During the reign of Czar Nicholas II (1884-1917), Russia went through a series of bad harvests that caused starvation among the peasants. As industrialization increased, discontent also grew among the middle class and proletarians (workers) in the cities. As a result, Russians found themselv...

Rise to Power Stalin first became interested in politics when as a theology student; he began reading illegal the works of political philosopher Karl Marx. He eventually gave up his religious education to devote his time to the revolutionary movement against the Russian monarchy. After be...

One party rule: „h The communist party of the soviet union was the only political party allowed to exist in the country „h The communist party was involved in all aspects of soviet life. Its role was to lead the country to greater economic, political, and social development. &bdqu...

HOW DID STALIN ACHIEVE POLITICAL DOMINANCE BY 1929 By 1929, Stalin had attained total political dominance in the Communist party and this was due to a variety of factors caused by the death of Lenin and the leadership struggle that followed it. A major factor was Trotsky and his failures. Trotsky ...

Rubashov, himself an aging Bolshevik revolutionary and one of the few survivors from Lenin's old guard, is brought to a confrontation of his own past during his imprisonment and interrogation. The period is Stalin's Russia of the 1930s, a time when Stalin systematically eliminated all oppo...

It is true that single party states need enemies, but it is a whole other issue as to if they ¡§invent¡ these enemies just because they are needed. Stalin possibly purged 20 million people in the USSR between 1924 and 1939, but these people were not simply created out of nowhere. Stalin car...

The Totalitarian dictatorships possess many traits or trait clusters to which I am going to apply to Poland. I will compare this ideology of totalitarianism with the novels Ashes & Diamonds and Seizure of Power and show how they contribute to the lives of Pols. There was also a big role of Communism...

Darkness at Noon Darkness at Noon is a fictional novel written by Arthur Koestler that stands as a portrayal of the nightmare politics during the twentieth century. The setting stands in the tumultuous Soviet Union in the 1930's. Rubashov, the main character, is imprisoned and psychol...

Russia Under Stalin When Lenin's reign over the Soviet Empire ended in 1924, the future course of Communist policies and dominance of the party were cast into uncertainty. This insecurity in the Soviet nation was even further intensified by the rocky period of transition and the shaky events sur...

How and why were the Bolsheviks able to seize power in Russia in 1917? When the February Revolution of 1917 erupted, the Bolshevik's were a minor concern and had no direct involvement in this initial bourgeoisie revolution. Prominent Bolshevik leaders like Lenin were abroad at the time and m...

Part 1 The significance of the NEP in the 1920's in the Soviet Union was great. It would be looked upon later by peasants as a period of hope. The New Economic Policy was viable to a degree, but obviously not the complete answer for the Soviets economic ailments. In the end, few benefite...

Communism and Socialism have had an invaluable and profound effect on the Twentieth Century. These two forms of government have challenged the beliefs of other governments. They have created conflict and sparked controversy. However, these two forms of governments are influential in the fact that th...

How Stalin Used the Four Techniques of a Dictator A dictatorship is a system of government where the power is centralized. There are four techniques dictators use to be successful; indoctrination, controlled participation, scapegoating and force. Using these four techniques, dictators can achie...

The reasons for the change in Party policy are the result of unrest in the proletariat class, foreign security concerns, the desire to use terror as a form of control, and the desire for total power by the Soviet leaders. The leadership position may have changed from Lenin to Stalin, however, the un...

Josef Stalin is perhaps the most praised, reviled and recognised dictator in the modern world. His influence as such has reached across the globe, affecting leaders and citizens alike. Many of his techniques have been adopted by prominent leaders, today and in the past. One such example is fellow s...

party, but only fourteen achieved their goal, including Gorbachev. He had a passion for the Communist Party, and he would not let his family get in the way of his work in the Communist party. For example, Gorbachev saw that some of his friends parents were a political disgrace and he called for the...

Joseph Stalin Joseph Stalin, one of , if not the greatest military mind in history. Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia on December 21, 1879. He was the fourth of his mothers four children. the first three children died and Joseph was prone to bad health. On several occasions Stalin's mother feare...

Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was born on April 22, 1870, in the city of Simbirsk. From an early age, his mother and father instilled in him the desire to better the lives of people around him. Although many people today question his methods, he did work toward achieving this goal his whole life. In 1887...

How did Stalin and the CPSU control the USSR? Why did Stalin regard this as important? There were various ways Stalin and the communist party (CPSU) controlled the population of the USSR. This included Stalin's economic revolution, gaining control over the public through propaganda, intro...

Conservatism (1980's Style)- the principles and practices of the Conservative party in United Kingdom. Irangate- a big scandal that was compared to Richard Nixon's Watergate scandal, but it raised more troubling issues. It was significant, because it left the role of the president unex...

Alexander Kerensky, the leader of the provisional government of Russia in 1917. Alexander Kerensky neglected the wishes of the Russian people as well as the power of the Bolshevik party and therefore put an end to democracy in Russia and allowed his government to be overthrown. In March 1917 d...

Biography of Boris Yeltsin Boris Yeltsin was born in 1931 in Sverdlovsk. His father was Nikolai Yeltsin, who worked in construction and was later convicted of anti-Soviet agitation, and his mother was Klavdiya Yeltsina, who worked a seamstress. Boris graduated from Pushkin High School in Beoezn...

The Revolution For the most part the people of Chechnya welcomed revolution of the tsar in the February 1917. The Union of the People of Caucasus involving Chechens was founded that spring. The Chechen society hoped this organization would provide national revival with new institutions under loca...

McCarthyism, a term used to relate to an event in the past similar the Salem Witch Trial. After World War 2, many Americans are dubious about their lives, so they joined different organizations or parties in search for a better future. Many joined the Communist Party hoping it would be fortunate for...

"George Orwell's 1984 is the expression of a mood, and it is a warning (Erich Fromm)." After Word War II, many people who read this novel experienced mixed reactions. It cannot be denied however, that George Orwell made some stunning predictions about the future and also took some important metaphor...