Abstract This paper looks at how during most of Russia's history, from the time of the later Middle Ages until 1917, the predominant ruler of this land was the czar. It examines how beginning slowly with Alexander Nevsky and ending swiftly and dramatically with Czar Nicholas II, how the history of the czars? is filled with triumph and defeat, jubilee and sadness, war and peace and most of all, never-ending change.
From the Paper "For about the next hundred years, Mongols princes slowly built up their power and independence away from the khan. In 1462 Ivan III, known as Ivan the Great, began his rule. He purchased and conquered lands around him, including the rich merchant republic of Novgorod (McKay, Buckler, Hill, 2003). This greatly expanded the territory that was directly ruled by the Moscow princes, and in turn expanded his power. In place of the princes who he had defeated, he put in place new princes who were strongly loyal to him. He demanded the loyalty of the nobility in a very coy manner. He changed the nobility into "service nobility", in which they could only own land if they served in his army (McKay, Buckler, Hill, 2003). In 1480 he announced his sovereignty over the khans. The Tatars (Mongols) sent in troops, but Ivan successfully held them off for seven months until their retreat. Moscow became the capital and the official rule of Russia free from Tatar influence began ("Muscovite Russia")."
Abstract This paper provides a thorough history of the period of Russian history under the rule of Czar Ivan the Terrible. The paper discusses his upbringing and the process that turned him into a Czar. It looks at his marriage to Anastasia and the impact she had on his introducing some reforms in the region. It discusses Ivan's sickness and his conquests and also briefly mentions his family life.
From the Paper "Ivan was a brilliant man who could have done a lot during this rule in Russia. If his childhood wasn?t so scarred with traumatic memories he would have been a great statesman. Even though he did a lot of good things for his country, no one can forget the acts of cruelty of his regime. His behavior got modified after the death of his first wife. In the end he destroyed himself by getting rid of the people he loved dearly. This was a reason why he lost the war with himself. Russia went through a terrible phase as it was left without a strong ruler after the death of Ivan IV. No one could fill the void. People wished that Ivan IV was still around."
Abstract This paper is an in-depth analysis of the causes of the Bolshevik Revolution. The author discusses the harsh economic conditions of the times, the rule of Czar Nicholas, the oppression of the lower class, and the influences of Karl Marx on the intelligentsia who wanted reform. The paper looks at the numerous riots that took place, the effects of World War I, and the crumbling of the Romanov dynasty.
From the Paper "The causes of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 were many. The revolution was the culmination of a long period of repression and unrest. The Tsar ? weaknesses in his character and reactionary policies and his failure to understand his people: From the time of Peter I (Peter the Great), the czardom increasingly became an autocratic bureaucracy that imposed its will on the people by force, with wanton disregard for human life and liberty. The last Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917) was a loyal family man but he had serious defects of character. He was easily influenced by his wife (German), he ignored his ministers and he failed to understand the problems of his people (he was too remote from them). He was a reactionary and an indecisive autocrat. Moreover the Czarist monarchy dramatically demonstrated the weaknesses to which a hereditary system is prone. A male heir to the throne was necessary to assure the continuation of the dynasty. The son of the Czar and Empress, Alexis, was a frail boy who suffered from the crippling hereditary disease of hemophilia."
Abstract This paper looks at how Russian history influenced the life and writing of novelist Leo Tolstoy. The author discusses the repressive atmosphere under Czar Nicholas I, the Russian economic system and military events, all which affected Tolstoy and his novels, such as "Anna Karenina" and "War and Peace".
From the Paper "During Leo Tolstoy's lifetime (1828-1910), Russia and Europe went through a number of political and intellectual changes. Writing evolved from Romanticism to Realism during the period. As the term "realism" implies the realistic novelists like Tolstoy focused on observation and attention to detail. In Russia the czars retained absolute power by preventing the political and social changes that the Western European countries were experiencing. Intellectuals including Tolstoy led the effort toward reform. The reform efforts met with considerable resistance until the twentieth century. For the writers, retention of power by the czars meant repression of writing."
A review of the history of Russia's Imperial Czar, "Peter the Great" (Peter Naryshkin Alexis) and the significance of the events that took place during the Great Northern War.
1,650 words (approx. 6.6 pages), 4 sources, 2002, $ 62.95
Abstract This essay considers the influences of Modernism during the reign of Czar Peter I, specifically in the changes made to civil life, and military structures. Most effective and enduring of these changes was the development of a naval force, one that can be recognized as the central influence of the Russians during the Great Northern War.
This paper discusses Alphonse "Al" Capone, America's best-known gangster and the single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era.
