The Soviet Union and the Legacy of Communist Rule The December of 1991 marked the end of the Soviet Union—and with it, an entire era. Like the February Revolution of 1917 that ended tsardom, the events leading up to August 1991 took place in rapid succession, with both spontaneity and, to some degree, retrospective inevitability. To understand the demise of Soviet Union is to understand the communist party-state system itself. Although the particular happenings of the Gorbachev years undoubtedly
Tsarist Rule vs. Communist Regime in Russia From 1856-1917, up until a communist takeover, the USSR had three Tsarist rulers, Alexander II (the Reformer 1855-1881), Alexander III (the reactionary Tsar 1881-1894) and Nicholas (1894-1917). After the February Revolution of 1917, Lenin took control forcibly through the Civil War, but died in 1924. After several years of fighting opposition, Stalin took power in the late 1920's after antagonism from Leon Trotsky. His murderous regime however
both the causes and the effects of these revolutions were quite similar. As well, all of the nations involved shared the common goals of implementing democratic systems of government and moving to market economies. In each of these nations, the communist regimes in power were forced to transfer that power to radically different institutions than they were accustomed to. Democracy had been spreading throughout the world for the preceding two decades, but with a very important difference. While
The U.S. Contained Communism In Vietnam In 1949, Mao Zedong led the Peoples Revolution, which established a Communist State in China. Communism has now been introduced to Asia. In this period, after World War II, Communism was a popular ideology being introduced throughout the world. Vietnam was one of the many countries under the threat of Communism. At this time, Vietnam was a French Colony. As time went on tension started to come between the French and the Vietnamese people. As tension increased
Containment is the blocking of another nation’s attempts to spread its influence. During the late 1940s and early 1950s the United States used this policy against the Soviets. The United States wanted to take measures to prevent any extension of communist rule to other countries. The conflicting U.S. and Soviet aims in Eastern Europe led to the Cold War. The Berlin airlift, formation of NATO, and the Truman Doctrine all relate to this policy of containment. At the end of WWII, the United States, Great
Ayn Rand's Anthem Ayn Rand's Anthem shows us her view of our world united under what seems to be communist rule. For example their view of right and wrong; which Anthem portrays is a system of very strict rules which mainly make sure that everyone is involved in a collective role within the society in this system no one is considered an individual or that they can even think as an individual. From the day that Equality 7-2521 were united as one they have been considered freaks, because they
egoistic or private interests and utilities but in terms of moral values. They consider what action is morally "good" and "bad" or morally "better" or "worse" in this situation, disregarding their personal profits and happiness. The overthrow of the communist system is an incalculating and contingent result of combating the extreme manifestations and worst excesses of the system. 1. Protest in Defense of Identity There are three essential forms of opposing the totalitarian system: covert passive
was divided into North Vietnam, which fell under the control of Communists, and South Vietnam, which attempted to establish a republican form of government. The Northern Vietnamese were determined to reunite Vietnam under Communist rule. However, the United States subscribing to the “Domino Theory” was determined to prevent this from occurring (Encarta). Essentially, this theory stated that if one country fell under Communist rule, then many others would follow in a chain reaction, or domino effect
the belief that Russia's political culture has been inherited from its czarist days and manifested throughout its subsequent development. The traditions from the pre-Revolution and pre-1921 Russia, it seems, had left its brand on the 70-years of Communist rule. The Soviet communism system was at once a foreign import from Germany and a Russian creation: "on the one hand it is international and a world phenomenon; on the other hand it is national and Russian…it was Russian history which determined its
it re-climb the pedestal ladder. The year 1948 brought a currency reform that was the turning point for economic reform. There was a continuous economic growth each year for Western Germany, but the strict, conservative ways of East Germany’s communist rule still slowed true growth in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To make matters worse, the whole country experienced a significant drop in its GDP, causing a recession from 1976 through to 1985. There was a growth again for the next eight years
