1. Carl Marx predicted that a communist state would eventually wither away. When Stalin took over the reverse happened. He made the Soviet Union a totalitarian state. As soon as Stalin came into power he started to control the economy by proposing a five-year plan. The goals of the plan were to build heavy industry, improve transportation and increase farm output. He also brought all businesses under the control of the government. In doing this he developed a command economy, where government officials made all of the economic decisions. Stalin’s five-year plan set high goals for production. They would give bonuses to those who met or succeeded these goals and severely punished those who didn’t. However, the five-year plan brutally damaged farmers who had been quite successful before the government’s interference. Many farmers even started to destroy their crops and tools to go on strike against Stalin for selling their crops at too low of prices. In response the government took all the grain from these areas and left the people to starve. This caused between five and eight million people to die of starvation in just the Ukraine.
A Portrait of Josef Stalin
2. In addition to the famines Stalin used secret police, torture and violence to guarantee compliance. His police were willing to open private letters and plant listening devices on anyone they thought was suspicious. There was no free press and no safe way to protest or voice opinions. People who were critics were sent away to Gulag, a system of brutal labor camps, where most died. Stalin also had people torture members of the other party. Most of the people who were tortured or punished were the most educated and successful members of society, which was a problem when Germany invaded.
3. Stalin also wanted the favor of the people, so he spread a lot of propaganda. He tried to boost faith in the system by portraying himself as a God. The Communist Party also wanted to abolish religion to tighten its grasp on the minds of the Soviet People. Many priests and religious leaders were sent to work camps or put to death.
4. Many people did get many benefits from being under Communist rule. Their children attended free Communist-built schools, could go to college and technical schools for free and also had recreational activities provided for them. The Communist Party thought that it was key to building a modern society to develop an educated working class. The government also provided health care. While the health care and education were beneficial, many people lacked every day necessities, such as reasonable-sized housing, meat and fruit.
1920s - 1950s
The Communist Russia Flag
The 1920s through the 1950s were arguably the worst time to be a civilian in Russia. Only three years after the Bolshevik Revolution, civilians are still feeling the impact. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 took place when the Tsar was removed and replaced by a communist government. On a lighter note, on January 16th, 1920, the allies lifted a blockade on all trade with Russia. While this opened up a few new possibilities, when the Soviet union offered a peace offer with the United States, it was rejected. In this time period, a treaty between Norway and Russia let Russia pursue mining in Spitsbergen. Because of this, the 20s were clearly a time of economic growth for the country. In the thirties, the soviets proposed a military alliance with Great Britain and France. The Soviets began deporting land holders along with their families, in an attempt to collectivize the rural population. In 1931, the USSR banned sale and import of Bibles. Also around this time, the Soviet Union signed a treaty of neutrality with Afghanistan. Stalin ordered that the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow be demolished, further emphasizing his hatred of christianity in the region. In 1932, the USSR stopped offering food handouts to housewives under 36, forcing the woman population of Russia to begin working. In 1933, the U.S. and the Soviet Union began diplomatic relations, as president Roosevelt sent a telegram to Maxim Litvinov, writing that he hoped US-Soviet relations would remain "normal and friendly." In 1933, Stalin referred to the union's relationship with Japan as a cause of "grave danger." In 1937, Leon Trotsky called to unite the people, to overthrow Josef Stalin. As the purge of Stalin took place, the soviet union executed eight army leaders. At this time, Hitler began the deportation of Jews. In 1939, the Russo-Finnish war began, as Stalin attacked Finland with 540,000 men, 2485 tanks, and 2000 guns. The war continued, until in March, the "Peace of Moscow" treaty was signed, and Finland gave 16,000 square miles of land to the Soviet Union.In August of 1939, Hitler broke his usual pattern by offering a non-violence pact with Joseph Stalin, his greatest enemy of the time period. Both agreed to not fight each other if war broke out, and both had the mutual agreement that Poland would be divided between them. There was no friendship or brotherhood in this pact, but rather a mutual need to not be hurt in such a pressing time. Hitler feared communism, and Stalin feared fascism. Out of this fear came the treaty of sorts. Hitler wanted free reign in Poland, and didn’t want to fight wih Western democracies. Stalin was protecting himself with this pact. One week after the Nazi-Soviet pact, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany, and thus became the start of World War II. On March 13th, 1941, Hitler issued an invasion of the U.S.S.R.. Churchill warned stalin of the German invasion, and Stalin took the Soviet premiership. A back and forth between Russia and Germany took place over the next few years, establishing an instability between the countries. Overall, the 1920s through the 1950s in Russia were some of its most unstable times, but with the space-race coming up, the country was about to focus its resources on something constructive, to help put those horrible memories behind it.
