Summary

World History Class 15

THE CLASS STARTED WITH A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF THE PREVIOUS TOPICS (05:11 PM)

THE COURSE OF RUSSIAN REVOLUTION (05:14 PM)

Reasons for success Bolsheviks:
They promised everything for every section. Nationalization & distribution of land for the landless, control of factories & industries to the working class & end of war giving relief to the army.
This was precisely why they would win the sport of the major sections of society.
Wherever force was required to suppress anti-revolution movements, the Bolsheviks did not hesitate to use force.
The Red Army of Bolsheviks commanded by Trotsky used a force of an extreme nature to eliminate the opponents of the revolution.
Like Jacobians in the French Revolution who had their committee on public safety, to eliminate the enemies. They even killed the royal family of Romanov.
They successfully dealt with external challenges.
Lenin immediately concluded the war with Germany and signed a treaty called the Brest-litovsk Treaty.
When European powers threatened to attack Russia, Bolsheviks mobilized this support within the society and offered stiff resistance, thus they saved the revolution.
War communism:
As part of the revolution, Lenin went for his policy called 'war communism.
Under these drastic changes were introduced land was nationalized and distributed for landless and agricultural coolies.
Industries and factories were nationalized and workers were given the management.
In social and religious life contact with the Roman Catholic church ended.
All the debt Russia made and the investments made by France in the Russian industries were all abrogated.
The consequent effects of war communism were more severe, finally forcing Lenin to go for changing his own policy.
The main drawbacks of war communism were farmers and agriculture coolies were happy to own the lands but were not ready to generate surplus production and parted with the stated.
Rather they were for selling the surplus and to make a profit out of that.
Similarly, the workers were interested in better wages than generating the output.
Moreover, they lacked the expertise to run the industries.
Ending the contract with the Catholic church was also not welcomed by major sections of Russian society.
The revolutionary atmosphere against suppression in Russia as production came virtually came to a standstill.
To save the situation Lenin had to go for a new economic policy peasantry was permitted to sell their surplus production in the market and to make a profit by paying tax to the state.
In industrial policy, wages were fixed and decided based on the production generated.
The profit-wage ratio was worked out.
Small-scale entrepreneurship was encouraged.
Foreign investment was invited on profit profit-sharing basis, however, the state retained the right to exercise its final control over industries.
By relaxing the control Lenin could save the situation and the revolution.
He justified his policy as one step backward towards capitalism to have two steps forward towards socialism.

RUSSIA UNDER STALIN (05:39 PM)

It was a different Russia when compared to Lenin, under Lenin it was the dictatorship of communist parties whereas under Stalin it became totalitarianism of the communist party.
Stalin infused a very strict discipline in the production process.
His main problems were an expansion of agriculture, generation of surplus, capital formation, and development of major industries.
The great achievement of Stalin was he made Russia not only self-sufficient but also the largest exporter of food grains in the world.
It was made possible by what was called the collectivization of 'Agriculture'.
Under the process individual ownership was completely undermined, and completely ended.
Vast tracts of agricultural land were meant for the mechanization of agriculture.
Stalin used brutal force and even went for the communal massacre of the people and communities opposed to collectivization.
With the surplus production Russia could generate entire capital formation from the agriculture sector itself.
For Stalin industry meant power and its source of strength was capitalist countries.
From 1928 onwards five-year plans started in Russia with rigorous planning and implementation of the ideas.
Very soon Russia reached the targets much before the set time.
It surpassed England and Germany in coal mining and iron processing.
Stalin also followed a rigorous discipline for the workers even going against human rights.
In society religion and learning all were brought under the strict control of the communist party.
This was why Stalin was a totalitarian Russia.
The main drawbacks of the Stalin policy were:
Undue importance was given to major industries or big industries.
The small-scale industries were neglected completely.
Wages were decided based on the profit margin who were the commodity manufacturers.
This was the other reason why the working class opted for high-cost and high-profit manufactured goods.
The entire system of development was forced upon Russia without the willing cooperation of the people.
This was exactly why the collapse of Russia proved unavoidable.

