Essay/Term paper: Moscow

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Sociology Essays

The Emergence of Capitalist Economy in Russia Noen H. Loquiño I.Introduction: A Newfound Freedom II.The Beginnings of Socialism A.Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto B.The Theory of Socialism C.The Dual Revolution in Russia III.History of the Soviet Union A.The Early Years B.Stalin's Reformation C.World War II D.The Soviet Union's Postbellum Period E.The Cold War IV.The Fall of Communism A.Gorbachev's Visions B.The Reunification of Germany C.Freedom for the Republics V.An Economy In Transition A.A Newborn Economy B.Five Years' Progress VI.Solutions for the Future A.Western Intervention B.Yeltsin's Re-election and Future Reform VII.Conclusion: Return to Glory Bibliography I. Introduction: A Newfound Freedom Imagine you are a high school student just about to graduate. You are about to leave your parents, who have directed your actions for your entire life. However, you have never had to make your own decisions, and are having trouble handling your new situation. Now imagine that on a larger scale. An entire nation released from the control of its "parents" with no idea how to use its newfound freedom. The Russian Federation is only a shell of its former glory as the U.S.S.R. because it had to withstand just such a change. The "high school student", a socialist market in which the government makes all the rules, recently was overhauled. The new economic condition in Russia is a free market. However, the people had no experience in handling the independence that they acquired as the capitalist market was established. It had been a long hard journey to get where they were, and now a longer, harder journey is beginning - the journey into capitalism. II. The Beginnings of Socialism Russia did not exist as a nation just seven years ago. It was formed from the ruins of a greater nation. Russia's current troubles are based on problems it found, or created, during the years it operated under socialism. This theory, which proposes equality and the means of achieving it, has been scorned by the Western world. One must wonder why such a grand conception has failed. A. Karl Marx and the Communist Manifesto By far, the most important document in the development of socialism was The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx and Frederik Engels in 1848. (Berki) This document was published as a reply to politicians who would accuse their opponents of being Communist for the sake of scaring the public. (Marx) Marx's Manifesto was the driving force behind socialism and Communism in Russia. In it, he described the fall of capitalism at the hands of the working classes. (Berki) The following paragraphs are excerpts from that work. "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles. Freeman and slave, patrician and plebeian, lord and serf, guild-masters and journeyman, in a word, oppressor and oppressed stood in constant opposition to one another, carried on an uninterrupted, now hidden, now open fight, a fight that each time ended either in a revolutionary reconstruction of society at large, or in the common ruin of the contending classes. (Marx) "Society as a whole is more and more splitting up into two great hostile camps, into two great classes directly facing each other - bourgeoisie and proletariat.... The bourgeoisie, wherever it has got the upper hand, has put an end to all feudal, patriarchal, idyllic relations. It has pitilessly torn asunder the motley ties that bound man to his 'natural superiors', and has left no other bond between man and man than naked self-interest, than callous 'cash payment'. (Marx) "Wage labor rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. The advance of industry, whose involuntary promoter is the bourgeoisie, replaces the isolation of their laborers, due to competition, by their revolutionary combination, due to association. The development of modern industry, therefore, cuts from under its feet the very foundation on which the bourgeoisie produces and appropriates products. What the bourgeoisie, therefore, produces above all are its own gave-diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable. (Marx) "In short, the Communists everywhere support every revolutionary movement against the existing social and political order of things. In all these movements they bring to the front as the leading question in each case the property question, no matter what its degree of development at the time. Finally, they labor everywhere for the union and agreement of the democratic parties of all countries. The Communists disdain to conceal their views and aims. They openly declare that their aims can be attained only by the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution, The proletarians have nothing to lose but their chains, They have a world to win. Workingmen of all countries, unite!" (Marx) B. The Theory of Socialism Socialism is a set of beliefs about the most desirable possible government. Socialists claim that their doctrines are superior because they would create total equality. A perfectly socialist state would incorporate cooperation, progress, and individual freedom as well. In a socialist state, all free enterprise would be abolished, and in its place would be a system of "public ownership". The state would control production and distribution. (Berki) The basic principles of socialism developed from the writings of Plato and parts of the Old Testament. However, modern socialism is considered by most scholars to be a product of the French Revolution of 1789 and the second Industrial Revolution in England. These two events created a democratically governed region with vast potential for economic growth. In this environment, the beginnings of a