Abstract This paper explains that, without Prohibition, the banning of the sale of alcoholic beverages, officially known as the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the criminal career of Al Capone would never have reached the heights of criminality. The author points out that Al Capone, one of the first crime czars in American history, took the feudal Italian criminal society and fashioned it into a modern American criminal enterprise. The paper relates that, by 1929, the Capone gang was credited by the Chicago police with at least 300 murders. It discusses how on February 14, 1929, the struggle for the control of the North Side of Chicago erupted in extreme violence with what is now known as the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. This day saw seven men belonging to Capone's arch-enemy "Bugs" Moran's gang lured into a garage by Capone's men disguised as policemen, lined up against a wall and shot to death with machine guns.
From the Paper "Thus, Prohibition went into effect in 1920 but its passage reflected an effort that had started in the 19th century. Though most of the reform efforts were heavily influenced by the struggle to fix the political and economic inequalities related to industrialism, the ban on alcohol was essentially a religious crusade. With the Women's Christian Temperance Union leading the way against the use, sale or distribution of alcohol in America's bars, restaurants and homes, Andrew Volsted, a U.S. Representative in Congress, soon joined their cause which he saw as a way of regulating morality in the context of the use and abuse of alcohol, "one of America's most devastating habits that leads to corruption, immorality and the destruction of the soul"; thus, the 18th Amendment became known as the Volstead Act."
Abstract This paper describes the causes of the February and October Revolutions of 1917 including: World War I , the social discontent of the Russian peasantry and poor government and leadership.
From the Paper "The February Revolution's causes can fall under the three main sections: World War I, peasant reaction to social conditions, and poor government and leadership. World War I was the most evident and serious of the causes. The beginning of World War I caused "a public surge of patriotic enthusiasm" (37), but alas this enthusiasm could not withstand the many consequences of the war. Firstly the "Russian Army suffered crushing defeats and loses"? (37), which could only cause patriotic morale to dwindle the more they kept losing. These constant-crushing blows took a number of soldier's lives, which also meant a significant lose in the number of peasants because they made up a significant amount of the infantry, as a result of the implemented draft. This, to say the least, did not make the peasants and soldiers very pleased. The soldiers discontent was justified; they were not getting the equipment they needed, because most of the manpower was on the field and Russia was late to industrialize. This lack of equipment and technology cost the lives of many Russian troops. "
Tags: russia, war, czar, tsar, nicholas, peasant, autocracy, Kerensky, WWI, provisional, government
Abstract The writer's opinion is that the Russian Revolution was neither planned nor led by any political faction. He finds that it was the result of the collapse of the monarchy's ability to govern. The paper explores the historical, political and social events which lead to the revolution and whether these would have happened with or without Lenin's involvement.
From the Paper "In February, 1917, civil unrest in Russia escalated into worker strikes and finally exploded into armed rebellion. Longtime Marxist and revolutionary Vladimir Lenin was ecstatic when the news reached Switzerland, where he lived in exile. He had devoted his life to orchestrating a worker's rebellion that would tear the tsar from power. In 1905, after Bloody Sunday when Tsar Nicholas II had ordered his army to fire on a peaceful labor demonstration, Lenin had come within touching distance of his goal, but the workers, fearing the strength of the military, had backed down. Now, fifteen years later, with the workers revolting and the military in mutiny, Lenin had finally achieved his lifelong dream (Lenin)."
Tags: russian, czar, revolution, lenin, communism, rasputin, nicholas
Abstract A paper which asserts that it was repeated wars, culminating with devastating internal effects of World War I that made it possible for the process of bringing Russia into step politically and economically with the rest of the world to be interrupted, and for Russia to go off in a new and more startling direction: the world's first country governed by Communist totalitarianism.
From the Paper "Allen (2002) quotes a biographer about Lenin's comments regarding the revolt of 1905. According to this source, Lenin said, ??It [the revolt of 1905] was the great rehearsal, a blueprint for the revolution of 1917.?? This seems an accurate description. The growing Communist movement learned how to maneuver politically and how to capitalize on the fallout that comes from war. Although this revolt by itself did not overthrow the Czarist aristocracy, Nicholas II gained only temporary control over the revolutionaries. His failure to recognize this fully was another contributing factor to the Communist success in 1917."
Abstract This paper examines the move toward westernization that took place in Russia under the reign of Peter the Great. It provides an accounting of Peter's achievements that so intensely impacted Russian society and a discussion of the reasons behind Peter's success .
From the Paper "The groundwork for the Golden Age that Russia experienced between mid-eighteenth and mid-nineteenth century was laid down by Peter the Great who founded and established the paradigms required for Russia's supremacy. Peter the Great, the most influential czar and military leader in Russian history, literally transformed his country from an almost medieval backwater region into one of the world's great powers at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Russia had missed out on both the Renaissance and the Reformation, which left it nearly a century behind the rest of Europe in every field imaginable: social, cultural, political and educational . However, due to Peter's keen observations and the effective plans of action that thus evolved, Russia emerged, almost overnight, as a mighty empire comparable with the likes of Britain, France and Germany. This rapid change in Russia's status was thus, wholly dependant upon the revolutionary ways of Peter the Great that he employed to rule over Russia."