DISINTEGRATION OF THE SOVIET UNION (05:47 PM)

With the Revolution of 1917, the USSR was formed with fifteen republics iron curtain.
An iron curtain descended upon the USSR under which civil rights, liberties of workers everything was closed.
The world didn't know what was going on in Russia.
The crisis started generally from the times of Bresnov, it took a serious turn when Gorbachev took over the reins.
The disintegration of the USSR started at a tremendous speed between 1982 and 1992 within a short span of 10 years.
The reasons for disintegration :
The way the communist government was formed in Russia and administrators implemented the policies of socialism itself created a major crisis.
In other words, Russia had no strong foundation of socialism, it was not the socialism Marx envisaged and expected.
In other words, without proper capitalism, Russia entered into socialism.
Russia failed to develop a socialist and communist culture to sustain socialism.
This was why the system collapsed.
The new President of Russia Gorbachev introduced new policies Glasnost (openness) and perestroika (restructuring).
The main purpose of the new policies was not to end communism but to mend and reform it.
In foreign policy also he made his stance quite clear.
Withdrew the Russian army from Afghanistan.
Sorted out problems with China.
Initiated a process to end Russia's incurred waste of resources on useless warfare and supporting its communist allies.

POLICY GLASNOST (05:59 PM)

It was meant to restore human rights and gain freedom in the cultural affairs which were denied by the communist governments.
Under the policy, the bitter critic of Stalin, Sakharov was released from the jail from the prison camp or jail.
Bukharin chief critic of socialist ideas was executed and declared innocent.
In cultural affairs, the official news agency Pravda was granted absolute freedom to publish news and shape public opinion.
Similarly, anti-Stalin literature and anti-Stalin movies were all allowed into the markets for the first time an attempt was made to make the public understand where things were going wrong in Russia.
The public inquiry into the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion was telecast and similarly, the proceedings of the legislative assemblies were also made public.
Under the policy of perestroika (restructuring) communist parties controlled by a central planning system ended.
Small-scale entrepreneurship was permitted, and restrictions and limitations on economic activity and production were completely removed.
In the political sphere, the single-party system was given up, and elections were thrown open for a multi-party system.
Gorbachev's policies personally created problems for him as the President of Russia.
A serious difference started between Gorbachev and the local powerful leader of Russia Boris Yeltsin.
Yelstin demanded drastic change in the model of Western democracies whereas conservative communist leader Ligachaev opposed reforms as they were too drastic, threatening the very existence of the communist party.
The problem of Gorbachev was he was caught between the two.
When the elections were held for the new supreme Soviet, Yelstin was not elected due to the opposition of Communist party leaders.
A massive rally started in support of Yeltsin in Moscow.
The rally clearly marked the end of communist party control over the administration, because of a rally that type had taken place only in 1917.
On the economic front, the reforms failed to give immediate results.
The national income of Russia continued to fall by 15% from 1990.
Russian factories continued to manufacture more expensive goods expecting more salaries.
The consequent effect was small-scale industries were completely neglected.
A severe shortage of essential goods arose in order to cover up the finance Russia was forced to go for minting currency, which in turn, led to hyperinflation.
The coal mine workers of Siberia organized a major strike that was never seen before.
Their demands included:
Supply of essential goods, better wages and interestingly ending the communist administration in Siberia.
They were very much influenced by the Poland solidarity movement of coal mine workers started in Poland against the communist party.
One-fourth of the Russian population continued to remain below the poverty line.
Gorbachev completely lost control of the reform movement he had started.
Internal Issues:
In the internal issues within the republics also the communist party's central command virtually lost its control.
In the 1986 civil war between Armenia and Azerbaijan, the communist government failed to solve the crisis.
In March 1990 baltic republics like Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia declared Independence.
In 1991 Ukraine the second-largest republic also announced its Independence.
Boris Yeltsin, the elected President of the Russian Republic Suggested for Union republic.
Ukraine and Belorussia joined the Union in Dec 1991.
Eight more republics of the USSR also became members of the Union.
Thus the formation of a Union called the Commonwealth of Independent States once and for all ended the idea USSR.
The disintegration was completed.
Gorbachev's role ended as president and he resigned on 25th December 1991.
The whole problem in the disintegration of the USSR was apart from the internal crisis President Gorbachev lost complete control of the forces unleashed.
In other words, he himself was the victim of his own grand design.

