Communism in Russia
Communism evolved under Lenin's leadership from the Bolshevik faction, which was created in 1903. The Communist movement started after Russia blamed Czar Nicholas and his wife, Alexandra for their bad decisions involving the military and government. Alexandra was originally from Germany and many Russians were suspicious that she purposely sabotaged Russia and making sure they lost the war. Soon riots started due to Czar Nicholas's subjects. Czar Nicholas was at Mogilev during this time and when he tried to get home, the Duma prevented him from getting onto the train. After the Duma elected their own committee and the soldiers were sent to end the St. Petersburg riots, Czar Nicholas had stepped down from the monarchy. Later that year, he renounced the throne. Czar Nicholas and his family were placed under house arrest in the Ural Mountains. In the fall of that year, the Bolsheviks took over the government which led to a civil war that spring. Nicholas and his family were eventually murdered by the Bolsheviks under Vladimir Lenin. The Bolsheviks, also known as the Communist Party, fought for power against another political group, The Mensheviks. After Lenin came back to Russia, the communists gained power rapidly and took control of the capital, arresting many officials and government. Soon the Communist Party was in charge of the central government and started the secret police or the Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counterrevolution and Sabotage. To feed the Red Army, they also took away all of the food from the peasants and if any of them resisted, they would immediately be executed. Any Russian or non-Russian who held any opposition with Russia was either killed or sent to a prison camp. Since the communists were atheistic, they removed the Orthodox church from being the state religion and murdered 6,775 priests and 28 bishops.The Communist Party killed at least ten million people.Boris Yeltsin suspended communism in August 1991 coup and banned it on November 6, 1991.
Link to video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2k_R9bpdndE
"Lenin and the Communists Impose the 'Red Terror,' 1917-1924." Historic World Events. Detroit: Gale, 2014. World History in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
Eliav, Binyamin, Moshe Mishkinsky, and Jacob M. Landau. "Communism."Encyclopaedia Judaica. Ed. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 91-101. World History in Context. Web. 9 Dec. 2014.
"Nicholas II." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014.
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ReplyDeleteThis was very detailed, and it is hard to believe that Communism lasted in Russia until 1991. It is interesting to think about the difference between the concept of Communism and the way it was carried out in Russia. The economic theory of Communism was first introduced in 1848 by Karl Marx in the Communist Manifesto (as we all know from history class). Marx wanted to create a social, governmental and economic system that could end class struggles, create equality and help the people that would have been knocked out of the system in a capitalist society. Communism can be roughly summarized in the quote, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need." It is somewhat ironic that Stalin used brutality, violence and death to establish a system that is based on ending class conflict and helping what would be the lower class. We see that brutality and violence throughout One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and it makes Communism seem like much more than just a novel (and noble, in theory) social, governmental and economic system. The truth is that it is just a theory, and the way it was carried out in Russia is what makes it seem like it only wreaks havoc.
ReplyDeleteFirst off I enjoyed how you clearly explained the transition of power from czar Nicholas to the bolsheviks, to lenin, and then to stalin. To expand on Brooke's it is amazing that communism lasted until 1991 when you take into consideration all of the changes that were made in the world in reaction to WWII. Despite being full of information, I do think that having a more expanded view on the people's view on communism at the time would have added some more substance to the blog, as it was on the shorter side
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ReplyDeleteThis post was very detailed and contained a lot of information on the early shifts in power that eventually led to communism under Stalin. It is mind blowing that communism in Russia still existed until 1991. I think that if information on how communism was shown in One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, and maybe some accounts of people's opinions on communism in Russia were added they would have given your post some more length and the reader a deeper understanding of the affects communism had on Russia and its people.
ReplyDeleteThis post had a lot of good information and background on how communism began. I would have liked if you included what the communist's believed in and what they were trying to achieve through their harsh methods. The video was interested but it would have been nice if it had been embedded. I also would recommend adding a caption to the picture because I'm not exactly sure what it showed. The post was definitely informative and I thought it was interesting how the communist gained so much power so quickly. I think you also could have added how communism affected Ivan Denisovich.
ReplyDeleteI liked how you brought us all the way from Czar Nicholas to Stalin in terms of communism. You really showed how the communist ideas came to be, and the effect they had on the politics in Russia. I was surprised the learn how radical the communist/Bolshevik groups were.
ReplyDeleteThis blog post was very detailed and informative, I enjoyed reading about the origins of communism in Russia under Lenin's rule. My post was similar in discussing how the Bolsheviks strongly dominated St. Petersburg, but it was interesting to read that they efficiently formed an army and societies that helped prevent sabotage against them. In relation to the book, I'm going to assume that this was after Ivan's time in the Gulags because Vladmir Lenin was now in control. It was dissapointing to see that the communists stooped down to Stalin's level by executing people who disagreed with their political views. You'd think that since they fought so hard to end Stalin's rule and behavior on Russia, that they wouldn't be as violent as him to execute ten million people. I enjoyed reading this post and learning about the Bolsheviks influence on Russia.
ReplyDeleteDetailed and informative It was interesting to learn about Russia before Lenin and how there was an usurp due to suspicion of the Queen, who was Germany sabotaging Russia’s chances of winning the war. It was interesting to see that Lenin did something similar to Stalin which was “arresting many officials and government” to ensure power and “stability”.
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