To what extent does Stalin deserve the title of Red Tsar when assessing his rule in the context of Russian government from 1855- 1964?
To what extent does Stalin deserve the title of 'Red Tsar' when assessing his rule in the context of Russian government from 1855- 1964? When Stalin rose to power in 1929 he claimed to the Russian public that he was a devote follower of Leninism; his slogan 'Lenin is always with us'1 meant that Stalin wanted to show how similar he was to Lenin. However Stalin asserted his power at the head of government much like the Tsars by employing tactics of fear and propaganda. Stalin's personal dictatorship meant he had strong elements of being 'Red Tsar' as he established unquestionable rule, this idea of being a 'Red Tsar' came from the belief that Stalin wasn't committed to communism, as his traditional ideas were reminiscent of Tsarist autocratic rule, so effectively he was a fusion between the two ruling styles. As Stalin wished to portray himself as a 'God-like' figure; this made him an isolated leader who tolerated no criticism, similar to the style of ruling under the Tsars, as both leaders dismissed ministers at their own will and chose to act on their own personal feelings, for example like the Russification policy of employed by all the Tsars, but in particular Alexander II and the nationalistic policies of Stalin. Stalin's government was 'top-down'2, and unlike Lenin and Khrushchev, Stalin was very wary of how much his fellow party members knew. Therefore he employed a
Was the collapse of the USSR historically inevitable?
Was the collapse of the USSR historically inevitable? The twenty fifth of December 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as President of The Soviet Union and the country is dissolute in fifteen republics after an existence of nearly seventy years. Before this moment, less or none historians predicted this collapse. Nevertheless, one can ask the question whether this collapse was historically inevitable or not. The aim of this essay is not to rewrite History but explain what has lead to the end of the Soviet Union. First of all, this essay will describe shortly some important steps of the Soviet History after the Second World War and in the context of the Cold War, in order to help the understood of the final collapse. Even though the last years of the soviet regime were crucial, former events and policies influenced the Breakup of USSR. In the second part, I will analyze how some events and factors, such as economy, nationalism, internal and external pressures, personalities and the war of Afghanistan made this collapse inevitable. Even though some scholars, such as Gaddis1, argue that the end of the cold war and the collapse of Soviet Union were not historically expected, this essay will show that it seems inevitable. In order to understand the Collapse of the Soviet Union, some historical facts need to be reminded2. After the death of Stalin, Nikita Khrushchev became General
Assess the view that the lives of the peasants in Russia did not improve in the period from 1855 to 1964.
Assess the view that the lives of the peasants in Russia did not improve in the period from 1855 to 1964. When assessing the view that the lives of the peasants did not improve throughout the 1855-1964 period, several key factors must be taken into consideration. These include their living and working conditions, policy towards them, the educational opportunities available to them and the political representation they had under Tsarist and Communist Governments. Once all of these factors have been taken into consideration, it becomes clear that the peasantry did not enjoy a prominent time under Tsarist or Communist Governments, and their lives did not improve in the period. For the majority of the period, living conditions for the average peasant remained uniformly bleak. Prior to 1917, accommodation was often of a low standard as demand outstripped supply following an influx to the cities, such poor living conditions had a detrimental effect on their quality of life which was also evident under the communists, where living conditions remained in an equally bad, if not worse state compared to the Tsars. Despite Khrushchev continuing Stalin's efforts to build more social housing and improve the situation, these were often of poor quality and hastily built. This meant that the peasantry did not see any real increase in living conditions between 1855-1964. In contrast to the
To what extent did the nuclear arms race make the world a more dangerous place in the years 1949-63?
To what extent did the nuclear arms race make the world a more dangerous place in the years 1949-63? The arms race arguably made the world a more dangerous place, the word 'dangerous' could be defined as an unsafe threat to the world and human population. This was demonstrated through the tests of 'brinkmanship' in the Cuban missile crisis. The increased spending, in order to impress the 'third world', leading to new delivery systems, such as the ICBM's in 1957, the destructive power of the new H-bomb and Lithium bomb. However, the arms race acted as a strong deterrent through promise of 'Mutually Assured Destruction' and also creating a limited war due to the capacity of the nuclear weapons. The nuclear arms race made the world a more dangerous place; it evoked a threat coming from the two world superpowers. The destruction capacities of this developed nuclear weapon have increased thousand times more than the atomic bomb. The world greatly changed when the USA exploded the Hydrogen bomb in 1952; following by the Russians creation of the Hydrogen bomb in 1953 this led to the world becoming a much more dangerous place. This stimulated the arms race and creating a resilient competitive atmosphere between the world powers. In result obviously the damages of the consequences would be greater than of the atomic bomb more, therefore this placed the world in a dangerous position.
To what extent was America's policy of containment successful? Use Korea, Cuba and Vietnam in your investigation.
