...suffered from economic, social, and political problems before the idea of Communism (Beck et.al, pg. 443). Poverty levels skyrocketed during the early 1900s in Russia after being involved in wars such as the Bolshevik Revolution (History.com Staff). Russia was disunified and looked into the idea of Communism after past wars (The Bolshevik Revolution). Russia rose to Communism because of past Russian warfare, an immense backlash of laborers, and its unstable society. Past Russian warfare hurt the country economically and politically. The Bolshevik Revolution was initiated from a revolt against the Tsar Nicholas II government (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). Tsar Nicholas II sent 11 million peasants...
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...Communism in Russia Communism in Russia has a negative impact on its citizens. There are mixed opinions about communism in Russia. For example, in communist Russia they have a powerful economy. If Russia was how Marx envisioned, it would be exceptional but now it’s corrupt. Because of several major factors, Russia should not be a communist country. Many people don’t know that communism in Russia has a vast and rugged history. To start, the original vision for it is called Marxism and was created by Karl Marx in the early twentieth century. According to Britannica, Marx had originally desired for Russia to be a democracy so the people could vote on their leader or have a referendum. Marx had also thought out communism for many years and...
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...empire that survived into the mid 1980's" (Luttwak, 1). In their Communist Manifesto of 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels applied the term communism to a final stage of socialism in which all class differences would disappear and humankind would live in harmony. Marx and Engels claimed to have discovered a scientific approach to socialism based on the laws of history. They declared that the course of history was determined by the clash of opposing forces rooted in the economic system and the ownership of property. Just as the feudal system had given way to capitalism, so in time capitalism would give way to socialism. The class struggle of the future would be between the bourgeoisie, who were the capitalist employers, and the proletariat, who were the workers. The struggle would end, according to Marx, in the socialist revolution and the attainment of full communism (Groiler's Encyclopedia). Socialism, of which "Marxism-Leninism" is a takeoff, originated in the West. Designed in France and Germany, it was brought into Russia in the middle of the nineteenth century and promptly attracted support among the country's educated, public-minded elite, who at that time were called intelligentsia (Pipes, 21). After Revolution broke out over Europe in 1848 the modern working class appeared on the scene as a major historical force. However, Russia remained out of the changes that Europe was experiencing. As a socialist movement and inclination, the Russian Social-Democratic Party continued...
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...Did you know that It is estimated that Joseph Stalin, the Soviet Union leader, had over 40 million people murdered for “the good state”. And that in Communist Cuba, the average salary is 400 peso a month which is around 30 dollars in our money. When you think of a government, you most likely think of ours. But in Russia of 1917, Vladimir Lenin rose to power and governed Russia until 1924.The form of government the Soviet Union had was Communism. That made Russia the first country to have communism as their form of government and made Vladimir Lenin the first Communist Dictator. Communism in Russia ended in 1991, with the fall of the Soviet Union. Today there are only 5 communist countries, China, Cuba, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam. The...
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...Communism: A Review of an Ideology Raymond Castaneda English 228: Fall Session 2012 The purpose of this essay is to explain how unsuccessful Communism is ideologically in part due to its’ economic shortcomings. For ages, mankind has been in search of a perfect society, a utopia; a society, in which no suffering exists, and everyone is happy. In writing, they are common, from the City of Atlantis to the Garden of Eden. However, there are no utopias, none for which anyone can provide proof of. For better or worse, there have been men who have attempted to bring about these utopias in the form of egalitarian societies. Some of these societies have aimed at removing the differences in social class and material wealth between people in an attempt to establish a utopian society. For example communism which was based on a Marxist utopian ideology, has proven to be ultimately a flawed principle and regime. In recent times, so called utopian societies were identified as either socialist, or communist. True communist societies have aimed to be egalitarian, and perhaps even utopian. While the effects of communist and socialist regimes are not confined to one single aspect of human life, this essay focuses on the economic effects of communism. Unfortunately, they have not succeeded in either; instead these societies have resulted in poverty, violence, and overall failure . Modern communism cannot be explained without first defining it, as there have been many historical and contemporary...
