This threesome involved the country into WWI as the ally of Germany. Later in 1915 the same government outlined and put into effect a plan for the elimination of Armenians, estimated between two and three millions subjects. The plan was carried out in phases. In April 1915 people represented the Armenian religious, political, educational, and intellectual authority in the Western tradition, variously one thousand individuals, were jailed throughout the entire Empire, and consequently killed within few days. The next phase consisted of liquidation of the young male adult population, which mainly were recruits of the Turkish army.
Given that we probably cannot be determined inevitably that the Soviet Union was totalitarian state throughout its duration or not. Therefore I have decided to focus on the Stalinist era (period when the Iosif Vissarionovich Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union). In this essay I will try to analyse main features of Soviet political system, in terms of institutions, political culture and ideology. I will attempt to define the main objectives of a totalitarian system as well. Furthermore, I will try to confirm the totalitarian character of Soviet Russia during the period of Stalin’s rule.
By comparing the key events in terms of opposition like the Assassination of Alexander II in 1881, Blood Sunday and the October manifesto in 1905, the February and October revolution in 1917, and how effectively they were dealt with, then we can come to a judgment on the argument. Stalin’s most intense opposition came at the beginning of his quest to becoming ruler to Russia from 1924 to 1929. Before Lenin passed away from his stroke he had left a testament stating that Stalin was dangerous and should be dismissed also he had chosen Trotsky the leader of Red army as his successor. Stalin was given the position of General sectary of the communist party in 1922 which everyone associated as a dull and unimportant Job. However he managed to manipulate the leftists Zinoviev and Kamenev in the politburo into covering up Lenin’s
During his rule as General Secretary of the Soviet Union, Stalin was able to create a highly totalitarian regime. This was achieved by the dictator’s notorious use of terror, by controlling information and mass media and Stalin’s prominent cult of personality. However, the extent of the totalitarian rule didn’t achieve similar levels throughout the whole state. Stalin’s use of terror as a method of eliminating opposition was a key factor in the establishment of totalitarianism in the Soviet Union. In the early 1930’s Stalin felt threatened by his growing opposition and was determined to bring the party under his total control.
Cold War 1945-1960 (n.d.).Retrieved 09032011 from: http://www.funfront.net/hist/europe/coldwar.htm Cold War: The Iron Curtain and Containment.(2007). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia. © 1994, 2000-2006, on Infoplease. © 2000–2007 Pearson Education, publishing as Infoplease. <http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/history/A0857419.html#ixzz1XDfsSVvU> The Cold War Video Part I - http://youtu.be/HpYCplyBknI The Cold War Video Part II - http://youtu.be/KAngetJA4Jc McCarthyism.
Past paper questions- Russia in Revolution 1881-1924 From Autocracy to Dictatorship and Stalin’s Russia 1924-53 January 2009 How far were divisions among its opponents responsible for the survival of the Tsarist rule in the years 1881-1905? (30 marks) OR How far was the Provisional Government responsible for its own downfall? (30 marks) How far were economic problems responsible for Stalin’s decision to replace the New Economic Policy in 1928 with the first Five-Year Plan? (30 marks) OR How far was the dramatic development of a war economy responsible for the USSR’s victory in the Second World War? (30 marks) June 2009 How far do you agree that the economy of Tsarist Russia was transformed in the years to 1914?
Robert J.C Young, Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction (Malden, MA/Oxford, UK/Carlton, Australia: Blackwell Publishing, 2001), 33. 8. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, "Communist Manifesto in Selected Works," in Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism, by Benedict Anderson (USA: Courier Companies, Inc., 2003), 129. 9. Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism (USA: Courier Companies, Inc., 2003),
The Russian Civil War began in the wake of the collapse of the provisional government. The Russian Civil War (1917–23) was just beginning in 1918. Lenin and the Bolsheviks were seen to have taken control of Russia, and Lenin pulled Russia out of the war with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed in March 1918. This was a cruel treaty which the Russians had to sign. Trotsky was given the task of negotiating with the Germans.
Analyze how Stalin dealt with Opposition Due to the April theses set by Lenin after the revolution and his policies how he dealt with opposition. Stalin as Lenin’s successor used this policy to get rid of all the the opposition with a small difference in the policy. Lenin got rid only of opposition outside the party, but Stalin got rid of all kinds of opposition. Trotsky was seen as threat to Stalin because he was the leader of the Red army, we could at anytime use his power and use the army against the Politburo. Stalin made an alliance with Kamenev and Zinoviev, they co-operated in the so called Triumvirate.
For instance, when Mother Russia overthrew its tsar, made a revolution, became the Soviet Union, unified itself under Lenin and created an ideological structure called communism, the United States could only react with fear and trepidation. The government could not accept the simple fact that a country could exist with economic and political principles so critically opposed to democracy and industrial capitalism. The first factor is that during World War Two, the USA and the western powers had worked together with the Soviet Union to defeat Nazi Germany and its allies. However, the alliance was based solely on the fact that they had a common enemy- Germany. Once that enemy was near defeat, disagreements began to emerge.