... those who were politically radical and even revolutionary. The university became a seat of revolutionary activity: nihilism, anarchism, and later Marxism were espoused and propagated. The reforms of Alexander II brought the emancipation of the serfs and opened the way for industrial development. However, emancipation imposed harsh economic conditions on the peasants and did not satisfy their need ... those who were politically radical and even revolutionary. The university became a seat of revolutionary activity: nihilism, anarchism, and later Marxism were espoused and propagated. The re...

• Word Count: 1850
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... under the Tsar's rule peasants had minimum wages and lived in poverty. Although the peasants had been freed from serfdom in 1861 by Tsar Alexander II, they still had restrictions on how they lived. The land on which they grew their food was not given to them individually but ... Nicholas was unprepared to rule Russia, a country of immense population of one hundred and twenty five million. This was because Nicholas predecessor and father, Alexander III, died earlier than expected, this meant he was not trained to become the Tsar. Nicholas had very poor leadership, this was shown when in ...

• Word Count: 2288
• Approx Pages: 9

... the fact that reform failed whereas terror sustained the soviet system for seven decades. Reforms like the Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861 and Army reform in 1870 under Tsar Alexander II seemed successful in preserving autocracy for a limited time only, as these reforms didn't mean better living standards, this led to the growth of discontent and oppositional threats. The establishment ... of the secret police, the Okhrana was successful to an extent in preserving autocracy during 1855-1900 as they prevented earlier assassination attempts on the life of Tsar Alexander II but did not a...

• Word Count: 1853
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Weak Tsar Nicholas Alexandrovich Romanov II assumed power upon the death of his father, a strong Tsar, Tsar Alexander III. Alexander was the latest in a line that had held reign over the Russian empire for nearly 300 years. A reign that began with a Tsar that leaves little to doubt in his methods ... of Romanov crest. Nicholas was raised under a very strong, determined man, not only in mentality, but also in physical stature. The Russian did not love Alexander III anymore than other Tsars, but he commanded their loyalty. Alexander III ruled by fear. He epitomized the Russian ideal of what a ...

• Word Count: 1802
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... only trouble in their family. Fourteen month later tragedy struck again. In March of 1887 the police in St. Petersburg discovered that a group of dissident students were plotting to assassinate Alexander III: Aleksandr Ulyanov was on of the students arrested in the roundup that followed. He had been using his knowledge of chemistry to manufacture bombs intended for the assassination of ... Alexander III. The same fate that Alexander II had suffered in 1887. They also arrested Aleksandr's sister Anna, who was also studying in St. Petersburg at that time. On May 20, 1887 Aleksandr and ......

• Word Count: 2174
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... of three workers " some 3 million people "have lost their jobs. The largest decline was in the industrial sector; there, more than 1.7 million jobs were lost " (Dornbusch, Rudiger, Wolf, Alexander 239). However, jobs were lost in all different branches of the economy. For a little while in Eastern Germany, short-time work or side jobs covered up the unemployment, by the ... time January 1992 rolled around, 1.3 million workers were considered unemployed (Dornbusch, Rudiger, Wolf, Alexander 239). Much of the unemployment was all because of when East Germany turned over its currency and ec...

• Word Count: 1509
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... over the past few hundred years; the state remained autocratic with the Tsar at the pinnacle of Russian society. This created an oppressive state due to the emergence of "Alexander III"s Manifesto" which dictated that absolute political power resided in the Tsar without any interference of a parliament. This ultimately created an emphasis on the hierarchical system in the ... empire by the late 19th century was plagued with extremist groups and constant riots and civil displacement. The chaos climaxed with the political group "People's Will" eventually assassinating Alexander III for "c...

• Word Count: 1299
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... plot to allow the Soviets to further advance their long-range nuclear missile program, while allowing China to seek increased Western economic ais and to improve trade relations. KGB Chairman Alexander Shelepin briefed his fellow KGB officers about this purported strategy in 1959. During this brief, Shelepin allegedly explained that a contrived division amongst the two nations would be meant to deceive ... ...

• Word Count: 1275
• Approx Pages: 5
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... of the Soviet Union has made smuggling radioactive materials from Russia and its former territories frightingly easy. In September 1997, a former Russian general, and top security advisor to Boris Yeltsin, Alexander Lebed, told CBS program 60 Minutes that ten suitcase sized nuclear bombs were missing from the nuclear arsenal. Each is a one-kiloton bomb, capable of killing 100,000 people. (1) Many ... ...

