Russia+and+China+1914+-+Present

1. In Depth pg 684 A Century of Revolutions - Rural discontent major factor in surge of revolutions (population pressure, resentment against land owners) - Many handicraft workers displaced by new changes in the industrial revolution - Educated elite became devoted to revolutionary movements - Wars contributed to internal revolutions through overcommitment of resources and neglect of soldiers - Intellectual dealings also crucial - Marx, Lenin, Mao Zedong, Ho Chi Minh --> wanted to perfect society, especially for downtrodden and underrepresented groups - Anti-Western and nationalist sentiment also played a role to some extent Marginalization of poorer economic classes (handicraft workers in Mexico, urban laborers in Russia and China), partly as a result of increased industrialization, lead to support for radical govt. groups that opposed the existing governments. These three revolutions all stemmed from poor economic conditions in the lower classes; however, the revolutions in Russia and China were markedly more anti-Western than the revolution in Mexico.

2. Outline Notes on Russia Notes pg 681- 685 Revolution in Russia Main Idea: A communist uprising lead Russia away from its tsarist roots towards a nationalist and authoritarian government structure. - Food and labor shortages lead to strikes in 1917 --> liberal interim government (Alexander Kerensky --> wanted parliamentary democracy) - October Revolution - Bolsheviks w/ leader Lenin from the Communist party take control - Lenin shuts down Russian parliament (replaced by Congress of Soviets) - Rest of the world shocked and surprised by Soviet revolution - Internal revolutions pressured the new govt. b/c of resentment of govt. takeover of industry and land + general disillusionment over the state of the Russian economy - Leon Trotsky created Red Army (offered form of social mobility) - Lenin issues New Economic Policy --> promised new freedom for small business owners and peasant landowners - By 1923 revolution clearly succeeded and multinational charter recognized the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - New govt. system offered illusion of parliamentary democracy, but in reality Russia = authoritarian state controlled by communists - Educational reform encouraged popular culture to head in direction of Communist political analysis and science - Stalin gained control; focused on internal improvements of Russian socialism --> cracked down on opponents, accelerated industrial development and began a collectivization program that took land away from peasants

Notes pg 698-703 Stalinism in the Soviet Union Main Idea: The Soviet Union saw dramatic reformations, trending towards industrialization (without westernization) and authoritarianism, under Stalin and a new communist government. - Effects of the Great Depression buffered in Soviet Union by separate economy - Stalin sought to make Russia and industrialized nation through government intervention rather than through private enterprise --> Collectivization --> large state-run farms rather than individual peasant holdings --> helped in terms of efficiency, mechanization, and source for capital for communist govt. - Collectivization adopted amidst rural resistance, and had mixed results - Stalin's five-year-plan ---> heavy industrialization (metallurgy, mining, electric power) without westernization (echoes of Peter the Great) --> Russia becomes world third industrial power behind Germany and the United States - Still, some inefficiencies plagued Soviet system, which relied on centralized allocation of goods rather than private enterprise (certain quotas and limits) - Effects of urbanization took toll on urban workers, but communist welfare policy helped to alleviate some pressure - No strikes, no complaints, no legal outlet for worker grievances (laborers met informally) - Socialist realism (glorifying workers, laborers, and soldiers) grew as a art form; western art forms banned - Police crackdown on "imaginary crimes" and govt. takes control of media - Soviet Union unable to deal with Germany through the West; instead signed a peace treaty in 1939 that bought them time to prepare for war