COLD WAR (06:11 PM)

The term was first used by Bernard Baruch an American statesman in his address to South Carolina in 1947.
The Cold War had been a predominant factor in International relations after WW II.
It neither led to war between the Soviet Union nor the US and their allies.
It may be defined as a state of tension between two countries in which each other adopts policies to strengthen themselves and weaken the other, the line being short of actual war.
It may be defined as a war of words, strategy vs. counter-strategy, propaganda vs. counter-propaganda, and sanctions against counter-sanctions.
Everything except the clash of weapons.
Historians were not clear about the origin of the Cold War regarding its time.
For sectional historians, it had its beginning in the 2nd half of the 19th century when Russia's interest in Central Asia clashed with England and France finally leading to the Crimea War.
Another school of historians believed that it had its beginning when Russia entered into socialism.
The USA and other capitalist powers targeted Russia as a communist country.
In another section, the war had its beginnings in WW-II itself.
Even though Russia joined with allies she was not given financial support by the US, The US did not bother about supporting Russia in defending the western water, and the US did not take Russia into confidence when the atomic bomb was dropped on Japan.
When the US declared Japan a conquered territory against the wishes of Russia.
Division of opinion among historians led to the formation of three different schools of thought.
According to the Orthodox schoolSoviet Russia was responsible for the Cold War as it established a communist government in the Eastern part of Europe after WW II.
The second school called revisionist argued that it was the USA responsible for always creating a situation against Russia whereas the third view was that of objectivists both were responsible.
Russia's Responsibility:
Russia never accepted democratic government in the liberated countries from the Nazis and on the other hand, installed a communist government in Poland, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Albania, and East Germany.
Even though America and Britain withdrew their armored forces from Iran, Russia continued to maintain its army in Iran.
President Stalin continued to maintain a policy of suspicion against capitalist power.
Responsibility of the US:
The US had not recognized the communist government of Russia and established diplomatic relations until 1933.
America refused to sanction financial assistance to Russia and did not disclose its Manhattan Project, a project of developing an atomic bomb.
Not informing the USSR of the planned attack on Japan.
The USA also resorted to propaganda against Russia that human rights were violated.
Evolution of the Cold War:
It evolved under 6 different stages:
Stage 1: was characterized by the cautious friendship between 1945 and 46 both agreed to cooperate in protecting the peace.
Both agreed to set up UNO at the San Francisco conference. American representative in Moscow George Kenan sent a detailed program and asked for a policy to constrain Russia.
Stage 2: By 1950, the Cold War shifted from Europe to Russia with the Korean War, North Korea was Supported by USSR while South Korea was supported by the USA.
Stage-3: The third stage was characterized by a policy of adjustment it was because of Stalin’s death and the new President of the USSR Kruschev agreed to a peaceful settlement of issues and avoid armed clashes.
Stage -4: In the Fourth stage (1963-1968), both the Superpowers realized the futility of the Nuclear War after the Cuban crisis, and the Vietnam crisis, the Indo-China war, Both powers almost constrain and avoid a clash.
Stage-5: In the Fifth Stage (1969-1978), both agreed to form détente (goodwill association), and both agreed to a trade agreement and even a transfer of technology.
Even though America made Dio-Garcia a military base, a place was given for discussion and to resolve the issues.
Stage-6: The next stage (1979-1987), called the Age of New Cold War again got strained and cooperation was replaced by confrontation.
In the discussion started between President Carter of the US and President Brezhnev of Russia, the difference started on SALT–II.
In spite of the differences finally, an agreement was reached.
In the last stage, it is said for all practical purposes, the Cold War ended and détente was revived.
It was mainly because of the efforts of Gorbachev.
In 1991, the historic Strategic Arms Reduction (START) was reached between Bush and Gorbachev. It reduced the nuclear installation by 30% virtually ending the cold war of 50 long years.

