Abstract Discusses historical legacy of Chechen-Russian relations. Stalin & USSR policy. Growth of nationalism & ethnic independence. President Yeltsin & 1994 Russian invasion of Chechnya & the ensuing war. Politics & objectives of Dudayev's regime & establishment of free economic zone in Chechen. Yeltin's economic blocade. Chechen gangs. Unpopularity of Chechen War in Russia.
From the Paper "?In the Caucasian Wars of the nineteenth century "the policy chosen was one of total attack, leaving the natives no option but to resist as desperately as they could" (Gall and De Waal 50).
Since the late eighteenth century dozens of Russian military campaigns have been launched against the tiny North Caucasian region of Chechnya and its neighbors. Throughout that span of time the struggles between Russians and Chechens have produced extraordinary efforts of both resistance and repression. In the nineteenth century Imam Shamil, in 25 years of resistance against the Tsars, waged what is probably the longest guerrilla war in history. The Chechen people revolted against the Soviet state more frequently than any other people, and the struggle included "uprisings in 1922, 1924 and 1925 and continued well into the 1930s (Lapidus 8). In the 1940s Stalin, fearful of Chechen..."
Abstract This paper discusses the success or failure of the Chechen terrorists in their fight against Russia and for independence, noting that the Chechens have not achieved any long term goal and have not been able to get the Russian government to make any concessions. The paper explains how the group has been able to publicize its demands and is today known around the world as a result, though it has not achieved any of its larger goals and does not seem to be on the verge of doing so.
From the Paper "Judging the success or failure of a terrorist group is difficult except with a long time frame, for how well the group does in the short term may be indicated only by its ability to achieve a terrorist act or to gain publicity for itself by doing so. Most do not achieve some final goal, though they may make clear what that final goal would be if they can achieve it. An example can be cited with reference to the problem facing Russia from the Chechen rebels who want to publicize their demands. The Chechens have not achieved any long-term goal and have not been able to get the Russian government to make any concessions."
Abstract This paper is on the Russian Revolution, its causes, its aftermath, and the rule of Stalin through the first half of the twentieth century. The paper notes that the Russian Revolution in 1917 was based essentially on principles espoused by Marx and Engels and then reshaped by Lenin and others in the era prior to the onset of the revolt. The revolution was an expression by the Russian people that they wanted a change in leadership, in economic structure, and in how society was ordered.
From the Paper "The Russian Revolution put the ideas of Marx to the test, but ideology was not the cause of the revolution but only one of the tools brought to bear in a social situation that had already deteriorated to an intolerable degree. The revolution was directed in part at correcting the ills of the serfdom that marked the agricultural sector. (Keep 3). Marx and Engels never wrote directly about the situation in Russia in any depth, but they did make certain references to it that would demonstrate to us how they viewed the matter."
Abstract A look at the formation of the 'Mighty Five', five Russian composers, Korsakov, Balakirev, Borodin, Mussorgsky and Glinka who changed Russian music and stance impacting recognition from the Western world. A look at their contributions and impact on the world of music.
From the Paper "The culmination of five ingenious, dedicated composers and one highly skilled evangelist led to the recognition of Russian music. This would be the recognition of a distinct, nationalist approach to music. Involving traditional melodies, and folk songs, and composed in a uniquely Russian manner. They would forever change Russian classical music, and made a large impact upon the rest of the Western world. It is important to recognize two key individuals; one Rimsky-Korsakov for his incredibly sophisticated works, and two the work of Stasov as propagandist. Finally the Mighty Five as a whole should be recognized for their achievements, contributions, and enduring impact on music.'
Abstract The portrayal of the Russian Revolutions has at times proved so markedly different, that it is hard to believe that authors or observers are discussing the same event. This paper focuses on this discrepancy in representation, highlighting the various factors which determined the way in which 1917 has been portrayed by first-hand observers, and later, by professional historians. In a case like that of the Russian Revolutions, where the generation of ensuing scholars and interpreters of other kinds were constrained by political ideology, we will see that history became the handmaid of the totalitarian regime, particularly under Stalin and his supporters.
Abstract The main factors involved in obtaining and maintaining the Russian Communist state primarily under Lenin and Stalin are discussed. Aspects discussed include background information on the development (including discussion of Marx as well as the fall of the Romanov family), Communist ideology, use of propaganda and repression, and emphasis on the directed economic policies under Communism.
From the Paper "The growth of the Communist single party state in the Soviet Union is a result of many factors. The writings of Karl Marx provided a blueprint upon which Communist followers developed their own ideology. Lenin and Stalin were powerful and effective leaders during the early stages of the Communist regime. The economic policies of both men served enhance the Russian economy and to further expand Communism. The party also repressed religion and diminished the importance of the family. The development and expansion of the single party state in the Soviet Union from 1917 until 1932 was a direct result of Lenin and Stalin's leadership capabilities, Communist ideology, the use of propaganda and terror, the directed economies under Lenin and Stalin, and state-sponsored repression of the church and diminishment of the family."
