Lenin also revised Marxist thought to emphasize its international dimension highlighting how imperialist nations exploited their colonies exacerbating the problems of class struggle. He believed that Russia would lead a worldwide movement of liberation from the oppression of bourgeois capitalism. He immediately began to collectivize agricultural lands creating large state-run farms, expand industrial output, repress religion and close churches, and purge all opposition.
It is estimated that as many as 10 million people died during the man-made famine of , and an additional 7 million people were killed and million arrested during the purges of They were caught off guard when they were attacked by Nazi Germany in June of With great sacrifice, the Russians stopped the Nazi advance and slowly began to push them back. The siege of Leningrad lasted days and as many as one million people died of disease and starvation before it was broken in January Figes, By the end of the war, 27 million people in Soviet Russia especially many Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians, Latvians, and Estonians, and many of the civilian victims were Jews had died but the country emerged with control of vast territory in Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
Word War II or The Great Patriotic War as it is known in Russia mobilized all of its resources including more than one million women who served with the Soviet armed forces as medics, scouts, snipers, and communication operators and in combat positions in the infantry, artillery, armored tank and anti-aircraft divisions Pennington, During the Stalin era, especially, there were many dissidents whose voices were silenced and marginalized.
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn — awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in was expelled from the USSR in and Andrei Sakharov — awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in was later arrested and lived much of his life under forced internal exile.
Under communism, old aristocratic ideas were abandoned for new proletarian ones where science and a mechanized collectivism would transform the world, where faith in religion would be replaced by scientific progress.
Communism called for the abolition of private ownership over the means of production, state control of everyday life, and subordination of the individual to the power of the bureaucracy.
While the socialist ideal called for equality and the destruction of hierarchy, it especially targeted the privileges afforded to both the well-educated and religious institutions Shafarevich, , 44, The Soviet economy largely operated on plans from above rather than consumer demand from below. While very successful as a tool of industrialization, the planned economy did not necessarily promote individual initiative or innovation. It has been highly criticized for lacking quality and competitiveness.
Solzhenitsyn criticized the communist state for usurping land ownership from peasants, political power from trade unions, and voice from minority communities Solzhenitsyn, , Under such a competitive nationalistic framework, the United States and Russia viewed compromise and accommodation as forms of unpatriotic treachery.
He called for the USSR and the United States to find common interests, to cease being antagonists, and ensure respect for human rights 8. He was critical of unfettered freedom devoid of moral responsibility and immersed in protecting its own self-interests. He called for both social justice and the renunciation of violence, for free will in joining the social contract. After Stalin died, Nikita Khrushchev takes over denouncing Stalin in a secret speech and releases 5 million people from the gulags forced labor camps that housed mainly political prisoners.
The Cold War begins with stalemates dividing East and West Berlin and North and South Korea, leading to divisiveness in other parts of the world and increases in arms sales. In , Soviet-supported Nasser began carrying out a proxy war in Yemen that spread into Saudi Arabia resulting in increased military support to Saudi Arabia from the United States Bronson, , pp.
During the Cold War the Soviet Union was seen as the primary threat to those interests Sick, , p. In , when the British announced their intention of reducing their presence in the Middle East, the United States looked to partner with Iran and Saudi Arabia in order to counter the threat of Soviet expansion. The U. Khrushchev was succeeded by Leonid Brezhnev in By , life expectancy reached 70 years and the Soviet Union had the highest ratio of doctors to population in the world.
Furthermore, in , 85 percent of all working-age women were employed, the highest percentage in the industrialized world Smith, 72, Smith, , 29 People relied on blat, reciprocal favors from connections providing access that were more valuable than money. Certainly, by the early s the costs of war abroad had seriously undermined the Soviet economy fueling disillusionment if not despair at home.
Between and the USSR had three successive leadership changes. Mikhail Gorbachev was elected general secretary by the politburo in March inheriting dismal prospects - most notably a stagnant economy, poor agricultural productivity, substandard housing, declining life expectancy and rising infant mortality. His first unexpected crisis was the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in April He recognized how military power and expenditures had been generally unproductive and that there was a need to shift focus and find a way to empower people to become more competitively engaged in the global economy.
