Russia Flashcards
How many states formed from the collapse of the Soviet Union?
15
Russia’s world rank in land area.
First
Russia’s world rank in population.
9th (less than half of the U.S.)
Dominant natural resources.
Timber, oil, and natural gas.
Predominantly urban or rural?
Urban (74% of population live in urban areas.)
Number of time zones included in Russia.
11
Russian form of government pre-1917
Autocratic, patrimonial state, headed by a czar.
Patrimonial State
System of government in which the ruler treats the state as personal property.
Russo-Japanese War
1904-1905 war fought over competing imperial ambitions in what is now China and Korea.
Who won the Russo-Japanese War
Japan
1905 Revolution
Worker discontent and frustration over loss of Russo-Japanese war as well as continued repression sparked a revolt. Czar maintained control through economic reform and continued repression.
Proletariat
Working class.
Revolution of 1917
Czarthreplaced by moderate provisional government that was quickly overthrown by Bolsheviks.
Bolsheviks
Revolutionary Marxist faction
Marxism
Collection of ideas connecting history, economics, and politics in which Marx argues the power relationship between capitalists and workers is inherently exploitative and would lead to class conflict and eventual revolution in which the workers would prevail.
Karl Marx
Author of “Communist Manifesto” and “Das Kapital” in which he laid-out his ideas that eventually came to be known as Marxism.
Vladimir Lenin
Leader of the Bolsheviks
Slogan of the Bolsheviks
“Land, Peace, and Bread” – appealed to both the working class and peasants which, combined, made up 80% of the population.
Key Pillars of Bolshevik strategy
Democratic Centralism and vanguardism
Democratic Centralism
Hierarchical party system developed by Lenin and in which party leaders were, at least formally, elected from below, but required to maintain discipline and loyalty to the party in implementing decisions.
vanguardism
claiming to operate in the “true” interests of the group being represented even if that doesn’t correspond to the expressed interests of the group being represented. In other words a system where the ruling party claims to know what the people want better than the people do.
USSR
Union of Soviet Socialists Republics, formed in 1922
1918 - 1921
Bolshevik civil war resulting from state control of key economic sectors and forced requisitioning of grain from peasants (war communism).
USSR 1920s
State control of economy slightly loosened, authoritarian strains eclipse democratic elements, global isolation from WWI allies as foreign holdings were seized, and internal struggles following Lenin’s death in 1924.