Russia and The Soviet Union

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Russia and The Soviet Union
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World War I

• In 1914, WWI broke out in Europe. Russia wasnt
  prepared for war and suffered many defeats.

In 1917, Russia backed out of WWI because of a
civil war at home.
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Civil War

• Their civil war, a fight between different groups
  within a country, lasted from 1917 to 1922.

The war caused food shortages which led to many
people starving.
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Communist Revolution

• Vladimir Lenin led a revolution, when a
  government is overthrown violently and replaced
  with another, in 1917 called the Bolshevik
  Movement.

Lenin set up a communist state, a government
whose country has a strong control over society
and economy. This type of government is usually
ruled by few not ruled by many.
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The USSR
In 1922, Russia changed its name to the USSR the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Under Lenins rule, the Soviets were denied the
right to free speech, religion, and the right to
make choices about their daily lives.
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Stalin

• In 1924 Lenin died, and Joseph Stalin took charge
  of the Communist Party. He instated his own rule
  and wanted no civic participation, people taking
  an active role in society and government.

Stalins rule was brutal. He sent anyone who
disagreed with him to gulags or prison camps
which where located in distant camps in Serbia.
Millions of people were murdered or were forced
into slave labor.
Discussion Point In many instances the Gulags
had no fences, bars, or barbwire to keep the
prisoners inside. Why Not? (Hint think of the
Geography)
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Stalin and the Economy
Stalin combined peasants, poor farmers, and
family farms into larger collective farms. The
farmers worked for the state.

• His goal was to increase food production.

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World War II

• In 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union,
  bringing it into World War II.

The Soviets became allies with the U.S. and Great
Britain to defeat the Germans.
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Superpower
Stalin wanted the U.S.S.R. to be a superpower, a
powerful nation, like the United States.
When WWII ended, he was afraid that his country
would be taken over, so he invaded neighboring
Eastern European countries creating a barrier.
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Iron Curtain
The barrier separated Europe into two areas
called the Iron Curtin. To the east were the
U.S.S.R. and the countries Stalin overtook.
These eastern countries were corrupt and brutal.
Their leaders spent large amounts of money on the
military and weapons.
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The Cold War

• The Cold War was a 40-year standoff when the U.S.
  and the U.S.S.R. competed for world power without
  breaking into an actual battle.

During this time, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were
very distrustful of each other, so they each
built as many weapons as they could.
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The Cold War in the USSR
From 1940 to the late 1980s the Soviet economy
faced many problems. The government factories and
businesses had no competition and no one was
allowed to make a profit.

• The government cared more about making military
  equipment. As a result, people had few goods to
  buy, there were food shortages, and people were
  very unhappy.

Discuss with a partner why the U.S. did NOT have
these problems that USSR did? (Hint Think of our
type of economy and government.)
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Gorbachev

• In 1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came to power. He knew
  he had to modernize the Soviet Union due to
  scarcity, a lack of goods and services for the
  people.

Gorbachev privatized industry, so the government
no longer owned all businesses.
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Gorbachev is credited with bringing economic and
political freedoms to the people of Communist
Russia.
He did this by instating glasnost, allowing the
soviet people to criticize the system without
fear of being punished.
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The End of Communism

• The other republics or countries that made up the
  Soviet Union wanted their freedom.

On December 8, 1991, heads of states from 3 of
the 15 Soviet republics signed documents to end
the 74 year old Soviet Union.
However, some countries like Chechnya are still
trying to gain their independence due to
political and cultural differences.
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Yeltsin
In 1991, Boris Yeltsin became Russias president
and stood up to many Russians who didnt want a
democratic Russia.
Many in the Russian parliament tried to revolt,
take over the government. Yeltsin ordered army
tanks to come in and remove the members of
parliament who were fighting against the
government.
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Yeltsin
The end of communism turned Russias economy
upside down. Russia turned to a free market
economy, the people, not the government, decides
how to make their money, like the U.S.
Yeltsin used his powers while in office to help
develop and strengthen Russias economy.
Unfortunately, many believe Yeltsin sold out to
big business, so he could get elected.
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Putin
Vladimir Putin, who was once head of the KGB, the
secret police, became president when Yeltsin left
office in the middle of his term.
Putin gave his office more power, and cut back
the power of the Russian legislature and people.
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Putin
In 2007, Putin threatened to aim nuclear missiles
at parts of Europe in retaliation for the U.S.
decision to establish antimissile bases there.
He presents a positive image as a good
businessman and is friendly to oil producing
countries in the Middle East that many believe
are terrorist supporters.
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Medvedev

• Dmitry Medvedev became Russias current president
  after Putin served his full term. Putin is now
  the Prime Minister of Russia.

Many believe Putin and Medvedev will try and make
Russia a communist state again.