Joseph Stalin was the soviet communist leader who's passing molded an era, and whose iron rule determined the lives of millions of people. Considering that he shaped the direction of post-World War II Europe, we may regard him as the most powerful person to live during the 20th c...

World War II in Europe Before dawn on September 1, 1939, German forces crossed into Poland in an attack so fast and brutal, they called it blitzkrieg, meaning lightning war. This time Britain and France decided to fight, and on September 3 they declared war on Germany. Roosevelt declared the Uni...

My friend is a victim of alcoholism When I see a person who cannot control his or her drinking habits, I am always wonder: "What could cause to a person to become an alcohol abuser?" Few months ago, I was shocked by the news that my best friend is now an alcoholic. My friend's nam...

In AD 789, three strange ships arrived at Portland on the southern coast of England. The "Reeve" or representative of the King of Wessex rode out to meet these visitors. He took with him only a small group of men under the impression that the strangers were traders. The strangers slew them. Ac...

Dmitri Shostakovich Shostakovich is view as one of the greatest Russian Composers of the 20th Century. Although limited by the Soviet Government in what he was allowed to produce for performance, he still composed many great works. Shostakovich wrote many of his works by order of the government. N...

Although Shukhov does not think or talk about religion for the bulk of the novel, his final conversation with Alyoshka, a devout Baptist, reveals that faith can be a means of survival in the oppresive camp system. Shukhov's interest in Alyoshka's discussion of God, faith, and prayer marks ...

The Cold War The irrational fear of Soviet invasion gripped our country for over 35 years. That fear led to the upper echelons of authority making decisions, which would create a feeling of near hysteria throughout the public. Americans feared that the Soviets were planning some nuclear attacks o...

Nikita Khrushchev is undoubtedly one of the most important and interesting political figures of the twentieth century. Rising from a background of extreme poverty, he became an early supporter of the November 1917 bolshevik revolution. During the inter war years he joined the Communist Party, and ...

The Fall of Winter Palace Czar Nicholas II's reign lasted twenty-one years and ended with the Bolsheviks seizing power. However, from the very start of Nicholas's rule, fate was not in his favor. For a long time Czars have ruled Russia with power all in their hands. The society that ...

The persecution, deportation, and general abuse of those who call themselves Chechnyans, has been a heavy burden to bear over the last few centuries. Ethnically and religiously these people from the Caucasus are markedly different from their expansionist Russian neighbors. Centuries of miscommunicat...