‘The peoples of Russia were consistently repressed by the rulers’. How far do you agree with this view of the period from 1855 to 1964? During the span of the 19th and 20th centuries, repression was a constant existence for the people of the Russian Empire. However, the extent to which the rulers used repression varied throughout each regime. This essay will focus on a number of different examples where repression occurred, whilst also considering phases where restraint over the Russian people was relaxed.
Dealing with political opponents of the Tsar was its main task. The Okhrana penetrated extremist groups, arrested suspects, ran its own prisons and operated agents in foreign countries to spy on the activities of Russian political exiles. This was important in the weaknesses of the opposition as it meant that the spread of liberal and reforming ideas were prevented as they could not spread them through the press due to the strict censorship which ultimately weakened the opposition as there was no way for them to get the Russian population to share their views. It was also important as without the Okhrana enforcing the law against opposition to the Tsar it would’ve been extremely easy for opposing political parties to stand against the Tsar. Therefore, to an
Essay Proposal: Q. proposal - Maintaining Power Through the use of Terror: Stalin. Introduction/Agenda This essay will show how power was maintained by Stalin once he had established himself as the single leader of the USSR. The essay will mainly focus of the most effective method; use of terror, coercion and fear. And how he is used this to control the party and state and eliminate his opponents The essay will explore who Stalin believed he faced opposition from including from within his own party, how effectively he dealt with them and the role his own paranoia played. Finally the essay will look at the effectiveness of the use of terror but also the international repercussions for Stalin and communism.
Historians such as Hobsbawn argue this, and believe that the traditional great power rivalry was fundamental to the start of the Cold War. Many different historians argue different points as to why the war began, McMahon argues that the difference between the Capitalist West and the Communist East was the fundamental reason for the beginning of the Cold War, the difference in ideology has been rife for many years leading up to the Cold War. Oppositely, Gaddis believes that the personality of the leaders, in particular Stalin had a main role and where he is concerned, all other leaders could have been removed, leaving only Stalin and the Cold War still would of started. I believe that the difference in Ideologies played a key, dominant role in the development of the Cold War, however I do appreciate that power rivalry and also leader personalities had a role. Firstly, Hobsbawn immediately dismisses the fact that ideology played a role in the development of the Cold War, he says ‘Confrontation would probably have developed even without ideology.’ Hobsbawn then goes onto say that after Kennan came up with his policy of Containment, the USA saw themselves as the only ‘rival power to Russia’ and that they would have to ‘contain its pressure by uncompromising resistance, even If Russia had not been communist’.
He married six more times after this only for political advantages. Ivan did this in a successful attempt to ruin the political system in Russia by diminishing the power of the board, giving him more authority on decisions made. In 1565, Ivan created the Oprichniki, a secret police force that responded only to him. Ivan used them to take
In my opinion his violence and repression was the most important feature in his takeover of the Russian system, yes some of it was quite cruel and hard on the Russians but the Russians must have a ruler that is hard and is a stiff upper lipped person and is a powerfull ruler, every leader of Russia has been a hard and powerful one so I do agree that violence and repression were key factors in his role to rule Russia. Alexander III came to power very unexpectedly due to the assassination of members of the terrorist organization Narodnaya Volya. He was only 36 when his father died and he came to power He was very aware and under no illusion that he could suffer the exact same fate as his father did, because he was so aware of this he put in place many forms of repression These were labelled ‘Russification’ and they came into being immediately he was crowned tsar in 1881. The primary aspect of Russification was to rid Russia of western ideas that Alexander III believed had weakened the country and reduced its national identity. Alexander wanted to reclaim Russia’s ‘Russian-ness'.
One of their major goals was to disrupt and destroy the South Vietnamese government. Orders were actually given to the invaders to cause maximum disruption to the government to create crisis by killing military and administrative personnel. This reason alone would do some serious damage to the government but another tactic was to kill for “…terrorism and warning.” By killing government officials and private citizens it scared the citizens of not just Hue but all over the area into compliance with the National Liberation Front. The communists also wanted to annihilate Christians for political reasons. The communists always tried to suppress religions anyway possible and because of Ngo Dinh Diem being Catholic and in charge of South Vietnam at the start of the resistance to the North.
Adam Kahele 15 February 2013 Professor Lau Kong Hist 231 Machiavellian Paper Peter the Great Peter the Great's reign over Russia paved the way for Russia's future as a world power. His many reforms and westernization of the country influenced millions and left a lasting legacy. The complexity of Peter is astonishing, his intellectual curiosity, combined with his hasty temper and cruelty caused a tumultuous but successful reign as Tsar. His military intelligence allowed him to conquer and gain dominions for his country. His cruel decisions left an indelible mark on his legacy, but his brilliance as a ruler profoundly effected Russian society.
Winston reads a book written by a past political leader that reveals the party’s secrets, the past leader writes “The two aims of the Party are to conquer the whole surface of the earth and to extinguish one and for all the possibility of independent thought” (pg. 201). This quotation effectively reveals that a government with this kind of power will control its’ citizens through physical as well as psychological control, because it is so extreme it does an excellent job of revealing this force to the reader. The author point can also be validated because there have been past example of this kind of control being used, for example Nazi Germany during World War Two. The point can be further validated because there are present examples of totalitarian behavior although the extremes are not present currently but as history continually repeats itself and governments slowly gain more power each day; the reader can make a connect to the potential problem that can arise.
Citizens of the U.S. need to rid themselves of these dogmatic laws and create a new set of laws. The only thing that Reagan’s 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act has accomplished is forcing the drinking right underground. Unfortunately, the federal government has state governments blackmailed, because if they allow the drinking age to lower, the states federal highway funding will be cut. These laws are actually a consistent source of revenue for the government. Government knows that people are going to break these laws, and hope to catch every single criminal, and nail them for every court fee, fine, probation fee, and as much bail as they can dish out.