He was also particularly focused on curbing nuclear proliferation and the arms race. The opening up of reforms in Soviet Russia soon spread in unexpected ways throughout the region. In , concerned about the slow pace of reforms in Russia and the collapse of Soviet rule in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States, Russia becomes an independent state under pro-democracy President Boris Yeltsin, the first freely elected leader in Russian history, and soon thereafter formed the Commonwealth of Independent States CIS first with Belorussia and Ukraine and then adding Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Moldova, Armenia and Azerbaijan.
However, there were many hurdles and roadblocks to joining these European and Global Institutions, and the CIS proved to be a very loose federation with each of the members pursuing their own interests and memberships in these international organizations, and each establishing its own currency. Russia offered CIS nations below market prices for commodities such as oil and gas, asking in return that these countries not enter into external defense treaties or allow foreign military bases to be established in the region but this tactic largely failed and soon Russia was increasing prices to assert greater control Donaldson et al, Continued NATO expansion was based on old fears of the potential for Russian aggression and was viewed by Russia as a broken promise that limited their influence in partnering to resolve regional conflicts.
Immediately following the breakup of the Soviet Union, several conflicts arose in the former republics including civil war in Tajikistan, two secessionist movements in Georgia South Ossetia and Abkhazia , the war over Nagorno-Karabakh in Azerbaijan and Armenia, and the independence struggle of the Trans-Dniester region in Moldova, all of which contributed to these fears and to declining regional trade.
The total volume of trade between Russia and the former Soviet Republics dropped by half between and In , despite pledges of 1. It is estimated that by mid, more than 40 million Russians were living below the poverty line. The biggest conflicts in the region testing the evolving relationship between Russia and the West NATO were the wars in the Balkans and the war in Chechnya.
The West did not question the right of Russia to assert authority over Chechnya but it did object to the brutality of fighting forces and the killing of civilians. Russia charged that the violations of human rights were being committed by Chechen rebels.
The two-year war in Chechnya ended in with a compromise agreement providing some local autonomy to the region. Indeed, the West was treating Russia this way in its refusal to involve them more closely in actions in Kosovo. Yeltsin was also increasingly seen as undemocratic following a Constitutional crisis and legislative power- struggle that included his impeachment and bombardment of the Russian White House in Terrorist attacks by Chechen rebels involving over hostages at hospitals in Budyonnovsk in , and Kizlar in continued to force the question of how to deal with the region.
In , Yeltsin and Chechen leader Aslan Maskhadov signed an agreement that was to extend autonomy, end hostilities, and follow the rules of law. Of special note, Chechnya is strategically important because it provides a vital link in the flow of oil from Baku, Azerbaijan to the Black Sea port of Novorossik Donaldson et al, , Comparatively, the level of concern and regulation over the placement of oil and gas infrastructure between the United States, Canada and Mexico as regards to environmental protection and impact studies pales with the security risks and economic competition over the placement of oil and gas pipelines in the Baltic, Caucasus, Caspian Sea and Central Asia regions.
Throughout the region of the former Soviet Republics, the process of controlling oil and gas resources and supply pipelines is highly contested. Economic growth was accompanied by the rise of oligarchs - a small number of people who gained control of a large share of what had earlier been state assets as the Soviet economy privatized — who were getting rich very quickly.
Some of these Oligarchs have treated Russia like their own personal property while others invested in building a stronger civil society through supporting democratic institutions such as a free press Gessen, A number of high profile corruption and murder cases have emerged in recent years including cases involving not just oligarchs but also political dissidents such as: the arrests of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Gusinsky, Dmitry Rozhdestvensky, Pussy Riot, Alexei Navalny, and the deaths of Sergei Yushenkov, Alexander Litvinenko, Boris Berezovsky, Galina Starovoitova, Anna Politkovskaya, Sergei Magnitsky, and Boris Nemtsov.
In , Chechnya invaded the Dagestan region of Russia and Yeltsin appointed Vladimir Putin to put down the incursion. This was followed by several terrorist bombings in different cities across Russia including two in Moscow that resulted in more than deaths and led Putin to initiate a full-scale war on Chechnya producing hundreds of thousands of refugees Gessen, , Later that year, Yeltsin resigns and Putin becomes his successor.
