieces On Interpreting the Fate of Imperial Russia and Russia and the Bolshevik Revolution give various perspectives on the Russian Revolution and attempt to answer the question of the power shift. This key point in Russia’s history sets the tone for the next 100 years. Russia became a superpower, an enemy of the United States, started multiple wars directly and indirectly, and started using an economic system used by various countries around the world. Today we still see the effects of the 1917 Revolution. Looking at both Mendel’s and Basil’s attempt to answer why the power shifted to the Bolsheviks. Since both historian 's account of the events is different they cannot

Between 1900 and 1940 Russia experienced significant change in its economical and political spheres, as an emerging Communist Party set about replacing the traditional features of tsarist society with socialist alternatives. However, progress came at gradually, not immediately, after many failed revolutions and costly wars. The need for change in Russia became most apparent under the House of Romanov (1613-1917). The decline of the Romanovs had had been in motion since the failure of the Crimean War, and while temporarily stunted by a series of economical and political reforms launched by Czar Alexander II and a program for industrialization spearheaded by Sergei Witte, hastened after an even costlier war with Japan. Harking back to Russia’s defeat in the Crimean War, the Russo-Japanese War provoked social unrest among

Although it may seem as if Russia’s decline happened overnight, a detailed timeline of Russia’s history would prove quite the opposite. Despite Russia’s long history with serfdom and poverty,

To what extent did Stalin’s rule mar the key turning point in Russia’s political development 1856-1953?

In the early 1900s, Russia was under the rule of Nicholas II. Under his rule, the government became a dictatorship. Also, there was no representation for the people in the government. He also used a secret police force to make sure that everyone would obey him. On top of that, Russia fell behind from the rest of the world. Most of the country’s economy was based on subsistence farming, and lacked a modern form of transportation. Most of the people were in the peasant class, which resulted in a small wealthy class, and most of the people worked under these wealthy people on farms. This lasted for 18 years, and ended after the Bolsheviks won the civil war, and took control of the government.

The industrialisation that began in Russia under the rule of Joseph Stalin had an effect on both the people and the country that would last for decades. What it did was allow people in Russia to live safely without fear of invasion but at the same time many lives were lost in the process of reaching the objective. Under the rule of Joseph Stalin the Soviet Union was turned into an industrial & military superpower however he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign. Stalin’s personality gives us the impression he didn’t treat the Russian people well as he would have his enemies executed or sent to prison camps this implies that any Russian citizens that challenged him would’ve been silenced. In this response we will explore the quality of living conditions and politics. Stalin in the process of industrialising Russia is estimated to be

With the destruction of the Tsarist regime, Russia stood at a crossroads no state had ever been at. For the first time ever, a Socialist nation advocating Communism had managed to create a functioning state. The works of Marx and Engels, pushed forth as the cure for the oppression of the proletariat, had fallen successfully on the ears of Vladimir Ilyich Lenin, who, with his theory of the Vanguard party, pushed the Russian Empire into the Soviet era. Leninism became the central tenant of the Soviet system, being advocated and admired by every successive Soviet leader, and by many in modern Russia to this day. The modernity of the issue leads many in modern Russia to justify certain actions, harkening back to Lenin himself, still displayed in

In the 1800’s Russia was facing a very difficult time. Russia’s recent defeat in the Crimean war was a wake up call to the autocracy. This defeat proved to the autocracy that Russia had fallen dangerously behind their western neighbors, ultimately making it easy for other countries to attach and invade. At that point, Russia knew it was time for a change and it started with Tsar Alexander II. Alexander II took over as emperor due to his fathers (Nicholas I) death in St. Petersburg. Some say the reason for Russia’s backward spiral was because of him. However, in 1855 the reign of Alexander II in Russia began and during his time he directed a period of political and social reforms. Some of the reforms Alexander II thought had to be changed included: education, military, government, and judicial. Even after trying to make multiple changes and reforms to better the government, someone was still not clicking in the Russian government. The main reason the society had so many problems dealt with the peasants. As many soviet historians have claimed, these reforms were put in place to pacify the peasantry in order to ward off revolution. During this time the peasants had to work on their lord owners land and didn’t have many other options. While under the new Tsar Alexander II the government ran into a dry wall and needed a way out. Alexander II did something that to this day goes down as two perspectives. The first one can be seen as a charter of freedom

Until the 1900’s the Russians were always expanding making land grabs. The revolution of 1905 which was caused by the defeat in the Russo-Japanese war led to the formation of a parliament. When rioting over repeated losses in World War 1 led to the overthrow of the imperial household in 1917, the USSR formed under communist leader Vladimir Lenin. Another very significant leader in the nation’s history, Mikhail Gorbachev (1985-1991), attempted to institute “glasnost” or political openness which started the democratization of the USSR and “perestroika” which was the movement he started which advocated for the reformation of the communist party. Through these many changes, his initiatives caused the splintering of the USSR to form Russia and 14 independent republics. Among these is the Chechen Republic which went on to fight a war against Russia during the nineties.Then in order to maintain power during the turmoil of Boris Yeltsin’s reign as president from 1991-1999 they transitioned into a semi authoritarian government. This government attempted to legitimize their leadership through a managed democracy in which the press and other influencing factors are controlled by the government but the people do vote. In

Joseph Stalin’s three decade long dictatorship rule that ended in 1953, left a lasting, yet damaging imprint on the Soviet Union in political, economic and social terms. “Under his inspiration Russia has modernised her society and educated her masses…Stalin found Russia working with a wooden plough and left her equipped with nuclear power” (Jamieson, 1971). Although his policies of collectivisation and industrialisation placed the nation as a leading superpower on the global stage and significantly ahead of its economic position during the Romanov rule, this was not without huge sacrifices. Devastating living and working standards for the proletariat, widespread famine, the Purges, and labour camps had crippling impacts on Russia’s social

Russia existed in turmoil at the close of the 19th century. This tumultuous atmosphere spilled over into the new century. This time period is a portrait of a country in a state of constant change. However, this change was far more problematic to Russia that similar progress of western European nations. An examination of the revolutionary period of 1905 presents the inevitability of such a revolution. Russia's rapid industrialization and modernization had inherent problems. Typically, countries, which undergo rapid periods of industrialization, subvert the well being of the common individual in favour of the progress of the nation. This was the case in a rapidly industrializing Russian