Russia

By Allison C. ;-)

Section 1

The New Russia Emerges

• 1970s, clothing could not be manufactured.

• Manufacturing had to have gov’t approval.

• Many apartments had no closets or clothes.

Trying to Save Communism

• Bureaucracy was used to manage the economy.

• Soviet economy blocked products such as cars and refrigerators = shortage of goods.

• Gorbachev launched a policy called “perestroika” to make the economy more efficient.

• Local mangers could decide what and how much to produce instead of government officials.

• Gorbachev also launched the policy of “glasnost” which encouraged people to criticize inefficient ways.

• The reforms did not work and the economy worsened.

• Soviet economy almost collapsed in the 1980s and factories were closed and workers laid off.

• Many were unemployed and food was scarce.

• Soon the people believed that the end of communism would bring economic security and political freedom.

• “Glasnost” led to demands for independence from the non-Russian republics.

• In 1990, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia declared independence from the S. U.

• In 1991, after 74 years, the S.U. ended.

• 15 republics were then created, the largest was The Russian Federation, Russia.

The Newly Independent Republics

• The new republics wanted to establish free-market economies and democratic governments.

• Some governments sold factories, land, and state-owned properties to individuals or groups.

• Many factories were closed and unemployment shot up and production lessened.

• Few goods = high prices and many could not afford high priced goods.

• Also ethnic issues rose with Christian Armenia and Muslim Azerbaijan.

• Big nations such as Russia, Ukraine, and Kazakhstan had valuable resources.

• Latvia and Estonia had few resources.

Struggles in Russia

• In 1991, Boris Yeltsin was chosen President of Russia, the first democratic-elected leader, and tried to overthrow Gorbachew.

• Ethnic diversity was still a problem between Muslims.

• Yeltsin did not reverse economic damage and battled the parliament over the economic policy.

• In 1998, financial hardships worsened, bringing the currency value to lower, and citizens savings disappear.

• Vladimir Zhirinovsky, blamed the economic problems on communism, non-Russian ethnic groups, and the West.

• Russians were frightened by him, he worship Hitler’s acts and threaten to take Alaska back from the U.S., drop a nuclear bomb on Japan, and flood Germany with radioactive waste, which all lead to his drop in popularity.

• Yeltsin retired in 1999.• The power was passed to Vladimir Putin,

who was popular and did not use strong-armed methods.

• Took control over Duma.

• Putin backed new economic reforms.• Limited bureaucratic obstacles to business

and reduce corruption.• 2000s economy improving, due to oil boom.• Putin’s reforms lead to market economy.• Income comes from exporting natural

resources (gas, oil, timber).• Banking was created.

Facing the Future

• Population fell from 1992-2002.

• Death increased (poverty, alcoholism, drug abuse, AIDS, and other disease)

• Fewer children were born due to hard times.

• Economy could not grow if fewer people were in the workforce.

• Since 1994 wars were fought in Chechnya.

• Muslims sought independence from republic.

• Russian government feared other rebellion groups would demand their own republics.

• Over 100,00 dead from fighting.

Section 2

Russia Foreign Policy

• Between 1945-1991, Russia was a global power.

• It was engaged in the Cold War.

• The Cold War stimulated violence in Vietnam, Southeast Asia, Cuba, and Caribbean.

The Expanding Soviet Union

• 1917, Lenin, Bolshevik call for revolution against capitalism.

• 1919- Bolsheviks sets up Communist International, created control Communist parties in other lands.

• 1939 Nazi-Soviet pact freighted West, turned against S.U.

• 1941, Germany invaded S.U., and west recognized Stalin as ally against Hitler, the invasion caused death and destruction.

• After war, Stalin wanted more European land, broke agreement with allies, after war people of East Euro would have control over gov’t elections.

• Stalin said no election.• Took over Poland, Hungary, Romania – 1947.• Local Communist took orders for Stalin.• Marshal Tito of Yugoslavia would not accept communist

rulings = enemy.• Eastern Europe control reason of Cold War, along with

the future of Germany.• Soviets wanted Germany weak to pay reparations for

having started the war.• To prevent this, Stalin created a blockade of Berlin.• Also started nuclear weapon development, and created

a powerful military.