conflict between the property owners, known as the bourgeoisie, and the working classes, called the proletariat, developed. (Berki) Socialists propose a solution for this conflict. (Berki) All means of production and distribution are controlled by a central organization, likely a branch of the government. These people instruct all those within the state as to how their capital should be managed. In exchange, all wealth within the state are distributed equally. The government also controls prices, ensuring that all people have the same amount of wealth. This eliminated both the rich and poor from society. As one might expect from such a system, the people with the most to gain - those under the poverty line - were the most staunch supporters of socialism. The wealthy, who would lose much of their money in a socialist society, were strongly opposed to the theory. This division of support created an poor image for socialists, as the lower classes were the primary adherents to the socialist theory. Socialism has a number of benefits, especially in that it would truly create greater equality. However, there are fatal flaws in this theory. The black market is one major flaw. Citizens may be able to purchase goods at lower prices from non-governmental dealers. Also, because of the immense amount of power which the government has, socialism is a system extremely susceptible to corruption. (Fry) C. The Dual Revolution in Russia In March of 1917, the 300-year-old Romanov dynasty was overthrown. (Lih) Massive discontent with the czarist state, an ongoing revolutionary movement, and the onset of World War I all contributed to the outbreak of fighting in Russia. Since peasants were freed from servitude in 1861, poverty was widespread in the nation, and inadequate resources pried apart the classes. (Rosenberg) Early in the twentieth century, Russians divided into unofficial political organizations. The Marxist Social Democratic Labor party was organized in 1898. Populists, which had previously existed in the rural areas, and socialists combined to form the Socialist Revolutionary Party by 1901. In 1903, the Marxist party split in two: the Mensheviks, who favored mass rule; and the Bolsheviks (below), led by Vladimir I. Lenin, who wanted more organization. In 1905, middle-class liberals formed the Constitutional Labor Party. Rosenberg) World War I forced reforms to be suspended and tight political restrictions to be imposed. Russian efforts were failing, costing morale. A provisional government was set up on 15 March 1917 when Czar Nicholas tried to give his post as emperor to his brother Michael, who refused the crown. Although welcomed at first, a division arose quickly in the ranks of the new government. Again, the well-to-do and general populous had different interests, and different factions within the legislature. (Rosenberg) Aware of the crises within the government, Lenin quickly mobilized the Bolsheviks. He began using propaganda against both major factions within the government. The Bolsheviks grew in number quickly, using slogans such as "peace, land , and bread" to attract members. They worked their way up in the system, winning many local elections and leading many committees in corporations. As Bolsheviks won a majority in Petrograd and Moscow legislatures, Lenin prepared an armed uprising. (Rosenberg) On 6 November, the Bolsheviks seized control of Petrograd with little opposition. They declared a Soviet government led by Lenin with Leon Trotsky in charge of foreign affairs. Few believed this government would last, however, as it inherited the problems which plagued the previous administrations. Lenin was determined, and quickly began to shape his nation. He seized control of much land, requisitioned grain from the countryside, and nationalized most industry. Private trade was forbidden as the Communist state was established. (Rosenberg) Many people were unhappy with Lenin's changes, and civil war broke out in 1918. One "All-Russian" faction was suppressed by a "White" dictatorship proposed by Admiral Aleksandr Kolchak. A "Volunteer Army" was organized in the south, and was a "Green" party led by anarchists. A guerrilla-style warfare erupted between each of these armies and the "Red" Bolsheviks. The Red Army had crushed all resistance by 1920. (Rosenberg) III. History of the Soviet Union It is impossible to understand why Russia's economic system is in such dire straits now without knowing the events of its predecessor nation, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.), or Soviet Union. The actions of its five most important leaders, a series of internal difficulties, and a policy rejected by most of the world led the U.S.S.R. to the troubles which split it into fifteen nations and completely rewrote its economic system. A. The Early Years One of the first policies implemented by the Bolsheviks, renamed the Communists in 1918, was the New Economic Policy (N.E.P.). The N.E.P. was a radical change when it was implemented - the Bolsheviks were forced by World War I to focus their economic strength on the production of weapons and soldiers. The N.E.P. emphasized the need for cooperation between all the people of the state, and encouraged increased production from the workers. (Lih) One difficulty faced by the Communists was maintenance of their "dictatorship of the proletariat". There were no indications that the Western nations were going to face the revolt of the common people in the near future, so the government was forced to win over the peasants on its own. This would be accomplished by a general success of their proposals, and eventually a transformation in the minds of the people from individualism to collectivization. (Lih) The fact remained, however, that their policies were not working. Lack