Russia The Rise and Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.
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Transcript of Russia The Rise and Fall of Communism in Eastern Europe.
RussiaThe Rise and Fall
of Communism in Eastern Europe
We’re not happy Move for democracy in 1917 was a
failure Russian people were hungry, starving,
poor and upset with the richer classes November 1917: Vladimir Lenin
seizes power with the Bolshevik Party Known as the Bolshevik Revolution Bolsheviks were Communists
Communism Karl Marx’s ideology Place value on all people and jobs in a society Everyone is equal The proletariat (working class) must rise up
against the bourgeoisie (rich ruling class) to eliminate class distinctions
In Russia case, focuses on the industrial working class since their quality of life was so poor
Government owns property and business and everyone is paid the same, fed the same amount, and given government healthcare
Consolidation 1. Creates Communist Party and made it
the only legal political party 2. Created the cheka, forerunner of the
KGB (or secret police) Would force out enemies
3. Politically, Lenin expanded his control of Russia to incorporate neighboring countries 1922: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) was formed Included 15 republics of which Russia is the largest
and most important
4. Economic Policy—at first adopts “war communism” All private property was seized and all economic
decisions were centralized by the new government
Effort to turn Russia into a socialist then communist country and economy as fast as possible
This deviates from EVERYTHING Karl Marx wrote Proves to be a disaster and by 1920-1921, Lenin
gets rid of it
NEP (New Economic Policy) Limited private
enterprise Some private
property (mostly farms)
Began to Succeed
Death and Disaster
Lenin unexpectedly dies in 1924 Struggle for the next 5 years to see who will
replace him
Sinister Stalin 1929 Joseph Stalin takes over
Came from Georgia (the country, not the state); IS NOT RUSSIAN
Is really a minority who rises to power Replaces NEP with his program called
“Socialism in 1 Country” 3 pronged accelerated program to get the USSR
caught up with the West Brutally applied and enforced Thought the West would invade in the next 10 years
and the USSR needed to be ready He was wrong . . . .it was 12 years
1. State Building Massive expansion
of the Soviet government
To administer every element in society
Nothing beyond the control of the state
2. Collectivation Reorganization
of Soviet agriculture into huge state run farms or collectives
3. Industrialization Emphasis on
heavy industry and a new military
Great Purges Begin in 1934 Involved the KGB Creation of gulags (prison camps mostly in
Siberia) Pretend trials of offenders Stalin turns himself into a God on Earth Best estimates are that some 25 million people died
Schizophrenic Stalin Saw the Purges as a revolution from above Reignite the Bolshevik party that was now 20-25 years old Weed out old blood at the top of the party and bring in new
blood/new leadership (like Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China) Also very psychological
Stalin used to ensure 110% loyalty People would randomly disappear or be put on show trials for no
obvious reason—they were randomly selected Only way you could avoid that fate was to give
even more loyalty to Stalin today than you did yesterday and hope that it would be good enough for tomorrow
Killed his own son
Great Patriotic War(or to the rest of us, World War
II) 1940-1945 Germany invades in 1941 Holds Eastern front of war
until 1945 Suffer huge casualties
Fighting in a 2-front war, the US lost 600,000 to battlefield fatalities in WWII
Fighting a single opponent, the USSR suffered about 20 million battlefield deaths
Vowed never again to let the West invade and inflict such casualities
Buffer Zone USSR wants so that the
West cannot invade again Insisted on control over
Eastern Europe as the buffer zone and inaugurates the Cold War between the one time allies
By 1949, the USSR becomes the world’s 2nd nuclear power and the nuclear arms race begins
Krazy Khrushchev Stalin dies in 1953 Nikita Khrushchev
becomes new leader after a brief struggle
1956: “Secret Speech” Says Stalin and the
Great Purges were mistakes
Ushers in a period of relaxation in the Cold War
Nukes
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis humiliated the USSR Not only looked incompetent, but revealed an enormous
Soviet inferiority in the nuclear balance USSR vowed never to be out-gunned again and in less
than 10 years, they caught up to the US as a nuclear equal (important because most of those weapons or components of weapons go “missing” after the collapse of the Soviet Union”)
Return of the Conservatives 1964: Khrushchev forced to resign Reforms under him were stopped and
reversed At first USSR is stable, but then stagnates
and eventually declines Dominant leader during this time is Leonid
Brezhnev (1964-1982) After his death, there is a turbulent period
in Soviet politics
Mikhail Gorbachev Chosen to lead in 1985 Reformer
Knew the Soviet system was crumbling
Has an economic reform plan and political reform plan Perestroika (economic)—
Russian for “rebuilding” Ease state control of the
economy Glasnost (political)—
Russian for “openness” Open up the Soviet
political structure
Tear Down This Wall! November 20th, 1989: Berlin Wall torn down
The beginning of the end of the USSR Boris Yeltsin is elected president of the Russian
Soviet Federated Socialist Republic, followed by elections in other republics
In August 1991, there is a coup again Gorbachev Although it fails (with Yeltsin being the primary defender
of Gorbachev), it discredits the Communist Party One by one each of the Soviet Republic declare their
independence and piece by piece the USSR fell apart until all that was left was Russia
On December 25th, 1991, Gorbachev resigned as president of a country that really no longer existed and the USSR was over
A Collapsed Europe All of the individual republics constitutions were poorly written and
pretty meaningless Lots of political turmoil Economies a mess—money is worthless, tradable goods are needed
Lots of poverty, starvation, and crime Yeltsin attempts to westernize Russia with a democracy and
capitalist market and when he is opposed by the legislature, he dismisses them
While they protest, the army sides with Yeltsin and he creates a new constitution and legislature
Also creates a position of a Prime Minister, the most influential being Vladimir Putin, a former KGB official, put in place by Yeltsin in August 1999
Yeltsin abruptly resigns as President of Russia on New Year’s Eve 1999 Putin becomes president (which was Yeltsin’s way of hand-picking his
predecessor) Today Prime Minister is Dmitriy Medevedev
Current Events Sochi Olympics—money,
infrastructure and Russian pride Unrest in the Ukraine—West vs.
Russia; Cold War part II???? Putin, Putin, Putin
Today Eastern Europe and Russia’s economy is slowing improving: while remnants of a
time of turmoil exist if you look
A region once confused by their identity is still plagued by civil unrest between
ethnic groups, minorities, religions, and languages, affecting all aspects of their
society.