The use of either physical (such as the aggressiveness shown by the Cheka, the Russian secret police) or political force (such as War Communism) was prevalent in both the French (Between May 1789 – 1795) and Russian (Between February 1917 – 1924) revolutions. To protect and reinforce the...

Many historians argue that when studying Russian history it is important to look closely at events to know what actually happened. Since Soviets claim that their government legitimacy comes from a historical process, their files were never opened or exposed to the public, therefore not enabling soci...

Acid Reign: The Rule of Nicholas I Nicholas I has been portrayed, and perhaps rightfully so, as a strict and reactionary tsar. Indeed, his internal policies were often repressive -- he sought to nip any liberalism in the bud, often brutally. His approach to solving problems in the Empire and kee...

The historical impact of Operation Barbarosa cannot be denied. The Soviet victory over the Nazi German invaders set up the Soviets as a world superpower and set the stage for the Cold War. Had the Germans not attacked, the Russians may not have gained their dominance in Eastern Europe, and the W...

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...

To just concentrate on Stalin's totalitarian terror does ignore his significant achievements, however the "end doesn't justify the means". Stalin was a proud man and was proud of Russia, he realised that Russia was a backward country and without pushing USSR to modernise it would...

Abstract This essay concentrates on two representatives of the dissident movement in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and in the 1970s--Andrei Sakharov and Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn. The essay introduces the history of the dissident movement in the Russian Empire under the Tsars and in the Sovie...

Napoleons Russian Campaign Eli Kamara The peace between France and Russia in 1807 lasted for five years but was not satisfactory to either side. The Tilsit settlement was thought of by Napoleon as no more than a convenient truce. In 1807 he had been in no position to invade Russia but there...

To what extent was the collapse of Tsarism due to the personal weakness of Nicholas II? "[The Tsar of Russia, Nicholas II,] was very much a family man and a loving father to his children. But this all meant that he was far removed from his subjects, with little understanding of the outside w...

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...

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 ...

Joseph Stalin When most people see or hear the name Joseph Stalin, they most commonly associate it with a violent and ruthless political leader of the Soviet Union who managed to send more Russians to their deaths than Hitler did Jews. Aside from this fact, most individuals know very little about...

In March 1917 Russia was an autocracy, a political system favouring unlimited authority by a single individual. It was the crucial events that took place during this period of history that would change many people's lives. It was the uniting of the peasants, workers, and middle class with the T...