of foreign loans and low industrial production, among other things, indicated a failure of the recently implemented socialist system. The government could guarantee itself loyalty only with impressive gains in the economy, gains which were noticeably lacking. When Lenin (below) died in 1924, the Russian state was prime for assault by the capitalist world. (Lih) B. Stalin's Reformation Following Lenin's death, the Communist party faced the immense task of holding the fledgling government together without the strong leadership of the party's founder. Opposition to Communist policies grew without Lenin's unifying presence. Leaders such as Leon Trotsky, Grigory Zinoviev, and Lev Kamenev rose as potential leaders of the nation, but were expelled from the party by hard-liners. By 1929, the post as leader of the Soviet Union was undisputedly held by Joseph Stalin. (Lih) Stalin opened his rule of the Communists by declaring a list of goals which must be upheld at any cost while the Russians built "socialism in one country". These included rapid industrialization, unity within the party, and alertness against socialism's opponents. Stalin pushed the first goal at unprecedented rates, claiming that Russia would be shattered by outside forces if it did not catch up quickly. This action bolstered Russia's economy at a tremendous rate, at the cost of other socialist ideals such as democracy and equality. In 1931, Stalin justified these sacrifices by saying, "We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they crush us." (Lih) Stalin required resources to carry out his actions, and imposed a "tribute" on the peasants in the form of food and other goods. This hurt his popularity significantly, and in an effort to overcome this problem, he decided to collectivize farms. Peasant way of life was changed drastically as the government rushed to complete Stalin's reforms. Farmers were moved from their homes to remote regions where they were more useful to the administration. Massive disorganization followed the collectivization process, resulting in an initial failure and widespread famine in 1933. (Lih) Stalin was aware of the tremendous opposition to his policies. Zealotic insistence on maintaining unity within the party, coupled with paranoia about his job stability, led him to carry out the Great Purge. Any suspected opposition to the Communists' platform was dealt with by sentences of hard labor or execution. (Lih) The Committee for State Security (K.G.B.) was formed to identify threats to Stalin's leadership. (Christopher) No class was exempt, from peasants to high-level officials. Millions perished in Stalin's fervor to wipe out his enemies. (Lih) Another powerful organization within Russia was the Communist International (Comintern). This group was a tool used to advance socialism outside of Russia's borders. This group allowed the Russian government to practice dual-track diplomacy: between parties and between states. The gains from this policy, however, were small. Its main accomplishment was to gain control of Poland and other nations on Russia's eastern front. Communists feared these territories could be used against them by capitalists, or as springboards for a suspected German invasion. (Lih) C. World War II On 22 June 1941, almost ten years to the day after Stalin's statement that the U.S.S.R. had ten years to make up the industrial gap, German troops were ordered to cross the border. The Soviet Union, with little in the way of intelligence, was caught completely off guard. Also, during the years of 1937 and 1938, Stalin became paranoid and had most of the upper ranks of the Red Army killed, leaving the Soviet forces withouteffective leadership. (Lih) The war, however, allowed the strengths of Stalin's system to come to the forefront. He was able to mobilize a great deal of power, in the form of men and machines, in a short amount of time. Despite chaotic conditions within the country, the government was able to relocate workers to the place where they could be of most benefit to the Soviet Union and counteract most opposition to his plans. (Lih) The Soviet Union had powerful allies during this war. Both the United States and Great Britain opposed Germany, and an alliance was quickly formed. Programs such as the Lend-Lease Agreement allowed Russia to gain technological resources necessary for its survival. (Lih) The Soviets' most important battle was at Stalingrad (below), a city named for its current leader when he won a battle there during the civil wars. His leadership was once again effective, as the city held despite numerous assaults by the Germans. Hitler expended many of his finest fighters in the attempt to take the city. Their surrender marked the beginning of the end for the German forces. (Lih) The Russians took back the land it had surrendered to the Germans during their original invasion. (Ropp) The Red Army proceeded into Europe, fighting many bloody battles along the way. By 2 May 1945, the Soviets had taken the city of Berlin. When they joined the United States and Great Britain at the Elbe River, it marked the end of the war in Europe. The Soviets then joined the war effort against Japan, but although they fought some hard battles, they were a minor factor after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Lih) D. The Soviet Union's Postbellum Period Stalin justified his oppression by claiming that it was necessary for the Soviet Union to be victorious during the war. The people of the U.S.S.R. accepted this explanation, mainly because they won the war and believed that this repression would end as peace ensued. (Lih) Stalin also carried out repression of cultures. Although he claimed that sectional weakness during the czarist period had ended, the government moved entire national