after wwi

Political Impacts of WWI on Europe

• Collapse of empires (Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, German, and Russian)
• Rise of new nations based on national self-determination
• Formation of the League of Nations to prevent future wars
• Increased political instability and polarization in many countries

Social Impacts of WWI on Europe

• Loss of a generation of young men
• Changes in social roles, particularly for women
• Increased social unrest and labor movements
• Psychological trauma and disillusionment

Economic Impacts of WWI on Europe

• Massive war debts and economic devastation
• Inflation and currency instability
• Disruption of trade and industry
• Shift in economic power from Europe to the United States

Why Russia Pulled Out of WWI

• Internal political and economic instability
• High casualties and war-weariness among soldiers and civilians
• The February Revolution in 1917, which overthrew the Tsarist regime
• The Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917, which led to Russia's withdrawal from the war

November 1917 Revolution (Bolshevik Revolution)

• Overthrow of the Provisional Government by the Bolsheviks led by Lenin.
• Establishment of a communist government in Russia.
• Key event: Bolsheviks seize strategic points in Petrograd (St. Petersburg).

Russian Civil War (Reds vs. Whites)

• Reds: Bolsheviks (communists) seeking to maintain power.
• Whites: Anti-Bolshevik forces including monarchists, liberals, and other socialists.
• Conflict: Brutal fighting across Russia, resulting in millions of casualties and widespread destruction.

Lenin's Government

• Council of People's Commissars (Sovnarkom) established as the new government.
• Nationalization of industries, banks, and land.
• Implementation of socialist policies and suppression of political opposition.

War Communism

• Economic policy implemented during the Russian Civil War to keep towns and the Red Army supplied with weapons and food.
• Nationalization of all industries, strict centralization, and forced grain requisitioning.
• Effects: Hyperinflation, decline in production, famine, and widespread discontent.

New Economic Policy (NEP)

• Introduced by Lenin in 1921 as a temporary retreat from War Communism.
• Allowed some private ownership and market mechanisms in agriculture and small-scale industry.
• Impacts: Recovery of agricultural and industrial production, reduced famine, and improved living conditions. but also created a class of merchants, called Nepmen.
• Positive Effects: Stabilized the economy and reduced social unrest.
• Negative Effects: Ideological compromise for communists; emergence of inequality.

Stalin's Rise to Power

• Rose through the ranks of the Communist Party, becoming General Secretary in 1922.
• Consolidated power through political maneuvering, eliminating rivals like Trotsky.
• Established a totalitarian regime characterized by cult of personality and repression.

Stalin's Repressive Policies

• Gulags: System of forced labor camps where millions of political prisoners and criminals were sent.
• Ukrainian Famine (Holodomor): Man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine (1932-1933) as a result of forced collectivization.
• The Great Purge (1936-1938): Campaign of political repression targeting perceived enemies of the state, including party members, intellectuals, and military officers.
• Censorship: Strict control over media, arts, and information to suppress dissent and promote propaganda.

Stalin's Economic Policies

• 5-Year Plans: Ambitious programs for rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture.
• Collectivization: Forced consolidation of individual farms into collective farms, leading to resistance and famine.

Stalin's Foreign Policy

• Focused on promoting communism abroad through the Comintern (Communist International).
• Pursued a policy of "socialism in one country" to strengthen the Soviet Union.

The Great Terror

• Peak of Stalinist repression during the 1930s, characterized by mass arrests, executions, and show trials.

Propaganda

• Used extensively to promote the cult of personality around Stalin and glorify the achievements of the Soviet Union.

Fascism

• A political ideology characterized by authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, and suppression of opposition.

14 Traits of Fascism (according to Lawrence Britt)

• Powerful and Continuing Nationalism
• Disdain for the Recognition of Human Rights
• Identification of Enemies as a Unifying Cause
• Supremacy of the Military
• Rampant Sexism
• Controlled Mass Media
• Obsession with National Security
• Religion and Government are Intertwined
• Corporate Power is Protected
• Labor Power is Suppressed
• Disdain for Intellectuals and the Arts
• Obsession with Crime and Punishment
• Rampant Cronyism and Corruption
• Fraudulent Elections

Fascism vs. Communism

• Fascism: Extreme nationalism, private property with state control, hierarchical class structure.
• Communism: Internationalism, state ownership of property, classless society (in theory).
• Similarity: Both are totalitarian ideologies that suppress dissent and individual freedoms.