Notes pg. 750-759 Eastern Europe After WWII Main Idea: Russia maintained a sphere of influence over Eastern Europe after WWII, installing communist governments loyal to the Soviet Union in the "eastern bloc." - Russia wanted to extend a sphere of influence over Eastern Europe to serve as a buffer against the West; done through militarization and strategic treaties - Gained leverage in countries like North Korea, China, Vietnam + other countries in the Middle East, Africa, and Latin America and Eastern European nations - Superpower status confirmed by the manufacturing of nuclear weapons - Although technically independent, many Eastern European nations had communist movements propped up by the Soviet Union and other opponents marginalized (the notable exceptions being Greece, Albania, and Serbia) - Several economic schemes (collectivization and five-year plans) adopted in these nations - Warsaw Pact formed an alliance in response to NATO - Berlin Wall built to stop people from escaping Soviet controlled part of Berlin - New, more liberal movements in Eastern Europe, particularly Hungary and Czechoslovakia; but crushed by the Soviet Union - Gradually, grip over Eastern Europe gradually decreased, allowing for some limited diversity in the region - Soviets continued military presence in Eastern Europe - Soviet sphere became increasingly isolated, as travel banned, and US + West portrayed as evil aggressors - Omnipresent government controls, increased social welfare programs, more widespread educations markers of post WWII Soviet Union - Religion attacked (Orthodox church, Jews) - May Day parades and educational systems helped to build sense of nationalism and loyalty to the govt. - Western literature and other forms of cultural expression banned; Soviet cultural expression diverse but still monitored by the govt. - Scientists enjoyed great prestige and Soviet invested a lot of capital into science, but there were limits that came to theories that questioned Marxist ideals - Heavy industrialized country, but lagged behind the West in consumer goods --> focused more on military armaments etc. - Agricultural sector still continued to struggle to meet demand - Many factories did incentivize work on small scale - Sports remained important; communist party maintained sports programs that went on to win many international competitions - Social classes still visible in society; women forced to work alongside men - Shared many characteristics in terms of family structure, work rhythms, and vacations with the West - Khrushchev took power after Stalin; spoke about reform, but little changed - However, political opponents saw less over oppression - New Siberia land program --> led to quiet Krushchev downfall - Lower Cold War tensions... but still Cuban Missile Crisis, space race, economic competition, arms race, Olympics, chess etc. - Rift with China - Invasion of Afghanistan in order to prop up puppet regime - Problems with work ethic towards 1980s, with lack of consumer culture, high rates of alcoholism etc.

Notes pg. 841 - 847 Explosion of the 1980s and 1990s Main Idea: The Soviet Union fell apart after it adopted semi-Western economic and government policies. - Soviet control over Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union itself unraveled as a result of poor economic performance and costs of competing against the United States militarily - Mikhail Gorbachev helped to move Soviet Union in different direction; allowed for more media criticism, Western styles of dress, reduction agreements with the US over nuclear disarmament - Policy of glasnost allowed for more transparency - Adopted an ambiguous relationship with Western cultural and economic structures - Slowly motioned towards further involvement in the global economy - Economic policy of perestroika pushed towards more private ownership and decentralized control over agriculture and industry - Gave more power to parliament --> Congress of the People's Deputies - Nationalist agitations in the Balkans + Muslims and Armenian Christians to the South - From this new Soviet approach, several Eastern European countries like East Germany, Hungary, and Poland adopted new democratic, noncommunist govts. - Berlin Wall and Germany was reunified in 1991 - Political boundaries in Eastern Europe complicated by ethnic and nationalist impulses - Motion towards market economies; but many Eastern European countries were unable to fully adapt - Soviet troops pulled out of Eastern Europe - By 1991, leaders of major republican declared an end to the Soviet Union - Boris Yeltsin took over as Russian president - Disputes about how breakup would occur remained uncertain - Russia resisted full adoption full market economy - Economy performed badly; corruption --> decline of Yeltsin - Civil war in Muslim area of Chechnya - Putin gained power in 1991 --> attacked opponents and repressed media outlets

3. Leadership Analysis: Joseph Stalin  - October revolution overthrew tsarist regime; replaced by communist govt. headed by Lenin  - Country shift towards authoritarianism / heavy govt. involvement and control  - Anti-Western sentiments held by leaders  - Peasants + lower classes still poor economic state ||  - Wished to maintain authoritarian controls  - Wanted to industrialize Russia, without westernizing Russia  - Supported further incursions into the economy by the government; did not support private enterprise + foreign investment  - Believed in creating a strong military in order to counter growing German military and industrial strength ||  - Collectivism - seized all agricultural land in order to make agricultural sector more efficient and mechanized, in addition to creating a source of capital for the government - 5 Year Plan - Achieved in making Soviet Union one of the biggest industrial economies in the world, without private enterprise; but still some inefficiencies in the system - WWII - beat back the Germans at Stalingrad; pretty much won WWII for the good side - Condemned religion, Western artistic expression ||  - Set initial parameters for the Cold War (Yalta Conference, Potsdam Conference) - Helped to ease some of the suffering felt by the lower classes through social programs || Long-Term Effects  - Set an economic, political, and military precedent for future Soviet leaders to follow  - Became a symbol of Soviet nationalism and communism ||
 * Name of Leader: Joseph Stalin ||
 * Lifespan: 18 December 1878 – 5 March 1953 || Title: Chairman of the Council of Ministers ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Country/region: Soviet Union || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Years in Power: 6 May 1941 – 5 March 1953 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ideology, Motivation, Goals:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Significant Actions & events During Term of Power
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Short-Term effects:

4. Thesis Statements

After the October Revolution, Russia adopted a communist, authoritarian government that was heavily involved in Russian agriculture and industry. This system of government persisted in Russia for around 60 years, although during that period of time there were some motions towards some semi-Western concepts of free market economies, parliamentary elections, and other Western cultural movements.

Russian society, despite many of its own distinctive and traditional values, has become more Westernized since 1914, despite its sometimes staunch resistance to certain aspects of Western culture.

5. Outline Notes on China Notes pgs 685 - 689 Toward Revolution in China Main Idea: Following the collapse of the Qing dynasty, China entered a period of turbulent political leadership; the Nationalist party was eventually able to gain precarious control over large portions of China despite incessant communist resistance. - Fall of the Qing dynasty and little boy emperor leads to the eventual rise of Communist party and Mao Zedong - Post Qing political landscape in China complicated and disjointed - Yuan Shikai gained power in 1912 for a couple of years; but eventually forced out of office after he muddled dealings with Japan - May the Fourth movement initially meant to transform China into a liberal democracy (wanted to promoted Western values as well) - But more radical dealings needed to topple warlords --> rise of leftist political thinkers - LI Dazhao headed Marxist study circle; placed heavy emphasis on capacity for promoting renewal and ability to harness the "energy and vitality of a nation's youth"; wanted China to rise up against Western influence in the country - Mao Zedong, student of Li Dazhao, thought Western imperialist powers betrayed China and like the prospect of an authoritarian govt. that could intervene to stop those abuses - Whampoa Military Academy helped to train Chinese soldiers; Chiang Kai-shek was the first head - Nationalist party unable to help in social reforms --> left Chinese peasants and workers in miserable economic conditions - Chiang was eventually able to take control of the nationalist party and unify China - Communists, after being beaten back by the Nationalists, established a new center at Shanxi, where 90,000 followers migrated to in the Long March

Notes pgs 823 - 830 Mao's China and Beyond Main Idea: China's communist revolution and economic maturation after the death of Mao Zedong has propelled China into a period of global preeminence. - Japanese invasion of China played into the hands of the communist party - By 1949, the communists had ousted the Japanese from China and formed the People's Republic of China; Chiang and his followers in the Nationalist party fled to Japan - Mao was able to win support of the people through land reform, access to education, and improved health care (instead of theft, rape, and murder by Chiang's soldiers) - Lin Bao and Zedong forces were also more militarily skilled than Nationalist opposition - Communists created a govt. framework based on party cadres and the People's Liberation Army - Established Chinese dominance in the region through interventions in Korea, Vietnam, and repressions of rebellions in Inner Mongolia and Tibet - Rift w/ Soviet Union after death of Stalin - First non-industrialized nation to test a nuclear weapon - Executed many former landlords and gave land back the peasant classes - However, Mao and other leaders looked towards growth of the industrial sector as way of China to gain power - Mass Line approach in 1955 began with the formation of agricultural cooperatives; govt. eventually took back land from the peasants - Imprisoned dissenters who offered criticism of communist govt. - Great Leap Forward (1958) - attempt by Zedong to industrialize China again (less emphasis placed on agricultural) - "backyard furnaces" --> Was a disaster --> lead to Chinese famine, bunch of ppl died - Population controls were unsuccessful and things broke down - Mao lost power to the pragmatists (Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqui, Deng Xiaoping) - Jiang Qing, wife of Mao, fought off Nationalist perceptions that women were meant to be domestic servants to their husbands - Revolution ushered in legal equality for women, but still had to fight cultural perceptions (arranged marriages still common in rural areas) - Women also started to work outside of the home - Still, men ruled the upper echelons of government - Cultural Revolution + little red books --> Mao fought off political adversaries and mobilized Chinese people against technocrat elite and centralized state in order to restore Chinese revolutionary fervor against the West and for Mao's govt. - Gang of Four contested power against Mao; but pragmatists were eventually able to seize power and push China towards more Western reforms - China, as result of communists, were able to redistribute wealth the poorest faction of society (so that they were at least better off than pre communist China) - China now seeing surging economic growth with mixed state-capitalist economy + needs to be able to provide good economic conditions for the lowest classes