groups, such as the Crimean Tatars, to distant parts of the U.S.S.R. where their influence would be minimized. Anti-Semitism was also rampant in the country. Prime Minister Winston Churchill of Great Britain coined the term "iron curtain" for the domineering policies of the Soviet state to cut itself off from the rest of the world. (Lih) The Soviets demanded friendly relations with their neighbors after the war, and the government interpreted this as a call for control of Eastern Europe. The Red Army installed factions in each of the nations east of Berlin, with the exceptions of Austria and Yugoslavia. All diversity in the region turned into uniform allegiance to Russia. (Lih) Many viewed this as a great foreign policy achievement, but it left Stalin with the problem of creating governments in these nations both loyal to the Soviets and favorable to the local populations. The Katyn Forest incident was a prime example of such a plight. In 1939, about 10,000 Polish officers, imprisoned by the Soviets, were executed. The Polish people were determined to discuss the issue after the war, and the Russian government as determined not to discuss it. This meant that a Polish government could never please both its own people and the Soviets. (Lih) E. The Cold War The Soviet Union formed some powerful allies during World War II. Those alliances faded as the years went by, and the Russians entered the arms buildup known as the Cold War. The U.S.S.R. was recognized as a major power in the world after it helped establish a Communist government in China and the Eastern European nations and detonated atomic bombs. (Lih) Stalin was elevated to a near-godlike status by the "cult of personality", a group of Communists devoted to the Soviet leader. However, the negative elements of his personality continued to emerge. He became convinced that his own personal doctors were attempting to poison him. (Lih) Whether or not this was true is unknown; however, Stalin died on 5 March 1953, before any action could be taken. (Daniels) In the years after Stalin's death, the Soviets faced two major challenges. The first was to rid the U.S.S.R. of the superfluity created by their former leader's personal tyranny. They also had to revise the system of government and economy to compete in the changing world market. The Communists staked everything on industrialization during internal problems of the 1920's, but this system was imperfect at best. (Lih) Stalin's regime emphasized mobilization and central control over efficiency and consumer freedom during his rule. This system functioned well during the war, but was largely ineffective during peacetime. At this time, the Soviet populous had to be satisfied, or the government would risk tremendous upheaval and possibly being overthrown. (Lih) De-Stalinization, as the reform was called, was difficult because most of the Soviet Union's top officials were parties to Stalin's crimes. One of the few who could use Stalin's record as a weapon with impunity was Nikita Khrushchev, who ascended to the position of secretary of the Communist party shortly after Stalin's death. He immediately released millions of Soviet prisoners held in labor camps, marking the beginning of the end of Soviet tyranny. (Lih) Khrushchev's foreign policy was inconsistent at best. In one instance, he banged his shoe against a desk at the United Nations, promising to crush capitalism. In another well-publicized image, he was standing in an Iowa cornfield trying to learn new American agricultural techniques. He advocated disarmament at the same time as he threatened mass production of atomic weapons. (Lih) His domestic action, however, was worse. He attempted to solve the nation's problems only on a short-term level. In the middle to late 1950's, he began the Virgin Lands campaign, designed to increase grain production. But by the early 1960's, much of the land, which had never been touched before Khrushchev, had become a dust bowl. Another one of his policies was to split the party in two: one part was to deal with agriculture, the other with industry. The two sectors failed to cooperate, causing rifts in the party and minimal improvement to the nation's situation. (Lih) Khrushchev was removed from office as party secretary in October 1964 because of his policy failures. His replacement was Leonid Brezhnev, a compromise candidate for two factions that had been created in Khrushchev's later years. His political ability, however, was much greater than anyone had expected, and opposition to him vanished by the early 1970's. (Lih) Brezhnev had more focused, long-term goals than Khrushchev. He relied on aptitude within each profession and discussion of government policies as guidance for his tenure. This policy relied on patience, which many Soviets did not possess. Economic trends were erratic during Brezhnev's rule, and many lower- and middle-class workers became suspicious if any reform whatsoever was occurring. (Lih) Brezhnev had a foreign policy which was more aggressive than any of his predecessors. A revolt, known as the Prague Spring, began in Czechoslovakia in 1968. Soviet tanks were sent by Brezhnev to crush the revolutionaries. After the threat had subsided, he announced that the U.S.S.R. had the right to intervene in other countries' affairs if socialism was threatened. (Lih) One of Brezhnev's most famous policies was that of detente. His goal was to normalize relations with capitalist countries and increase the Soviet's share in world trade without opening the U.S.S.R.'s society to the outside world enough to risk loss of economic or political control. Despite a number of meetings with United States (U.S ) presidents Nixon, Ford, and Carter, the Soviet Union continued a long-standing policy of competing for political control of