• Stalin used Eastern Europe to rebuild the S.U. • They forced them to sell resources to the S.U. at

low prices• Took control over factories, machinery.• 1955- Warsaw Pact was created.• It was the S.U. and Eastern Europe countries, its

purpose was to make alliance with the west.• Crushed reforms in EE.

The Soviet Union and the United States

• U.S. and S.U. competed in science, technology, education, athletics, and military strengths.

• Thought communism was superior to capitalism.

• Created Sputnik I, the first space satellite.• Invested lots of $ in large armed forces and

produced weapons of mass destruction.• Tensions rose during the Cuba missile conflict,

when they were removed, crisis receded.• Tension rose when S.U. suppressed Eastern

Europe democracy movements.• 1956- Soviets killed thousands during a

Hungarian revolt.• 1979- tension rose when Soviets invaded

Afghanistan to back communist gov’t.• For a year they fought Afghan rebels who

were supplied with forces from the U.S. and then backed out and withdrew communist plans.

• During the 70s and 80s spent lots of $ on nuclear weapons.

• They had a bad economy.

• 1980s- Mikhail Gorbachev was forced to make relations with the west.

• Hoped to reduce Soviet spending.

• 1987- signed agreement to eliminate some missiles based in Europe, Gorbachev withdrew Soviet troops from Afghanistan and Eastern Europe.

The Soviet Union and the Developing World

• 1949- Chinese Communists won power with help of S.U.

• Then they relied on economic and technical aid.

• 2 nations became rivals for leadership in the developing world.

• Backed plans of communist North Korea, North Vietnam, and plans to take over South Korea, and Vietnam.

• Cuba was west outpost = military and economic aid.

• Castro modernized Cuba with schools and hospitals.

• 1980s S.U. aided the left-wing Sandinista gov’t in Nicaragua.

Russia and the World Today

• 15 republics after the fall of the S.U.• Russia-largest and most powerful.• Inherited S.U. membership in the UN and place on

UN Security Council.• Also controlled most of S.U. military and industrial

resources.• Stockpile of nuclear weapons worries other

countries.• Weapons in Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan. • Russia fears that the countries will sell these

weapons for money.• U.S. has negotiated agreements with all four

republics, which provides technical, finical aid to help dismantle weapons.

• U.S. has tried to buy them.• West fears that S.U. underpaid sciencetists will sell

nuclear information to terrorist groups.• U.S. funded research centers.• Putin wants to restore Russia as a great power.• Renewed ties with China and ended disputes.• He also worked to tighten ties with West.• Closed Cuban and Vietnam bases.

• 2002, US and SU signed nuclear arms arsenal reduction.

• Established joint council with NATO.• 2001 supported global antiterrorism campaign.• Stopped spread of nuclear arms.• Cooperate with US.

The Smaller Republics

• Tried to build ties with industrial nations with strong economies.

• Latvia and Estonia asked to be admitted into European Union.

• Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan border Caspian Sea = oil, natural gas reserves.

• Caspian pipeline project has run into cost and route problems.

• Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan are now located in Central Asia.

• Kazakhstan- largest and richest.

• Tajikistan- poorest.

• Receive international aid after collapse of communism.

• Some changed, some have dictators.

• Became a focus on was and terrorism.

• Most people are Muslim in these republics.

• All coping with Islamist movements and suffered terrorist attacks.

Section 3

Revolution In Eastern Europe

• 1993 Czechoslovakia spilt into two separate nations.

• Eastern Europe revolution swept across Europe.

• Communist gov’ts changed to democracy.

• Created opportunities for economic and political development.

Soviet Domination of Eastern Europe

• Gov’ts were industrialized and private enterprises ended.

• 5 year plans were created, stressing on industry and military spending at the expense of consumer housing.

• Farms were set up.• EE traded with SU on favored terms to

SU.• Prewar ties with Western Europe was

ended.

• Marshal Josip Tito had his own way of controlling Yugoslavia.

• Led Yugoslavia resistance during German occupation, then took over power there.

• Did not accept SU authority, was a communist dictator.

• Declared Yugoslavia neutral during Cold War and refused to sign Warsaw Pact.

• 1980 death left Yugoslavia with no strong leaders.

Upheavals in the Soviet Bloc

• 1965- Poland demanded bread and freedom, strikes and riots broke out.