REDRAWAL OF NATIONAL BOUNDARIES (07:13 PM)

The redrawing of the national boundaries has always been a matter of serious concern for nations all over the world, as no nation is free from border disputes with its neighbors.
Though it is difficult to draw the origins of the problem, It can be traced to a Renaissance time in European history.
Before the Renaissance, There were no "nation-states" formed with their own boundaries.
With the Renaissance, National culture, history, and language, all developed for the first time leading to the formation of nation-states.
As a result, All European countries except Germany and Italy could emerge as nation-states with definite borders.
Reformation was the other major factor deciding the question of redrawal of boundaries.
Under the Reformation, Christianity was divided into Protestantism and Catholicism, very soon Thirty Years War was fought from 1618 to 1648.
Protestant nations were called the protestant union and Catholic countries formed into the catholic league.
War ended with the Westphalia treaty, in 1648.
The result of the war was religion became a deciding factor in redrawing the boundary.
Continental wars between powerful dynasties of the European Bourbons of France and Habsburg of Austria and Spain were responsible for the redraw of the political map of Europe.
Particularly Austria under the concept Holy Roman Empire extended her control over southern Germany, Northern Italy, and the Austrian Netherlands.
France occupied western Germany and Sicily of Italy.
The political map of Europe was disturbed by maximum during the times of Napoleonic wars.
Napolean destroyed the old kingdoms and created new states by defeating Austria, time and again.
He ended the concept Holy Roman Empire.
He liberated Italy and Germany from the control of Austria
He founded two new republics in Italy and reduced 330 German states into a Rhine confederacy of 16 states.
The political map of Europe continued to be disturbed until the fall of Napolean.
In 1815, the Vienna Conference was held, and the political map was redrawn as Austria caught back its territories in Italy and Germany, under the principles of legitimacy, restoration, and compensation.
The map drawing after the Vienna conference of 1815, remained undisturbed for nearly 55 years.
In 1870, Germany and Italy emerged as unified nations with their own specific boundaries, ending the domination of Austria and France. With the formation of unified Germany and Italy with their well-defined boundaries, the European disorder ended.
Redrawal of boundaries again occupied center stage of European politics after WW I.
Woodrow Wilson's "right of self-determination" was equally a factor in redrawing the boundaries with the formation of new states like Hungary, Romania, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Geographically Germany and Austria were divided.
Before WW II, Hitler occupied Austria bringing back Sudetenland from Czechoslovakia again making the political map redrawn.
After WW II, Germany virtually remained divided into East and West and USSR with 15 republics forming its communist block in the eastern part of Europe for the factors again made the map redrawn.
Outside Europe, The problem of redrawal of boundaries was made more complicated by the colonial powers, particularly by England and France in Africa and Asia.
In Asia, England divided India into India and Pakistan, not drawing the boundaries scientifically creating a constant source of friction between between India and China and India-Pakistan and Bangladesh.
Similarly, With their unwanted interference in Vietnam, the US and France were finally responsible for dividing Vietnam into North and South, Just as Korea was divided into North and South.
One continent relatively free from the problem of redrawing of boundaries in the real sense of the world is Africa where boundaries were drawn on the basis of the location of the tribes.
The boundary lines drawn by the European countries continue to remain as the basis even today.
The problem of boundary redrawing is a constant source of concern as new states and countries formed in due course of time. for example, Crimea became independent recently.
Thus the topic of redrawal of boundaries would remain as an endless process.

THE SYLLABUS FOR WORLD HISTORY IS COMPLETED.