• Word Count: 1452
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... the Provisional Government. A huge armed demonstration was held against the Provisional Government in Petrograd, on July 17, 1917. Prime Minister George Lvov was forced to resign. He was succeeded by Alexander Kerensky as the new Prime Minister. However Kerensky's new coalition Government soon grew unpopular. At the same time, the masses became attracted towards the Bolsheviks, whom they regarded as the ... ...

• Word Count: 1340
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... , Lenin's solutions were simple explanations to the complex problems and uncertainties surrounding them in these times. It was at this time that circumstances for the Provisional government worsened. Pri-minister Alexander Kerensky launched a major attack on the Germans, which proved to be a fatal error and a massive defeat. Demonstrations against the new government sparked and those rioting turned to the Bolshevik's for ... ...

• Word Count: 2093
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: High School

... the Cheka. This was used to enforce war communism and crush any opposition. The terror later intensified following the assassination attempt on Lenin in 1918, rather like the reaction to Alexander II's assassination. These Bolshevik actions were characterized by extreme brutality towards almost all members of society. The party openly endorsed "class warfare" against the middle classes and they were treated ... ...

• Word Count: 2081
• Approx Pages: 8
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... as brute force, Stalin's rule was reinforced through a cult of personality. It can also be argued that many parallels can be seen between Stalinism and the economic policy of Tsar Alexander III. Both men desperately wanted Russia to catch up to the western European states. Both succeeded to an extent, turning Russia temporarily into Europe's leading power. In both cases it ... ...

• Word Count: 1356
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... "Peoples Will" appeared. This party, fueled with frustration with the Tsarist regime, started to use terrorism in an effort to overthrow the Tsar and gain power. In 1881, the Tsar Alexander the II was assassinated. This assassination causes the regime to increase their control and suppression on the Populists and the intelligentsia all together. Then in 1905, there is a massive revolution ... ...

• Word Count: 1522
• Approx Pages: 6
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... together and keep NSWP countries from being in complete control of their armies (Appendix C: The Warsaw Pact, online). A new threat to the Warsaw Pact arose in Czechoslovakia, in 1968, when Alexander Dubeck, the Communist leader, attempted to run a liberation program. But this time, instead of just the Soviets taking action, the new joint exercises paid off and it was a joint effort ... ...

• Word Count: 1822
• Approx Pages: 7
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... gave him "distorted pictures of Russian life- . He also distrusted many as "he felt them to be intellectually superior to himself and feared they sought to usurp his sovereign prerogatives- . Alexander Kerensky, Russian Prime Minister of 1917 said Nicholas found "the daily work of a ruler terribly boring- . Nicholas became ignorant to the increasing problems such as poverty and opposition, simply because ... ...

• Word Count: 1574
• Approx Pages: 6

... were not permitted to eat during their long and hard 12 hours daily work. At the camps during the winter temperatures sometimes dropped to a fatal bone shattering of -60 degrees. Alexander Solzhenitsyn a survivor of the worst labor camp Kolyma said, " The death rate in all camps was high a zek stood very little change of coming out alive at the end of ... ...

• Word Count: 1274
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... meant colossal destruction of each other and everyone else on Earth. Tensions between Russia and the West have been high throughout history. In 1815, at the Congress of Vienna, Tsar Alexander was quite prepared to use the congress to pursue the traditional aims of foreign policy, in particular the aims of westward expansion and European dominance, which greatly angered the Western ... ...

• Word Count: 2250
• Approx Pages: 9
• Grade Level: High School

... intervene and assert Moscow's control. Despite months of savage fighting, in which thousands perished, Russia was unable to quell the resistance. Yeltsin in 1996 authorized his national security adviser, General Alexander Lebed, to work out an interim settlement with the rebels. A cease-fire and a Russian troop withdrawal were negotiated in August 1996. ...

• Word Count: 1541
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

... especially highlighted by the fact that Serfdom still existed. The Serfs were little more than slaves of the Tsars and had no rights. They were also refered to as peasants. Alexander II was the first to recognise this and in 1861 he granted Emancipation to the Serfs. He felt it "better to abolish Serfdom from above than to wait for the ... ...

• Word Count: 1882
• Approx Pages: 8
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School