Soviet Union 1950-1980
1950 – Korean War TheKorean Warwas a military conflict between the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), supported by China and the USSR. The war began on 25 June 1950.
1952 - Prague trials ThePragueTrialswere a series of Stalinist “show” trials in Czechoslovakia. On November 20, 1952 Rudolf Slansky, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and 13 other Communist leaders, eleven of which were Jewish, were accused of being conspirators. There was disagreement within the communist leadership as to how much they should copy the Soviet style of Communism. Stalin wanted to purge the unfaithful elements in the national parties in Eastern Europe, as well as the Jews.
1953 - 3/5 Stalin died. Malenkov succeeded as Premier and 1st Secretary of the Communist Party, Khrushchev became 1st Secretary.
7/27 Korean War armistice was signed.
1956 – Angolan War of Independence
1960 – Vietnam War The USSR in this war, as in others, used Vietnam as a proxy country to fight the USA, and by doing this avoided nuclear war with the US. The North Vietnamese, backed by the Soviet Union, was able to win.
1961 – Bay of Pigs In hopes of collapsing Cuba’s Communist-leaning leader, Fidel Castro, Kennedy authorized the CIA to train and arm pro-American Cuban exiles. Kennedy thought that the disgruntled Cuban population would then back the invasion and help topple Castro. When the CIA-trained exiles stormed Cuba’s Bay of Pigs they were mistakenly expecting air support that was not provided by Kennedy. The invasion was a complete failure and an embarrassment to Kennedy. Khrushchev came to Cuba's rescue at this debacle, seeing that Castro could be a useful ally in the Cold War.
Construction of Berlin Wall By 1961 East Germany had already lost 2.5 million people as they left for the Western controlled areas. They needed to stop this mass exodus of people so Khrushchev threatened to sign a treaty with East Germany that would cut off the city of Berlin from Western Europe. On August 13, 1961 a massive concrete wall was constructed and topped with barbed wire to prevent East Germans from escaping to freedom in the Western-controlled part of the city. Over the coming years the Berlin Wall came to be one of the most famous symbols of the Cold War. Many people died trying to escape over the Berlin Wall.
Cuba adopted Communism On December 2, 1961 in a nationally broadcast speech Fidel Castro announced that he was a Marxist-Leninist and that, under his leadership, Cuba would become a Communist state.
1962 –
Novocherkassk Massacre
Cuban Missile Crisis - After the Bay of Pigs debacle Castro was understandably angry with the United States. He turned to the Soviet Union for support and Khrushchev was happy to have an ally less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In 1962 it was revealed that the USSR had installed several nuclear missiles in Cuba. When Kennedy learned about the missiles he ordered the US Navy to blockade Cuba and demanded that Khrushchev remove the missiles. The world stood at the edge of a nuclear war during this crisis which lasted for two weeks. Finally, Khrushchev removed the missiles as the US agreed to end the blockade. Kennedy also agreed to remove nuclear warheads from Turkey that were aimed at the USSR. This crisis was the closest that the US and Soviet Union ever came to nuclear war during the Cold War. 1965 – Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan held its first Congress.
1967 – USSR severed diplomatic ties with China and Israel
1978 - Rebellion against the new Afghan government began with an uprising in Nuristan
1979 – Invasion of Afghanistan This war is sometimes referred to as the “Soviet Vietnam.” The first phase began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and their first battles with various opposition groups. Soviet troops entered Afghanistan along two ground routes and one air corridor, quickly taking control of urban centers, military bases and strategic installations.
1985 - Present
While the fifties through the eighties provided much reform to the soviet union, the now weakened society was about to face its final blow and unravel.
1986: Chernobyl
A nuclear meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused great panic in the Soviet Union. The area remains inhospitable to this day, and radioactive readings are off the charts. This caused a considerable blow to this industry in Russia.
1990: The Baku Conflict
Soviet troops went into Baku to put an end to the Popular Front, an oppositional political party. The troops shot into crowds of protesters, anover the course of three days. The country entered a state of emergency. The soldiers used bullets designed specifically to cause as much damage as possible to the human body.
January 13th, 1991
Soviet troops took control of a TV tower to take down the nationalist media. 14 unarmed people died, and hundreds were injured.
Devember 25th, 1991
Faced with recent events, Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR, and declared the office "extinct." This marked the end of the USSR, and all Soviet institutions ended their operations.
