Review of Russia

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Review of Russia
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Peter The Great

• Peter the Great- modernizes Russia, begins its
  rise to level of world power
• Gets a new key seaport
• Focuses on culture,
• westernizes the country

3
Catherine The Great-1729-1762

• Considered enlightened despot
• Russia becomes a world power- expands territory
  westward and southward absorbing various
  countries,
• Poland, Crimea
• Initiated some
• enlightenment ideals

4
Alexander II-1855-1881

• Not as successful
• Alexander II forced to make widespread reforms
  abolish serfdom, taxation, crime and punishment.
  
• Not enough- workers want more- radicals step in
• More capitalistic, industrializes

5
Nicholas II

• Last Tsar/Czar of Russia- Coup detat by
  Bolsheviks -overthrow him
• Son is a hemophiliac, daughter Anastasia
• Rasputin evil doer- exploits sons sickness
• Withdraws from WWI
• Failure of Russo-Japanese war- major loss- 1st
  time Asian nation beat a European one
• October Revolution 1917

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Bolsheviks

• Led by Vladimir Lenin
• Overthrow the Czar- bloody revolt
• Reds v. white, Trotsky- reds win
• Communism in theory- all equal- no social
  classes- in practice dictatorships
• Based on Karl Marxs Theory- Communist Manifesto-
  Workers of the world unite
• Proletariat working class

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Communist Russia

• Totalitarian/dictatorship state- secret police,
  violence, death- keep control
• Control all information to people
• Communism- govt controls means of production and
  distribution of resources

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Stalin

• 5 year plans- quotas must be met for production-
  agrarian or industrial
• Takes over after Lenin dies
• Ruthless ruler- KGB secret police enemies of
  the state
• Ally of the US during WWII- Big Three at Yalta
  conference- but we dont trust him
• Kills more people than Hitler

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Cold War

• Post WWII- Cold War- high tensions b/w Allies and
  the USSR/Soviet Union
• Space race- and arms race
• M.A.D. mutual assured destruction- competition
  over nuclear weapon arsenals
• Khrushchev takes over after Stalin- Cuban
  Missile Crisis w/Cuba-1961

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80s- Mikhail Gorbachev-

• Glasnost- easing of tensions w/the west
• 1989 Berlin Wall comes down
• 1991- Communism in Russia falls
  apart-Perestroika- economic reforms