Chapter 30 - Revolution and Nationalism

30.1 - Revolutions in Russia

• Alexander III took strong measures to put down the revolutionaries. On published materials and written papers, including private communications, he imposed severe censorship regulations. 

  • His secret police kept a close eye on both secondary and university schools. Teachers were required to submit detailed reports on each kid.
  • Political prisoners were deported to Siberia, a far-flung part of eastern Russia.

• Russians were dissatisfied with the country's rapid industrialisation. Factory expansion brought with it additional issues such as dreadful working conditions, pitifully low wages, and child labor. 

  • Trade unions were outlawed by the government. Workers dissatisfied with their low level of life and lack of political influence launched strikes to try to better their situation.

• On January 22, 1905, 200,000 workers and their families gathered in front of the Winter Palace of the Czar in St. Petersburg. 

  • They held a petition calling for improved working conditions, more personal freedom, and a national legislature that is chosen by the people.

• Nicholas II made the disastrous decision to enlist Russia in World War I in 1914. Russia was unprepared to deal with the financial and military implications. 

• The German army was no match for its weak generals and ill-equipped troops. Thousands of Russians were killed by German machine fire as they advanced. 

  

30.2 - Totalitarianism

• Terror and violence are used by totalitarian dictators to compel conformity and suppress dissent. 

• The police are normally expected to respond to criminal behavior and protect the public. In a totalitarian regime, the police are responsible for enforcing the policies of the central government. 

  • They may accomplish this by spying on or scaring citizens. 
  • They have been known to utilize violent force and even murder to attain their objectives.

• To persuade people to accept specific beliefs or activities, totalitarian nations broadcast propaganda, which is slanted or incomplete information. 

  • This is made possible by the control of all mass media. 
  • Without the authorization of the state, no publishing, film, painting, or music may exist.

• To keep his control, Stalin established a police state. To quell rioting, Stalin's secret police employed tanks and armored cars. 

  • They spied on people's phones, read their correspondence, and placed informants all over the place. 
  • Even children reported disrespectful words made at home to authorities.

• All newspapers, motion pictures, radio, and all forms of media were under the supervision of Stalin's regime. 

  • Official censorship harmed many Soviet writers, composers, and other artists. 
  • Individual inventiveness that did not adhere to the state's ideas was not tolerated by Stalin.

• Under Stalin, the government was in charge of all aspects of education, from kindergarten to university. 

  • The Communist Party's virtues were taught to schoolchildren. 
  • Professors and students who questioned the Communist Party's historical or scientific interpretations risked losing their jobs or being imprisoned.

• Communists sought to replace religious teachings with communist ideas. 

• The government and the League of the Militant Godless, an officially supported group of atheists, promoted anti-religious propaganda during Stalin's reign.

  

30.3 - Imperial China Collapses

• In 1917, the Chinese government declared war on Germany, hoping for an Allied victory. 

  • Some officials erroneously anticipated that the grateful Allies would return control of Chinese territories that had previously belonged to Germany in exchange for China's participation. 
  • The Allies, on the other hand, awarded Japan those territory as part of the Treaty of Versailles.

• Sun Yixian and his Nationalist Party established a government in south China when the Chinese Communist Party was emerging. 

  • Sun, like the Communists, became disillusioned with the Western democracies for refusing to support his regime. 
  • Sun decided to join the newly founded Communist Party and the Kuomintang. 
  • He intended to bring together all of the revolutionary movements for a common cause.

• Jiang first put his concerns with the Communists aside. The warlords were defeated by Jiang's Nationalist forces and the Communists working together. 

  • But, not long after, he turned against the Communists.

  

30.4 - Nationalism in India and Southwest Asia 

• The vast majority of Indians were uninterested in nationalism before World War I. Over a million Indians recruited in the British army, which transformed the situation. 

  • The British government promised them changes in exchange for their service, which would eventually lead to self-governance.

• Gandhi urged Indians not to buy British goods, send their children to British schools, pay British taxes, or vote in British elections. 

  • Gandhi successfully launched a boycott of British fabric, which was a source of money for the British.

• Gandhi's weapon of civil disobedience cost the British a lot of money. They battled to keep trains running, factories open, and packed prisons from overflowing. 

  • Thousands of Indians were arrested by the British during 1920 as a result of strikes and demonstrations. 
  • Despite Gandhi's nonviolent appeals, rallies frequently devolved into riots.

• Except for Turkey, the Ottoman Empire was compelled to surrender all of its possessions at the end of World War I. 

  • The traditional Turkish heartland of Anatolia, as well as a short strip of territory around Istanbul, were included in Turkish holdings.

• Prior to World War I, both the United Kingdom and Russia had created spheres of influence in Persia. 

  • The British attempted to take over all of Persia after the war, when Russia was still suffering from the Bolshevik Revolution. 
  • In Persia, this maneuver sparked a nationalist uprising. A Persian army general seized power in 1921.

• While nationalism became a more powerful force in Southwest Asia, the region's economy was changing as well. 

  • New oil explorations in Southwest Asia have been prompted by the growing demand for petroleum products in industrialized countries.

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