Soviet Union Essay Examples

In the minds of the public, espionage is often the result of financial considerations. A government employee, possibly living beyond his or her means spies in exchange for money. The recent case of Robert Hanssen is one such example. This is certainly not the only motivation for spying, however.In the 1930s, the Soviets established a […]

Joseph Stalin’s name is second only to Adolf Hitler’s when it comes to the death and destruction of the twentieth century. When Stalin died in 1953, people had mixed emotions about his actions (Roberts 2003). Some saw him as an ideal cult figure, while others viewed him as a relatively benign dictator. The general population […]

Lenin was born Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov in 1870. At this time Russia was under rule by the Tsar who ruled Russia autocratically.Lenin was scared at an early age by witnessing the execution of his brother who was hanged for treason; he tried to assassinate the Tsar Alexander III.At an early age, in his early twenties […]

Purges refer to “cleansing out”. Purges regularly took place in Russia especially when the leaders wanted to reshape the party or exercise more control.Three phases in the purges of 1930’s can be identified 1. Chistka of 1932-35. 20% of the party was expelled non-violently. 2. Show trials Prominent old Bolsheviks were publicly tried and executed. […]

Background – The New Economic Policy (NEP) 1921-28.1. Communists take their ideas from the writings of Karl Marx (1818-83) see page 4 of Nichol & Shephard. Marx argued that private ownership led to exploitation. Instead, Marx wanted all shops, businesses and farms to be owned by the community and the profits spent on schools, hospitals […]

Stalin came to power in 1928 after cleverly outsmarting his political opponents by playing them off against each other, while he remained an unlikely source of leader until only he remained. Stalin changed the economic footing of Russia enormously. Industrialization, the development of industry was massive. After 13 years, production figures for almost all products […]

Stalin’s economic policies were successful to an extent, especially when looking at the increases in production of heavy industry. However they also failed in several important areas such as agriculture, meaning the overall success was limited. Also, when evaluated in terms of the effects on the people of the Soviet Union, the policies had, in […]

Upon the commencement of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Lenin came back from his overseas exile to implement his strategies for the Bolsheviks. Despite holding only a small area of the country initially, the Bolsheviks managed to win the Civil War and seize power. This was due to the Red’s own organization and the failure […]

The race for power in Russia began following the recovery of the Russian economy when Lenin after suffering several strokes and paralysis eventually died in the January of 1924 leaving the Russian people in mourning.For many people at the time Trotsky seemed like the obvious replacement for the almighty Lenin, and it was perhaps because […]

Vladmir Lenin was the leader of the Bolsheviks who seized power in November 1917. He died in January 1924 after a series of strokes that left him completely paralysed, and eventually killed him. When he died, he left no clues as to whom he wanted to succeed him as ruler of the USSR, even though […]

In June 1995, the Speaker of the Majlis (parliament) told the visiting Deputy Chairman of the Russian Duma, Alexander Vengerovsky, that the two strategic states of Iran and Russia should form an alliance to limit the expansion of U.S. hegemony in the region.[1] This proposal effectively sums up the entire history of the Russian-Islamic Republic […]

The period between 1917 and 1945 saw several major changes in the relationship between the USA and Russia. Although traditionally the two countries were had had a harmonious relationship, it had been clear for some time before the Russian Revolutions that interests were diverging. The next 28 years saw the relationship between the two on […]

1. What role did the United States and Great Britain play in the Russian Revolution? How did this participation affect the relationship between the Bolsheviks and the West?- The United States and Great Britain sent their own troops to fight the Russian Revolution against the Bolsheviks and communism. This participation effects the relationship between the […]

Throughout the 1950s and early 1960s, the dominant superpowers of America and the Soviet Union were immersed in a Cold War which fostered an atmosphere of mutual distrust. This led to an arms race between them, with America enjoying a position of superiority. In the 1960 Olympic games, a primary source British cartoon illustrated an […]

The Cuban Missile Crisis occurred in the 1960s, shortly after President John F. Kennedy’s unsuccessful attempt at the Bay of Pigs. In October of 1962, photos of Soviet missiles were captured by planes flying over Cuba, placing Americans on high alert and unprepared for another war. Despite appearing to be a weak leader, Kennedy conveys […]

An Aggressive, Offensive Strategy within Massive Retaliation During the Truman administration, the United States’ strategy towards the Soviet Union and its communist sphere of influence focused on “containment” through conventional military build up that illustrated a defensive outlook. President Eisenhower called for a comprehensive reevaluation of this existing American policy due to cost pressures from […]

Stalin’s support of the Spanish Republic during their Civil War, through the supply of weapons and ‘volunteers’, appeared to be an effort to assist international communism in defeating Franco. Many contemporary historians argue that the perspective that the USSR provided aid to support the Spanish Republic solely out of ideological solidarity is too simplistic. Instead, […]

The year 1917 was a turbulent year for russian politics with two revolutions occuring within the space of seven months, of the two the most significant was the bolshevik revolution, led by a prominant marxist Vladimir Ilyach Ulyanov, the skilled and dedicated political activist. Vladimir was born on th 22 of april 1870 to a […]

While European Communist nations could generally not act on foreign policy Initiatives thou the explicit approval of the Soviet Union, this was not the case with Cuba. Its active interventionist policies in Latin America, and later Africa, were at the time thought by the United States and Its partners and allies as executed on the […]

In 1985, Mikhail Geographer, a modern political leader, emphasized the importance of technocratic knowledge to solve the Soviet economy’s stagnation. He began implementing measures for increased transparency, known as glasnost, and also initiated plans for perestroika during that same year. According to Boris Yelling (1931-2007), the economic reform undertaken in the Soviet Union during the […]

The Ignited States, a capitalist democracy founded on Christian beliefs, but scenically secular, and Afghanistan, a tribal society that is majority Muslim are very dissimilar, as was also the case in the late 1 ass’s when each state found that despite their differences, each had something that the other needed. Afghanistan was invaded by the […]

The Cold War, which emerged after World War II due to concerns about the spread of weapons of mass destruction, was a tense relationship between the USA and USSR. Although they were adversaries, both countries joined forces during wartime to fight a mutual enemy. In the end, it was a battle between the United States […]