Russia
New York Times Article on the new version of the KGB
The Economic State of Russia
1. Carl Marx predicted that a communist state would eventually wither away. When Stalin took over the reverse happened. He made the Soviet Union a totalitarian state. As soon as Stalin came into power he started to control the economy by proposing a five-year plan. The goals of the plan were to build heavy industry, improve transportation and increase farm output. He also brought all businesses under the control of the government. In doing this he developed a command economy, where government officials made all of the economic decisions. Stalin’s five-year plan set high goals for production. They would give bonuses to those who met or succeeded these goals and severely punished those who didn’t. However, the five-year plan brutally damaged farmers who had been quite successful before the government’s interference. Many farmers even started to destroy their crops and tools to go on strike against Stalin for selling their crops at too low of prices. In response the government took all the grain from these areas and left the people to starve. This caused between five and eight million people to die of starvation in just the Ukraine.
2. In addition to the famines Stalin used secret police, torture and violence to guarantee compliance. His police were willing to open private letters and plant listening devices on anyone they thought was suspicious. There was no free press and no safe way to protest or voice opinions. People who were critics were sent away to Gulag, a system of brutal labor camps, where most died. Stalin also had people torture members of the other party. Most of the people who were tortured or punished were the most educated and successful members of society, which was a problem when Germany invaded.
3. Stalin also wanted the favor of the people, so he spread a lot of propaganda. He tried to boost faith in the system by portraying himself as a God. The Communist Party also wanted to abolish religion to tighten its grasp on the minds of the Soviet People. Many priests and religious leaders were sent to work camps or put to death.
4. Many people did get many benefits from being under Communist rule. Their children attended free Communist-built schools, could go to college and technical schools for free and also had recreational activities provided for them. The Communist Party thought that it was key to building a modern society to develop an educated working class. The government also provided health care. While the health care and education were beneficial, many people lacked every day necessities, such as reasonable-sized housing, meat and fruit.
1920s - 1950s
The 1920s through the 1950s were arguably the worst time to be a civilian in Russia. Only three years after the Bolshevik Revolution, civilians are still feeling the impact. The Bolshevik Revolution of 1917 took place when the Tsar was removed and replaced by a communist government. On a lighter note, on January 16th, 1920, the allies lifted a blockade on all trade with Russia. While this opened up a few new possibilities, when the Soviet union offered a peace offer with the United States, it was rejected. In this time period, a treaty between Norway and Russia let Russia pursue mining in Spitsbergen. Because of this, the 20s were clearly a time of economic growth for the country. In the thirties, the soviets proposed a military alliance with Great Britain and France. The Soviets began deporting land holders along with their families, in an attempt to collectivize the rural population. In 1931, the USSR banned sale and import of Bibles. Also around this time, the Soviet Union signed a treaty of neutrality with Afghanistan. Stalin ordered that the Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow be demolished, further emphasizing his hatred of christianity in the region. In 1932, the USSR stopped offering food handouts to housewives under 36, forcing the woman population of Russia to begin working. In 1933, the U.S. and the Soviet Union began diplomatic relations, as president Roosevelt sent a telegram to Maxim Litvinov, writing that he hoped US-Soviet relations would remain "normal and friendly." In 1933, Stalin referred to the union's relationship with Japan as a cause of "grave danger." In 1937, Leon Trotsky called to unite the people, to overthrow Josef Stalin. As the purge of Stalin took place, the soviet union executed eight army leaders. At this time, Hitler began the deportation of Jews. In 1939, the Russo-Finnish war began, as Stalin attacked Finland with 540,000 men, 2485 tanks, and 2000 guns. The war continued, until in March, the "Peace of Moscow" treaty was signed, and Finland gave 16,000 square miles of land to the Soviet Union. In August of 1939, Hitler broke his usual pattern by offering a non-violence pact with Joseph Stalin, his greatest enemy of the time period. Both agreed to not fight each other if war broke out, and both had the mutual agreement that Poland would be divided between them. There was no friendship or brotherhood in this pact, but rather a mutual need to not be hurt in such a pressing time. Hitler feared communism, and Stalin feared fascism. Out of this fear came the treaty of sorts. Hitler wanted free reign in Poland, and didn’t want to fight wih Western democracies. Stalin was protecting himself with this pact. One week after the Nazi-Soviet pact, Germany invaded Poland. Britain and France declared war on Germany, and thus became the start of World War II. On March 13th, 1941, Hitler issued an invasion of the U.S.S.R.. Churchill warned stalin of the German invasion, and Stalin took the Soviet premiership. A back and forth between Russia and Germany took place over the next few years, establishing an instability between the countries. Overall, the 1920s through the 1950s in Russia were some of its most unstable times, but with the space-race coming up, the country was about to focus its resources on something constructive, to help put those horrible memories behind it.