Abstract This paper explains that the Russian-Chechen conflict is a direct brutal clash between the central authorities of a federal state Russia and a sub-national component Chechnya, which has been accorded the rights as per the constitution but demands to be an autonomous state or to have a non-federal relationships. The author points out that most of the Chechen combatants are extremists, who have completely lost their conscience to Islamic establishments and are probably linked to Al-Qaeda, having committed such terror acts as seizing citizens in a hospital in the southern Russian town of Budyonnovsk in 1995 and capturing a school in the North Ossetian town of Beslan in 2004, resulting in the death of more than 500 children. The paper concludes that (1) Chechnya is badly in need of a political solution since armed endeavors during the last nine years have not been fruitful, bringing the Chechen's to a more radical front and permitting the authority of Islamic fundamentalism to penetrate Caucasus and (2) the global society has to show solidarity against extremism because there is no justification, which can uphold the brutal aggression meted out by the Chechen insurgents.
Table of Contents
Describe the Conflict Situation
Define the Reasons for the Conflict
Determine Who if Anyone is at Fault and Why
Is there a Solution?
Conclusion
From the Paper "The September 11 2001 assaults by the Al Qaeda and the condition with the Moscow Theatre provided a better plea to Putin to safeguard his military activities in Chechnya. Currently, the Chechens have been member of the extremists and the battle with them is a component of the international battle on extremism. Prior to 11 Sept 2001, the global society were severe with Russia regarding the Chechen exigency, but thereafter following the assault on Moscow Theater they were inclined to be increasingly cooperative and sparing Russian activities. Gaining the notice of the Western media, the suicide bombings are a proof of Chechnya's instability and the dangers of permitting the insurgent Islamist crusade starting to gather foothold there to flourish."
Abstract This paper researches the interactions and wars in between Russia and Chechnya as well as the oppression perpetrated against and upon the Chechen people. It argues that the Chechen people are a nation that loves peace and equality as well as valuing their cultural heritage and not at all the war-mongering nation that Russia would have the world to believe.
From the Paper "The Russian rule of the Chechen people has seemingly brought the people of Chechnya to their knees however one must question the true validity of Russian rule in a land where a people have never accepted that rule but continued to war against the same. During the year of 1923 the Republic experienced a three-way split into the regions of Dagastan, Chechnya and Ingushetia. After a period of time Chechnya and Ingushetia united as a Chechyan-Ingush Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. The Chechen-Ingush were particularly difficult for the Russians because they lived upon a mountain range that bordered Dagestan that was all but inaccessible. Many histories state that the Chechnya and Ingush were a warring people and use that as justification for what Russian rule has wrought upon the Chenchen people."
Abstract This paper looks at the background to U.S. involvement in the war and analyzes various factors. These include the high fatality rate incurred in the war, international reaction of the world community to the conflict, the strategic importance of Chechnya to the Russians, the politics of oil as it relates to the war and a history of U.S. policy towards Russia. The paper also focuses on the current U.S. policy towards Russia and specifically towards Chechnya.
From the Paper "At the start of the second Russian invasion into Chechnya in 1999, Russia claimed that it was going into Chechnya in order to root out the bandits that were hiding in the Chechen mountains and bring them to justice for carrying out terrorist activities in Russia. In the long run however, it has become clear that Russia was planning to take vengeance for its humiliating defeat at the hands of the Chechen rebels in the previous phase of its attack on Chechnya three years back.(11) Russia has presented its attack on Chechnya as an attack on terrorists and as an effort to prevent Chechnya from breaking away from the federation. The fighting that is taking place is the worse since the 1994 ?1996 civil war with Chechnya ."
Abstract This paper presents an overview of the Russo-Chechen conflict. In this study, the writer shows that the conflict reveals a troubling trend of violence and oppression that is difficult to disentangle. The writer discusses that in the greater War on Terror, the way in which this dilemma is approached --and others like it-- will in many ways determine our collective fates.
From the Paper "The conflict between Russian and her former Soviet satellite Chechnya has exacerbated in recent years, threatening to become the full scale civil conflict that many on both sides have anticipated-and some have longed for. Chechnya is a Muslim republic with a history of doggedly pursuing independence. For its part Russia has crafted its own legacy toward Chechnya as a single-minded suppressor, whose response to Chechen bids for autonomy is consistently brutal. Today the Russo-Chechen conflict has claimed roughly ... "
Abstract This paper discusses the Russo-Chechnya conflict from a political and economic standpoint, highlighting the impact of oil on the players in the conflict, and showing the regional implications of actions in Chechnya. The paper proposes some solutions to the conflict but predicts that the problem will not go away anytime soon.
