Russia:
History and geography
AP Comparative Government & Politics
geography
 Russia is extremely large (spanning eleven time zones) and is
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located predominantly on the continent of Asia
The size over time has led to a series of powerful centralized
forms of governing
Russia is historically open to invasion from both the east and
west, although many attempts have been thwarted by harsh
winters
Russia is divided by the Ural Mountains, with the European
portion on the west and the Asian portion of the east (west is
most populated by far)
Siberia in the east is a desolate wasteland, with extreme weather
making it difficult to settle and hard to extract resources
Russia is predominantly land-locked as well (totally until St.
Petersburg) and has been a constant struggle throughout history
The Slavic people
 Most numerous peoples in
Europe (languages are very
similar throughout region
orally, but differ east to west
in written form)
 Catholic (Poles, Czechs, etc.)
vs. Orthodox (Russians)
 Russian Slavs missed most
of the Enlightenment era in
western European nations
(Tatar rule)
autocracy
 Ivan the Terrible (1530-
1584)- set the tone for future
leaders of Russia as
tyrannical enforcers (expands
the territory by force)
 Made Moscow the most
powerful hub in Russia
(“Third Rome”)
 Russian autocracy under tsar
was absolute (implemented
with no limited government,
checks and balances, or
pluralism)
Absolutism or anarchy?
 Fusion of Orthodox Church
and government gave a sense
of legitimacy to strong,
absolute tsars
 The role of the individual and
the citizens’ rights were
secondary to the autocracy
 1400’s and 1500’s saw
feudalist methods (serfdom)
surface in Russia (at same
time they were being phased
out in western societies)
Forced Modernization
 Peter the Great (1682-1725)
 First tsar in Russian history to
visit western Europe
 After defeating Sweden in
battle, Peter founded St.
Petersburg as new
“westernized” Russian port to
the Baltic
 Set up government based upon
western model (higher taxes,
military drafts, noble
bureaucratic rule)
 Caused class separation (would
define population for centuries)
To Westernize or not to Westernize?
 Napoleonic conquest of Russia and capture of Moscow
invigorated a sense to some Russian intellectuals that their
nation was extremely “backwards” compared to their
neighbors in western Europe
 Westernizers- sought to bring in western ideals (political and
institutional reform)
 Slavophiles- nationalists who dismissed westernization at all
cost (“Russia will teach the world”)
 Still the basis for modern-day Liberals (pro-West) and
Conservatives (anti-West)
Frustration to Revolution
 Tsars rejected
modernization and
constitutional monarchy
throughout the 19th
century.
 1861 Alexander II-Edict of
Emancipation
 Lack of political reform in
proportion to economic
reform planted seeds for
revolt.
Alexander II of Russia
Marxism
 Marxism was not ideal for
Karl Marx
Russia due to a
disproportionate agriculture
to industry relationship.
 Despite this, Russia’s
intellectuals were desperate
for political reform in the
form of Marxism.
 The party eventually
morphed into a private
organization for security
reasons- headed by Vladimir
Lenin. (Bolsheviks)
Road to Revolution
 Defeat in Russo-Japanese
war in 1905 prompts Tsar
Nicholas II to accelerate
political reform.
 Freedom of speech, press,
assembly, and democratic
election of the Duma
 Multiple incarnations of
the Duma were elected and
quickly ousted for being
overly critical.
Tsar Nicholas II
World War I and aftermath…
 Russia’s military failure in
WWI vs. German forces
began a domino effect which
involved an economic
collapse.
 March 1917-Tsar Nicholas II
abdicated and a provisional
government put in place.
 German government sends
“sealed train” carrying Lenin
and other Bolsheviks to the
heart of tumultuous Russia.
Lenin
 Lenin tweaked the practical application of Marxism to make
it conducive to Russia’s situation, calling it democratic
centralism.
 This group of leaders, or the “vanguard”, was meant to steer
the government because the people were seen as too disorganized to steer themselves.
 Shortly the Bolsheviks seized control through revolution and
Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR)
Lenin
 Lenin’s “New Economic Policy” was actually tolerant, if not
encouraging, to much production in the private sector.
 However, the lack of industrial development gave rise to a
push for more central control in order to compete with
western neighbors.
 Upon his death in 1924 with no successor named, thus
giving rise to Joseph Stalin
Stalinism
 Placed the Communist
Party at the center of
control
 Only about 7% of the
population actually joined
the party, with
membership being dictated
by political elites
 Slain was General
Secretary of the Politburo
(group of twelve party
members who ran USSR)
Collectives/ Industrialization
 Agricultural land was
centralized and called
“collectives”
 Meant to furnish food source
for new industrial working
class
 Gosplan coordinates new “Five
Year Plan” to radically
reallocate LLC into industrial
production
 Any resistance to the regime’s
plans were met with force
and brutality (Stalinism;
totalitarianism)
Stalin’s Foreign Policy
 Signed a non-aggression pact with Hitler in 1939 as Poland
was invaded, but it was eventually broken
 Tension with fellow Allied Powers in WWII eventually leads
to Cold War after the war concludes (Korea, Vietnam, etc.)
 Purges under Stalin came to define his leadership, as he
obsessively executed party members in the Central
Committee and Politburo.
 All foreign policy trends under Stalin helped fuel the need
for industrialization over agriculture (main initiative)