Leon Kass

Leon: The Professional (1994) Leon: the Professional is considered to be one of the best action films of the 1990s. The film is set in modern day New York and features Jean Reno as Leon, a professional hitman, and twelve-year-old Natalie Portman as Mathilda, a neighbor of Leon in an apartment complex. The film is, despite the tremendous age gap of the two characters, is a rather sensitive love story. A film that is about people who have seen sights most people would never want to see, but need

The provisional government was deposed in early October by the Bolsheviks as a result of the October Revolution. The storming and capitulation of the Winter Palace on the night of the 7th to 8th of November marked the beginning of Soviet rule. Lenin was elected as the Chair of the Council of People’s Commissars by the Russian Congress of Soviets. In April 1917 Lenin published his April Thesis. This document outlined Lenin's aims for the future: to end the war; to give all power to the Soviet; to

Why Stalin Emerged as the Sole Leader of the U.S.S.R. and Not Trotsky Trotsky was a leading Bolshevik and played a pivotal role in the revolution, persuading Lenin to delay the revolution until the Bolshevik’s had a much stronger place in the country. He also was crucial to the civil war, as he organised the troops and motivated them. Stalin on the other hand was in charge of all the dull jobs within the Bolshevik party and In Lenin’s last Testament, he was referred

Frida Kahlo: A Life in Pain “They thought I was a Surrealist, but I wasn’t. I never painted dreams. I painted my reality,” said Frida Kahlo describing her art work (Frida Kahlo n.d.). Kahlo was a Mexican artist from the mid-20th century. She was born on July 6, 1907 in Coyoacan, Mexico, and the daughter of German and Mexican descendants (Lucie-Smith 1999). During her lifetime Kahlo embarked on many hardships caused by illness, heartache, and love. She became known for her haunting self portraits

wealth of texts and information from those of the likes of Robert Service, Simon Sebag Montefiore, Allan Bullock, Robert Conquest and Jonathan Reed, to name a few, but none is so widely sourced and so heavily relied upon than that of the account of Leon Trotsky, his book “History of the Russian Revolution” a somewhat firsthand account of the events leading up to the formation of the Soviet Union. There is no doubt that Trotsky’s book, among others, has played a pivotal role in shaping our understanding

The Theme of Growth in Exodus  Exodus, by Leon Uris, is a novel of genuine Affirmation. One of the most prevalent of the affirmative themes is the idea of growth. Many of the characters learn a lot about themselves, and change tremendously in a positive way. Earlier in their lives, these characters decided to live their life one way, but throughout the book they change, and join each other to unite. Fighting for their common religion and fundamental rights brought them together in a way that

The Success of the Bolsheviks in Gaining Power in Russia by 1922 In February 1917, the Bolshevik party was small and irrelevant. The leadership was abroad and there was little consistency of purpose among the party in Russia. However, by the summer of 1922, the Bolsheviks had become the dominant force, and a new communist state had emerged from their success. The purpose of this essay is to explain this transformation. The abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the

Stalin’s rule lasted almost thirty years, from the middle of the 1920’s until his death in 1953. His rule deeply transformed the USSR and destalinization is still not fully achieved today. While Stalinism and Nazism are often compared because they were the two totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, the Stalinist regime lasted for decades while Nazism collapsed after 12 years, thus raising several questions concerning the particular nature of the Stalinist Society. What were the key features of

In 1943, Eric Blair, under the pen name of George Orwell, began writing Animal Farm. Although born in Bengal, he eventually moved to Eton for schooling. After completing his schooling, Orwell served for the loyalist forces in the Spanish Civil War. At the end of the war, Orwell moved to England. It was in England where he decided to devote himself to British Socialism and writing. The masterpiece, Animal Farm, was created out of Orwell’s love of Socialism and his passion for writing. Although he

George Orwell’s book entitled Animal Farm provides an interesting insight on the political scene of the Soviet Union during the era of political changes in which the Soviet Union gained power as described with the analogy of a group of animals on a farm who overthrow their farmer and proceed to struggle through decision making and struggles associated with searching for a balance of power. There is a series of power changes and periods of different leadership styles described. To understand the novel