Putin wins the election for President in Since he became president, Vladimir Putin has worked to concentrate power and eliminate critics and competitors. Putin won a landslide victory for re-election in In , Dmitry Medvedev becomes president and appoints Putin prime minister as he is ineligible to run for a third consecutive term. Russia also has a large domestic market and well-educated workforce.
Russia has joined the International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organization but continues to be very dependent on oil and gas revenues which have been subject to significant price fluctuations effecting economic stability.
Gazprom has a near monopoly on natural gas production and transport in Russia and about 17 percent of the world gas production, 18 percent of estimated reserves and 15 percent of the global transport network Donaldson et al, Unfortunately, Russia has poor protection of property rights, relatively high levels of corruption, increasing state ownership, and an unpredictable judicial system Guriev, , But Russia needs to develop good relations with Ukraine and its other neighbors through diplomacy not force of arms.
The biggest threats to Russia are not European expansionism and certainly not the ambitions of neighbors and important potential trading partners like Ukraine, rather it stems from on-going destabilizing conflict in the Middle East.
Russia has played and can play a productive role in Syria as it did with the removal of chemical weapons. It would be interesting to consider what influence the Moscow Patriarchate might have in regards to policies or relief efforts on behalf of Syrian Orthodox Christians. Therefore, it is critical the U. There will not be real or lasting security in the region without stable cooperation with Russia. To summarize some of the main points of this essay, Russia has tended to have strong leaders with centralized control.
It is a predominantly Christian society with diverse ethnic populations and neighbors. It has suffered and sacrificed greatly through serfdom, war, and famine but remained very patriotic, hard-working and high-achieving in both science and the arts.
It has been very conscious of protecting its interests through strategic defense and diplomacy working to maintain a balance-of-power approach in its foreign policy and international relations.
It is a country facing unique and challenging circumstances as it negotiates a new identity with its neighbors in the broader global society. It is working to build trust and rapport with countries long suppressed and neglected under the Soviet sphere of influence during the Cold War period. The storied history of U.
Real collaboration in joint problem-solving efforts has been lacking, collaboration in space exploration being one exception and disarmament another. Direct trade with Russia has also been limited. We must learn from such mistakes rather than allowing them to become self-fulfilling prophecies where participants become complicit in a never-ending narrative of distrust and fear. A paradigm shift from a worldview of competing empires to one of mutual responsibility is critically needed.
The conditions for building such a mutual transformation rest on the development of trust and solidarity through practical experience and engagement in shared problem-solving. At the time of writing this essay, Great Britain had just voted to withdraw from the European Union, indicating, in part, a level of distrust in shared governance over the processes of collaborative global problem-solving.
However, it may be that greater local control and autonomy will best afford opportunities to act responsibly and make choices for the common good. The vote itself is an important educational process informing both the public and the leadership.
Election results do not always tell us what we want to hear but when done fairly and openly it promotes open debate and a better understanding of the issues.
Rather than blaming others, people need to recognize the creative power of diverse human relationships across communities and cultures.
War is costly and wasteful but we should not think that building coalitions and collaborations is inexpensive or easily accomplished. It takes time and patience to develop trust and understanding.
What is clear is that Russia is a critical partner for promoting a peaceful future. It is a country that has played an integral role shaping the current context of international relationships and it no doubt will continue to do so.
Fears over security should not result in unilateral action, instead they are best addressed through engagement in relationship building efforts. Wars cannot be won anymore and there are no longer any superpowers Carnegie Council, We live today in an interdependent world inextricably bound together.
The Year of Russia does not represent an unconditional celebration of the nation rather it aims to provide a critical forum for discussion in learning about the country, from various perspectives and in context, in order to improve relations.
Please join us for what promises to be a very valuable interdisciplinary educational experience on our campus. Ahmed, Leila Bronson, Rachel Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
International Security and the Need for U. Cohen, Jack F. Speedie Feb. Donaldson, Robert H. Armonk, New York: Me. Fromkin, David New York, NY: Holt. New York: Riverhead Books. Karpat, K. Yildirim Eds. Seattle, WA: Cune Press. Bloomington: Indiana Press. London: Penguin Books. New York: Harcourt. New York: Oxford University Press. Potter Ed. University of California Press. New York: Three Rivers Press.
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