• Khrushchev allowed Wladyslaw Gomulka (Polish Communist, nationalist feelings) to take over Polish gov’t.

• He quieted the unrest, greater power Poland and reassured Soviets, that Poland would remain loyal member of the Warsaw Pact.

• Stanislaw Lem, Polish author, disguised his criticism of the gov’t by the setting in his novel, Star Diaries on a distant planet.

• Students and workers protested in Hungary. • Imre Nagy (liberal communist reformer) brought to

power, 1956, nationalist leader.• Forced Soviet troops to leave Hungary and ended

one-party rule, withdrew Hungary from Warsaw Pact.

• SU sent troops to Hungary, killings thousands.• 200,000 fled to the west.• Nagy, arrested and executed.• Felt western powers betrayed their democratic

revolution by failing to come to their aid.

• 1960- EE followed foreign policy sent by Leonid Brezhnev in the SU.

• Spring 1968- reformers won control of the Communist party in Czechoslovakia

• Alexander Dubcek lead reform, wanted to blend democracy with socialism.

• Eased rigid central planning, ended censorship, and limited powers of the secret police.

• Period of freedom knows as “Prague Spring”• Prague, Czechoslovakia’s capital.• Czechoslovakia did not back out of Warsaw Pact.• August 1968, SU sent hundreds of thousands of

Warsaw Pact forces to occupy Czechoslovakia.• Reforms ended, communist dictatorship restored.

Poland’s Path to Democracy

• 1980, shipyard workers in the port city of Gdansk formed a trade union called Solidarity,

• Lech Walesa led.

• Group won gov’t recognition, 1st independent trade union in any Soviet bloc nation.

• The group made demands for major political and economic reforms. (support, People, Catholic Church)

• SU pushed the Polish communist gov’t to declare martial law.

• Polish gov’t outlawed group and arrested its leaders.

• Crackdown created even more support for the group and undermining authority.

• Martial law ended in 1983, the Polish gov’t failed to improve economic conditions.

• 1980s, Gorbachev renounced the Brezhnev Doctrine, EE free to pursue their own goals.

• Polish economy collapsed, gov’t legalized Solidarity.

• 1989, Polish gov’t agreed to hold elections.

• First free election in 50 years.

• Rejected communism.

• Solidarity candidate received victory.

• Gov’t set out to dismantle socialism and create a capitalist economy.

Other Victories for Democracy

• Communist dictatorships disappeared.• People demeaned democratic gov’ts committed to

free market economies.• Protest against communism helped reformers win

power across EE, in 1989 and 1990.• Hungarians ousted the communist party and

elected non-communist reformers.• Czech writer Vaclav Havel was elected president of

Czechoslovakia.• 1990, Berlin wall fell, both Germany’s reunited.• Romanians overthrew and killed dictator, Nicolae

Ceausecu.• Bulgaria and Albania, removed dict. And held

elections for the future.• EE, communism to capitalism.• Out put fell, unemployment, prices, poverty-rose.• Political parties formed.• People voted for dict. Leaders.

• Czechoslovakia became two nations, Czech Republic and Slovakia.

• Hungarians in Romania and Turks in Bulgaria = discrimination.

• Anti-Semitism became more popular.• 2000s, EE progress, built foundations for

democratic societies and made economic gains.• Many nations sought to join European Union.• Standards of living lagged to WE.• EE, sought to join NATO, western military alliance.• 1999, Czech Rep, Hungary, Poland, were admitted

to NATO.• Early 2000s, NATO was ready to expand, Latvia,

Lithuania, Estonia, and several other EE nations.

Upheavals in the Balkans

• Bosnia, war raged, Bosnian Serbs fought Croats and Muslims.

• All sides committed atrocities.

• Serbs pushed “ethnic cleaning”

• Thousands of Bosnian Muslims were killed.

• 1995- NATO launched air strikes to stop fighting.

• Peace Talks were held.

• Peace treaty signed, NATO peacekeeping troops arrived in Bosnia to monitor.

• 90% of Kosovo are Albanians, ruled by Serbs.

• Since 1989, Serbian leader, Slobodan Milosevic has led a campaign to oppress Muslim Kosovo's.

• Many expelled and fled.