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...in Eastern Europe collapsed. All across Europe, in countries such as Germany, Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, the people and their governments were in constant struggle. These struggles eventually lead to a falling out in the communist governments, and the citizens won their victory. Because the people's needs were not met by the government, corruption in government and poor leadership, and the views on countries' economies were different, the communist regimes in Eastern Europe eventually collapsed. Communism was first developed by Karl Marx in the 19th Century; it is the theory of a society in which people take only what they need and give only what they can. Communism started out as a decent cause, but it evolved into a violent revolution in which the government controlled the people only through force. Communism took away people’s freedom in their separate economies, which caused anger to ripple through the people. Strikes were led by angry mobs, and by 1991, all communist regimes had completely collapsed in Eastern Europe. After years of revolt and protest, the official communist government positions had lost all popular support by the people and the Iron Curtain was dismantled, allowing Eastern Europe to become communist-free. In many countries, the people’s needs were rarely met by the government. For example, the government in communist Russia, or the Soviet Union, took agricultural workers crops, and in return, the government would distribute a “satisfactory”...
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...A point in history known as a turning point is an event or period of time that influenced history significantly. The 20th century was full of turning points that have had multiple effects on their nations and the world in general. Communism is an economic system that exploded during the 20th century. The two most notable nations that used communism, were China and the Soviet Union. Karl Marx conceptualized communism during the Industrial Revolution. He and Friedrich Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto, that explained how it worked. Marx believed there would be a “working class revolution”, where the poorer working class would violently overthrow the upper and middle classes. They would then reinvent their country, and use communism as the...
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...Fabian Muniz Mrs.Cox English 4 14 May 2018 Communism: A True Utopian Society Communism has been commonly used in major powers around the world. It has been used to manipulate its citizens then force them to do whatever the leaders of the country want them to do. Communism at first keeps promises of equality but, once a selfish leader comes to power communism goes south very quickly. Three important things about communism are the history of communism, the early leaders of communism, and communism in Russia. Every country is unique. The driving force of every country is its government. Russia's government was a communist witch, in turn made Russia a superpower. “Communism is a political and economic doctrine, the aim of witch is to abolish private...
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...history of Russia is extremely important. How did it become what it is today? From the before the Russian revolution in 1917, communism became a driving force in the Russian existence. The cultural background in Russia also played an important role informing what the country is today. The new leaders such as Lenin, who introduced Marxism to the Russian society, often viewed capitalism as evil. The Russians also prided themselves in their army. With the emphasis placed on the military, the economy under communism has struggled immensely. These traits will eventually lead to the downfall of Communist Russia. The Russian population came forth from a mixed heritage, mainly Slavic. The language and tools of the early Russians is often related to agricultural work, thus it emphasizes their way of life. The growth of towns and villages bring a rise economically socially and politically, which changed the lives of the Slavs from a rural people to a more not so much urban people but less rural people. Class distinction was beginning to develop amongst the people as wealth from these villages and the enterprises in them In the beginning not all people were under strict control of the Czar, also, not all that were under the Czar were Russian. The Russian culture was very diverse due to colonization. It is not uncommon for someone at this time to be a Finn, Slav, or other race. Russians are not a race, but an ethnic group of mixed background. Some leaders of Russia can be...
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...Democracy Vs. Communism Following WWII Following World War II, the Western World was once again in disagreement. However, the disagreement following World War II was not based on countries, but instead on political ideologies. Democracy was supported by the West against communism which was supported by Russia and Eastern Europe. To determine the better of the two systems, the US and the USSR engaged in a 30 year, largely non-violent war to be the best. The winner would be the country to decide the political ideologies of the countries freed during World War II as well as throughout the rest of the world. The USSR emerged from World War II as a world power, and through the next three decades engaged in a battle with the Western World to spread communism, forcing eight Eastern European nations as well as other Asian and Middle-Eastern countries to remain communist until the end of the century. World War II left the USSR as a world power but in a state of complete disarray, leaving the USSR to rebuild and expand their own government beliefs. During the war, the USSR faced the most civilian and military casualties out of any other nation by far. Through the course of the war, 19 million soldiers were killed, with over 5 million civilian casualties, resulting in a total loss over almost 13% of the USSR's population. An additional 5 million prisoners of war, political enemies, and people that had committed crime were in forced labor camps. They were forced to harvest natural resources...
