The Rise of Communism in Russia against the Rise of Communism in China

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Communism impacted the countries of Russia and China in both strikingly similar and different ways, for the better, or for the worse. During the time period of 1900 to 1945, communism in China and Russia were developed both differently and similarly by the audience to whom they appealed, the programs they sponsored, how they incorporated nationalism into those programs, how effectively they were resisted, and in how the Communist rules were structured. They both appealed to the peasantry, sponsored programs that would call for equal opportunity given to the people, and were resisted ineffectively but the Chinese altered their programs, due to the difference in politics, geographic location, and social problems. The audience in which they appealed to were similar, for they both appealed to the peasantry due to harsh times. They both rose to power due to the fact that the country wanted to end war but their opposing political party did not meet these needs. Nationalism was an important feature of both as China needed nationalism to fight the Japanese while Russia needed nationalism to pull out of the war. The programs they sponsored essentially were similar in many aspects although they did not match up perfectly because of the geological, social, and political differences of China. Communism affected both countries in a variety of different ways. The Communist programs of Russia and China both appealed to a wide range of audiences but they focused primarily on the working class, or also known as the proletariat class. First, the Chinese worked on creating a conscious working class, making sure that they understood how low they were on the social ladder so that discontent could form, fueling the revolution (“Communism in China”, 3... ... middle of paper ... ...1 (1949): 1-13. Print. Harper, Samuel N. "The Soviet Five-Year Plan." Proceedings of the Academy of Political Science 14.3 (1931): 83-96. Print. Harrison, James P. "“The Li Li-san Line and the CCP in 1930”." The China Quarterly 24 (1965): 140-94. Print. Kuromiya, Hiroaki. "Stalin and His Era." The Historical Journal 50.03 (2007): 711-24. Print. Mark, Max. "Chinese Communism." The Journal of Politics 13.2 (1951): 232-52. Print. "Memorandum on Communism in China -- A." Memorandum (Institute of Pacific Relations, American Council) 1.8 (1932): 1-4. Print. Rostow, W. W. "Russia and China Under Communism." World Politics 7.04 (1955): 513-31. Print. Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. Print. Turin, S. P. "The Second Five Year Plan." The Slavonic and East European Review 11.31 (1932): 58-64. Print.

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