third world nations which made US leaders suspect of his motives. (Lih) Under Brezhnev, the Soviet political system became static. Most personnel in top-level positions remained at their posts. Policies implemented during Brezhnev's early years remained unchanged, whether effective or not. He continued a campaign of placing weapons on the U.S.S.R.'s western front, despite opposition from most of the Western world. The Soviet Union also became entangled in Chinese affairs, culminating in a costly war after the Soviets invaded Afghanistan. (Lih) In the early 1980's, stagnation reached its peak in the U.S.S.R.. The government was apathetic to even the most basic problems. The Communists refused to discuss either the past or the future, and relied on nationalism to carry it through. Brezhnev died in 1982, and the next two party leaders, Yuri Andropov and Konstantin Chernenko, remained in office for about a year each, producing no reform. (Lih) The Soviet Union appeared that it would never come out of its static state until a young political with a reform agenda took the party's leadership in 1985: Mikhail Gorbachev. (Daniels) IV. The Fall of Communism Communism and socialism in the U.S.S.R. were doomed from the onset. They were condemned due to lack of support from other nations, condemned due to corruption within its leadership, condemned due to the frailties of humanity making what is perfect on paper ineffective in the real world. The ends of these two systems was a violent and sudden one, and it left one of the two most powerful nations in the world trembling in its wake. A. Gorbachev's Visions Gorbachev came into the leadership of the Communist party with a plan. His most famous agenda was a policy of perestroika, or restructuring. Gorbachev believed that there was little time for the Soviet Union to reform itself - it would either improve its status or become a forgotten third-world nation. The main component of Gorbachev's perestroika plan was glasnost, or openness. This policy was aimed at giving the populous back its voice in government, allowing constructive criticism of the system. (Lih) Politically, Gorbachev wanted to shift the nation's leadership from party to state; that is, to establish an elected body of rule, accountable to the people, in place of the Communists as U.S.S.R.'s rulers. He began discussions with the rest of the world, beginning with his appointment of Eduard Shevardnadze as foreign minister. The duo preached a "new thinking" which focused on cooperation instead of confrontation. (Lih) Most of the world was doubtful of Gorbachev's honesty in these matters, and his words were met with cautious optimism at best. Skepticism was increased with the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster, which the Russians attempted to cover up. Gorbachev, however, was a shrewd politician, and turned the event to his benefit. He proclaimed Chernobyl to be a symbol of the old order and instituted a policy of nearly total disclosure. (Lih) These words did not ring in the ears of the Western world for long. In the fall of 1987, Boris Yeltsin, the leader of a radical reform movement growing within the U.S.S.R., was removed from one of the top offices within the party. (Lih) However, despite opposition by the Communists - or possibly because of it - Yeltsin was elected to the legislature the next year. Glasnost eventually did gain momentum, as the Soviets began to disclose the details of Stalin's crimes to the world. In 1989, Soviet troops were finally withdrawn from Afghanistan after an occupation of ten years. (Lih) B. The Reunification of Germany The first and most prominent sign that Communism was failing was shown in Germany. Following World War II, Hitler's German state was divided into four segments, one each controlled by the United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. The three Western powers were unable to come to terms with the U.S.S.R., and on 31 May 1948, created the German Federal Republic (West Germany) out of their three zones and establishing a democratic government there. The Soviets responded by placing a Communist government in the fourth area and establishing the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) on 7 October 1949.(Johnson, "Germany") The two republics of Germany were indicative of the sharp division between the Communists and the rest of the world for more than forty years. Although a diplomatic ban which was instituted with the formation of the two nations was lifted on 4 September 1974, the countries were still not at ease with each other. The most prominent symbol of this separation was the Berlin Wall, erected by the East Germans in 1961. This barrier was meant to stop the flow of people seeking a better life out of the eastern state. It stood as a physical manifestation of the Iron Curtain dividing the east and west. (Johnson, "Germany") Relations between the two Germanys was cautious at best. The Cold War was played out in Germany more than anywhere else - in this case, the two rival nations shared a border. Soviets had tremendous influence over the socialist East Germans. However, the populous eventually gained more control. A breakup of the Communist party scattered support for the government, and the Communists were eventually ousted. (Johnson, "Germany") The two Germanys were on the path to reunification, and the final hurdles were objections by the U.S.S.R. A deal was negotiated where the Germans would be allowed to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization if they reduced the size of their military and expanded trade with the Soviet Union. (Johnson, "Germany") At midnight on 2 October 1990, a replica of the Liberty Bell was rung in Berlin, signaling the r

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