• They have a campaign for “ethnic cleansing”

• NATO used air strikes to stop Serbia from fighting.

• Serbia had to leave Kosovo.

• NATO and Russian peacekeepers restored oder and help rebuild.

• 2000, Milosevic was overthrown by mid-reform Serbs.

• Yugoslavia, Serbia, Montenegro all reorganized, develped common defence and foreign policiy.

• Each have their own economy.

• Drop the name Yugoslavia, in favor of Serbia and Montenegro.

On Trial for War Crimes

• Milosevic was accused of crimes against humanity and other war crimes.

• The charges stemmed from atrocities committed in Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo during the 1990s.

Section 4

Literature and the Arts

• Liteature plays a big role.

• Russians love art and liteature, admire creative artists.

Russian Literature

• Liteautre emerged during Kievan times, late 900s.• Early writings: religious works.• Many folktales and poems.• Most famous early work, The Song of Prince Igor’s

Campaign. 1190. Poem.• 1600s, western influences.• German, French, English writings translated into

Russian.• 1800s, enjoyed “golden age of literature”• Poets, novelists, hailed throughout the world.• Writers had censorship.• Alexander Pushkin, most famous poet.• Best work, Eugene Onegin.• He came from a noble family, mother’s side

descended from Ibrahim Hannibal an Ethiopian prince, served in Peter the Great court.

• 16, already famous poet.• Gov’t exiled him to a southern province in Russia.• 40 died of duel wounds.• Influence on today's writers. • Late 1880s, two major writers emerged, Feodor

Dostoevski and Leo Tolstoy.

• Used realism in their work, Duty to portray life honestly.

• Dostoevski was and arrested and condemned to death, for belong to a group of radical thinkers.

• The czar planned a fake execution to frighten them.• Used good and evil and Christian beliefs.

Soviet Literature

• Great writers: Alexander Blok, captured spirit of revolution. Vladimir Mayakovsky also caught the spirit.

• 1920s Soviet gov’t used literature as propaganda tolls.

• Socialist realism, a movement emerged.• Writer and artists glorified socialism. evils of

capitalism, revolution, hard work)• Stalin-tight control over writers. All authors were

required to join the Union of Soviet Writers, if they wanted their works published.

• Many writers were persecuted, imprisoned or killed.• Khrushchev era, gov’t eased censorship. • Stories were used to tell of harsh conditions in

prison camps and discredit Stalin.• Yevgeny Yevtushenko published works that

criticized Stalin’s gov’t. • He expressed outrage at the anti-Semitism, over

34,000 Ukrainian Jews during WWII were killed.• Took chance by referring not only to German anti-

Semitism, but to Russian as well.

• Boris Pasternak could not get his novel, Dr. Zhivago published in to SU and when he won the Nobel Prize for literature, the SU made him refuse the award.

• Writers who criticized the gov’t turned to samizdat, a system for publishing works secretly.

• Works smuggle out and published.• Soviet writers had more freedom of expression.

The Visual Arts.

• Art and architecture associated with the church.

• Byzantine was an influence, churches were onion-shaped domes with mosaics and fresoces, that came from stories of the Bible.

• Russians used vivid colors and painted icons.

• During the Renaissance, they hired Italian artists and architects to build and decorate palaces and churches.

• Peter the Great used WE to design his buildings and new capital at St. Petersburg.

• 1600s, secular, religious, and WE styles.

• 1800s, artist used art to protest injustices in society.

• Stalin, artists had to strict requirements.

• Painting were of heroic workers breaking the chains of capitalism or fearless soldiers carrying the SU flag into battle.

• Artist who refused to observe official style could not exhibit their work.

• They were denied studios, materials, and contact with friends.

• Sometimes they were put in mental institutions.

Performing Arts

• Music was in its golden age in the 1800s.

• Composers combined folk, religious, and western traditions to create masterpieces.

• Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky wrote music for: Swan Lake, Nutcracker.

• Best cellist, Mstislav, best pianist, Sviatoslav Richter, and violinist, David Oistrakh.

• Russia and the SU loved the world of dance.

• Ballet was popular in St. Petersburg.• Late 1800s – popular.• Bolshoi, Kirov famous ballet

companies.• 60,70s dancers fled to the west.