Soviet Union 1950-1980
1950 – Korean War
The Korean War was a military conflict between the Republic of Korea (South Korea), supported by the United Nations, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), supported by China and the USSR. The war began on 25 June 1950.
1952 - Prague trials
The Prague Trials were a series of Stalinist “show” trials in Czechoslovakia. On November 20, 1952 Rudolf Slansky, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia, and 13 other Communist leaders, eleven of which were Jewish, were accused of being conspirators. There was disagreement within the communist leadership as to how much they should copy the Soviet style of Communism. Stalin wanted to purge the unfaithful elements in the national parties in Eastern Europe, as well as the Jews.
1953 -
3/5 Stalin died. Malenkov succeeded as Premier and 1st Secretary of the Communist Party, Khrushchev became 1st Secretary.
7/27 Korean War armistice was signed.
1956 – Angolan War of Independence
1960 – Vietnam War
The USSR in this war, as in others, used Vietnam as a proxy country to fight the USA, and by doing this avoided nuclear war with the US. The North Vietnamese, backed by the Soviet Union, was able to win.
1961 –
Bay of Pigs
In hopes of collapsing Cuba’s Communist-leaning leader, Fidel Castro, Kennedy authorized the CIA to train and arm pro-American Cuban exiles. Kennedy thought that the disgruntled Cuban population would then back the invasion and help topple Castro. When the CIA-trained exiles stormed Cuba’s Bay of Pigs they were mistakenly expecting air support that was not provided by Kennedy. The invasion was a complete failure and an embarrassment to Kennedy. Khrushchev came to Cuba's rescue at this debacle, seeing that Castro could be a useful ally in the Cold War.
Construction of Berlin Wall
By 1961 East Germany had already lost 2.5 million people as they left for the Western controlled areas. They needed to stop this mass exodus of people so Khrushchev threatened to sign a treaty with East Germany that would cut off the city of Berlin from Western Europe. On August 13, 1961 a massive concrete wall was constructed and topped with barbed wire to prevent East Germans from escaping to freedom in the Western-controlled part of the city. Over the coming years the Berlin Wall came to be one of the most famous symbols of the Cold War. Many people died trying to escape over the Berlin Wall.
Cuba adopted Communism
On December 2, 1961 in a nationally broadcast speech Fidel Castro announced that he was a Marxist-Leninist and that, under his leadership, Cuba would become a Communist state.
1962 –
Novocherkassk Massacre
Cuban Missile Crisis -
After the Bay of Pigs debacle Castro was understandably angry with the United States. He turned to the Soviet Union for support and Khrushchev was happy to have an ally less than 100 miles off the coast of the United States. In 1962 it was revealed that the USSR had installed several nuclear missiles in Cuba. When Kennedy learned about the missiles he ordered the US Navy to blockade Cuba and demanded that Khrushchev remove the missiles. The world stood at the edge of a nuclear war during this crisis which lasted for two weeks. Finally, Khrushchev removed the missiles as the US agreed to end the blockade. Kennedy also agreed to remove nuclear warheads from Turkey that were aimed at the USSR. This crisis was the closest that the US and Soviet Union ever came to nuclear war during the Cold War.
1965 – Marxist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan held its first Congress.
1967 – USSR severed diplomatic ties with China and Israel
1978 - Rebellion against the new Afghan government began with an uprising in Nuristan
1979 – Invasion of Afghanistan
This war is sometimes referred to as the “Soviet Vietnam.” The first phase began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and their first battles with various opposition groups. Soviet troops entered Afghanistan along two ground routes and one air corridor, quickly taking control of urban centers, military bases and strategic installations.
1985 - Present
While the fifties through the eighties provided much reform to the soviet union, the now weakened society was about to face its final blow and unravel.1986: Chernobyl
A nuclear meltdown at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant caused great panic in the Soviet Union. The area remains inhospitable to this day, and radioactive readings are off the charts. This caused a considerable blow to this industry in Russia.
1990: The Baku Conflict
Soviet troops went into Baku to put an end to the Popular Front, an oppositional political party. The troops shot into crowds of protesters, anover the course of three days. The country entered a state of emergency. The soldiers used bullets designed specifically to cause as much damage as possible to the human body.
January 13th, 1991
Soviet troops took control of a TV tower to take down the nationalist media. 14 unarmed people died, and hundreds were injured.
Devember 25th, 1991
Faced with recent events, Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR, and declared the office "extinct." This marked the end of the USSR, and all Soviet institutions ended their operations.