Tags: military, czar, Kremlin, Moscow, war, European, 18th century
Abstract The characters of Snowball and Napoleon are the primary focus of the character analysis, and this analysis involves a comparison of the animal characters of Napoleon and Snowball with that of Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky, two famous Russian leaders during the post- World War I years. The novel is based on real-life events in the Russian society under Stalin's rule and includes the struggle of the proletarians (working class) against the ruling class (Farmer Jones and all humans). This paper analyzes the novel's character and plot in reference to the historiography of the Russian Revolution up to Stalin's rule in Russia.
From the Paper "George Orwell's satiric novel, ?The Animal Farm,? revolves around the issue of subordination of the animal working class to the ruling class in the Animal Farm society. The story started with Old Major's speech on the animal's rights to have their own property and possessions, most especially the farm that they till and the crops and goods that they produce and harvest. Following after this speech, a revolt occurred among the animals against the farm owner, leading to their triumph as the new owners of Manor Farm, which they aptly changed later to ?Animal Farm.? After Old Major's death, the issue of Animal Farm leadership cropped up, and Napoleon and Snowball took it upon themselves to assume the position as new Animal Farm leaders, since pigs are treated as the "most intelligent" animals in their farm. Napoleon and Snowball began arguing over policies and ideas for the animal farm, and in these conflicts, certain "atrocities" done to the animal members of the farm began happening, although most of the animals disregarded or ignored those inequalities, all for the sake of having Animal Farm, and for Farmer Jones (the owner of Manor Farm) not to return to the farm again. What follows next in the novel are parallelisms of the life of the working class and ruling class in a society, and how these stratification in the animal society was resolved or ended."
Abstract This paper describes the ups and downs of Russian music throughout the Soviet Union's tumultuous history. The paper examines the impact that music has on Russians today. This paper also discusses the music during the pre-revolutionary years, post-revolutionary years, the Stalin years, the post-Stalin years, and Gorbachev's perestroika years.
From the Paper "The years before the Russian Revolution of 1905 and the Russian revolution of 1917 are considered the pre-revolutionary years. The Russian Revolution of 1905 was an unsuccessful attempt to topple the ruling czar and it all started with the Bloody Sunday Massacre. The Russian revolution of 1917 succeeded in overthrowing the imperial government and replacing them with the Bolsheviks. The pre-revolutionary years, in Russia, were filled with Byzantium liturgical chants, nationalistic folk songs, operas, and symphonies. In 988, Prince Vladimir of Kiev decided that Russian's national religion would be Byzantine Orthodoxy and that's how the Byzantium liturgical chants ended up in Russia. However, after the Russians created their own style of liturgical chants, it was called znammeny chants. This type of music was entirely vocal and there were no musical instruments accompanying the chants."
This paper discusses the evolution of serf-landowner relations leading to 1861 emancipation by Czar Nicholas I: Economics, reform, politics, public debate and consequences.
3,600 words (approx. 14.4 pages), 6 sources, 1995, $ 127.95
From the Paper " When Czar Nicholas I emancipated the serfs of the Russian Empire in 1861 it was not so much a liberal revolution as a return to traditional standards - for serfdom was not an ages-old institution in Russia, as in Western Europe, but a relatively late-developing tangent to the rise of imperial, centralized power. Historically, the great majority of the Russian people have been peasants, and by the mid-19th century almost all peasants were either serfs of private landowners or in serflike bondage to the state.
It was not always so. In Kievan Russia (879 A.D. - 1240 A.D.), and under the Tartar occupations (11th century - 14th century), most peasants had been freedmen, though there were some who were simple slaves. Though the process of the establishment of serfdom in Russia is variously interpreted, it can be ... "
Abstract This paper describes the personality of Peter the Great and explains how his ideas and actions were totally revolutionary for the time periods. These actions are analyzed and discussed and it is shown how they influenced the society and culture of 17th and 18th century Russia. Some of these changes included reformation of the military, hard work in exchange for powerful gentry positions, reorganization of the government and senate, opening of trade routes and involvement in the Church.
From the Paper "Peter the Great was a revolutionary. His changes, including the social, political, economic and cultural, would not have emerged at the time that they did, had Peter not been in power. The Russian state prior to Peter was one of corruption and violence. Rulers such as Ivan the IV attempted to mirror western practices through the creation of a council. The Zemsky Sobor closely resembled the estates-general in the west as it included members of upper class, the clergy, and the service gentry and consulted on reforms. The problem was that the reforms considered were not moving Russia forward quickly enough."
