Russia and Eastern Europe PERSIAN Chart
(Post-Modern)
by Unice Yoo
Political
- The Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905) was the first war in which an Asian power defeated a major European power. This war resulted from rivalry between Japan and Russia for control of Korea and Manchuria. Russia's fleet could not mobilize quickly enough, allowing Japan to occupy Korea. Japanese victory admitted it as one of the Great Powers. T It ended with the Treaty of Portsmouth, which ended with Japanese control of Korea, Manchuria, and the southern half of Salkhalin.
- The Revolution of 1905 consisted of many strikes by urban workers and peasant revolts. The Russian government created the duma, a national parliament aimed at appeasing unsatisfied liberals. The Stolypin reforms were made to pacify the peasants. However, the changes implemented were not enough to satisfy everyone. Eventually, the inability of the government to meet the demands of the people would lead to the Russian revolution in 1917.
- The Russian revolution of 1917 brought the radical Bolsheviks headed by Lenin into power. The pressures of World War I triggered the outbreak of the revolution. Strikes and food riots broke out. Czar Nicholas II abdicated, ending the Romanov dynasty. Russia saw a quick transition from parliamentary rule to communism. The Provisional Government, headed by Alexander Kerensky, was displaced by the Bolsheviks. Because of the large peasant population, communist rule was most favorable.
- From 1918-1921, a civil war occurred as many groups revolted against the communist regime. Tsarist generals, religiously faithful peasants, and many minority nationalities found a common enemy in the communist government.
- The new communist government restored many foundations and institutions in Russia. Leon Trotsky raised the Red Army, and Lenin issued the NEP.
- The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or USSR, was created by a new constitution.
- After Lenin's death, intense rivalries between leaders, notably Trotsky and Stalin, ignited. Joseph Stalin emerged as the new leader of the Soviet Union. He was an authoritarian ruler who used police procedures to strictly control the state.
- Although Russia initially made a deal with Hitler at the start of World War II, Germany turned around and attacked Russia. This attack brought an alliance between the Western powers and the United States and Russia. The war provided the opportunity for the Soviet Union to regain land in Eastern Europe at the expense of countries such as Poland, which was divided yet again.
Economy
- Lenin issued a decree for land redistribution to the peasantry and a state takeover of basic industry. In 1921, he issued the New Economic Policy (NEP). It promised free trade for small businesses and peasant landowners. This combined state economic policies with individual initiative.
- The economy and industrialization in the USSR was state-directed. Stalin redistributed the land and borrowed some Western techniques. Collectivization was the process of creating large, state-run farms. Many kulaks, or landowning peasants, resented this reform and refused to cooperate. This met a violent response from the government. Millions were killed or deported. Although collective farms were meant to increase agricultural production, agriculture continued to be weak in the economy.
- The five-year plans set clear goals for production. Many factories for metallurgy, mining, and electricity were opened to industrialize Russia. The focus was heavy industry. During the Great Depression, Soviet output in machinery and metal products grew 14 times larger.
Religion
- The Communist party not only regulated the economy, but also attempted to transform the culture and religion. It restricted the Orthodox church and all other religions and promoted a secular, Marxist, scientific orthodoxy. Art and literature were carefully regulated to promote the beliefs of the party. Education was reconstructed to create technicians and bureaucrats that had the right mind of thinking. Mass ceremonies such as May Day parades were created to strengthen devotional ties to the Soviet Union.
- The party did not completely abolish the Orthodox church, but limited its spread. It was not allowed to teach the religion to anyone under the age of 18, and children were taught in school that religion was nothing but superstition.
- Jews did not have freedom of religion. The Soviet government defined Jews as enemies of the state.
- Muslims had more freedom than the Jews did on the condition of loyalty to the state.
Society
- As Russia became industrialized, it acquired many features of an industrial society. Many people were flocked to crowded urban areas where large numbers of people were squeezed into inadequate housing. Factory owners and overseers enforced strict discipline among the workers. The government also created many welfare programs. Workers could have meeting houses, recreational programs, and protection in case of illness or old age. In their free time, people played or watched sports, films, and television.