Table of Contents:
Russia: The Oil Conglomerate
History of the Conflict
The Sides
Oil War
Global Political and Economic Ramifications
Issue Resolution
Summary Of the Chechen Regional Impact
From the Paper "The basic problem from the Russian perspective is how to get the Chechens to accept Russian sovereignty. They failed to win any sort of charm offensive and continue to hold that status. During the war villages that signed peace agreements were bombed indiscriminately and without warning, and cooperation with authorities never was a guarantee of safety, as it should have been. With the military under poor discipline, it is the civilians who often become the targets and who are most deeply affected. "
Tags: shamil, tajik variant model, de facto independence, pipeline appeasement
This is a comparative paper between the Russian Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza and includes the topics of how each is organized, the methods used, and their respective histories.
Abstract This paper discusses the many similarities and few differences between the Russian Mafia and the Japanese Yakuza. Specifically, the paper looks at how each is organized, the methods each employs, and the respective histories of each organization. In so doing, the paper ultimately argues that the chief differences between the two organizations are twofold: the Russian Mafia, for historical and cultural reasons, is even more powerful than its Japanese counterpart because of its close ties to the Russian state, and the Russian Mafia is even more brutal in its methods than the Yakuza - or most anyone else. In the final analysis, Robert I. Friedman and other close observers are not wrong to view the "Red Mafiya" with trepidation and dread.
Outline:
Introduction
How the Japanese Yakuza is Organized
How the Russian Mafia is Organized
The Methods Employed by the Japanese Yakuza
The Methods Employed by the Russian Mafia
History of the Japanese Yakuza
History of the Russian Mafia
Conclusion
From the Paper "The Russian Mafia has been around at least as long as its Yakuza counterpart. James O. Finckenauer writes that stealing the Czar's timber was not considered criminal during much of modern Russian history and professional criminals in the early years of the twentieth century conspired with Marxist political revolutionaries to overthrow first the Czar and then the short-lived revolutionary government that followed. While it is not clear, it appears as though the modern-day Russian Mafia was shaped by the exigencies of the Soviet-era Communist economy - an economy that often failed to provide adequately for its citizens. As a result, a 'shadow' economy sprang up, and it was one in which a criminal entrepreneurial class able to operate outside the law found the perfect climate in which to flourish."
Tags: organized crime, methods history culture brutality observations
Abstract The paper explains the origins of Russian organized crime and its activities in the U.S. The paper discusses how Russian organized crime exploits technology in a variety of white-collar computer crimes including counterfeiting, credit card schemes and insurance frauds. The paper labels the Russian mafia as one of the most dangerous organized crime groups in the world today. The paper relates that not only is the Russian mafia extremely violent and versatile in its choice of criminal activities, it also holds no qualms about trafficking in nuclear weaponry between countries and political terror organizations. The paper contends that the Russian mafia should be one of the top priorities for worldwide law enforcement and control.
From the Paper "Russian organized crime (or the Russian mafia) spread quickly after the evaporation of the Soviet Union in 1991. Organized crime spread quickly in Russia, and many experts believe one reason was that the chaotic government system after the breakup resulted in an atmosphere of mistrust and bribery in order to survive. One historian notes, "In order to survive, ordinary citizens had to act like criminals; they had to master the intricacies of the corrupt state bureaucracy, learn how to bribe officials, and develop skills in forging and counterfeiting documents" (Kelly, 2000, p. 268). Thus, the conditions were perfect for the growth and sustenance of a healthy organized crime culture in the former Soviet Union, and this quickly spread to the United States."
Abstract The Russian working population changed dramatically when the country modernized during the late Imperial age. It was a drastic change for a Russian peasant to go from living in a small village and working a variety of tasks to going to the large cities and specializing in one task. Using Victoria Bonnell's book "The Russian Worker" as a reference, this paper evaluates this shift, as well as the Russian government's actions toward labor.
From the Paper "As thousands of peasants moved out of villages, a new type of worker was formed. Their individual identities and their concepts of their roles in society all changed. The first revolution in 1905 was due to poor working conditions and the need on the part of the workers to be herd. Although the old regime stayed in tact, many workers began to comprehend the political power of their actions. After some time, many workers residing in large factories formed the working class."
Abstract This paper examines how the life and literary work of Russian emigres draws upon a very distinct Russian tradition of intellectuals in exile and how both the Russian Empire and Soviet Union had many exiles, both inside the empire and outside it. It looks at how many of those that left voluntarily early in their lives such as Vladimir Nabokov, Boris Pasternak, and Ayn Rand, reflected the sentiments of those that were later forced into political exile, which include Brodsky, Solzhenitsyn and Sakhalov. In particular, it focuses on Nabokov's cohort of Russian emigres to Europe and America.
From the Paper "Nabokov was a native of Saint Petersburg, which at the time of his childhood dominated Russian culture as it had been the home of the Czar and represented not only the seat of the Russian government but also its connection to the commerce of the west. Nabokov, like Rand and other emigres who grew up in Piter during the aughts and teens, was a child of privilege who vacationed in the Crimea and in continental Europe; in many respects he was similar to the upper middle class that one finds today in Moscow. Nabokov grew up in a wealthy suburb of St. Petersburg; at that time, small villages like Vyra and Tsarsky Celo had regular rail service to the center of town. He was taught by private tutors and spoke several languages from a very early age."