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...Chapter 6 The political situations in both China and Russia before their revolutions were much the same. Both had weak rulers and discontented people. In China, a succession of dynasties had ruled since ancient times. At the beginning of 1909, the Chinese emperor Kuang-Hsu had recently died. He left behind three-year-old nephew PuYi to rule the throne with the baby's father, Prince Chun, as regent. Kuang-Hsu's aunt had great power over the rule of her nephew, and she prevented him from taking measures toward the modernizing that China badly needed. China needed a strong, modern monarch to rule and not a three-year-old. Mother Russia had also hosted an absolute monarchy for centuries. By the 1900's, Nicholas II ruled all of Russia's vast territory. His father, Alexander III, ruled strictly but ended up stirring the kettle of discontent before passing the throne to his son. Nicholas ruled about one hundred years too late. Part of the problem was that he came after a series of rulers also in the wrong time. By the time he inherited the throne, there was little hope for Russia's monarchy. Nicholas II further destroyed that hope through extensive war and political entanglements with religious leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church. He participated in several wars despite the fact that his country could not really handle it. This destroyed the trust the masses of peasants and workers had in him, in the church he controlled, and in the government as a whole. Similarly, in China...
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...ideological differences between the USSR’s communism and the USA’s capitalism, such as their complete opposing beliefs over nationalisation and system of government. However National interests, such as the fight over Poland and leaders personalities, such as Truman’s lack of experience in foreign policy cannot be overlooked as important reasons for growing hostilities between superpowers. The vast difference in ideologies is clearly the underlying factor which caused tensions for the superpowers of the world during the Cold War and the years 1945 to 46; however it cannot be denied that personalities of the leaders running these countries, were a contributing reason for the ever growing hostilities between them. Joseph Stalin, leader of the USSR and communist regime, was a figure known for being shrewd, manipulative and ruthless, instantly suggesting that relations with other countries, so different from his, were to be quite strained. Though he was known for these negative traits, he was also commended for his sense of practicality and his skills as an administrator, this suggesting that perhaps his ability to put aside differences, may be better than necessarily believed. It was common knowledge that Stalin was an autocratic leader, perhaps a dictator to some, and that he was harsh on his country, using heavy censorship, harsh industrialisation and a systematic use of terror, employing his red terror and cheka to silence those against communism with arrests and murder. When it came...
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...the USA’s policy of containment? The policy of containment was not a success, As after the war, The USA aimed to quarantine communism to the only place it existed, Russia. However soon despite this, communism spread and communist dictatorship controlled most of Eastern Europe, soon after this the most populated state on earth, China, fell to a communist regime, as well as the creation of communist states in Vietnam and Korea. This consistent creation of communist states and the failure of the USA to prevent this, shows how ultimately, despite apparent success in some of Europe and Asia, the Policy of Containment failed in its primary function, to contain and prevent the spread of communism and therefore it was not a success. However it is arguable that in some ways the USA’s Policy of Containment was a great success in preventing the spread of communism early on during the Cold War. One piece of evidence that supports the argument that the USA had early success with their policy of containment is The Greek Civil War. The USA’s decision to intervene due to the “strategic significance of Greece in the Balkans and the Mediterranean” arguably was successful. With this clear threat of communist expansion into Western Europe, Truman called for congress to uphold the Truman Doctrine and provide funding to aid the battle against the spread of communism that clearly threatened the USA’s interests in Europe. This resulted in $400 million dollars of funding being provided to support...
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...Kennan began his career in foreign service at the Foreign Service School, where he decided to study Russian. From the beginning of his service, Kennan was skeptical of the American population, he wrote: "It is obvious that there are millions of people in this country who haven't the faintest conception of the rights or wrongs of the complicated questions with which the federal government is faced". After his diplomacy in Eastern Europe, Keenan desired to share the truth about Russia and her politics in America. He came to this conclusion after trips to the Soviet Union and conversations with the Russian government and believed "one country could do little to alter conditions in another (particularly a tyranny)." With this idea in mind, Kennan spread his "Long Telegram". His telegram, composed of five parts, expressed a basic understanding of Soviet nature and thinking and "practical dedications from a standpoint of US policy." This telegram actually did very little to change how the United States approached the Soviet Union, but convinced Kennan on a policy of moderation, realism, and containment. Kennan's convictions and deep knowledge of Russian ambitions led him to speak up and kindly push the United States to...
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...A Revolution Of the Peasants, For the Peasants Decades passed in Russia in which the peasants just wasted away, lying in suppression at the bottom of the social and economic pyramids. “Russian society at the end of the late 19th century was strongly hierarchical. Tsarist political structures, religious and social values, rules governing land ownership and Russia’s legal code all reinforced the nation’s social hierarchy, defining position and status and restricting social mobility (movement between the classes)” (Llewellyn, Rae, and Thompson). This massive and mistreated peasant class was also kept very separate from the outrageously wealthy upper classes: “The royalty and aristocrats in the Russian economic system lived away from the peasants...
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