To what extent was America's policy of containment successful? Use Korea, Cuba and Vietnam in your investigation. American policy of containment refers to the foreign policy strategy of the US in the early years of the Cold war. The policy was to defeat the Soviet Union by preventing it from expanding the territories under its Communist control or otherwise extending its influence. This, naturally, resulted in strained relations and rivalry between the two superpowers. Despite the many difficulties, American policy of containment during the Korean War, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War did manage to contain the expansion of Communism to a certain extent. The containment of communism in Korea was successful. The Korean War, which started on June 25, 1950 and ended with a cease fire on July 27, 1953, was a civil war between North Korea and South Korea. This Cold War era fighting is considered to have been a proxy war between the United States and its Western democratic allies, and the Communist powers (Soviet Union and People's Republic of China). North Korea was supported by Communist China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea was supported by the United States and its Western allies. Communist North Korea sought to spread its influence and control to the South. In October 1950, hostility spilled over into open warfare. North Korean troops overwhelmed the South
Design- Rate of Reaction
Chemistry Laboratory Report To Study the Factors Affecting the Rate of Reaction Design Nikita Bansal B.D.Somani International School Chemistry Standard Level Candidate Number- 002602015 Session: May 2010 AIM To study the factors affecting the rate of reaction RESEARCH QUESTION What is the effect of changing the concentration of sodium thiosulphate by 5cm3 upon the rate of reaction in the reaction between sodium thiosulphate and hydrochloric acid keeping volume of acid, temperature, number of stirs, pressure and surface area constant? BACKGROUND INFORMATION The rate of reaction is often judged by the Collision Theory. This theory created by Max Trautz and William Lewis qualitatively explains how chemical reactions occur and why reaction rates differ for different reactions. This theory is based on the idea that the reactants must collide in order for any reaction to take place. Increasing the concentration of reactants causes an increase in the frequency of collisions, thus increasing the rate of reaction. Although you keep the temperature constant, kinetic theory is relevant. This is because the molecules in the reaction mixture have a range of energy levels. When collisions occur, they do not always result in a reaction. If the two colliding molecules have sufficient energy they will react. HYPOTHESIS It can be predicted that if the concentration of a
"Khrushchev's leadership was a failure," Do you agree?
"Khrushchev's leadership was a failure," Do you agree? There is a lot of debate about Khrushchev being a good leader. There is no doubt that Khrushchev was much less ruthless than Stalin, but was he a good leader? I will look further into this statement and then come to a conclusion if Khrushchev's leadership was a failure. Khrushchev started out well; he knew he couldn't carry on Stalin's ruthless regime, so he separated himself from Stalin by making the secret speech in February 1956, "Stalin used extreme methods and mass repressions at a time when the revolution was already victorious." Even though this was a risky move by Khrushchev and he made a lot of enemies, it showed the sense of character of Khrushchev. The Virgin Land scheme was a good idea for Khrushchev, but made a big mistake, after a good first season the failure to rotate crops and use fertilisers to feed the earth which caused soil erosion. Windstorms were partly to blame for this, but rightly Khrushchev was heavily blamed. Harvests in 1963 were so bad the USSR had to buy large amounts of grain from the US and Canada. Khrushchev made big steps into the unknown which was space. A race with the US to get into space first was won by the USSR. In 1957 the USSR launched two space satellites into space, Sputnik 1 and Sputnik II. Four years later Khrushchev got the first man into space, Yuri Gorgerin.
Olympics More Than Just A Sport
In the 21st century, today we look at the Olympic Games as much more than just a sporting event, especially since time has moved on and we have so much understanding for the games. For the British Museum in London I'm going to prove that "The Olympic Games are more than just a sporting event". In my exhibition I'm going to look at five main areas that could be seen as using the games to show some historic moments by using the Olympics as a platform for boycotts, racism and to raise awareness on certain issues that proves the Games were and still are more than just a sporting event. Pierre de Coubertin (see to the right), founder of the Modern Olympic Games said "Racial distinctions should not play a role in sport." As well as then going on to say "Sport is the habitual and voluntary cultivation of intensive physical effort." This is how he wanted the Olympic to be, a place where understanding of other races were respected and all sport and medal achievers won because of their own effort and not with the help of anything else. As the years went on, and more Olympics took place the world saw what Pierre didn't want to happen. To show the Games were used and still are used to raise international significance I am going to look at four main areas, these being Racism, Terrorism, Cold War, as well as the recent Olympic Games, Beijing 2008. I have chosen these topics because
Cuban Missile Crisis
Andrew Taylor Cuban Missile Crisis 1) You can learn a lot from this source about President Kennedy's reaction to the photographs taken by the U-2 spy plane. We can infer from the source that he saw the missiles were a very bid threat to the country as he said to Robert Kennedy that they were facing great trouble. We can also infer that he was very worried and concerned about this as the meeting with Robert Kennedy was at 9 O'clock in the morning so it was the first thing on his agenda. Also from this source it suggests that he jumped straight to the conclusion that it was the Soviets that were placing the missiles on Cuba. As he called Robert Kennedy and told him that it was the Soviets. This reaction shows the tension between the two superpowers of the USA and the USSR and the lack of trust that they had for each other. But we cannot be sure of this reaction, but the source itself doesn't give other information explaining otherwise. We can also infer that the relations weren't very trusting because of the U-2 spy planes being sent over Cuba, this also shows that Kennedy wasn't comfortable with the fact that Cuba was communist. We can also infer from this that Kennedy was also very concerned with the fact the Cuba was only 90 miles from the US, so this would also make him exceedingly worried about the situation, and since Cuba is only 90 miles away, and he expected the
Assess the influence and importance of dissidents in Brezhnev era Russia.
Assess the influence and importance of dissidents in Brezhnev era Russia. Dissent, which may be defined as voiced or written disagreement with aspects of the Soviet regime, appeared in many forms during the years after Stalin's death. Literary dissent stimulated other forms of 'intellectual opposition', which continued to flourish during the 1960s and the 1970s, despite increased crackdowns. However, by the early 1980s the vast majority of dissidents were imprisoned, exiled or repressed into silence.1 In order to assess whether or not the dissident movement of the 'stagnation period' should be accounted a failure, it is necessary to first define the term 'dissident movement' and the aims and activities of those involved before considering what influence it had, what it achieved and whether it should be considered a failure. The three main types of dissent which existed during the 'stagnation period' were linked to religious, nationalist and humanitarian causes. The latter is often known as the 'human rights movement', or the 'democratic movement', and in this essay the term 'dissident movement' will apply to this group. The democratic movement was morally opposed to the regime's suppression of civil liberties and constitutional rights, and concerned with the lack of protection for the individual and their rights.2 Initially, the dissident movement of the 'stagnation