The Similarities of Tsarist and Communist Rule in Russia Both forms of government did depend on high degree of central control. However, some Tsars and Stalin exerted more central controls than others. Stalin’s stronger use of central control created differences between the two forms of government. The Tsars used different levels of central control. Alexander II used very little. He had emancipated the serfs, created the zemstva and allowed freedom of religion. Alexander III most
Washington and Moscow. Joseph Stalin, the General Secretary of the Communist party and the absolute dictator of the Soviet Union, sought national security for the Soviet Union above all else in the sphere of foreign relations. Stalin’s dealings with other governments, including other Communist leaders, aimed largely towards serving the needs he perceived to exist in his country. Stalin’s government in dealing with China and Chinese communists, therefore, was more concerned with Soviet national security
called the 26th of July Movement against Batista. Castro assumes power on the 16th of February and establishes a dictatorship. Communist Rule In Cuba So far, the Soviet leader, Khrushchev is in question of what political track Castro is deciding to take. Russia themselves have only one connection with Fidel which is his brother Raul who is no doubt a full communist. The Communist Party of Cuba at this time has no contacts with Castro quite yet. Unfortunately, Raul never showed his true feelings for communism
occurrence in Latvian schools. Because of Latvia’s history, back and forth, between Soviet and independent rule, a large population of Russians have migrated, or been moved to, Latvia. This has had a large impact on the way education works in Latvia. The Eastern Union (EU) has also, recently, started to make a difference in the way education works in Latvia. II. History a. Communist After reading through a brief history of Latvia, in the World Book, I found that Latvia was first recognized
all people are equal. Communism hasn't achieved its goal to make all people equal. The leaders of communist nations have shown an insatiable desire for power. They take what the workers produce and give back only what is necessary (Orwell 10). Purges took place in communist governments under the leadership of dictators such as Joseph Stalin and Mao Zedong. Under Stalin's rule "30,000 communists [were] killed in Paris" (Joseph Stalin). George Orwell narrowly escaped Stalin's purges in Spain where
Logic is concerned with laying down the rules for correct reasoning. 3. Consequently, logic seeks to distinguish good arguments from poor ones. II. How Logic helps reasoning: A. "Practice makes better." Some examples of how this course can help reasoning about the world are as follows. 1. Consider this syllogism: All followers of Senator Jones are in favor of higher taxes. All communists are in favor of higher taxes. All followers of Senator Jones are communists. It will become easy for us to recognize
few months of Hitler's rule. However, the purge of the SA in June 1934 was a major turning point as it tremendously increased Hitler's power over the state. By the time Adolf Hitler was elected as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, the consolidation of power was not having the desired effect. Hitler immediately called another election, and using his newly acquired power, his first step was to ban all newspapers and political meetings, particularly those of the Communists (KPD). He also dissolved
The Good Earth was written in 1931, history has shown that these revolutionaries only intended to replace the old aristocracy with a new one. They had little intention of doing anything constructive for the poor people. As a result, when the Communists came after World War II, they were able to take over China very easily. Where does Wang Lung fit into this picture? He is a poor man who knows nothing besides the value of land. Therefore, he spends his entire life building up a large estate
Joseph Stalin: Did his Rule Benefit Russian Society and the Russian People? In this paper I plan to prove that even though Stalin made improvements in the Russian industrial system, his rule did not benefit Russian society and the Russian people. In order to accomplish this, several questions must be asked. How did Stalin affect Russia's industrial power? How did Stalin try to change Russia's agricultural system? What changes did Stalin make in society? What were Stalin's purges, and who
nationalities from territories that had been part of the SFRY (Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia) . All of this began with the presidency of Slobodan Milosevic in 1988 who was president of the Serbian League of Communists and also Serbia a year later. He began a campaign to reassert communist dominance as well as Serb dominance. He purged into countries such as Croatia and transformed its army from one that wanted to preserve Yugoslavia to one that wanted unification of all Serb populated territories