6. In Depth - pgs 848-849 Democratic Protest and Repression in China - On June 4, 1989 Chinese troops marched on political protesters in Tienanmen Square, killing hundreds - Incident representative of Chinese struggle with authoritarian rule and economic change Document detailed Chinese rationale for crackdown and explained Chinese communist traditions --> wanted to curb turmoil and restore order --> protests disturbed the normal order of production, work, study, and everyday life --> tried to extend arm to protesters, but they're unreasonable --> unless govt. action swift and sound, China will descend into choas --> some students committed to genuine change and reform, but are going about it in the wrong way --> Chinese govt were initially tolerant/ have nothing against students, but has to take resolute and decisive measures in order to end turmoil

Li Peng objects to the protest movement because he believes it disrupts the flow and organization of Chinese society. He claims that the government is sympathetic to the student's demands, but also says that the way the students are voicing their protests is not productive. His arguments over order and hierarchy resemble more traditional Chinese values and traditions. The Chinese decided to repress political democracy because it would result in weaker authoritarian control by the ruling class.

7. Leadership Analysis: Mao Zedong <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Nationalist party abuses and exploits peasantry, who are in devastated economic state <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Japanese bearing down upon China, invading Manchuria and threatening Chinese sovereignty <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Western nations "betray" Chinese in terms of economic policy and diplomatic relations following WWI || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Wished to create authoritarian state that could combat country's problems <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Staunchly opposed Western nations + ideology <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Drew power from support of peasants and masses <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Visions of industrializing China || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Seized control of a unified China from the nationalist party <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Established a communist government system based on party cadres and the People's Liberation Army - Extended Chinese influence in several Asian conflicts (Korea, Vietnam, border war with India, repression of revolution in Mongolia and Tibet). - Relieved peasant class of miserable economic conditions through reforms keyed towards raising their standard of living - The Great Leap Forward - failed attempt at industrializing the Chinese economy --> leads to mass starvation and cripples economy - "The Great Step Backward" - Cultural Revolution- final resurgence of influence of Mao Zedong; tried to restore enthusiasm for communist govt. and anti-Western views || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Helped to ease the suffering the peasant class through economic reforms - Created a communist Chinese govt. that was in no way a puppet regime of the Soviet Union || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Long-Term Effects <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> - Set an economic, political, and military precedent for future Chinese governments to follow <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Remained a symbol of Chinese nationalism and distinction from Western World ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Name of Leader: Mao Zedong ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Lifespan: December 26, 1893 – September 9, 1976 || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Title: 1st Chairman of the Communist Party of China ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Country/region: China || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Years in Power: March 20, 1943 – September 9, 1976 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Political, Social, & Economic Conditions Prior to Leaders Gaining Power
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ideology, Motivation, Goals:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Significant Actions & events During Term of Power
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Short-Term effects:

8. China Thesis Statements

China, after being in political disarray following the fall of the Qing dynasty, sought and found a stable regime in the communist, authoritarian government of Mao Zedong. This government has been able to maintain political power to the present day, but several aspects of this communist political structure have been amended to accommodate a mostly free-market economy among other things.

Chinese society since 1914 has strayed away from many of its traditional Confucian values in the face of a new communist government. Still, Chinese ideas of hierarchy, work ethic, respect for elders is still evident today within Chinese society.

9. Essay 1: Compare 20th Century political developments in China and Russia.

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10. Essay 2: Compare and contrast 20th century social developments in China and Russia. Be sure to discuss the changing roles of women.

Thesis Statement:

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