- In urban society, the tendency was to divide along class lines between workers and the middle class. Mangers and professional people who were members of the Communist party received special privileges that set them apart from everyone else.
- Because of migration to urban areas, families loosened ties with extended family and focused on the nuclear family. Birth rates dropped, infant mortality rates declined, schooling periods grew longer, and consumer expectations increased. Smaller families were more suited to living under these conditions. Parents put great effort into their children's education. Children were strictly disciplined in school and at home.
Innovations
- The Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States resulted due to the intense rivalry between the two superpowers. Each side was developing rockets and missiles as long-range weapons. However, this technology could also be used to send objects or organisms into space. This led to the Space Race and the race to the moon. The Russians deployed Sputnik while the United States launched the Apollo missions.
- The Soviet got caught up in an infamous arms race with the United States in an event known as the Cold War. The USSR developed the atomic and hydrogen bombs and deployed missiles and naval forces that matched the power of those of the United States. The Soviet Nuclear Weapons Program was developed in response to the Manhattan Project in the United States. The United States had dropped two bombs on Japan during World War II, but they were surprised how quickly Russia came to possess that knowledge. The term MAD (mutually assured destruction) was used in the context of the Cold War. Dr. Seuss's The Butter Battle Book shows two sides- one side eats their bread with the butter side up and the other side eats their bread with the butter side down. These rivals compete to develop the most destructive weapon. At the end of the book, all people go underground while two representatives on different sides of the wall wait to drop a bomb- who will drop it first?
Arts and Architecture
- Although much industrialization and borrowing from the West had occurred, Russia did not adopt Western culture. It rejected modern Western art styles and retained earlier Russian styles. Russian orchestras and ballets upheld rigorous standards of excellence. The state supported a new style of art called socialist realism, which glorified heroic workers, soldiers, and peasants. During the pre-revolutionary era and the 1920s, modern art gave way to neoclassical paintings and sculpture under Stalin. Many old buildings were preserved, but new Soviet architecture emphasized functional, classical lines and monumental buildings.
- After 1960, some elements of Western culture leaked into Russia and Eastern Europe. Jazz and rock bands emerged by the 1980s; however, many were still suspicious of Western culture.
- During this period, The Russian Five or Mighty Five - César Cui, Aleksandr Borodin, Mily Balakirev, Modest Mussorgsky, and Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov - banded together to promote a distinctly Russian style of music. Among the most popular pieces from this group are Mussorgsky's Night on Bald Mountain (video below) and Pictures at an Exhibition as well as Rimsky-Korsakov's The Flight of the Bumblebee (video below) and Scheherazade.
Near Geographic
- The dissolution of the Soviet Union created 15 new independent nations: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Estonia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
- Siberia is a vast tundra that makes up 77% of Russia, but is not densely populated due to the harsh conditions, especially during the winter.
Sources
- http://www.schoolshistory.org.uk/gcse/russia/images/lenin.jpg
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/9c/Stalin_Image.jpg/180px-Stalin_Image.jpg
- http://spartacus-educational.com/RUStrotsky2.jpg
- http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/Photos/Russia/Maps/Zonal.jpg
- http://novaonline.nvcc.edu/eli/evans/Photos/Russia/Maps/Map2000.jpg
- http://www.marxists.org/history/ussr/government/red-army/index.jpg
- http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a9/Flag_of_the_Soviet_Union.svg
- http://uttaps.files.wordpress.com/2012/02/roses-for-stalin.jpg?w=300&h=212
- Stearns, Peter N. World Civilizations: The Global Experience. Advanced Placement ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2003. Print.
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/514017/Russo-Japanese-War
- http://history.state.gov/milestones/1899-1913/portsmouth-treaty
- http://airandspace.si.edu/exhibitions/space-race/online/sec100/sec100.htm
- http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/Russia/Sovwpnprog.html